"Flesh" is used interchangeably with "body and soul." Human beings is the flesh in essence. The flesh is the part of a Believer that disagrees with the Spirit. They are spiritual internal conflicts and few are ever taught how dangerous the works of the flesh are.
"Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God " (Galatians 5:19-21 AMP).
The Book of Galatians where written by Paul to the churches in southern Galatia founded on Paul's first missionary journey. He was responding to the attacks from false teachers, so Paul wrote to defend his apostleship and to defend the authority of the gospel. The Galatians were beginning to turn from faith to legalism. Legalism is a strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code. The Book of Galatians is the first letter in which Paul trumpets the truth that believers are justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul, when referring to the flesh, he is not talking about the physical. He is not saying that our spirits are good and our bodies are evil. No. He is telling us that there is a war between our flesh and our spirit and there is not a war between our body and our soul, but there is a struggle within ourselves. It is a war between our sin nature and against the Holy Spirit. We should not live according to the flesh, but live according to the Spirit. When we live "according to the flesh," we are living a self-centered, selfish life, you are all about your own desires. It is a life of pure instinctive carnal impulses and desires. These impulses are considered to be egocentric and/or self-serving. They only gratify the self with a disregard of morality.
What is the works of the flesh? SIN. What is sin? James 4:17 tells us, "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." Sin is an act contrary to the will and law of God whether by doing evil (sin of commission) or refraining from doing good (sin of omission). Sin puts up a barrier between us and God, and cuts us from the fellowship He wants us to have with Him. The Bible says, "But your iniquities [sins] have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2).
So where does sin come from? James 1:14 says, "But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions)." The battle over sin really begins in the mind. So sin starts as a thought, then a desire then it grows. "The evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death" (James 1:15).
Sin can be habitual and addictive. Habitual is anything that happens on a regular, recurring basis. Habitual is the adjective form of habit. Habits are involuntary behaviors controlled by the subconscious mind. Studies by neurobiologists, cognitive psychologists, and others indicate that from 40 to 95 percent of human behavior (how we think, what we say, and our overall actions) falls into the habit category. Addictive means habit-forming, compelling, compulsive, causing addiction or dependency. If something is addictive, it makes you want more of it so that you become addicted.
Immorality is the state of being immoral. It include conduct or thinking that is contrary to the standards of morality and may include acts of violence, sexual misconduct, profanity, sacrilege, rape, theft, lying, breaking promises or other acts considered subversive, perverse, or harmful. Other descriptions would be that they are morally prohibited, morally impermissible, acts one ought not to do, and acts one has a duty to refrain from doing. Morally rights acts are activities that are allowed.
Impurity is the condition or quality of being impure in any sense; defilement; foulness; adulteration. Impurity is that which is, or which renders anything, impure; foul matter, action, language, etc. Impurity is the common term for sins of lust, whether internal or external. Internal sins of lust are interior thoughts or desires that are not carried out in practice. They may take on a variety of forms, e.g. filthy stories, suggestive remarks and open vulgarity; in magazines, on television, in the movies, through the internet. Impurity means moral uncleanness, the impurity of lustful, luxurious, reckless or wasteful living, and impure motives
Indecency is the habit or action of being offensive or improper. Indecent often means rude. Synonyms of indecency: vulgarity, grossness, obscenity, lewdness, suggestiveness, crudeness, foulness, coarseness.
Idolatry is the worship of someone or something other than God as though it was God. At the root of all sin is idolatry, the worship of something other than God. The most famous example of idolatry in the Bible was the construction of the Golden Calf, when the Israelites created the golden calf statue to worship while Moses was on Mount Sinai.
Sorcery is supernatural power or the ability to use supernatural powers - witchcraft or magic. Sorcery is the act of using spells, or chatting to spirits, and it is deemed as an abomination in the Bible. In Scripture, sorcery is an immoral or false practice. It is an effort to circumvent God's knowledge and sovereignty and to worship Satan instead. The word sorcery refers to so-called black magic. Black magic has been referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes. The Bible tells us, "...Let no one be found among you who sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord..." (Deuteronomy 18:11-12)
Enmity is a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism. Throughout the Bible you read about enmity from the very beginning and the tragic consequences of sin. We first encounter the word "enmity' in Genesis 3:15, after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. God told the serpent, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike is heel." Sin's entrance into the world was all because of the direct consequences of enmity. Then you see how it quickly manifested in the story of Cain and Abel.
Strife is defined as bickering, arguing, a heated disagreement, or an angry undercurrent. Strife means selfish ambition driven by hatred, pride, and violent dissension. Strife is never justifiable and should not be a part of our lives. Many things can cause strife, but the Bible mentions strife as jealousy and pride. Strife will destroy lives and your relationships. When it rises up confusion will rise up too. Strife is a tool of Satan.
Jealousy is a complex emotion that encompasses feelings ranging from suspicion to rage to fear to humiliation. Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. It can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. It is obtain referred to as the "green eyed monster." Proverbs 27:4 tells us, "Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous."
Anger is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. Anger can stem from intense emotions like fear, frustration, or pain. Anger is often a reaction to and distraction from inner suffering, feelings such as sadness, powerlessness, shame, anxiety, inadequacy, and isolation. Wrath is a biblical word for anger. Wrath and anger are often used interchangeably. They both describe an emotional response to something perceived as wrong or unjust. In the Bible wrath and anger both describes emotional responses to wrongs or injustices. In the New Testament there are expressions of two kinds of anger - righteous anger and unrighteous anger.
Selfishness is a self-centered concern for oneself, without regard to the needs of others. The Bible clearly tells us, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good" (2 Timothy 3:1-3). Notice the words "lovers of themselves," all the words that follow afterwards, they all falls under the umbrella of "lovers of themselves." In other words, "selfishness." Selfishness is the quality or state of being selfish, exclusively to one's own interest or happiness. It is that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his or her purposes to the advancement of their own interest, power, or happiness, without the regards of others.
Divisions is the action of separating something into parts or the process of being separated. Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city of house divided against itself will not stand" (Matthew 12:25). This division that Jesus is talking about is between those who loves Him and those who don't. A kingdom or a church or a family can prosper only by living in harmony. The members must unite in promoting the same objects or subjects. If they are divided and if one part undo what the other does, it will fall. In the life of a Christian, there is a battle going on for two competing visions. One is God's kingdom and the other is Satan's kingdom. So it is with Satan's kingdom as he attacks us with division. He can't destroy us but he can seek to weaken us by creating a division in our life, our church, and in our family.
Party Spirit in today's modern times is known as the Spirit of Rivalry. Rivalry is the act of competing for the same thing against another person. A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Party Spirit is not referring to celebrations with wine, women, men, and songs, but it is a carnal approach to life that divides people into groups along certain party lines. When these groups are established they compete and fight against each other. In God's kingdom there are no winners and there are no losers, because God's kingdom is made up of one team, working for the same purpose. There must be no disunity in the Church.
Envy is a mostly negative feeling of desire for something that someone else has and you do not. Like greed, envy is forbidden by the Ten Commandments, which prohibit coveting another's goods, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his farm, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his". Envy starts with discontent with your situation relative to that of another, but it doesn't stop there. Envy goes another step further, it creates anger and bitterness towards that person that you feel that you deserve his or her position or state. You cannot be happy for that person that you envy and you cannot truly love them, although God has told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Envy is showing a discontentment towards God, because He is the One that provides our blessings and because you are discontent with the blessings that God has given you, you also fail to love God with all that you are. Envy is sinful because it says that God's blessings for you are not good enough.
Drunkenness is a temporary state of resulting from excessive consumption of alcohol. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul says, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery." Paul is not simply talking about the amount of wine that is being consumed, but that drinking leads to debauchery. The word "debauchery" means having no hope of safety; extravagant, squandering, dissoluteness, prodigality. Debauchery is the noun form of the verb debauch, meaning to corrupt, to pervert, to engage in debauchery. The suffix - ery is used to form nouns indicating collective actions or qualities, as in trickery.
Carousing means indulging in one's appetites excessively. It could be food or drink or many other things. When you think of carousing, you are probably thinking about spending the night on the town, getting drunk, going to parties, and living an irresponsible life. Paul clearly tells us, "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality, and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Romans 13:13-14). Carousing is a lustful excess in physical and sexual pleasure which is offensive to God and to man alike.
There is a tug-of-war going on in our life as we desire to please God. "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another" (Galatians 5:17). Have you ever experienced that tug-of-war?
There are the sexual sins - "Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness."
There are the spiritual sins - "Idolatry, sorcery."
There are sins from the head and heart - "Hatred, contentions, jealousies, outburst
of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissension, heresies, envy, slander, pride, theft, murder,
adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, foolishness."
There are social sins - "Murder, abortion, kidnapping, sex trafficking, racism, exploitation, inequality, slavery, unjust wars, oppression of the poor, orphans, widows,
and any sins that are committed with the tongue, such as slander, mocking, backbiting, lying, spying, revealing people's secrets and let's not forget gossiping.
We are told to walk in the Spirit, yet we have no idea what that is telling us what to do, because SIN is paralyzing us from allowing the Spirit to work in us, to direct us and lead us. We are to walk in the Spirit and live in the Spirit. Living your life in Christ means you must find His will for your life and then do it. Do it to the fullest, to the best of your ability; not just "going through the motions."
There is a highway that God has called all of His children to follow. Isaiah 35:8 tells us, "And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness." God is so committed that we walk on this path and He has given us some very easy signposts to guide us. Your decision is whether you choose to follow them. When you come to the crossroads of any spiritual decision, and there will be many in your lifetime, you will have to make a choice to heed God's signs or ignore them. Right now you maybe struggling with some type of sin. Maybe someone have hurt you deeply and you are wrestling with the decision to forgive them. No matter where you are in your walk with God, denying or ignoring God's directions will leave you without peace in your life.
When you are following the signs that God is showing you, God will allow you to handle those difficult situations wisely, obediently, graciously, and victoriously. The way of holiness clearly illustrates that each crisis of decision in the Christian life is a turning point. We must always remember that there is victory in Jesus.