When God made Himself a human body to dwell in, that flesh
had the desires of flesh, just as our flesh has desires. Because the power of
the Holy Ghost, God’s Spirit, was within His body, Jesus remained without sin.
Hebrews 4:15 KJV - For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
When we receive the Holy Ghost, we have the will of our
flesh to deal with, just as when God made Himself a human body to dwell in, and
there was the will of His flesh.
Flesh does not want to suffer. Because Jesus is the Father
in a human body, He knew of the suffering and death that was ahead of Him when He
was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
It was by prayer and by the power of the Holy Ghost that
Jesus was able to overcome the will of His flesh and bring salvation to
humanity by His suffering and death.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus as a man prayed in
heaviness and exceeding sorrow three times, asking the Father in Him to let the
cup of suffering and death pass from His flesh. Each time He prayed “not as I
will” – the will of His flesh – “but as Thou wilt” – the will of the Father’s
Spirit within Him.
Finally, He said, “It is enough, the hour is come; behold,
the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” (Matt. 26:39-44, Mark
14:33-41, Luke 22:44)
When we repent of our sins, are baptized in Jesus name for
the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38), we
face the same struggle as Jesus did – our flesh does not want to suffer and
die. Rather, our flesh wants to continue in sin, enjoying the “pleasures” of
sin for a season. (Hebrews 11:24-26).
However, if we want eternal life in heaven with Jesus, and a
more abundant life while living on this earth, we must take up our cross and
follow Him, crucifying the lusts of our flesh (our old sinful nature). (John
10:10, Mark 8:34-38, Galatians 5:16-26, Ephesians 2:1-3).
In order to accomplish the will of our Father, the Spirit of
God, we need to overcome the will of our flesh so that we can be saved. It is
by prayer and the power of the Holy Ghost- the Spirit of God - that we too can
accomplish God’s will and live a holy life.
We must pray as Jesus prayed “not as I will” - the will of
our flesh – “but as You will” – the will of the Father’s Spirit within us.
Romans 8:13-14 KJV - For if ye live after the flesh, ye
shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye
shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God.
We too can overcome the will of our flesh by prayer and the
power of the Holy Ghost.
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." -
Acts 1:8 KJV
No comments:
Post a Comment