«　WEEK 5　DAY 2　»

　　Gal. 2:16 …Knowing that a man is…justified…through faith in Jesus Christ, we…have believed into Christ Jesus that we might be justified out of faith in Christ and not out of the works of law, because out of the works of law no flesh will be justified.

　　Rom. 8:7 Because the mind set on the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, for neither can it be.

　　The name Amalek means “warlike.” The flesh enjoys fighting and never wants to keep the peace. Furthermore, the flesh is very destructive…. The flesh destroys our married life, family life, and church life. It seeks to destroy everything positive.

　　The flesh is not only warlike and destructive but also extremely disturbing. If you read Romans 7, you will see what disturbance is caused by the flesh. According to that chapter, Paul was so disturbed that he even cried out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (v. 24). Apparently this disturbance was caused by sin. Actually it was caused by the flesh. (Life-study of Exodus, p. 533)

　　In the Old Testament no enemy is dealt with more thoroughly than Amalek, because Amalek is a type of the flesh, which is the last enemy against God’s kingdom. The flesh is what keeps the church from being built up adequately…. For the sake of the church life, we need to deal with our flesh. If the flesh is not dealt with, there can be no kingdom of God. Then without the kingship of Christ, His headship, there is no way for the Body to be built up. This is the reason that, during the past nineteen hundred years, there has been very little building of the church. The confusions and divisions among Christians today are primarily due to the flesh, to Amalek.

　　We thank the Lord that by His mercy and grace we in His recovery have learned something of the importance of dealing with the flesh. Although the flesh remains a problem, we dare not let our flesh be unrestrained. We simply do not have the boldness to stay in the flesh.

　　In his writings Paul…uses certain expressions to show that the flesh is enmity against God. For example, in Romans 8:7 he says that “the mind set on the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, for neither can it be.” The flesh is ugly for the simple reason that it is not subject to the law of God. From God’s point of view, the flesh is lawless. Lawlessness prevails among many Christians today. The flesh is lawless in its inability to be subject to God.

　　In 8:8 Paul goes on to say, “And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” The flesh is not subject to the law of God, it cannot be subject to the law of God, and it cannot please God. Therefore, in the eyes of God there is no place for the flesh. It must be terminated.

　　The flesh denotes the totality of the fallen old man. Hence, the flesh does not refer simply to part of our being but to our entire fallen being. According to Romans 6:6, the old man has been crucified with Christ. Because the old man is hopeless, God put it on the cross and crucified it with Christ. As we shall see, we need to cooperate with God in what He has done by crucifying the flesh (Gal. 5:24). The destiny of the flesh is to be put to death. No matter how the flesh may appear to us, in God’s eyes it is rebellious and despicable. For this reason, God has decided to blot out the name of Amalek. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 542-543)

　　In the entire universe, God’s real enemy is not Satan but us. As long as we remain in the status of the flesh, we are an enemy to God (Rom. 8:7). Our flesh is altogether one with Satan. Without the flesh, Satan would have no way to fight against God. In the church life all the troubles come from the flesh. The hardest thing for God to deal with is the flesh. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 71-72)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 1, lsn. 17; Life-study of Galatians, msg. 16