Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn (grain) of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth (remains) alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit – John 12:24.

We must be so committed to living for Jesus that we hate our lives by comparison of being with Him. This doesn’t mean that we long to die or careless or destructive with the life God has given. But by laying aside our striving for advantage, security, and pleasure, we can serve God lovingly and freely.

According to the Word of God, there is nothing good in our flesh (For I know that in me that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not – Romans 7:18). Sometimes flesh is referred to the physical body, physical descent, but here Apostle Paul is referring to a condition of being dominated by sin and sinful pursuits. The problem is the flesh, the part of the believer in which there is nothing good. The will is the desire to do good, but the ability to perform it is lacking.

The Word of God is His Laws, and the law points out the path of righteousness. It points to life, but since sin reigns in our nature, the law means judgment and death for us. When we focus on the law we are deceived into sinning, which kills our spiritual lives. The conclusion is that the law as a whole are the individual commandments that are holy. Our problem with sin is not the fault of the holy law of God, only of how our sinful nature responds to the law.

Law in the Greek term means an inward principal of action, either good or evil, operating with the regularity of law. The term also designates a standard for a person’s life. The Apostle Paul described three such laws. The first is called the law of sin which was operating through his flesh causing him to sin. Paul, like all other believers, needed another law to overcome the law of sin. This is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus which makes us free from the law of sin and death. By following this law, believers can actually fulfill the righteous requirements of God’s law which is the third law which is the  standard for human action that corresponds to the righteousness of God.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, He then gives us the power we need to take authority over sin (For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace – Romans 6:14). Not under law means not under the law of Moses, yet the believer with God’s help, the believer under grace can fulfill the law. Jesus has given the believer who has totally committed themselves to God and His Word power over Satan’s and his co-host (Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you – Luke 10:19). This Scripture wasn’t just for the seventy disciples, but it goes for Jesus’ current day disciples.

The flesh influences us with the lust of the flesh, physical desire, lust of the eyes, personal desires, and pride of life which is self-interest. In order to make the flesh die, we continue to feed it. The more we feed it, the more sin will have dominion over us. We have to take dominion over our flesh, God is not going to do it for us when He has given us the power to do so ourselves. Taking dominion comes through having a consistent prayer life, personal fasting, not just when the pastor calls a fast. Spending time in God’s Word, through reading it and studying it. Making a committment to submit to the written Word of God. As Christians, we can’t look and listen to every thing the secular world presents. There are places as Christians, we shouldn’t be going.  Attend Bible Study and Sunday School to get a spiritual understanding of the Bible. As we fight our flesh with spiritual laws, the spiritual laws will begin to dominate our desire to submit to our flesh, and when we discontinuing to feed the flesh it will die.