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Not In The Flesh

by Roland Crim
03/15/21
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There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have overwhelmed me they are a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly. I am bent and brought low; all day long I go about mourning. For my loins are full of burning pain, and no soundness remains in my body. I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. Psalm 38:3-8 (Berean Study Bible)

I venture to say that these words do not bring about feelings of joy and contentment to the reader. Often, we like to think of ourselves as good. But we must understand that there is no good in the flesh. Why do you think Jesus told Nicodemus that one must be born again? The flesh is full of lie, deceit, selfishness, and sin. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that those who worship God must do so in Spirit and in Truth. God is spirit and the only way to worship Spirit is in Spirit.

If our flesh is wretched and steeped in sin, how can we possibly have a spirit which can worship God? The answer is that we cannot unless the Spirit within us is the Spirit of God. Jesus promises that the one who believes in Him shall be sent the Holy Spirit as a gift from the Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit will indwell the believer that they be “reborn”, born into the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit, given by the Father through Jesus is the answer to the grief, to the mourning, to the pain we feel in our heart and soul as the psalmist in the above reading. There is nothing, absolutely nothing of our own that can provide us with redemption, that can save us from the woeful state herein this scripture reading. There is but one answer. We must be indwelled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. This gift is available to us. To receive the gift of the Spirit we must turn our life over to Jesus Christ. We must believe in Him as our Lord and Savior.

Let the above reading be a reminder to us of our total dependence upon Christ for redemption and salvation, and through Him we are given the beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit sent from the Father. We then can worship God in Truth and Spirit, no longer enslaved to the wretched flesh of our mortal bodies.