How did Jesus
walk? Did He walk after the Spirit or
after the Flesh?
Of course the answer
is that Jesus walked only after the Spirit and not the flesh.
And we know this--
Php 2:5 Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
The mind that Christ
possessed upon earth is the SAME mind we are to possess.
'The FORM of a
SERVANT' or as other translations render it- 'The FORM of a SLAVE'
Jesus could save us
because He loved us more than He loved His own life. Jesus spent His entire ministry serving
others. Do we imagine Him as One who
spread a magic dust all around healing people? No, He didn't heal and help
offhandedly. Jesus helped on a personal level! Jesus didn't step into a city
and say magic words that healed the entire town of disease and demon
possessions. Jesus did NOT stand on a hillside and wave His arms healing the
entire multitude at once. Jesus went into cities and healed very few.
Mat 13:54 And
when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue,
insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom,
and these mighty works?
Mat 13:55 Is
not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren,
James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mat 13:56 And
his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these
things?
Mat 13:57 And
they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without
honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Mat 13:58 And
he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Jesus forced His
healing on no one. There wasn't a single person healed that didn't desire that
healing in some manner. There were
people healed on behalf of other's believing in Jesus and seeking healing the
their behalf. Jesus healed on a very personal level. A woman touch the hem of his clothing and He
felt her belief taking healing from Him. Yet how many people touch Him and
received no healing because they didn't believe? There had to be some, He
walked through crowds of people. And not everyone clamoring about Him did so
because they believed in Him but rather because they doubted Him and despised
Him and sought ways to make trouble for Him.
No matter how AWFUL
people treated Jesus, He did NOT in turn treat them badly. Jesus' heart broke because the people chose
not to believe in Him. He wasn't indifferent to their unbelief, it pained Him.
We are to LOVE
others NOT BECAUSE THEY LOVE US!
We are to have the
mind of Jesus in us, a mind that is a servant, a slave- one intent on others being before ourselves!
We are NOT supposed to be first and foremost, God is to be first in our lives
and then others, but NOT ourselves.
We cling to the
comfortable us we know rather than seek true spirituality in Christ, because
that calls for self-denial and we do NOT want to deny ourselves, we just don't.
God help us! Save us
please, from ourselves!
Jesus GAVE of
Himself when He healed-
Mar_5:30 And
Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned
him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Jesus gave of
Himself for others in so many, many ways.
We have to GIVE of
ourselves, any and all that we have we need to give.
Please, Lord, help
us deny self and serve others! Please, we just don't know how to do this, we
don't know how to make ourselves be Yours, we need You to heal us with Your
virtue and give us You so that Your mind may be in us! Please, Lord, we know we
are evil, fleshy, selfish beings, save us from ourselves! Please, all by YOUR
GRACE and MERCY, Your LOVE, Your FORGIVENESS!
*******
'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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