Reflection on Romans 8:5
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,
but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”
Over the past two weeks, we recited the Bible verse from the Letter to the Romans. The truths revealed here are essential. We are not given life simply to seek out entertainment, but so that our lives may become a path of following our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a struggle taking place within us over what matters most: eternal life!
Our life in this world is only a test of whether we will remain faithful to the Lord Jesus in the struggle against our own pride – that is, our insistence on having our own way – which ultimately prevents us from reaching our final goal: eternal life.
In Baptism, God gave us the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We have also personally received the same Spirit as the apostles and other Christians, especially those who walked in the Spirit and attained holiness. We, too, are called to attain holiness in the circumstances in which we live. God has given us the help of the Holy Spirit for this purpose, and Jesus, as He was dying, gave us His Mother.
Pride is blindness and darkness. Humility is light and true vision – the ability to see the things of God. In Romans chapter 8, the Spirit and the flesh are continually set in opposition to one another, and not only there, but also in chapter 5 of the Letter to the Galatians. The biblical term “flesh” does not refer only to our physical body; it also refers to manifestations of a carnal way of thinking, such as disordered desires, impurity, and selfishness. In the Letter to the Galatians, the Apostle lists the works of the flesh, or of human self-will, such as sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, sorcery, occult practices, quarrels, disputes, jealousy, malice, and so forth. All of this is connected with our thinking and our will, that is, with our mental activity. No one has to learn these things. They arise directly from the poisoned root within our soul – the original sin which, together with its negative activity, may be called the “old self”, that is, our corrupted human nature. This is encoded within us, and if we cast aside the protective barrier of God’s law and Jesus’ commandments, the old self will secretly take control of our thinking and spiritually blind us. We will lose our living faith and our living relationship with Jesus Christ without even realizing that it is happening.
In addition to the “old self”, or the “body of sin”, there is also the Holy Spirit within us, provided that we are in God’s grace and have not driven Him away through unbelief or mortal sin. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is the old self that drives Him out, as we become enslaved to the old self whenever we surrender our will and our reason to it. Ultimately, this struggle between the Spirit and the flesh is a struggle for eternal life.
Let us recall the first two verses of chapter 8 of the Letter to the Romans:
“There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” We recited this verse for two full weeks, and we had done the same with the preceding verse. We also provided an explanation of them, but that alone is not enough. I believe that as you remained prayerfully in this Word, the Spirit of God Himself opened your mind and heart to a deeper understanding of this truth.
Now let us take a closer look at verse 5: “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” We might express or paraphrase it more freely in this way: Those who simply do whatever they themselves want are drawn toward the things of the flesh, whereas those who allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit are drawn toward the things of the Spirit.
The Scripture often speaks about the spirit, soul and flesh. The powers of the soul are reason and will. As a result of original sin, reason can hardly know the essence of the truth and the will is weakened and hardly inclined to pure good. This infection of original sin wounded the heart of man and destroyed the inner harmony. The consequence is that the heart succumbs to disordered passions, selfishness and self-love. The Scripture refers to the heart as “deceitful above all things” (Jer 17:9) and as “the heart of stone” (Ez 36:26). God promised to give us a new heart (Ez 36:26).
Paying close attention to the Word of God and carefully examining the nuances in the manifestation of the soul and the spirit in our life, we can see that it is hard to determine the slight differences. But this is not so important. It is much more important to perceive the division of the flesh and the spirit and their manifestation. God’s Word helps us to see it clearly in several places, particularly in the Letter to the Romans chapter 8 and the Letter to the Galatians chapter 5. It is quite difficult sometimes to recognize when the Greek original of the Scripture speaks of the human spirit and when it speaks of the Spirit of God in us.
References to the conflict between the spirit and the flesh and its fruits:
Rom 8:4-9
Gal 5:16-26
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