God’s View of the Flesh — The Spiritual Man

The Believer’s Final Attitude Toward the Flesh

God’s View of the Flesh

At this point, it is best for the believer to recall once again what God’s verdict on the flesh is. The Lord Jesus said, “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless” (John 6:63). The sins of the flesh and the righteousness of the flesh are both useless! Whatever is born of the flesh, no matter what it may be, is still flesh, and it will never cease to be flesh. Flesh in the pulpit, flesh in the pews, flesh in prayer, flesh in offerings, flesh in reading the Scriptures, flesh in singing hymns, flesh in doing good works—God tells us that all these are of no value! However much the believer may trust in the flesh, God has said it is useless and of no benefit to the spiritual life. The flesh can never accomplish the righteousness of God.

“To set the mind on the flesh is death” (Romans 8:6). In God’s eyes, there is spiritual death in the flesh. Apart from delivering the flesh to the cross, there is no other way. No matter what good deeds the flesh may do, what kind of thoughts or plans it may devise, or how much human approval it may gain—yet in God’s eyes, upon everything that proceeds from the flesh, there is written in bold letters the word “death.”

“For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7). The flesh is in complete opposition to God, with no possibility of reconciliation. Not only are the sins that arise from the flesh opposed to God, but even the loftiest thoughts and deeds of the flesh are also hostile to Him. Needless to say, sinning is against Him; but even doing righteousness, if it is done independently of God, is likewise against Him.

“It does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot” (Romans 8:7). The better it seems, the farther it departs from God. How many of the morally “good” people in the world are truly willing to believe in the Lord Jesus? In reality, self-righteousness is not righteousness, but unrighteousness. The teaching of God’s Word is such that, no matter what, people cannot fulfill it on their own. Whether good or evil, they refuse to be subject to God’s authority. In doing evil, they transgress the law; in doing good, they seek to establish a righteousness apart from Christ, and thereby miss the true intent of the law. “For no human being will be justified in his sight by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).

“Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). This is the ultimate conclusion. No matter how good human behavior may appear, anything that proceeds from self can never please God. God can only be pleased with His Son; apart from Him and His work, no person and no work can be acceptable to Him. The works of one’s own flesh may appear excellent, but simply because they arise from self-effort, from one’s own source, God does not delight in them. People may devise countless ways to do good, to improve, to make progress; but since these are produced by the flesh, God does not take pleasure in them. This is not only true of an unregenerate person, but even of a believer—if what he does is by his own effort, however good or effective it may seem, God still does not delight in it. What God judges is not merely the question of good or evil, but the question of the source. The deed may be commendable, but where did it come from?

After reading these passages of Scripture, we can truly see how vain are all the works that come from the flesh. Believers must clearly recognize God’s estimate of the flesh, lest they be misled. We humans distinguish deeds as good or evil, but God’s distinction goes deeper—to the very root. A most filthy act of wickedness, in God’s sight, is of the same fleshly nature as the most virtuous act performed in the power of the flesh, and neither is pleasing to Him. Just as God hates unrighteousness, so also He hates self-righteousness. All human acts of goodness—those not born of regeneration, not of union with Christ, not of dependence on the Holy Spirit—are in God’s sight no less fleshly than adultery, impurity, or licentiousness. Human goodness, however noble it may appear, if not wholly of His Spirit, is of the flesh and is rejected by God. God opposes, rejects, and hates everything that belongs to the flesh, no matter what form it takes, whether it is found in a sinner or in one of His own children. His decree is this: the flesh must die.