Sin Holds the Power of Death Eternal.
Christ Holds the Power of Eternal Life, By Destroying Death, Destroying Sin.
Living for our flesh existence is to live for death eternal. Living for our flesh is living carnally, focused on our flesh existence here and now.
If we live Spiritually we are living for our spirit existence which is eternal. Yes, we have to be in our flesh until our temporary flesh death overtakes us, but we do not have to live consumed by the temporary flesh we inhabit. That's just what we do though, isn't it? We are consumed by our flesh existence and drawn to its carnal nature.
We focus on ourselves so much that being able to focus on anything else is hardly possible. Sometimes we spend our entire lives focused on our flesh life. Even when we interact with others and outward appear to be living to help we can be doing that with the true focus on how that interaction makes us feel about ourselves. There is a very vicious cycle of living flesh focused. There are many traps all around us to help us delude ourselves that we are living spiritually, when the truth is just the opposite.
God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit!
Joh_4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
We must worship God in spirit and truth!
To live for our carnal nature is to gain eternal death. There is no spirit hope, no spiritual life for those who live for the flesh.
What does it mean to live spiritually?
It means to live for God, as God would have us live. Our lives are to be focused on God and His word. Our lives are to be lived under His royal law expounded upon and kept perfectly by Jesus, God in the flesh. Our focus… this is something we dictate by our thoughts, the things we do, the things we surround ourselves with, the choices we are capable of making. There is so much in our lives that we have no control over, but that which we do have control over we have to use that control towards the spiritual life that God would have us focus upon. We must truly have our treasures laid up in heaven, not here. We cannot live a life focused on our flesh life and expect to be spiritually minded.
Satan will take great pains to keep us self-focused, flesh focused in any way he possibly can.
We must take up our cross daily, we must pray for our daily bread, we must seek Christ while He can be found, we must remember our carnal nature will war against our spirit. We must recognize the war and choose the spiritual victory in Christ, daily.
All through HIS mercy and grace, HIS love, HIS sacrifice! All glory to HIM!
All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR, now and forever!
Amen!
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(Excerpt) Articles on Romans by E. J. Waggoner Chapter 8
"Life and Peace."
Rom 8:6 "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
To be spiritually minded is to have a mind controlled by the law of God, "for we know that the law is spiritual." "Great peace have they which love thy law." Ps. 119:165. "Being justified [made righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
The carnal mind is enmity against God. Therefore, to be carnally minded is death. But Christ "hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10. He has abolished death by destroying the power of sin in all who believe in him; for death has no power except through sin. "The sting of death is sin." 1 Cor. 15:56. So that even now we may joyfully say, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
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