I really enjoyed this matter – we need to see that the flesh was dealt with by Christ on the cross! When God came in Christ, God put on humanity – the likeness of the flesh of sin. He came “in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin” and He “condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit” (Rom. 8:3-4).
Satan thought that once Christ came in the flesh, He was trapped – the invincible / immortal / unlimited God was now limited, mortal, not invincible.
So Satan did his best to take Christ to the cross, even to kill Him! At the cross, the tables were turned – Satan was the one who was trapped in man’s flesh, in which flesh Christ entered; by Christ’s death on the cross, He brought Satan into His death, He brought sin into His death, and He brought the entire humanity into His death!
In the flesh, Christ dealt with the flesh, dealt with the sin, and He dealt with Satan. Judicially speaking – before God, according to the facts and to the lawful way of things – Satan, the sin, and the flesh were already crucified and dealt with by Christ on the cross (Rom. 8:3; John 3:14, Heb. 2:14)!
This is a fact, and we need to see this! Satan is finished! The flesh is finished! The sin is finished!
On the other hand, practically speaking, the flesh is still here with us – somehow, it is still useful to God. Though the flesh – the entire fallen human being, with its good and bad/evil aspects, the human being separated from God and filled with the evil element of Satan – is such an ugly thing, and we hate it, this flesh is useful to God in forcing us to desperately turn to the Lord in our spirit!
This troublesome flesh that will stay with us until we are fully matured helps us turn to our spirit! God’s desire and His plan is not for us to be “successful Christians”, and not even “successful human beings” – He wants us to gain Christ & He wants to gain our being more!
It’s not about us being victorious and all the time “on a high mountain” of success – it is about us gaining Christ and Christ gaining our being more!
Through all our victories and defeats, through all our triumphs and failures, through all our good or bad experiences, in our family life / social life / church life – in all these experiences/situations, God is working Himself into our being.
That’s why we need to turn to our spirit again and again so that we may gain Christ. Many times our flesh is exposed – and we’re not happy about it! – these times are a “red alert”: Turn Again to Your Spirit! Though we’re unhappy for the flesh being with us, it will stay with us until the day that we are fully matured to help us, even force us, to turn to our mingled spirit!
Lord, keep us turning to our mingled spirit all the time! Even when we are exposed of being in our flesh, Lord, may our reaction be to Turn Again to Our Spirit! Lord, remind us – Our Spirit Mingled with The Spirit is the Key & also Our Refuge / Solution!
