Lesson 4: Warring Against the Flesh
Questions 6 and 7
The cross was a huge victory where Jesus disarmed Satan, stripped him bare, stomped on his head and put him to death. Through the cross Jesus “broke the power of him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).
Following Christ into Battle
And now, my friend, you are called to follow in His steps. As we believe in Christ and His finished work, we are enabled to "run quickly toward the battle” (1 Samuel 17:48), facing our giants, confident that in Christ we are already victorious! The cross should convince you that God is for you, friend, so who or what can stand against you? Nothing and No one! (Romans 8:31)
Here is a video of Pastor Mike's encouraging and helpful message to The Gospel Church in Long Beach, WA where he helps us understand more about what it means to war against the flesh.
Do you know that if you are a believer you have spiritual power over sin? Consider this:
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Luke 10:19
This is Jesus telling us that He defeated the evil one for us.
Do you know what this means? It means you stop losing the battle to porn and impurity. You stop being pummeled and kicked, and instead, you stand firm in the Lord. You begin living like a spiritually mature child of God who wins battles! You don’t have to just surrender anymore! Why would you? As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the power of God that raises the dead and the power of God's Spirit residing in you.
When I was ensnared in impurity, I tried to fight on my own and lost every time; so much so, that I just gave up fighting. If I had an impure thought in my mind, I would just follow it to the gratifying of my flesh. But no more! Now I am living in the victory that Christ secured for me on Calvary, and you can live this way too. Not that we've arrived, but "God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57
Now, I just have one more question for you to consider as we close out this introductory teaching on the third foundational principle. How did Jesus win at the cross? I mean we just read that He defeated Satan and destroyed His work, but how?
Question 6. How did Jesus win at the cross? Share your thoughts.
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
If you know the answer to this question, then you know how you will win too. Jesus won through death! And guess what? You’re going to win the same way!
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Romans 6:6-7
I’m not talking about your physical death, but rather about joining Christ at His cross and dying with Him to sin. Now that’s the kind of death that sets us free!
I understand that not everyone likes to think of themselves as a soldier at war; some of us are repelled at the thought of violence. However, if we would win the battle against sexual impurity, we must not lean to our own understanding in these matters (Proverbs 3:5-6). The evil one would love for you to reject a war-like mentality against sin and your flesh. The world, your flesh, and the devil all want you to be “reasonable” about sin. They want you to make peace with sin; to let you believe that you can manage it. But these are lies that will only keep you in bondage. So, even if being a soldier doesn’t come naturally to us, we must embrace this biblical calling upon our lives.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13 (NIV)
The third foundational principle of freedom is “Warring against the flesh.” Throughout the course, you will see these foundational principles repeated and reinforced in the lessons. Each time we revisit one of the three principles, we will build on what we have already learned, and we will expand them with different Scriptures and application.
Question 7. Are you ready? What is your answer, soldier?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
In the next lesson, we will see how to lose the battle and how to win the battle.