The Spirit is willing but the Flesh is Weak
The Spirit is willing but the Flesh is Weak
By
Gary Primo
April 29, 2017
Matt. 26:40 - And he came to the disciples, and found them asleep, and said to Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour?
41 - Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
I am sure that all are mindful of the separation between the spirit and the flesh. They are like polar opposites. The spirit tells us to do one thing and the flesh tells us to do another. How often do we find our carnal desires leaping to the forefront of our minds before we even realize it? How often do we have to literally push those thoughts back into our sub conscience by remembering the words and instructions of Yahuwah? This is a daily battle that we all have to endure. And, if this condition could plague someone as high up the spiritual ladder as Shaul (Rom. 7:14-17), it can be assumed that no one is exempt no matter how highly we esteem ourselves or someone else to be. Only one perfect human being has ever lived; and we all know who that was. Looking upon any other human being in the same light is not only wrong but diminishes the glory that belongs to Yahushua alone.
Of course, it was Adam who set the course of human nature for all human beings. This was the curse that put enmity between the Creator and the creation. And, no matter how diligently we strive to serve Yahuwah alone, the serpent we know as our human nature continuously raises its ugly head to strike and try to kill us (spiritually speaking).
When Adam made this choice for us, he took on the nature of HaSatan rather than that of Yahuwah. So, whatever accusations we hurl at HaSatan can also be said of our human nature – for they are two and the same. We are to HaSatan what Yahushua was to Yahuwah. Through our sinful nature we choose HaSatan as the elohim we worship over Yahuwah. Therefore, every time we sin, we pay homage to our “god”, HaSatan.
Matt. 6:23 - But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve Elohim and mammon.
mammon
[mam-uh n]
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noun
1.
New Testament. riches or material wealth. Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:9,11,13.
2.
(often initial capital letter) a personification of riches as an evil spirit or deity.
Indeed, how great is the darkness that abides in us? We cannot know for sure, but being aware that it is there is a crucial first step. We all study the Scriptures daily, but there is no way of knowing how much of the darkness still lies before us. This is precisely the reason for a trial by fire - for the cleansing fire of Yahuwah will seek out ALL that remains corruptible.
One cannot serve both Yahuwah and the satanic desires of this world. Everything that we value highly in this world is an illusion. It is not real in a spiritual sense. It is of no spiritual value. It is as worthless as the dust beneath our feet.
Of course, we all know that the path to becoming a full spirit being is to obey every word that comes from Yahuwah’s mouth (through His Spokesman). Obedience to the Law guides us into all things spiritual. Those who deny the Law deny their spiritual purpose. We see this in all Christian circles. They claim that the Law is done away. This mindset literally cuts them off from the path to the spiritual realm. They take their cue from another one of HaSatan’s instruments, Emperor Constantine. Before Constantine, all Believers kept the Hebrew customs and traditions. Constantine’s version of a one world religion denied the Hebrew customs and traditions to all Roman citizens. In their stead, Constantine substituted his own former customs and traditions, from the Mithraic system.
See:
https://tjcoop3.wordpress.com/the-constantine-creed/
Romans 7:14 - We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
15 - I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
16 - And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 - As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
Jameison, Fascett and Brown
14. For we know that the law is spiritual--in its demands.
but I am carnal--fleshly incapable of yielding spiritual obedience.
sold under sin--enslaved to it. The "I" here, though of course not the regenerate, is neither the unregenerate, but the sinful principle of the renewed man, as is expressly stated in Romans 7:18 .
15, 16. For, &c.--better, "For that which I do I know not"; that is, "In obeying the impulses of my carnal nature I act the slave of another will than my own as a renewed man?"
for, &c.--rather, "for not what I would (wish, desire) that do I, but what I hate that I do."
16. If then I do that which I would not--"But if what I would not that I do,"
I consent unto the law that it is good--"the judgment of my inner man going along with the law."
17. Now then it is no more I--my renewed self.
that do it--"that work it."
but sin which dwelleth in me--that principle of sin that still has its abode in me. To explain this and the following statements, as many do (even BENGEL and THOLUCK), of the sins of unrenewed men against their better convictions, is to do painful violence to the apostle's language, and to affirm of the unregenerate what is untrue. That coexistence and mutual hostility of "flesh" and "spirit" in the same renewed man, which is so clearly taught in Romans 8:4 , &c., and in Galatians 5:16 , &c., is the true and only key to the language of this and the following verses. (It is hardly necessary to say that the apostle means not to disown the blame of yielding to his corruptions, by saying, "it is not he that does it, but sin that dwelleth in him." Early heretics thus abused his language; but the whole strain of the passage shows that his sole object in thus expressing himself was to bring more vividly before his readers the conflict of two opposite principles, and how entirely, as a new man--honoring from his inmost soul the law of God--he condemned and renounced his corrupt nature, with its affections and lusts, its stirrings and its outgoings, root and branch).
18. For, &c.--better, "For I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is in my flesh, any good."
for to will--"desire."
is present with me; but how to perform that which is good--the supplement "how," in our version, weakens the statement.
I find not--Here, again, we have the double self of the renewed man; "In me dwelleth no good; but this corrupt self is not my true self; it is but sin dwelling in my real self, as a renewed man."
19, 21. For, &c.--The conflict here graphically described between a self that "desires" to do good and a self that in spite of this does evil, cannot be the struggles between conscience and passion in the unregenerate, because the description given of this "desire to do good" in Romans 7:22 is such as cannot be ascribed, with the least show of truth, to any but the renewed.
regenerate
[verb ri-jen-uh-reyt; adjective ri-jen-er-it] verbadjective
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verb (used with object), regenerated, regenerating.
1. to effect a complete moral reform in.
2. to re-create, reconstitute, or make over, especially in a better form or condition.
3. to revive or produce anew; bring into existence again.
4. Biology. to renew or restore (a lost, removed, or injured part).
5. Physics. to restore (a substance) to a favorable state or physical condition.
6. Electronics. to magnify the amplification of, by relaying part of the output circuit power into the input circuit.
7. Theology. to cause to be born again spiritually.
verb (used without object), regenerated, regenerating.
8. to come into existence or be formed again.
9. to reform; become regenerate.
10. to produce a regenerative effect.
11. to undergo regeneration.
adjective
12. reconstituted or made over in a better form.
13. reformed.
14. Theology. born again spiritually.
“The law is spiritual”! A lot of people do not seem to realize this fact. The ancient Israelites certainly didn’t. The Jews certainly didn’t. Those who became Christians certainly didn’t. All either concerned themselves with the physical keeping of the Law only or did away with them altogether. Oh, but they held on still to their beloved traditions.
None seemed to understand the spiritual intent of the law. All of the Law hinges on one chief law, which is the law of love. All the laws teach a different aspect of love. First there is love towards Yahuwah and Yahushua. Second is love towards each other. If everyone were obedient only to the law of love, there would be no need for any of the others.
How many times have we done something and afterword hated the thing we did? We ask ourselves, “Why did I do that?” Perhaps there is a lot of truth in the saying, “The devil made me do it”, since our nature is demonic to begin with.
Just as the law separates good from evil, so does the spirit. The spirit strives to guide us towards everything that is good. Our carnal nature guides us toward all that is evil. The two are constantly warring inside of us. We need to conquer our own nature before we will ever conquer HaSatan. This is primarily what our spiritual armour is for – to defeat our own nature, whereby we also defeat HaSatan.
However, we are not to use the weakness of our physical nature to excuse sin, as so many do. We are to be ever striving to separate and release our spirit from our bodies of sin. We do not merely give up and succumb to sin.
There is no shortage of things to tempt us towards sin. Even though we may be sorely tempted, if we resist the urge to act on the sin, we have achieved (at least) a partial victory. Complete victory would be never to allow the thought of sin to enter our minds.
Today, there are all sorts of evil going on in this world, just as there has been throughout all the generations of man. True Believers are surrounded and besieged by evil. And, with all the rhetoric from a number of sources threatening to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike, one really does not know how much time we have left. However, I do not believe it is the time of the end, as described in the Scriptures yet.
I do believe, however, that we are entering a period when we are going to be sorely tested. Those who have not committed themselves to the spiritual intent of the law are going to fail such testing.
We also have a new one world religion on the horizon. This new religion is going to be a blend of Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and Islamism. Most will likely switch rather than fight, as long as they are able to keep their precious traditions (same as in Constantine’s day). We are being prepared for this coming religion daily. That is what is going on today through the current refugee crisis with the Muslims. It is a situation that is being forced upon us by our globalist leaders and the social media. And, things are not going to get any better any time soon.
It is time to check our spiritual armour and make sure all is firmly in place.
Eph. 6:11 - Put on the whole armour of Elohim, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 - Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of Elohim that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 - Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 - And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 - Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 - And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Elohim:
Without this spiritual armour, we will be defenceless against the “fiery” darts of the evil one. Truth is like gold – very difficult to find in this day and age. Righteousness is defined as “a righteous observance of thelaw” and “a righteous and godly person”. Our feet are to be shod and prepared to take the gospel of peace to the world. With our shield of faith firmly in place, we can take on whatever HaSatan throws at us. The helmet of salvation protects us from those who would seek to change our minds concerning the Way of Yahuwah, which they know absolutely nothing about. And the sword of the spirit, which is the word of Elohim, will give us courage to stand in the last day (ours) to confess Yahuwah before all our tormentors and judge them.
Ours is not a calling for the cowardly. It takes a truly brave heart to stand for Yahuwah against all the evil that we confront. We need hearts that will not waiver. We need a spirit that will not accept compromise or ever surrender.
We need to make sure that all our armour is in place and check it daily; for we do not know when our hour of personal tribulation is at hand. We need to be tested to make absolutely sure our hearts are right with Yahuwah. Many like to believe that we will all be whisked away to a place of safety, but that event is limited to only 144,000. There will be many left behind to prove themselves via tribulation. Many are going to fail.
We may not know when the atomic bombs are going to fall, but we do know that we only have a limited time on this earth, and, for all we know our last day on this earth could be tomorrow. We need to be righteous before Yahuwah before that day comes. We must, at the very least, be found doing our utmost best to achieve such perfecting when the end comes. That is the best thing we can hope for.
Be strong in the spirit, my friends, and resist the temptations of the flesh.
Yahuwah Bless.
G.P.