Direct Answer
If Romans 8 contrasts flesh with the Holy Spirit, the emphasis is on God’s Spirit as the power and focus of Christian life. If it contrasts flesh with the human spirit, then Paul may be saying that God intends believers to live from the renewed or higher part of the person rather than from the flesh.
Support from Transcript
- Bercot notes that the New American Standard capitalizes Spirit: “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” - He says the translators “interpreted Paul to be contrasting the flesh with the Holy Spirit, and they may be correct.” - He then adds that Paul “may have been talking about our human spirit contrasting our flesh to our spirit.” - He stresses that “if that’s what Paul meant, then the message of Romans is considerably different than what the Reformers preached.” - The passage itself contrasts “the mind set on the flesh” with “the mind set on the Spirit,” resulting in “death” versus “life and peace.”
Discussion Follow-ups
The transcript does not fully develop the theological consequences of each reading, but it clearly says the difference is significant, not trivial.