“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” – Galatians 5:16
There is much confusion being sown by the evil one as well as taught in contemporary Christianity today about the reality of the two natures resident in a believer following their belief of the Gospel and subsequent new birth. To be clear, every human being born into this world of two natural parents possesses an unmistakable sinful nature. This sinful nature in a way is akin to how we inherit other characteristics from our parents. And so like how we inherit our sinful nature from our parents, so they also inherited their sinful nature from their parents, and so on and so forth all the way back to the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden by disobeying God.
If one is skeptical of this whole “sinful nature” thing, we should just ask ourselves why children then somehow automatically know how to fib to their parents? And that of course in most cases is even before they are old enough or perceptive enough to discern what a lie is. No, any honest parent will quickly recognize this fact to be true, and in reality, perhaps the explanation of a sinful nature in this article will finally settle that mystery to them.
Moving on, we see the Lord Jesus Christ tell the Pharisee Nicodemus in John 3:5-7:
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again”.
Although Jesus is clearing referencing the mother’s amniotic sack in the child-bearing process when speaking about being born of water, notice He also tells Nicodemus specifically that he needs to be born of the Spirit as well to see (enter) the Kingdom of God. Knowing then of course his eternal need like all sinners to have a new Spiritual birth born of God, and Nicodemus’ subsequent confusion about the fact, Jesus would then go on to clarify with him how exactly he could be born of the Spirit and receive that new birth.
We see John 3:16 explain that truth: “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
Paul the Apostle would also further explain this truth in the New Testament when he would advise his audience of believers that when they had believed The Gospel and were subsequently born again, they were baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13), they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11, 1 Cor 3:16), and they were also sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the Day of Redemption (2 Cor 1:22, Ephesians 1:13).
One may ask at this point in the article, okay so why do I need a new birth anyway? Can’t I go to Heaven as is?
Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding “no” my friend. God is perfect and Heaven is a perfect place, so we have to be perfect to dwell there with Him. That’s why it is necessary that we be born again by the Holy Spirit. The new birth is a perfect creation born of God with a perfect nature as we will see just a bit further down.
In fact, Revelation 21:27 tells us: “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
So once a person has believed The Gospel and subsequently been born again by the Holy Spirit, we see the Apostle John confirm in his first epistle that this new Spiritual birth resident within the believer has a nature that is incapable of sinning.
1 John 3:9 says: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God”.
This truth may take some back at first glance, but the fact remains accurate. The new Spiritual birth with a perfect nature inside the believer cannot sin because it is born of God.
Q: So why do I still unfortunately sin then after I am born again of God? Did I not really believe the Gospel?
Friend, if you have placed your simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that He died on the cross and paid for all your sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day, you are born again according to the Bible – period. But in fact, the truth is that nowhere in the Bible do we read that the old sinful nature disappears when someone is Spiritually born again. And for anyone with religious propensities who would argue this reality or even deny it, the questions that should naturally be put to them are: do you still sin? and why aren’t you perfect then if there is no more sinful nature within you? The answer of course is in the question.
And so finally we’ve arrived at the concept of the battling or dueling two natures, FLESH (natural birth = old sinful nature) vs. SPIRIT (new spiritual birth / creation = new sinless / perfect nature). The Apostle Paul would advise the Romans in detail of his personal experience with that battle in chapter 7, and of course would also go on to further describe it’s character in Galatians 5:17:
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would”.
Q: Okay, so what can be done to conquer this problem inside the believer?
Well, we see Paul the Apostle give us that solution in Galatians 5:16 just preceding his actual description of the war above: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh”.
Q: How shall I walk in the Spirit then?
Well, one chiefly walks in the Spirit as a believer by making a constant choice by God’s strength via the Holy Spirit to put His will and way ahead of their’s each day.
Q: But how do I know what exactly God’s will and way is?
Well, one can know what God’s will and way is for their life by studying His Word (The Bible – KJV) and applying it every day to their lives. They can also set aside deliberate time for prayer with Him regularly. Then, as they choose to use their volition and grow in the Lord by yielding their lives to the Holy Spirit Who lives in them (1 Cor 6:19), and Who will also guide them (John 16:13), teach them (John 14:26), and convict them (1 Thes 5:19), they will then by default find themselves not fulfilling the fleshly desires of the old sinful nature. But to be sure and explicit my friend, it should be recognized that God’s will and the Holy Spirit Who lives within will never take a believer to a place or decision that contradicts the Word of God.
Another thing is for certain too, and that is that any godly transformation that occurs in the believer as they walk in the Spirit is only because they have made the choice to grow as it’s evidently not an automatic process.
That’s why the Apostle Peter tells us in his first epistle: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (1 Peter 2:2).
Why does Peter have to tell them to desire the truth of God if it’s automatic??? In fact, if growing in the Lord was an automatic reality for every believer, we must ask ourselves why most of the New Testament was written then seeing as how it is chalk full of practical instruction that teaches the believer how to live as a Christian.
Q: But what is the result or consequence of each when I choose to walk in either nature?
Well, God has made clear in His Word that those believers who choose to walk in the Spirit posture themselves in the best position to be blessed by Him in this life, as well as they are more inclined to make sound life choices, and receive rewards in Heaven for their service on earth (1 Cor 3:10-15). And for those believers who would choose to walk in the flesh and potentially bring reproach upon God’s Holy Name, they risk being chastised (sometimes severely) by their Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:6), they risk making bad life decisions that could bring destruction, pain and grief, and finally, they will suffer a loss of rewards that they could have had when they get to Heaven (1 Cor 3:10-15).
Q: But for how long will this war gone on inside?
Well, thankfully Paul the Apostle answers that question clearly and tells us that the believers who compose the Body of Christ will shed their old sinful nature as well as their old bodies at the time of their death or the Rapture, whichever comes first. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 declare:
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory”.
and
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”.
So in conclusion, the FLESH vs. the SPIRIT war is a very real truth present in the life of every believer. As a result then, it is imperative to recognize at this time that the judgement of another person’s eternal salvation based on their behaviour at any given moment is a very dangerous and fleeting proposition. This is of course because we’ve discussed above that living for the Lord is not an automatic guarantee. For in any moment, the person being judged regarding their guaranteed eternal destination could be walking in the flesh despite the very real presence of the Holy Spirit inside them. So for those who may be inclined to judge another’s salvation based on their observations I would submit, what if someone followed you around for a season and saw everything you did and said? What if someone also knew all the thoughts you think throughout the day? Any spiritually sober and honest person should quickly realize their hands, feet and mind are not always as clean as they think. And so perhaps that’s why Paul in part tells us in 2 Timothy 2:9(a):
“Nevertheless the Foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His”.
But to be clear about judgement generally though friend, believers are properly called to judge false doctrine, as well as carnal and immoral behaviour in the Body of Christ. However, these are practical judgements for the protection and edifying of the Body, and not all in the context of whether someone has eternal life or not.
My friend, will you choose to walk in the flesh or in the Spirit today? And if in the Spirit, will you preach The Gospel to the lost? And if you are reading this and you don’t have the Holy Spirit living inside you because you haven’t believed The Gospel, please recognize that He is drawing you unto the Lord Jesus Christ right now and what He did for you on the cross.
If you would like to know how to receive eternal life, please click on the button below.
All quotations taken from the King James Version.
