Who are the two people compared in Romans 8:5?
Romans 8:5 contrasts the lost individual, who is after the flesh or old Adam and minds fleshly things, with the saved individual, the true Christian, who is after the Spirit and minds the things of the Spirit. This is the contrast between the lost and the saved.
Les teaches that in Romans 8:5 Paul makes a comparison between the lost individual and the saved individual, or the true Christian. The lost person is after the flesh, which is the same as sin and old Adam; they mind the things of old Adam. Because they are in spiritual darkness and blinded by the god of this world, they cannot believe and naturally care only for the things of this world, having fleshly appetites, materialism, and no concept of the Spirit. The saved person, by contrast, lives after the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and minds the things of the Spirit. This change in desire and lifestyle is the whole point of salvation, as the things once hated are now loved and the things once loved are now hated.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
More Questions
What comparison does Paul make in Romans 8:5?
In Romans 8:5 Paul again makes a comparison between the lost individual and the saved individual—the true Christian—contrasting those who are after the flesh with those who are after the Spirit.
What does Paul mean by the word "flesh" in Romans 8:5?
The word "flesh" in Romans 8:5 is the same word as sin and refers to old Adam, so "they who are after the flesh" means they who are after the old Adam and therefore mind the things of old Adam.
Who are the people who are 'after the Spirit' in Romans 8:5?
Those who are after the Spirit are those who now live according to the Holy Spirit, and they set their minds on the things of the Spirit.