Romans 7:5

7:5 For when we were in the flesh, ¹  the sinful desires, ²  aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body ³  to bear fruit for death.

Romans 7:25

7:25 Thanks be ⁴  to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, ⁵  I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but ⁶  with my flesh I serve ⁷  the law of sin.

Romans 8:3-13

8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because ⁸  it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

8:5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by ⁹  the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 8:6 For the outlook ¹⁰  of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 8:9 You, however, are not in ¹¹  the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but ¹²  the Spirit is your life ¹³  because of righteousness. 8:11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one ¹⁴  who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ ¹⁵  from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you. ¹⁶ 

8:12 So then, ¹⁷  brothers and sisters, ¹⁸  we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh 8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will ¹⁹  die), ²⁰  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

Romans 13:14

13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires. ²¹ 

John 3:6

3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, ²²  and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Galatians 5:19-21

5:19 Now the works of the flesh ²³  are obvious: ²⁴  sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ²⁵  hostilities, ²⁶  strife, ²⁷  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ²⁸  factions, 5:21 envying, ²⁹  murder, ³⁰  drunkenness, carousing, ³¹  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Galatians 5:24

5:24 Now those who belong to Christ ³²  have crucified the flesh ³³  with its passions ³⁴  and desires.

¹ tn That is, before we were in Christ.

² tn Or “sinful passions.”

³ tn Grk “our members”; the words “of our body” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

⁴ tc ‡ Most mss (א* A 1739 1881 Ï sy) read “I give thanks to God” rather than “Now thanks be to God” (א¹ [B] Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), the reading of NA²⁷. The reading with the verb (εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ, eucaristw tw qew) possibly arose from a transcriptional error in which several letters were doubled (TCGNT 455). The conjunction δέ (de, “now”) is included in some mss as well (א¹ Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), but it should probably not be considered original. The ms support for the omission of δέ is both excellent and widespread (א* A B D 1739 1881 Ï lat sy), and its addition can be explained as an insertion to smooth out the transition between v. 24 and 25.

⁵ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

⁶ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

⁷ tn The words “I serve” have been repeated here for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “in that.”

⁹ tn Grk “think on” or “are intent on” (twice in this verse). What is in view here is not primarily preoccupation, however, but worldview. Translations like “set their mind on” could be misunderstood by the typical English reader to refer exclusively to preoccupation.

¹⁰ tn Or “mindset,” “way of thinking” (twice in this verse and once in v. 7). The Greek term φρόνημα does not refer to one’s mind, but to one’s outlook or mindset.

¹¹ tn Or “are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit.”

¹² tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

¹³ tn Or “life-giving.” Grk “the Spirit is life.”

¹⁴ sn The one who raised Jesus from the dead refers to God (also in the following clause).

¹⁵ tc Several mss read ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun, “Jesus”) after Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”; א* A D* 630 1506 1739 1881 pc bo); C 81 104 lat have ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστόν. The shorter reading is more likely to be original, though, both because of external evidence (א² B D² F G Ψ 33 Ï sa) and internal evidence (scribes were much more likely to add the name “Jesus” if it were lacking than to remove it if it were already present in the text, especially to harmonize with the earlier mention of Jesus in the verse).

¹⁶ tc Most mss (B D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat) have διά (dia) followed by the accusative: “because of his Spirit who lives in you.” The genitive “through his Spirit” is supported by א A C⁽*⁾ 81 104 1505 1506 al, and is slightly preferred.

¹⁷ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

¹⁹ tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”

²⁰ sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

²¹ tn Grk “make no provision for the flesh unto desires.”

²² sn What is born of the flesh is flesh, i.e., what is born of physical heritage is physical. (It is interesting to compare this terminology with that of the dialogue in John 4, especially 4:23, 24.) For John the “flesh” (σάρξ, sarx) emphasizes merely the weakness and mortality of the creature – a neutral term, not necessarily sinful as in Paul. This is confirmed by the reference in John 1:14 to the Logos becoming “flesh.” The author avoids associating sinfulness with the incarnate Christ.

²³ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

²⁴ tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

²⁵ tn Or “witchcraft.”

²⁶ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

²⁷ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

²⁸ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

²⁹ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

³⁰ tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

³¹ tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

³² tc ‡ Some mss (א A B C P Ψ 0122¹ 0278 33 1175 1739 pc co) read “Christ Jesus” here, while many significant ones (Ì⁴⁶ D F G 0122*^,2 latt sy), as well as the Byzantine text, lack “Jesus.” The Byzantine text is especially not prone to omit the name “Jesus”; that it does so here argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading (for similar instances of probably authentic Byzantine shorter readings, see Matt 24:36 and Phil 1:14; cf. also W.-H. J. Wu, “A Systematic Analysis of the Shorter Readings in the Byzantine Text of the Synoptic Gospels” [Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002]). On the strength of the alignment of Ì⁴⁶ with the Western and Byzantine texttypes, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

³³ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

³⁴ tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).