Psalms 78:39

78:39 He remembered ¹  that they were made of flesh,

and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. ² 

John 3:6

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

Romans 8:1-13

The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ⁴  8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ⁵  in Christ Jesus has set you ⁶  free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because ⁷  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 ⁸  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 ⁹  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 ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  the Spirit is your life ¹²  because of righteousness. 8:11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one ¹³  who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ ¹⁴  from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you. ¹⁵ 

8:12 So then, ¹⁶  brothers and sisters, ¹⁷  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 ¹⁸  die), ¹⁹  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

Galatians 5:16-24

5:16 But I say, live ²⁰  by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. ²¹  5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires ²²  that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to ²³  each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh ²⁴  are obvious: ²⁵  sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ²⁶  hostilities, ²⁷  strife, ²⁸  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ²⁹  factions, 5:21 envying, ³⁰  murder, ³¹  drunkenness, carousing, ³²  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!

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ³³  is love, ³⁴  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ³⁵  5:23 gentleness, and ³⁶  self-control. Against such things there is no law. 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ ³⁷  have crucified the flesh ³⁸  with its passions ³⁹  and desires.

Galatians 5:1

Freedom of the Believer

5:1 For freedom ⁴⁰  Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke ⁴¹  of slavery.

Galatians 3:20

3:20 Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one. ⁴² 

[78:39]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.

[78:39]  ² tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”

[3:6]  ³ 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.

[8:1]  ⁴ tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D¹ Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א² D² 33^vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.

[8:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

[8:2]  ⁶ tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

[8:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “in that.”

[8:5]  ⁸ 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.

[8:6]  ⁹ 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.

[8:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit.”

[8:10]  ¹¹ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[8:10]  ¹² tn Or “life-giving.” Grk “the Spirit is life.”

[8:11]  ¹³ sn The one who raised Jesus from the dead refers to God (also in the following clause).

[8:11]  ¹⁴ 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).

[8:11]  ¹⁵ 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.

[8:12]  ¹⁶ 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.

[8:12]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[8:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”

[8:13]  ¹⁹ sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

[5:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

[5:16]  ²¹ tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.

[5:17]  ²² tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

[5:17]  ²³ tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

[5:19]  ²⁴ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:19]  ²⁵ tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

[5:20]  ²⁶ tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ²⁷ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ²⁸ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ²⁹ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[5:21]  ³⁰ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21]  ³¹ 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).

[5:21]  ³² tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[5:22]  ³³ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22]  ³⁴ sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

[5:22]  ³⁵ tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[5:23]  ³⁶ tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.

[5:24]  ³⁷ 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.

[5:24]  ³⁸ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:24]  ³⁹ tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).

[5:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Translating the dative as “For freedom” shows the purpose for Christ setting us free; however, it is also possible to take the phrase in the sense of means or instrument (“with [or by] freedom”), referring to the freedom mentioned in 4:31 and implied throughout the letter.

[5:1]  ⁴¹ sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.

[3:20]  ⁴² tn The meaning of this verse is disputed. According to BDAG 634 s.v. μεσίτης, “It prob. means that the activity of an intermediary implies the existence of more than one party, and hence may be unsatisfactory because it must result in a compromise. The presence of an intermediary would prevent attainment, without any impediment, of the purpose of the εἶς θεός in giving the law.” See also A. Oepke, TDNT 4:598-624, esp. 618-19.