A thorn in the flesh

"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." 2 Corinthians 12.7

The Work of God, or the destruction of the works of satan, demands total selflessness. And the greater the revelations of the Spirit, more humility is required. It is not known exactly what kind of thorn in the flesh Paul had. But surely, God allowed him to stay protected from pride.

Dream of dreams

"But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 1.20

When one is generated by the Holy Spirit, he is holy, pure, has character, is true, is correct, flee from evil, is perfect in the eyes of the Father, is faithful, loves God, loves his neighbor, forgives, is patient, fears God, he is a new creature, a servant, obedient, his thoughts match the thoughts of God, his word is yes, yes, no, no, and he serves Jesus with all of his heart, with all his strength and with all understanding .
But when he is generated by flesh, nothing of this happens.

Afflictions

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16.33

There's no other way, those who want to follow the Lord Jesus cannot expect flowers in this world. There is no avoiding hardship when trying to practice the Word of God. Escaping the afflictions is like putting the cross aside, satisfying the flesh and not following the Lord Jesus. Is this what you want? 

Listen

"But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” Proverbs 1.33

Listening means to obey. When we obey God's Word, faith is pure and does not allow room for doubts or fears of evil. That's a fact. Difficult is to use faith to obey. Difficult is to sacrifice the desires of the flesh. But who said that the road to salvation would be easy?

If anyone...

"But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." Romans 8.9

Even before Paul revealed that, Jesus had already said: "... unless one is born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God.” John 3:3;
Then he said: "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered..." John 15.6.
Finally, "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20.15.
Do these verses require interpretation?

The zeal of God

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Romans 1.18

In His Infinite Greatness, God makes sure that no injustice go unpunished. His anger is kindled against all forms of injustice that, in other words, are the works of the flesh: "...adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5.19-21

Fleshly world vs. Spiritual world

"But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." Romans 8.9

Being in the flesh is to be a prisoner of the heart, to cater to the lusts of the soul and feelings.
Being in the Spirit is to live in the spiritual world, the world of certainty, the conviction and of supernatural faith.
If anyone confesses Jesus as Lord but does not live by faith, he has nothing to do with him.

Flesh vs. Spirit

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace" Romans 8.6

To lean onto the flesh means fulfilling the desires of the heart, which is the source of misleading and prohibited feelings.
To lean onto the Spirit is to deny the feelings of the heart and practicing the discipline of faith.
The flesh hates discipline, order, justice, Bible, Law, fear of God, perseverance, Commandments, and everything else that pertains to spiritual values ​​and that are contrary to the emotions of the heart.

Spiritual weapons

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" 2 Corinthians 10.4

Non carnal weapons means spiritual weapons.
And why spiritual weapons?
Because if our war is against the spiritual forces of evil, how to overcome them if we do not have spiritual weapons?
And how could we possess spiritual weapons if we are not spiritual?
And how to be spiritual if we are not born of the Spirit?

FLESH OR SPIRIT

"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. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."    Romans 8:5-6

Those who seek to fulfill the desires of the flesh (soul) will reap pain and suffering, until they are finished off by death. 
But those who seek to obey the Spirit of God, that is, practice what the Word of the Spirit has inspired them, will enjoy the present and also the eternal salvation that is to come.

The outward Man

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4.16

The perishing of the outward man cannot suffocate the inward one. When faith is rational, it seeks resources in the Word of God to overcome the weaknesses of the outward man. Sincere confession, repentance, rejection of the past, firmness in the Divine promises, well, there is a long list of the resources of faith that destroy the weaknesses of the outward man.

However, if faith is emotional, it will try to FEEL something in order to recover. In this case, it will continue to be down.

Oh!

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries." Psalm 81:13,14

God's will is that His people are free from their enemies, that He may have fed them also with the finest of wheat and with honey from the rock satisfy you (v. 16) But in order to listen and obey Him, you need to sacrifice. Sacrifice your flesh.

Enemy of God

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4

Those who render to their fleshly desires, by their own flesh, will perish. Those who render to the feelings of their heart, by their own heart will be destroyed. But those who lean towards the Holy Spirit will have eternal life.

Flesh or Spirit

"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." Romans 8:5

It's easy to identify the person who walks in the Spirit, just look at her fruits. Those who are in the flesh only think of the things that please the flesh. They can't offer anything except things that are as fleshly as they are.

Enemy of God

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

James 4:4

Those who render themselves to the fleshly desires, by their own flesh they'll perish. Those who render themselves to their heart feelings, will also be destroyed by their heart. But those who lean on the Holy Spirit will have life for all eternity.

Made perfect

"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

Hebrews 2:10

Obedience is peculiar to the children of God. In light of this, they endure threats in their own flesh and keep a good conscience. Day after day, their faith is made perfect.

Have Spirit

"But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." Romans 8:9

When passions of the flesh are abandoned, doors are opened for the Holy Spirit to bear a new creature in you. Once you're born of God, you have His DNA -- that's when you begin to think and behave like Him.

Inclination

"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." Romans 8:5

Even upon fulfilling daily obligations, one shouldn't despise the Word of God, the Fountain of Life. Just like the body needs food, the spirit needs the Word that comes from the mouth of God.

Sowing

"Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life." Galatians 6:7-8

To sow for your flesh is to prioritise vanities and worldly things. And so you reap what the world usually reaps - suffering. To sow for your Spirit is to prioritise the will of God and choose eternal life.

Struggle

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 6:12

The problematic family, illness or fierce enemies are not the ones responsible for destroying people, but the demonic forces that take hold of their hearts, causing diseases and disagreements amongst them.

And because of that, Jesus died, went down to hell to despoil the evil forces and rose again to fulfill His Word in the lives of those who believe.