Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. | Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. |
Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. | That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. |
|
That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. | Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. |
Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. | And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. |
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh. | I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. |
Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. | For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. |
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. | For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. |
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. | But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. |
The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. | For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. |
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. | For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. |
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. | For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. |
So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. | Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. |
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. | My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. |
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. | But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. |
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. | And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. |
Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak! | Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. |
So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. | For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. |
As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” | Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. |
I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? | Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? |
But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together. | But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. |
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. |
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. | For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. |
I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? | In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? |
“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” | He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” |
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. | For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. |