Grace in Galatians (Part 153): How to Live FREE from the Power of the Flesh

https://youtu.be/vFTUT5QkULg?si=KR_Lq3YpIaAcLzgB

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT

“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror

“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror

“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Galatians 5:24 TPT

“Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus Christ have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self-life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah.”

Galatians 5:24 NKJV

“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Galatians 5:24 ERV

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do.”

Supporting scriptures:

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Romans 6:6 ERV

“We know that our old life was put to death on the cross with Christ. This happened so that our sinful selves would have no power over us. Then we would not be slaves to sin.”

Romans 6:11 NKJV

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Colossians 3:3 NKJV

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 TPT

“Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.”

Setting the Stage:

In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul showed us the works of the flesh. In Galatians 5:22-23, he showed us the fruit of the Spirit. And in the last part of verse 23, he declared that “against such there is no Law.” Now, in verse 24, Paul tells us WHY the believer is no longer dominated by the flesh and no longer under the jurisdiction of the Law. The reason? Those who belong to Christ have ALREADY crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Notice the past tense. Paul did not say you are trying to crucify the flesh. He did not say you should crucify the flesh. He did not say you need to work harder at crucifying the flesh. He said you HAVE crucified it. It’s done. It’s finished. The old nature was nailed to the cross with Jesus, and it has no legal right to dominate your life anymore. This is one of the most liberating truths in all of scripture, and it aligns perfectly with everything we have been learning about grace. You don’t produce the fruit of the Spirit by fighting the flesh. You produce the fruit of the Spirit because the flesh has already been dealt with. The crucifixion happened. Your job is to believe it, accept it, and live from it. This is a central concept to living the life of faith. You must LIVE by faith. Which means that your living must be rooted and grounded in what God’s Word says and what the Holy Spirit is saying, and not what you feel (emotions) or what you see (senses)!

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. “Those Who Are Christ’s”: Your Identity Determines Your Victory.

Before Paul says anything about crucifying the flesh, he establishes identity. He doesn’t say, “Those who try hard enough” or “Those who have mastered self-discipline.” He says, “Those who are Christ’s.” This is identity before activity. Your victory over the flesh is not based on your willpower. It is based on your position in Christ. If you belong to Jesus, the crucifixion of the flesh is already part of your spiritual inheritance. You don’t earn it. You don’t achieve it. You received it the moment you were born again. The TPT says it beautifully: “We who belong to Jesus Christ have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self-life was put to death on the cross.” Belonging is the prerequisite. Not performance. Not perfection. Belonging.

How this applies to you:

— Your victory over the flesh is not based on how hard you try. It is based on who you belong to. If you are in Christ, the old nature has already been crucified. That’s not a goal. That’s a fact. You have a new nature. It’s not that you are living in your old nature; it’s that you don’t know how to live in your new nature yet. Your new nature is unlocked by faith. You must believe what God believes about you!

— Stop identifying yourself by your struggles. You are not “a person who battles with anger,” or, “a person who struggles with depression,” or, “a person who can’t control their appetite.” You are a person who belongs to Jesus, and the flesh has been crucified. The ramifications of this reality are significant but you must learn to internalize it, truly believe it, and then attempt to live in this new reality.  

— The enemy wants you to define yourself by what you’ve done wrong. God defines you by what Christ has done right. Identity always comes before activity. When you know who you are, you’ll know how to live.

— Religion says, “Change your behavior and God will accept you.” Grace says, “God accepted you in Christ, and that acceptance changes your behavior.” The order matters.

— Paul didn’t say, “Those who have crucified their flesh belong to Christ.” He said it the other way around. Belonging comes first. The crucifixion is the result of belonging, not the requirement for it.

— In the military, your ID card gives you access to everything on the installation because you belong to the United States Army at large. But when you get assigned to a specific unit, that unit has a particular mission. You are then issued equipment, weapons, and resources that are specific to that unit’s purpose. Why? Because you belong there. Other soldiers in different units receive different resources because they have a different mission. It works the same way in the Kingdom. Once you are in Christ, you have a position. That’s your identity. And everything connected to your specific purpose, your divine mission, is already stored up for you. You don’t have to go find it. You don’t have to earn it. You have to believe it by faith.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that your identity in Christ is the foundation of your freedom. You don’t fight to become free. You fight FROM freedom because the flesh was already crucified when you became His. The Grace is on you to be free from sin and from the bondage of your flesh. You must now believe it. God has provided the Grace; now you must provide the faith. 

2. “Have Crucified”: It’s Already Done.

This is the part that changes everything. The verb Paul uses is in the aorist tense in the original Greek. That means it describes a completed action. Not an ongoing process. Not a future hope. A past-tense, settled, finished reality. The crucifixion of your old nature is not something you are working toward. It happened at the cross. When Jesus was crucified, your old man was crucified with Him. Romans 6:6 confirms it: “Our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with.” Galatians 2:20 says: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” And Colossians 3:3 declares: “You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Every single one of these scriptures is in the past tense. This is not something you are hoping for. This is something that has already happened. IT’S ALREADY DONE!

How this applies to you:

— Stop trying to crucify what God has already crucified. The flesh was dealt with at the cross. Your job is not to re-crucify it. Your job is to believe the freedom Jesus died to give you and live from it.

— This is why so many believers are exhausted. They are trying to kill something that is already dead. You don’t fight a corpse. You walk away from the grave.

— The devil wants you in a constant battle with your flesh because as long as you think you are fighting, you’re not resting. And the highest form of faith is rest. God is not asking you to struggle. He’s asking you to believe.

— Romans 6:11 tells you exactly what to do: “Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The word “reckon” means to count it as true. To account for it. To believe it even when your feelings say otherwise.

— When the flesh tries to assert itself, you don’t negotiate with it. You remind it of its death certificate. The cross was the flesh’s execution. It has no authority over you anymore.

— When you truly believe the flesh was crucified, your prayer life changes. You stop begging God for deliverance from something He already delivered you from. Instead of crying out, “God, help me overcome,” you declare, “Father, I thank You that I am ALREADY free.” That’s the difference between praying from need and praying from victory.

— Faith is not about what you feel. It’s about what God said. Your emotions will tell you the flesh is still alive. Your senses will tell you the old nature is still in charge. But the Word says it was crucified. And faith says, “I believe the Word over what I feel.” That’s living by faith, and that’s how you access what grace has already provided.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the battle with the flesh is not a war you need to win. It’s a victory you need to accept!

3. “With Its Passions and Desires”: The Root System Has Been Pulled Up.

Paul doesn’t just say the flesh was crucified. He says it was crucified “with its passions and desires.” This is important. God didn’t just deal with the behavior. He dealt with the root. The “passions” refer to the intense emotional impulses that drive sinful behavior. The “desires” refer to the longings and cravings that pull you toward the old way of living. Both were crucified. The ERV captures this powerfully: “They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do.” God didn’t just trim the branches. He pulled up the entire root system. It was put to death at the cross.

How this applies to you:

— God didn’t just deal with your sinful actions. He dealt with the sinful nature that produced them. The root has been pulled up, not just the weeds.

— The “passions” are the emotional surges that hit you suddenly. The “desires” are the slow, persistent cravings that build over time. Both were crucified. Nothing was left untouched. God didn’t do a partial work.

— When old feelings try to surface, recognize them for what they are: lingering echoes from a dead man. The old nature is dead. Those impulses have no power unless you give them power by believing they are still alive.

— 2 Corinthians 5:17 says if anyone is in Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. 

— This is like a tree that’s been uprooted. Even after it falls, the leaves may stay green for a while. They look alive, but they’re not. They’re living off residual sap, not a living root. The same is true of old habits and cravings. They may linger, but their power source has been cut off.

— Your feelings are not your facts. The craving feels real. The impulse feels powerful. But the Word says the root was pulled up at the cross. Faith doesn’t deny that the feeling showed up. Faith denies the feeling’s authority. There’s a difference between experiencing a temptation and being controlled by it. The old man is dead. Believe it, even when your emotions scream otherwise.

— In the marketplace (business and your career), this means the old ambitions driven by ego, greed, and selfish gain have been crucified. The new you operates from a different motivation: divine purpose, service, and Kingdom impact. That’s the grace life in action.

— This is what it means to live by faith and not by sight. Your eyes may see the struggle. Your emotions may feel the pull. But the Word of God says it is finished. And faith says, “I believe the Word over what I feel, over what I see, and over what my flesh is telling me.” That is how you access what grace has already provided.

— So settle this in your heart today: the passions are crucified. The desires are crucified. The root has been pulled up. And no feeling, no craving, no emotion, and no old pattern has the legal right to govern your life anymore. IT’S ALREADY DONE. Now believe it, walk in it, and watch the fruit of the Spirit grow in every area of your life. GREATER IS COMING FOR YOU!

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that my old nature has already been crucified with Christ!

I belong to Jesus, and because I belong to Him, the flesh has no authority over my life!

I am not fighting a war. I am living from a victory that was won at the cross. IT’S ALREADY DONE!

The passions and desires of the old nature were crucified with Christ. The root has been pulled up, and I am free!

I reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. I count it as true because God said it is true!

The fruit of the Spirit flows freely in my life because the flesh is out of the way. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, virtue, faith, gentleness, and strength of spirit are growing in me without hindrance!

I am discovering the fullness of my freedom in THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!