“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” – Galatians 5:24

This verse can make your head spin a little if you stop and think about it. I mean—Paul literally says the flesh has been crucified. But if that’s the case, why is he still talking about the flesh waging war against the Spirit earlier in the same chapter?

Didn’t we already bury that thing?

Is the Flesh Gone or What?

Here’s the tension:

• In Romans 6, Paul says “our old self was crucified”—that’s clear.
• In Galatians 2:20, he says “I have been crucified with Christ”—so that’s passive, something done to us. So that still makes sense.
• But here in Galatians 5:24, it’s flipped—we are the ones doing the crucifying.

So what’s going on?

Let’s Get a Bit Greek-y

Here’s the actual Greek phrase from Galatians 5:24:

οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh…”

The key word is ἐσταύρωσαν (estaurōsan).
It means “they crucified” — and here’s the important part:

Feature	Detail
Tense	Aorist (past, completed)
Voice	Active (we did it)
Mood	Indicative (statement of fact)

So this isn’t something God did to us.
This is something we did, once and for all.
It’s not passive — it’s personal.

Compare That with Galatians 2:20

Here’s a side-by-side for you:

Feature	Gal 2:20	Gal 5:24
Greek Verb	συνεσταύρωμαι (have been crucified)	ἐσταύρωσαν (they crucified)
Voice	Passive	Active
Who did it?	Christ did it to us	We did it to our flesh
Focus	Union with Christ	Disassociation from sinful desires
Meaning	Identity	Response

So Gal 2:20 is about our identity — who we are in Christ.
Gal 5:24 is about our response — what we’ve done because we’re in Christ.

So Is This About Trying Harder?

Not quite.

Crucifying the flesh doesn’t mean you kill it through effort. It means you’ve made a decisive break. You said no to letting the flesh run your life anymore. It’s like saying, “You don’t get the keys anymore.”

You’re not feeding it,
You’re not negotiating with it,
You’re not giving it weekend visitation rights,
You’re treating it like it’s dead — because in Christ, it is.

Similar Verses Where We Do the Killing

This isn’t just a one-time Paul thing. Check this out:

🔹 Romans 8:13

“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Greek: θανατοῦτε = you put to death (present active)
It’s continual — and it’s your move, empowered by the Spirit.

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🔹 Colossians 3:5

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…”
Greek: νεκρώσατε = mortify, kill it (aorist active imperative)
This one’s a command. No polite nudging here. It’s war language.

So What’s the Takeaway?

Galatians 5:24 isn’t talking about what Christ did to your spirit — it’s about what you’ve decided to do with your old life. It’s your declaration that sin no longer owns you.

You crucified the flesh — its passions, desires, the whole mess.

It’s not about striving harder, it’s about refusing to live from something that’s already dead.