Now He was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon
had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But
some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince
of demons,” while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign
from Heaven. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every
kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household
falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom
stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul...When a strong
man, full armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when
one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away
his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is
not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather
with me scatters.
Luke 11: 14-18, 21-23
While it may seem from this text that I plan to write about the Pharisees’ hatred of Jesus or the irrefutable response of Christ to their grumbling, I instead want to use this passage to discuss something far more personal to all of us: the flesh.
Jeremiah writes that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” (Jeremiah 17:9) In other words, the very core of our nature as human beings is radically corrupt and steers our thinking away from the truth and onto demonic lies. In John 6:63, Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
This reality is bringing me to an unfamiliar place. I am becoming content with my flesh. Now, before anyone freaks out at that statement, let me explain! I am beginning to realize that my flesh is not going to one day miraculously become good, or even neutral. It knows sin and will always be bent towards sin. It lusts. It is greedy, impatient, rude, boastful, arrogant, self-seeking. And it always will be that way until I die or Jesus comes back for me! I guess it’s about time I got used to it!
Dave Harvey sums it up in the preface of When Sinners Say “I Do”. He writes, “ To say ‘I am a sinner’ is to stare boldly at a fundamental reality that many people don’t even want to glance at. But when we acknowledge that painful reality in our lives, several great things become clear. We find ourselves in good company...We also acknowledge what everybody around us already knows...But, by far the greatest benefit of acknowledging our sinfulness is that it makes Christ and His work precious to us.”
What I am finding as the glorious truth in all of this is that when I come to terms with the fact that my flesh is intent on sinning and always will be intent on sinning, I run to Christ. Perhaps sprint is a better word! My flesh is of no help at all so why do I exert so much energy and effort trying to fix my life while leaving Christ standing idly by when I have access to the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead?! It’s downright silly, isn’t it? And yet, I do this oh so often.
I’m positive that the Gospel is the solution to this problem as it is to all other problems we face. As I behold the glory of God and look upon His face, I am humbled. I am broken. I see how unworthy I am to lift my eyes to behold Him. But, just as with Isaiah, God touches the burning coal to my lips and declares my sins forgiven. I did nothing to deserve that. It’s just that God’s grace is overwhelming good. As I see my flesh’s destructive nature, the Good News becomes too amazing to ignore, and I am transformed from one degree to the next into the image and likeness of my Jesus. The power of the Gospel is unrivaled because its Main Character is unrivaled in power.
So, just as Jesus says that a kingdom divided against itself will not stand, our flesh divided against itself will not stand. From this, we can deduce that we have no power in our flesh to overcome our flesh. We can say, “how can flesh cast out flesh?” as easily as Jesus says, “how can Satan cast out Satan?” It’s impossible.
But Jesus doesn’t end the lesson there. He goes on to tell of a strong man who guards his property until one stronger than he comes along and overtakes him. In that same way, our flesh protects its evil desires with perfect success. But when Jesus, aka “The Strong Man,” comes along, He binds our flesh and it no longer has control over us. We are free! Hallelujah!
Knowing this, I am content with my flesh and its evil desires because I know Him who has made me more than a conqueror. Because I know Christ, I can rejoice along with Paul saying:
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
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