thinking bible.

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what did 'flesh' and 'spirit' mean in paul's jewish and hellenistic context beyond physical/non physical?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Galatians 5:16-17

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.

Paul is writing to believers in Galatia, a region in modern-day Turkey, likely in the mid-1st century CE. He's concerned about them turning away from the freedom of faith in Christ to practices he sees as legalistic, and here he explains the inner conflict that defines the life of someone seeking to live by faith.

What inner tension in your life feels most like a struggle between 'flesh' and 'Spirit'?

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Read alongside it

  • Romans 7:18-25

    Paul further details the struggle between desiring to do good and the inability to always achieve it, connecting to the 'flesh'.

  • John 3:6

    Jesus speaks of that which is born of the 'flesh' as flesh, and that which is born of the 'Spirit' as spirit, highlighting distinct origins.

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