Romans chapter eight has several ‘who or what’ we have ‘in Christ’ positional statements. The entire chapter includes what Jesus has done for us as well as information we need to access His finished work through the vital ministry of the Holy Spirit. In today’s post we are going to look particularly at verse five in relation to what it says about flesh versus spirit.

What Does the Phrase ‘After the Flesh’ Mean?

Romans 8:5
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

• The phrase ‘after the flesh’ means to be conformed to the flesh.
• In the Greek, the sense of this phrase is continuous.
• This continuous sense means this person, addressed here as ‘they’, are individuals who are continually controlled or dominated by the flesh nature.
• Who are these people who are ‘after’ or ‘controlled by’ or ‘dominated continually by’ their flesh?
• Is Paul referring to saved people or unsaved in this verse?
• An unsaved individual would certainly fit the description Paul gives here.
• The lives of the unsaved are entirely dominated by the flesh.
• But Paul is writing to the church at Rome.
• He is addressing believers.
• It’s more likely therefore Paul is contrasting two types of believers; a spiritually minded saved believer and a carnally minded saved believer.
• According to 1 Corinthians 3:3, little difference exists between the deeds of an unsaved flesh driven sinner and a carnally minded saved believer.

1 Corinthians 3:3 (AMP)
3 For you are still [unspiritual, having the nature] of the flesh [under the control of ordinary impulses]. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men?

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• Of course, there’s a massive difference between saved an unsaved.
• The most carnal minded saved person still has heaven as his final home.
• Whereas the most moral, at his honorable best, philanthropic self-sacrificing unbeliever, is dead in trespasses and sins.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (NKJV)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

• Additionally, Jesus indicated that the lowest New Testament child of God, saved and transformed by the new birth, far exceeds the greatest Old Testament saint.

Matthew 11:11 (NKJV)
11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

What ‘Minding the Things of the Flesh’ Means

• The Greek word for ‘mind’ or phrŏnĕō means to keep on giving serious consideration to something,‘to ponder, to let one’s mind dwell on, to keep thinking about, to fix one’s attention on.’
• Intense reflection sums up the the sense of the phrase ‘minding the things of the flesh’.
• This isn’t just a casual fling with sin.
• Minding the flesh is an intense setting of one’s mind on its object.

Philippians 3:18–19 (NKJV)
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

• A flesh minded person operates in selfishness or the anti-love of God.
• He lacks self-control and is dominated by the impulses, cravings, mindset, opinions, and interests of the sin nature.

What Does the Term ‘The Flesh’ Mean?

Romans 8:10 (NKJV)
10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

• Romans 8:10 tells us exactly what and where the sin nature is.
• The body is dead because of sin.
• The flesh is the sin nature infecting the human body.
• No human person on planet earth needs instructions on the workings of the sin nature.
• Drifting into the flesh is as easy as breathing air.
• When Adam sinned, the sin nature passed by his seed to all men.
• That’s one of the challenges of the Christian lifestyle.
• It takes a quality decision every day to walk out the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
• Being conscious of setting your ‘mind on the things of the Spirit’ takes a consistent, diligent, faithful and intentional effort.
• Only this level of commitment will steer you free from the sin nature.
• According to verse five, setting your mind on the flesh happens by living according to the dictates of the flesh which, phrased differently, means not submitting to the law of God.
• Setting your mind on the Spirit involves living according to the dictates of the human spirit prompted by the Holy Spirit who indwells within the human spirit.

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Holy Spirit or Human Spirit?

• Did you notice how the word Spirit is capitalized in verse five in the King James Version?
• Should it be?
• In the Greek language, the word for human spirit and the word used to refer to God’s Spirit are the same word.
• Additionally, the Greek text was not punctuated, so no capitalization exists in the original language.
• So in any verse where the word ‘spirit’ occurs you, the reader, must make a determination.
• The question you should ask when you see this word ‘spirit’ is does it refer to the human spirit or the Holy Spirit?”
• Don’t assume the translators got it correctly.
• In some cases the decision on whether to capitalize or not was a matter of the translators personal theology.
• So, how can you determine which way to go?
• You ascertain Holy Spirit or human spirit by the context.
• The English Revised Version translates Romans 8:5 with a small ‘s.’
  • Referring in both cases to the human spirit.

Romans 8:5 (ERV)
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit.

• God’s Word Translation also has both cases of spirit with a small ‘s’.

Romans 8:5 (GW)
5 Those who live by the corrupt nature have the corrupt nature’s attitude. But those who live by the spiritual nature have the spiritual nature’s attitude.

• Personally, the first word spirit should be small case. The second word spirit should be capitalized.
• It would read this way.

Romans 8:5
… but they that are after (those who live according to) the ‘spirit’ (human spirit) set their minds on the things of the ‘Spirit’ (Holy Spirit).

• Going through this exercise helps you with other verses.

Galatians 5:16 (KJV)
¹⁶ This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

• The King James has spirit capitalized referring to the Holy Spirit.
• It shouldn’t be. It should be a small ‘s’ pointing to the human spirit.
• The verse contrasts living out of your heart as opposed to living by the flesh.

What Are ‘The Things of the Spirit’?

• The last question we should ask of this passage is what are the things of the Spirit?
• This would be anything connected to the Holy Spirit as laid out in the Word of God.
• The terminology has a broad context since the Spirit operates as the divine agent of God the Father at work in the earth today.

Call to Action:

Are you continually after the things of the Holy Spirit? A moment of reflection will help you here. Center up on the Lord. Focus your heart and mind on Him. Connect with His Presence. Make this a point in your life several times a day. Doing so will help you not to be a flesh minded only believer.

Question: How do you read Romans 8:5? Holy Spirit or human spirit? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.