RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL

MORTIFY THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE BODY

MESSAGE BY: Pastor Chris Oyakhilome DSc DSc DD

MEMORISE: “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” — Romans 8:13

I. UNDERSTANDING THE “BUSINESS” OF THE SENSES

There is a profound, transformative depth to our memory verse that every believer must deliberately grasp. When the Apostle Paul uses the phrase “the deeds of the body,” he is not merely addressing outward human actions, physical habits, or behavioral flaws. He is dealing with a mechanism operating far deeper within the human frame—he is talking about the transactions of the body; the subtle, continuous dealings and trades of the physical flesh.

Your physical body has its own independent operations. It is designed to carry out its daily activities entirely through the natural senses—what you feel, what you see, what you hear, and what you experience in the material world. Through these sensory pathways, the body constantly conducts its own “business,” aggressively bringing external reports, environmental data, and material conditions into your life.

At times, the body “brings something home” to your consciousness. It might present a sudden painful symptom, a lingering physical weakness, an emotional depression, or a heavy bodily discomfort that it picked up through natural, biological processes. It acts like a courier delivering a package of sickness or fatigue, waiting to see if you will sign for it and accept it as your reality.

II. THE HIGHER REALM OF SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS

But you must understand with absolute certainty that as a recreated child of God, you are not subject to these physical transactions! You are not engineered to be regulated, restricted, or governed by the low-level rudiments of this earthly, material realm. You have been birthed into a kingdom that functions completely above them.

The Scriptures clarify this operational divide in Romans 8:6: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” To be carnally minded simply means to live your life according to the dictations, sensory perceptions, and medical reports of the physical body. It means to continuously respond, react, and adjust your life to what the flesh says and what it feels.

If your body says, “You are sick,” and you confess, “I am sick,” you have validated a carnal transaction. But that is not your authentic life. You are a spirit being, and you belong to a higher celestial economy.

III. PARALYSING THE OPERATIONS OF THE FLESH

You are explicitly called by God to live by the Spirit. The Word of God states that if through the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. The word “mortify” means to kill, deaden, or completely paralyse. This means that by employing the power of the Holy Spirit, you can completely paralyse those negative bodily transactions! You can legally nullify the hostile operations of the flesh and bring its cellular activities under absolute subjection.

You do not have to sit idly by and let your physical frame dictate your daily condition, sap your energy, or define your spiritual reality. The life pulsating in you right now is infinitely greater than any biological system—it is the uncreated, un-infectable life of God (Zoe).

This divine life inside your spirit gives you legal, supernatural authority over your physical body. As Romans 8:11 declares, if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He automatically quickens, vitalizes, and floods your mortal body with divine energy through His Spirit inside you. He completely overrides environmental limitations and genetic predispositions.

IV. ENFORCING THE HIGHER LAW

Therefore, whenever your physical body brings its negative report, you must learn to answer back by the Spirit. You do not remain silent. When your flesh suggests physical weakness or exhaustion, you boldly respond with the language of spiritual strength. When it presents an aggressive medical symptom or disease, you immediately enforce the higher law of the Spirit—the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus—by which your new creation identity is governed.

Take absolute charge and exercise intentional dominion over your physical body today! Refuse to let it be a landing strip for demonic data or worldly infirmities. Keep your physical frame in vibrant, flawless health by feeding it the Word of God and enforcing the kinetic power of the Holy Spirit.

V. PRAYER

Dear Father, I thank You for the absolute authority and supernatural dominion I have through the Holy Spirit over my physical body. I totally refuse to be governed, guided, or limited by the natural senses. Today, I choose to walk in absolute life, divine strength, and unshakeable dominion, in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

VI. FURTHER STUDY SUMMARY

Romans 8:6-10: To be carnal is to be in a state of death and enmity against God, because the carnal mind cannot subject itself to God’s law. However, the believer is not in the flesh but in the Spirit. If Christ lives inside you, the physical body is rendered powerless concerning sin’s consequences, because the Spirit produces righteousness and life.

Galatians 5:16: The absolute spiritual antidote to the limitations and negative desires of the flesh is to consciously walk, live, and conduct your life in the Holy Spirit. When you do this, you make it impossible to fulfill the lusts or dictates of the body.

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NKJV): The Apostle Paul demonstrates the necessity of spiritual dominance, stating that he intentionally disciplines, subdues, and brings his physical body into absolute subjection to his spirit, ensuring he remains fully qualified and effective in his divine calling.

VII. BIBLE IN ONE YEAR SUMMARY

Acts 20:17-38: Paul calls for the elders of the church in Ephesus to meet him at Miletus. In a powerful, emotional farewell address, he recounts his faithful ministry among them, warns them against oncoming false teachers (“grievous wolves”), and commits them to God and the word of His grace. He finishes by kneeling in prayer with them before boarding his ship.

Job 22-24: Eliphaz falsely accuses Job of immense social sins and urges him to return to God for restoration. In response, Job passionately longs to present his case directly before God’s heavenly throne. Job asserts his unshakeable integrity, expresses total confidence that God knows the path he takes, and points out that though the wicked seem to prosper temporarily, God ultimately observes their misdeeds.

VIII. BIBLE IN TWO YEAR SUMMARY

Galatians 2:13-21: Paul addresses the hypocrisy that occurred when even Barnabas and Peter withdrew from eating with Gentile believers due to legalistic pressure from Jewish circumcision advocates. Paul reiterates that justification is solely by faith in Christ, not by the works of the law, famously declaring: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”

Isaiah 30: God rebukes Judah for forming a rebellious, faithless military alliance with Egypt rather than seeking counsel from the Holy One of Israel. The prophet warns that Egypt’s help will be entirely vain. Despite their rebellion, Isaiah reveals God’s deep desire to be gracious to His people, promising ultimate restoration, guidance, and the utter destruction of their Assyrian oppressors.