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God did something the law could never do. You see, human flesh took its toll on God’s law. In and of itself, the law is not weak; but the flesh weakens it. So to condemn the sin that was ruling in the flesh, God sent His own Son, bearing the likeness of sinful flesh, as a sin offering. Now we are able to live up to the justice demanded by the law. But that ability has not come from living by our fallen human nature; it has come because we walk according to the movement of the Spirit in our lives.

If you live your life animated by the flesh—namely, your fallen, corrupt nature—then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit—namely, God’s indwelling presence—then your focus is on the work of the Spirit.

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For what the law was powerless(A) to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[a](B) God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh(C) to be a sin offering.[b](D) And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement(E) of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.(F)

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;(G) but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 8:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 4-13.
  2. Romans 8:3 Or flesh, for sin