Irruptions Of The Flesh

The dictionary defines irruption as an “inexplicable evil as horrifying as any supernatural bogeyman.”

There are times when our flesh catches us unaware. The evil that results doesn’t have to be violent or physical. In fact, the most important irruptions of the flesh are internal. The mind becomes enflamed with a temptation that comes from our alienation from God and His righteousness.

These irruptions are natural to those who have not been born again in Jesus Christ. But, even in those who have been renewed by the Holy Spirit, these irruptions can still occur. For some Christians, they can attempt to dominate us.

The flesh produces fruit—the fruit of death. Those who practice it have no place in the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit also produces fruit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22–23).

The fruit of the Spirit is the kind of life that righteousness anticipates in us. But the fruit of the flesh wars against the fruit of the Spirit in us and too easily gets the upper hand: love versus hate; joy versus despondence; peace versus anxiety; patience versus freneticism; kindness versus harshness; goodness versus indifference; faithfulness versus unfaithfulness; gentleness versus harshness; and self-control versus self-indulgence. Sadly, it is the fruit of the flesh that is most common to the daily human experience.

These irruptions of the flesh are not meant to be a dominate force in the life of the follower of Jesus. In fact, they cannot dominate us. “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:14

We however must cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit. “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Romans 6:13

Thank God, one of the grand differences between our former lives and our new lives is that we can now grow in righteousness. We can begin the lifelong process of being matured into the image of Jesus Christ. Deep within us, we long for the full expression of this new life that Christ has made possible for us.

But if we do not recognize our former habits of disobedience to which our bodies were accustomed and combat them by daily listening and submitting to the Spirit of God through time in the Word of God, we will walk like cripples. No, the old life has no power to dominate us, but we must fight it by the power of the Spirit within us.

You can find more on this important topic in my book.