THE FLESH

The flesh is the physical part of man. The flesh has different parts which work as the mind controls it. There are two distinctions which can be made regarding the flesh. Adam was created with one sort of flesh, which was without a sinful nature. After the fall, Adam and Eve were changed to have a new type of flesh which had a sinful nature. This is the sort of temporal flesh which man is familiar with, to date. At the end of times, man will then be resurrected, receiving a new form which will be like Christ. This flesh is arguably the same as Adam’s original form. The temporal flesh comes with limitations which cause a man to be disobedient to Christ, where the eternal flesh is free from these limitations and conducive to an eternal existence.

Temporal Flesh

There is an interaction which occurs between the mind and the temporal flesh as the flesh comes with different strengths and weaknesses. These weaknesses are considered the sinful nature. Grudem refers to the sinful nature as “inherited corruption” because sin is inherited from the ‘original sin’ of Adam and Eve.[1] The character of the inherited corruption is a disposition to perform sin as opposed to righteousness.[2] There is an additional level to the sinful nature. Some men are predisposed to certain sins more than others. So, all men have different weaknesses. In the same way, all men come with a variety of predisposed strengths according to the flesh. Because of these strengths and weaknesses the mind does not have free reign over the body; rather it must work within the limitations of the physical body.

There is a complicated process involved in controlling the sinful nature. According to Owen, all acts of the sinful nature are simply as a result of neglect to form righteous habits. A person is born with a predisposition to sin. As a person grows, they forms habits which are in line with the predisposition. So when one accepts Christ, they bring with them many sinful habits. In order to overcome these sinful habits, a person must replace them with righteous habits.[3] It is as Paul says, “…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”[4] The flesh must be trained through conscious effort to deny the natural habits and to form new habits which line up with the righteousness of Christ.

Eternal Flesh

In the same way that the temporal flesh is predisposed to sin, the eternal flesh will be predisposed to righteousness, so man will live in complete obedience in eternity. Paul wrote of a new sort of flesh:

If we have been united with him [Christ] like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

In the same way that Jesus was resurrected and made with a new body, man will be resurrected and receive a new body. The is the eternal flesh which may be like Adam’s original flesh, but will most certainly be the same as Christ’s resurrected flesh. Grudem claims that “Christ’s resurrection ensures our regeneration.”[5] Christ’s death comes with a promise that people will one day receive a new type of flesh which will be eternal as God Himself is eternal. This goes for the follower of Christ and for the one who rejects Him as both will live eternally; the distinction being in the quality of the eternal life.

[2] Grudem, 1999, p. 215

[3] Owen, 1842, p. 40-41

[4] 1 Corinthians 10.31 NIV

[5] Grudem, 1999, p. 263