Galatians 5:17 (NKJV) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
A marriage ceremony may take only a day, but the marriage itself will take a lifetime to nurture, as it passes through three stages: enchantment, disenchantment, and maturity. God views marriage as a covenant. This was His original plan, and it is His will that we have strong and enduring marriages. God’s plan also includes us always being connected with Him, like a 3-strand chord that is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Therefore, every marriage should have the vision and goal of growing closer to God.
Sadly, instead of facing their struggles together and working to restore their relationship, many couples choose what seems like the easier path—divorce. Yet God calls us to confront the flesh that threatens to destroy our marriages through our words and actions. We need to live each day by yielding to the Lordship of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, doing what the Word of God teaches, because our flesh will always resist the Spirit’s prompting and instruction.
The work of the flesh is found in the realm of the soul. It is all about “me, myself and I”. The couple will think in terms of conditions, limits, rights, and even “outs”. These may reflect their old values before receiving Christ, which is why it is crucial to renew our minds and to think of marriage in terms of covenant.
Our souls will continue to respond to the senses that come from the body if we allow them. Our souls are accustomed to doing and saying what we like, with little accountability or restraint, because the lust of the world and the lust of the flesh used to govern them. Our souls desire the immediate gratification of our desires and wants—in sex, money, or power. The lust for sex comes through what we read, watch, and listen to, as well as our thought life.
Our lives should be very different after we receive Christ. Because of this, we inevitably experience an inner struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. As we grow spiritually, our ungodly habits and patterns begin to change—not instantly, but over time. This transformation is a lifelong journey of choosing, day by day, to yield to the Spirit rather than to the flesh. Living a consecrated life—walking in holiness—is a continual process that will only be perfected when we reach heaven. Until then, we face a daily battle, a constant tug‑of‑war, requiring us to choose whether to submit to the Spirit of God or continue yielding to the old master of our lives.
Reflection: In what areas of your life or marriage are you still yielding more to the flesh than to the Holy Spirit? In what ways is God leading you to surrender more fully to Him?
Sermon Series: As a Man Thinks in His Heart So is He
每日得胜属灵争战
加拉太书 5:17 因为情欲和圣灵相争，圣灵和情欲相争，这两个是彼此相敌，使你们不能做所愿意做的。
婚礼仪式或许只需一天，但婚姻关系却需要用一生去经营与培育。在婚姻成长的过程中，通常会经历三个阶段：甜蜜期、幻灭期和成熟期。神看婚姻是一种盟约（Covenant），这是祂起初设立婚姻的心意。祂也盼望我们拥有坚固、长久的婚姻关系。神的计划不仅包括夫妻彼此连结，也包括夫妻二人与神保持紧密的关系，好像三股合成的绳子不容易折断（传道书4:12）。因此，每一段婚姻都应当以更亲近神为异象和目标。
然而，令人遗憾的是，许多夫妻面对婚姻中的困难时，并没有选择携手面对、努力修复关系，反而选择看似更容易的道路——离婚。可是，神呼召我们去对付那些借着言语和行为破坏婚姻的肉体情欲。我们需要每天顺服基督的主权和圣灵的工作，遵行神话语的教导，因为我们的肉体总是会抗拒圣灵的提醒与引导。
肉体的工作主要显现在魂（思想、情感和意志）的层面，其核心就是“我、我自己、和我的需要”。当夫妻关系被肉体主导时，人往往会从条件、限制、权利，甚至退路的角度来看待婚姻。这些思想模式常常源于信主以前旧有的价值观，因此我们必须不断更新心思意念，以盟约的眼光来看待婚姻。
如果我们任由身体感官所带来的欲望支配自己，魂就会持续对这些感官刺激作出回应。过去，我们习惯按照自己的喜好行事说话，缺少约束和责任感，因为世界的情欲和肉体的私欲一直掌管着我们的生命。魂总是渴望立即满足自己的欲望和需求，无论是在性、金钱还是权力方面。对性的贪恋，往往透过我们所阅读的、观看的、聆听的内容，以及我们的思想生活进入心中。
然而，当我们接受基督之后，我们的生命理当与从前截然不同。因此，我们必然会经历肉体与圣灵之间的内在争战。随着属灵生命的成长，那些不讨神喜悦的习惯和生命模式会逐渐被改变。这种改变并非一蹴而就，而是一个持续一生的过程——每天选择顺服圣灵，而不是顺从肉体。过分别为圣、行在圣洁中的生活，是一个持续不断的过程，直到我们进入天家才会完全成熟。在此之前，我们都必须面对每日的属灵争战。这是一场持续不断的拉锯战，我们需要不断作出选择：是顺服神的圣灵，还是继续向旧生命的主人——肉体——妥协。
默想：在你的生命或婚姻中，哪些领域仍然更多地顺从肉体，而不是顺服圣灵？神正在引导你在哪些方面更深地降服于祂，并将生命的主权完全交托给祂呢？
讲章系列：你的思想，塑造你的生命