Are We At War With The Flesh or The Body
WE are not at war with the flesh. We are at war with the carnal mind, according to the book of Romans. Apostle Paul said to be fleshly-minded is death. Your body has been given to you by God and you have been made a custodian of that body. Without the body, a man does not have authority or a legal right to function on earth, because it is a physical construct.
Man is a spirit and has been given the body to function on earth. I have read stories of people who died during fasting programmes because they wanted to “deal” with the flesh. A lot of people are at war with their bodies because they assume it stops them from communing with God and hearing God.
Prophet Joel shows us that the Spirit has been poured out on all flesh. The secret is then to partner with the body in order to worship and hear God. The body can help you hear God because it has indicators that point to God. The secret is to identify them. So as a custodian of the body, one has to take care of it. Yes, it is important to fast, but it’s also important to feed and take care of the body. Many believers die of poor health because they don’t know it is also spiritual discipline to take good care of their body and live a healthy life.
The carnal mind (flesh) and the body are two different things and at times we have abused our bodies trying to deal with something the Word of God can correct. The scriptures say we are to yield our bodies as vessels of honour unto God. The question is: What is my responsibility in order to make my body a vessel of worship and true sacrifice to the Father?
You have a responsibility to make your body a vessel either of honour or dishonour. Some of the ways is training through either God’s Word, His Spirit or even through life experiences. You should allow the Word of God to train your body by bringing it to subjection to God’s instructions.
The challenge is we don’t usually allow God to train us through the Word so we end up being trained through experiences. You can learn patience, trust, love or faith either through God’s Word or through life experiences. When it is through experience, it can be painful, but when you allow God’s Word to train you, it is a beautiful experience.
A trained and disciplined body allows one to be able to yield to God’s desire for them and discipline can be fostered through God’s Word just as the carnal mind can be dealt with through study of the Word and subjection of the body to the will of God.
The body needs to be subjected to the Word of God at all times. There is no one who is absented from dealing with the flesh (carnal mind). Apostle Paul said he had to learn to keep his body “under” lest he be a castaway.
It is the same battle with the flesh. Paul had to discipline his body just as all believers have to. To assume that because one has acquired a leadership role makes them free from dealing with the flesh is a lie. We are not at war with the body, but have a responsibility towards our body, which is to make it a vessel of worship.
A lot of believers assume their man of God is superman who has no emotions or feelings. When the leader falls, many are broken because they never assumed he was still dealing with the carnal tendencies of the flesh.
As long as man is on earth, he has to deal with the flesh. But in dealing with the flesh, one has to discern between the carnal tendencies of the flesh and the desires of the heart implanted by God. You can either yield your body to the negative things or positive, but then it’s a battle not with the body, but with its negative tendencies of the flesh.
God bless you.
