Crucifying the Flesh

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24, ESV)

In a writing by A. W. Tozer, he gave this thought. I’ll paraphrase his sentiment like this. In every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne. The Christian must leave the throne and put himself on the cross for the throne of the heart is where Christ must be seated. Yet often the believer trades places and puts Christ on the cross and himself on the throne. This illustrates the conflict that every believer has between the flesh and the Spirit.

In this verse Paul alludes to a reality regarding the cross and the believer. In a real and tangible way, the believer has “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Through the baptizing work of the Spirit, every believer has been united with Christ in His death burial and resurrection (Romans 6:1-6). Verse six of the Romans passage states,

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:6, ESV)

In the crucifixion, Jesus defeated the power of sin and provided every believer the ability to overcome the power of the flesh, the sinful nature, over life. Upon saving faith, every true believer has been identified with Christ’s crucifixion and experiences the power of Christ’s resurrection.

Earlier in the letter to the Galatians, Paul wrote of this experience in his life.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

However, there is a problem that still remains for every believer. The believer has a struggle between the old fleshly and sinful nature, and the new divine nature. Thus, while victory over the flesh has absolutely been made operative in the believer, the fleshly drives and passions still tug at the heart.

I read one theologian explain that as those crucified still lingered alive on the cross, the old nature still lingers in those who have been crucified with Christ. Thus, Tozer’s analogy makes a clear point. It is possible for the Christian to metaphorically come down from the cross and sit on the throne of his heart, and put Christ up on the cross. This is when we function according to the flesh.

Yet when we put the King of kings on the throne and keep ourselves on the cross, we are dead to our old fleshly passions and desires. It is then that we live in high victory and will experience the resurrection power of Christ to overcome sin.

Sin has no mastery over believers. It only can take control over what we yield to it. We must guard against the lure of our old nature and walk in newness of life.

The remaining question is this. How then do we walk in the Spirit. This is what Spirit filled living is about. I plan to cover this in greater depth in the next devotional.