Walking in the Spirit, Part 2

In order to have the Divine Will of God manifested in one's life, it is imperative that one learn how to Walk in the Spirit. It's one thing to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you as a born-again believer, but it's another thing to learn how to walk in Him. One of the greatest obstacles to learning how to walk in the Spirit is the wrestle with the flesh (sinful nature, indwelling sin). The key to overcoming the wrestle of the flesh in order that one may have sufficient capacity to have the Divine Will of God performed in their life is the Crucifixion of the Flesh.The flesh is comprised of two primary components: The Affections and Lusts (Galatians 5). Let me reiterate, human will-power is not sufficient to combat the flesh in having the Divine Will of God fulfilled in one's life. One has to learn how to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts.

The affections of the flesh can be described as energy and passion directed towards something or someone designed to reinforce one's self-esteem, self-worth and significance. The key to this definition is energy and passion. Every human being has energy that they utilize to establish and affirm their sense of being and sense of self. The way it's "supposed" to work is that you find that affirmation and significance in Christ. However, since the church hasn't done a very good job of teaching believers how to practically do that, we find our sense of self-worth through the world like everybody else. This displacement of affection strengthens the flesh and weakens our ability to submit to the Divine Will of God for our lives. 

The thing that's tricky about the affections of the flesh is that they're not always overtly "sinful." That's why it is so important to understand grace and justification in Christ, because if you get caught up in the "sin game," you won't have sufficient focus to appropriately deal with the flesh, thereby not truly walking in the Spirit. One example of this is dating relationships. You'll never see in the Bible "thou shalt not date." But the danger in dating the opposite sex prematurely is that you can place your affections in a person and in a relationship that's supposed to be reserved for Christ. Ever been "in love" and after a while it turns to nothing? Heartbreak, heartache, can't live without them, all of this represents "affections of the flesh."  But yet at the same time it's not an "overt sin."

This is why Jesus said if you're going to be His disciple you have to "deny yourself" (Matthew 16). Not deny sin, deny yourself. This is how you address the crucifixion of the flesh in the area of the affections. This denial of self in this particular component of the flesh will increase your capacity to Walk in the Spirit.