How does one walk after the spirit and not the flesh according to Romans 8?

Christians have two natures that are at war within us—the spirit and the flesh. The selfish carnal, or physical, desires of the flesh want to be satisfied selfishly. However, the spirit strives to be pure, do God’s will, and obey His commandments. The latter is the higher nature we should aim to please.

Peter and other New Testament writers speak about this war between the spirit and the flesh. And in Romans 8, Paul is encouraging Christians to walk after our spiritual natures and not our fleshly desires. You can read how Paul describes this often-difficult battle in Romans 7. I believe there is a simple, but not always easy, solution to this dilemma.

Here is a crude but effective illustration: Imagine you have two male dogs of the same breed. You feed one of your dogs the very best dog food, and you pet and groom him for attention, take him out for walks for exercise, and provide plenty of fresh water and rest. But the other dog you chain to a post, don’t provide food, water, exercise, or attention at any time. Now imagine releasing the two dogs in the same area. Eventually, they’ll do battle for the territory. Who will win? It’s easy to guess that the dog that is well nourished and exercised will conquer the starved animal.

It’s the same with the battle between our natures. The way you win the battle is decided in advance by which nature you choose to feed. If we feed the spirit by reading God’s Word, spending time in prayer, fellowshiping with like-minded Christians, and sharing our faith, you will strengthen the spiritual aspect of your nature and make more room for the Holy Spirit. It’s exactly like a muscle that gets bigger and stronger when you use it.

However, if you choose to feed your fleshly nature with worldly amusements and sensual gratification, your carnal nature will be on the throne and your spirit will lose the battle. There are so many distractions, shock television and other amoral entertainments, to compete. And Satan will do anything to make you fail. “But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now” (Galatians 4:29, emphasis added). The devil uses carnal reading materials, music, and television, often disguising it as “family entertainment,” to tempt us and numb our spiritual walk. But these instant satisfactions have potentially terrible eternal consequences. They’ll make your spiritual muscles limp and weak.

When temptation comes, whatever side we strengthen will win the battle. And every day, we’re making a series of little decisions to walk after the flesh or the spirit. Pray daily, even hourly, for God’s protection and always be mindful when investing time and resources into worldly amusements. Real satisfaction is found in the Prince of Peace, and not in the empty amusements of this world.

John 10:34 is quite puzzling. It seems to say that men are gods.

Let’s back up just one verse to John 10:33. Jesus is debating with some religious leaders about His deity. They’re angry with Christ because He says to them, “I am the Son of God.” They respond angrily in verse 33, saying, “For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” Then Jesus answers, “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” I believe Jesus is referring to a quote from Psalm 82:6. Here the Lord is talking through King David, saying, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”

Now you notice that in John 10 and in Psalm 82:6, the word gods begins with a lowercase “g.” The writers of these books were not saying that men are divine. Though we were made in His image, we certainly do not possess the attributes of God. God is omnipotent (all-powerful), He’s omnipresent (everywhere), and He’s omniscient (knows all things). Humans are neither omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent—they aren’t anything like the one true God. In addition, God is self-existent and eternal, whereas man is not.

When the Lord says, “You are gods,” it means that God made man (Adam) in His own image. In the same way that God rules the universe, providing, leading, and governing, God originally made man to be the ruler of this planet. Man was to be the leader of this planet, having all the things of this world, like the fish and cattle, under his dominion. Man was made to rule this world, and God placed him here in His own image in the same way that the Father creates life. Man and woman were given the ability to procreate in their own image—out of an act of love, they can produce another human being in their likeness. In these ways, man is described as a lesser god of this world—but we certainly are not divine!