For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
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Ambrosiaster
AD 400
Although he is in the flesh Paul denies that he is “living in the flesh,” even though he is in the body. In this passage “living in the flesh” means following something which is forbidden by the law. Therefore “living in the flesh” can be understood in many different ways. For every unbeliever is in the flesh, i.e., is carnal. A Christian living under the law is in the flesh. Anyone who puts his trust in men is in the flesh. Anyone who does not properly understand Christ is in the flesh. If a Christian leads an extravagant life he is in the flesh. Nevertheless, in this passage we should understand “being in the flesh” as meaning that before we believed we were under the power of the flesh. For then we lived under the flesh, i.e., following our carnal desires we were subject to wickedness and sin. For the mind of the flesh is not to understand spiritual things, e.g., that a virgin might conceive without intercourse with a man, that a man may be born again of water and the Spirit, and that a soul delivered from the bondage of the flesh may rise again in it. Anyone who doubts these things is in the flesh. It is clear that whoever does not believe acts under sin and is led by his captivity to indulge in wickedness and to bear fruit worthy of the second death. When such a person sins, death makes a profit. This discussion concerns the Jews and all those who say they are Christians yet still want to live under the law. Its purpose is to teach them that they are carnal so that they will abandon the law. Nevertheless, Paul says that the sins which rule over those who commit them in the flesh are revealed by the law; they are not caused by the law. For the law is the yardstick of sin, not its cause, and it makes sinners guilty. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.
