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Flesh that profits nothing?
Dan:
Jesus stated something very very important in his testing in the wilderness.
Mat 4:4 But answering, He said, It has been written: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every Word going out of the mouth of God." Deut. 8:3
Man does not live by the flesh(carnal mind) but instead:
Man lives on every Word going from the mouth of God.
Jam 4:13 Come now, those saying, Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and we will spend one year there, and we will trade and will make a profit.
Jam 4:15 Instead you should say, If the Lord wills, even we will live, and we will do anything;
Jam 4:16 but now you rejoice(take pride in) in your presumptions. All such rejoicing(taking credit for) is evil.
Man continually presumes to do things on his own free will. Yet he cannot do anything even live or die(exist) without God declaring it.
Oh the rest we have , when we are able to believe that God rules the hearts of men.
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
you reign on earth just as you do in heaven.
You give us our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, just as we are required to forgive the sins of others.
You lead us into temptation and deliver us from evil.
Amen
Chris R:
Hello all,
Thankyou so much for your responces, below is the letter I received from Ray.
Chris R
Dear Chris
Sometimes familiar words have a way of prejudicing our minds. In a Scripture such as these where our Lord states that "the flesh PROFITS nothing," and we feel immediately that, why sure it does, isn't that the whole purpose of our physical life, existence, and experience? To be PROFITED by the whole thing? Yes, but that is not specifically what Jesus is stating.
Jesus did not say that there is no value to our physical experience. What He said was that the experience itself is NOT THE PROFIT ITSELF.
I am sure that most read this verse thinking Jesus said this: "...the flesh PRODUCES nothing." As though nothing valuable comes out of our experience in the flesh, when that is deciedly not what Jesus is saying.
The word translated "profits" is from the Greek word "apheleo" and has a primary meaning of "BENEFIT." It is virtually allways translated with a negative connotation:
"what is a man PROFITED, if he gain the whole world..." (Matt. 16:26
"Pilate sat that he could PREVAIL nothing..." (Matt. 27:24).
"and was nothing BETTERED, but rather..." (Mark 5:26).
"...the flesh PROFITS nothing...." (John 6:63).
"Perceive you how you PREVAIL nothing.." (John 12:19).
"For what is a man ADVANTAGED...." (Luke 9:25).
"...it PROFITS me nothing..." (I Cor. 13:3).
"...the word preached did not PROFIT them" (Heb. 4:2).
"...which did not PROFIT them...." (Heb. 13:9).
Next notice that even Christ Himself does not profit some:
"Christ shall PROFIT you nothing...." (Gal. 5:2).
And so what Jesus is clearly stating here is that the FLESH (or any of the other things mentioned above including Christ Himself), are not in and by themselves a BENEFIT (profit) to us until others facts PRODUCE those BENEFITS.
This is why Jesus asked: "What is a man PROFITED if he shall gain the whole world [lost of flesh], and lose his own soul?" (Matt. 16:25).
There is no PROFIT/BENEFIT in the flesh itself, only what comes OUT OF IT. And once you are OUT OF IT (as out of the world), the world is of NO profit/benefit to you.
Maybe our biggest spiritual example of this is: "Come OUT of her, My people...." (Rev. 18:4). If there is "profit" to be had from being IN Babylon, then perhaps we should all go BACK IN? No, Babylon is about as fleshly and worldly as anything could ever be, and Babylon BENEFITS NOTHING, so "Come OUT OF HER My people...." The BENEFITS are IN CHRIST, OUT OF Babylon, out of the flesh and the world.
Hope this helps your understanding,
God be with you,
Ray
roperfam:
The flesh has one use (profit), to administer death.
In regards to administering life, it profiteth nothing. Only through the spirit, and the resurrected life of Christ can life be given.
(Mar 8:36) for what shall it profit a man, if he may gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?
(Joh 6:63) the spirit it is that is giving life; the flesh doth not profit anything; the sayings that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life;
(Rom 2:25) For circumcision, indeed, doth profit, if law thou mayest practise, but if a transgressor of law thou mayest be, thy circumcision hath become uncircumcision. (the law empoweres sin, and the sting of death is sin)
(Rom 3:1) What, then, is the superiority of the Jew? or what the profit of the circumcision?
(1Co 12:7) And to each hath been given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit;
(Gal 5:2) lo, I Paul do say to you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing;
(1Ti 4:8) for the bodily exercise is unto little profit, and the piety is to all things profitable, a promise having of the life that now is, and of that which is coming;
(Phm 1:20) Yes, brother, may I have profit of thee in the Lord; refresh my bowels in the Lord;
(Heb 4:2) for we also are having good news proclaimed, even as they, but the word heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard,
(Heb 12:10) for they, indeed, for a few days, according to what seemed good to them, were chastening, but He for profit, to be partakers of His separation;
(Jam 2:14) What is the profit, my brethren, if faith, any one may speak of having, and works he may not have? is that faith able to save him?
(Jam 2:16) and any one of you may say to them, `Depart ye in peace, be warmed, and be filled,' and may not give to them the things needful for the body, what is the profit?
(Jud 1:16) These are murmurers, repiners; according to their desires walking, and their mouth doth speak great swellings, giving admiration to persons for the sake of profit;
Brett:
Chris R
Thanks for the posted from Ray's response the meaning of flesh and profit.
Nelson:
Hi folks,
"wherefore, we faint not, but if also our outward man doth decay, yet the inward is renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:16)
"for I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, and I behold another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of the sin that is in my members" (Ro 7:22,23)
"that He may give to you, according to the riches of His glory, with might to be strengthened through His Spirit, in regard to the inner man, that the Christ may dwell through the faith in your hearts, in love having been rooted and founded" (Eph 3:16,17)
"but--the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible thing of the meek and quiet spirit, which is, before God, of great price" (1 Pe 3:4)
"but a Jew is he who is so inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, of which the praise is not of men, but of God" (Ro 2:29)[/list:u]The flesh is of benefit for the development our inner man, but of no use whatsoever to the outer man. The man of flesh dominates our being until we are dragged to Christ, then as He increases and we decrease (Jo 3:30) the inner man grows more and more to maturity and exercises a greater influence over the outer man,
"ye are to put off concerning the former behaviour the old man, that is corrupt according to the desires of the deceit, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man, which, according to God, was created in righteousness and kindness of the truth" (Eph 4:22-24)
"And the fruit of the Spirit is: Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law; and those who are Christ's, the flesh did crucify with the affections, and the desires; if we may live in the Spirit, in the Spirit also we may walk" (Gal 5:22-25)[/list:u]As has already been said, the flesh is necesary for the development of the spiritual man within, that the inner man of the spirit may become manifest even within this tabernacle of flesh, until this outer man dies and the spirit returns to God, awaiting the resurrection into a new spiritual body. Great stuff folks.
Grace and peace to you
Nelson
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