Jehovah's Witnesses Straight Talk - Forum/Blog

Minding of The Flesh

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

The idea of minding the flesh conjures up such dark thoughts, but the bible uses the term so often one should wonder, have we lost its original thought - when it was penned some two-thousand years ago, and is now in our day interpreted by religious doctrines?

Using a simple analogy might help us get the context of what minding of the flesh means too a Christian. When a person loves some one, they have wonderful thoughts about the person, they trust them, and look forward in seeing them, and hearing their voice each day. If something negative comes up it is passed right over by our good thoughts and feelings of love towards the person.

1Cor.13:7(love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

On the other hand, when we cannot get past a negative thought about the person, that is, perhaps something in the person actions, or speech, brings up a a red-flag, which tigers distrust for them.

We start connecting the dots of other negative things we once over looked, and we draw a conclusion that brings judgment upon the person, rather than our over looking the negative. We start minding the fleshly mind; we have gone from spiritual thoughts of love, into judgment of the person by negative thoughts.

Matthew 25:26 "But his lord answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn't sow, and gather where I didn't scatter.

Being Mislead

Christian's cannot mind the flesh when it comes to God, if they do, they go from good into evil. In turn, into fear of judgment, and blaming God for His judgments, which we perceived from the bible, or from our religion that we associate with.

John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

Why? Simply, because God is not evil, He cannot be evil, He is love, and love promotes love, not evil. Yes, the minding of our flesh meaning really nothing more than our negative thoughts we have towards other, and God.

Romans 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;

We go from light, which is the law of life - love, into darkness of judging the person, we are than unwittingly demanding payment for some wrong the person has done too us.

We cannot overlook the bad any longer for the good they have once done, this good is not good enough, we are thus, minding the fleshly mind.

Romans 8:7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God's law, neither indeed can it be.

We are also being mislead, why? Because most Christian's believe they can know God by rule of laws, believing that if God is a just God, His just will not allow Him too lie. Subsquently, holding Goo to legal doctrine should be the strongest point of God's personality,and for their faith.

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Don't set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don't be wise in your own conceits.

But sadly, there is no human relations that is meaningful without love, it cannot exist in distrust from judgment. However, the fleshly mind does not think of God in the manner of love; first the fleshly mind thinks of God as law, and than order and justice of His law. This is the first thought of the fleshly mind towards God, but this judgment about God is of the flesh. And sadly, love is the last thought on the plate of our fleshly mind, towards God.

Romans 15:5 Now the God of patience and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus.

But are we mislead, yes? How can one see light by darkness, or how can one known love without loving? Subsequently, here is where we are easily mislead, by our own fleshly mind, but why?

James 1:16 Don't be deceived, my beloved brothers. 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.

The Nature of Our Fleshly Mind

Our flesh mind is sinful in its nature, as religion might not want you too believe. Hence, religion formed by the fleshly mind is governed by protectionism, the fleshly mind wants to protect itself against all hurt. This is why it judges others by laws of the flesh to protect itself from hurt.

1Tim.1:9 as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 1:10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine;

The fleshly mind is not honest in this matter at all; it will deny it most evil, and judgmental thoughts towards others to save face. But when we are confront with our personal ugliness, we lie and deny. Instinctively we know such personal harsh judgments are not fair, nor even valid, but we make them to exact payment for our vengeance out of anger.

Rom.12:19 Don't seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord."{Deuteronomy 32:35}

Rom.12:20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head."{Proverbs 25:21-22} 12:21 Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

But our anger is nothing more than our trying to protect ourselves from hurt? By trying to control the other person through, what? Laws, rules, and, what every other wall we can build to stop the abuse. This conduct is done by our fleshly mind, rather in real terms, or by wrangling in our minds over negative thoughts, and words, to create wording that will stand against our opponent for protection of our spirit.

John 6:63 It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.

1 Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.

2 Timothy 2:14 Remind them of these things, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they don't argue about words, to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear.

This is the nature of our fleshly mind, so taking this thought, and our thinking about why we judge God at times, even though, our fleshly mind will deny such conduct towards God, it is nevertheless truth, and we do so, why? because we feel God is unfair with His judgment of us; we are hurt, and want protection from God's judgment.

Asking With a Fleshly Mind

When we ask some one for something that whom we should love, our fleshly mind, is really saying: “ I don't believe you'll give this too me, I want it, and you owe me. Moreover, I don't believe your good enough to give it too me, so here are my reasons according to laws that you should give; if your fair just person?”

If the person refuses such a request we get angry, why? Well we've stated it in our fleshly mind, the person owes it too us according to our rule of law, and they are breaking the law in our case, while at the same time giving to others according to the same rule of law.

James 4:1 Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don't they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 4:2 You lust, and don't have. You kill, covet, and can't obtain. You fight and make war. You don't have, because you don't ask. 4:3 You ask, and don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.

Yes, we ask from distrust not love, we demand something that is owed too us, and we back it up with God's righteous laws. Hence, we have done something good for the person by justice laws, and so we expect payment, and here is a whole list of what we done legally, and we want are demands meant..

Luke 18:9 He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.

Luke 18:10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: 'God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 18:12 I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.'
18:13 But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Anger Towards God

Can a person be rightly anger with God? Well, the fleshly mind says it can, while reciting all the appropriated verses from the bible that speaks about God's justice/law by His righteousness. But hardly about God's love. Simply put, because we don't feel loved towards God, we feel angry because God has not given us our desire of our heart; the prosperity faith, the feel good teachings, has failed us, it does not work in our case, moreover, it not fair other within our religions has been blessed with what we also want! We are angry, and we are justified by God's own word, and we flatly don't understand why?

1 John 3:12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

We know we are condemning ourselves by such thoughts, but we can't stop the spirit residing in our flesh just can't reside into peace; we are in want of heart; we want something, and we want it now!

James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."{Proverbs 3:34}

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Nor can we control God, He seems shut off us; our fleshly mind has made us haughty in spirit, and we cannot connect with God with such an angry spirit.

We have gone from love into fairness, justice of God's righteous law, but the last thing we have done is gone into love, we cannot imagine why God is treating us this way?

James 1:19 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; 1:20 for the anger of man doesn't produce the righteousness of God.

We are minding the fleshly mind, and all it brings with it is death, yes! Death, too the most important relationship we can have with God; we have been mislead, by our fleshly mind; thinking we know God's righteousness better than Him.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
1 Corinthians 2:16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?"{Isaiah 40:13} But we have Christ's mind.

We are inputting bad motive to God, for our want of heart; but will the fleshly mind admitted this, no! It can't because the fleshly mind is a liar, its like a huge tree standing over us, blocking out the light of God's goodness, creating shadows of doubt all over the place. So how does the flesh get it's security, by laws of the flesh, by judgment.

Philippians 2:5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,

The fleshly mind will run too the bible, and create a legal action, instead of trusting our best friend that He will help us. Once it finds the verse that support its pleading before God, it creates a contract that the flesh mind will hold onto it tightly, with all itsfleshly will; then we will teach others to do the same, for protection from the hurt of God's judgments.

Romans 7:23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members.

The verse and the strong will towards it is based upon fear, although, the flesh will call it love, by fairness of law.

Letting Go of Anger

God has set the pattern of letting go of anger, by forgiveness, yes, forgiveness, bring peace to all relationships. But most of us don't consider that we have to forgive God to have a peaceful relationship with Him. God does not need our forgiveness, but we do need His peace, why?

Because minding the Spirit requires putting to death the minding of our flesh, why is this important? Well, first it is because God is a Spirit being, He has no flesh, or the sins of our flesh, so He cannot do wrong, as we have blamed Him. But the fleshly mind cannot stop judging that is its nature, and when we are fleshly minded, we are judging everything, and everyone, including God, we cannot stop judging.

Because God is a Spirit person His gifts too us are of the Spirit, or from the Holy Spirit, they cannot be gotten in justice by laws of our flesh, or for that matter God's righteous laws, that is, judgment of the fleshly mind; such gifts can only begotten by love. Which is a spiritual law without flesh.

The communication and the healing starts with forgiveness causing peace, then the Holy Spirit minister too us, comforting our every thoughts, that is, those incorrect fleshly thoughts of evil we had towards God, which ultimately, is hate, which is towards brother and sister; when we hate God, we hate brother and sister, and conversely the other is true.

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,{NU omits "to heal the brokenhearted"} to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed.
Next we surpass knowledge of the fleshly mind into the excelling peace of God's Holy Spirit, we can rest, we then understand that none of our fleshly mind was good, nor can it know God.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don't let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

We have come to know the perfect peace of God so that we can start trusting Him again, why? Because nothing so wonderful could come from the person we have made God into by our fleshly mind. God has not condemned us, pointing His finger in judgment at evil for us, no! God has instead given us good for our evil.

Philip.4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

We stand corrected in love, we are restored into trusting this person even if everything in our mind and heart screams out not too, we have tasted, and seen the Lord is good.

Psalms 34:8 Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

God is not a man that He should change from love into evil of a fleshly mind, as we have been mislead into believing by our own will. God is only good, and He is love which never fails.

1 John 4:8 He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
Faith of The Fleshly Mind

There are two types of faith, one faith is of the flesh, and the other faith of the Spirit, do you know the difference? The fleshly mind has faith, faith in what, law, and the laws judgment. The fleshly mind must trust in material objects, that is, written on paper because it affects the nourishment of flesh. Sight feeds the fleshly mind, sight of material things. What does this mean? It means the flesh walk by sight, and not by faith of the Spirit. It wants result that empowers the fleshly mind; gaining it control of its will of the flesh, and the will of others.

When putting faith in the bible it is nothing more than a legal book, not a spiritual book creating faith in God's love, but rather for uses in controlling the will of the flesh. This control gets good result, by the way. The fleshly mind makes God into a man, a man of do's, and don't, who demand perfect obedience to law. But this is a weak state of fleshly obedience, and it is dead work, by the minding of fleshly spirit, yes, the flesh has spirit created by its own will, but it is not God's Spirit, which is why the flesh cannot understand, or find truth in God's Spirit; rather it lives in fear of through superstitious judgments.

Ephesians 2:3 among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

The whole security for the fleshly minded person is law, and works through laws. The fleshly mind violently hates others for breaking the law, and wants them wipe off the earth by God's justice.

The entire relationship the fleshly mind has with God is earning and owing, not freedom by giving freely. God's love must be earned by works of the laws of the flesh, and any that say otherwise undermined the whole structure of the person faith and will be called evil by the fleshly mind. The fleshly minded person does not trust God, but they can trust in God's laws because they are concert, and written upon stone. However, the fleshly mind does not trust that God is good; a good person, because it cannot see past the law fo the fleshly mind into spiriutal faith. What the flesh understands is punishment by laws, the fleshly mind knows judgment, but not God's goodness, nor His love, which, love undermines the fleshly minds in its faith in visible law.

1 Corinthians 14:21 In the law it is written, "By men of strange languages and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people. Not even thus will they hear me, says the Lord."{Isaiah 28:11-12}

Romans 9:32 Why? Because they didn't seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.

Of course, the dichotomy for the fleshly mind is, it will lie, and deny, this as truth, but fearfully it knows it is the truth, and the person secretly knows they can never please God with their legal god of their religion, the door is too high, way up into the heavens!

Romans 8:7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God's law, neither indeed can it be.
The Minding of The Spirit

The first step for the fleshly mind is hate, and then it distrust God is good by God's own Law> However, the first step for those walking by Spirit and truth is to believe God is good, no matter what our legal understanding of Him is? God cannot be good by the fleshly mind, the fleshly mind believes in a God of judgment who looking to punishes us for our every evil thought, in which the fleshly mind tries to bring under control by the laws of the flesh, which it cannot!

Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.

For the fleshly mind having too trust God's is love paints God as weak, and the fleshly mind hates that God. He is a might God of justice, who will destroy with His hot breathe anyone not keeping His commandments.

But for us to have God's love, we must love God, but how can we love someone we don't know, and where most of us have come to know God by His judgments found in the bible, and preached by religion?

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God.

The Legal Dichotomy For The Fleshly Mind

Here we have come upon the legal dichotomy for those minding their fleshly thoughts, they cannot please God, so they cannot know God, let alone love God. What they love in men representing God in their flesh. In other words, they must worship an idol, but not God by faith in Him. They must see some one that teaches them God's word, because reading the bible only shows God to be judgment too the fleshly mind.

They must see flesh to understand flesh, they cannot see Spirit which teaches God's children. Thus, fleshly mind judges flesh, it cannot judge the Spirit, so how can one transfer from fleshly mind into Spirit, so it can know God's love?

Well, let us divert here for one moment and talk about weed Christian's that took God's word after the restrained of the apostles died off the earth. Hence, what did they do with the bible without God's Spirit?

What they did was take the bible and eat it by fleshly mind, digesting it into works of law. How can a person say this truthfully?

Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luke 6:45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.

Because Christ stated a truth, a person cannot get figs from a thorn bush, nor can a person get sweet water from a polluted well. A tree does not change its nature, it either has good fruit or bad fruit, not both fruit on the same tree.

When a person eats the bible with a fleshly mind, they get doctrine and rules for the fleshly mind, they cannot produce fruits of the Spirit, but rather the same rules of law of Satan world. They created powerful position by authority of laws that control, and punish unrighteous people into obeying its authority.

This is the same authority all of Satan system of things has and uses, this is why the field of God's planting was stolen and trampled upon by fleshly minded of Christian's who are weeds.

Life By The Bread of Life

But what of those eating the bread of life, what does it produce on the tree of life? Well, not the fruit of fleshly laws, from the God who calls Himself, love?

John 6:32 Jesus therefore said to them, "Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn't Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.

Yes, the flesh is of no value at all, because it produces nothing but more what? More laws of the fleshly mind, which produce more corruption, and death sin,or yeast, which permeates the whole lump of Satan world alienated from the bread of life.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

One cannot have the bread of life by laws of the fleshly mind, all the fleshly mind can do is wear itself out grouping for a wall of law. like blind men falling into a pit, but it cannot get over the great chasm that exist between flesh and Spirit.

Isaiah 59:10 We grope for the wall like the blind; yes, we grope as those who have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among those who are lusty we are as dead men.

Those eating the bread of life, Christ Jesus, are not full of hate and judgment created by laws of the fleshly mind, why? Because there is no laws against the fruit of Holy Spirit, because there is no flesh or its laws “in Christ Jesus”, this is why Christ Jesus is the law of freedom.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 3:7 Don't marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew.'

Freedom from judgment of death, the judgment of death is found in the flesh, not in the Spirit of God. This is why all those born of God, have no flesh before God, their fleshly mind has been put too death in Christ Jesus, they exist in Spirit, the body God places His Holy Spirit into. One cannot transform their own minds from flesh into Spirit without a miracle from God's love.

Luke 13:21 It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures{literally, three sata. 3 sata is about 39 litres or a bit more than a bushel} of flour, until it was all leavened."

1 Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?

One must have a transplant provided by God, from a health mind not mind disease with sickness and death from our flesh, but who has such a holy mind?

1 Corinthians 2:16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?"{Isaiah 40:13} But we have Christ's mind.

Christ Jesus, we must have the mind of Christ Jesus implanted into us by God's Holy Spirit, not the fleshly mind of false religion that has stolen the truth of God's word. Hence this is why the mind of Christ Jesus is spiritual, and worships not by sight, but in truth and Spirit, because God is a Spirit, and we can only please Him by trusting that He is love.

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.

God love transplants our fleshly mind; no rule of law can do that; our transplant is a gift given us by God, who gives freely, and does not owe us anything but love. We cannot earn the free gift of God's love, we cannot make God pay us something by a legal religious contract, obligating God to follow the rules of our religion.

Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God's law, but with the flesh, the sin's law.

Romans 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.

Rom.13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

We cannot find some human on earth for us to climb the ladder of religious glory to get it for us. We cannot have God's love by man, and we cannot share what God gives us freely to honor men of the flesh.

Rom. 10:7 or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?'{Deuteronomy 30:13} (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)" 10:8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;"{Deuteronomy 30:14} that is, the word of faith, which we preach: 10:9 that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10 For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 10:11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed."{Isaiah 28:16}

1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

So many mistakes so little time! I will keep going over this in the next few weeks, I am sorry about the mistakes.