Understanding Galatians 5:24: Crucified to Sin

Living in Freedom, Not Legalism

Paul wrote to the Galatians because some teachers, called Judaizers, were telling Gentile believers they had to follow Jewish laws like circumcision to be truly saved.

These teachers said faith in Christ wasn’t enough - you also had to obey the Old Testament law. Paul strongly opposed this, because it made grace useless and turned the gospel into a checklist. He argued that we are made right with God not by keeping rules, but by faith in Christ, as he says in Galatians 2:16: 'a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.'

So when Paul says in Galatians 5:24 that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh, he’s showing that real change comes not from rule-following, but from dying to our old way of living and letting the Spirit lead.

Crucified with Christ: What It Means to Die to the Flesh

When Paul says those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh, he’s not talking about something we do by sheer willpower, but about a spiritual reality we enter into by being united with Jesus in His death and resurrection.

In Galatians 2:20, Paul says, 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.' This means the old self - the person ruled by sin and selfish desires - was put to death when Christ died, and we were spiritually joined to that moment. The 'flesh' here doesn’t mean the body, but our natural human tendency to live for ourselves, apart from God. Paul contrasts this with living by the Spirit, who now leads those who belong to Christ. This is not a future goal but a present status: we have already died to the power of sin.

The flesh and the Spirit are in constant conflict, as Paul explains in Galatians 5:16-17: 'Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.' But the good news is that those who belong to Christ have already taken a decisive stand against the flesh by being united to His cross. This doesn’t mean we never struggle, but that the flesh no longer has authority over us.

So this verse isn’t a command to try harder, but a declaration of what’s already true for believers. It sets the foundation for Paul’s next point: if we live by the Spirit, we should also keep in step with the Spirit.

Living Out the Death to Sin

Those who belong to Christ have already crucified the flesh, so now we are called to live as people set free from its power.

The 'passions and desires' Paul talks about include things like sexual immorality, greed, envy, and selfish ambition - what he lists in Galatians 5:19-21 as 'the works of the flesh,' which show life without God’s Spirit. These actions are heart patterns opposed to God, and believers have already turned from them at the cross.

This truth would have challenged the Galatians because some thought adding rules could control sin, but Paul says real change comes from dying to the flesh through faith, not striving harder - pointing us back to the freedom and power of the gospel.

United with Christ in Death and Life: The Bigger Story of Freedom

Galatians 5:24 is not only about personal willpower. It reflects the larger biblical story of dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ, a theme Paul unfolds across his letters.

Romans 6:6 says, 'we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.' This means our union with Christ’s death is not symbolic - it’s the moment sin’s grip on us was broken. When Christ died once and for all, our old way of living was buried with Him.

Colossians 3:5 adds, 'put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.' This isn’t a call to self-effort, but a command based on what’s already true: we have died with Christ, so we now live in a new realm. The desires of the flesh still whisper, but they no longer reign. The gospel forgives us and reorients our identity, so we no longer live as slaves but walk in newness of life.

This truth transforms everyday life: when we’re tempted, we remember we’re not who we used to be. In church, it means we don’t shame others for struggling, but remind each other of the cross where the flesh was crucified. And in our communities, it frees us to live with integrity, not out of fear of rules, but because we belong to Christ - pointing us ahead to the final victory over sin that the Spirit is even now bringing to life in us.

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