Genesis 1:26-27 (Amplified) tells us, "God said; Let Us (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), make mankind in Our Image (after Our Likeness), and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the (tame) beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His Own Image (in the Image and Likeness of God) He created him; male and female He created them."
After creating man, God Blessed them and consecrated him to rule and subdue the earth and everything in it. Man was a spirit, like God, until God formed a body and soul for him, in Genesis 2:7. Along with the soul and flesh, God placed the five senses, for man to be able to contact the elements around him. The five senses were to be in subjection to man's spirit and his spirit was to be in submission to the Spirit of God.
Adam's fall resulted in his losing connection to God's Spirit. Death entered in and Adam began drawing all of his information, from his senses. He became reliant on his natural senses and his own reliance, in life. We were like Adam, until Jesus was raised from the dead and crowned Lord of Heaven and earth. We only had knowledge of our natural life, which stemmed from our flesh and senses, until Jesus came to save us.
Now that we're born-again, we have contact with our Father, in the Spirit. We've sadly been led more by our flesh and senses, because they're what we knew until our new birth. We learned solely by our carnal or senses, before being born-again. The hardest part of walking with God after being born-again, is the renewing of our minds. Paul writes in Romans 12:2 (Amplified), "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude) So you may prove (for yourselves), what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."
When we were born-again, we have Life again and unity with the Spirit of God. Our soul and flesh are at enmity with God and we've been led and governed by our soul, mind, will, emotions and intellect, instead of our spirit. We've been restored back into being God's children, in our spirit. We've been made in His Image and Likeness again, but our flesh and soul isn't changed or saved. Our soulish nature still wants to dominate our flesh.
The only hold satan has over the new creation child of God, is our soulish nature, which has been under his control sin Adam's fall. Satan no longer has control over your spirit man/woman. The war that rages in every believer, is now between our new creation spirit and our old worldly educated soul or senses.
We see the same warfare occurring in Jesus' earthly ministry. Jesus spent much time praying and being in the Father's Presence, in order to keep His body subject to His Spirit. We see Jesus on the mountain of temptation in Luke 4:13 (Amplified), which says, "And when the devil had ended every (the complete cycle of) temptation, he (temporarily) left Him (that is stood off from Him), until another more opportune and favorable time."
Jesus was at war with Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Mark 14:34-36 (Amplified), Jesus' soul warred against His Spirit, to the point that it almost "Killed Him." Thus, it says, "And He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sad (overwhelmed by grief), so that IT ALMOST KILLS ME! Remain here and keep awake and be watching. And going a little further, He fell on the ground and kept praying that if it were possible the (fatal) hour might pass from Him. And He was saying, Abba (which means Father), everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You (will)."
Warring this hard against the will of the flesh or soul, was the most difficult part of Jesus' entire trial. His flesh fought so hard against Him, that Jesus said, "It almost kills Me." Luke 22:44 (Amplified) says, "And being in agony (of mind), [Jesus] prayed (all the) more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down on the ground." His soul, mind and flesh, warred against Jesus' Spirit, until it almost killed Him. His Spirit was always in contact with the Holy Spirit and won out over His soul.
Renewing our minds by the things of the Spirit, isn't always as simple as it sounds. We can read the Word and intellectually understand what it says, but it's not our intellect that is strengthened by simply reading. Like he did with Jesus, satan backs off until "another more opportune time," to push us again. We have the same Holy Spirit and the same Father that Jesus had in His life, but Jesus refused to let His senses or soul to lead Him, even to the where He sweat blood.
Hebrews 12:3-4 (Amplified) tells us, "Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself (reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials), so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your (own) blood."
The war of your mind against your spirit, isn't new to you or any other of God's children. Satan no longer has control over your spirit, so he tries controlling your soul and flesh. We know so much about the world and our carnal mind which has been educated by the world, but so little about God's Word. We struggle to rise above religion and into relationship with the Father.
Some fellow believers will try talking you out of resisting our human nature for God's nature. This doesn't make sense to them. Our sense knowledge is our greatest weakness and satan's strongest weapon against us. Paul instructed us to "renew our minds, by God's Word" He admonished us to, "Not be adapted to this world or age and caught up by its external, superficial customs." An unrewed mine is easy prey for satan to impose his external, superficial customs. The results are man-made laws, which we're to follow. We've imposed them on ourselves, by the carnal mind and senses of the world.
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