In this sermon, the preacher discusses the concept of living according to the flesh versus living according to the spirit. He uses the illustration of grafting to explain how our sinful nature can be transformed through faith in Jesus. By believing in Jesus, our sins are washed away by his shed blood, and our dead spirit is quickened into new life. We are born again and receive the life of God, with Christ dwelling in our new spirit. The preacher emphasizes the importance of recognizing the symptoms of living according to the flesh, such as unbelief and disobedience, and the need to walk in the spirit to please God.

Will you please turn to the letter to the Galatians. Qin wǒ men yī tóng fān kāi jiā lā tài sū. Galatians chapter five. Jiā lā tài sū dì wǔ zhāng. Verse twenty-four. Dì èrshì sì jiě. Galatians chapter five, verse twenty-four. Jiā lā tài sū wǔ zhāng èrshì sì jiě. I hope as we read it, we will notice every word in that sentence. Wǒ pàngwǎng dāng wǒ men dú de shí hòu, wǒ men yào liúyì zài zhì jù huà lǐ miàn de měi yí gè zì. But they, that are of the Christ, have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. Fǎn shǔ jī dū yēsū de rén, shì yǐ jīng bǎ ròu tǐ lián ròu tǐ de xié qíng sī yù tóng dīng zài shí zì jià shàng le. We will repeat it. Wǒ men zài dú yī biàn. But they, that are of the Christ, have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. Fǎn shǔ jī dū yēsū de rén, shì yǐ jīng bǎ ròu tǐ lián ròu tǐ de xié qíng sī yù tóng dīng zài shí zì jià shàng le. Let's have a word of prayer. Nàng wǒ men zài yǒu yī diǎn dǎo gào. Dear Lord, we pray that Thy cross will be before each and every one of our eyes so vividly Zhǔ wǎ wǒ men qiú nǐ jiāng nǐ de shí zì jià zài zài měi yí gè rén de yǎn qián huó huà chù lái that it may deeply touch our hearts Hǎo jiào tā nán shēng shēng de gǎn dòng wǒ men and draw each one of us into that cross bìng qié xī yíng wǒ men měi yí gè rén jìng rù nà shí zì jià and allow that cross to enter into our very being Hǎo jiào nà shí zì jià jìng rù wǒ men měi yí gè rén de shēng shàng that Thy glory may be manifested even in us, earthen vessels Hǎo jiào nǐ de róng yào nán gòu chóng wǒ men zhe wǎ qì zhōng zhāng xiǎn chù lái we commit this time totally into Thy hands wǒ men bǎ zhī yì duàn shí jiān wán quán jiāotuō zài nǐ de shǒu zhōng with man it is impossible zhǔ wǎ zài rén shì bù néng de but with Thee all things are possible dàn shì zài nǐ fán shì dōu néng so we expect Thee to do the impossible things shuǒ yǔ wǒ men qiú nǐ zài wǒ men zhōng jiān zuò bù kě néng de shì to plant Thy cross into our very being jiāo nǐ de shí zì jià zhòng zài wǒ men shēng shàng and we give Thee all the glory wǒ men jiāo yī qiè de róng yào dōu guī gěi nǐ in Thy precious name we pray fèng nǐ bǎo guì de míng wǒ men dǎo gào Amen Yesterday morning we fellowship on the cross and the old man zuó tiān zǎo chén wǒ men jiāo tōng dào shí zì jià hé jiù rén Now this morning we would like to continue on with the cross and the flesh jīn tiān zǎo chén wǒ men yào jì xù jiǎng dào shí zì jià hé ròu tí Now brothers and sisters, first of all, we need to recognize what is flesh dì xióng zǐ mèi men, shǒu xiān wǒ men yào rèn shì shén me shì ròu tí What is the difference between the old man and the flesh? jiù rén hé ròu tí zhī jiān yǒu shén me qū bié As you read the Bible dāng wǒ men dú shèng jīn de shí hòu you will find the word flesh is used in many different ways wǒ men kèi kàn jiàn ròu tí zhè ge zhì zài xǔ duō bù tóng de fāng shì zhōng bèi shǐ yòng Sometimes the word flesh refers to our physical body yǒu de shì hòu zhè zhè ròu tí zhè ge zhì shì zhí zhé wǒ men de ròu shēng shēng tǐ shuō de For instance, in Colossians 2.20 qǔ lì lái shuō zài gē lóu xī shū èr zhāng èr shí jiǎn Galatians dàng Jiālātài shū èr zhāng èr shí jiǎn I am crucified with Christ. No longer live I. It is Christ who lives in me. And now I live in the flesh by faith of the Son of God who loves us and gave Himself for me. wǒ yǐ jīng yǔ jī dū tóng dīng shí zhì jià xiàn zài huó zhè de bù zài shì wǒ nǎi shì jī dū zài wǒ lǐ miàn huó zhè bìng qiě wǒ rú jīng zài ròu shēng huó zhè shì yīn xìng shéng de ér zǐ ér huó So the word flesh there refers to our physical body suì zài zhè lǐ shì yòng ròu shēng zhè ge zhì And then you find the word flesh can mean one substance of our body For instance, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 50 lì rú zài gē lín duō qián shū shí wǔ zhāng dì wǔ shí jié It says, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God zài nà lǐ shuō dào xuě ròu zhī tí bù néng chéng shòu shéng de guó So we find that flesh is part of the body suì yǒu wǒ men kàn jiàn zhè lǐ de ròu tí zhì zhě wǒ men shēng tí de yī bù fèn And then we also find this word is being used as the expression of union wǒ men yě kàn jiàn ròu tí zhè ge zhì nè bèi yòng lái biǎo shì yí ge lián hé For instance, in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 21 lì rú zài yǐ fú suǒ shú dì wǔ zhāng èr shí èr jié zhōng shuō dào You'll find that men and women are united into one flesh zài zhè lǐ wǒ men kàn jiàn nán rén hé nǚ rén jié hé chéng wé yī tí And then you'll find this same word flesh can refer to man, to yourself wǒ men yě kàn jiàn ròu tí zhè ge zhì kě yǐ zhǐ zhě rén zhì wǒ de zhì jǐ For instance, we find in Romans chapter 7 verse 14 lì rú zài lǒ ma shū dì qī zhāng dì shí sì jié lǐ miàn In me, that is in my flesh, there is no good tā shuō zài wǒ lǐ miàn jiù shì zài wǒ ròu tí zhōng méi yǒu liáng shàn And then again you'll find in the Bible the word flesh can refer to the unregenerated man wǒ men yě kàn jiàn ròu tí zhè zhǐ zhè nàn méi yǒu chóng shēng de rén Therefore you'll find sometimes in English it is translated the natural man shuō yǒu wǒ men kàn jiàn zài yīng yǔ de fān yì běn lǐ miàn tā fān zuò tiān rán de rén The natural man refers to the unregenerated man tiān rán de rén shì zhǐ zhè méi yǒu chóng shēng dé jiù de rén So we find that this word flesh is used in many different ways shuō yǒu wǒ men kàn jiàn ròu tí zhè zhǐ zhè nàn zài xǐ duō bù tóng de fāng shì zhōng bèi shǐ yòng And even in the Old Testament shēng zhì zài jiù yuē zhōng you'll find the English word flesh is used in various ways wǒ men yě kàn jiàn ròu tí zhè zhè zhǐ zài bù tóng de fāng shì zhōng bèi shǐ yòng It may refer to the body huò zhe zhǐ zhe shēng qǐ shuō You remember in Genesis chapter 2 wǒ men jì de zài chuàng shī jì dì èr zhāng lǐ verse 21 dì èr shí yī jié how God did a surgery on Adam shéng zhéng yàng zài yǎ dāng shēng shàng dòng le yí gè shǒu shù and took out something from him chóng tā shī lǐ miàn de ná chū yī xiē dōng xì lǎn and then God closed his flesh rán hòu shéng yòu bǎ tā de ròu hé qǐ lǎn and that means that his body is being restored nà shì yì shì shuō tā de shēng tǐ yòu dé zhuō de huī fù and after God led Eve to Adam dāng shéng bǎ xià wā dài dào yǎ dāng miàn qiǎn Adam looked at her and said this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh yǎ dāng kàn zhe tā zhì shuō zhè shì wǒ gǔ zhōng de gǔ ròu zhōng de ròu In other words, it is part of the human body huàn yán zhī zhè nǎi shì rén shēng tǐ zhōng de yī bù fèn and then in verse 25 rán hòu zài èr shí wǔ jié lǐ they are united into one flesh, unity tā men lián hé chéng wéi yī tí, chéng wéi yī le and then when you come to Genesis chapter 6 rán hòu wǒ men kàn jiàn zài chuāng shì jì dì liù zhāng lǐ miàn in verse 3 zài dì sān jié zhōng man have sinned so much rén shì rú chǐ de fàn le zuì that God said my spirit will not strive anymore with man shén jù shuō wǒ de lín bù zài yǔ rén xiāng zhēng le because man has become flesh yīn wèi rén biàn chéng le ròu tǐ in other words, man's spirit was dead huàn yán zhī rén de lín shǐ le and it remains the soul and the body nème liú xià lái le zhè jiù shì hún hé shēng tǐ he doesn't have the Holy Spirit tā jiù méi yǒu le shèng lín le and his whole life is governed by his soul and his body tā zhěng gè de shēng míng shì bèi tā de hún hé shēng tǐ lái guǎn lǐ now dear brothers and sisters shuǒ yǐ qīng ài de dì xiōng zǐ mèi men this morning when we talk about this matter of the flesh jīn nián zǎo chéng dāng wǒ men jiǎng dào ròu tǐ zhè jiàn shì de shí hòu we limit ourselves to one meaning wǒ men bǎ zì jǐ xiàn zhì zài yī gè yì yì shàng and that is the unregenerated man nà jiù shì méi yǒu chóng shēng de rén a man that is motivated by his soul and body jiù shì yī gè jǐn jǐn bèi tā de hún hé shēng tǐ suǒ tuī dòng de rén without the Holy Spirit ér méi yǒu shèng lín so this is the flesh that we will be talking about zhè shì wǒ men yào tán lùn de nèi gè ròu tǐ now what is the difference between the old man and the flesh nè me jiù rén hé ròu tǐ zhī jiān de qū bié shì shén me ne the old man is a corporate man jiù rén shì yī gè tuǎn tǐ de rén in other words, the old man is Adam and all who are in Adam huàn yán zhī, nè jiù rén lái shì yǎ dāng hé suǒ yǒu zài yǎ dāng lǐ miàn de rén and the flesh is referred more or less to the personal individual being ér ròu tǐ tā zhǐ de shì gè rén de gè bié de yí gè rén when you talk about the old man dāng wǒ men tán dào jiù rén de shì hòu we touch the objective truth wǒ men mō dào de nǎi shì nà kè guān de zhēn lǐ that is to say, in the old man every one of us who were born of Adam were there nà jiù yì wèi zhè shuō zài zhè gè jiù rén lǐ miàn fán shì chóng yǎ dāng ér shēn de dōu zài lǐ miàn but thank God, Christ is the last Adam dàn shì gǎn xiè shén, jī dū nǎi shì nà mò hòu de yǎ dāng so when he was crucified on the cross and died shuǐ dāng tā zài shí zhì jià shàng bèi dìng shí de shí hòu you and I and every one of us who believe in the Lord Jesus we died in Him and with Him nǐ hé wǒ jiù shì shuō yǒu xiāng xìng yē shū jī dū de rén dōu zài tā lǐ miàn yǔ tā yī tóng shǐ le you do not personally experience that death wǒ men wèi gè bié de qù jīng lì nài gè shǐ because you were already dead before you were born yīn wèi zài wǒ men hái miǎn chū shēn de shì hòu wǒ men yǐ jīng zài tā lǐ miàn shǐ le you were dead in Christ Jesus wǒ men zài jī dū yē shū lǐ shǐ le because He was the last Adam and the second man yīn wèi tā nǎi shì nǎi mò hòu de yǎ dāng yě shì nǎi dì èr gè rén so this refers to the objective truth it is something that we must believe and as we believe and receive it we find that it is ours but when you talk about the flesh you will find that it is more or less emphasizes the subjective side that is to say something that we will experience ourselves so in one sense the old man and the flesh are one shuǒ yǐ zài yīn miàn yì yì lái jiǎng jiù rén hé ròu tǐ shì yī but in another sense you find that these are the two sides of one thing dàn shì lìng wèi yīn miàn lái jiǎng tā yù shì yī jiàn shì qíng de liǎng miàn so when we talk about what Christ has done for us shuǒ yǐ dāng wǒ men jiǎng dào jī dū wèi wǒ men shǒu wán chéng de on the cross our old man was crucified with Him zài shí zhì jià shàng wǒ men de jiù rén yǔ tā tóng dìng le and remember the old man is always in singular number in other words there is only one old man that is Adam and all of us are in that Adam so when Christ was crucified shuǒ yǐ dāng jī dū bèi dìng shǐ de shí hòu that old man, Adamic race was terminated in His crucifixion nèi ge jiù rén jiù shì yǎ dāng de zhú lèi zài tā bèi dìng shǐ de shí hòu jiù shǐ le and therefore we can reckon that we were dead to sin in Christ Jesus and alive to God in Christ Jesus shuǒ yǐ wǒ men kě yǐ zài yē shū jī dū lǐ miàn shuàn zhì jǐ xiàng zhè zuì shì shǐ de zài jī dū lǐ xiàng zhè shén shì huó zhè there is nothing more simple than this accounting méi yǒu bǐ zhè ge gèn jiǎn dān de kuài jì yuán zé le because you have a fact there yīn wèi zài nèi lǐ yǒu yí gè sì shí an eternal fact yǒu yí gè yóng yuǎn de sì shí that has been completed nèi yǐ jīng wán chén liào and it never changes changes. And you just recognize it as yours. And it is yours. Now thank God for that. But then you find when you talk about the flesh, we all are flesh. But your flesh and my flesh are different. Because the combinations are all different. And we all inherit from Adam. But then you find the combinations are so varied. Therefore your flesh is different from my flesh. And yet it is flesh. So brothers and sisters, just remember this. When we come to this matter of the cross and the flesh, we are moving on into the subjective side of experience. Brothers and sisters, after we are saved, before we were saved, our spirit was dead unto God. We had no contact with God. But thank God when we believe in the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior. He not only washed our sins away by His shed blood. Because the Bible said, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. No matter what you do, you may try to accumulate your merits, but that cannot wash your sins away. It is through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus that our sins were all remitted. But God is something more than that. Because when we believe in the Lord Jesus, our dead spirit will quicken into new life. Because our Lord Jesus has cleansed our conscience and made our spirit a new spirit, a living spirit that can communicate with its proper environment, our God Himself. So the moment we are saved, we will cry out, Abba, Father. Because that connection was made. And the life of Christ came into our new spirit by the Holy Spirit. We are born again. We receive the life of God. Christ Himself dwells by the Spirit in our new spirit. Now that is what we usually call initial salvation. In our spirit, Christ dwells. His life is the life of our spirit. And that begins our spiritual life. But even so, we find that the old nature, the old nature of Adam is still in us. So far as our spirit is concerned, we have a new life, a new spirit. We have the Holy Spirit in us. But so far as our soul and body are concerned, we find that life in our soul is still the old Adamic nature. And that can be easily experienced. So when you turn to the letter to the Corinthians, yeah, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 1, and I, brethren, have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. When the Apostle Paul was in Corinth, he preached nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And many Corinthians turned to the Lord. And Paul continued to minister to these believers. But he said, I have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual. Now we will think that after we have the new spirit, the new life, and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, dwelling our spirit, we surely should be spiritual now. But strangely you find, Paul said, I cannot speak to you as to spiritual. Because I can only speak to you as fleshly, as babies in Christ. Now, brothers and sisters, even though we do have a new life, we have a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. But so far as our soul is concerned, it is still being animated by that old, endemic life. We are not instantly becoming spiritual. Because so far as the rest of our being is concerned, we find that it is still under the life of the old Adam. It is still in an unfallen state. And there you find our flesh, our self is still the very life of our being. We need to gradually grow out of the old life, and grow in Christ Jesus. Then we will enter into more of the spiritual condition. So when we were first saved, do not think that we are instantly spiritual now. We are still bathed in Christ. And because we are still bathed in Christ, so we are still fleshly. Now, in the Greek, this adjective has a little variation. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 1, but as to fleshly, Now, the word flesh there, this refers to the substance, the material of a thing. So it is neutral. And then when you come to verse 3, saying that you are yet carnal, and this word carnal is another variation of the adjective. But that word can mean the material or substance of a thing, or it can refer to the moral sense, or it can be a combination of both. Now, for the sake of simplifying it, now let us use it this way. In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 1, but as to fleshly, let us translate it to, but as to fleshy. In other words, it is the material then. It does not include any moral sense in it. And in the Bible you find sometimes this word is translated into natural, natural man. For instance, you find in 1 Corinthians 2, it says the natural man does not understand the things of the spirit. Yes, it is the same word. So in other words, we can say now it refers to a person who is a fleshly man. And that means he is a babe in Christ. Now, brothers and sisters, we all love babies, because they are so natural. There is no pretension. But at the same time you find they are terrible, because they are so self-centered. Even at midnight, when they are hungry, they will cry. They do not mind who you are. I am the most important person in the world. Everybody has to serve me. Now that is being fleshy. So when we are babes in Christ, we are very fleshy. Thank God we do not pretend. Unfortunately, the more we grow, the more we become not very true. But as babes you find that this is what I am. He does not care what you think about him. And so it is very natural, but very fleshy. Now, brothers and sisters, when we first believe in the Lord Jesus, that is what we are in the spiritual world. So Paul said, when I was with you, in the very beginning of your being saved, I treated you as babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, because you cannot digest hard food. But that condition should not last too long. We will be able to consider you because you are babes. But if you remain a babe too long, then something is terribly wrong. After so long a time, Paul said, I still cannot give you solid food, because you are yet carnal. In other words, you are still fleshly. That old Adamic nature is still dominating your life. You should outgrow it, that Christ may become your life. And this is being abnormal. So, brothers and sisters, we will endure brothers and sisters who are newly saved. If they are all fleshly, in a sense, we enjoy it. Because they are so real. But such situation should not last too long. You remember, not only with the Corinthian believers, they are all in that situation. Even when you go to the book of Hebrews, you find the same thing. You find that they are still not being spiritually exercised. They are still remained as babes in Christ. And they have not left the foundation, and have not pressed on to full growth. And that will be a tragedy. Brothers and sisters, if you are in your family, when a baby is first born, and when he is in his babyhood, everybody enjoys him. But if after ten years, after twenty years, he remains the same, that will be a tragedy to the family. Spiritually, this is the same. So, brothers and sisters, when we are talking about the flesh, actually we are referring to a condition, the condition of being fleshly. So, Paul said, you are still carnal. The flesh is the natural man. It should refer to the unregenerated people. But unfortunately, we find this same term is now being applied to Christians. Why? Because we act as the people of the world. So, that shows that we are not much different from the people of the world. So, this is something that should not be. Now, what are the symptoms of being fleshly? What are the signs of the carnal Christians? Now, when you read the first letter to the Corinthians, you find Apostle Paul describes to us, giving us all the symptoms manifested by the carnal Christians. Remember, Paul did not refer to the people of the world. He referred to the carnal Christians. Christians who are still living in the flesh. Instead of living in the spirit. Now, what are the symptoms? Number one, of course, if a Christian remains in the carnal state, he is still a baby in Christ. And as a baby, he cannot take solid food. Because he has not been exercised. So, he has to be fed with milk. Now, what is milk? Milk is pre-digested food. Your mother takes food and digests it. And then, you suck the milk out of your mother. In other words, it has been already digested. So, you can just absorb it without exercise yourself. So, that is one of the signs of being in the flesh. Now, we find nowadays, among the Christians, thank God, there are people who really appreciate ministry. They appreciate ministry more than the Lord's table. Because at the Lord's table, we give to the Lord. What He has given us, we give back to Him. We remember Him. We honor Him. We express our appreciation to Him. And we serve Him. But when we listen to a message, we receive, we receive. And we receive what has been digested. So, we don't need to exercise ourselves before the Lord. And because we never exercise ourselves, so we find that we never grow. We hear and hear and hear. And nothing happens. Because we never exercise. So, brothers and sisters, that is the one sign of being in the flesh. And the second sign, you find in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, it says, and in the third verse, Are you not carnal and walk according to man? In other words, our walk, our life upon this earth is according to man. What the people of the world do, we do too. Even what the people of the world think, we too think. What the people of the world seek after, we also seek after. We are no different from the people of the world. Even though we do have eternal life in us. But that eternal life has not been expressed. Because we are still living according to the flesh. And then, as you read on, you find there are divisions among God's people. How they follow man instead of follow Christ. I am of Paul, I am of Paul, I am of Cephas. And some say I am exclusively of Christ. Paul said, is Christ divided? Has Paul crucified for you? Are you baptized in the name of Paul? Christ is not divided. So when we see divisions among God's people, this is a sure sign that we are walking according to the flesh. And then you find among the Corinthians, there were people who committed fornication to such an extent, even the world rarely sees them. And the whole church thinks nothing about it. They think they are so liberal. They are able to allow anything, everything. There is no sense of righteousness. Brothers and sisters, and then you find how they love the world. Oh, they love social. They love to eat and to drink. And because of that, they go to the temple, to idol temple to do that. Because in Corinth, this is the social time. And it's always being in the temple. And so they say, well, there is only one God. These idols are nothing. So we can go in and enjoy ourselves. Brothers and sisters, and then you find how they defraud one another. And even accuse one another before the worldly court. And then you find they just love themselves, enjoy themselves, and neglecting the other brothers. Brothers and sisters, they do not care about the weak brothers and sisters. They say that we have the truth. So we can do whatever we want to. And knowledge pops up. But love builds up. And then you find there is disorder among themselves. Even at the Lord's table, some got drunk and some are hungry. There was no order among them. Even in the exercise of spiritual gifts. It was a display of themselves. And it is not edifying. And there was unbelief. They do not believe in resurrection. How can you believe in resurrection if you live such a life? And they are very disobedient. There is no authority, no order. Now all these you find are the symptoms of men and women of the flesh. And then if you turn to Romans chapter 7, now Romans 7 shows us that those who walk according to the flesh, they cannot please God. Because, as the Apostle Paul says, he describes himself when he was still in that stage. When the flesh is still dominating his life. You find in verse 14, For we know that the law is righteous, but I am fleshly, I have been sold to sin. In other words, you find sin is still ruling over the flesh. And then in verse 18, For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, good does not dwell. For to will is there with me, but to do right is not. And then in Romans chapter 8, verse 5, For they that are according to flesh mind the things of the flesh, and they that are according to spirit, the things of the spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the spirit, life and peace. Then in verse 7, Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God. For neither indeed can it be. And then verse 8, And they that are in flesh cannot please God. Do not think that you can live according to the flesh and please God. Do not think that we can serve God according to the mind of the flesh. Because so far as God is concerned, God has condensed flesh to death. So, people who are walking, living according to the flesh can never please God. Then if you return to Galatians, Galatians chapter 5, verse 19, Now the works of the flesh are manifest. The flesh, when it works, it is very clear. You can easily recognize them, which are fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness. I think these three refer to the passions of the flesh. Because it all refers to the passion, the physical urge of the body. Then idolatry, sorcery. That refers to some of the lust of the flesh. So you'll find in Colossians it says it's will worship. Because our will is darkened, is against God. It is alienated from the life of God. It is separated. So you'll find that instead of worshiping God, the true God, they worship the idols. Instead of seeking to know God's will by His Spirit, they go to sorcery to seek for mediums. So it is the degradation of the human will. And then hatred, strife, jealousy, anger, contentions. And these are the emotional things. And shows that our emotion is all being distorted. Disputes, schools of opinions, envyings. And these refer to our mind. And our mind is all darkened. And then murders, drunkenness, revels. And these two refer to how we are so earthly, because we are not natural. If it's natural, it's earthly. And the word says that they who do such things shall not inherit God's kingdom. So, brothers and sisters, we find that the flesh can be easily detected. Because their deeds, their works, are very manifested. And we need to ask a question. Since we have believed in the Lord Jesus, have we grown out of our babyhood? Have we all measured by what we have read? Whether it is in 1 Corinthians, or in Romans, or in Galatians. Do we still walk according to the flesh? Do we still serve according to the flesh? Or are we now walking according to the Spirit? And we serve God in our spirit. I think it would be a very practical question. And we have to ask ourselves. We must go to the Lord and let His light shine upon us. That in His light we may see light. That we may repent and abhor ourselves. And then turn to the Lord to seek for deliverance. So the question now is, how can we be delivered from our flesh? This is a very personal question. And it is a very subjective one. It is not like the old man. It is objective. It is something that Christ has done for us. All we need to do is to reckon it. And believe in it. But now we come to our personal experience. How can we be delivered from our flesh? And you find the way is the cross. But it is more than the cross that was erected on Calvary. It is that cross that has to be implanted into our very soul. The objective cross has to become the subjective cross. The cross of Christ has to become my cross, your cross. Now, how do we experience it? You notice in Galatians 5, 24. He said, but they that are of the Christ. Now, first of all, we need to remember that we are in Christ. Now, often times, we forget it. Experientially speaking, often times, we come out of Christ. When we live in the flesh, we do not live in Christ. So, often times, we come out of Christ. That is from the experience point of view. From the truth point of view, it won't happen. We are in Christ and is always in Christ. So, first of all, we need to remember that we are of Christ. In other words, we need to take our new position in Christ Jesus. Today, we are in Christ. And in Christ, the old man was crucified. No longer live I, it is Christ who lives in me. So, first of all, we have to take that stand. We have to take that stand in Christ Jesus. You know, when temptation comes, what is temptation? Temptation is leading you out of Christ and get you back into Adam. So, when temptation comes, because it cannot touch Christ, it only has the living relationship with Adam. Outside of Adam, he has no power. In Christ, he is finished. So, temptation is drawing away out of Christ. And then we find ourselves being in Adam. And if we are in Adam, then sin has dominion over us. So, first of all, we have to by faith take our stand in Christ Jesus. Declaring that the old Adam was crucified. We were dead to sin in Christ Jesus. And we are alive unto God in Christ Jesus. And when you take that position, when you take that stand, then how does it work? In Galatians chapter 5, verse 16, but I say, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall no way fulfill flesh lust. Brothers and sisters, here you find the subjective work of the Holy Spirit. Two thousand years ago, Christ died on Calvary's cross. And God has already put the whole endemic race in Christ. So, when Christ died, the whole endemic race was terminated. That is an eternal truth. You stand on that. Then the Holy Spirit begins to work. And He will bring that cross, the finished work of Christ on the cross, into your experience. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. He will bring us into all truth. So, after we have taken the stand in Christ Jesus, and we learn to walk in the Spirit, and then you find what happens. You find that the flesh will lust after the Spirit, and the Spirit will lust against the flesh. And these things oppose one to the other that you should not do these things which you desire. In other words, the fight is not done by you or me. If we try to fight against the flesh, we will fail. No matter how determined you are, let the Holy Spirit strive against the flesh. It is a battle between the Holy Spirit and the flesh. Not between you and the flesh. Because you are the flesh. So let the Holy Spirit work against the flesh. And when the Holy Spirit strives against the flesh, you are not able to do what your flesh wants to do. Because the Holy Spirit will put to death the deeds of the body. And then, you will be delivered from the flesh. So, brothers and sisters, if you turn to Romans chapter 8, there in Romans chapter 8, verse 18, For if you live according to flesh, you are about to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. Romans 8. 8, 18. Oh, 13, not 18. Let me use an illustration. It is the illustration of grafting. Suppose you have a peach tree. And the nature of that peach tree is very bad. And all the peaches that are produced are sour. Now, how are you going to improve that peach tree? You use this method of grafting. Near the root of that peach tree, you cut off. And then you make another session. And you take a twig out of a good peach tree. That peach tree bears sweet fruit. So you just graft this twig into the old tree. And then the tree began to grow. And when it grows up, you find that all the branches will bear sweet peaches. Because it has taken up the new nature. But you have to be very careful. Because underneath that cut, branches will also come out. And when these branches come out, they will bear sour peaches. Above the incision you have sweet peaches. Below that incision, you have the old sour peaches. So what the farmer will do? He will watch. Whenever there are branches coming underneath, below that incision, he will cut it off. And then you'll find the whole peach tree will bear sweet fruit. So that is our story. We are the poor, bad fruit tree. But the cross cut into our life. And Christ is being grafted into us. So naturally, supernaturally, naturally, you'll find that it will bear the fruit of the Spirit. But unfortunately, underneath that cut, you'll find branches are still coming out. So the Holy Spirit will do this work. He will put the deeds of the body unto death that you may live. So dear brothers and sisters, they who are of the Christ have crucified their flesh with the passions and the lust. This is how the Spirit of God will work. This is how we experience the cross in our daily life. So may we believe in what the Lord Jesus has done for us. And let us obey the Holy Spirit as He works the cross into our daily life. This is the way of deliverance. Thank God. Dear Lord, we just lay these words at Thy feet. If it is of Thee, use it. If anything is not of Thee, put it to death. If anything is not of Thee, put it to death. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.