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Rom. 7:23; Gal. 5:19-21; Phil. 3:3-6; Exo. 30:31-32; Rom. 8:8; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6; Gal. 5:24; Rom. 8:13; Matt. 16:21-25
I. The definition of the flesh
А. The corrupted body
B. The whole fallen man
C. The good aspect of man
II. The position of the flesh before God
А. God cannot mingle with the flesh
B. God and the flesh cannot exist together
C. God is determined to remove the flesh
D. The Bible’s conclusion of the flesh
III. Dealing with the flesh
А. The objective fact
B. The subjective experience — by the Spirit
IV. The definition of self
А. Self is the soul life
B. The damage of self
V. Dealing with self
А. The objective fact
B. The subjective experience
C. Bearing the cross
VI. Applying the experience of dealing with self
А. In the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
B. Letting the Holy Spirit execute the crucifixion of Christ upon us
Sin is ugly and the world is possessing, yet they are still outward. We need to see further how to experience life in a deeper way — dealing with the flesh and the self. Most people on the earth are not Christians. America is reportedly a Christian country; about half of the people say that they are Christians. Yet, most of them are not even regenerated, that is, having received the life of God. Of those who have been regenerated, many are still living in sin. The more mature Christians stay away from sin, yet very few are not possessed by the world. In the Lord’s recovery, Christians talk about dealing with the flesh and the self. This is a much deeper aspect of the experience of life. This short lesson cannot cover these two topics adequately. We will only get a basic understanding at this point. You must read The Experience of Life to get more details.
[We can find at least three definitions in the Bible of the flesh:]
[The first definition of the flesh in the Bible is our corrupted body. The body is the body created by God; flesh is something corrupted. God did not create a flesh; He only created a body. But Satan came into the members of this body. Romans 7:23 tells us clearly that the law of sin is in the members of our body. When Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that fruit entered into the members of his body. So the body is created by God, but sin as a personified matter, Satan himself, entered into man, into his body. Since then man’s body created by God became corrupted and ruined. That corrupted and ruined body is the flesh.]
[The flesh does not refer merely to man’s fallen and corrupted body. Rather, it refers to the totality of man’s fallen being. The flesh is therefore the uttermost expression of the fallen tripartite man. Hence, the flesh in this sense includes man’s body, soul, and spirit. If you consider the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21, you will find that some, such as fornication, uncleanness, sensuality, and drunkenness, are related to the lust of the corrupted body; others, such as enmities, strife, angers, and divisions, are related to the fallen soul; and still others, idolatry and sorcery, are related to the deadened spirit. This proves that the three parts of our fallen being are involved with the evil flesh. Therefore, in Galatians the flesh denotes the whole of man’s fallen being. The flesh is not just a part of man’s fallen being; it includes the totality of the fallen tripartite man.]
[Usually when we mention the flesh, we think that the flesh is corrupt and wicked, just as mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21. But the Bible shows us that the flesh has not only an evil aspect, but also a good aspect. The good flesh desires to do good and to worship and serve God. Paul in Philippians 3:3-6 indicated that there were some who worshipped God in the flesh and boasted in their flesh. The flesh there undoubtedly refers to flesh in its good aspect, for by it man worships God and through it man boasts.
Why is there a good aspect of man or of the flesh? Because although we are the people who fell deeply, we still have some good element which was originally created by God. Therefore, we often want to do good and serve God. But, after all, man or the flesh in its good aspect is weak and powerless, not being able to do either. In the sight of God, we, the fallen men, controlled by the flesh, wholly became flesh. Anything which originates in us, whether good or bad, is of the flesh and does not please God. Therefore, not only our temper, hatred, or anything against God which originates in us are of the flesh, but the gentleness, love, and even the service to God which originates in us are also of the flesh. Whatever originates in us, whether good or bad, is of the flesh. We have to know the flesh to such an extent; then we have really touched the meaning of the flesh.]
[What is the position of the flesh before God? What is God’s attitude toward the flesh? This matter is clearly mentioned in many places in the Bible; however, we can only point out here the most important passages.]
[Exodus 30:31-32: “Upon the flesh of man shall it (the holy anointing oil) not be poured.’’ The holy anointing oil typifies the Holy Spirit, which is God Himself. Therefore, the declaration that the holy anointing oil must not be poured upon man’s flesh means that God cannot mingle or unite with the flesh.]
[Exodus 17:14, 16: “Jehovah said unto Moses…I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven… Jehovah has sworn: Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’’] [The Israelites as the descendants of Jacob typify the chosen, regenerated part within us, that is the new man in our spirit belonging to Christ. The Amalekites as the descendants of Esau typify the fallen natural part within us, that is the old man in the flesh belonging to Adam. Esau and Jacob were twins, but their descendants, the Amalekites and the Israelites, were mutual enemies; they could not stand together. Likewise, our fleshly old man is very close to our spiritual new man; the two are also mutual enemies and cannot stand together. The fact that God would have war with Amalek shows us how God hates the flesh and desires to exterminate it. If the flesh is not exterminated and there is no dealing with it, our spiritual life will have no way to grow. The two can never compromise or co-exist.]
[In the Old Testament God did one specific thing to express His attitude toward the flesh — He established circumcision. The first man whom God commanded to perform the act of circumcision was Abraham (Gen. 17). God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as the stars in the heavens and as the sands of the sea. But as God delayed in the fulfillment of His promise, Abraham took Hagar as his wife and bore Ishmael. Thus, he used the strength of his flesh to fulfill God’s promise. God was not pleased with him, and for thirteen years God hid Himself. Then, when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God appeared again to him (Gen. 16:15; 17:1). At this appearance God commanded Abraham and all that belonged to him to be circumcised. This means God desired that the flesh be removed so that henceforth they would not serve God in the flesh.]
[Romans 8:8: “They that are in the flesh cannot please God.’’ The Bible has spoken much about the flesh, and at this point it concludes that the flesh cannot please God. If man belongs to the flesh, minds the flesh, and lives by the flesh, whatever he does, either good or bad, cannot please God.] How about you? Do you want to please God? If you do, you must live in the spirit and deal with the flesh.
[Whatever belongs to our being, because it is flesh, needs to be dealt with. But how do we deal with the flesh? We will discuss this in two aspects: the objective fact and the subjective experience.]
[The objective fact in dealing with the flesh is completely related to Christ. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ.’’ Again, Romans 6:6 says, “Our old man has been crucified with him.’’ These two passages clearly show us that when Christ was nailed to the cross, we were crucified with Him. Our fleshly being has been dealt with on the cross of Christ.] [The fact that we have been crucified with Christ is the basis of our dealing with the flesh. If we had never been crucified with Christ, none of us could deal with the flesh. Therefore, our dealing with the flesh is to bring forth in experience the fact that we have died with Christ.]
Galatians 5:24 says, “But they who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts.’’ Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.’’ Although objectively, we have been crucified, like all spiritual realities, we must experience it in the spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of reality. He is able to make all the objective facts real to us every day. If we realize that we are lusting after something or someone, immediately, we need to call on the Lord and pray, “Lord forgive me. That was the lust of the flesh. That does not please You. You want to remove that, and so do I. Lord, I turn to You right now. Free me from my flesh.’’ If you pray like this, you are exercising your spirit to crucify the flesh and to put it to death. It is simple and effective. We should not say, “Wait until I grow in life, then the flesh will be put to death automatically by the Spirit.’’ No. The way to grow in life is to exercise our spirit to put the flesh to death.
After seeing the matter of dealing with the flesh, we must go on to see that our self also needs to be dealt with. This is a deeper dealing to cause us to grow higher in life. Remember, growth in life is the increase of God in us and the decrease of ourselves. To deal with the self is to decrease ourselves.
What is self? [Simply, self is the soul life with the emphasis on human thoughts and human opinions. We can discover this from the Bible, where self is clearly mentioned.]
In Matthew 16:21-25 Jesus spoke about His going to the cross and being raised on the third day. That was to accomplish redemption and to build up the church according to God’s will. But Peter had a different opinion, and after voicing it, the Lord rebuked him and said, “Get behind Me, Satan!’’ Jesus continued to say, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me…whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.’’ To the Lord, the self is just the soul-life, the expression of the self is opinion, which is an expression of Satan. Peter was concerned for the Lord’s safety. But in his concern, he did not care for God’s will; rather, he allowed Satan to be expressed. Therefore, the Lord rebuked him as Satan.
[A person who is full of self always brings many difficulties into the church. The reason for so many divisions in Christianity today is not only the sinfulness and worldliness of man, but more so the self of man.] Throughout history, the church has not been as damaged by persecution or other things as it has been damaged by the self. Martin Luther once said that although he was afraid of the pope, he was more afraid of the stronger pope, the self, within his own heart. Nothing damages and frustrates the building up of the church more than the self. The self is the embodiment of the soul, which is expressed through the mind. Thus, the self, the soul, and the mind are three-in-one. Behind these three is Satan, who manipulates the self in order to damage the church life. We all need to heed this word for ourselves.
If we are not saved, we would be in sin. If we do not love the Lord, we would be in the world. When we love the Lord and we care for His church, we may express opinions to damage it. It does not mean that we should not say anything in the church. We need to pray to be in spirit. Then we should not insist on our own view, but should always speak in the fear of the Lord and be willing to be adjusted.
[How is self dealt with? In other words, how should we deal with self? The Bible only says that our old man has been crucified with Christ. The Bible never says specifically that our self has been crucified with the Lord. In spite of this, the way to deal with self is still the cross, just as the way to deal with the flesh is the cross. In considering this matter, we will divide it into the objective fact and the subjective experience.]
[The objective fact in dealing with self, just as in dealing with the flesh, rests in Christ; that is, our old man has been crucified with Him. This is because self is part of the expression of the old man. With God, the problem of the old man has already been solved; thus self, which is of the old man, has also been solved. Therefore, on the objective side, the only fact is that our old man has been crucified.]
[The subjective experience in dealing with the self, just as in dealing with the flesh, is through the Holy Spirit. If we have seen the fact that our old man has been crucified, then in our daily living, whenever we discover the expressing of our own ideas or opinions, we must let the Holy Spirit work the death of the cross upon these ideas and opinions to put them to death.]
[Today, in fallen Christianity, many truths have been misunderstood. The truth of bearing the cross is a case in point. Many people misinterpret the bearing of the cross as suffering. This is a wrong concept, a concept which we have inherited from Roman Catholicism. We should realize that the emphasis of the cross is not suffering, but death. When a person goes to the cross, the main thing is to go there not to suffer, but to die. When we mention execution by shooting today, we understand that that means death. Likewise, in the time of the Lord Jesus, whenever the cross was mentioned, man’s understanding of it was death.]
If we experience suffering, that means we are not bearing the cross. Remember that in the compound ointment there is myrrh, which signifies the sweetness of the death of Christ. As we exercise our spirit to put our self on the cross, we should not experience suffering, rather, we should be enjoying His sweet death which is effective to kill our self. Along with this, we should also have His resurrection power operating in us to enable us to follow Him.
[The applying of the experience of dealing with self is firstly in the fellowship in the Holy Spirit. Though we understand the crucifying of the old man and know that our opinions are the expression of self, yet if we do not live in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, it is but an empty doctrine and does not afford any practical experience. If we do not live in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and yet try to deal with self, such exercise is exactly like the strenuous efforts practiced by the Buddhists, Hindus, and Chinese moralists; it is not a spiritual experience. Only the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of reality.] [Therefore, if we desire to live continuously in the experience of dealing with self, the basic requirement is to live in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.]
[If we live in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and touch the Holy Spirit, then we must allow the Holy Spirit to execute the crucifixion of Christ upon all our living and actions. This allowing is our cooperation with the Holy Spirit. When we allow the Holy Spirit to perform His work in us, it means that we are cooperating with Him. In this way it is on one hand that we apply the crucifixion of Christ through the Holy Spirit, and on the other hand that we let the Holy Spirit execute Christ’s crucifixion in us. On one hand it is our doing, and on the other hand it is the working of the Holy Spirit — it is impossible to separate one from the other in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. At this time we are living in Romans 8, in the law of the Spirit of life; we are putting to death all the expressions of the old man through the Holy Spirit.
If one who loves God has a pliable will, and he is willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will bring him deeper and deeper into the cross and put his self thoroughly to death.] Through these experiences, the life of God will grow in us. The element of God will increase and our human element will decrease.
