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[Wisdom]

Ro 1:3

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

What does "according to the flesh" mean in the book of Romans?

[jimwalton]

The phrase "according to the flesh" means different things in Romans, depending on the context. Here in Romans 1.3 it is speaking of Jesus's physical body in space-time history—His human body with its human limitations. Here in Rom. 1.3, Paul is saying that Jesus was physically, biologically, genealogically, historically descended from David, a point made in both Gospel genealogies (Matthew 1 and Luke 3). He is showing us the dual nature of Jesus, fully man (v. 3) but also fully God (v. 4).

[Wisdom]

Context is the key, brother. That's what I am trying to point out. We can go to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, however, we must first establish the truth within the context we are in first. And this means within the surrounding verses, within the chapter, and within the book.

So far, nobody has been able to do this. And much of the Christian world can't either. It's all "what I think the text means," rather than "what does the text say."

[jimwalton]

I don't understand your comment at all. I said the phrase "according to the flesh" means different things in Romans, so we have to look at the context to see what it means here in Rom. 1.3. Then I said that according to the context, here is what it means. Your response, then, was "Context is the key," and we have to pay attention to the context—which is what I did. Then you followed with "nobody has been able to do this." ?????? Color me confused.

• In Rom. 1.3, "flesh" means Jesus's physical body in space-time history. His earthly life.
• In Rom. 2.28, "flesh" means our physical bodies, in this case where physical circumcision happens.
• In Rom. 3.20, "flesh" is an indicator of humanity: all persons.
• In Rom. 4.1, "flesh" means "humanly speaking." The "flesh" is his human-oriented works as opposed to God's grace.
• In Rom. 6.19, "flesh" means everyday life, human existence.
• in Rom. 7.5 & 18, "flesh" means that part of us susceptible to sinful passions—the sin nature.
• In Rom. 8, the 13 occurrences of "flesh" mean the sin nature.
• In Rom. 9.3, "flesh" means Paul's fellow Jews.
• In Rom. 9.5, "flesh" means the physical line of ancestry from the patriarchs to Jesus.
• In Rom. 9.8, "flesh" means a physical line of descent in contrast to a spiritual birth available to all who come to Jesus.
• In Rom. 11.14, "flesh" means Paul's fellow Jews
• In Rom. 13.14, "flesh" means that part of us susceptible to sinful passions—the sin nature.

So possibly, brother, you can clarify what you're talking about and how I have failed to address your question.