{"id":16625,"date":"2018-04-06T10:05:47","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T14:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16625"},"modified":"2018-04-06T10:35:32","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T14:35:32","slug":"flesh-and-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16625","title":{"rendered":"Flesh and Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Human Bodies: Week 1<br \/>\n<strong>Flesh and Spirit<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Friday, April 6, 2018<\/strong><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4omFQJEAAVc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nThe Apostle Paul tends to use dialectics in his writing, jockeying two seemingly opposite ideas to lead us to a deeper and third understanding. One of his most familiar dialectics is the way he speaks of flesh and spirit. Paul uses the word sarx, typically and unfortunately translated as \u201cflesh\u201d in most contemporary languages with a negative connotation in opposition to spirit. John\u2019s Gospel uses this same word, sarx, in a wonderfully positive way: \u201cThe Word became flesh\u201d (John 1:14). So flesh must be good too! But Paul\u2019s usage had the larger impact.<br \/>\nIf you read Galatians or Romans, you\u2019ll probably understand these two terms in the usual dualistic way, which has done great damage: \u201cWell, I\u2019ve got to get out of my flesh in order to get into the spirit.\u201d This was even true of many canonized saints, at least in their early stages\u2014as it was with the Buddha. But I want to say as strongly as I can: you really can\u2019t get out of the flesh! That\u2019s not what Paul is talking about.<br \/>\nThe closest meaning to Paul\u2019s sarx is today\u2019s familiar word \u201cego\u201d\u2014which often is a problem if we are trapped inside of it. So what Paul means by \u201cflesh\u201d is the trapped self, the small self, the partial self, or what Thomas Merton called the false self. Basically, spirit is the whole self, the Christ Self, the True Self \u201chidden with Christ in God\u201d (Colossians 3:3) that we fall into by grace. The problem is not between body and spirit; it\u2019s between part and whole.<br \/>\nSarx or ego is the self that tries to define itself autonomously, apart from spirit, apart from the Big Self in God. It\u2019s the tiny self that you think you are, who takes yourself far too seriously, and who is always needy and wanting something else. It\u2019s the self that is characterized by scarcity and fragility\u2014and well it should be, because it\u2019s finally an illusion and passing away. It changes month by month. This small self doesn\u2019t really exist in God\u2019s eyes as anything substantial or real. It\u2019s nothing but a construct of your own mind. It is exactly what will die when you die. Flesh is not bad, it is just inadequate to the final and full task, while posing as the real thing. Don\u2019t hate your training wheels once you take them off your bicycle. You should thank them for getting you started on your cycling journey!<br \/>\nTo easily get beyond this confusion, just substitute the word ego every time you hear Paul use the word flesh. It will get you out of this dead-end, false, and dualistic ping-pong game between body and spirit. The problem is not that you have a body; the problem is that you think you are separate from others\u2014and from God. And you are not!<\/p>\n<p>___________________________________________________<\/p>\n<div class=\"grey-box\">\n<div class=\"quoted_scripture\">\n<p><strong>April 6, 2018 <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>God\u2019s Word Helps Us<\/strong><br \/>\nPamela L. Dorrel (Kentucky)<\/p>\n<p><strong>I treasure your word in my heart, so that \u2028I may not sin against you. <span class=\"reference\"> &#8211; Psalm 119:11 (NRSV)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It has always been easy for me to get into debates with friends and family, and I find myself arguing more than I should. If I make others angry, I regret it, and I\u2019m always willing to apologize and move on. I just can\u2019t pass up a rousing exchange of ideas about current events.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"body\">\n<p>I was this way for many years until one day, in the middle of a debate with my father that had turned into an argument, I suddenly forgot what I was going to say. The only thing I could remember was today\u2019s quoted verse. It was the verse from my Bible study a few weeks before. In an instant, my perspective changed. I realized I was so caught up in the conversation that I was about to say something hurtful to my father just to \u201cwin\u201d the argument. I held my tongue that day, and we called a truce.<br \/>\nLater on, I thanked God for bringing that verse to my mind at just the right time. The more we read and study God\u2019s word, the more we are able to draw on its direction when we need it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"prayer-box\">\n<div class=\"subtle-label\">Today&#8217;s Prayer<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"todays-prayer\"> Thank you, God, for giving us wisdom through scripture when we need it most. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>_______________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p>April 6, 2018<\/p>\n<p>Devotional for Today-JDV<\/p>\n<p>Lord, the study for today started with some \u201cunlearning\u201d. We were instructed by Richard to \u201cunpack\u201d the notion of the meaning of the word flesh in Paul\u2019s letters because the meaning was not necessarily intended as a standard \u201cdialectic\u201d lesson from Paul. This was not another \u201cset the flesh against the spirit\u201d lesson of the struggle. Rather, the key meaning here of the original word, sarx , is the smaller self or ego. The lesson I grasp here is that I am not to war against the \u201cflesh\u201d as a morality fight spirit against flesh, but rather I am to allow the spirit of God to overcome my own ego and notion that I am separate from God.<\/p>\n<p>Is this the lesson Lord?<\/p>\n<p>And God says\u2026\u201dThis is the lesson, and you have been living the lesson for years. There is no battle against the flesh in terms of a personal commitment to \u201cgrit your teeth\u201d and try harder to overcome amoral (fleshly) thoughts and behavior and thus become a better person. This never works for humans living free. Humans by nature exist with a deceitful heart and it is not fixable. No amount of trying or scapegoating will correct this, and it neither was nor is my intention to address the issue. I have no intention of repairing this human condition. Jesus is my answer.<\/p>\n<p>Living a Godly life is a byproduct of being surrendered and connected to Me; giving up the idea of your separateness and seeing your body and soul as complete in Me. You recognize our \u201coneness\u201d (Me in you) as a byproduct of surrendering your flesh or small self.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Human Bodies: Week 1 Flesh and Spirit Friday, April 6, 2018 The Apostle Paul tends to use dialectics in his writing, jockeying two seemingly opposite ideas to lead us to a deeper and third understanding. One of his most familiar dialectics is the way he speaks of flesh and spirit. Paul uses the word sarx, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16625"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16625"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16628,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16625\/revisions\/16628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}