By Glynn Adams
April 21, 2024
I shall concentrate on teaching those in the Remnant of God who are totally committed to the obedience of Jesus Christ and who need help with spiritual things the Bible teaches such as dying to the flesh, renewing the mind, and taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. God has a process for the flesh (Romans 8), the mind (Romans 12:1), and taking thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:3) and I shall cover this process in much detail in the coming weeks. If you do not learn God’s process on dealing with your flesh, renewing your mind, and taking thoughts captive, then no one can help you and your spiritual life will be a continuous roller coaster event after another of frustration, defeat, and torment.
What do we mean by dying to your flesh? Why is it so important? In the average church today, pastors teach the traditions of men and a form of godliness rather than equipping the saints with the Word of God. We must understand that the Word of God has a lot to say about the absolute necessity of dying to our flesh. Let’s start by going to the Book of Genesis and the Garden of Eden. God created Adam, the first man in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) He had total innocence and a pure heart with no impure motives. He was holy and blameless. Since God tests the hearts of everyone He has created, Adam was given a choice between the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Also called the Tree of Death.) Since Adam apparently loved Eve more than he loved God, he ate from the Tree of Death.
Because of this sin of Adam, all mankind born on this earth receives a cursed nature, the “flesh” nature which is the nature of Satan. Every descendant of Adam on this earth then walks in Satan’s nature – self-love, self-centeredness, and selfishness. The flesh nature and the nature of Satan are the same. Therefore, they are in total agreement and Satan can control your life because your heart loves this selfish and cursed nature. “The flesh nature is hostile to God and will not subject itself to the law of God.” (Romans 8:7) Because this nature is rooted deeply in the hearts of all mankind, their only motive will be to satisfy the desires of their flesh and live for themselves.
Take note here that the Democrats and the New World Order demonic elites say that man is born good but his or her environment is what causes them to turn bad. This is a lie straight from the pits of hell because the Bible says, we are all born with the nature of Satan and until we are born again and go through God’s process of dying to our flesh, we will always be tempted to follow the ways of Satan!!!
In the New Covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ when we receive Him, gives us a divine nature (2 Peter 2:4) which enables us to overcome this flesh nature so we can be conformed to the image of Christ. But we still have our old nature that wars against our Spirit nature and that is why the Spirit of God leads us to put to death this old nature of Satan. Galatians 5:16-17 says, “But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desires against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please.”
Now I want to add another dimension to dying to the flesh and that is the Law of God. Today, when the Law is mentioned, there rises up the cry of “legalism” or you don’t understand grace. People only think of the rituals that were done away but Jesus came to fulfill the Law. The rituals did pass away but the Law still stands today. Until you are willing to hear what God has to say about His law, you will never know true freedom nor will you have understanding about the powers of darkness. Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets, I am not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)
Since this is a very difficult subject, you must first agree that perhaps you have not yet received all of the truth. Then agree that if God has given someone understanding and light, it will be in the Bible in balance and context. Do not be like the Pharisees and react to the first statement you hear that is contrary to your traditions of men. If we are in darkness, we must be willing to be led out of darkness by the Spirit and Word of God. Jesus said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” And in John 16:13, Jesus said, “When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth.”
Since Jesus came to fulfill the law, we need to know first what the law is really saying. Jesus answered this in Matthew 22:37-40, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
What the law is really saying is that if you do these two things, love God supremely and love your neighbor as yourself, you have fulfilled the law and are no longer a law breaker. But this is impossible without Jesus Christ because of our bondage to our selfish, self-centered flesh nature which must die. Since Jesus did not abolish the law, then what does the law do today? The law stands today to bring judgment upon all sin. The law brings the wrath of God (Romans 4;15). The law brings a curse (Galatians 3:13). The law as a ministry of death (2 Corinthians 3:7), and the law is a ministry of condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:9). All these things come upon law breakers. Are we in the New Testament?
Who are the law breakers? They are those who do not walk in love and cannot walk in love. Their minds are set upon this world system and the things their hearts love. “For the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the (carnal) (fleshly) mind is hostile towards God: for it does not subject itself to the law of God (which commands us to walk in love) for it is not even able to do so for those who are IN THE FLESH cannot please God.” (Romans 8:6-8) So, if anyone loves their flesh nature, they refuse to love God with all their heart and love others as themselves. They choose to walk in the image of Satan.
I am not in any way saying that righteousness and holiness come by obeying the law. Paul makes that clear in Galatians 2:21, “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” However, this does not release us from the law that tells us that we must love others as we love ourselves. Jesus came to fulfill this law by perfecting the God-kind of love in us. This is how we are reconciled back to God.
To put this in real plain English so it can be understood if someone loves his neighbor as himself, he will not kill his neighbor, commit adultery against his neighbor’s wife, steal from his neighbor, not bear false witness against his neighbor. Understand those who still love their flesh nature, which is the nature of Satan, refuse to obey God’s law and the law stands in judgment today against all rebellion. Paul said, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (Romans 2:13)
I surely hope you understand that God is commanding us to walk in love or be destroyed. The wages of sin are death. If we die to our flesh nature, then we can walk in this kind of love that God commands but not if we are in bondage to our selfish desires of the flesh nature. When we die to our fleshly ways, then we manifest the nature of God when we love God and our neighbor as ourself.
The reason these Scriptures I have quoted sound like a foreign language to most church people today is because they will not fit into today’s denominational and mega church carnal doctrines. Jesus confirmed this God-kind of love that we are to walk in today by saying, “This is My commandment that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12) In our denominational and mega churches, we do not love as God commands us because we have been divided by denominations and mega churches. My heart really goes out to people attending these churches whose pastors teach a form of godliness and not the real truth of the Scriptures. You are leaving yourself and your family open to the demonic world of Satan by being in these unholy places. Jesus made it clear that you will become like your teacher and if he is wrong; you will be wrong!!
Jesus said you will know them by their fruit. You can go to Galatians 5:16-24, “But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are
evident which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Notice that Galatians 5:24 says, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Now we have crucifying of the flesh–our old nature from Satan, and we are going to learn about that next week in Session 2. We must get serious about obeying and applying the Word of God to our lives. That is how you have the abundant life of Jesus rather than the torment of Satan and judgement.
God bless, I remain His servant and watchman, Glynn Adams (Thanks to the late Milt Green and his book, ”The Great Falling Away Today” and Phil Hopper and his book, “Defeating the Enemy”, and so many other faithful pastors and Biblical scholars who have written on this subject).
© 2024 Glynn Adams – All Rights Reserved
E-Mail Glynn Adams: glynnadams@sbcglobal.net
