Saturday, November 23, 2013

Men, not God. Flesh, not Spirit

Devotion on Wed 24Jul13

Reading Isaiah 31:3 NKJV

Now the Egyptians are men
and not God,

And their horses are flesh
and not spirit.

When the Lord stretches out His hand,

Both he who helps will fall,
And he who is helped will fall down;

They all will perish together.

The contrast between the flesh and the spirit is explained by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. For example,

Galatians 5:16-25 NKJV
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.