24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other (Galatians 5:24–26).
Paul writes, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The word Paul uses for crucified literally means “they crucified”—an aorist active indicative verb. The aorist tense points to a decisive action completed in the past. Paul is not issuing a command here, but stating a fact: those who belong to Christ Jesus have already broken decisively with their old way of life.
If something has been put to death, it no longer has a rightful place among the living. So when any of the acts of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19–21—or anything like them—try to rise up within you, you resist them as you would resist a clearly destructive impulse. When someone cuts you off in traffic, you do not give in to anger. When thoughts of sexual immorality attempt to enter your mind, you refuse them. They are not your thoughts, and you give them no room to grow. As you deny them nourishment, they weaken over time. Instead of feeding the impulses of the flesh, you feed the fruit of the Spirit—because whatever you feed becomes the stronger influence in your life.
But notice that Paul does not simply say we “put the flesh to death”; he says we have crucified it. Crucifixion is not instantaneous. It is slow, painful, and drawn out. Paul’s imagery reminds us that although the decisive break with the flesh has already occurred, the struggle between flesh and Spirit continues. Therefore, we do not take the flesh off the cross. We leave it there, giving it no leeway, no voice, and no authority. Anything that rises up against the Spirit is to be nailed back to the cross. Its influence diminishes over time, but we must remain watchful and Spirit-led.
So understand that Paul’s statement is both reassuring and sobering. It reassures us that the decisive work has already been done—we belong to Christ, and our old way of life has been nailed to the cross. And it soberly calls us to keep in step with the Spirit, refusing the works of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and anything like them. As we walk by the Spirit, the life of Christ grows stronger within us.
Our Heavenly Father, we pray for strength to resist the devil so that he might flee, and for the will to do Your will and be obedient to Your commands. Grant us favor and prosperity in our Christian walk, in Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.