As Paul
the apostle wrote his list of the manifestations of the flesh, he was
quite thorough in the last two verses. However, the list did not end
there. In chapter five and verse twenty-one, he finishes the way the
flesh demonstrates itself. He wrote:
Envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you
before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do
such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Before
we continue Paul's list, let's review the previous traits: Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies.
Should we forget what all these are, look over their descriptions in
the last two blogs.
We might
think these are enough, but Paul added “Envyings”.
Sometimes the word used in the Bible is very clear, and such is the
case with “Envyings.” It means to “envy” which for
clarity has the idea of love threatened from within – someone has
something that we want and don't have. This is a natural work of the
flesh nature and is prevalent in most people. The flesh desires to
have things that others have, and if necessary, has no problem
manipulating or trampling others to obtain it.
Next
Paul adds, “murders” which means the willful intent to
take or slaughter the life of another person. Jesus highlighted the
spirit of this manifestation of the flesh in the gospel of Matthew in
chapter five and verse twenty-one through twenty-two:
You have heard that it
was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall
kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That
whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,
shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, You fool,
shall be in danger of hell fire.
Jesus said that it is the spirit of murder that is the sinful action.
If we desire that someone be killed because of their actions against
us or someone else, we have in effect murdered them. The spirit of
the law indites anyone of murder who has hatred toward another
person.
Paul continued with “Drunkenness.” Drunkenness is
intoxication. When a person drinks an alcoholic beverage to the point
where they are impaired, they are considered drunk. The flesh nature
likes to enjoy “a buzz” or “wind down”, and although there
are allowances for drinking in the Bible, there is no danger of
“Drunkenness” if a person does not drink. The book of
Proverbs in chapter twenty and verse one has a great warning in the
area of drinking. It says:
Wine
[is] a mocker, strong drink [is] raging: and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise.
Paul the apostle told the Ephesian church in chapter five and verse
eighteen in his letter to them:
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with
the Spirit;
The flesh manifests itself in “Drunkenness”, but the
Spirit is manifested in worship of God.
There are two more manifestations of the flesh which Paul lists, but
we shall have to wait till our next time together.
Then we will see what Paul has to say about them and the results our
living with a flesh nature, so read ahead, and let us join together
then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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