The Flesh

by John Drain, Derby | Category: Fundamentals | Nov 1976

The word translated "flesh" in Gal. 5:19 occurs more than one hundred and fifty times in the New Testament. It does not always have an evil connotation. Dr Moule has given what may be a helpful comment on the significance of the expression "the flesh". He says, "In New Testament usage, on the whole, this word bears in each place (where its meaning is not merely literal) one of two meanings. It denotes either (a) human nature as conditioned by the body... or (b) human nature as conditioned by the Fall, or in other words by the dominion of sin, which then began, and which works so largely through the conditions of bodily life that those conditions are almost, in language, identified with sinfulness". This quotation confirms that the word "flesh" does not always imply something which is sinful. John wrote, "Every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God" (1 John 4:2), and, "Many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh"(2 John 7). Obviously the implication of sinfulness cannot be involved in the use of the word "flesh" in these statements which point back to the historical manifestation of the Son of God on earth, the Word who became flesh, and point forward to the advent in bodily form of the One who is now seated on the Throne of heaven and in whom "dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily". Nor is the idea of sinfulness implied in Paul's statement about himself, "that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20).

However, in this article our main purpose is to examine briefly some things in relation to the flesh in its evil meaning as indicated at (b)~in the quotation from Dr Moule set out above. The Scriptures reveal clearly that when sin entered through Adam's disobedience it entered to affect every area of man's complex being. Man became the slave of sin which perverted his nature and took control of his faculties, his thoughts and attitudes and activities. In the fleshy part of fallen man sin found an effective instrument for its ends. Through the body the sinful nature of man could find expression and pursue satisfaction for its aims and desires and appetites. Some desires may be instinctive and in themselves lawful, but when under the control of sin and by sin are exploited they become lust. Someone has defined lust as "perversion of natural desire into conscious opposition to righteous law". There are desires which are good, but the lusts of the flesh are evil.

Natural man is so completely under the control and guidance of the flesh that he is described as being "in the flesh". This means much more than being in bodies of flesh. It means being in bodies in which the flesh as a sinful force is dominant, bodies from which the Spirit of God is absent. Paul stated, "They that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:8). Referring to the natural condition of men and women the apostle said, "When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions (passions of sins R.V. margin), which were through the law, wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death" (Rom. 7:5). To the Ephesians Paul wrote, ... the sons of disobedience; among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest" (Eph. 2:2,3). It is significant that in these passages, by the use of the' pronoun "we", Paul includes himself in the general indication of man's natural state and activities.

When by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit and the word of God a person is born again through faith in Christ radical changes take place in that person's state and standing before God. He is no longer "in the flesh". He is "in the Spirit" because the Spirit of God indwells him (see Rom. 8:9). In a spiritual experience the believer in Christ is united with Christ, and in Christ he receives eternal life. But he also dies with Christ. He dies to sin, to the law and to the world. He is delivered from sin's tyrannical grasp, he is redeemed from the curse of the law, he is taken out of the world (John 15:19; Gal. 1:4). The believer is no longer seen as being in sin's dominion, as being under the law, as being of the world. He has a new standing in the Spirit in Christ.

Children of God can thank Him for these once-and-for-ever changes which have taken place. The peace and joy of the assurance of eternal security are now ours. But there presses also upon us the important consideration that God's wondrous purposes in our deliverance have not yet reached finality. We might conceive the possible course of action that, in the great work of regeneration, the moment a sinner believes in Christ and is born anew God would remove him from earth, in spiritual and bodily perfection, to the immediate joys of heaven. There are, of course, many reasons why such a course should not be taken, but we

state it to emphasize that God not only leaves us on this earth where sin abounds and where the god of this world has powerful influence, but also leaves us in mortal bodies which still suffer certain adverse effects of the Fall, bodies in which the corrupt, treacherous old nature still has a foothold. It is triumphantly true that the child of God on earth is no longer "in the flesh", no longer under the dominion of sin and its resultant condemnation, but it is also solemnly true that the flesh is in the child of God. And it is there to oppose the workings of divine purpose and to weaken every exercise of spiritual response on the part of the believer. "The mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be" (Rom. 8:7). It is the implacable enemy of God and of His will, and it engages in incessant war against the soul.

The flesh, like sin itself, is seen in its effects, and, like sin, the flesh seeks to use for its own ends the bodily appetites and weaknesses of the believer in Christ. The very members of the human body are solicited for exploitation. It should, however, be clearly understood that the believer's body is as much the property of the Lord as is the soul and the spirit. Indeed, our bodies are members of Christ, are for the Lord and are temple of the Holy Spirit who indwells them (see 1 Cor. 6:13,15,19). It is improper to speak of the body as being a worthless, useless encumbrance to the believer.

Our examination of these things reaches the stage where we recognize that in the body of the born-again believer in Christ there dwells the Spirit of God and there dwells also the flesh. These are antagonists, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh" (Gal. 5:17). Both desire control of the believer's life, the one such control as will bring death and destruction, the other such control as will lead to life and peace. Two minds seek to inform the child of God and to direct the course of his life. Those who accept the mind of the flesh will exhibit in their behaviour and conduct the rule of the flesh, they will pursue the thoughts and aims of the flesh, they will make provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts. What will be seen in such lives? Paul gives the answer. "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, heresies, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like" (Gal. 5:19-21). The citation of this sordid catalogue is perhaps sufficient to impress upon us the evil character of the flesh. We are humbled to think that the propensities for all these ugly things lie within each one of us. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall".

The most dangerous tendencies of the flesh are those that are most subtle. What havoc jealousy and strife have caused in the lives of disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and in assembly life and activity. When writing to the Corinthians Paul said, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ" (1 Cor. 3:1). This word "carnal" is a form of the word "flesh" which we have been considering. It is the same word as Paul uses when he says, "I am carnal" (Rom. 7:14). Earlier in this article we referred to the fact that God's purposes in the deliverance of sinners do not reach finality at the moment of the new birth. Different views have long been held as to the interpretation of Rom. 7. To whom and to when is Paul referring in verses 14-25? The writer of this article is of the mind that the apostle is speaking of himself and of himself as a born-again person. As he feels the pressures of the conflicting laws within him he cries, "0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?" This was the cry of a deeply exercised heart, but it was not a cry of despair. Paul knew who would deliver him and how he would be delivered. He had no doubt about this. And so with grateful confidence he says, "I thank God through Jesus Christ". Till then the conflict would 'remain, "So then I myself with the mind serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin" (Rom. 7:24,25). Paul also wrote,"... ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:23). The apostle anticipated the glorious experience in which his body of humiliation would be fashioned anew, and conformed to the body of glory of his Saviour.

We thank God for our hope in Christ that when He comes for His Church our bodies will have the perfection of full redemption, and will never more be hampered by any effect of the flesh. Till then, in its present constitution the mortal body of the believer is affected by weaknesses and frailties of the flesh which frustrate the realization of God's will. Paul's censure of the Corinthians in chapter 3 verse 1 of his epistle went back to early days in their spiritual experience when he was unable to impart to them the deep truths of the revelation of God because of their immaturity, an immaturity which was due to the intellectual weakness imposed by the flesh. But Paul's censure became more serious. At the time of writing the epistle he had to say, "Ye are yet carnal" (verse 3). The word "carnal" here is a stronger word than that in verse 1. From a state of fleshy immaturity the Corinthians had deteriorated to a condition in which the evil works of the corrupt flesh were showing themselves. To what in particular does Paul refer? "Whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk after the manner of men?" (1 Cor. 3:3). How often has the flesh led to actions and attitudes which have closed mouths that should be speaking for God in worship and witness

Must the child of God resign himself to a life of defeat because of the existence and power of the flesh within him? This is far from the truth. Paul said, "They that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof" (Gal. 5:24). This is not defeatism. This is triumph. How can this be accomplished? Does it mean taking oneself in hand, disciplining one's mind, curbing one's appetites? Does it mean placing oneself in a self-made vice of repression? The answer of history and of experience is, No! How then is this triumph enjoyed? Paul gives the answer, "Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). We cannot defeat the flesh by the flesh. "If ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye mortify (make to die) the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13). The answer is clear, VICTORY BY THE SPIRIT.

John Drain, Derby | Nov 1976
Fundamentals