'Mind, the Spirit,
and a Spiritual Mind
The more spiritual a
child of God becomes the more he is conscious of the significance of
walking according to the spirit and the
dangers of walking according to the flesh. But how is he actually to walk by
the spirit?
The answer given in
Romans 8 is to mind the spirit and to possess a spiritual mind: “they that are
after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the
Spirit the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the
mind of the Spirit is life and peace” (vv. 5-6 ASV).
Rom 8:5 For
they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that
are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to
be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
To walk after the
spirit means to have the mind set on the things of the spirit; it also means to
have the spirit rule the mind. Those who act according to the spirit are none
other than those who are occupied with the things of the inner man and whose mind
is therefore spiritual. Walking by the spirit simply denotes that a mind under
the control of the spirit sets itself on the things of the spirit. This implies
that our mentality has been renewed and has become spirit-controlled and thus
qualified to detect every movement and silence of the spirit.
Here we see once
more the relationship between these two component parts—“they that are after
the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the spirit the
things of the spirit.” Man’s head is able to mind the flesh as well as the
spirit. Our mental faculty (soul) stands between the spirit and the flesh
(specifically here, the body).
Whatever the mind
sets itself on is what the man walks after. If it occupies itself with the
flesh, we walk after that; conversely, if it sets itself upon the spirit, we
follow after it. It is therefore unnecessary to ask whether or not we are
walking after the spirit. We need only inquire if we are minding the spirit,
that is, noticing the movement or silence therein.
Never can it be that
we set ourselves on the things of the flesh and yet walk after the spirit. On
whatever the mind sets itself, that do we follow. This is an unchangeable law.
What does our mind
think and notice in our daily experience?
What do we obey?
Are we heeding the
inner man or do we obey the flesh?
Being occupied with
the affairs of the spirit will make us spiritual men, whereas occupying
ourselves with the affairs of the flesh will turn us into fleshly people. If
our mind is not governed by the spirit,
it must be governed
by the flesh; if not guided by heaven, it must be guided by earth; if not
regulated from above, it must be regulated from beneath.
Following the spirit
produces life and peace, while following the flesh results in death. From God’s
point of view, nothing arising from the flesh contains any spiritual value. A
believer is capable of living in “death” though he still possesses life. (Excerpt - The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee)
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