Monday, January 23, 2012

The Thinking of the Flesh


Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, (NASB:
THE THINKING OF THE FLESH – DEATH
Having Your Mindset Adjusted
 
The Mind of Christ (6-13)
Charles e Whisnant, Pastor-Teacher, Preacher, Student of the Word
January 22 2012
 

For to be carnally4561 minded5427 is death2288 but to be spiritually4151 minded is life2222 and peace1515
"Mind set"...
 
·        Expresses a state of mind. The idea is not just that seeking the things of the flesh leads to death, but that an unspiritual mind, which reveals itself in the desire and pursuit of unspiritual objectives, is death. Death, of course, means spiritual death, the absence and the opposite of spiritual life. It includes alienation from God, unholiness, and misery.
·        On the other hand, the “mind controlled by the Spirit” is that state of mind which is produced by the Spirit and which reveals itself in the desire and pursuit of the things of the Spirit. This state of mind is life and peace.

  • It is not that we can be opposed to God, but that we ourself is opposed to Him!
  • We are not at enmity, but enmity itself!                    We are not black, but blackness!
  • We are not corrupt, but corruption!                     We are not rebellious, we are rebellion!
  • We are not wicked, we are wickedness itself!        We are not just deceitful, we are deceit!
The fleshly walk does not submit to the Holy Spirit. The fleshly walk does not and cannot please God

Flesh (4561) (sarx )
·        in the context of this verse refers to the evil nature present in every man ever born, for all have been born into the line of Adam (and even those who are born again or regenerated by the Spirit possess the fallen flesh, with which we must daily contend).
·        The picture Paul paints is of a mind "possessed" by and thus controlled or dominated by the evil, "anti-god" flesh  and this picture is a description of all who are yet unsaved. Paul is saying that this means that one’s life (that of the unsaved person) is determined and directed by the values of this evil world system which intractably set against and in total rebellion toward God. Controlled by such an "anti-god" mindset is the only way an unsaved person is able to walk - according to the flesh

Death (2288) (thanatos)
·             In short, if one's mind is not Christ-centered and instead his or her interest is constantly (emphasize that this is one's lifestyle, one's habitual practice) being placed upon carnal or fleshly desires, the results (no spiritual "life and peace") are the symptoms of spiritual death
BUT THE MIND SET ON THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE: to de phronema tou pneumatos zoe kai eirene:  Romans 5:1;10; 14:17; John 14:6,27; Galatitans 5:22 

THE THINKING OF THE SPIRIT - LIFE AND PEACE

Set on the Spirit – 

 
·        More literally = “the mind possessed by the Spirit”.
·        This describes a mind which is controlled by or dominated by the Holy Spirit (Compare - "do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with [controlled by = command to allow this to occur continually = present imperative] the Spirit" Ephesians 5:18.
Such a person with such a "mindset" is the one who possesses the life that God is, and the peace that He Alone graciously gives

Life (2198) (zoe [) zo

·        Life, in Scripture, denotes a fully satisfied existence, in which all the faculties find their full exercise and their true occupation. Man's spirit, becomes the abode and organ of the Divine Spirit, realizes this life with a growing perfection to eternal life

Peace (1515) (eirene
·        in its verb form means “to bind together that which has been separated” thus in the present context describes the believing sinner, bound together with God and His life after having been separated by sin.




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