The Desires of the Flesh and the Desires of the Spirit

The Desires of the Flesh and the Desires of the Spirit

17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;

20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 

Today’s scripture, especially chapter 5 verse 22 and 23, talk about the fruit of the Spirit. Have you ever thought about why these character traits are called the fruit of the Spirit? Why not other food groups: like meat of the Spirit or bread of the Spirit or dairy of the Spirit?

 

There are four reasons why it’s called fruit of the spirit: because fruit is healthy, sweet, living and whole. Fruit is healthy to eat. Everyone agrees with that. If you love eating fruit, you are probably a healthy person. It has vitamins, fibers, and no fat or cholesterol. It is very healthy.

 


And all fruit are sweet – naturally sweet instead of artificially sweet. Do you know any fruit that does not have some sweetness to it?


 

Fruit is also living. What I mean by that is it is produced by living trees and plants. And when it comes to you in the grocery section of a supermarket, it still contains seeds that can be planted to yield even more fruit. It is living. Meat comes to you dead and cut up. You cannot produce more meat from the meat in the store. And the same with bread, you cannot make more bread from the bread you buy in the store.


 


Fruit is also whole. Sure, you can get diced fruit or fresh fruit cups. But most of the time you get fruit in whole pieces, as they were grown. A whole banana, a whole orange, a whole apple – it is not cut up, it is not chopped up, it comes to you the way it grows on the tree. Other foods to be eaten don’t come like that. You don’t want to eat a whole pig or a whole cow.


 

So that’s why the Bible figuratively describes the character traits of spirit as fruit of the spirit because fruit is healthy, sweet, living and whole.

 

Galatians 5:16 says, “ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Many Christians today do not live by the Spirit, but rather follow their own selfish desires. In the news and on TV we see people who claim to be “Christians” commit terrible sins and make churches and followers of Christ a target of mockery and ridicule.

 

 But why do these things happen? Verse 17 explains, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

 

“Flesh” in this context refers to anything that is not God or the Spirit. “Desire” is also used as a verb with negative connotations such as to covet of be greedy. This connotation does not extend in relation to the Spirit however.

 

The word “desire” is not used for the Holy Spirit in the original text; it was added added for our easy understanding. The “desires” of the Spirit simply mean what the Spirit, God, and Jesus wants for us and from us. The desires of the flesh come solely from our sinful bodies. 

 

For a better understanding of the desires of the flesh and Spirit, we first need to have a better understanding of ourselves and what we are made of. Humans are made up of both physical and non-physical elements. Theologians generally believe one of three philosophies about fundamental make up of humans: Monism, Dichotomy, and Trichotomy.

 

First, monism, stemming from materialism, believes humans are made of just physical matter. The soul and spirit are not “real” but just a symbol of human life. Monism cannot be considered Biblical.

 

Second, dichotomy sees humans to be made up of solely material and spiritual elements. only the body and Spirit exist. Plato, Calvin, Descartes, and the Presbyterian Church adopted this belief. The Bible often describes the body and spirit existing as one, so they are not seen as separate.

 

Third, trichotomy sees the flesh, soul, and spirit separately. Origenists, the Alexandrian school, Irenaeus, Erasmus, and Martin Luther shared this belief.

 

With the body, spirit, and soul being such a mysterious area, there are many debates over whether dichotomy or trichotomy is the “right” belief. However, this topic is one we, as mere humans, can never fully understand; it is not our place to judge and reject one belief over the other. It depends on how we receive and interpret what the Bible says about these things. only God has the true answer.

 

 For today’s sermon, I believe the perspective of trichotomy will be most helpful in explaining and understanding the differing desires of the flesh and Spirit.

 

Genesis 2:16-17 says, “16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.””

 

God forbids Adam from eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and tell him, “for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” This tells us two important things: First, if Adam ate the fruit he would die immediately that day. Second, death will inevitably come. “You will certainly die” emphasizes that death will occur 100% on that day.

 

Genesis 3:1-6 tells the familiar story of how Satan seduced Eve and then Adam into eating the fruit. After eating it, both Adam and Eve should have died on the spot as told in verse 17. However, Genesis 5:4-5 says, “4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.”

 

God had said Adam and Eve would die immediately upon eating the fruit, yet we see he lived a long life afterwards like the serpent said. Does this mean God lied?

 

 

Today’s humanists believe that when God spoke of certain death He meant that man would now live a limited life that would result in death, whereas before there was no limit. However as said in Numbers 23:19, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

 

If God said Adam and Eve will die upon eating the fruit, we need to please they did in fact die that day. But seeing that they still lived centuries after that, we need to believe that some part of them died on that day but the physical part of them continued living, thus there is more than one living within us giving us life.

 

 Genesis 2:7 tells us how man was made, “7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground…”God made the body, in other words the flesh, of man first. It continues, “…and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

 

God gave Adam the breath of life, in other words he gave him His spirit. When that spirit entered Adam, a soul was naturally created. The “soul” refers to a human’s mind, heart, and will.

 

God made Adam and give him life through the spirit and the creation of his soul. All living things have souls, be they animals or nonbelievers. After eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and even we see Adam lived for 930 years with his body and soul. Knowing this, we can deduce what it is that died in Adam when the Lord said, “you will certainly die.”

 

 Genesis 1:26-27 shows us how we know God did not lie, “26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

 

God made us in “His image.” What is His image? It is explained in John 4:24, “24 God is spirit…” Since God is spirit it means that we He made man, he was not only made with flesh and soul but also in the image of God: spirit.

 

 Why did God made Adam with a spirit separate from the body and soul? It is because

without the spirit Adam cannot communicate with the Lord is who the spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says about the spirit, “14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

 

Adam may have lived physically for 930 years, but his spirit died the moment he ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. And it was through the Pentecost, promised by Jesus, when the spirit was revived.

 

 The Spirit can be dissected into three parts: the conscience, spiritual communion, and intuition.

 

First, God gave us a spiritual conscience, separate from one of our hearts. David said in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” The conscience guides us in God’s standards and rebuked us when we stray.

 

Spiritual communion is what separates us from animals and what drives us to seek some sort of spiritual and greater guidance. It’s what makes us want to pray and discover the spiritual world.

 

Third, intuition is similar to spiritual communion but different. This intuition is what allows us to hear God’s voice and understand His will for us. Moses hearing the voice from the burning bush or Elijah hearing the Lord’s voice while hiding in the desert is all from this intuition He gave us.

 

 One of the biggest debates in today’s churches is about the Spirit. Some say the coming of the Holy Spirit was a one-time thing that happened during the Pentecost, and there no longer are true forms of speaking in tongues, prophecies, visions, healing of the sick, or exorcisms.

 

Others say that the Holy Spirit’s presence during the Pentecost is still continuing, thus we need to continue to light the fire of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 says, “18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” It is telling us to accept the Holy Spirit and live a life guided by the Spirit.

 

When you are drunk, the alcohol controls you. The same happens when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:13 people ridiculed the disciples saying they were drunk. The Holy Spirit takes over when you are truly filled with it.

 

Alcohol makes people feel good. It makes the quiet boisterous and meek confident. It makes people sing and shout and talkative. They do whatever their drunk selves tells them to do.

 

The Holy Spirit is the same. You feel good, you feel happy, you feel joyful because you are doing God’s work. You can’t stay still. You want to do more for God and the church. It makes you unashamed to proclaim God’s word to the world. And these things done under the influence of the Holy Spirit will bear fruit and blessings for you.

 

Acts 2:1-4 says, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the

whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

 

 The Spirit gives special abilities and talents to His children who will do His great work. Before the disciples were filled with Holy Spirit they were cowards, timid, and powerless. But after they were suddenly confident, fearless, and assertive. They were not afraid to be thrown in jail or ridiculed. As a result they established the first church.

 

This is the power of the Holy Spirit. Leaders of the church, from pastors to teachers, who are filled with the Spirit bring the church revival. It is a certain and undeniable experience, whether it’s speaking in tongues, seeing visions, or hearing the voice of God. It lights a fire and makes us work harder and better. You can’t be still.  It gives you abilities to do God’s work that defy normal human conception. 


 

But this does not have anything to do with salvation. It is related to carrying out the ministry of the Gospel.
There are young people who go to retreats and are filled with Holy Spirit and do amazing things. But a month later they aren’t at church. They are at clubs and bars getting drunk.

 

Receiving the Holy Spirit does not guarantee a life of salvation. Many people return to their old lives or leave the church shortly after. This is why the topic of the Holy Spirit is so heavily debated. Some churches teach that the Holy Spirit is proof of salvation, thus if you cannot speak in tongues, you can’t consider yourself to be truly saved.

 

However this belittles the work the Holy Spirit and is simply wrong. Using your talents and using the power of the Holy Spirit are two different things. Some churches hold revivals and services dedicated to speaking in tongues, receiving talents, and healing the sick, as if the Holy Spirit was theirs to control and hand out.

 

British minister, preacher, and medical doctor Martin Lloyd Jones warned against and was cautious of such preachers. Martin Lloyd Jones experience the Holy Spirit, but he approached the Word of the Lord properly, and was able to revive the British churches.

 

Other preachers placed the experience of the Holy Spirit above the Word the God. Thus they ended up drifting further away from God’s Truth. Today’s revival services dedicated Holy Spirit experiences are not truly from the Holy Spirit but rather make audiences go into a state of unconscious, subconscious, or superconsciousness. In these states one can say strange things, see things, and hear things.

 

Some can read minds and see the future. Unfortunately people mistake this for the work of the Holy Spirit. But such phenomena can be seen in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Seeking out this trance-like state makes you vulnerable to the manipulation of Satan.

 

The flux of such “revivals” make people spiritually weak, vulnerable, and susceptible to cults. True experience of the Spirit occurs when one is fully conscious and can tell that the Lord has come spiritually and physically. It did not come just because I asked for it and it is never placed higher than the Bible.

 

People seek out these abilities and experiences for their own selfish gain. To exert to power and establish a large church. But if we sincerely hope for the Holy Spirit, it will happen some day. We must know it will happen and in many forms.

 

It can be obvious to others like speaking in tongues or seeing visions but it can also be subtle yet undeniable, like a feeling a certainty in the Lord and His Word. When we are given such a gift we must use it to work for God while keeping the Bible at the forefront.

 

Verse 17 says, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

 

Conflicts occur because the Spirit lives in a world of flesh, where desires clash. The Spirit seeks to bear fruit a world that fights against it.

 

Verse 22-23 says, “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

 

The flesh also bears its own fruit. Verse 19 and 21 state: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions.”

 

The Spirit loses to most of these desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are that strong and relentless.

 

The Apostle Paul also gave in to certain flesh desires and confessed, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18) We are no different.

 

Then, how did Paul win in the Spiritual fight? Verse 24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” We cannot overcome our flesh on our own, just like Isaac could not beat Ishmael. But Isaac was above Ishmael because Abraham kicked Ishmael out of his house. There no longer was anyone for Isaac to battle.

 

Like this, we ourselves are too weak to defeat our own flesh. But the Almighty Holy Spirit can help us. Through the Holy Spirit we forget all thoughts of sin. We must be blessed with the Holy Spirit to be victorious.

 

Of course we may not always win. Sometimes we’ll give in. But the loss is much lesser with the Lord, for with salvation and the Holy Spirit our sins are not permanent but forgiven by the Lord.

 

Romans 6:11 says, “ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

 This is why we are here and believing in this gives us our strength and power.

 

Today’s scripture tells us the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But most important is what comes after this: “Against such things there is no law.” In other words, no law can deny or change these 9 truths. And if we live seeking the Spirit, we will all bear these fruits and nothing will stop it.

 

If we live by the Spirit then we can overcome the desires of the flesh. We live victorious lives; we live Holy lives. Living by flesh leads to sin. It destroys the church and our lives. It creates a false and empty life of faith. We are no better than dead and we can’t hide it no matter how hard we try to act like we have faith.

 

Brothers and sisters, we must live as the Spirit wants us to. Look back on your life. Is the Holy Spirit with you? Is it working for you? With you? Do you hear His voice and obey? The Bible says that to obey is better than to sacrifice.

 

The first month of 2016 is already coming to an end. How is your life thus far? Will you waste another year without any changes? Let us all seek the true help of the Holy Spirit and live this year through His guidance.

 

By pastor Bahng / translated by Choi, ye-bin  . 01