Flesh (Pauline Usage)

Occurrences in Scripture

Paul uses the same word in several senses.

• Body and physical flesh: It refers to the flesh of human beings and animals (1 Corinthians 15:39).
• Lineage: In expressions such as "according to the flesh," it denotes nationality or kinship (Romans 9:3, 9:5).
• Human weakness: It refers to the limitations of mortal human beings (Romans 8:3).
• Sinful nature: It refers to the human disposition that opposes God and is used in contrast to the Holy Spirit (Romans 7:18; 8:5–13; Galatians 5:16–21).

The Korean New Korean Revised Version renders this word, depending on context, as either yuksin or yukche, both meaning "flesh." Examples of the latter are "the works of the flesh" and "the lust of the flesh" in Galatians 5.

Meaning and Background of the Word

Sarx is a Greek word originally meaning "flesh" in the physical sense. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) generally used it to render the Hebrew basar. In the Old Testament, basar expresses human transience and finitude, as in "All flesh is grass" (Isaiah 40:6). In itself it does not denote moral evil.

Meaning Across Scripture

Paul retains the Old Testament sense of "weak humanity" while extending the term to describe a condition in which sin dominates that weakness. For Paul, flesh is not synonymous with "body" (Greek soma). He contrasts life lived according to the flesh with life lived according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4), and he sets their respective outcomes, "the works of the flesh" and the fruit of the Spirit, side by side (Galatians 5:19–23). At the same time, John 1:14 declares that "the Word was made flesh," showing that fleshly existence as such is not regarded as evil (see Incarnation).

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Distinction from body–soul dualism: Some understand flesh simply as "body" and spirit as "soul," and therefore regard the body as evil. Most commentators hold that this is not Paul's meaning, distinguishing his view from Gnosticism, which regarded matter as evil.
• The "I" of Romans 7: Interpreters differ over the identity of the person who says, "in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18). The later interpretation of Augustine and the Reformed tradition following Calvin generally read the passage as describing the inner struggle of the regenerate believer. In the Wesleyan tradition, a widely known interpretation reads it as the experience of a person under the law. This difference is also connected to differing understandings of sanctification and holiness (see Romans 7:24–25).

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, expressions such as "strong in both spirit and flesh" and "fleshly thoughts" are common in sermons and in public prayers offered on behalf of the congregation. In such usage, flesh tends to be understood as the body or as material life as a whole. In response, some theologians and preachers have stressed the need to make clear that the flesh of which Paul speaks is not the body itself but a way of life bound to sin. Related concepts are treated in the articles Spirit and Flesh and The Old Man and the New Man.