Chpt 17 – The Impossible Life
“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would that do I not…. (Rom. 7:15-18). Paul knew that the Spirit of Christ indwelt his born-again spirit. Paul acknowledged his born-again spirit. He acknowledged that there was no good thing in his flesh – his renewed mind and physical body, all the external parts of him functioning independent from Christ. He knew he had to lay this flesh down and receive a new body and a new soul, which are completely renewed and think exactly like God.
Romans 7:18-19 (NKJV) “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”
Sounds a lot like what Paul wrote in Gal. 5:17. Rom. 7:24 summarizes Paul’s dismal dilemma. “O wretched man that I am!….”
Without Supernatural Assistance
Paul was simply describing the inability of the flesh independent from Christ to please God. We have to start living from who we are in Christ. Our spirit man is completely changed and infused with the life of God! We can only please Him through living by our spirit! “ That’s why Paul declared, “It’s no longer me that lives, but Christ who lives through me (Gal. 2:20.)” There’s a tremendous amount of liberty that comes with recognizing and releasing Christ in us.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). We have the same spirit that Jesus had when He hung on the cross and forgave the very people who crucified Him. When we humble ourselves, turn away from our own natural ability and to God and His divine ability we’ll discover a supernatural strength flowing through us!
We have an unlimited supply of God’s kind of love in our spirit. “Charity suffers long…..bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4-7). His love NEVER fails (1 Cor. 13:8).
In our spirit we have an unlimited ability to forgive, endure, believe and hope! Let our spirit take over!!
We Can Too!
Pray, “God, I’m sorry! I’ve been trying this in myself, which is why I’m burned out, frustrated, and angry. Forgive me and live Your life through me. I believe Your Word. In the spirit, I’m a brand-new person. If I would walk in the spirit, I won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Then start meditating on who you are and what you have in Christ.”) By faith, this is who I choose to believe I am.”
That’s renewing our mind and releasing the supernatural life of God out of our spirit into our soul and body. When our physical mind comes into agreement with our spiritual mind, we can literally begin to hope, endure and believe in things that we couldn’t have done by our natural self.
Releasing Our True Identity
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 7:25). Deliverance from the flesh comes through living by who we are in the spirit! Paul launches right into Romans 8 with “There is therefore.” “Therefore” refers back to what has previously been said, which is that the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 7). You must walk after the Spirit (Rom. 8).
“There is therefore now no condemnation….” (Rom. 8:1) Our spirit is the only part of us in Christ Jesus. If we are in the spirit, there is NO condemnation to us whatsoever. That’s good news!
Romans 8 is one of the most victorious chapters in the whole Bible! Why? It’s written from the perspective of our born-again spirit. Romans 7 describes the typical Christian life. We’ve got to get over into the spirit!
This revelation of Spirit, Soul and Body unlocks so much of the Christian life! When we understand that, we can begin understanding that who we are and what we have in Christ doesn’t fluctuate based on our performance. Once we do believe, we must reject the flesh and walk by who we are in the spirit. Cultivate a good image of who we are in Christ, and let that become the real us. It’s just a matter of discovering and releasing our true identity!
An Extroverted Introvert
Focus on who we are in the spirit! The improvement comes by choosing to recognize our new identity in Christ and letting those thoughts and actions manifest from our spirit.
Living From the Spirit
The Christian life is growing stronger in the spirit and weaker in the flesh. The flesh’s dominance steadily diminishes as we learn to consistently depend on and draw out more of what’s in our spirit.
Focus on who we are in the spirit by meditating on God’s Word! Our flesh will bow the knee to the spirit’s rule and reign. “Walk in the Spirit…. (Gal 5:16-17).” We’ll break the control of the flesh as we base our identity and potential on what the Word says about who we are in Christ. Instead of being controlled by our old carnal self, our spirit man will begin to dominate.
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