My worship team is in Galatians 5 at the moment and the idea of as we live, we are sowing into either the Spirit or the flesh for every decision we make.
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. (Gal 5:16-17)
A Question
How do we walk in the Spirit? How do we abide in the Vine?
A Proposed Reality
Are we always only sowing to the Spirit or else to the flesh? Is there ever any middle or safe ground?
Shawn said:
I think that we are always only sowing to the Spirit or to the flesh. Because there is only life or death. Nothing else.
Think about the parable of the talents.
Ask the guy who burried his talent and how it worked out for him. The Lord told him he was wicked and lazy, then took back the talent and cast him into the outer darkness. (Matt 25). That’s intense.
It sounds to me like if we are not actively and intentionally pursuing God and eternal life then we are sowing into the flesh. And vice-a-versa: If we are pursuing holiness and obedience and communion (even withouth perfect attainment) then we are sowing to the Spirit.
If we are not directly sowing to the Spirit then we are indirectly sowing to the flesh. There is no middle ground because God and Satan don’t take any vacations. The Spirit is always lusting against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit. If we take a ‘time out’ or a ‘night off’ then we lose ground.
But this also gives us hope in times of weakness… We know that if we are sincere while pursuing holiness we are pleasing God. It’s on the journey towards Jesus that we sow into the spirit; not only upon the attainment of perfection and maturity.
Posted on February 9, 2007 at 11:54 am
Adam said:
I agree with you that we are either sowing into the Spirit or into the flesh, and that if we get lazy and basically do nothing… we are not just staying in one place, but we are going backwards; like you said, “indirectly sowing to the flesh.”
But here is a question I have. When does it get legalistic (or does it), when trying to “run the race” yet doing things that are obviously NOT sowing into the Spirit during your times of rest?
Lets say, if we were to list things that are obviously sowing into the spirit and obviously sowing into the flesh; would trying to stay away from doing ALL things that are sowing into the flesh be legalistic or wisdom?
Sowing Into The Spirit:
- Reading the word
- Praying
- Worshipping
- Any form of discussion about things of God
- Practicing an instrument
- (of course there are many others, but these are obviously sowing into the Spirit)
Sowing into the Flesh:
- Watching a movie (for no alterier motive than to rest or just for fun)…
- Sitting around your house doing nothing (being lazy, wasting time, procrastinating)
- Gossiping
- Letting impure things come in through your eyes
- and of course… Adultery, Fornication, Sexual Immorality, Murder (and all of really bad stuff)
Posted on February 10, 2007 at 1:39 am
Benjamin Wood said:
Walking in the spirit is one of those things that is hard to give a concreate answer to. I am pretty convinced that what is means to “walk in the spirit” is the act of living everyday listening for the voice of the Lord to give direction to your life. I call it active listening, it is the same concept in marriage, you have to really listen to what your spouse is saying in order to respond in a precise and thought out way. Otherwise when the time comes to respond to what is being spoken you will be left in the cold. I think this is, in a sense, what it means to walk in the spirit. One example of a way i do it in my life is simple. I, instead of putting on music in my car, start to pray in the spirit and ask the Lord to give me insight into His heart today and what is on it. I try to so this whenever i have some downtime, i try not to fill it with the things of God and not the things of the flesh. It piggy backs on what Shawn is saying in the post above. When i give myself to what the Lord wants i am sewing to the things of God and not the selfish things that i want to do.
I hope this makes at least a little sense and does not seem like the mumbling of a hermit.
On a side note when i said “direction” i am not meaning which way i am to turn while driving. Instead important desicions in our everyday life.
Posted on February 10, 2007 at 8:54 am
Theresa said:
I agree that we are always sowing to one or the other. To me it is akin to our Christan walk. We are either growing in God, leaning into Him, becoming more like Him, or we are becoming dull and dry to the things of God. The Lord says to run the race, He doesn’t say sit on the sidelines. And of course, what better way to sow to the Spirit then to spend time with Him and gaze upon His beauty.
Posted on February 10, 2007 at 9:09 am
Shawn said:
@ Adam: Those are some tuff questions, bro. Let me take a crack at it.
I don’t think (and I’m sure you agree) that in times of rest or entertainment we are in sin. Rest and entertainment are parts of life, we have to learn how to do them wisely and ‘cleanly’.
“Wachting a movie for no altereor motive than to rest or for fun.” — I’m not sure where I stand on that one. I’m definately not down for watching movies that will defile me, but what about a movie that is clean? If I watch it for fun am I losing ground? Can I enjoy God during that type of entertainment? That is a hot topic.
Posted on February 11, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Shawn said:
@ Theresa: So well put! It’s about relationship and about leaning. The whole point is to lean on Christ! Song of Solomon 8:6….
Posted on February 11, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Nate said:
This is one of the toughest questions in Christianity for me. I agree with the previous posters when they say the verse implies that we are either growing closer to God or farther away from him, but I don’t think that that is what Paul is directly saying. I think he is saying that our bodies have a certain agenda - the lust of the flesh. They want us to be selfish, gratifying all of our “animal” desires to satiation and more - food, sex, power, comfort, etc. But our spirits (with the help of God’s Spirit) know that giving in to these lusts is not what God wants for us - he wants us to be in control of those things instead of the other way around. No matter how much we discipline ourselves, though, giving in is still one decision away, and I think that’s what he means by “the flesh wars against the Spirit.” God is calling us to be unselfish and more Godlike, and our flesh is calling us to be more selfish and less Godlike. So to that end I agree with your statement that everything we do is either contributing to us becoming more Spirit-filled or more fleshly. I’m getting grossed out by using the world “flesh” so much.
The thing that’s so difficult for me is that our spirit and our flesh are so closely intertwined in this life that it becomes surpassingly hard to decide where one begins and the other ends, even to the smallest detail. For instance, Shawn, I know that you love talking to Anna. You love to hear what she has to say, what she thinks, and to hear God’s wisdom through her. Those things seem easy to classify as spiritual (ie, not rooted in your body, but in your mind/spirit). But you also love the sound of her voice, and her mannerisms, and looking at her face. Those things are rooted in your senses, and if they aren’t pleasures of the flesh then what are they? So just the act of talking to someone can be both a spiritual and a fleshly pleasure. In the same way I think that because we experience all the world through our senses, through our bodies, we mingle almost every spiritual sensation with an earthly one. I think that because God created our bodies and our senses, even though we are now in fallen bodies, they are still the way in which we experience the wonder of the created world and everything good that is in it.
So although Paul is using the word “flesh” to represent those things which we supposed to be turning away from, sometimes it’s hard to me to discern whether a “fleshly” pleasure falls into that category or not.
Posted on February 12, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Shawn said:
@ Nate: I love the point you’re bringing up. I’m actually studying this a little bit more today.
I think instead of ‘flesh’ we could say ‘death’. Our bodies naturally cling to the dust. But I love how you brought up that just because it’s a pleasure or experience that involves our human frame doesn’t mean it’s sin. That is right on!
You’ve reminded us that Jesus is a person. He’s a man. He has a body. And we will too, for eternity. The fullness of the Kingdom of God was meant to be experience with the Spiritual realm and the Earthly realm brought together.
Ephesians 1:10 –>
It seems answer of sowing to death or love (flesh or spirit) isn’t what we do but why we do it. When I am having a conversation with my wife and enjoying her voice and thinking about how beautiful she is, I’m saying yes to the love of God for her. But if I am in that same situation with another girl, then I am saying yes to death (sin) because she’s not my wife.
Posted on February 13, 2007 at 10:08 am