[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] Amazing facts devotion: HOW DOES ONE WALK AFTER THE SPIRIT AND NOT THE FLESH? PT. 1

[Shelly Duffy]

HOW DOES ONE WALK AFTER THE SPIRIT AND NOT THE FLESH? PT. 1
August 05, 2021 

Average reading time is about 5 minutes


Click here to listen to the Daily Devotional Audio


As Christians, we have two natures at war within us—the spirit and the flesh. “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” (Galatians 5:17). The carnal, or physical, desires of the flesh want to be satisfied selfishly. However, the spirit strives to be pure, do God’s will, and obey His commandments. The latter is the higher nature we should aim to please. Peter and other New Testament writers speak about this war between the spirit and the flesh. 

In Romans 8, Paul is encouraging Christians to walk after our spiritual natures and not our fleshly desires. He describes this difficult battle in Romans 7: “I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (vv. 14, 15). There is a simple, but not always easy, solution to this dilemma. 

Here is a crude but effective illustration. Imagine you have two dogs of the same breed. You feed one of your dogs the very best dog food, and you pet and groom him for attention, take him out for walks, and provide plenty of fresh water and rest. But the other dog you chain to a post, don’t provide food, water, exercise, or attention at any time. Now imagine releasing the two dogs in the same area. Eventually, they’ll do battle for the territory. Who will win? It’s easy to guess that the dog that is well nourished and exercised will conquer the starved animal. 

It’s the same with the battle between our two natures. The way you win the battle is decided by which nature you feed. If you feed the spirit by reading God’s Word, praying, fellowshipping, and sharing your faith, you will strengthen your spiritual nature and make more room for the Holy Spirit. 



KEY BIBLE TEXTS 
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Romans 8:1





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Shelley Duffy