“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
(Romans 8:13 KJV)
One day, someone asked me, “What does it mean to mortify the deeds of the flesh? I have heard it said many times but I really don’t know what it means.”
I could feel the confusion in her voice, and the frustration in her tone. It is like being given a set of instructions but no clue how to go about executing them. She wanted to obey God but could not understand what this phrase meant.
Mortifying the deeds of the flesh is not some abstract, unreachable spiritual concept. It simply means killing the desires of the sinful nature. Your flesh makes demands of you, and so does your spirit. The flesh, in this sense, is not merely your skin and bones but the sinful nature that works through your body. Scripture makes it clear that there is a constant war between the flesh and the spirit (Galatians 5:17). The body wants what it wants, but unfortunately, most of what it craves is unhealthy for the soul and damaging to the spirit.
Paul explains this in Galatians 6:8: “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
The truth is, the most important part of a man is not his body but his spirit. Think of your body as the physical vehicle you use to move about on this earth. At best, it may last 120 years. But there is a part of you that will outlive your body forever, and that part is your spirit. So it matters much more where your spirit ends than how or where your body ends. The disciples and followers of Jesus Christ understood this so well that they were willing to lose their bodies for Christ. They knew man or the enemy could touch the body but not the spirit.
Not Willpower but the Spirit
Mortifying the flesh is not something you achieve by sheer willpower. If you try to fight sin with just human determination, it is only a matter of time before you collapse like a pack of cards. This is why so many try to change and fail.
Mortification happens by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit who comes into your heart the moment you accept Jesus Christ. He takes up residence within you, giving you the strength to do what pleases God. You are no longer just following rules and laws from the outside; you are led by the Spirit of God from the inside.
Romans 8:14 says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” He is the seal of your salvation, the evidence that you belong to Christ. Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide us into all truth (John 16:13). Philippians 2:13 says about the enabling power of God within us: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
This means when you are at the point of temptation, when the flesh is screaming to be gratified, you will hear a voice within you saying, “No, don’t do that. Choose this instead.” It is like the Scripture that says in Isaiah 30:21: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”
For some, the zeal for certain sins disappears almost instantly (though this is not as common as we would like it to be) For many others, it happens gradually. As they daily yield themselves and present their bodies to God, choosing to die to self day by day, they eventually realize that the hold of those sins has been broken. What once controlled them loses its power, because the Spirit of God is at work within them.
You Are Married To Christ
Think of it this way: suppose a woman had a boyfriend and they used to engage in fornication. After she receives Christ, everything changes. She is no longer her own. She has become the bride of Christ. This means she cannot do with her body what she once did.
Paul says: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Now, she is to present her body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). This is not a one-time act at salvation; it is a daily offering, just like a marriage covenant is not just the wedding day but the life lived afterwards. In marriage, you say with your vows, “My body is yours, I will not deny you.” In the same way, when you belong to Christ, your body is His.
So when her body demands that she visit her old boyfriend, she says no. She disciplines her body, refusing to gratify the old craving. That is mortifying the deeds of the flesh. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
- If you once stole and every time you saw sneakers you could not resist taking them, mortifying the flesh means you now see them, but you do not steal. In fact, you don’t just walk away, you do the opposite, you work and give. Paul says, “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:28)
- If your old life was dominated by anger, and your first instinct is to lash out, mortifying the flesh means you hold your tongue, pray for grace, and let the Spirit grow self-control in you (Galatians 5:22-23).
- If bitterness rises when someone wrongs you, mortifying the flesh is choosing forgiveness, even though the flesh demands revenge (Colossians 3:13).
Day after day, Potiphar’s wife tried to lure Joseph into bed. His flesh could have justified it, but Joseph said, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). This is what mortifying the flesh in reality looks like, it is fleeing all appearances of evil!
After forty days of fasting and praying in the wilderness, Jesus Christ was hungry, as any man would be. His flesh longed for bread, yet He had the presence of mind to resist the devil when the temptation came. Matthew 4:4 says “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” That was mortifying the flesh.
Killing the Flesh at the Root
Every temptation begins with a thought. So if you would kill the desires of the flesh, you must first deal with the thoughts of the flesh. And if you will bring the thoughts of the flesh into submission, you must fill yourself with the Word of God. Only then will there be a ready answer for every fleshly thought that rises up in your heart.
Jesus Christ showed us in practice how to mortify the deeds of the flesh: you cannot kill the flesh without subduing it through the power of the Word of God. When the flesh speaks to you, you don’t romance it or negotiate with it, you silence it with God’s Word. It is written.
If you have ever had a conversation with me, you’d know that one of my favorite scriptures is 2 Corinthians 10:5: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
If you haven’t filled yourself with God’s Word, how will you know which thoughts to take captive? The flesh will often make a thought appear harmless on the surface, yet in truth it is poisonous to your soul.
Filling yourself with God’s Word is like giving the Holy Spirit ammunition. Yes, He already knows all truth; He is the Spirit of God. But I like to think of it this way: when I read the Bible, I am saying to Him, “Take these words and hide them in my heart.”
David said: Psalm 119:11: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
So when I read the Word, I am really saying, “Lord, hide these words in my heart. I give You permission to remind me of them. Cause them to bring healing, restoration, wholeness, and life.” In this way, you are supplying Him with the very words He will remind you of, just as Jesus promised in John 14:26: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
So do not despise the daily fight against the flesh. Each ‘no’ you say in obedience, each scripture you store in your heart, is the Spirit at work bringing you into life. This is how we walk as children of God!
Prayer
Lord, I thank You for the gift of Your Spirit within me. Teach me to daily yield myself to You. Hide Your Word deep in my heart, and when temptation comes, remind me of the truth that sets me free. Break every desire of the flesh that wars against my soul. Help me to honor You with my body, my thoughts, and my actions. Strengthen me to walk in the Spirit, and let my life bring glory to You. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.
