Galatians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

‘I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.’

There is a constant warfare; a fight that I thought should not exist for those who are crucified in Christ; after all, it’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. Should there be a struggle of any sort for the man who is crucified in Christ? Yes, there is. In fact, the fact that there is a struggle is the evidence that you are in the right place. There is a war between the flesh and the Spirit. The flesh is constantly seeking to regain entry; the flesh is unhappy by the overthrow of its dictatorship and it is always seeking to regain the throne and the crown. That is the reason for the conflict. For the man under the grip of the fleshlife, this war does not exist. For the religious man who can perform his religious functions while flesh sits on the throne, there will be no conflict. The fleshlife is not against Christianity; the fleshlife is fighting the Spirit’s rulership over the crucified life.

What’s the solution? Accept there is a fight and always remember the fleshlife wants the throne room back. He wants the crown of Christ. And the only way to defeat the fleshlife is to walk with and walk in tangent with the Spirit of God. Only by submitting to God’s Spirit- moment by moment- will you not gratify (or succumb to) the guerrilla warfare tactics of the fleshlife. When we fail to remain in line with the wisdom and guidance of the Spirit, we will surely end up doing what we really don’t want to do; which is re-enthrone the fleshlife. The battle is real but victory is ours if we don’t use human wisdom but follow the wisdom of the Spirit of God and live under His power.

‘Lord, you know how often I’ve been a casualty in this battle because I did not submit totally to your Spirit. I have failed again and again, because I thought I could handle it. What a lie and a deception from hell. I can’t overcome the pull and shove of the Old Nature, except I walk with your Spirit. Teach me to stay close to your Spirit, to listen to your Spirit, to abide in your Spirit, to submit to your Spirit and therefore to experience the victory from your Spirit. Amen.’