That is why we are commanded in v.16 of this same passage "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." Romans 13:14 also commands us "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." Again Ephesians 4:23,24 tells us to "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Herein lies the Truth we need to defeat the "Animal" lying within us, waiting to consume our soul!
But how do we obey these seemingly simple yet mystical commands, Walking in the Spirit, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and putting on the new man? In Galatians 5, Paul surrounds "the works of the flesh" with two significant statements: v.17b tells us we cannot do the things that we want to do when the "animal" is in control. This word control is a key word in understanding how to defeat this formidable force. In v.24,25 he again gives us an additional key to victory. "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections (passions) and lusts."
The negative action of crucifying the flesh and the positive action of actively walking in the Spirit v.16 and v.25 is the simple formula to victory. Crucifying the flesh, how is this accomplished? Sounds pretty painful to me! Yes, as the contempory slogan goes "No pain, no gain". It takes painstaking, disciplined work! We might as well face it up front, there is no victory, no spiritual success without this familiar but seldom utilized word-work! If we expect to "Walk in the Spirit" we must feed the Spirit the diet that will give Him the control of our minds! Feed Him a steady diet of the Word of God! How else will we have the simple child-like faith we need to believe and apply these marvelous, mystical Truths, except we include in our diet "mass quantities" of the precious Word?
It is significant, that in the place when we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) immediately in v.19 the result is: "speaking to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord". However, in the sister passage, Colossians 3:16.17, this same result is accomplished by letting "The Word of Christ dwell in us richly"! So, if we expect to be filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to control every attitude and action, then we better be willing to set aside time to memorize and meditate on the Scripture, which is in reality, the Living Word, the Saviour Himself! He said " It is the Spirit that quickenth, the flesh ("Animal") profiteth nothing, the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, they are life"!!! (John 6:63). These have to be some of the most powerful Words spoken on this subject of controlling the "Animal" by the Spirit through the Word. This Word, the Holy Scripture, as spoken by Jesus in this verse, reveals the essence of the power of His Word! It is the Living Holy Spirit of God in written form!
And as we digest this Word, as we saturate our minds with this Word, the Holy Spirit Himself controls our thinking, our attitudes, our actions, our appetites, yes, He takes complete charge of our life! As we "renew our minds" the "Animal", the old man is "put off"! Renewing our minds, our thought processes, we are "putting on the new man" through the Living, All Powerful Word of God!
Ah yes, I remember it well, the "culture shock" I experienced when the Holy Spirit demanded I give Him the diet He most certainly deserves! I was rightly amazed and awestruck by this dramatic change in my appetites! No longer craving the alcohol, the drugs, the bizarre Jeckyl and Hyde lifestyle, but now, by this single act of God, His redeeming my life through faith in Him, I now longed to be with Him, to study and to know His Precious Book, my life was truly revolutionized! And, I made it my business to find out just how this miraculous change took place. After all, I was a project engineer for a major corporation, it wouldn' t take me long to figure out His formula! I just wanted to know!
Ha, Ha! This was not just "your average" simple engineering task! No, The One Who spoke the worlds into existence, and breathed the breath of life into my nostrils is not to be "figured out" through engineering processes! No, His Divine Methods are revealed by the Holy Spirit, through faith! Well, my only explanation to date, even though I searched high and low to figure out His "Divine Secret", is, it's not my explanation! It's His! Yes, His formula for the miraculous transformation of a "ruined" life can be found by simple child-like faith, which is produced by His Holy Word! How simple can you get? To the degree that you digest His Word, to this same degree He will control your life! You yield control to this One Who created you to begin with, and He will make you like The Perfect Man, His Darling Son! The Lord Jesus Christ! The "Animal" does not have even an opportunity to think about pouncing on you when He is in control! What a Saviour!
That's right, we have the privileged opportunity to become like Jesus, complete, fulfilled, just like Him, the Greatest Man to walk the face of this planet, and all it takes for us to be molded, formed and shaped into His image, are these simple child-like acts of faith. Digesting the Word, giving out the Spirit! Breathing in the Christ of the Bible exhaling the Powerful Holy Spirit of God! This simple memorization/meditation process is the only Bible way to Spiritual success!
So, brethren, let's not forget the great simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. After all, it doesn't take a "rocket scientist" to realize that this Life, this breathing, living Spirit of God, the Life that is in The Lord Jesus Christ is available by faith for every believer! As we yield ourselves to Him and expect Him to take control we thereby exercise our faith in His promises and the "Animal" that once controlled our life is now rendered helpless by the presence of Jesus Christ!