Overcoming the Flesh

Me ~ This week I wrote on Godly Woman about overcoming the flesh. I said that marriage was the means for two to become spiritually one through consummation of the flesh. There is a lot of discussion out there about the flesh, not just skin/bodies but the world of material things also stands for flesh. Today, people seem to over indulge in the flesh and thus people are really unable to overcome it. What do you think and is it absolutely necessary for us to overcome the flesh and what for?

John ~ Yes, Jesus said that eternal life belongs to those that are overcomers. This is how we mature as Christians and prepare to meet the Lord for our eternal lives.

Me~ I agree. What do you think about marriage as the means for a married couple to overcome the flesh?

John ~ I agree with Paul when he suggested that some people who do have a strong need for sex they  should marry the opposite gender so that the enemy will not take advantage of them because of the weakness of their flesh and fleshy desire. 

Me ~ Ok, but why marriage at all? I mean couldn't people who have a strong desire for sex just have sex with anyone who is of the opposite sex in that way, they overcome that desire for it and can focus on the spirit.

John ~ That is assuming that sexual activity is merely an activity like eating or breathing. Sexual relationships have a deeper spiritual reality. On one level it represents the relationship that the Trinity has with itself; that the Church has with Christ. On another level it is meant to provide a stable environment to raise children. Providing them with the most effective means of social programming. So, marriage, is not merely a biological need but a spiritual one aimed at satisfying God's will, not ours. We read in the Bible that God created one man and one woman together and that they together should be fruitful. It was not until sin entered the world that we began to see men with multiple wives, prostitution, homosexuality and the deconstruction of the family leading to divorce all of which reflect spiritual decay.

And, as you wrote in your Godly Woman blog, multiple partners is indulging in the flesh not overcoming it, not consuming it with the aim of spiritual awakening