A Question of Parentage

A Question of Parentage

Every act of sin has its origin in satan; it is his character incarnate. "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning" (1 John 3:8).

Likewise, every act of righteousness has its origin in God; it is His character incarnate.

In everything you do, the true character of a particular act can always be discerned in the authorship of that act. It is not a question of pattern, but of parentage.

That which is born of God in you is Jesus Christ, and it is He who who does not commit sin, nor can He, for He is God! This is what the apostle John means when he writes, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9). The divine seed within us is the very nature of God Himself, and the nature that He wants to share with you through His Son.

Share the nature of Christ and you share His victory. You do not achieve it; you receive it, for Christ Himself "became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

To be dominated by the "flesh" is to be dominated by the devil; and to be dominated by the Holy Spirit is to be dominated by God.

What really is this "flesh" of which the Bible speaks? The fle4sh is that perverted principle in human beings which perpetuates satan's proud hostility and enmity against God. In our fallen condition every person's soul is dominated by the flesh and destitute of the Holy Spirit. You and I were born in this unregenerate condition.

The Holy Spirit and the flesh are inveterate foes: "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these ar4e contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:17). That is why any steps God takes to reestablish His law in our hearts are resisted tooth and nail. Being already entrenched within the human soul by nature, the flesh is in a commanding position to incite the mind, the emotions, and the will of unregenerate persons (and of carnal Christians) to defy God and resist His grace.

The Holy Spirit always exposes the flesh for what it is and there is nothing more infuriating to the carnally minded Christian than when those who are spiritually discerning remain unimpressed with him in spite of so much self-advertisement.

The crucified, risen, and living Lord Jesus alone can put the noose around the neck of your flesh and keep your flesh where it belongs, and this He does by His Holy Spirit. You cannot carry out the execution, but to you and to your alone belong the moral responsibility of confirming the sentence of death.

This the decision God is waiting for you to make, for in His sovereignty God limits Himself that simple law of faith which gives to you the moral capacity to know Him and to love Him for yourself.

Consent, therefore, to die to all that you are which does not derive from all that Christ is, and thank Him for His willingness to make it real in your experience.


To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:6).

1. What step of faith is God waiting for you to take in dying to your flesh?

2. Have you adequately expressed your thankfulness to God for the Holy Spirit's work in exposing the sinfulness of your flesh? Do this now.

~W. Ian Thomas~