“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
The Battle
Paul names crucified here, worth examining directly, past tense, already accomplished, worth holding as this third movement’s own opening claim, not an ongoing battle still, genuinely uncertain, but this settled fact, worth trusting as already true for whoever genuinely belongs to Christ.
This third movement, turning from this book’s renewal of the mind toward actual, lived freedom, opens with this crucial claim. Whatever ongoing struggle this whole book has honestly named, this specific verse insists the flesh’s actual authority has already, genuinely been crucified, not merely being gradually weakened.
Notice let us also walk in the Spirit, the practical instruction following this settled fact, worth holding as this movement’s own aim, not achieving this crucifixion through your own effort, but living from it, already accomplished, worth trusting as genuine, present reality, not future hope alone.
Consider today what it means to actually live from this settled fact, the flesh already crucified, not still, uncertainly fighting to achieve this, but walking, practically, from this already accomplished reality, trusting Paul’s own claim as genuinely, presently true for you.
Walk in the Spirit
- Consider living today from the settled fact that the flesh is already crucified, not still uncertain.
- Practice walking in the Spirit today as genuine, present reality, not future hope alone.
- Trust this accomplished fact as genuinely true for you, not merely aspirational language.
Prayer
Lord, my flesh is already crucified with its affections and lusts. Let me walk in the Spirit from this settled fact, not still uncertainly fighting to achieve it. Amen.
Carry this today
The flesh’s crucifixion is a settled, past fact, lived from, not an ongoing, uncertain battle.