strong spirit, weak flesh

“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.' And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

-Matthew 26:36-41

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One of my favorite things about Jesus is how He has an incredible ability to overlook thick layers of the superficial and see the actual. Jesus sees the heart of a person.

I tend to be overly critical of myself and my actions. My roommate, Drew, is constantly shooting down negative claims that I make about my own identity because I have a tendency to see my mistakes for who I actually am. Drew has such a Christlike ability to see past the superficial and see the actual. Drew knows that I desperately want to do the will of the Lord. I really want to love people, and my heart is so willing to do whatever God would ever ask me to do. Sometimes, for whatever reason, I come up short in those desires. Every time I come up short, I begin to confuse those mistakes with where my heart is. I can sometimes believe that my heart is actually self-seeking if I do something that is self-seeking. I forget that my actions don't always reflect who I am.

I love Jesus because He has clear vision of every situation, and He is the best at communicating what He sees. At Gethsemane, the disciples did the exact opposite of what Jesus asked. The disciples fell asleep when Jesus simply asked them to sit there and watch with Him and pray. Jesus, who was in a space of emotional turmoil as He prepared to endure the cross, asked his disciples to do one seemingly simple task, and his disciples dropped the ball.

In my opinion, Jesus' response to the disciples' disobedience is one of the most profound statements in all of scripture. Jesus says, "the Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." This one statement reveals so much about the nature of God. Jesus actually sees the heart and all of its intentions. He notices a man's desires, but He also recognizes the weakness of the flesh.

Weakness of the flesh is an interesting topic to discuss. It's obvious that we were born weak. The only way we can be made strong is allowing our flesh to die, and asking the Spirit to live within us. Flesh MUST die in order to be strong. Period. However, there are some popular statements that some born-again Christians throw around that really concern me. I think these statements are made out of an attempt to be humble, but we don't really understand what we're saying. This is what I hear all the time: "I'm just a sinner, bro. I'm so weak. I fall all the time, and I probably will fall a lot more in the future. It's just human nature. Thankful for grace though." I do see the heart behind these statements, but it's a dangerous belief to hold. The problem with this logic is that Romans 6 talks about how our flesh already died at the cross. By declaring that we are sinners, and that we are weak, we are implying that our flesh is still alive and well. We are weak without Jesus, but we are supposed to be dead and Jesus is supposed to be alive within us because of the finished work of the Cross. I think we need to be careful by what we say and believe. If there is actually the power of life and death in the tongue, I don't EVER want to call myself a sinner. Even if I do slip up from time to time, a sinner is not who I am. I have been set free from the power of sin. Sin's power over me is literally dead, so I am not going to bring to life something that Christ has killed in the name of having a false humility that would hopefully make me feel better about myself. Calling myself a "sinner" doesn't make me humble, it just makes me wrong. I'm not a sinner anymore, that was the old Jess. I am a son, and I have a new natural. It is not natural for me to sin anymore, because I have been born again. I want to be clear: I'm not trying to set a standard of perfection among Christians, but I am trying to break some unhealthy mindsets. Jesus is sovereign over my life, and I have entirely surrendered my life unto Him. If I sin (and I do sin frequently), it's not because I am a sinner. My sin is a result of trying to grab the reins of my life instead of living in surrender. My daily prayer consists of surrendering everything I am unto the Lord, and allowing Him to take the reins.

Calling myself a "sinner" doesn't make me humble, it just makes me wrong.

Let's backtrack to Jesus' profound statement, "The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." The second half of this statement is another example of how Jesus reaches past the layers of superficial and communicates the actual. By telling the disciples that the flesh is weak, he is literally showing them that they are operating in their own fleshly power. The problem with the disciples at Gethsemane wasn't their willingness to obey, it was the power in which they were operating. Hebrews 12 gives us incredible helpful advice when we are tempted to give into sin.

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. - Hebrews 12:3-4

Consider Jesus, who endured incredible hostility, when you are tempted. When we consider Him, we will not grow weary or fainthearted. The Cross is the most powerful example of surrendering to the Holy Spirit. The writer of Hebrews beautifully articulates how Jesus' willingness to go to the Cross was not a result of fleshly power, but it was a result of the Spirit moving flawlessly within Him. The Spirit of God desperately wants to rule within us at all times. When the Spirit rules, our flesh must die. Sin's voice is silenced when the Holy Spirit is in control of God's child.

We are in a constant battle. The enemy's greatest desire is for the body of Christ to believe that flesh is alive and well. We cannot forget that our flesh was crucified with Christ, and now the Spirit of God reigns in our hearts. The Spirit guides, controls, and leads our lives. The idea that our flesh still holds power is a facade.

If you have laid down your life as a living sacrifice to Jesus, and allowed Him to be the Lord of your life, you are no longer labeled a sinner. You are a son or a daughter. You are loved beyond belief, and you have everlasting peace with God. You don't have to fight for that status, because it is a gift that was purchased at Calvary. Just receive the gift, and believe that it is yours forever, because it is.

Church, we must abide in Him. Staying connected to the Holy Spirit is our one and only hope to living the life He has destined us to live. Freedom is finally at hand because of Christ's powerful work at the cross. He purchased freedom for us. We can't afford to enslave ourselves to something that has no power over us in the first place. We are free, we are loved, and we have all authority over the enemy because we are in Christ.

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Here's a few of my favorite verses that support the ideas listed this blog. Soak in these scriptures! WE ARE FREE FROM SIN AND ALIVE IN HIM.

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. - Romans 6:18

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. - Colossians 1:13-14

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

If through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. - Romans 8:13

Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. - Luke 10:19