We humans live the entirety of our lives under the frustrating tyranny of our flesh, flesh which constantly wants to raise its head in rebellion to God and go its own way into lust and sin. Scriptures reveal only one man who totally overcame his flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ. Concerning this Paul says,

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:15-20 ESV)

Prior to this Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63KJV) Thus we see that the New Testament prophets focused on the spirit of a man versus the flesh, the carnal nature, of a man. They did not, however, totally ignore the flesh. Paul said,  “But I discipline my body and keep it under control,[a] lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Cor. 9:27) But always remember Paul’s seemingly contrary word of warning, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

And to befuddle the issue still further consider John’s enigmatic statements, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” (1 John 4:2) and “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.” (2 John 1:7) I personally believe that the correct rendering of 1 John 4:2 is “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ comes in the flesh is from God,” which is really what John says in 2 John 1:7 as well. This, I think, is the epitome of the mystery of the Gospel… Christ in you, the hope of glory… Jesus Christ literally coming in fulness into our flesh.

So, it is true that we cannot perfect ourselves by and in the power of our own carnal nature, our flesh. But, this great test we all endure, this crucible of life in the flesh, is all about voluntarily placing our flesh (which includes our soul, our mind, will, and emotions in this context) under the authority of our spirits which in turn submit to the authority of God’s Holy Spirit. God’s great purpose in these six thousand years of human history, and especially during the last two thousand years, has been to cull and to choose a select body of people who would desire this and actually work toward it within the confines of their flesh. These are God’s overcomers, the Biblical 144,000, who will soon be revealed as the firstfruits of God. They will become the first of all men, after Jesus himself, to become filled with the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit. They are the prophetic fulfillment of the Arc of the Covenant which dwells in the Most Holy Place, even New Jerusalem itself. Soon they will be glorified (covered in gold) for within them dwells the manna (food) of God and the fullness of his Law so that they can rule the world in righteousness with a rod of iron (God’s truth). And within them God will grant to have life itself for they, like Aaron’s dead almond rod, will blossom into life. They are the living trees which drink from the living river of life who bring healing to the nations. They are the hope of mankind, for man now lives without hope in a fallen, fearful, and failing world. They are the “saviors” which God soon sends from Mount Zion to remove the curse of Adam and bring the knowledge of God to the whole earth as the waters cover the seas.