SUBDUING THE FLESH

But I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection: lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:27
Read: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race
run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that
ye may obtain.
9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery
is temperate in all things. Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown; but we an
incorruptible.
9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection: lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway.
Message
One of the three expressways to sin is the flesh.
Our first parents did not take note of this and so
they fell into the trap of the flesh. The Bible says:
"And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food...." she fell for the lust of the flesh.
It should be recalled that it was food that made
Esau lose his birthright. The greatest birthright, of
course, is the place Jesus went to prepare for the
elects and no child of God should trade his
Heavenly mansion for a morsel of food. It is
written:
"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person,
as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his
birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when
he would have inherited the blessing, he was
rejected: for he found no place of repentance,
though he sought it carefully with tears."
Hebrews 12:16-17
This is the categorization John the beloved
Apostle made in his first general epistle when he
wrote:
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is
not of the Father, but is of the world." 1 John
2:16.
There are terrible products of the flesh as listed in
Galatians 5:19-21 which will not allow anyone
enter into the kingdom of God. Paul, another
Apostle of Jesus Christ did not underplay the
havoc the flesh can do and determined to keep
his body under and subject it to spiritual
authority, so that he could make it to eternity
with his God. It is not a surprise that Paul
decided to subject his flesh because he knew the
evil it perpetrated against his soul as revealed in
another of his epistles where he lamented:
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me
from the body of this death?" Romas 7:24
He however found solution to the devastating
effect of the flesh in Jesus Christ, as He wrote
further in Romas 7:25a.
The lesson we can readily learn from Paul's
experience is that we can overcome the negative
influence of the flesh if we accept Jesus Christ as
our Lord and Saviour. Our annual resolution to
live a godly life cannot help in this regard. Only
with the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ can any
man overcome the flesh. This is why Jesus is
calling everyone, particularly a reader of this
devotional; He says:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
As Paul overcame, we can also overcome the
flesh and we shall be able to say like him:
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith:"
2 Timothy 4:7
May the Lord give us victory over the flesh in
Jesus' name.
Action Point :
Father, help me to uproot every seed of sin that
the devil has planted in my life, and give me
victory over my flesh in Jesus' name. Pray for
Pastor (Mrs) Folu Adeboye, that the Grace and
anointing of God in her life will continue to
multiply year after year.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 1 Corinthians 5-7 and
Psalms 9:1-10
AUTHOR: Pst E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 4: TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.