What does it mean that we regard no one according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16)?

Answer

Before the apostle Paul encountered Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, he viewed himself, others, and even Christ Himself from a human viewpoint. Coming to know Christ personally changed the apostle’s entire outlook: “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:16–17, ESV).

The statement, “We regard no one according to the flesh,” in 2 Corinthians 5:16 refers to Paul’s rejection of evaluating people based on human, worldly standards or unspiritual categories. The noun “ flesh” ( sarx in Greek) in this context does not concern the physical existence, but rather a human-centered, self-regarding, worldly way of thinking and judging. The New Living Translation helps illuminate: “So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!”

Paul’s new perspective was a result of knowing Christ—His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, which inaugurated a new age of salvation for humanity (see 2 Corinthians 6:2). Now that he understood the implications of Christ’s redemptive work, Paul regarded everyone differently. He no longer measured others based on human standards (see Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11). He was committed to evaluating people in light of eternity, salvation, and as part of the new creation (see Galatians 2:20). He would see people from God’s vantage point and not “judge according to the flesh” (John 8:15, ESV) or by “outward appearance” (1 Samuel 16:7; see also Isaiah 11:3; John 7:24).

We regard no one according to the flesh when we see fellow believers in relation to their standing with Jesus Christ. We stop condemning and judging our brothers and sisters in the Lord (Romans 14:8–12), remembering that God’s judgment of sin condemns us all equally, and that no one is better than another (Romans 3:9–10). We regard no one according to the flesh when we lay aside our preconceived ideas and prejudices, even of unsaved people, remembering that Jesus loves them, died for them, and wants them to be saved. At one time, we were all lost and dead in our sins, and in need of reconciliation from God (see Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; 5:8; Ephesians 2:1–5; 1 Timothy 1:15; 2:3–4; 2 Peter 3:9).

Likewise, Paul asserts that knowing Christ changes how believers see themselves: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT). Because we were “buried with [Christ] through baptism into death,” we now walk in newness of life just as Jesus was raised from the dead (Romans 6:4).

Paul extends this principle of regarding no one according to the flesh to Christ Himself. He states that he once knew Christ “according to the flesh” but that now he no longer does. Paul was not saying that he had disregarded the historical Jesus; rather, he no longer evaluated Christ or anyone else based on worldly criteria. He was likely referring to his pre-conversion days when he violently opposed the name of Jesus and persecuted followers of Christ to the point of imprisonment and death (see Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–5; 22:4–5; 26:9–11; Galatians 1:13–14; 1 Corinthians 15:9; 1 Timothy 1:13). Before his salvation experience, Paul had looked at Jesus through an unspiritual lens and judged Him inaccurately.

Once we accept Jesus as Savior and underst and that His death on the cross took the place of ours, then all our previous judgments and convictions of others must be abandoned. We must view all people through a Christ-centered lens, recognizing the new reality that God has established through Christ’s redemptive work. We agree with Paul, saying, “From now on . . . we regard no one according to the flesh.”