<p>5:24 <i>And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh</i>- Who in their own strength could say they have done this? Only those who have identified with Christ in baptism, so that with Paul they can say &quot;I have been crucified with Christ&quot; (2:20). The same language is used about our identity with Christ in baptism in Romans 6. This is only true by status; and we are to really believe the status that we have &quot;in Christ&quot;.</p><p><i>With the passions and the lusts of it</i>- In the same way as Jesus crucified the Law (Col. 2:14) by His death on the cross, so the early church should crucify the Law and the passions it generated by its specific denial of so many fleshly desires: &ldquo;They that are Christ&rsquo;s have crucified the flesh with the affections (AV mg. &ldquo;passions&rdquo;) and lusts&rdquo;. This seems to connect with Rom. 7:5: &ldquo;When we were in the flesh the motions (same Greek word, &lsquo;affections&rsquo; as in Gal. 5:24) of sins, which were by the Law, did work in our members&rdquo;. &ldquo;When we were in the flesh&rdquo; seems to refer to &lsquo;While we were under the Law&rsquo;. For Paul implies he is no longer &lsquo;in the flesh&rsquo;, which he was if &lsquo;the flesh&rsquo; only refers to human nature. The end of the law means that passions and lusts are ended with it- if we have identified with Him who ended the law. This would be further encouragement to read the description of the passionate struggle between fleshly lusts and righteousness in :17 as speaking of how things were with the Galatians, rather than how things have to be for all believers.</p>