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†. Rom 8:13 . . For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by
the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the body, you will live.
The word for flesh is sarx (sarx); which essentially indicates the meaty parts
of either man or beast. The meat of the human body would of course include
the 3-pound lump of flabby organic tissue housed within everyone's bony
little skull sufficing for a mind. In other words; sans the meaty part of their
body called the brain; people would not have a mind. In point of fact, it's not
all that difficult to tamper with a brain and make its owner quite mindless.
The meaty parts of the human body are the source of a human being's
human nature and it isn't all that difficult to define. Webster's says its (1)
the ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that are common to most people,
and (2) the nature of humans; especially the fundamental dispositions and
traits of humans. In a nutshell then: the flesh, as per Rom 8:13, can be
concisely defined as that which comes natural.
Ironically, it has never been okay for people to live according to that which
comes natural even though when God finished manufacturing the cosmos'
various forms of life, matter, and energy; He pronounced it all not just good;
but "very" good. In other words, God was satisfied that human nature came
out just exactly as He designed it to come out. But the odd part of that is:
mankind's creator has never wanted people to so make human nature their
lead as to exclude God having a say.
So; right from the gun, it has been God's desire that people heed their
maker rather than always and only heeding their body; and when I say
"body" I'm speaking of the senses, the impulses, and the natural
predilections and proclivities produced by the human body's organs, its
chemistry, and its central nervous system.
=======================
†. Rom 8:13 . . For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by
the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the body, you will live.
The word for flesh is sarx (sarx); which essentially indicates the meaty parts
of either man or beast. The meat of the human body would of course include
the 3-pound lump of flabby organic tissue housed within everyone's bony
little skull sufficing for a mind. In other words; sans the meaty part of their
body called the brain; people would not have a mind. In point of fact, it's not
all that difficult to tamper with a brain and make its owner quite mindless.
The meaty parts of the human body are the source of a human being's
human nature and it isn't all that difficult to define. Webster's says its (1)
the ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that are common to most people,
and (2) the nature of humans; especially the fundamental dispositions and
traits of humans. In a nutshell then: the flesh, as per Rom 8:13, can be
concisely defined as that which comes natural.
Ironically, it has never been okay for people to live according to that which
comes natural even though when God finished manufacturing the cosmos'
various forms of life, matter, and energy; He pronounced it all not just good;
but "very" good. In other words, God was satisfied that human nature came
out just exactly as He designed it to come out. But the odd part of that is:
mankind's creator has never wanted people to so make human nature their
lead as to exclude God having a say.
So; right from the gun, it has been God's desire that people heed their
maker rather than always and only heeding their body; and when I say
"body" I'm speaking of the senses, the impulses, and the natural
predilections and proclivities produced by the human body's organs, its
chemistry, and its central nervous system.
=======================
