Part 2: The 5 Stages of Consecration – Choosing Spirit Over Flesh

Last week, we talked about Stage 1: Consecration—the moment we say yes to Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit. But now we enter Stage 2, and this is where many of us get stuck.

Stage 1 was an event. Stage 2 is a process.

It’s the tension between belief and behavior. Between knowing the truth and choosing to live it. Between self and Spirit.

Before and After Salvation

• Before salvation: We live by self. No Spirit. No power.

• At salvation: We receive the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19, Rom 8:9, Eph 1:13–14).

• After salvation: The battle begins—our way vs. God’s way.

• After consecration: We submit. Spirit over self. The Spirit leads, and we follow.

But here’s the hard truth: our flesh doesn’t want to be led. It wants control. It wants comfort. It wants its way.

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh…” —Romans 7:18

This is the hardest truth to accept in Stage 2: you can’t fix yourself. The Spirit didn’t come to renovate you. He came to free you.

The War Within

Paul describes this war in Galatians 5. The flesh and the Spirit are in constant conflict. You get to choose which one leads.

Works of the flesh (Gal 5:19–21): sexual immorality, impurity, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition…

Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23): love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

You know you’re walking in the Spirit when the fruit shows up in your life.

But it’s not automatic. It takes time. It takes relationship. It takes obedience.

Three Types of People

Paul breaks it down in 1 Corinthians 2–3:

1. Before Christ: No Spirit, no understanding.

2. Carnal/Worldly: Knows the truth but chooses flesh.

3. Spiritual: Led by the Spirit, bearing fruit.

We’re called to be spiritual. But to get there, we have to die to self (Gal 5:24). Not improve it. Not manage it. Put it to death.

Take Off to Put On

“Put off your old self… and put on the new self…” —Ephesians 4:22–24, Colossians 3:8–10

You can’t wear both. You must take off the old to put on the new. That’s the breakthrough moment.

And to walk in the Spirit, you need relationship with the Spirit. We often focus on God and Jesus—but forget the third person of the Trinity. The Spirit is our guide, our comforter, our power source. He nudges us, convicts us, leads us.

Four Commands for Stage 2

1. Walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:16)

2. Repent when you mess up—the Spirit withdraws when ignored

3. Surrender every area—you can’t compartmentalize God

4. Be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18)—you can’t force it, but you can permit it

The Pipe Analogy

Think of your life like a pipe. The size doesn’t change, but the flow of the Spirit does. Sin builds up like residue, restricting the flow. The more obedient you are, the more freely the Spirit moves.

Reflection: How much residue is in your pipe?

Obedience Is the Breakthrough

This week, I felt the nudge. I was having coffee with a friend, and the Spirit prompted me to speak into an area of her life she hadn’t surrendered. I didn’t want to. I knew it would hurt. But I obeyed—and even prayed out loud (which, if you know me, is a big deal).

Turns out, she had been praying about that exact thing before we met.

That’s why we say yes to the nudge. We get to be the hands and feet of God. Sometimes the answer to someone’s prayer is your obedience.

From Struggle to Spirit-Led

Stage 2 is the tipping point. You go from:

• Living in the flesh

• Struggling with the flesh

• To living by the Spirit

Say yes to the nudge. Let the Spirit lead. That’s how we move from stuck to surrendered. From self to Spirit. From Stage 2 to Stage 3.

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” —Galatians 5:25