Teaching on the sprit, flesh and love

            Here is a teaching in Romans chapters 7 and also chapters 8 that speak of the conflict between our spirit and our flesh, how we do things we do not even really want to do because of the evil and corrupt influence of our flesh, doing things that are dead works, and the flesh and the spirit wage war with each other as spoken in these last verses in Romans chapter 7

(Romans 7:15)  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

(Romans 7:16)  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.

(Romans 7:17)  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

(Romans 7:18)  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

(Romans 7:19)  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

(Romans 7:20)  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

(Romans 7:21)  So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

(Romans 7:22)  For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

(Romans 7:23)  but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

(Romans 7:24)  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

(Romans 7:25)  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

This story goes on in Romans chapter 8, about the war of the flesh and spirit, the flesh leading to Christ but the Spirit to life, but reminds us that we are all sons of God and even cry Abba, Father. The end makes powerful promises that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ absolutely nothing

(Romans 8:1)  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

(Romans 8:2)  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

(Romans 8:3)  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

(Romans 8:4)  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

(Romans 8:5)  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

(Romans 8:6)  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

(Romans 8:7)  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.

(Romans 8:8)  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

(Romans 8:9)  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

(Romans 8:10)  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

(Romans 8:11)  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

(Romans 8:12)  So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

(Romans 8:13)  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

(Romans 8:14)  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

(Romans 8:15)  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

(Romans 8:16)  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

(Romans 8:17)  and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

(Romans 8:18)  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

(Romans 8:19)  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

(Romans 8:20)  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope

(Romans 8:21)  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

(Romans 8:22)  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

(Romans 8:23)  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

(Romans 8:24)  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

(Romans 8:25)  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

(Romans 8:26)  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

(Romans 8:27)  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

(Romans 8:28)  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

(Romans 8:29)  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

(Romans 8:30)  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

(Romans 8:31)  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

(Romans 8:32)  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

(Romans 8:33)  Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

(Romans 8:34)  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

(Romans 8:35)  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

(Romans 8:36)  As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."

(Romans 8:37)  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

(Romans 8:38)  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,

(Romans 8:39)  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Galatians chapter 5 Paul covers similar topics as the above, that is law and grace, spirit and flesh, warning to do loving things but avoid the works of the flesh, but do the works of the spirit, for those who do the works of the flesh won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Paul again speaks of how the works of the flesh war with the works of the spirit

(Galatians 5:1)  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

(Galatians 5:2)  Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.

(Galatians 5:3)  I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

(Galatians 5:4)  You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

(Galatians 5:5)  For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

(Galatians 5:6)  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

(Galatians 5:7)  You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

(Galatians 5:8)  This persuasion is not from him who calls you.

(Galatians 5:9)  A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

(Galatians 5:10)  I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.

(Galatians 5:11)  But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

(Galatians 5:12)  I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

(Galatians 5:13)  For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

(Galatians 5:14)  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

(Galatians 5:15)  But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

(Galatians 5:16)  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

(Galatians 5:17)  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

(Galatians 5:18)  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

(Galatians 5:19)  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,

(Galatians 5:20)  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,

(Galatians 5:21)  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

(Galatians 5:22)  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

(Galatians 5:23)  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:24)  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

(Galatians 5:25)  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

(Galatians 5:26)  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

As a result Paul in these verses of Galatians chapter 6 then encourages us to always to do good for we will always reap what we sow

(Galatians 6:1)  Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

(Galatians 6:2)  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

(Galatians 6:3)  For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

(Galatians 6:4)  But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

(Galatians 6:5)  For each will have to bear his own load.

(Galatians 6:6)  One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.

(Galatians 6:7)  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

(Galatians 6:8)  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

(Galatians 6:9)  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

(Galatians 6:10)  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

In this passage of Ephesians chapter 4 Paul teaches to put off the old self and work towards the renewing of the mind, not to grieve the spirit but be kind and loving to one another

(Ephesians 4:17)  Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

(Ephesians 4:18)  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

(Ephesians 4:19)  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

(Ephesians 4:20)  But that is not the way you learned Christ!--

(Ephesians 4:21)  assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

(Ephesians 4:22)  to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

(Ephesians 4:23)  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

(Ephesians 4:24)  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

(Ephesians 4:25)  Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

(Ephesians 4:26)  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

(Ephesians 4:27)  and give no opportunity to the devil.

(Ephesians 4:28)  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

(Ephesians 4:29)  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

(Ephesians 4:30)  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

(Eph 4:31)  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

(Ephesians 4:32)  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Paul in Colossians chapter 3 continues in the same vein with similar encouragements and warnings as above and also to do all things as to the Lord and not to men

(Colossians 3:1)  If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

(Colossians 3:2)  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

(Colossians 3:3)  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

(Colossians 3:4)  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

(Colossians 3:5)  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

(Colossians 3:6)  On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

(Colossians 3:7)  In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.

(Colossians 3:8)  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

(Colossians 3:9)  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

(Colossians 3:10)  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

(Colossians 3:11)  Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

(Colossians 3:12)  Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

(Colossians 3:13)  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

(Colossians 3:14)  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

(Colossians 3:15)  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

(Colossians 3:16)  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

(Colossians 3:17)  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

(Colossians 3:18)  Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

(Colossians 3:19)  Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

(Colossians 3:20)  Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

(Colossians 3:21)  Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

(Colossians 3:22)  Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

(Colossians 3:23)  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

(Colossians 3:24)  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

(Colossians 3:25)  For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 contains more such verses encouraging love, prayer and to not grieve the Holy Spirit in a listing of them

(1 Thessalonians 5:12)  We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

(1 Thessalonians 5:13)  and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

(1 Thessalonians 5:14)  And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

(1 Thessalonians 5:15)  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

(1 Thessalonians 5:16)  Rejoice always,

(1 Thessalonians 5:17)  pray without ceasing,

(1 Thessalonians 5:18)  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(1 Thessalonians 5:19)  Do not quench the Spirit.

(1 Thessalonians 5:20)  Do not despise prophecies,

(1 Thessalonians 5:21)  but test everything; hold fast what is good.

(1 Thessalonians 5:22)  Abstain from every form of evil.

(1 Thessalonians 5:23)  Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Thessalonians 5:24)  He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

(1 Thessalonians 5:25)  Brothers, pray for us.

(1 Thessalonians 5:26)  Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

(1 Thessalonians 5:27)  I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:28)  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

In 1 John chapter 4 John encourages us to live one another for also God is love and one cannot know or love God without loving one another, and our love is a testimony that we love God as well

(1 John 4:1)  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

(1 John 4:2)  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

(1 John 4:3)  and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

(1 John 4:4)  Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

(1 John 4:5)  They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

(1 John 4:6)  We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

(1 John 4:7)  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

(1 John 4:8)  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

(1 John 4:9)  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

(1 John 4:10)  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

(1 John 4:11)  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

(1 John 4:12)  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

(1 John 4:13)  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

(1 John 4:14)  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

(1 John 4:15)  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

(1 John 4:16)  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

(1 John 4:17)  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

(1 John 4:18)  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

(1 John 4:19)  We love because he first loved us.

(1 John 4:20)  If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

(1 John 4:21)  And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

The message continues in 1 John 5 with the testimony of Jesus and being born of God, the testimony of God, and the promises- to overcome the world and evils for the believer and also the promise of eternal life through Jesus

(1 John 5:1)  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

(1 John 5:2)  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

(1 John 5:3)  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

(1 John 5:4)  For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

(1 John 5:5)  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

(1 John 5:6)  This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

(1 John 5:7)  For there are three that testify:

(1 John 5:8)  the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

(1 John 5:9)  If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.

(1 John 5:10)  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

(1 John 5:11)  And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

(1 John 5:12)  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

(1 John 5:13)  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

(1 John 5:14)  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

(1 John 5:15)  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

These verses speak of the need to live in love according to the spirit and not of the flesh, to be careful of all that we do and we say, and to always be in love towards one another for then the people will see the love of God manifest in them. It is never easy for Romans and Galatians both say that the flesh wars against these plans trying to make us stumble. But as it says above there is a sin not leading to death, that can be restored and also it says that in the last verses of James 5 which encourage prayer for one another and even to try and save one from wandering.

(James 5:13)  Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

(James 5:14)  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

(James 5:15)  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

(James 5:16)  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

(James 5:17)  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.

(James 5:18)  Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

(James 5:19)  My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,

(James 5:20)  let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Jesus showed His love towards man by being the redemption force, dying on the cross willingly and out of love, to make atonement for all of our sins, wanting to have relationship restored between man and God which was severed by those sins. This is that powerful love relationship that comes as a gift from God and is NOT anything we can earn ourselves. This relationship with God is powerful and there is nothing that can compare or come remotely close to it, nothing at all. I am now including a prayer which will invite Jesus into your heart to begin this love relationship with Him, so please pray this prayer with me

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours