The Difference between the Old Man and the Flesh Zac Poonen

The land of Canaan, in the book of Joshua, is not a picture of heaven (as some believers sing in their hymns) because there are no giants to be killed in heaven! Canaan is actually a description of the Spirit-filled life of victory, where the giants of sin - the lusts in our flesh - are crucified. All the giants were not killed in a moment. They were killed one by one.

The people of Israel had to go across two bits of water on their journey to Canaan. One was the Red Sea and the other was the River Jordan. Both these speak of death. We see in 1 Corinthians 10 that going into the Red Sea is a picture of water-baptism. The River Jordan is a picture of another kind of death. This was where John the Baptist baptised Jesus 1500 years later.

The Bible teaches that our old self was crucified by God on the cross (Rom.6:6). We cannot crucify our old man. The old man (the mind that wants to sin) was crucified with Christ on the cross. It was God who did that. But there is something else that we have to crucify – our flesh (the storehouse of desires). Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh with its lusts and its affections.”

The flesh is different from the old man. The flesh with its lusts is like a gang of robbers that tries to come into our heart to pollute us. The old man is like an unfaithful servant who lives inside our heart and opens the door every time these robbers come to steal. Which of the two does God kill? He kills the servant. The gang of robbers is still hale and hearty. This is why we are all tempted in exactly the same way after we are converted as we were, before we were converted. That proves that the robbers are still alive. They still want to enter our heart - even after we are converted. But something else has died within us - the servant who opened the door for these thieves (the old man). God killed him and put a new servant within us when we were born again – a servant who does not want to open the door for the thieves. When temptation comes now to us, the new servant says, “No.” Then how do believers fall into sin? Because they don’t feed the new servant well! Then he is not strong enough to keep the door shut against the robbers. And the robbers push their way in. That’s how a believer sins.

But there is a vast difference between a believer sinning and an unbeliever sinning - because the believer doesn’t want to sin and the unbeliever wants to sin. In fact that’s the test of whether you are really born again or not. The proof of being born again is not whether you sin or not, but whether you want to sin. If you still want to sin, I would say you are not converted. When people come asking for water-baptism, I ask them one question, “Do you want to sin any more - even once?” I don’t ask them, “Will you sin?”, because nobody can say they will not sin. It is the ‘want to’ that is the old man.

These are the two deaths the New Testament speaks of. Both of these are pictured beautifully in the history of Israel. The army of Pharaoh was buried in one moment under the Red Sea. That’s a picture of the old man. Who did that? God. The old man was crucified on the cross by God. Then the Israelites crossed Jordan, which speaks of another death. We accept our co-crucifixion with Christ to our lusts. Those who are Christ’s take this attitude towards their lusts. The lusts are still there and the giants are still ruling the land. But Joshua and the Israelites had determined to kill them one by one. It is we who have to kill our lusts - one by one – as we are tempted. We must put to death the deeds of the body ourselves – by the power the Spirit gives us (Rom.8:13). This is very different from the Egyptian army being buried in a moment by God.

Scripture is so exact when it comes to its application in the New Testament. If we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He will reveal these hidden things to us. The Bible is an exciting book. It’s so perfect and exact in its Old Testament typology of new covenant life. Those godly men in the Old Testament did not understand all this then, but we can understand what these events typified today. The land of Canaan symbolizes our body that has been ruled by the giants of many lusts for many years. But we have taken an attitude towards those giants that says, “I am going to consider myself dead to sin.” Jesus said we have to take up the cross every day. That’s not killing the old man. The old man has already been crucified. To take up the cross is to put our self-will (which is what the Bible calls our “flesh”) to death daily, in the power of the Spirit.

If you take a relaxed attitude towards sin in your life, you can put on the old man once again (Eph.4:22). A person who “continues to live according to the flesh” will die spiritually – even if he was alive once (Romans 8:13, which is written to believers, is crystal clear on this).

Quote from Zac Poonan : "Canaan is actually a description of the Spirit-filled life of victory, where the giants of sin - the lusts in our flesh - are crucified. All the giants were not killed in a moment. They were killed one by one."

No. Canaan signifies spiritual warfare for those who have crucified the lusts of the flesh in order for them to enter in, by the baptism of the Spirit (Jordan), whereby they are able to withstand the enemy, the demonic powers who are covenanted with and therefore procuring of the cursing of, the inhabitants of Canaan, which produces spiritual death.

In order to destroy them out of the land, a conquest they could not achieve if they were forever battling sin within themselves, those who are in a death covenant with Christ can 'keep all the commandments which I command thee this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land'.

There is no other way to have mastery, than implicit obedience, through not touching any thing forbidden by God. All sin is an abomination to God.

In Joshua 7:4, the curse did come upon the camp, when the children of Israel took of the 'devoted thing' v 10-12 and they were unable to stand before their enemies because they shared in the curse. They lost the power and failed. No-one has said that sin is never a possibilty.

They had fallen and had to be restored by re-sanctification. This was not however, to be accepted as the normal state of affairs - sin, repent, sin repent.

If a man does not want to sin, then why does he do it? Is the power of God unable to deliver him from all temptations? Is the power of God unable to keep him from falling?

A man who is sanctified will meet many enemies in the land of Canaan who say that it is not possible to be delivered from sin in this life, being still bound and serving Satan because they do not know that any sin at all whether intentional or not still brings on the curse. The curse is only broken when they have been truly crucified with Christ and are entirely devoted to obedience to Him, and trusting that the power of the resurrection, is manifest in their lives 'now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness'.

Sree wrote : "Our lust as pointed by the scripture is the major giant in spiritual warfare".

A man does not have the strength for spiritual warfare if he is still fighting his flesh, but once the believer is truly in Christ by entering His rest, '(they) have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.' Gal 5:24.

The flesh must remain under the knife as it were, through the power of God and the consent of the man to remain crucified with Christ, but it is to be a done deed if we are to walk in the Spirit where 'ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh' Gal 5:16.

Colin wrote : "This means if you belong to Christ that the flesh with the affections and lusts are crucified as they were crucified with Christ on the cross 2000 years ago."

The old man is crucified but the flesh is crucified when we believe that it is not just our sinful nature that must go to the cross, or in fact did 2,000 years ago, the part of us that Satan had control over when we fell into sin, or are born with as many think, but the natural part of man's flesh with it's God given instincts. We are to have Christ on the throne alone, and be His willing slave. This means that we count it all loss what is considered important in life, like family and reputation, which will become idols if the flesh is not crucified.

Sree wrote : "Unscriptural assumption. James 1-14 clearly says how sin is conceived in us leading to Spiritual death.
James 1-14:-each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by HIS OWN LUST. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth DEATH.

Our lust as pointed by the scripture is the major giant in spiritual warfare and not some external demonic powers. Satan is powerless against believers in producing Spiritual death as Christ made him powerless on the cross (Hebrews 2). He can only cause the physical death that too when God permits it to happen. Satan still has power over the entire world system, he attracts us by the world that is still under his control. But it is our lust for the things of the world hidden in our flesh that actually carries us away to be tempted."

Sorry, I did realise later that I had not answered you properly.

Indeed it is our own lust that entices us but Satan knows our weaknesses and will bring forth temptations. He is powerless only with those who have crucified the flesh as they no longer sin, but not with those who are trying to do that in their own power - gradual sanctification. With those, he deceives them to think that they are already in Christ. Sin causes spiritual death or separation between God and us, no matter what we know of the scriptures or have a belief in the existence of Christ or have even come to Him for forgiveness. Christ makes us holy but only if we have turned completely from sin. If we believe that we cannot be free from it, then it retains its power.

James is describing the process that leads to sin in those whose flesh is not crucified. They are tempted but have problems resisting. They think that so long as the act is not committed then they have not sinned but Jesus said that any thought which is against the commandments is sin.

"If Galatians 5:24 talks about one time crucifixion then what is this IF condition that we need to walk in Spirit? There is no condition for a completed event. It is like saying you are born If you eat everyday. This sentence makes no sense similar to your post.

This means the crucifixion of Flesh is an everyday task that can happen only when we walk with the spirit, which is also a everyday task. This is like saying you will live as long as you breath. This makes sense. This is what I have stated in my post. Carrying the Cross and Crucifixion of Flesh is an everyday task. Just like how living life is an everyday tasks."

Crucifixion of the flesh is a moment by moment continuation of a past event on the cross, not by our own strength but by the Spirit. We always have the choice whether to walk according to the Spirit or revert to flesh, but unless we have actually been delivered from the power of sin through Spirit baptism, we will find ourselves falling many times a day and thinking that it is by our will that we must crucify the flesh. This is not Biblical Christianity. Sanctification is by faith.

It is not always easy to explain how entire sanctification works. Apparent paradoxes and inconsistencies are the result of man using his mind instead of having spiritual revelation.