Jehovah's Witnesses Straight Talk - Forum/Blog

Captivity of Our Fleshly Mind

Let us speak truth each one with our neighbor, let us not make ourselves into a god, of righteousness by living a lie. We are set free by the mind and life of Christ, but we also bring captivity upon ourselves through our fleshly mind, which, should be dead in Christ.

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.

Rather than us living a lie, lets us speak the truth of our fallen condition encouraging each other in faith, and what does this mean, and how do we do that?

1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should boast before God.

Occasionally, in our worship during the day we are walking by Spirit and truth, hence, found freed in the mind of Christ Jesus. However, once we step onto the worlds stage, of work, family, dealing with the myriad of problems common to all mankind our thoughts shift from freedom of Christ mind into our fleshly mind, bring us into captivity of death dealing judgments just like the world.

2 Corinthians 4:11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh.

Thus, we have a choice to act religiously, or speak truth, such truth exposes us too our real fallen condition, hence, needing God's love, bring us back into the mind of Christ. Extremist in religion swing from right to left in dealing with the truth of this statement, which is, denying the truth in them, presenting themselves with hypocritical religious words and/or actions towards others. The other extreme becoming more common is, in being rude, and blunt, as an excuses of not being a religious hypocrite!

Galatians 5:13 For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don't use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.

Why God Allows Captivity?

Why do you think God allows such captivity? Wouldn't it be better for us to always live in the mind of Christ, so we can give a much better witness as to how God has transformed our lives? Will, this human logic is found behind the erroneous teaching that God needs our action/words to sanctify His name to the nations, a noble cause, but a wicked fruit in reality! Hence, letting us think; "God should not allow us to have evil thoughts".

2 Corinthians 12:7 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.

Such is the reasoning for all evil fruit upon the tree of false religion, the same tree of government, and every other institutional tree every created by man idea of good. Which fundamentally means, hiding the bad, so the good can go forth, let us not stumble those not knowing the whole truth, because they are not strong enough to accept our sins, which is nothing more than our fear of judgment for the wrongs we've practiced.

In other words, plant a whole field of lies, so they can grow into the truth of the good we doing for others. Plant weeds, and at some point they will turn into wheat once strong enough to accept the good and evil we must hid to get them into the truth, so that later when they are strong enough they will see our good motives.

Galatians 6:8 For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

This is the captivity we face by our fleshly mind by faulty thinking as human under sin. We love the lie, and we believe in all honesty that something good can come from a lie, not in our words, but in our actions, and practices. We will put on a pretense of not lying from our mouths so we look good religiously in our flesh, while hiding the truth of how far we fall short of loving people in our heart. We promote words, yes, words are how we hid the lie of our real feelings towords others. When coupled with thinking of righteousness through religion or our bibles, we will the greatest cause of mental diseases know to mankind!

1 Timothy 4:2 through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron.

Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.

Removing the Dross of Lies

None of us would give glory to God if we could maintain Christ mind without suffering, we would lie, making our good actions into something that others humans give praise and glory too, instead of the truth, which turht is, we are given a gift of Christ mind, those gifts are not our own produced by a sick mind under death through our flesh.

Matthew 23:28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

We are faced each day with our human weakness found in the captivity of our fleshly mind forcing us into giving glory to God, for kindly giving us Christ mind, which deliver us into life without or own good efforts, but instead by God's love. Do you comprehend this truth? Which is, although, God's word by commandments tells we must do this or that, none of us can in reality! Subsequently, we have a real choice, do we lie, by playing a religious hypocrite game deciveing other, or speak truth?

John 3:21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God."

In others words, do we play the part of love, while our hearts rage with judgment against others hiding what we don't want them to know? Which is the truth of our real feeling about them? Do we than deceive the person in the name of God's calling this truth because we hid our feelings by a religious rule? Hence, this is the fleshly mind at is worst, is it not? Aren't we saying let us do bad, so good may come from it, aren't we planting with flesh in view to reap a spiritual harvest?

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

John 17:17 Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.{Psalm 119:142}

You see, nothing good dwells in our flesh, but are we still trying to deceive others for God's good name? While teachings others good does dwell in our flesh, by religion? If so we are making ourselves into an idol worshiper, we are a god, glorifying ourselves in your flesh, which flesh should be dead in Christ! This thought is so powerful entire nations such as ancient Israel of God have been deceived into unrighteous actions in killing the Son of God, but how foolish. How foolish is it to think words can make something good dwell in our flesh, and thus using those words if spoken to others produce eternal life in them!

Rom.7:18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don't find it doing that which is good.

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
3:11 Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.

So now the truth be known why God must clear His own name, doing so by the one person that never glorified himself, Christ Jesus. None of us like the thought that we are taken captivity minute to minute by our fleshly thoughts killing again the Christ in us. Such thoughts humiliate our love making it so weak and sinful that we must cry out in truth; “who will save me from myself, why can't I be a better person, I have the truth of God's word, but what I practice in my heart is not good at all!”

Matt. 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, 'You shall not murder;'{Exodus 20:13} and 'Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.' 5:22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause{NU omits "without a cause".} shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca{"Raca" is an Aramaic insult, related to the word for "empty" and conveying the idea of empty-headedness.}!' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna

Shockingly, we find, for no good work of our own, God's love resurrect us back into the mind of Christ, so we can know the truth of God's love, and once in Christ mind again, we find nothing with in our power could have prevented us from doing the same unrighteous thinking, no matter how much self-control we put forth, or how much we beat ourselves with judgments from our bibles, once again we find the same hate and judgment welling up into our fleshly mind, and hearts killing the mind of Christ.

Such truth is so overwhelming to many that they cannot confess it, nor accept it, so they hid it in a lie of religious good works by words of their mouths. Honestly, do we speak truth to our neighbor? Sadly, no we don't, and if say we do we are liars!.

James 3:2 For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn't stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.

Perfection of our Faith

Our faith has already been perfected in the life of Christ Jesus, did you know that? Yes, we are given Christ perfect faith when we have his mind, because we are part of his body members. Yet, are our fleshly mind denies this truth as a lie. We in our fleshly mind want respect and glory for our own good efforts of our faith, as individual standing on our own two feet. Subsequently, God allows us to suffer from such thinking of our fleshly mind, this indepent think removes the dross of false religion, which is nothing more than our idol worship of self, when such idol worship is parlayed it creates institution(s) of religion, disguised by religious words.

James 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously"?

Rom.1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Our sinful flesh screams for recognition for building up a good name in our flesh, actually competing with the Christ in our not accepting our faith as a gift from God, which was perfected in Christ. We want credit for our faith, we want recognition for our own good efforts among our peers and God. But the evil that dwells in our own fleshly mind and hearts rejects our goodness, so we are faced with the truth. Do we love God more than ourselves? Do we speak truth, or do we love our own glory in our flesh more than the glory of God? Do we lie, and decieve others about our fallen evil condition we live with daily found in our own hearts?

James 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't boast and don't lie against the truth.

Here then is our cross roads in walking in faith, which means walking in spirit, because Christ mind is the mind of God, a Spirit, thus, making it our truth.

Hence, if we stay the painful course, which is, our entire salvation rest in Christ Jesus alone, by his gifts given us by God's undeserved kindness, we are delivered daily as sheep lead to the slaughter from the evil of our fleshly mind, we resurrected by God's love found in Christ Jesus mind. If choose another course of religious deception by acting righteous we lose the righteousness of Christ which gives us his mind.

1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don't need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.

Christ Righteousness

Christ righteousness is paramount to real faith, Christ righteousness is his imperishable life, God supplies too us as body members therein. With Christ righteous we are delivered from death of our flesh mind, just as Christ himself was resurrected into life, not by personal power, but God's power, so we are helped with a little help each day to come into the mind of Christ, by power of Christ righteousness through a spiritual ressurection and/or renewal of his mind in us.

1Cor.1:29 that no flesh should boast before God. 1:30 But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: 1:31 that, according as it is written, "He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord."{Jeremiah 9:24}

In other words, Christ was resurrect by his own merit by his righteousness in not sinning, which gave him the gift of eternal life, the reward of keeping God's law. But we cannot prove ourselves righteous, by our thoughts actions or keeping the commandments of God, we must be imputed Christ righteousness as God's gift of kindness for us to be delivered from death our fleshly 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.

Philippians 3:16 Nevertheless, to the extent that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind.

Any substituted righteousness come from us, or fleshly mind, is dead, and as God's anointed we will know this when we can no longer walk by Spirit through our personal efforts. We come to know at this point in our trying to deliver ourselves by personal righteousness, and/or goodness causing us plagues of law descending upon us in real pain of unworthiness causing us anger, a lack of peace and faith. We cannot avail ourselves, by our personal thoughts nor can we demand our rights in earned worth hence, merit, we are worthiless by our good works, for we actually have none be for God!

Romans 8:27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit's mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God.

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

Rom.8:11 But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

We must face the truth it is Christ righteous which has given us life, and freedom from wickedness, and it by his thoughts we have life in God's eyes, it has not been by our own efforts, Hence, there is no self glory a part from Christ good works unless they are shared with us by God's love, we have no individual goodness. We can not preach ourselves our good ways out of this death! We cannot do enough good works resurrecting us out of this death, we cannot say: “Father this is enough, now resurrect me into the Christ mind, so I can go on”. No! We are helplessly in death, and when God's says our self-inflicted trial is enough, rather we understand it or not, he will end it. He is God, we are not, He the maker of the potter, He has authority over the clay, not us, it is His name He is sanctifying and not ours.

Rom.8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Rom.8:26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don't know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can't be uttered.

Rom. 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 8:36 Even as it is written, "For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter."{Psalm 44:22}

Yes, we will never understand this process by our analytical mind, why? Because the fleshly mind cannot know the mind of Christ. Thus, we will go through this process until the day we die in our flesh, where we again cannot deliver ourselves from the death of our own fleshly. However, by our faith in Christ Jesus that he holds our perfected faith in heaven completed by his own righteous life as God's gift too us as son's of God, we will receive in full at God's calls us home. But until than we must suffer at the hands of our sinful minds, and others, remembering this wars of captivate, and release through the mind of Christ is God's plan for mankind's salvation, in removal of dross, the fleshly mind of false religion, into the very fiber of fleshly mind thinking. We will administer the truth of the life of Christ indwelling us, by his righteousness, and his earned merit given us freedom, by God's love too all mankind.

Rom. 8:37 No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Conclusion

Many anointed Christian's find themselves in a state of unworthiness condemning themselves as evil, by the thought of the fleshly mind which they cannot put away by some law of sin within their mind that condemns it as unrighteous. Not wanting to condone unrighteous out of our mouths they suffer in confusion. Adding to their confusion they find God love in these trails still comforting, making them think such comfort is not of God, because God does not condone evil, thinking they are being tricked by demons imitating God's love, and kindness.

The problem is trying too prove their worthy of their calling by works of law, which they truly don't understand because of the influence their fleshly mind trained by religious teachings. God does not condone sin or evil at all, that is, a truth. But He is not dealing with us as a sinner do you really comprehend this statment? If not please take your time for a month and read other ariticals on this forum and it will transform you thought process into the mind of Christ. God is dealing with us as son of God, His children, what does that mean? What means is this; God has given us Christ life, which means, his righteousness making our sins no longer in existence to Him, He has abolished or judgment, thus He abolishes our sins. He has done this by his love expressed towards us in undeserved kindness.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.{NU omits "who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit"} Romans 8:3 For what the law couldn't do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh;

Romans 8:4 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Although, we are sinless before God, we still have a fleshly mind under sin, God allows this operation of our fleshly mind waring with the Spirit mind of Christ leading us as a sheep into the slaughter, hence, under captivity of our fleshly mind. God free us from captivity through the resurrection process out of our fleshly mind, that is, by our groaning of the fleslh mind pain in futility, the mind of mankinds creation, we are than resurrected by God's power, which is Christ Jesus, into life, the mind of Christ. Hence, perfecting our in faith, but in what? Not in our religion, books/bible, commandments, and/or ourselves, but God's love. We learn there is nothing beyond God's love that mankind needs, God's love is life eternal.

1 John 3:20 because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:

Our being lead to the slaughter is not a willing process, it is a fearful prospect of being taken by something stronger than our own will to a place we don't want to go! The same is true in our being resurrected into the Spirit mind of Christ this process is greater than our power of obeying a rule of law, it comes from the living power of the life of Christ, who is our will as body members.

Hence, the comforted and help of God's Holy Spirit in love is not about our good works, it about God's name, His good works, the Christ. It aboub what He has done through His Son Christ Jesus mind/headship in setting creation free from the fleshly mind. You and me are part of this process, not because we are good, or righteous, it is part of the suffering of Christ found in us upon this earth for the glory of God.

2Cor.1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 1:4 who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ. 1:6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. 1:7 Our hope for you is steadfast, knowing that, since you are partakers of the sufferings, so also are you of the comfort. 1:8 For we don't desire to have you uninformed, brothers,{The word for "brothers" here and where context allows may also be correctly translated "brothers and sisters" or "siblings."} concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, so much that we despaired even of life. 1:9 Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, 1:10 who delivered us out of so great a death, and does deliver; on whom we have set our hope that he will also still deliver us;
1:11 you also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift bestowed on us by means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on your behalf. 1:12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.

Let us Bless Together the Father of our Spiritual Lives,

Daniel