1. Overthrow of the Sin-Spirit Nature of The Flesh: This is possible only by the death of our “old man,” who is “crucified with Christ” (Rom. 6:6, Gal. 2:20). The “old man” is the corrupted sin nature that is driven by the Sin-spirit power behind “the flesh” in our lives… producing acts of sinning. Paul here sets forth key facts.

“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit (the Devil) that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Ephesians 2:2 (KJV)

“… our (the believer’s) ‘old man’ is (currently) crucified with him, (so) that the body of sin might be destroyed (Gk. kartargeo, made of no effect, rendered impotent), (so) that henceforth we should not serve sin ⁷For he that is dead is freed from sin (from Sin’s dominion).” (Rom. 6:6-7 KJV)

When you received Christ, your “old man” was then crucified “with Him,” and you were resurrected with Him “in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4) The “flesh,” that “old man” of sin, was crucified with Christ, and a new you, the “new man” was created by the power of the Holy Spirit the moment you were saved. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17) Our freedom from the “the lust of the flesh” is in the Cross-work of Christ that produced a new us, a new creation established through the power of the truth of Paul’s ‘mystery’ Gospel. The human nature is so fallen, the only thing God could do to remedy this is kill our “old man” and create a “new man” in Christ. (Rom. 6:3-6, 6-7, 7:4)

Many say, if the flesh was “crucified with Him (Christ),” when we received Christ and as savior, why am I still struggling with the flesh today as if I was not born again? If you understand the two aspects of the flesh discussed above, and their relationship to each other, then you will easily see why the flesh is still a problem even after we are saved. Our “old man” is crucified. However, “the flesh” has its seat in the body with its natural senses, including the desires and feelings, so it cannot be eradicated as long as you are still living in this natural, fallen human body. It can be compared to a train that has the power to the engine turned off but still in full motion forward as though nothing has happened. The Sin-spirit power of the flesh was forever put to rest by our co-death and resurrection in Jesus. But, the train of the flesh, with its human body senses and our soulish cravings, are still there, and given the opportunity, they will do what they are always looking forward to doing, that is to compel the person with evil desires to commit sin.

So, what should we believers do while we are still living in the body? God’s plan for this phase of life on earth calls for ‘mortifying the deeds of the flesh’ … by the power of “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

2. Mortifying “the deeds of the flesh”: The Apostle Paul continues to teach us that “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Rom. 8:13) The flesh’s objective is to destroy you as a believer, so Paul says you should “mortify ‘the deeds’ of the flesh”; meaning to put to death “the deeds (or works) of the flesh,” by not giving in to their cravings. For the believer “in Christ,” this means to rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to deny the desires of the flesh and refusing to what it demands. I’ve been learning to “dismiss” those thoughts as they come, but it takes Holy Spirit power to say no to the flesh and succeed. Holiness and righteousness in our lifestyle are not just an issue of sincerity with God or making a decision to do so. This is an issue of the power of the Spirit. One may be sincere but lack the ability to do what they know is right to do. The believer possesses Christ’s life and resurrection power to say no, which the unsaved do not have.

The Spirit does not end with saying ‘no’ to lust, but continues to give you the power to remove lust from your heart. Saying “no” to lust is not enough. We must remove it from our hearts. Harboring lust in your heart, while constantly trying to refraining from the evil it compels you to do, can be compared to hiding a pile of burning coals in the basement of your house while you go upstairs to relax!  Lust is latent in the heart and will find a way to express itself in so many forms, even in the form of chronic fears and anxiety that is meant to disable you. Lust in the heart is simply Sin waiting to exert itself! But the Lord wants you to enjoy life and liberty by having not only an outward life free from sin but also an inward life free of lust. Only the knowledge of and trust in the truth of the cross seen in the “Word of God” will free us from “the lust of the flesh” while we live in this corrupted ‘flesh body’ on earth... til He comes in the air. 

The Word of God is as heavenly soap and water to wash the human heart from impurities. Do you recall how clean you felt that day you first believed after hearing the word of God? While we wait for our heavenly body when Jesus returns, we must continually wash and cleanse our hearts by the Spirit through the Word.

If you are struggling with lust that plagues you, put God’s soap into your heart and allow it to work. Stop fighting the lust. Rather, put God’s Words into your heart and watch the Spirit at work. “he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (Titus 3) “Sanctify them (His body members) through thy truth: thy Word Is Truth.” (Jn. 17:17) “sanctify and cleanse it with the Washing of Water By The Word,” (Eph. 5:26)

I’ve just given you God’s answer to cleanse your heart. Lusts will not go away just because you are a Christian. It must be continually washed away by the Spirit through the sanctifying power of His Word. So, it’s possible to not only mortify the deeds of the flesh, but also to guard your heart diligently and protect it from lust. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23 KJV)

If you give lust an opportunity, it will gladly come and make its home in your heart, waiting to become pregnant and deliver sin!  We must always be on the guard as long as we are still here in this earthly body. There is a price to pay for a clean heart. It is not a billion dollars. It is in feeding on the Word of God constantly and fellowshipping with the Spirit in prayer. It takes the power of the Spirit to make the cross effective in you, to overcome “the lust and the flesh”? This is how we prepare our heart to do so, by His Word and prayer.

The more we prepare by strengthening our hearts spiritually, it becomes easier and more natural to us to say NO to the flesh and YES to the Spirit’s management of our lives. This is the dilemma of most believers. They have foolishly been taught to fight the flesh, and not give in to the desires of the flesh, but they are still screaming like Apostle Paul in Romans 7 who finds himself doing what he does not want to do, and unable to do what he wants to do. “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I” (Rom. 7:15 KJV)

We need the Holy Spirit’s ever-present power in order to get free from the power of “the lust of the flesh”? “For the law (operative power) of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law (operative power) of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2 (KJV) Practicing Religion will not do it. Church will not do it. Trying to be a “good Christian” will not do it. Avoid the temptation of loving the Lord while dying in silence inside with all sorts of evil desires and feelings. Some Christians have concluded that it is just not possible to have a life free of sin or of lustful thoughts and feelings. They read Romans 6 that talks about our freedom from sin, but their experience tells them that cannot be true. And they get support from many other Christians that gives credence to their experience and they recline silently within thinking that is how all the other Christians are struggling. They feel those who say they are experiencing the life of the Spirit are probably faking it or some spiritual fraud. The Lord knows that as we continue to live in this natural flesh body, the temptations to sin will continue and we will sometimes fail in what we do and say. Thankfully, He made provisions for our ongoing forgiveness and cleansing when we do. But, living a daily life of sin in “the lust of the flesh” is different issue.

I’ve had my own inner struggle with immoral thoughts. It seemed not possible to live with a pure mind free of such impure thoughts. But God has unveiled His Word to me and He so washes my mind as I spend hours studying or meditating on the Word, that I no longer need to struggle with the same thoughts. I also practice the warning to alcoholics… “don’t go there” - Don’t watch that TV program, or follow that article on the net, etc. Temptations are all around us. Yes, as all of us on occasion, the “fiery darts” of Satan (Eph. 6:16) still come to “tempt” me, but I’ve learned to dismiss those quickly without being “drawn away” in lust (Jas. 1:14). I may fail at times, but I thank God for His heavenly ‘soap and water,’ and His… “no condemnation” toward me (Rom. 8:1a). We keep our minds cleansed by the power of His “Words,” which “are spirit and they are life.” (Jn. 6:63)

I say this to assure you that your faith in Christ is genuine and the Word of God “worketh in you,” or you would not care about your failures. You can be from the “deeds of flesh” as well as overcome the inner battles with lustful desires and feelings. The worst thing we can do is to ignore lust in the heart and continue as though it is not there. We need to read, study, and do the work to get God’s Word of truth into our hearts, then watch the wonders of the operation of the Holy Spirit. If you do not sow to your spirit in the Word and prayer, don’t expect to muster the strength of the Spirit.  - “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap (of the) life (that is) everlasting” (Gal. 6:8 KJV)

3. The Ultimate Destruction of The Flesh: The final straw that will forever eliminate the flesh is the redemption of our bodies at the resurrection (Rapture). What a glorious day that will be, when this fallen body will be completely replaced by a spiritual and heavenly body. The flesh will never be remembered again, praise the Lord! But until that day, we need to mortify the deeds of the flesh by walking in the Spirit!