Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal. 5
The flesh does not improve with age or even with teachings. The flesh still tries to rise up in us to rule over us ... to envy, to hate, to strive to outdo others (emulations) ... to do the various works of the flesh.
But after we belong to God we do have power over our flesh and can keep it under control if we understand the following and apply it properly to our lives.
First, ? trouble with fornication ? ... God told us how to deal with that as Christians.
To avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 5Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. I Cor. 7
When I lived in Clovis, NM (USA), a cement contractor tried to convince me to have sex with him. This man was a deacon in the Baptist Church he attended. He said, "God understands that we need sex.
When he said this to me, I just went into the room where my Bible was and took it to him and read the above scripture to him ... I Cor. 7. This man had a wife. As I recall, he just got up and left my house. I don't remember ever seeing him again.
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I
then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot?
God forbid. 16What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is
one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17But he that is
joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18Flee fornication. Every sin
that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth
fornication sinneth against his own body. (Fornication is a sin against Christ's own body.) 19What? know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of
God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
I Cor. 6
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The works of the flesh are not just fornication and adultery ... Paul listed several other works of the flesh ...uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variance (debating/arguing), emulations (trying to outdo others...), wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you
before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such
things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal. 5
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The flesh may try to rule over us after we are born again, but we have a power from God to deal with it.
Paul explained: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. I Cor. 9
We have power through the crucifixion of Jesus also.
How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6
We do not have to hate as the world does. The flesh wants to hate. But we have a choice in what we allow the flesh to do.
We were buried with Christ through baptism ... that is like being dead with Christ. Dead people do not sin. We do not have to yield to the sin. Our power is through God. We identify with Christ's death and His resurrection.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Romans 6
Thus Paul explained in I Cor. 9 that he "kept under his body" ... kept his body under control ... and he brought his body into "subjection" ... He reckoned himself dead to sin ... and alive to God ... so he no longer had to serve sin and his flesh but could choose to obey God and serve God.
We still have to choose ... Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Romans 6
Our flesh wants to sin ... it wants to hate ... it wants to debate (argue and strive) ... it wants to exalt itself by outdoing other people (emulation) ...
But we have the power to turn to God in prayer and commit ourselves to God, choosing and desiring to do HIS will instead of the will of our flesh. We can cry to God for help over our flesh when needed. And we have the Holy Scriptures which are able to make us "wise" unto salvation through faith. II Tim. 3
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6
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If you have a strong desire for a new car (or some other item)... some religious groups teach to keep a picture of a new car on the refrigerator where you can see it all the time and you will somehow manage to get it at some point. Doing this feeds covetousness, feeds your own flesh. Some ministers even teach to hunt scripture to justify getting those material things you desire.
If you fail to get what you want, you are told you have "weak faith" ... You are in a terrible trap.
And this doctrine is teaching you to be your own God, trying to get what you want for yourself rather than considering what God would want done.
Most of the time, you just can't get what you want by doing these things and you become terribly frustrated. Others seem to get what you want while you do everything you are taught and still don't have what you want.
The doctrine you are following in such cases as this is a false doctrine.
To break free ... Submit yourself to God ... "Not my will but Thy will be done."
Dead people don't desire these fleshly things. When you are baptized in water, it is like being buried with Christ so that you can reckon yourself dead to these fleshly sins but alive to serve God instead of serving yourself.
If you feed the flesh ... it will get stronger ... (And some feed the flesh while claiming a verse of scripture which is suppose to give them "faith" to get what they want. All this is very evil. Instead we should be seeking God, asking HIM what HE wants for us. Learning to be content instead of trying to get something more. For this is what the Bible teaches. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. I Tim. 6
Content means: not wanting more ... not wanting something different.
If you have a desire for anything, you are not content at this point in time. Godliness with contentment is great gain. I Tim. 6