(Here are excerpts from Watchman Nee who now begins to break down each of the three parts of man and discuss them in more detail. Because this is so ponderous a work, we will consider each only briefly. Many beautiful truths.)

    "The word 'flesh' is basar in Hebrew and sarx in Greek. Seen often in the Bible, it is used in various ways. Its most significant usage, observed and made most clear in Paul's writings, has reference to the unregenerated or unsanctified person. Speaking of his old 'I,' he says in Romans 7:14: 'I am fleshly.' Not merely his nature or a particular part of his being is fleshly; the 'I' truth is-Paul's whole being-is fleshly. He reiterates this thought in verse 18 by asserting 'within me, that is in my flesh.' It follows clearly that 'flesh' in the Bible points to all an unregenerated person is.

    "In connection with this usage of 'flesh,' it must be remembered that in the very beginning man was constituted spirit, soul and body. As it is the site of man's personality and consciousness, the soul is connected to the spiritual world through man's spirit. The soul must decide whether it is to obey the spirit and hence be united with God and His will or is to yield to the body and all the temptations of the material world.

    "On the occasion of man's fall the soul resisted the spirit's authority and became enslaved to the body and its passions. Thus man became a fleshly, not a spiritual man. Man's spirit was denied its noble position and was reduced to that of a prisoner. Since the soul is now under the power of the flesh, the Bible deems man to be fleshly or carnal. Whatever is soulical has become fleshly. Every man is controlled by that composite of soul and body called the flesh, following both the sins of his body and the self of his soul.

    "How do we become flesh? 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.' So asserted the Lord Jesus to Nicodemus long ago (John 3:6). Everything a man naturally inherits from his parents belongs to the flesh. Whatever a man is born with pertains to the flesh and is within that realm. As soon as a man is born he is fleshly. When Jesus said 'is born,' He meant that the fleshliness of a man is determined not by himself but by his birth. If he is born of flesh, ALL PLANS FOR HIS TRANSFORMATION WILL BE UNAVAILING. NO MATTER HOW HE CHANGES OUTWARDLY, WHETHER FROM ONE FORM TO ANOTHER OR THROUGH DAILY CHANGE, MAN REMAINS FLESH AS FIRMLY AS EVER." (Works oriented Christians take note.)  GOD'S SALVATION:  "'God,' asserts the Apostle, 'has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh' (Rom.8:3). This uncovers the actual situation of that moral class of the fleshly who may perhaps be very much intent on keeping the law. They may indeed be observing quite a few of its points. Weakened by the flesh, however, they cannot keep the whole law. THE MORE ONE DESIRES TO OBSERVE THE LAW THE MORE HE DISCOVERS HOW FULL OF SIN HE IS AND HOW IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO KEEP IT.

    "God's reaction to the sinfulness of all men is to take upon Himself the task of salvation. His way is in 'sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.' His Son is without sin, hence He alone is qualified to save us. 'In the likeness of sinful flesh' describes His incarnation: how He takes a human body and links Himself with mankind. God's only Son is referred to elsewhere as 'the Word' that 'became flesh' (John 1:4). His coming in the likeness of sinful flesh is the 'became flesh' of that verse. The emphasis here is that He is the Son of God, consequently sinless.

    "Even when He comes in the flesh, God's Son does not become 'sinful flesh.' He only comes in 'the likeness of sinful flesh.' While in the flesh, He remains as the Son of God and is still without sin. Yet because He possessed the likeness of sinful flesh, He is most closely joined with the world's sinners who live in the flesh. The Lord Jesus in coming to the world takes this likeness of sinful flesh and joins Himself so perfectly with the fleshly that they have been punished for their sin in His death on the cross. Thus the Lord Jesus actually put sin to death in His flesh. We therefore can see in His death that not only our sins are judged but sin itself is even judged. Henceforth sin has no power upon those who are joined to the Lord's death and who accordingly have sin condemned in their flesh.

    REGENERATION--God's release from the penalty and power of sin is accomplished in the cross of His Son. God knows no good resides in man; no flesh can please Him. It is corrupted beyond repair. Since it is so absolutely hopeless, how then can man please God after he has believed in His Son unless He gives him something new? Thank God, He has bestowed a new life, His uncreated life, upon those who believe in the salvation of the Lord Jesus and receive Him as their personal Saviour. This is called 'regeneration' or 'new birth.'" (As this relates to us today, regeneration is accomplished by Sanctification by the latter rain of the Holy Spirit and leads to our being sealed.)

    MAN'S FLESH REMAINS THE SAME:  "Though He cannot alter our flesh God gives us His life. Man's flesh remains as corrupt in those who are born anew as in those who are not. The flesh in a saint is the same as that in a sinner. In regeneration the flesh is not transformed. New birth exerts no good influence on the flesh. It remains as is. God does not impart His life to us to educate and train the flesh.Rather, it is given to overcome the flesh.

    REGENERATED MAN RELATED TO GOD BY BIRTH:  "Man in regeneration actually becomes related to God by birth. Regeneration means to be born of God. As our flesh life is born of our parents so our spiritual life is born of God. The meaning of birth is 'to impart life.' When we say we are born of God it signifies we receive a new life from Him. What we have received is a real life.

    HOLY SPIRIT NECESSARY:  "In coming to deliver us, God first must restore the spirit's position within in order that we may have fellowship with Him again. This occurs when we believe in the Lord Jesus." (For us today deliverance goes beyond regeneration and means we believe and seek fellowship with the Holy Spirit.) "God puts His life" (Holy Spirit) "into our spirit, thus raising it up from death. The Lord Jesus now declares that 'THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT IS SPIRIT' (John 3:6). At this juncture God's life, which is the Spirit, enters our human spirit and restores it to its original position. THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKES UP HIS ABODE IN THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND MAN IS THEREBY TRANSFERRED INTO THE SPIRITUAL REALM.   REGENERATED BY BELIEVING:  "Man is not regenerated by doing something special but by believing the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. One can neither speak of spiritual life nor expect to grow spiritually if he is not regenerated since he has no life in his spirit. If we attempt to teach an unregenerate to do good and to worship God, we are simply teaching a dead man. We are attempting to do what God cannot do when we try to repair and reform the flesh. If one is not born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God. He can never perceive the spiritual mysteries and taste the heavenly sweetness of God's kingdom. His destination is but to wait for death and judgment; for him there is nothing more."

    THE CROSS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT:  "MANY, IF NOT MOST, believers were not filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment they believed the Lord What is even worse, after many years of believing they continue to be entangled by sin and remain carnal Christians."  (We do not have many years left. He who hesitates now will be eternally lost. We could say that in actuality, none are filled, for this is not a
once-received, once-filled condition. It is a gradual filling. The Gospel dispensation is only the former rain experience. Of most vital interest to us is, of course, the latter rain experience. Even this is not a total filling at first. Only when the saints are sealed does the latter rain become reality, only at the time of total, capitalized, SANCTIFICATION. One other important point relates to the infilling. The former rain experience is only a first apartment experience of justification and small "s" sanctification. The Holy Spirit's in this situation is without, or outside the Most Holy Place of the body temple.

    Only the latter rain experience is a true within-the-Most-Holy-Place- experience. So as we consider thischapter and other chapters of Watchman Nee we must of necessity apply these thoughts to our time, which is the latter rain experience.)

    THE DELIVERANCE OF THE CROSS:  "Upon reciting many deeds of the flesh in his Galatian letter, the Apostle Paul then points out 'those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires' (Gal. 5:24). Here is deliverance. Is it not strange that what concerns the believer vastly differs from what concerns God? The former is concerned with 'the works of the flesh' (Gal.5:24), that is, with the varying sins of the flesh. He is occupied with today's anger, tomorrow's jealousy, or the day after tomorrow's strife. The believer mourns over a particular sin and longs for victory over it. YET ALL THESE SINS ARE BUT FRUITS FROM THE SAME TREE.

    "While Plucking one fruit of the flesh (actually one cannot pick off any), out crops another. One after another they grow, giving him no chance for victory. On the other hand, God is concerned not with the works of the flesh but with 'the flesh itself' (Gal. 5:24). Had the tree been put to death, would there be any need to fear lest it bear fruit? The believer busily makes plans to handle sins--which are the fruits, while forgetting to deal with the flesh itself--which is the root.

    DEEPER MEANING OF CROSS NEEDED:  "Babes in Christ need to appropriate the deeper meaning of the cross, for they are still carnal. The aim of God is to crucify the believer's old man with Christ with the result that they who belong to Christ 'have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.' As the sinner was regenerated and redeemed from his sins through the cross, so now the carnal babe in Christ must be delivered from the rule of the flesh by the same cross so that he can walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. Thereafter it will not be long before he becomes a spiritual Christian.

    FALL OF MAN AND OPERATION OF THE CROSS:  "Here we find the contrast between the fall of man and the operation of the cross. The salvation provided by the latter is just the remedy for the former. Firstly, Christ died on the cross for the sinner to remit his sin. A holy God could not righteously forgive him. Secondly, the sinner as well died on the cross with Christ so that he might not be controlled any longer by his flesh. Only this can enable man's spirit to regain its proper rule, make the body its outward servant and the soul its intermediary. In this way the spirit, the soul, and the body are restored to their original position before the fall." (For us today this is accomplished at the time of sealing.)

    THE DECIDING FACTOR:  "The deciding factor is whether one has been related to Christ in life, not how spiritual one is or what work he does for the Lord nor whether he has been freed from sin, has overcome the passions and desires of his flesh, and is not wholly sanctified. In other words, the question can only be: has one been regenerated (truly reborn) or not? The issue before us is not a moral one, nor is it a matter of spiritual life, knowledge, or work. It simply is whether he is the Lord's.

    "You say you still sin, but God says you have been crucified on the cross. You say your temper persists, but God's answer is that you have been crucified. You say your lusts remain very potent, but again God replies that your flesh has been crucified on the cross. For the moment will you please not look at your experience, but just hearken to what God says to you. If you do not listen to His Word and instead look daily upon your situation, you will never enter into the reality of your flesh having been crucified on the cross. Disregard your feelings and experience. God pronounces your flesh crucified; it therefore HAS been crucified. Simply respond to God's Word and you shall have experience. In thus acting upon His Word you shall see your flesh is dead indeed.

    THE HOLY SPIRIT AND EXPERIENCE:  "ROM. 7:5,6 'WHILE WE WERE LIVING IN THE FLESH, OUR SINFUL PASSIONS...WERE AT WORK IN OUR MEMBERS TO BEAR FRUIT FOR DEATH. BUT NOW WE ARE...DEAD...'  "Because of this the flesh has no rule over us any further. We have believed and acknowledge that our flesh has been crucified on the cross. NOW--not before--we can turn our attention to the matter of experience. What God has done for us and what we experience of God's completed work, though distinquishable, are inseparable. IF WE BELIEVE AND IF WE EXERCISE OUR WILL TO CHOOSE WHAT GOD HAS ACCOMPLISHED FOR US, IT WILL BECOME OUR LIFE EXPERIENCE.  NEED GROUNDS FOR ACTION:  "If we desire to put our members to death we first must have a ground for such action; otherwise we merely rely upon our strength. A putting to nougat requires a knowing first of an identification in His death; knowing our identification, we must exercise the putting to death. The 'put to death' is contingent upon the 'you have died.' THIS PUTTING TO DEATH MEANS BRINGING THE DEATH OF THE LORD JESUS TO BEAR UPON ALL THE DEEDS OF THE FLESH. The crucifixion of the Lord is a most authoritative one for it puts away everything it encounters. SINCE WE ARE UNITED WITH HIM IN HIS CRUCIFIXION WE CAN APPLY HIS DEATH TO ANY MEMBER WHICH IS TEMPTED TO LUST AND IMMEDIATELY PUT IT TO NAUGHT.

    UNION WITH CHRIST:  "Our union with Christ in His death signifies that it is an accomplished fact in our spirits. What a believer must do now is to bring this sure death out of his spirit and apply it to his members each time his wicked lusts may be aroused. Such spiritual death is not a once for all proposition. Whenever the believer is not watchful, or loses his faith, the flesh will certainly go on a rampage. If he desires to be conformed completely to the Lord's death, he must unceasingly put to naught the deeds of his members so that what is real in the spirit may be executed in the body.

    ONLY BY THE SPIRIT:  "But whence comes the power to so apply the crucifixion of the Lord to our members? It is 'BY THE SPIRIT,' insists Paul, that 'YOU PUT TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY' (ROM. 8:13). To put away these deeds THE BELIEVER MUST RELY UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT TO TRANSLATE HIS CO- CRUCIFIXION WITH CHRIST INTO PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE. He must believe that the Holy Spirit will administer the death of the cross on whatever needs to die." (This is accomplished in the latter rain experience at the West point when self in the life is finally totally crucified, when Strange Woman is finally subdued.)   "Unless the child of God by the Holy Spirit continually turns to account that power of the holy death of our Lord Jesus, he will not be able to triumph. But if in this way he lays the deeds of the body to rest, the Holy Spirit, who indwells him will ultimately realize God's purpose of putting the body of sin out of a job. But whenever we fail to follow the Holy Spirit we immediately revert to following the flesh. No matter how much the inner mind may serve God's law, the flesh always serves sin's law. However much he may be delivered from the flesh it remains unchanged and continues to serve sin's law (Rom. 7:25), because  the flesh is forever the flesh. Our life in the Holy Spirit may be deepened, but this will not alter the nature of the flesh or prevent it from serving the law of sin.

    THE EXISTENCE OF THE FLESH:  "Let us note carefully that though the flesh may be so put to death that it becomes 'ineffective' (the real meaning of 'destroy' in Rom. 6:6), it endures nonetheless. It is a great error to consider the flesh eradicated from us and to conclude that the nature of sin is completely annihilated. Regenerated life does not alter the flesh; co-crucifixion does not extinguish the flesh; the indwelling Holy Spirit does not render it impossible to walk by the flesh. The flesh with its fleshly nature abides perpetually in the believer. Wherever opportunity is provided for its operation, it at once will spring into action." (This situation will be in effect until we receive our glorified bodies.) "There is absolutely no eradication of it until this body corrupted from Adam is transformed. Our body is not yet redeemed (Rom. 8:23); it waits for redemption at the return of the Lord Jesus.

    "UNTIL A BELIEVER IS SET FREE FROM THE PHYSICAL BODY HE IS NOT ENTIRELY FREE FROM THE FLESH. Physically speaking he must live in the flesh (Gal. 2:20); spiritually speaking he need not and must not war according to the flesh. Now if by obvious inference from 2 Cor. 10:3, Paul, being in the body, remains susceptible to warring according to the flesh (though from v.4 we see he does not war that way), who then dares to say that he no longer has any potentially active flesh. THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS AND ITS CONTINUAL APPLICATION BY THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE CONSEQUENTLY INSEPARABLE. Should a believer come to assume that he is sanctified completely and has no more flesh, he will slip either into a life of pretension or into a life of indolence void of watchfulness." (Both are problems to those in the "holy flesh" movement.)

    "God has saved us to the extent of not having the tendency to sin, but He has not saved us to the extent of our being unable to sin. A believer should understand that in Christ he is a new creation. As such, the Holy Spirit indwells his spirit; and this, together with the death of Jesus actively working in his body, can equip the believer to live a holy life. Such a walk is only possible because the Holy Spirit administers the cross upon the believer's flesh in putting to death the deeds of its members.

    SANCTIFICATION IN POSSIBLE:  "Just because the flesh is still present does not mean sanctification is impossible to a believer. It is only when we have yielded our body to the Lord (Rom. 6:13) that it is possible for us no longer to be under the dominion of the flesh but under the dominion of the Lord. If we follow the Holy Spirit and maintain an attitude of not letting sin reign over the body
(Rom. 6:12), then our feet are freed from stumbling and we experience sustained victory. Our body thus delivered becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit and is at liberty to do God's work. The believer must maintain throughout his life an affirmative attitude towards God and a negative response towards
the flesh. No believer today can arrive at the point of being beyond temptation.

    "Many matured saints have experienced sustained victory over the flesh. Though the flesh abides, its power is reduced practically to zero. Due to the profound and persistent operation of the cross and the faithfulness of saints in following the Holy Spirit, the flesh, though existing, loses all its resistance. Even its power to stimulate believers seems to be nullified. Such a complete triumph over the flesh is attainable by all believers." (This will be the experience of all who receive the full infilling of the Latter Rain of theHoly Spirit and are fully SANCTIFIED AND SEALED.)  Because we are excerpting we will be skipping chapters 2 and 3.  Chapter Two  THE BOASTINGS OF THE FLESH  "Up to this point what we have stressed has been the sins of the flesh which are the lusts of the human body. But our attention now needs to be drawn to another side of the flesh. You will recall we stated earlier that the flesh comprises the works of the soul as well as the lusts of the body. Thus far we have touched upon the body side only, leaving the soul side nearly unscathed. The believer, it is quite true, must rid himself of the defiling sins of the body, but he also needs to resist the works of his soul; for these are no less corrupt in the eyes of God than the sins of the body." (For Laodicean Christians the comments of this particular chapter should have special significance, for Nee describes the exact symptomatology of Laodicea.)

    TWO KINDS OF WORKS OF FLESH:  "According to the Bible the works of the 'flesh' are of two kinds (though both are of the flesh): the UNRIGHTEOUS and the SELF-RIGHTEOUS. THE FLESH CAN PRODUCE NOT ONLY DEFILING SINS BUT ALSO COMMENDABLE MORALS: not only the base and the ignoble but the high and noble as well: not only sinful lust but good intention too. It is this latter side to which we must address ourselves now.

    "The Scriptures employ the word 'flesh' to describe man's corrupt nature or life which embraces soul and body. In the creative act of God soul is placed between spirit and body, that is, between what is heavenly or spiritual and what is earthly or physical. Its duty is to mingle these two, according each its proper place yet making them intercommunicative, that through such perfect harmony man ultimately may attain full spirituality. Unfortunately the soul yielded to temptation which arose from the physical organs, thus releasing itself from the authority of the spirit and embracing instead the control of thebody. Soul and body accordingly were joined together to be flesh. Not only is the flesh 'devoid of the spirit'; it is directly opposed to the spirit.

    OPPOSITION BY THE FLESH:  "The opposition manifested by the flesh against the spirit and against the Holy Spirit is two-fold: (1) by way of committing sin--rebelling against God and breaking the law of God; and (2) by way of performing good--obeying God and following the will of God. The body element of the flesh, full of sin and lust, naturally cannot but express itself in many sins, much to the grief of the Holy Spirit. The soul part of the flesh, however is not as defiled as the body. Soul is the life principle of man; it is his very self, comprising the faculties of will, mind, and emotion. From the human viewpoint the works of the soul may not be all defiled. They merely center upon one's thoughts, ideas,
feelings, and likes or dislikes. Though these all are focused upon self, they are not necessarily defiling sins. The basic characteristic of the works of the soul is independence or self-dependence. Even though the soul side is therefore not as defiled as the body side, it nonetheless is hostile to the Holy Spirit." (It is in the soul that we see the most evident works of the Spirit of Evil.)

    SELF THE CENTER:  "The flesh makes self the center and elevates self-will above God's will. It may serve God, but always according to its idea, not according to God's. It will do what is good in its own eyes. Self is the principle behind every action. It may not commit what man considers sin:" (Laodicea take note)

    IT MAY EVEN TRY TO KEEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS WITH ALL ITS POWER:  "Yet 'self' never fails to be at the heart of every activity. Who can fathom the deceitfulness and vitality of this self? THE FLESH OPPOSES THE SPIRIT not just in sinning against God, but now EVEN IN THE MATTER OF SERVING AND PLEASING HIM. It opposes and quenches the Holy Spirit by leaning upon its own strength without wholly relying upon God's grace and simply being led by the Spirit.

    DANGER IN ACTING RIGHTEOUS:  "We can find many believers around us who are by nature good and patient and loving. Now what the believer hates is sin; therefore if he can be delivered from the works of the flesh as described in Galatians 5:19-21, then is he content. But WHAT THE BELIEVER admires IS RIGHTEOUSNESS; therefore he will try hard to act righteously, longing to possess the fruits of Galatians 5:22-23. Yet just here lies the danger. For the Christian has not come to learn how to hate the totality of his flesh. He merely desires to be liberated from the sins which spring from it.

    ENTIRE FLESH MUST BE DESTROYED:  "He knows how to resist somewhat the deeds of the flesh, but he does not realize that the entire flesh itself needs to be destroyed. What deceives him is that THE FLESH NOT ONLY CAN PRODUCE SIN BUT CAN ALSO PERFORM GOOD. If it is still doing good it is evident it is yet alive. Had the flesh definitely died" (as in the time of sealing), "the believer's ability both to do good and to do evil would have perished with it. An ability to undertake good manifests that the flesh has not yet died.

    "Now it must be recognized that many, before they are born anew, and even many who in their lifetime never believe in the Lord, have performed and continue to perform many commendable acts. Some seem to be naturally born with kindness, patience or goodness. But Jesus says to Nicodemus (John 3:6); though the latter man is so good, naturally, he is nonetheless regarded as of the flesh. This confirms that the flesh can indeed do good.

    IGNORANCE IMPERILS THE CHRISTIAN:  "WHAT IMPERILS A CHRISTIAN IS HIS IGNORANCE OF, OR HIS RELUCTANCE TO FACE UP TO THE NECESSITY OF RIDDING HIMSELF OF EVERYTHING OF THE FLESH, INCLUDING WHAT IS GOOD. He must positively recognize that the good of the flesh is not one bit more presentable than its evil, for both pertain to the flesh. UNLESS THE GOOD FLESH IS DEALT WITH NO CHRISTIAN CAN EVER HOPE TO BE FREE FROM THE DOMINION OF THE FLESH. For by letting his flesh do good he will soon find it working evil. IF ITS SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT DESTROYED, UNRIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL SURELY FOLLOW.  THE NATURE OF THE GOOD WORKS OF THE FLESH:  "The difference between the good which proceeds from the flesh and the good which flows from the new life is that the flesh always has self at its center. It is myself who can perform and does perform good without the need of trusting in the Holy Spirit, without the necessity of being humble, of waiting on God, or of praying to God. Since it is I who wills and thinks and does without the need of God and who  consequently considers how improved I am or how truly a somebody I have now become through my own efforts, is it not inevitable that I shall ascribe glory to myself? Obviously such deeds do not bring people to God; instead they puff up the self. GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO COME TO HIM IN A SPIRIT OF UTTER DEPENDENCY, COMPLETELY SUBMISSIVE TO HIS HOLY SPIRIT, AND HUMBLY WAITING UPON HIM. Any good of the flesh which revolves around self is an abominationin the sight of God, for it does not proceed from the Spirit of Life of the Lord Jesus but is of self and glorifies self." (One wonders just how much present day SDA "watchman"--be they teachers, preachers, parents, evangelists, Sabbath School teachers, etc. operate at this level.)

    FLESHLY DO NOT FEEL NEED OF HOLY SPIRIT:  "Since many of the fleshly are most competent, they do not need to trust in the Holy Spirit. Christ crucified is the wisdom of God, but how much confidence a believer reposes in his own wisdom! He can read and preach the Bible, he can read and believe the Word, but all are executed in the power of his mind, without experiencing the slightest inner registration of a need to depend absolutely upon the instruction of the Holy Spirit. Many therefore believe they possess all THE TRUTH," (works oriented Christians take note) "though what they have comes merely from hearing others or from themselves searching the Scriptures. What is of man far exceeds what is of God. They do not have a heart to receive instruction from Him or to wait upon
the Lord to reveal to them His truth in His light.

    "And what about the ministers? More effort is exerted in planning and arranging than in waiting upon the Lord. Double is the time expended on preparing the division and conclusion of a sermon than on receiving the power from on high. How we stress human wisdom and strive for satisfactory arguments in our messages: how we use appropriate illustrations and diverse other means to stir men's emotions: how we employ wise exhortations to induce men to make decisions! But where are the practical results? To what degree do we rely upon the Holy Spirit and to what degree upon the flesh? HOW CAN FLESH EVER IMPART LIFE TO OTHERS.   FRUIT OF FLESH IS IMPATIENCE:  "One characteristic trait of the good works of the flesh is impatience. It is impossible for the flesh to lean upon God. It is too impatient to tolerate any delay. So long as it deems itself strong it will never depend upon God. Even in a time of desperation the flesh continues to scheme and to search for a loophole. It never has the sense of utter dependency. This alone can be a test whereby a believer may know whether or not a work is of the flesh.

    "WHATEVER DOES NOT ISSUE FROM WAITING UPON GOD, FROM DEPENDING UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT, IS UNQUESTIONABLY OF THE FLESH. Whatever one decides according to his pleasure in lieu of seeking the will of God emanates from the flesh. Whenever a heart of uttertrust is lacking, there is the labor of the flesh. Such things as reading the Bible, praying, worshipping, preaching, if not undertaken in a spirit of complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit, they have the flesh as their source." (Those who will be the Loudcriers must learn this most important lesson now as we travel the pathway. In fact learning this lesson is the very basis for dying to self and for being wholly pure channels for the Spirit to work through.)

    "One last thought before leaving the discussion of the flesh. If the flesh is not furnished opportunity to sin, it is willing to do good; and if once the opportunity to perform good is provided, the flesh will soon revert to sin. It is here Satan" (and Strange Woman) "deceives God's children. If believer would habitually maintain the attitude of the flesh being crucified Satan could have no chance; for 'the flesh is Satan's workshop.'

    WHEN SATAN IS TOTALLY DISEMPLOYED:  "If the flesh in whole, not just in part, is truly under the power of the death of the Lord, Satan will be totally disemployed. He is consequently willing to allow the sinful part of our flesh to be offered unto death if he may only deceive us into retaining the good part. He is quite aware that should the good side remain intact the life of the flesh will continue to be kept alive. He still has a base from which to operate to recover that side which he has lost. This explains why many Christians fall back into the service of sin after they have been set free. If I have not yet entirely denied myself before God I cannot deny myself before men, and therefore I cannot overcome my hatred, temper and selfishness. These two are inseparable.

    THE BELIEVER'S EXPERIENCE:  "How can God deal with the flesh within us when the believer appears to reject only its bad features while clinging affectionately to the flesh itself? As pointed out, the believer continues to do many things in the flesh: he even assumes a self-confident and proud attitude about it as though he were now rich with God's grace and qualified to perform righteously. He
literally is making use of his flesh.

    "Because of such self-deceit the Spirit of God must lead him over the most shameful path in order to make him know his flesh and attain God's view. God allows that soul to fall, to weaken, and even to sin, that he may understand whether or not any good resides in the flesh. This usually happens to the one who thinks he is progressing spiritually. The Lord tries him in order that he may know himself. Often the Lord so reveals His holiness to such a one that the believer cannot but judge his flesh as defiled. Sometimes He permits Satan to attack him so that out of his suffering, he may perceive himself.

    THE CROSS AND THE DEEPER WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:  "Because the flesh is grossly deceitful, the believer requires the cross and the Holy Spirit. Once having discerned how his flesh stands before God, he must experience each moment the deeper work of the cross through the Holy Spirit. Just as a Christian must be delivered from the sin of the flesh through the cross, so he must now be delivered from the righteousness of the flesh by the same cross. And just as by walking in the Holy Spirit the Christian will not follow the flesh unto sin, so too by walking in the Holy Spirit he will not follow the flesh unto self-righteousness.

    "As a fact outside the believer, the cross has been accomplished perfectly and entirely; to deepen it is not possible. As a process within the believer the cross is experienced in an ever deepening way: the Holy Spirit will teach and apply the principle of the cross in point after point. If one is faithful and obedient he will be led into continually deeper experiences of what the cross has indeed accomplished for him. The cross OBJECTIVELY is a finished absolute fact to which nothing can be added; but SUBJECTIVELY it is an unending progressive experience that can be realized in an ever more penetrating way.

    "The reader by this time should know something more of the all-inclusive character of his having been crucified WITH the Lord Jesus on the cross, FOR ONLY ON THIS BASIS CAN THE HOLY SPIRIT WORK. The Spirit has no instrument other than that cross. The believer by now should have a fresh understanding of Galatians 5:24. It is not 'its passions and desires' alone which have been crucified; the flesh itself, including all its righteousness as well as its power to do righteously, has been crucified on the cross. The cross is where both passions and desires and the spring of those passions and desires are crucified, however admirable they may be.

    MUST  DENY BOTH BAD AND GOOD FLESH:  "Except as one sees this and is ready to deny ALL his flesh, bad or good, can he in fact walk after the Holy Spirit, be pleasing to God, and live a genuinely spiritual life. Such readiness must not be lacking on his part, for though the cross as an accomplished fact is complete in itself, its realization in a person's life is measured by his knowledge and readiness and faith.

    "Suppose the child of God refuses to deny the good of his flesh. What will be his experience? His flesh may appear to be extremely clever and powerful in undertaking many activities. But however good or strong, the flesh can never answer to God's demands. Hence when God actually summons him to prepare to go to Calvary and suffer, the Christian soon discovers his only response is to shrink back and to become as weak as water. Why did the disciples fail so miserably in the Garden of Gethsemane? Because 'the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak' (Matt. 26:41). Weakness here causes failure there. The flesh can only display its apparently excellent power in matters which suit its taste. That is the reason the flesh draws back at God's call. Its death is therefore essential, else God's will can never be done.

    "WHATEVER HAS THE INTENT AND DESIRE TO DEVELOP OURSELVES THAT WE MAY BE SEEN AND ADMIRED BY OTHERS BELONGS TO THE FLESH. The flesh CAN will and decide and plan to execute good in order to receive God's favor. The self-confidence of a Christian is nothing but trusting in his wisdom, thinking he knows every teaching of Scriptures and how to serve God" (Laodicea). "2 Corinthians 1:12 mentions the 'wisdom' of the flesh. IT IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS TO RECEIVE THE TRUTHS OF THE BIBLE WITH HUMAN WISDOM, FOR THIS IS A HIDDEN AND SUBTLE METHOD WHICH INVARIABLY CAUSES A BELIEVER TO PERFECT WITH HIS FLESH THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Whatever is natural is not spiritual. WE MUST NOT ONLY DENY OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS BUT ALSO OUR WISDOM. This too must be nailed to the cross.

    "Colossians 2:23 speaks of a 'worship' or 'devotion' of the flesh. This is 'worship' according to our opinion. Each method we devise to stir, seek, and acquire a sense of devotion is worship in the flesh. It is neither worship according to the teaching of Scripture nor worship under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Hence the possibility of walking by the flesh always exists; whether in the matter of worship, or in Christian work, or in Biblical knowledge, or in saving souls. The Bible frequently mentions the 'LIFE' of the flesh. Unless this is yielded to the cross it lives within the saint just as much as in the sinner. The only difference is that in the saint there is spiritual opposition to it. But the possibility remains for him to take that life and draw upon it. THE LIFE OF THE FLESH MAY HELP HIM TO SERVE GOD, TO MEDITATE UPON TRUTH, TO CONSECRATE HIMSELF TO THE LORD. IT MAY MOTIVATE HIM TO PERFORM MANY GOOD ACTS. YES, THE CHRISTIAN CAN TAKE HIS NATURAL LIFE AS TRUE LIFE IN SUCH A WAY AS TO MAKE HIM FEEL HE IS SERVING THE WILL OF GOD.

    TWO DIFFERENT LIFE PRINCIPLES:  "We must understand that within man two different life principles exist. Many of us live a mixed life, obeying one and then the other of these two different principles. Sometimes we entirely depend on the Spirit's energy; at other times we mix in our own strength. Nothing seems to be stable and steadfast. 'Do I make my plans like a worldly man, ready to say Yes and No at once?' (2 Cor. 1:17). A characteristic of the flesh is its fickleness: it alternates between Yes and No and vice versa. But the will of God is: 'Walk not according to the flesh (not even for a moment) but according to the Spirit' (Rom. 8:4). We ought to accept God's will.   "'In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ' (Col. 2:11). We should be willing to allow the cross, like a knife in circumcision, to cut off completely everything which pertains to the flesh. Such incision must be deep and clean so that nothing of the flesh is left concealed or can remain. The cross and the curse are inextricable (Gal. 3:13). When we consign our flesh to the cross we hand it over to the curse, acknowledging that in the flesh abides no good thing and that it deserves nothing but the curse of God.

    "Without this heart attitude it is exceedingly difficult for us to accept the circumcision of the flesh. EVERY AFFECTION, DESIRE, THOUGHT, KNOWLEDGE, INTENT, WORSHIP AND WORK OF THE FLESH MUST GO TO THE CROSS. BEFORE THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN TAKE FULL CHARGE OVER A PERSON THERE FIRST MUST BE THE COMPLETE COMMITTAL OF HIS FLESH TO THE CROSS. Are you willing to let the Lord point out your weaknesses? Are you ready to be crucified openly outside the gate. Will you let the Spirit of the cross work within you? Oh, may we know more of His death! May we completely die!"    ("Committal of the flesh to the cross" is the only purpose of this series of monographs, Be Ye Therefore Perfect. The remaining monographs are written so that the believer can understand and learn how to let the Holy Spirit apply the cross to the flesh as well as to the soul, which is discussed next. This is the ONLY pathway to Sanctification and to the sealing. Since we have entered the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, only the latter rain of the Spirit can accomplish this.)

    DEATH AT CROSS CONTINUOUS:  "We should be clear that the death at the cross is continuous in its operation. We can never enter upon a resurrection stage which leaves death entirely out, for the experience of resurrection is measured by the experience of death. A peril among those who pursue the ascension life is that they forget the categorical necessity of CONTINUOUSLY putting to naught the flesh. They forsake the position of death and proceed to resurrection.

    "This results in either treating lightly as of no serious hazard to their spiritual growth the works of the flesh, or in spiritualizing them, that is, assuming the things of the flesh to be of the spirit. Let us never be deceived into thinking we are so spiritually advanced that the flesh has no more power to entice us. This is merely the enemy's attempt to remove us from the basis of the cross in order to render us outwardly spiritual but inwardly carnal. WE ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO DECEPTION BY THE FLESH WHEN WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF BEING DELIVERED FROM IT." (Deliverance from the flesh occurs on the pathway in traveling from South to West.)

    ABIDE CONSTANTLY IN LORD'S DEATH:  "We must abide constantly in the Lord's death. Our security is ONLY in the Holy Spirit. ONLY when He is in complete control will He overthrow the power of the flesh" (Strange Woman) "and manifest Christ as our life. We shall be able then to say that the 'LIFE I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, BUT CHRIST WHO LIVES IN ME.' Yet the foundation of that life is and always will be that 'I have been crucified with Christ.'

    LIVE BY FAITH, TRUST, AND OBEDIENCE:  "If we live by faith, trust and obedience" (the only way we walk the pathway "we can expect the Spirit to do a most holy and wonderful work in us. 'If we live by the Spirit'--this is our faith, for we believe that the Holy Spirit abides in us; then 'let us also walk by the Spirit' --this is our obedience (Gal. 5:25). We ought to believe simply and restfully that our Lord has given us His spirit, now abiding in us. BELIEVE IN HIS GIFT AND TRUST THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLS YOU. TAKE THIS AS THE SECRET OF CHRIST'S LIFE IN YOU: His Spirit dwells in your innermost spirit. Meditate on it, believe in it, and remember it until this glorious truth produces within you a holy fear and wonderment that the Holy Spirit indeed abides in you! Now learn to follow His leading. SUCH GUIDANCE EMERGES NOT FROM THE MIND OR THOUGHTS; IT IS SOMETHING OF LIFE. WE MUST YIELD TO GOD AND LET HIS SPIRIT GOVERN EVERYTHING. HE WILL MANIFEST THE LORD JESUS IN OUR LIFE BECAUSE THIS IS HIS TASK.