Victory over the flesh in Jesus Christ

(Colossians 2:20-23)

The greatest thing that Jesus offered when He came and died for us was victory. Victory over sin and victory over the flesh.

God gave Moses the law to check the indulgence of the flesh. But it did not give a person victory. It warned that if a person allowed the passions of the flesh to run rampant, there would be consequences.

A strong person might be able to hold the flesh in check. But to gain true victory over the flesh could only occur in and through Jesus Christ.

A Ministry of Victory

The whole purpose of Jesus’ ministry was to give us victory.

Man is born in the bondage of sin, and man is also born under the power of the law. There is no way for a person to escape these things in this world. That is, apart from the means of escape we have in Jesus Christ.

And what makes it even worse or harder is that man is subject to the whims, lusts, desires, and passions of the flesh that drive people to do what is wrong. And there was no escape from the flesh until Jesus came and died for us.

When you look at the ministry of Jesus it is all about victory. Victory over sin, victory over the law, and victory over the flesh.

In Christ there is a victory that was never possible before His coming. The offer of victory is available to all people here and now. Even among Christians there are many who fail to realise the power of this victory to overcome fleshly passions.

Do you want to be set free from the weaknesses within your flesh? Are you beset with problems or addictions and want to be rid of them? Do weaknesses for alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or pornography afflict you? Or worse, are you suffering from the sins of fornication, theft, adultery, and worse?

Christ can give you the victory over the flesh that drives all of these forms of sin and wrongdoing. The power of His victory over the flesh is far greater than the power of a strong will. His power is spiritual and divine.

More than willpower

Willpower is needed to begin the process, but it is not enough. You have to have the will to resist and to hand all issues over to the Lord to resolve. Then you need the willpower to walk in the Spirit over the matters that are plaguing you if you truly want victory over the flesh in Jesus Christ.

Willpower to go to the Lord over these issues as they arise is what we are called to do. But then when and as we hand our problems in the flesh over to Christ and to the Holy Spirit, He takes control of them to give us the victory. And it is a lasting victory that will completely take away the weaknesses of our flesh.

This scripture today shows that willpower alone only goes part of the way. Confining yourself under the strictures of the law will not deeply cleanse your conscience of sin but only surface clean and give an appearance of cleaning you. Because it cannot clean the conscience, there is the possibility and probability that the flesh will rise up again and again to lead you into the ways of sinfulness.

Look at what the scripture says.

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human precepts and doctrines? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigour of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:20-23)

When he talks about submitting to regulations he is talking about the laws.

The law is good and it gives us great wisdom and guidance. But it cannot purify the hearts and minds of its adherents. The law is a constant reminder of what sin is because the law defines sin. So when we are under the law we are being reminded daily about the nature of sin.

But Jesus came to set you free from sin. He came to give you the victory over sin and to set you free from the law.

Why? Why was it necessary to be set free from sin and from the law? I mean, sure it is great that we have been set free from sin and it is also great that the law has been taken away, but why was this necessary?

It was necessary so that we could have victory over the flesh in Jesus Christ.

God’s will for man

God does not want man to be sinful. He did not make man so that he would always be a sinner needing constant redemption. God wants man to be perfect as He is perfect. His desire is that all mankind would choose NOT to sin but to seek His righteousness. This is God’s will for man. But the thing that drives sin in man is the weaknesses and passions of human flesh. It is our weaknesses that need to be fixed so we can find the path to perfection where God wishes man to be. And the law could not “fix” the weaknesses and passions of human flesh. The law only points out what our weaknesses are. You will be convicted as a sinner if you succumb to the passions of your flesh and break God’s law.

So how can a man be truly set free from the passions of the flesh? How can a person have a true victory over the flesh so that his weaknesses, passions, lusts and desires are not just covered over and hidden, but are taken completely away so that they cannot rise up and cause man to sin any more? That is the work of the Holy Spirit in us and the power of walking in the Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit

In essence, walking in the Spirit is about using the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the weaknesses of the flesh. When our passions rise up in us that if left unchecked would cause us to sin, then we can use the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in the Spirit and overcome those desires.

Each time a particular passion arises we need to crush it by the power of the Spirit. This may happen many times with those passions or lusts that are a particular problem for us, but over time as we continue to use this process of walking in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit slowly takes away the passion so that it no longer afflicts us. It may take many years for it to be complete, but when this victory over the flesh in Jesus Christ is complete, that passion, lust or desire will cease to afflict us. The Holy Spirit will remove it.

So how do you walk in the Spirit?

I have written quite extensively about this subject in other posts on this blog. Basically walking in the Spirit is about handing over the problem, passion or lust to the Lord and then using the power of the Holy Spirit to crush it.

When our passions rise up we need to immediately pray and ask the Lord to take it away. If it is a particularly strong desire that has afflicted us many times, the quickest and easiest way to gain control is to speak in tongues. As the passion rises and keep speaking in tongues until the passion passes. And it will pass because we are handing the issue over to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit.

There are other methods we can and should employ to walk in the Spirit too. We can read the scriptures and meditate on them. Also we can sing gospel songs and focus on the great things the Lord has done for us.

The key to walking in the Spirit is what you set your mind on. It is what you are thinking about that will drive your actions. If your thoughts are being driven by your lustful passions, then they need to be brought under control. So by doing the things mentioned above you are changing your thinking to focus on the things of the Lord rather than the things of the flesh.

This is the pathway to victory over the flesh in Jesus Christ. This is the way we walk in the Spirit. And I would finish off here with one last scripture. This sums up the methodology of walking in the Spirit that you need to keep in mind.

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)

Victory over the flesh in Jesus Christ is about victory in our spirits. This comes through the power of self-control that the Holy Spirit effects within our minds and our thinking so that we set our minds on the Spirit rather than the flesh.

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