– Living in victory over the flesh

In Romans 6:6–8, Paul describes a profound spiritual reality: “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

The “old man” here stands for our former, sin-filled existence – the old personality dominated by sin. It is not that the sinful nature itself has been completely eliminated, but that its dominion has been broken. We are no longer slaves to sin because a new freedom has come through death with Christ (cf. v. 7).

The old man must therefore die – and that means in concrete terms: crucifying the flesh with its desires. When the flesh dies, it loses its reaction. A dead person does not react. In the same way, we should no longer react to the stimuli of the world and the temptations of the enemy. But if we do not consistently die to the flesh, it remains highly sensitive. Even the smallest stimulus can then trigger a chain reaction. This is exactly what the devil exploits: our undying, fleshly areas.

Death means silence, motionlessness, desensitization to stimuli. The spiritual death of the old man is not a loss, but the way to true victory. For if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him (v. 8) – and this new life is characterized by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the power of the flesh.

The cross is therefore not only the place of our forgiveness, but also the place of our daily victory. The more the flesh dies, the less room the enemy has. The death of the old man is the beginning of new life in Christ—a life in the Spirit, in freedom, and in true strength.

Galatians 5:24 (LU84): “But those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Colossians 3:5 (ESV): “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”