Flesh

In the Bible, "flesh" can refer to the physical body or to human life. It may also refer to a whole person. In some passages, "flesh" describes the sinful desires and weakness of human nature.

The term "flesh" often refers to the physical body of people or animals (Genesis 40:19; Leviticus 6:27). In the Old Testament, "flesh" has various meanings. It can mean the entire body (Proverbs 14:30). It sometimes refers to the whole person, as in “my flesh also shall rest in hope” (Psalm 16:9, King James Version). This concept extends to the union of a man and wife as “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). A man might say to his relatives, “I am your own flesh and blood” (Judges 9:2). The idea of flesh as the whole person leads to the phrase “all flesh.” This means all of humanity and sometimes includes animals.

The Old Testament often uses "flesh" to show human weakness compared to God. "My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh" (Genesis 6:3, Revised Standard Version). Psalm 78:39 connects human sin and weakness with the fact that people are only flesh.

In 2 Chronicles 32:8, the king of Assyria's "arm of flesh," meaning his weakness, contrasts with God's power. Those who trust in God need not fear what "flesh" can do (Psalm 56:4). But those who trust in human strength instead of God are cursed (Jeremiah 17:5). In Isaiah 31:3, "flesh" contrasts with "spirit," showing weakness against strength.

However, nowhere in the Old Testament is flesh regarded as sinful. God created flesh from the dust of the earth, and as God's creation, it is good (Genesis 2:7).

The apostle Paul uses the Greek word sarx ("flesh") in several different ways, some of which are unique to his writings.

"Flesh" often describes the tissues that make up the body. There are different types of flesh: human, animal, bird, and fish (1 Corinthians 15:39). People can feel pain and suffering in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). A person undergoes circumcision in the flesh (Romans 2:28). Although "flesh" in these contexts is not sinful, it is liable to physical corruption. Its earthly state cannot enter the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). Jesus also had a body of flesh (Colossians 1:22).

Often, "flesh" refers to the whole body, not just the parts that compose it. Paul sometimes talks about being "absent" in the body or in the flesh (1 Corinthians 5:3; Colossians 2:5). He also says the life of Jesus can show in our "mortal body" (2 Corinthians 4:10–11). Paul says, "don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh'" (1 Corinthians 6:16).

Like the Old Testament, Paul refers to "flesh" as more than just the body. Paul used it to mean the whole person, including human relationships and natural connections. He mentioned his fellow Jews as his "my brothers, my own flesh and blood" (Romans 9:3). "My own people" in the Greek text reads literally, "my flesh" (11:14).

The "children of the flesh" are those born naturally, unlike those born through divine intervention (9:8). Christ descended physically from King David "according to the flesh." This means his full human existence, both body and spirit (1:3).

The term "flesh" can mean human existence. As long as a person lives in the body, they are "in the flesh." Paul talks about new life "in the body" (Greek "in the flesh") by having faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). Referring to when Jesus was on earth, Paul says Jesus ended the hostility between Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles) "in His flesh" (Ephesians 2:15).

The apostle Peter means the same when he says Jesus was put to death "in the body" (Greek "in the flesh") (1 Peter 3:18). The apostle John also uses this meaning: "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh" (1 John 4:2). This idea is most evident in the saying, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us" (John 1:14).

"Flesh" refers to more than just the human body. It includes other important aspects of human life. "Confidence in the flesh" means trusting in all external aspects of human life (Philippians 3:3).

This includes Paul's:

Jewish heritage,

his strict religious education,

his enthusiasm, and

his status in Jewish religious groups.

In 2 Corinthians 11:18, the phrase "boasting according to the flesh" is translated as "boast about their human achievements" in the New Living Translation. "A good impression outwardly" is almost the same as success in the world (Galatians 6:11–14). The Greek for "outwardly" is again "in the flesh."

The Judaizers, who taught that Gentile Christians must be circumcised, wanted to take pride in this outward sign. They wanted a reason to boast about religious achievement. Paul no longer valued such outward signs or reasons for boasting. He said that the world had been crucified to him, and he had been crucified to the world. This means that the world’s values no longer controlled him.

"Flesh" also refers to external relationships, like the social connections between a slave and a master (Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22; Philemon 1:16). "In the flesh" also describes the area of marriage relationships, which involves certain challenging issues (1 Corinthians 7:28).

This usage clarifies a difficult saying: “So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16). The Revised Standard Version correctly translates it as “from a human point of view.” The verse does not mean Paul had met Jesus in Jerusalem and knew him personally. “After the flesh” modifies the verb “to know,” not the noun “Christ.”

Before his conversion, Paul knew people “according to the flesh.” This means that he judged them by human and worldly standards. To know Christ “according to the flesh” means to view him only from a human point of view. As a Jew, Paul had believed that Jesus falsely claimed to be the Messiah.

Many Jews of Paul's day expected the Messiah to rule as a king from David's line, deliver Israel, and judge the nations. Paul abandoned this false perspective. He came to know Christ as the Son of God incarnate ("in the flesh"), the Savior of all who trust him. As a Christian, Paul no longer judged others by the world's standards.

When Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” he does not mean that human beings cannot enter God’s kingdom. He means that the present human body, which is weak and subject to death, cannot enter the final form of that kingdom unchanged (1 Corinthians 15:50).

The next part of the verse makes this clear: what is perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable. The present body must be changed. As Paul says, "the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53).

Paul is not describing the salvation of the soul apart from the body. He is describing the transformation of the present body into a resurrection body that is suited for God’s final and glorious kingdom.

When Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, Jesus said, “this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). The meaning of this verse is plain. This understanding of Jesus as the Christ did not come from human reasoning. It was possible only through God's revelation.

Paul also uses "flesh" in a moral sense that is especially important in his letters. In this use, human beings are not only weak and fallen before God. They are also sinful. Paul contrasts the flesh with human life renewed by the Holy Spirit. Without the help of the Spirit, people cannot please God.

Romans 8 gives the clearest example. Paul contrasts those who are "in the flesh" with those "in the Spirit." Being "in the Spirit" does not mean being in an unusual emotional or spiritual state. It means living under the direction and power of God’s Spirit. Those "in the flesh," meaning "not renewed," cannot please God. There are two opposite and separate realms: "in the flesh" and "in the Spirit." To be "in the Spirit" means that the Holy Spirit lives in a person and gives that person new spiritual life.

In Romans 7–8, Paul explains that a person who has not been spiritually renewed cannot please God. This is because they are unable to love and serve him as required. The law of Moses could not make people truly righteous because human flesh is weak (8:3). Living by human desires leads to death, while living by the Spirit leads to life (8:6). Paul also states, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good” (7:18).

"Flesh" here cannot be the physical flesh, for the body of flesh is the temple of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) and a member of Christ (6:15) and is to be the means of glorifying God (6:20). The purpose of the body of the church is to glorify God (6:20). Paul therefore means that no goodness that meets God’s standard exists in his human nature before it is renewed by the Holy Spirit.

Paul emphasizes an obvious difference between being "in the flesh" (not renewed) and "in the Spirit" (renewed). When someone becomes "in the Spirit," they are no longer in the flesh, but the flesh still influences them. Christians experience a struggle between the flesh and the Spirit.

Paul writes to those "in the Spirit," saying, "For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want" (Galatians 5:17). The Christian life is a battlefield for these opposing forces. This makes it impossible to be the perfect person one wishes to be.

In 1 Corinthians 2:14–3:3, Paul talks about three types of people:

the "natural" (2:14),

the "worldly" (3:1, 3), and

the "spiritual" (3:1).

The "natural man" does not follow God and focuses only on human matters, so they cannot understand God's ways. The "spiritual" person follows God's Spirit, demonstrating the Spirit's qualities in their life (Galatians 5:22–23). Between these two is a third type. Those who are "worldly" are not mature Christians. There are churches that have the Spirit of God among them but not all the individual people fully follow the Spirit's guidance. As "infants in Christ," they still act like ordinary people, showing "jealousy and dissension" (1 Corinthians 3:3).

In Galatians 5:19–23, Paul contrasts living by the flesh versus living by the Spirit: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (Galatians 5:19–21).

It is important to note that while some of these are sins of physical and sexual desire, others are religious sins, like worshiping false gods ("idolatry") and practicing magic ("sorcery"). Several are sins of attitude, such as "hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage." The words “divisions” and “factions” refer to lack of unity, not errors about Christian teaching (heresies). This shows that for Paul, the “flesh” includes the whole person, with all attitudes and characteristics, not just the body.

Christians experience a struggle between the Spirit and the flesh. Paul knows how the Spirit can win. The "flesh" of the body can become sanctified or holy (1 Thessalonians 5:23). But the Christian must put to death the flesh, meaning the parts of the human nature that have not yet become renewed.

This is known as the tension between the objective and the subjective. Because certain events have occurred in Christ (objective), certain results should naturally follow (subjective). In Paul's perspective, for Christians, the flesh has already died with Christ. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24). Paul also says, “I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). "Our old self was crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6).

These references show that "flesh" and "self" connect. The teaching on crucifixion further supports this connection. Paul means the same thing by the crucifixion of the flesh as when he says, “How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? … were baptized into His death … We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death” (verses 1–4). It is "I myself" who have died with Christ.

However, the death of the flesh does not shape a believer’s life automatically. Believers must receive this truth by faith and live according to it. This has two parts.

First, believers must recognize that their sinful nature was crucified with Christ. Paul writes, "count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11). Believers can consider themselves dead to sin because they have already died with Christ through saving faith. They must now put this truth into practice each day.

Those who have died with Christ must "put to death the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13). Here, "body" refers to the body as the means through which sinful desires act. Believers have been brought from death to life. Therefore, they must offer the parts of their bodies to God as instruments for doing what is right (Romans 6:13).

Paul also tells believers to put to death what belongs to their earthly nature, including "sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed" (Colossians 3:5). They have taken off the old way of life and put on the new. Therefore, they must live with compassion, kindness, humility, and other godly qualities.

Victory over the flesh is often called "walking in the Spirit." Paul says, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16; see also Romans 8:4). "Walking in the Spirit" means living each moment controlled by the Holy Spirit.

See also Body; Sin.