Of the Flesh and Spirit
It is both/and not either/or
We had a really good conversation in small group on Sunday. One of the members brought up what appeared to be a contradiction in two scriptures. The first of which I will reproduce below with two added to it because that was the discussion. I contend the idea that we live as creatures of both Flesh and Spirit helps us understand what appears to be a contradiction.
14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:14–19 (NASB95)
Juxtapose that passage with this one.
1“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
3“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:1–6 (NASB95)
Before I go much further, I was not feeling well Sunday. I got up with a raging headache. It distracted me as I got ready to leave the house for the day. Consequently, I left a good deal of my technology at home. One of the things I rely on is a Samsung Tab S2 because I can open Microsoft OneNote and write on the lesson digitally in church. I didn’t have that. I did have my Note 9, which is my backup, but it is very small. Couple that with my head hurting, and I decided to not go to church. I would not have been a very good greeter yesterday.
However, the material we have today is expanding on that short discussion from the Fellowship class. Before we go much further, I want to expand on a concept that is integral to understanding what appears to be a contradiction. I think this idea is also a helpful lens through which we can reconcile other seeming contradictions in scripture, too.
We are creatures with feet placed in two camps. We have bodies of muscle and bone living in a material world we can experience with our five senses. We also have a spiritual component that exists tied to the flesh and bone. The spiritual part lives on faith, prayer, hope, love, and joy. In both cases there are far more components to each than just those listed above. Those short lists merely place each side in context. God made Man a creature of both flesh, as of the dust of the earth, and spirit as of Himself.
6But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
7Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:6–7 (NASB95)
Our goal, then, is to shed as many earthly, fleshly things as possible and take on as many spiritual, heavenly things as we can. We have the problem on earth of having to deal with the fleshly needs our body presents. That also brings with it the temptations of sin, which also thrive and grow exceedingly well in the flesh.
16Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
17“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.
18“And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.
1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 6:16–7:1 (NASB95)
Exodus 29:45; Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 31:1; Ezekial 37:27
Revelation 18:4
Exodus 25:8
The important context to understand about the Flesh and the Spirit is that we cannot separate them, and they work against each other. I think some of the theological controversies and disputes might vanish if we treated every problem by trying to understand which side of the equation was being overlooked in each dispute.
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17For 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.
Galatians 5:16–17 (NASB95)
The Galatians passage goes on to categorize some of the bad things that are fleshly and then some of the spiritual things that are good. Note these lists are not a complete categorization of good and bad, evil and righteous things. They are highlights. The complete list of the moral and immoral things is contained in the Law as listed in the Old Testament. Here’s the continued passage from Galatians. Again, note this is a list God gave us, not human beings as well as a warning in the form of some instructions for living.
18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
19Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
21envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:18–25 (NASB95)
That’s a lot about the Flesh and the Spirit and very little relating to the two passages I opened with. That seeming contradiction, I contend, can only be discussed after we understand how the Flesh and Spirit relate. That’s why the previous elements were needed. Review the opening two passages from Matthew 5 and 6 before continuing.
The seeming contradiction is that in Matthew 5 we have Jesus telling us we are the light of the world and cannot be hidden, that we should do our good works to be seen. Then, in Matthew 6, we have that chapter open with a warning not to be seen practicing our good works, our righteousness before men. Further, Matthew 6 goes on to tell us to pray in secret suggesting we should do our good works so people cannot see them. How do these two pieces of instruction coexist without being a contradiction? Easy. One has to do with how we handle our good works through the lens of the Flesh and the other through the lens of the Spirit. It’s all about our heart position, our motivation for why we do the “good works” or “alms before men.”
14After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:
15there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.
16“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
17When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.
18And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,
19because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.)
20And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
21“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
23“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Mark 7:14–23 (NASB95)
Our motivations are the reasons why we do things. Those reasons are the decisions we make justifying our actions. When those reasons align with God’s moral good we are making righteous decisions from the Spirit. However, when those reasons align with our feelings from the Flesh, we are no longer walking in God’s ways, as in the Galatians passage above. What we plant and allow within ourselves is what we will grow and reap.
1Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
2Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
3For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
5For each one will bear his own load.
6The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.
7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:1–8 (NASB95)
How do heart position, our motivations, and reasons for doing things reconcile Jesus’ saying to let our light shine before people but also to not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing keeping our actions in secret? He is talking about the Flesh and the Spirit. On the one hand, we should have righteous motivations behind what we do; our reasons should be rooted in scripture, in what God thinks is good and bad. Our actions should be based on those reasons. However, we cannot hide what we do in the flesh. Our actions, how we live, should reflect our reasons, though we don’t shout those reasons out before we do something.
If we go out and do things just to have other people comment on how good we are, how talented we are, or openly thank us for helping, we have acted for the wrong reasons. In that case, we are doing things for prideful reasons, for the wrong motivations. However, if we do the things we do because God’s Holy Spirit led us to do them for no other reason than we believe they are “the right thing to do,” then we, in effect, are not letting our left hand know what our right hand is doing. But where does the light shine before men in that case?
When we do things following the Holy Spirit, it changes us from the inside. That change becomes something people observing us can notice and see. We are no longer walking according to the Flesh, but we are walking according to the Spirit. Making decisions that guide the flesh based on the Spirit is visibly noticeable by people living in the World, and they wonder why we did what we did. They may never come and ask about it, but they might. Regardless, our actions plant a seed. That seed has the chance of being tended by another, watered, and weeded to potentially grow into something amazing.
8the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
9No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
11For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;
1 John 3:8–11 (NASB95)
We are to love each other to treat other people as we would want to be treated. However, that love does not manifest as it does when the people of the Flesh of the World love each other. We are to do it differently, with different motivations, Spiritual motivations meaning the way God’s Holy Spirit drives us to love our neighbor. God’s people cannot use the weapons of the World to achieve God’s goals. We cannot fight fire with fire, as the saying goes. We must choose a different path, God’s path.
15Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 2:15–17 (NASB95)
To summarize, how do we reconcile letting our light shine but also not letting our left hand know what our right hand is doing? We pray, asking God’s guidance from His Holy Spirit. We then follow that guidance obediently. We figure out how our path is laid out by continuing to read the Bible and contemplate the things revealed from scripture. When we make decisions on what actions to take, we do so with the goal of pleasing God and giving Him the credit rather than taking that credit for ourselves. When we can consistently do that, we will be walking in the Spirit rather than the Flesh.