Galatians 5:24
And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Truth to Learn
You are dead in the flesh but alive through the Spirit of God. Victorious Christian living comes from the Spirit, not the flesh.
Behind the Words
The words “have crucified” are translated from the verb stauroō. It is derived from the noun stauros, which refers to a pole or a stake in the ground, usually with a cross piece, used for torture and execution. Hence, this verb refers to the act of executing someone on a cross. It is used here in the aorist tense which implies past, completed action which occurred at a point in time.
“Passions” is translated from pathēma, derived from the verb paschō, meaning “to suffer.” The suffix -ma means that it is “that which is felt with great passion.” This is the word from which we get out English word “pathos.” Although it can be used of either good passions or bad, in the current verse it refers to the bad passions of our sin nature.
The word “desires” is translated from epithumia, which we have looked at before. This word also can refer to good or bad, though in this verse it refers to overly strong sinful desires.
Meaning Explained
This verse starts out with the conjunction “And” showing that this verse is tied to the previous thought. Paul previously was talking about the lust of our sin nature battling against the way that the Holy Spirit prompts us to live. And, because that battle is going on in the life of every Christian, we are constantly drawn back and forth between obeying God and obeying our sin nature.
So, in order to give us strength and motivation to help us overcome the works of our sin nature, Paul here reminds us that our sin nature (flesh) has been crucified, put to death. This is not a new concept for Paul or for the Galatians. In the earlier part of this letter, Paul told them:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which 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)
When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we surrendered our will and our life to Him (He is our Lord) in exchange for His payment for our sins. That payment was in the form of His blood, shed on the cross. So, in a sense, we received His righteousness and gave ourselves, all that we are (including our sin nature), to be crucified with Him.
Then why do we keep sinning? Because even though the transaction occurred at Calvary nearly 2000 years ago, it has not been fully realized yet in our flesh. Nonetheless, we now have the Spirit of God living in us and that has been realized. As we daily submit ourselves to His control we reaffirm the death of our sin nature along with all of the evil passions and lusts that come from it.
Application
Do you feel like you are being defeated in the battle between your flesh and the Holy Spirit? As long as you cling to the desires of the flesh it will feel that way. The only way to experience victory is through continual confession of your sins and submission of your will to our Lord and Master.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2008 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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