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"Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word"
-Luke 1:38
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~ FLESH VS. SPIRIT ~
A perfect picture and example of God’s Will performed on earth can be found in the book of Matthew 1:18-25. Here we find the glorious story of the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. These morsels of scripture not only show God’s Will coming to pass, but also mirror the reality of the pestering resistant battle of our flesh-man. To further explain, here is a spiritual interpretation of these scriptures: Jesus, the unborn baby symbolizes the promise or Will of God for a person or in a person.
The Virgin Mary symbolizes our spirit-man /
innermost being – pure and unadulterated – in which the Will of God is
conceived. As was done with Mary, our Heavenly Father wants to
impregnate His Church, His people with His Will by the overshadowing power of
the Holy Spirit. This is accomplished when an individual surrenders and
submits himself wholly to the mighty, but tender hand of God (reference
Jeremiah 18:2-6). The prayer and cry of our hearts should be: “Not
my will, but yours be done.”
(To get a much greater impact of this prayer, know that the Greek word for
“will” here is: “Thelema” meaning - a determination, act, choice, purpose,
decree, volition, inclination, desire, and/or pleasure. The word
“will” can also be interchanged with the following: call, assignment,
path, plan, way, destiny, and life).
When Joseph, Mary’s husband to be, found out that she was
with child, he planned to break off the engagement. Joseph not
only symbolizes people in our lives that are unsupportive to the promise or
Will of God for us, but more accurately he represents a part of
us. Joseph symbolizes our flesh-man. He
represents the on-going duel that all of God’s children contend with; which is
the war against our own flesh, our own desires and our own will. Joseph’s
original plan of separation from Mary symbolizes Christians giving in to their
flesh-man due to lack of faith and understanding in the plan of God for their lives.
The Bible tells us that after Joseph received a message from the Lord, he woke
up and took Mary to be his wife. Like Joseph, God’s people / Church
need a holy visitation and spiritual awakening in order to accept the
perfect Will of God for themselves.
The marriage symbolizes partial unity or the
beginning of unity within oneself, in other words – the submitting of the
flesh-man to the spirit. Joseph did not know Mary /
they did not enter into union with one another until after the baby was
born. We cannot allow our flesh to become impatient, and defile or
interfere with what God has birthed in our spirit. The flesh must wait in
submission for God’s perfect Will to come to pass. It is in this process
that our flesh is crucified; that we die to our own will and desires.
Therefore, submission alone is not enough. The flesh must die and it must
be stripped away; otherwise the stench of its remains will blend with that
which is holy and defile it.
The “Knowing / Union” of Joseph and Mary after God’s Will
was birthed, symbolizes “Life in the Spirit”. Therefore, I would like to
present to you the following spiritual equation: flesh + submission +
death + stripping = “Life in the Spirit”.
~November 2008
