PART 5 YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN. NOW WHAT?

How Can I Address the Weaknesses of My Flesh?

4

How Can I Address My Weaknesses?

I believe this is one of the most neglected topics in the church today. Many churches will present their standard teachings on forgiveness, eternal security, predestination, the offices of the church, giving financially, etc., along with encouraging the assembly to get more involved in church activities so that they might be examples of Christlikeness to others. They claim that evidencing godly qualities is determined by focusing on changing one’s behavior. If Christians try as hard as they can not to commit certain overt sins, obey the teachings of the church, and do good for others, then they say this is evidence of godliness. This sounds right, doesn’t it? 

Is this the protocol that we as Christians are to follow to show evidence of divine character?                   

Let’s begin by looking at a verse from the Book of Romans.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

All of us are born with a sin [nature, and as such,] the human race does nothing except commit sin,⁴⁷ thus falling short of the likeness of God that each man was intended to bear.

                                             

What characterizes the sin nature?

Please turn in your Bibles to the Book of Galatians.                                    

Galatians 5:24…the flesh with the affections and lusts.

This sin nature, the flesh, has affections [innate forces resident in the evil nature; propensities (a natural inclination or tendency)]⁴⁸ and lusts (forces reaching out to find expression in the gratification of these desires; to the goings forth of the soul [toward] objects which it is wrong to pursue).⁴⁹

                                 

How can these affections and lusts be subdued?

The answer can be found in the Book of 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 5:17           

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

When a person repents (a change of mind about their sin; the denial of ourselves; the displeasing of ourselves) to God the Father and believes in his Son Jesus Christ, he becomes a new creature (creation). Old things (the things that characterized the pre-Christian life) are passed away (come to an end; finished and gone), and all things become new (previously non-existent, begin to be far different from what they were before).⁵⁰ That is, when a person responds to the gospel, their sin nature is no longer in control; and their new life in Christ is now characterized by that which was previously non-existent.

Is it true that when we repent and believe, our sin nature is no more in control, having been eradicated (removed)?

Let’s take a look at another verse that might provide us with clarity on this.

Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

At conversion, being now as those who are Christ’s, as He died to sin once on the cross, so we were identified with Him in His death at this point of time in the past, which resulted in the breaking of the power of the sinful nature over our lives. This victory over sin, which the Lord Jesus procured for us at the [cross], is made actual and operative in our lives as we yield to the Holy Spirit and trust Him for that victory.⁵¹ Thus, the Holy Spirit has a twofold ministry in the saint, that of making actually operative in the life of the Christian, the victory over sin which the Lord Jesus procured for us at the [cross], and that of producing in the Christian’s experience His spiritual fruit.

But this, what Christ has accomplished in a full and rich [measure,] can only become experiential as the saint puts himself definitely under subjection to the Spirit.⁵² Our sin nature was not eradicated (removed) when we became born again. However, at salvation, we received another member of the Trinity (the person of the Holy Spirit) who came inside our bodies to indwell, thus providing us with a new divine nature. So, with that said, the question is this.

How does a Christian subject themselves to the Spirit so that they’re no longer under the power of the sin nature with its affections and lusts? 

This is the dilemma for many places of worship with the dwelling Holy Spirit in its members. Preaching the gospel, providing teachings on various biblical topics, and a yearning for the Spirit’s presence is the modus operandi. This appears to be all that’s needed for a Christian to be under the subjection of the Spirit. Right? Is this all that’s required?

Upon further investigation of the teachings of some churches of God, two things stand out. There is a tendency to stress belief in the many doctrines of the faith whose content is derived from some of the Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, without any teachings on how to address the weaknesses of one’s flesh. In other cases, doctrinal teachings are mixed, meaning that Old Testament theology is blended with New Testament theology. Adherence to obeying certain aspects of the Mosaic Law is what constitutes being obedient to God. Fasting, tithing, observing certain days and weeks, obedience to attending worship service, Bible study, conferences, etc., where the message of following the example of Christ as relating to these ceremonial observances is repeated over and over.

    

What does this mean concerning the person and work of the Holy Spirit?

This doesn’t mean that in either case the Holy Spirit isn’t yearned for or doesn’t show up. What it means is that the assembly might be impacted by God’s corporate anointing during worship service but is unable to address personal weaknesses and/or strengths of their flesh throughout the remainder of the week.

Why’s this the result? It’s because they haven’t learned how. They’re taught that following Christ’s example has to do with either trying to copy His behavior or obeying the tenets of the Mosaic Law. I would beg to differ with this approach and say that exhibiting Christ’s example in a believer’s life only occurs when they’re walking in the Spirit.

                                   

How does a Christian walk in the Spirit?

Please turn the pages in your Bibles to the Book of Ephesians. It’s true that we have looked at this topic earlier in this study. But let’s look at it again in a more comprehensive manner.

 

Ephesians 4:22-23

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

We’re to put off our former conversation (habits), which are the result of us being dominated by the old man (the totally depraved nature), whose lusts are excited by deceit, i.e. by deceitful influences seducing to sin, by being renewed in the spirit of our mind, i.e. to be spiritually transformed, to take on a new mind. This renewal of our minds occurs by using the Word of God and the joint testimony of the Holy Spirit with our human spirit.

Through Christ, once and for all, at salvation, we’ve been given a new position in His new creation of us, but day by day, we must by faith appropriate what we’ve received. As the mind understands the truths of God’s Word, it’s gradually transformed by the Spirit, and this renewal leads to a changed life. Physically, you are what you eat, but spiritually, you are what you think.⁵³

So, if we want to be in subjection to the control of the Spirit, we need to put off the thoughts of the old man and put on the ideas of the new man. Let me give you an example of how to do this. Over the past couple of years since my retirement, I’ve been working with a friend doing odd construction jobs, albeit on a limited basis. Some of them were for pay, while others were for charity. Recently, I noticed that my friend was no longer calling me to assist him. He had secured the services of two other men. One was a fellow believer I’d introduced to him when there was a need for one extra person to assist in moving a huge refrigerator in a previous job.

As I began to reflect on this apparent distancing, I became upset, wondering why I was no longer getting called. I reflected on thoughts such as why did I introduce a fellow believer to him in the first place if I knew that he could take my place? You know what, isn’t this the natural way that an unbeliever would think about this situation? But I’m not an unbeliever. However, I was feeling like one. The first thing I needed to do, which I did, was to recognize that this thinking was fleshly and self-centered. The next thing that was essential for me to do was confess my attitude as sin to God the Father.

My initial contemplation toward my friend was that he was inconsiderate. My attitude toward my fellow believer was that he took work away from me, work I should have at least had the first crack at. Situations like this make us aware whether our thoughts are fleshly or spiritual. While the manner in which my friend chose to use certain people to work on certain construction jobs might seem to be impolite, I can’t say for sure whether or not he was. However, I have a responsibility on my end to think with the mind of Christ in response to my friend’s decision to hire whomever he chooses and for my fellow believer to accept the work that he was offered.

How did I obtain victory over this wrong mental attitude that I harbored? Well, as stated previously, I needed to recognize that my thinking was fleshly and confess it as a sin to God the Father. If this was all there was to it, then there really wouldn’t be any personal victory in this area of weakness.   

Here’s what I mean. During a time of war, it’s essential to both combatants that they take territory away from their enemy. Suppose one side defeats the enemy in a nearby territory but doesn’t go forward and occupy the ground. In that case, more of the enemy forces will eventually return and re-secure the stronghold. This holds true as well in the spiritual realm. Acknowledging and confessing sin doesn’t secure victory. We need to go in and take over the land.

How is this accomplished in the spiritual realm? This is accomplished by praying to God the Father and asking Him for guidance in receiving a verse or verses that would provide the needed spiritual perspective on which to reflect. Only then can we become overcomers in this area of weakness.

Can a verse or verses help me regarding the mindset I was harboring that my friend was discourteous?

Yes, there is. Please proceed to the Book of 1 Corinthians.

 

1 Corinthians 13:4

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.                 

According to Koine Greek, the word believeth means to believe the best of every person; will credit no evil on any, but only on the most positive evidence. This word tells me that I am to believe the best of my friend and my fellow believer and not credit them with any evil unless there’s clear proof. Now that I have the divine perspective in this area, for it to benefit me, I need to decide to memorize and meditate upon this section of the verse believeth all things along with the related meaning of the word believeth (will credit no evil on any, but only on the most positive evidence). Otherwise, there will be no continual victory in this skirmish.

How many of us are continually defeated in the skirmishes of life because our church doesn’t provide teachings that will help us address our carnal thinking? I’m not blaming these churches. I think this concept is as foreign to them as it was to me. Day after day, we recognize that our thoughts are wrong; and admit so to God, but how to obtain the victory is unknown. But this is no longer the case. Right. What this will require is either personal study to unlock God’s divine perspective in His Word or teachings from the pulpit that provide it.

And do you know what happens when we learn and apply God’s perspective?

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

This verse will begin to become more and more relevant to us. And there’s something else that happens concerning one of the members of the Trinity.

What’s the Holy Spirit’s response when we choose to put on the new mind of the new man?

1 John 2:5

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

If any believer keepeth (watchful care; keeps on continually keeping) God’s word (all that he has made known to us as his will regarding our conduct), then in [him, in reality,] will the love of God, which is produced in the believer yielded to the Holy Spirit⁵⁴ be perfected (be shown exemplified by him; be manifested in him). Did you understand that? When we continually keep God’s Word in our minds and respond with this mental attitude of divine perspective toward the circumstances that occur in our lives, then the Holy Spirit expresses His spiritual qualities of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance toward others and in the midst of whatever circumstances come our way. All I can say is WOW.

Another roadblock that we’ll look at can trouble us until we go home to be with the Lord. Any idea what this could be all about? Let’s move forward to the next chapter and find out, but before we do, I’d like to leave you with an article about a particular battle that took place during WWII and how essential it was for the forces of good to retake and hold ground that the enemy had overtaken.

BATTLE OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

Japan Seizes American Soil

In June 1942, six months after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, that drew the U.S. into World War II, the Japanese targeted the Aleutians, an American-owned chain of remote, sparsely inhabited, volcanic islands extending some [twelve hundred] miles west of the Alaskan Peninsula. After reaching the Aleutians, the Japanese conducted air strikes on Dutch Harbor, [the] site of two American military bases, on June 3^rd and June 4^th. The Japanese then made landfall at Kiska Island on June 6 and Attu Island, approximately two hundred miles away, on June 7. Japanese troops quickly established garrisons, or military bases, on both islands, which had belonged to the U.S. since it purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.

Did you know? The native people of the Aleutian Islands were originally known as the Unangan. Russian fur traders who arrived in the region in the mid-18th century renamed them the Aleuts. In 1942, after the Japanese took Attu, the island’s population of some 40 Aleuts were taken prisoner.

Like the other volcanic islands in the Aleutians, [Attu,] and Kiska appeared to have little military or strategic value because of their barren, mountainous terrain and harsh weather, infamous for its sudden dense fogs, high winds, [rains,] and frequent snow. Some historians believe Japan seized Attu and Kiska mainly to divert the U.S. Pacific Fleet during the Japanese attack on Midway Island (June 4�"7, 1942) in the central Pacific. It’s also possible the Japanese believed that holding the two islands could prevent the U.S. from any attempt to invade Japan’s home islands by way of the Aleutian chain.

American Reaction to Japanese Occupation

Americans were shocked that Japanese troops had taken over any U.S. soil, no matter how remote or barren. Some also feared that Japan’s occupation of the two islands might be the first step toward an attack against mainland Alaska or even the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Despite nationwide anger, American war planners at first paid relatively little attention to the Japanese garrisons at Attu and Kiska, as they were still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor and in the process of building up forces in the South Pacific and preparing for war in Europe. In fact, in the initial months after Japan occupied the islands, the U.S. military conducted only occasional bombing raids from nearby Aleutian Islands.

In the meantime, during the months following their occupation, Japanese soldiers learned to acclimate to the extreme conditions on Attu and Kiska, and the Japanese navy kept the soldiers well-supplied. But by January 1943, U.S. Army forces in the Alaska Command had grown to 94,000 soldiers, with several bases recently constructed on other Aleutian Islands.

On January 11, troops from the Alaska Command landed on Amchitka Island, only 50 miles from Kiska.

Naval Blockade of Attu and Kiska

By March 1943, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (1888�"1972) had set up a blockade of Attu and Kiska that restricted the flow of supplies to the Japanese occupiers. On March 26, 1943, Japanese ships in the Bering Sea attempted to deliver supplies and reinforcements to Attu; however, they were spotted by U.S. vessels patrolling the [area,] and the two sides soon engaged in what became known as the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. The Japanese fleet outnumbered the U.S. fleet and inflicted more serious damage on the Americans, but after several hours of fighting, the Japanese ships suddenly withdrew. In addition to running low on fuel and ammunition, the Japanese reportedly feared the arrival of U.S. bombers. The Japanese were also unaware of the extent of the damage they’d caused to the U.S. fleet.

Following the battle, the Japanese soldiers on Attu and Kiska, now virtually isolated, were reduced to meager supplies sporadically delivered by submarine. Taking advantage of these conditions, the Americans prepared to land troops for ground combat against the Japanese garrisons.

Battle of Attu: Operation Landcrab

American ships and planes bombed Attu and Kiska for several weeks before the U.S. military began Operation Landcrab on May 11, 1943, landing 11,000 troops on Attu. The Americans expected the operation to take no more than several days, but harsh weather and rugged, muddy terrain extended the combat for more than two weeks. The Japanese troops, greatly outnumbered, had withdrawn to high ground rather than contest the initial landings. However, U.S. soldiers, with uniforms and equipment ill-designed for the harsh weather conditions, suffered more casualties from frostbite, trench foot, gangrene and other illnesses than from enemy fire. Food shortages added to their misery as they crisscrossed the barren island, fighting mostly small but fierce engagements while scouring the rocks and slopes for booby traps, [snipers,] and dug-in enemy troops.

But the fate of the Japanese had been sealed when the Americans established air and naval supremacy over the island, cutting Japanese supply lines and making it unlikely that reinforcements would arrive. By late May, the last remaining Japanese troops were starving and had insufficient ammunition when U.S. troops trapped them in [the] corner of the island. The Japanese commander, Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki (1891-1943), decided to make a last-ditch frontal charge. Shortly before daybreak on May 29, he and his soldiers began one of the largest banzai charges of the war in the Pacific. Yamasaki’s troops charged wildly into the American lines, sweeping through their combat outposts and penetrating all the way to shocked support troops in the rear of the American camp. But the gambit ultimately failed. After a final attack on May 30, U.S. soldiers counted more than 2,000 Japanese dead, including Yamasaki. The Americans lost some 1,000 men in the retaking of Attu.

Within two days, U.S. forces secured the [island,] and the Battle of Attu, the only land battle fought on American soil in World War II, was over.

Battle of Kiska: Operation Cottage

Having learned bitter lessons at Attu, American commanders made certain that their soldiers had better equipment and proper clothing for the assault on Kiska, code-named Operation Cottage, where they expected to encounter several times as many Japanese troops as they’d faced on Attu. However, when U.S. ships arrived at Kiska on August 15, 1943, the weather was strangely clear and the seas quiet, and the approximately 35,000 soldiers landed unopposed. Then, after several days of scouring the island, they discovered that the Japanese had evacuated the entire garrison several weeks [earlier] under cover of fog.

On August 24, when U.S. troops declared Kiska Island secure, the Battle of the Aleutian Islands ended.

Japan's Defeat and Repositioning

Following its defeat in the Aleutians, the Japanese navy reassigned some of its Pacific forces to defend Japan’s northern flank against a possible American invasion from the Alaskan Peninsula. This decision removed a significant number of Japanese troops and resources that might otherwise have been committed to resisting U.S. forces in the South Pacific that were then island-hopping toward Japan. To fuel Japan’s perception that it was threatened from the U.S. Northwest, American planes in the Aleutians conducted occasional bombing raids against Japan’s Kuril Islands, which lie between Japan and Alaska.

Two years after the Battle of the Aleutian Islands, Japan formally surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945, effectively ending World War II. ⁵⁵

 

Endnotes

⁴⁷Weust.

⁴⁸Dictionary.

⁴⁹The Pulpit.

⁵⁰Thayer’s Greek Lexicon Pc Study Bible version 5, 2006, 05 February 2016 ˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.

⁵¹Weust.

⁵²Weust.

⁵³The Bible Exposition.

⁵⁴Weust.

⁵⁵History.com editors. “BATTLE OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS,” History 5 April 2023

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