The Battle of the Spirit With the Flesh

On of the not so popular themes in God's Word is about battle between Flesh and Spirit, which is present on all pages of the Bible and should be clearly present in your life as well. This battle can play out between individuals, tribes, countries and, even most importantly, within yourself. The definition of the flesh everything everthing that is present in the natural body. Examples are: dark desires, pride, lying, putting yourself first before others, etc.

When we are led by the Spirit of God / Holy Spirit, we focus on everything that is originating from God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Bible, which originates from the love that the Holy Spirit puts in us for God. Additionally we will see that a genuine love grows for the people around us.

It is very well possible that you will naturally do something in the flesh, while you are directly convicted of its 'badness' by the Holy Spirit. The Bible has very good examples of how this plays out.

Key verses: Genesis 4:1–16; Genesis 4:25; Genesis 5:3

In this story, Cain as a person represents living in the flesh. Note that Cain was born before Abel who represents living by the spirit. In the story, God blesses Seth and not Cain.

In Genesis 4:3, Cain brought a sacrifice of the things he thought were good and pleasant, consisting of fruits and vegetables. He was the first person to bring a sacrifice to the Lord and had worked very hard for these crops. God however, never requests a sacrifice which is produced by our own hands.

In Genesis 4:4, Abel was the second person to ever bring a sacrifice to the Lord and it pleased the Lord, because he brought the same type of sacrifice that God presented to Adam and Eve after sinning in the garden by taking the forbidden fruit: God kills an animal as to make a (skin) covering for them (Genesis 3:21) Cain also sacrificed in a similar way and took one of the firstlings of his flock to present a blood offer to the Lord. Jesus eventually made the ultimate sacrifice by offering His own perfect blood on the cross for you and for me. In this way, Abel represents the spiritual life, as to point forward to the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ that you and I so badly need.

As Cain had labored so hard for these crops and God didn’t accept his offer, he became jealous with his brother. Hatred forms the basis for murder, so eventually Cain kills Abel – Flesh kills Spirit.

But God has His mysterious ways and replaces Abel with Seth, who lead a spiritual life as well and serves as a replacement type of Christ. It also points forward towards the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who had done nothing wrong, so he could conquer death.

If you have no battle between Spirit and Flesh in your life, you might need to delving into the Bible and find out what the Word of God says about sin and truly repent and turn away from your wickedness!

Key verses: Genesis 16:1–16; Genesis 21:1–21; Genesis 25:12–18

In this story, Ismael represents the flesh. Note that he was born before Isaac, who represents the spirit. God blesses Isaac with the first birthright, and Ismael is not blessed in the same way.

Abraham was given a promise of God that he would have descendants as many as there is sand at the sea shore. But at a certain point being old he decides that it is time to have a child with his Egyptian handmaid Hagar. Ismael is born out of this fleshly relationship and for 13 years he is the only child in the household. No spiritual activities have been registered in those years.

After 12 years, the youth and strength of both Abraham and Sarai gets restored and Sarai gets a son called Isaac. From that point forward a lot of strife was entering in the household, which eventually led to the sending away of Ismael and his mother. Isaac inherited the spiritual blessings, while Ismael did not. Out of Isaac came the descendants of Israel, which led to the birth of Jesus Christ.

Key verses: Genesis 25:19–34; Genesis 27:1–45; Genesis 33:1–17; Malachi 1:2-3

In this story, Esau represents the flesh. Note that he was born before Jacov, who represents the spirit.

God promises Rebekkah, the mother of Esau and Jacob, that Esau would serve Jacob (Genesis 25:23).

In Malachi 1:2-3 we read that God had loved Jacob and hated Esau.

In the story of Esau and Jacob we see clear sign that flesh and spirit can both be apparent in ones life. While Jacob could have trusted the promise God gave to his mother about Esau serving him, he thought to put the right in his own hand and decided to deceive his father Isaac as to make him believe that Isaac was blessing Esau instead of Jacob. This eventually led to much distress in his life: for 20 years he lived far away from his parents with his uncle Laban, who represents Satan in this world. And as a side note another spiritual concept is worked out in his life: “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”: what you do to others will happen to you as well. He was betrayed by Laban in the same way that he betrayed his father. We think we can see the same principle at work in the lives of many people around us.

Key verses: Genesis 2:1; Genesis 5:5; Luke 1:26–38; 2:1–20; Romans 5:12–21; 1 Corinthians 15:50

While Adam is our first ancestor, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is the second Adam, so Adam is born before Jesus.

Adam sinned and sin leads to death. Genesis 2:1 - “… for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”

Jesus never sinned, had to suffer an unlawful death to the flesh and was raised up in His new resurrected body. 1 Corinth 15:45-50 states that:

He is a He is a spirit that makes alive (quickening spirit): "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."

Key verses: Genesis 2:7; 3:1–19; Luke 1:26–38; 2:1–20; Romans 5:12–21; 1 Corinthians 15:45–49

You will now note that you are first born in the flesh and that after you become born again, the spirit will battle with your fleshly desires. If you want to know how to become born again, refer to this page: How to Become Born Again

And, while more interesting examples can be given, we now have enough spiritual understanding to apply these lessons to our personal lives. We all are born as fleshly children into this world, but in order to have gain the (spiritual) birthright, we need to be born again, or born from above. Up to the moment that leads to this new birth, there is no battle between the two. But once the spirit is born in our personal lives, the strife begins.

Normally, this doesn’t only stay within the boundary of our personal lives, but our actions do have an effect on the people around us and vice versa. So the battle between Flesh and Spirit is also taking place on all levels of society. It greatly matters which actions we are confronted with and how we react. We can only become spiritual people if we daily meet Jesus and listen to his voice through the Holy Spirit.