When Paul says that "the desires of the flesh are opposed to the spirit," what does he mean? (Galatians 5:1). I've come to the conclusion that one of the toughest fights Christians have to wage is the struggle against the temptations of the flesh. In the past, I was ignorant of the fact that I was even engaged in a war. Before receiving the conviction, enlightenment, and wisdom from the holy spirit and starting to study God's word, I was definitely a slave to the flesh and its desires. It made me aware of the previously unknown struggles that I now know I must overcome as a Christian. We are lost to the things that no man can tell us without the anointing. We only realize that what the flesh desires is not what the spirit desires when we experience the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Paul reveals his frailty and the fact that he struggles with the desires of the flesh in Romans 7–14. He helped me to realize that I'm not the only person going through this problem. I'm more aware than ever that I myself can serve as an example for someone else who is experiencing it.
We cannot love the world
because, the First Epistle of John, teaches us to love not the world nor things
that are in the world. he, therefore, gave the reason why we must not love the
world, ''for all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh and the lust of
the eyes and none of this is not of the father"(1 John 2-17 KJV). The
question is, how do we defeat the flesh and survive in a world when there are
countless things we will desire? I've come to understand that when we as
Christians start to enjoy ourselves in the Lord and start to seek him above
everything, our desires start to change from carnal to spiritual. This is when
your spirit and relationship with God start to rise through prayer and fasting.
Your previously carnal urges so start to become spiritual. When we start prioritizing
God above all else in our lives, a new character pattern in our lives starts to
emerge. The flesh will be consumed by the wants of the spirit. Fasting and
prayer are the only ways we can win this internal battle; they must be the
foundation of our lives. Having a carnal mindset will lead to death, but having
a spiritual mindset will lead to life and serenity. To walk in the spirit, to
have inner life, and to find peace requires killing the flesh and its desires.
Jesus Christ is the only way to be spiritually minded. I am no longer subject
to the law of sin and death because of the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus.
