Flesh.

Baker’s Bible Encyclopedia says regarding flesh: “In the Old Testament the term is commonly used to designate the material stuff of the body, whether of men (Gen 40:19) or of animals (Lev 6:27)…Perhaps the most distinctive use of “flesh” in the OT is found in those passages where it designates human weakness and frailty over against God. “My spirit shall not abide in man forever, he is flesh” (Gen 6:3). In Psalm 78:39, God attributes sin to the fact that men are but flesh. In 2 Chronicles 32:8 the arm of flesh of the king of Assyria (for example his weakness) is contrasted with the all-powerful God.  The one who puts trust in God need not fear what “flesh” can do (Ps 56:4), but the one who puts trust in human flesh instead of in God is under a curse (Jer 17:5). In Isaiah 31:3 flesh is contrasted with spirit as weakness is with strength…However, nowhere in the OT is flesh viewed as sinful. Flesh is conceived as being created by God of the dust of the earth (Gen 2:7), and, as God’s creation, it is good. In the New Testament…flesh in such references is not sinful, but it is corruptible and cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50). Jesus’ body was also a body of flesh (Col 1:22)….Flesh as the Body Itself…“He who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her. For, as it is written, ‘The two shall become one flesh’ ” (1 Cor 6:16)…Flesh as Person with Reference to Origin…In this usage the word may refer to the person’s human relationship, the physical origin and the natural ties that bind that one to other humans. Paul speaks of his kinsmen “according to the flesh,” his fellow Jews (Rom 9:3 kjv), and even uses “my flesh” (11:14 kjv) as a synonym for these kinsmen. The “children of the flesh” (9:8) are those born by natural generation in contrast to those born as a result of divine intervention. Christ was descended from David according to the flesh (1:3). The phrase does not designate merely the source of his bodily life, but of his entire human existence including both his body and his human spirit…Flesh as Human Existence. Another use of “flesh” simply designates human existence. As long as a person lives in the body, that one is “in the flesh.” Thus Paul can speak of the life which he lives “in the flesh” as lived by faith in the Son of God (Gal 2:20). Referring to Jesus’ earthly ministry, Paul says that he abolished “in the flesh” the enmity between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:15). Peter has the same meaning when he speaks of Jesus having been put to death “in the flesh” (1 Pet 3:18). So also John: “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” (1 Jn 4:2). This usage is reflected most notably in the apostle John saying, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14)…Flesh as Human Existence in Terms of Outward Appearance and Conditions. “Flesh” also extends beyond man in his bodily life to include other factors crucial to human existence. Thus, “confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3–6) does not mean confidence in the body, but confidence in the whole complex of the outward realm of human existence. It includes Paul’s Jewish ancestry, his strict religious training, his zeal, and his prominence in Jewish religious circles…This usage illuminates an otherwise difficult saying, “Henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2 Cor 5:16 kjv). The rsv correctly renders the phrase, “from a human point of view.” The verse does not mean that Paul had heard and seen Jesus in Jerusalem at some previous time and had gained some acquaintance with Christ “after the flesh.” “After the flesh” modifies the verb “to know,” not the noun “Christ.” Before his conversion, Paul knew all people “after the flesh”; that is, he judged them by worldly, human standards. To know Christ “after the flesh” means to look at him through merely human eyes. As a Jew, Paul had felt that Jesus was a false, deluded messianic pretender. According to the Jewish understanding, the Messiah was to reign over the earth as Davidic king, save his people Israel, and punish the hated Gentiles. Now Paul has surrendered this false human view and knows Christ as he really is—the incarnate Son of God, the Savior of all who believe. Now as a Christian, Paul no longer judges others according to the flesh. He no longer thinks of the Gentiles as dogs in the usual Jewish way. He sees both Jews and Greeks as beloved of God, as people for whom Christ died…Flesh as Fallen Human Nature..When Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 15:50), he means, not that humanness cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but that human fallenness cannot; as the next clause shows, “neither doth corruption inherit incorruption” (kjv). The weak, fallen, corruptible body cannot inherit the kingdom of God; there must be a change; the “corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:52 kjv). This is not the salvation of the soul or spirit, but the exchange of one kind of body for another that is suited to the final glorious kingdom of God…When Peter confessed the messiahship of Jesus, Jesus replied, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 16:17). The meaning of this verse is obvious. This knowledge of Jesus’ messiahship was not a human deduction; it could be achieved only by divine revelation...Flesh as Fallen Sinfulness. There remains a group of ethical references that are distinctly Pauline. The most important feature of this usage is that man is seen not only as fallen and weak before God, but as fallen and sinful. Flesh is contrasted with Spirit—the Holy Spirit, not man’s spirit, and without the aid of the Spirit one cannot please God. The most vivid passage is the first part of Romans 8, where Paul sharply contrasts those who are “in the flesh” with those who are “in the Spirit.” To be “in the Spirit” in this sense does not mean to be in a state of ecstasy, but to be living one’s life in that spiritual realm which is controlled by the Spirit of God. Those who are “in the flesh,” that is, unregenerate, cannot please God: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (vs 7 & 8) The translation “carnal mind” is unfortunate, for “carnal” in our idiom means to be surrendered to bodily appetites, especially to the sexual. The Greek is “the mind of the flesh.” Then Paul says, “But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you” (v 9). There are two contrasting and mutually exclusive realms: “in the flesh” and “in the Spirit.” To be “in the Spirit” means to be indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit, that is, to be a regenerate person…the unregenerate heart cannot please God by loving and serving him as God requires. Thus the Law was unable to make mankind truly righteous, because the flesh is weak (Rom 8:2). To live after the flesh is death; to live after the Spirit is life (v 6). Elsewhere Paul says, “For I know that in me [i.e., in my flesh] dwelleth no good thing” (v 18 kjv). Flesh here cannot be the physical flesh, for the body of flesh is the temple of the Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) and a member of Christ (v 15) and is to be the means of glorifying God (v 20). Paul means that in his unregenerate nature, there dwells none of the goodness that God demands.Works of the Flesh vs. Fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:19–23 Paul contrasts the life in the flesh and the life in the Spirit. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (vv 19–21 kjv). The important thing to note about this list is that while some of these are sins of bodily and sexual appetite, others are religious sins—idolatry, witchcraft—and several are sins “of the spirit,” that is, of the disposition—hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife. The words “seditions” and “heresies” refer not to theological heresies but to a factious, divisive spirit. This proves conclusively that for Paul the “flesh” is not synonymous with the body but includes the whole person, with all the inner attitudes and disposition…On the other hand, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and selfcontrol (vv 22, 23). These are mostly characteristics of the inner self; “against such there is no law” (v 23); that is, when one is characterized by such traits as these, there is no need for an external law to indicate what is right and wrong…Victory over the Flesh. While a struggle remains in the Christian between the Spirit and the flesh, Paul knows of a way of victory for the spirit. The flesh of the body comes within the sphere of sanctification (1 Thes 5:23), but the flesh as the unregenerate human nature can only be put to death…This is called the tension between the indicative and the imperative. Because certain things have happened in Christ (indicative), certain inevitable results should accrue (imperative). In Paul’s view, the flesh has already been put to death in the death of Christ. Those who belong to Christ have already crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24). Paul elsewhere says, “I have been crucified with Christ” (2:20) and “our old self was crucified with him” (Rom 6:6). Such references make it clear that “flesh” and the “self” are in some ways to be identified. This identity is further supported in the teaching about crucifixion, for Paul means the same thing by the crucifixion of the flesh that he means when he says, “How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? We were baptized into his death. We are buried with him by baptism into death” (vv 1–3). It is I myself who have died with Christ.  The same idea is expressed in a different idiom in Colossians 3:9. “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man [the old nature of the flesh] with his deeds, and have put on the new man” [the regenerate nature]. The “old man” denotes the sinful, unconverted being. This is another way of saying that the old self has been crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6). Paul views this as something that has already happened when one comes to faith in Christ.  This crucifixion and death of the flesh does not, however, work automatically. It is an event that must be appropriated by faith. This involves two aspects. First, believers are to recognize that the flesh has been crucified with Christ. “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:11 kjv). One cannot consider the self dead with Christ unto sin unless that person has actually died and been crucified with Christ; but because this has already happened at the moment of saving faith, it can be put into daily practice. Those who have died with Christ are to “put to death the deeds of the body” (8:13 kjv). “Body” is here used as a vehicle for the works of the “flesh”—the sensual life of the unregenerate nature. Those who have been brought from death into life are to yield their members to God as instruments of righteousness (6:13). One who has died with Christ is to “mortify” (kjv), that is, put to death what is earthly—fornication, uncleanness, covetousness (Col 3:5). Having already put off the old nature and put on the new, the believer is to put on compassion, kindness, lowliness, and the like (v 12).  Victory over the flesh is sometimes described as walking in the Spirit. “Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16; Rom 8:4)  Walking in the Spirit means to live each monment under the control of the Holy Spirit.

Leviticus 17:11 (NIV) For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

That is a lot to read and I thank you for persevering.  The point?   Somebody asked me why God looked with favor on Abel’s offering and disfavor on Cain’s offering.  The Bible says that Cain brought “some” of his crops, Abel brought the “first and the fat portions of his herd”.

I believe that God showed in the garden what was required to atone for, and what was an acceptable sacrifice for man by killing an animal and providing skins, for covering, to Adam and Eve. (see Lev 17:11, above).  Abel was consistent and remembered what his father had told him, Cain appears lackadaisical regarding the quality and type of offering he gave.

Another interesting item, I believe the sacrificial system also was a sign and a process through which God taught the Israelites about the future, in the New Testament, relationship between Spirit and flesh.  By sacrificing the various offerings the participant was learning a valuable lesson.  Only by “putting off” of the flesh could a person feed his spiritual side.  The flesh is corruptible and passing away, but the spiritual is eternal.

John 6:51 (NIV)

⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”