The Flesh and the Spirit- Genesis 27

As Christians, we are “new creations,” 2 Corinthians 5:17. We are transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of life. We were dead in trespasses and sins and now we are made alive in Christ. We were children of the devil, and now we are children of God.

Besides a stark difference between these two states, often times the lines marking these different individuals are blurred. It is difficult, at times, to distinguish between a Christian and non-Christian. Have you ever wondered why this is the case?

There are two thoughts to consider now. (1) It is because there are many who claim to be Christians who are not. They claim the title “Christian” without having Christ or the new life He gives. This has created a great difficulty. Our own nation can bear witness to this. Many years ago it was popular and expected for people to go to church. It was assumed that these people were believers and, in fact, they were not. I do not doubt that there are people at WCBC who are like this.

(2) There are those who are genuine Christians who have never grown in their walk with the Lord. (a) Perhaps they were never discipled, or maybe they were won to the Lord through one-on-one evangelism, or perhaps through a meeting. The individual was never attached to a church and was never taught the ways of God. (b) Or, maybe they knew they should go to church and refused to go. Therefore they have not experienced the growth that they should. In both these cases, they bring shame and belittle the name whereby they were saved.

For whatever reason, there are those who through choice or neglect walk in the flesh rather than the Spirit. They live fruitless lives and mar the righteous name whereby they have been saved.

What do we do? How do we avoid this blurring of distinctions? We walk in the Spirit. But what does this mean? That is now our focus.

I. The Flesh and the Spirit- Galatians 5:16–24

We will start our time this evening in the NT before returning back to our study of Genesis. This reason I want to do this is Genesis chapter 27 provides as with a “case study,” if you will, of the practical displays of walking in the flesh compared with walking in the Spirit.

These are two ways of living. For the unbeliever, there is no choice, they simply walk according to the flesh. For the believer, however, they have a choice of walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh. They can obey the Lord and bear fruit for His glory, or they can follow their own desires and produce sin in theirs and others’ lives.

A. Living according to the Flesh

What does Paul mean by walking in the flesh? That term walk is so helpful. I am thankful the Lord gave us this word to describe these two types of living.

It implies more than one step. It is a pattern, a direction in which one is heading. The idea here is one that is bent on pleasing the flesh. In this case, he provides a summary of the works of the flesh:

Sexual immorality

Impurity

Sensuality

Idolatry

Sorcery

Enmity

Strife

Jealousy

Fits of anger

Rivalries

Dissensions

Divisions

Envy

Drunkenness

Orgies

Walking according to the flesh does not mean we will engage in every one of these, nor does it mean that we will take one or more of them to the extreme. It simply means that, given the opportunity to satisfy our natural desires outside the bounds of Scripture, we will do so.

Anger, for example, means that if someone does us wrong we may not physically respond by punching the, we carry bitterness with us, we wish evil upon them, etc.

When we repeatedly do this, we are walking according to the flesh. Non-christians only walk according to the flesh, believers can walk according to the flesh.

B. Living according to the Spirit

What does walking by the Spirit mean? It means the exact opposite of walking according to the flesh. Instead of taking every opportunity to please ourselves, we take every opportunity and present it as a sacrifice to God for His glory.

When someone does us wrong, we choose not to be angry. Instead, we look to God for justice, trusting His sovereign power to do what is right, and seek to share the Lord’s forgiveness as we are able.

One other point is worth noting before going to Genesis chapter 27, and that is the difference between the flesh and Spirit. The flesh is referred to as “works,” while the Spirit bears “fruit” in our lives.

That is, we do not get any of the credit for the Spirit’s work in our lives. Like trees simply absorbing the sun, receiving the nutrients of the soil, and enjoying the water from the rain, we enjoy the nutrients of the Word, prayer, the sacraments, and the fellowship of the body of Christ, then the Spirit produces fruit through us.

Notice the contrast with the self-serving interests of the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit:

love

joy

peace

patience

kindness

goodness

faithfulness

gentleness

self-control

II. Jacob and Esau—A Case Study

“Chapter 27 exhibits a most humbling picture of sensuality, deceit and cunning; and when one thinks of such things in connection with the people of God, it is sad and painful to the very last degree.” C. H. Mackintosh

Following the path of their parents, Esau and Jacob both walk “according to the flesh,” and both bring great harm to themselves and others.

A. Esau—walking according to the flesh- 26:34–27:1–4, 41

Esau follows his flesh. We did not address this last week, but he married two Hittite women for wives. Now, it is common in both the OT and in the ancient near east for there to be polygyny (one man with multiple wives).

We have already read Genesis 2:24, but God’s creational order was one man and one woman. Esau rejected this and in addition, married two women who were not in the covenant of Abraham, Esau’s grandfather.

In addition, Esau wanted the blessings that God had informed Rebekah and Isaac were to be Jacob’s, not Esau’s.

God told the parents who would receive the blessings and covenantal promises in Genesis 25:23, and Esau is seeking to subvert God’s plans. This is precisely what it means to walk according to the flesh.

God’s plan is for one man to marry one woman for life, Esau says that’s not enough.

After the deceit of Jacob, we see Esau’s anger at Jacob. He desired and planned to murder his twin. These are the works of the flesh, for sure. But what about Jacob? We tend to think of Jacob as a believer, and he is, but not quite yet.

B. Jacob—walking according to the flesh- 26:5–29, 46

Jacob, upon the direction of his mother, deceives his father and “steals” the blessing that was his already by divine decree. What is worse, Jacob uses the Lord in his deception.

Isaac and Rebekah are hurt, in that both are fighting against each other. Esau and Jacob are hurt in that both of them are pitted against each parent and against each other. The wives of Esau are hurt by competing against one another.

The works of the flesh are evil, destructive, and detrimental to all. The truth of Scripture, however, reminds us that God is able to use our evil choices for His sovereign good.

C. God—sovereign director in good and evil

We will end our time this evening with the reminder that God uses our evil to accomplish His plan (Rom. 8:28). He uses the hatred of humanity to kill Jesus (Acts 2:23).

It is comforting to remember that men and women in the Bible sinned, and sometimes great sins, and God not only used them, but He uses us today. Let us, as we discussed last week, draw encouragement from the Scriptures and endurance as we fight against the desires of the flesh.

Let us learn from their painful mistakes and seek to walk in the Spirit.