August 15, 2016 STILL FLESHLY
1 Corinthians 3:2-3: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealously and strife among you are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”
It is clear that Paul was addressing believers when he confronted them with the fact that they were still fleshly. Basically, to be “fleshly” is to live according to the old man-who we use to be before salvation-and not according to the new man that we are in Christ; when we are living according to our new identity in Christ, we are spiritual, not fleshly, in right relationship with God. Paul asked an important question in 1 Corinthians 3:16 when he asked: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Just like these early believers, we too have to answer the same question: do we know that we are the temple of God and His spirit dwells in us? The truth we need to hear today is that it’s just not about being Christians, but all about walking according to our new identity-according to the new person that we are because we are in Christ and He is in us. There is a tendency for believers to settle for the fact that they are Christians and going to heaven when they die; however, this view falls far short of what it means to be a Christian according to the scriptures. At salvation, we are transformed and given hew hearts and new minds and a new spirit, but then the transformation process is to continue and we are to be becoming more and more like Christ. Tied to the transformation process is learning of our new identity in Christ, and for this reason, becoming a student of the scriptures is non-optional. If our intake of the scripture is limited to a single message on Sunday morning, we are spiritually anemic. Realizing the fact that we are the temple of the Spirit of God should have a profound impact on us. In light of the fact that it is possible for believers to live according to the flesh, a self-examination is in order for each of us to determine if we indeed know our new identity in Christ and whether or not we are living according to that new identity. Sure signs of being fleshly include not only jealously and strife, but also include selfishness, anger, wrong thoughts, trusting in ourselves, immorality, and etc. By the power of the Spirit within us, may we live out of our new identity-starting now.
2 Corinthians 7:1: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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