Galatians 5:24
“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
The verse prior to today's was a curious one. It listed the fruit of the Spirit and ended with, "against such things there is no law". That's quite a statement. It's generally understood that all peoples need laws. This verse is saying that believer's don't. Today's verse is the reason why they aren't necessary. They have crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires.
Some may ask "If this is so, then why is the letter of I Corinthians needed as it's a letter of correction." There are a couple of answers, the first is we are all at different levels of obedience. Some may be wrestling with issues and may be sinning. Thus walking in a non Christian way. Some in Corinth needed to be told they were walking in error.
The second reason this letter of correction is needed is because all churches have individuals who aren't Christians. Jesus mentioned this in the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:29. The worker saw that there were tares mixed in with the wheat. His suggestion was to remove them. Jesus' answer was "‘No, if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.'" He was saying to let them remain. So everywhere there is a group of Christians, there may be some unbelievers amongst them.
Getting back to today's verse, believers are to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. The flesh isn't our physical body, but the selfish part of us that will be present with us until we die. Paul admits this in Romans 7:25, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."
There are three ways that sin is pointed out to the believer. The Holy Spirit will individually convict us of sin, (John 16:8). The second is our new nature despises sin, so it may be brought to our attention by our own hearts. A final way may be by a fellow believer.
However we become aware of sin, we are to crucify it. We are to root it out of our lives. Fortunately God has His hand in this. That is because stopping an action doesn't mean we've addressed the desire. Philippians 2:13 says, "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." This is an aspect that separates christianity from all other religions. God changes our hearts that we want to obey.
The timing of this attitude change is different. Some bad desires are gone immediately, other times it takes seasons. God is patient, so we should be as well.
A slightly different view is the removing of sinful passions. In this case, we want them gone, but we still wrestle with them. The same timing applies as the previous verse. Sometimes they are immediately removed, other issues take time. Some never leave. Paul addresses those in 2 Corinthians 12:8,9 says, 'Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.' The Lord knows what He's doing and will help.
The addressing and removing of these things from our lives is another demonstration of His love for us. They can be so frustrating and distressing. His mercy aids us with them.
Lord thank You for Your help in crucifying these things in our lives. Your great love is ever present. Thank You.