Angelic Conflict part 284: Reigning in life – Rom 5:12-21; 8:1-11; Phi 2:2, 4-5; 3:15-16; 4:2, 8-10; Gal 5:19-23.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 284: Reigning in life - ROM 5:12-21; 8:1-11; PHI 2:2, 4-5; 3:15-16; 4:2, 8-10; GAL 5:19-23.  

 

We make good decisions from the standpoint of spirituality or being filled with the Spirit. It takes a whole person to make a decision; intellect, sensibility, and will.

 

ROM 8:5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

 

"set their minds" - frone,w[froneo; present active indicative] = to think, to be minded in a certain way, attitude, disposition of mind.

 

Out of the 30 times phroneo is used in the NT, 28 are in the active voice.

 

The fruit of the Spirit can be clearly seen in the believer's own life, and in that, and only that, is the life beyond dreams, beyond what natural eye, ear, and mind function can reveal. Life is not a step by step function, but a harmonic flow of billions of decisions, motivations, actions, thoughts, emotions, and adaptations.

 

Turn to PHI 2:2.

 

Other examples of where phroneo is used: most in Rom and Phi

 

PHI 2:2

Make my joy complete by being of the same mind [auto phroneo; present active subjunctive], maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

 

This is not a desire for us to all think exactly alike, but to have our minds set on the same love, spirit, and purpose.

 

PHI 2:4-5

do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude [phroneo; present active imperative] in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus

 

This is a mind set on humility.

 

PHI 3:15-16

Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [phroneo]; and if in anything you have a different attitude [phroneo], God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

 

Here the attitude is:

PHI 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

PHI 3:18-19

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds [phroneo] on earthly things.

 

I've heard people say that pastor so and so is 90% right, or 70% right, etc. [naturally this assumes that they are 100% right] God doesn't ever give degrees of wickedness or goodness, but rather He says that there are two kinds of believers, those who set their minds or attitudes on the things of the flesh and those who set their minds or attitudes on the Spirit. What is the mind of your pastor set upon? He's always going to learn and grow. He does not have 100% knowledge, no matter how long he has trained. Are his eyes on the word of God and the souls in his congregation or are his eyes upon him. Is he trying to build an empire or is he striving to climb the hill to be filled up with all the fulness of God and leading his congregation to do the same?

 

PHI 4:2

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony [auto phroneo] in the Lord.

 

We're not told why these two are fighting. We know that they are both believers and both have the right attitudes as they have both shared Paul's struggle in the cause of the gospel.

 

PHI 4:3 Indeed, true comrade, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

 

Maybe one has a trend towards lasciviousness and the other towards asceticism and so they have different personalities, or maybe they disagree on a doctrine that is based on conjecture, or maybe some cliques formed in the church at Philippi, we're not told, but they are told to have the same attitude of setting their minds on the things of the Spirit. If a believer is occupied with Christ and has his mind on the things of the Spirit of God then he is mostly not thinking of others in terms of their flesh.

 

2CO 5:15-16

they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh [our flesh as unbelievers], yet now we know Him thus no longer.

 

PHI 4:10

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned [phroneo] before, but you lacked opportunity.

 

COL 3:2

Set your mind [phroneo; present active imperative] on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

 

ROM 8:5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

 

ROM 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

 

The Bible talks about the flesh a lot. The long list of things that are connected to the flesh are all hateful to God.

 

The flesh has: affections, confidence, deeds, desires, faith, religion, prayers, worship, and a god.

 

Put all together the flesh describes the normal, natural man who is untouched by the Spirit of God and the believer whose mind in set on the natural man. We often focus on certain sins when we think of the flesh, but the flesh also does good things according to the world, but are evil in the eyes of God. Always, the flesh is ultimately looking to satisfy itself in whatever it does and as such it can often be very subtle, which always makes it far easier for us to self-justify our pursuit of it.

 

You may have pursued money, power, promotion, approbation, materialism, or romance to the complete exclusion of the filling influence of the Spirit and the living word. That's not to say that you went to work to earn a living and did your job as unto the Lord. That's pursuing the Spirit. Or that you went on a date and acted properly without lust or selfishness and truly desired to get to know someone in the possibility of a romance. That's pursuing the Spirit. Or that you are actively trying to buy something, like a house, and you are content whether you get the house you want, or another, or none. That's pursuing the Spirit. You may have pursued sin, like illicit drugs, drunkenness, illicit sex, or crime, which the conscience of most know to be of the flesh and are just as much of the flesh as the pursuit of money but are more difficult to self-justify.

 

This is how you can easily recognize the flesh - it ultimately looks to satisfy itself because it cannot love and it cannot truly do something for others as God would in grace.

 

Why did the northern kingdom build another tabernacle in Bethel after the civil war and the split? They jealously desired their people to stay and not to move to the south. Why have certain denominations cropped up that are protestant Christian organizations, or the Catholic Church's beginning and the various cults who claim to use the Bible? If God the HS is leading them all then how can they vary so much and fight with each other so much? They had leaders who began them who had power lust and wanted to build empires by teaching that only they had all the truth and that to leave them would be damning or at least damaging to ones spiritual life. Many of them had an intellect of scripture but a sensibility and a will for the flesh and self-justified the building of empires.

 

Speaking of widows:

 

1TI 5:6

But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.

 

The deeds of the flesh always point to self, GAL 5:19-21.