Perspective
( Rom. 7:14,17-18 ; Rom. 6:6,11,14 ; Rom. 7:14,17-18 ) 'Sin' here is the power of sin and the 'me' here is acknowledged as the 'self' - the soul. Our old self was crucified with Christ. Man is not required to do anything. He only need consider this an accomplished fact. He reaps the effectiveness of the death of Jesus in being wholly delivered from the 'power of sin'. However, the self remains and we are to take up the cross for denying self - the residuals of the old life that still remain in the mind, memory, emotion and will. To wholly conquer sin the believer needs to deny the self ( Rom. 6:11 ), not for just a moment, but for an entire lifetime. Only on the cross did Jesus bear our sins; yet, throughout His life the Lord 'denied' Himself (the appeal to self preservation). The same must be true of us.
( Gal. 5:17-24 ) Verse 17 stresses the 'self' (sinful nature) of the flesh while verse 24 stresses the 'sin' of the flesh. Thus, the cross of Christ deals with sin and the Holy Spirit through the cross treats of self. The self of the flesh - the life of feelings, of senses - seeks self-centered purposes and fulfillment: the tree of good and evil.
This is the issue, the battle zone, man was placed on earth not to meet his own needs but to serve and accomplish God's purposes: the tree of life. Thus, the Holy Spirit is the power in man to overcome the pull of the senses, the memories and emotions that tempt, in order to say 'no' to the old way, and to say 'yes' to God, the new way. He is enabled do what God's word says to do regardless of any feelings to the contrary. Thus, sin is dealt with once and forever at the cross. Our job is not to deal with sin directly but with the inordinate sensuality and corrupted imaging that usually follows. This is the battle: to keep our thoughts, our memories, our reasonings, and our imaginations pure and holy. Here we "fight the good fight of faith". Accordingly, be aware that reason knows by the faculty of the imagination; that affection feels by the faculty of sensuality. Both faculties are to be monitored and bounded: to be subject to constant vigilance, to insure that they are tempered and exercised in moderation in order to be kept pure and holy.
( Luke 9:23-24 ; Rom. 8:5-8 ) Christ delivers the believer completely from the power of sin through the cross, so that sin may not reign again. By the Holy Spirit Who dwells in the believer, Christ enables him to overcome self daily and obey Him perfectly. Liberation from sin is an accomplished fact; denial of self is to be a daily experience.
( Acts 9:17-18 ; Rom. 7:15-24 ; 1 Cor. 3:1-3 ; James 1:2-4 ; 1 Pet. 4:12-13 ) Biblical regeneration is a birth by which the innermost part of man's being, the deeply hidden spirit, is renewed and indwelt by the Spirit of God. We need to progress from mental knowledge of God's truth to its being revealed in our inner man by the Holy Spirit: the realization that all believers will be filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief and baptism. It takes time for the power of this new life to reach the outside, from the center of our being to the circumference. New believers still walk in the realm of inordinate sensuality and vain imaginations. It takes tests and trials to bring about and reveal, and identify the carnal aspects of these faculties. All of this is to be refined by fire in order to bring man into the spiritual realm.
Change
( Rom. 6:7 ; Gal. 5:17-24 ) We become flesh by being born of it. The only way to get rid of it is for the flesh to die. The flesh is not to be conquered, it is to die. The flesh, the root of the tree, must be put to death. In Christ, the believer is delivered from the rule of the flesh. By the cross, he can walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. Therefore, do not look at your experiences, your sin patterns and sinful reactions which continue, but the word says you "have been crucified with Christ". Do not listen to or look at your experiences, but listen to what God says to you. Act upon this truth and you shall see that the flesh is dead, indeed, in time.
( Gal. 2:20 ; Rom. 6:6 ) At the moment Christ was crucified, our flesh also was crucified. And it was the Lord Jesus Christ Who took us to the Cross at His Crucifixion. Therefore, we are not to walk according to our experiences, feelings and sight but according to faith in the word of God.
Note: ( Rom. 8:4-9 ; Eph. 2:2 ; Phil. 2:12-16 ) There are two selves: the false self and the true self. The 'false self' is that of the flesh and its bodily appetites, stimulated by externals and circumstances of life, the feelings thereof of which you are no longer to live by or permit to direct your life. The' true self' is the regenerated human spirit now in union with the Holy Spirit which lives and exist by the word and will of God. You must choose to live by one or the other. By your choice, you determine who energizes your life: the Holy Spirit or the devil.
( Rom. 8:13 ; Gal. 5:16 ; Rom. 6:12-13 ) When wicked lusts are aroused or any sins of the flesh are stimulated, it is the power of the Holy Spirit Who administers the death of the cross to whatever needs to die. In view of the fact that the believer's flesh was crucified with Christ on the cross, he does not need today to be crucified once again. Thus, by appropriating the cross the babe in Christ will be liberated from the power of the flesh and will be united with the Lord in resurrection life.
( Rom. 7:15-24 ; Rom. 8:23 ; 1 Cor. 15:22-23 ; 1 Cor. 15:42-44 ) No matter how much our inner mind may serve God's law, one's flesh always serves sin's law. As long as we live in the body, we must be alert daily lest the flesh break forth with its wicked deeds. You cannot take life for granted. Accordingly, examine yourself continuously: for you are either walking in the spirit or in the flesh, there is no gray area.
Work Out Your Salvation (Phil. 2:12-13)
BSAF on selected verses from above.
Review Col. 3:4-17 , list your failures, and on the basis of principles listed herein, work through these failures by your will. In the power of the Holy Spirit, put-on Christ's clothing, and see self being conformed unto His Image as you become a blessing in this dark world which needs to see your light ( Eph. 6:10-17 ; Phil. 1:28 ; Rev. 16:15 ). Review Section 11.9, “Union with God” for more insights.