350. The Spirit Is Willing but the Flesh Is Weak

The liberty by which Christ has made us free! Gal. 5:1. Liberty is in the Holy Spirit. Therefore it is written, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Cor. 3:17.

You will never find liberty in the flesh! No, the flesh with its passions and desires belongs on the cross, on the tree of cursing.

Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. John 8:34. But if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Freedom and liberation are often shamefully misunderstood. Is it my “I” according to the flesh that is to be set free, or is it my “I” according to the Spirit? If it is my “I” according to the flesh, then countless sins will be committed, and I will become lawless. But when I become free in the Spirit, the flesh will be kept in its place in death, and I will not sin. Then I am liberated from the law of sin and death. This is the normal state of one who lives a victorious life in Christ Jesus. God has given us power to live this life because He has given us power to become children of God. Children of God do not live in conscious sin. “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” 1 John 2:6. “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Verse 8.

From this we learn that it is not possible to live in the flesh and still be free. But it is possible to live in the Spirit and be free—free indeed! We must watch and pray in order to be preserved in this liberty.

How often we have heard people in an opposing spirit stand up in the flesh and say, “Where God’s Spirit is, there is liberty,” and then they go on the attack in fleshly zeal. No, there is no freedom for our wretched flesh, but there is freedom for the blessed Spirit of God who builds us up and serves us all. May we learn to discern between flesh and spirit. This will free us from many unpleasant experiences. Not all converted people live in the Spirit; in fact, there are very few who do. Neither do all those who have been baptized in the Spirit live in the Spirit. The day after being baptized in the Spirit, they listen to their flesh once again, and often end up quenching the Spirit.

An entire revival in the baptism of the Spirit can be quenched, leaving behind old memories of things that happened once upon a time. Unfaithfulness grieves the Spirit, and a person who continues in unfaithfulness will lose God’s Spirit.

Such a person will then act as an opposer, merely floating on an old, lost baptism of the Spirit. That is the way of Saul; he threw a javelin at David.

May God teach us to watch and pray so that we can keep God’s Spirit and be liberated from the power of evil spirits.