The Boastings of the Flesh 119
described in Galatians 5, verses 19 through 21, then is he content.
But what the believer admires is righteousness; therefore he will try
hard to act righteously, longing to possess the fruits of Galatians 5,
verses 22 and 23. Yet, just here lies the danger. For the Christian has
not come to learn how to hate the totality of his flesh. He merely
desires to be liberated from the sins which spring from it. He knows
how to resist somewhat the deeds of the flesh, but he does not realize
that the entire flesh itself needs to be destroyed. What deceives him
is that the flesh not only can produce sin but can also perform good.
If it is still doing good it is evident it is yet alive. Had the flesh
definitely died the believer’s ability both to do good and to do evil
would have perished with it. An ability to undertake good manifests
that the flesh has not yet died.
We know that men originally belong to the flesh. The Bible
distinctly teaches that there is no one in the world who is not of the
flesh, for every sinner is born of the flesh. But we additionally
recognize that many, before they are born anew, and even many who
in their lifetime never believe in the Lord, have performed and
continue to perform many commendable acts. Some seem to be
naturally born with kindness, patience or goodness. Notice what the
Lord Jesus says to Nicodemus (John 3.6); though the latter man is so
good naturally, he is nonetheless regarded as of the flesh. This
confirms that the flesh can indeed do good.
From the letter of Paul to the Galatians, we once more can see that
the flesh is capable of doing good. “Having begun with the Spirit, are
you now ending with the flesh?” (3.3). God’s children in Galatia had
descended into the error of doing good by the flesh. They had begun
in the Holy Spirit; they did not continue therein to be made perfect.
They wanted instead to be perfected through their righteousness,
even the righteousness according to law. Hence it was that the
Apostle put such a question to them. If the flesh in the Galatian
believers could only do evil, Paul would not have needed to pose
such a question, because they themselves would have known only