What does σάρξ (sárx) mean in the Bible?
Sarx means flesh, and its New Testament range must be handled carefully. It can name embodied human existence, physical descent, human weakness, or fallen human nature in opposition to the Spirit.
Greek · G4561
σάρξ
Flesh
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σάρξ G4561
Pronunciation sárx
What does σάρξ (sárx) mean in the Bible?
Sarx means flesh, and its New Testament range must be handled carefully. It can name embodied human existence, physical descent, human weakness, or fallen human nature in opposition to the Spirit.
Reader summary
Full entry for σάρξ (G4561) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4561?
The BSB source-word alignment has 147 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include flesh (55), [the] flesh (21), . . . (13), body (10), - (7).
Where does σάρξ (sárx) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 16:17. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (26), Galatians (18), John (13), 1 Corinthians (11).
Are there verse guides for σάρξ (sárx)?
This entry includes 5 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Sarx means flesh, and its New Testament range must be handled carefully. It can name embodied human existence, physical descent, human weakness, or fallen human nature in opposition to the Spirit. John says the Word became flesh, so the word cannot mean that bodies are evil. Jesus also contrasts flesh born of flesh with Spirit-born life. Paul says God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and condemned sin in the flesh, and he describes the flesh craving what is contrary to the Spirit.
Galatians says those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Sarx therefore helps readers distinguish incarnation, humanity, weakness, sin, and Spirit-led life.
How the Bible Uses It
Sarx has a broad range: Christ truly comes in the flesh, human birth remains insufficient for new birth, the Son deals with sin in the flesh, and believers must resist the flesh's desires by the Spirit. Context determines whether the focus is embodiment, human limitation, descent, or sinful inclination.
- John.1.14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Sarx here affirms the real incarnation of the Son, not contempt for human embodiment.
- John.3.6
Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.
Jesus contrasts flesh born of flesh with spirit born of the Spirit. Natural birth cannot produce the new birth.
- Rom.8.3
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,
God sends His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and condemns sin in the flesh. The word is tied to incarnation, sin, and God's saving action.
- Gal.5.17
For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.
The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit. Sarx here names the sinful orientation opposed to Spirit-led life.
- Gal.5.24
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. The word belongs to union with Christ and decisive renunciation of sin.
- 1Tim.3.16
By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
The mystery of godliness includes Christ appearing in the flesh. The word supports confession of the incarnate and vindicated Christ.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It flesh 55× Matthew 19:5, Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:8, Luke 24:39
[the] flesh 21× Romans 1:3, Romans 4:1, Romans 8:4, Romans 8:5
. . . 13× Matthew 24:22, Mark 13:20, John 1:13, Romans 3:20
body 10× Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38, Acts 2:26, Acts 2:31
- 7× 1 Corinthians 15:39, Ephesians 2:3, Revelation 19:18
[the] body 3× Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:11, Philippians 1:22
bodies 2× 2 Corinthians 7:5, Hebrews 9:13
flesh [is] 2× 1 Corinthians 15:39, 1 Peter 1:24
in [the] flesh 2× Galatians 3:3, 1 Peter 4:6
people 2× John 17:2, Acts 2:17
physical 2× Romans 2:28, Colossians 1:22
sinful nature 2× Colossians 2:11, Colossians 2:13
[illness] 1× Galatians 4:14
[in his] body 1× 1 Peter 4:1
[it] 1× Romans 8:12
[of the] flesh 1× Galatians 5:16
[one] 1× 1 Corinthians 1:29
[the] human [descent] 1× Romans 9:5
[their] bodies 1× Jude 1:8
{by} flesh 1× Matthew 16:17
earthly 1× Hebrews 12:9
earthly [life] 1× Hebrews 5:7
external 1× Hebrews 9:10
from the body 1× 1 Peter 3:21
human standards 1× 2 Corinthians 1:17
humanity 1× Luke 3:6
in [His] body 1× 1 Peter 4:1
in [the] body 1× 1 Peter 3:18
life 1× 1 Corinthians 7:28
man 1× Romans 8:3
of [the] flesh 1× 2 Peter 2:18
on earth 1× 1 Peter 4:2
outwardly 1× Galatians 6:12
people {to jealousy} 1× Romans 11:14
person 1× Philemon 1:16
the people 1× 1 Corinthians 10:18
unspiritual 1× Colossians 2:18
with flesh 1× Galatians 1:16
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 16:17 σὰρξ to {by} flesh Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 19:5 σάρκα to flesh Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 19:6 σὰρξ to flesh Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 24:22 σάρξ to . . . Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 26:41 σὰρξ to body Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Mark 10:8 σάρκα to flesh Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Mark 10:8 σάρξ to flesh Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Mark 13:20 σάρξ to . . . Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Mark 14:38 σὰρξ to body Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Luke 3:6 σὰρξ to humanity Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 16:17
Aligned rows 147
Books represented 22
Matthew 5 Mark 4 Luke 2 John 13 Acts 3 Romans 26 1 Corinthians 11 2 Corinthians 11 Galatians 18 Ephesians 9 Philippians 5 Colossians 9 1 Timothy 1 Philemon 1 Hebrews 6 James 1 1 Peter 7 2 Peter 2 1 John 2 2 John 1 Jude 3 Revelation 7
Source forms
σάρκα 37x sarka Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:8, Luke 24:39, John 6:52
σαρκὸς 29x sarkos John 1:13, John 3:6, Romans 6:19, Romans 8:3
σαρκὶ 22x sarki Romans 2:28, Romans 7:25, Romans 8:8, Romans 8:9
σαρκί 17x sarki Romans 7:5, Romans 7:18, Romans 8:3, 2 Corinthians 12:7
σὰρξ 17x sarx Matthew 16:17, Matthew 19:6, Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38
σάρξ 9x sarx Matthew 24:22, Mark 10:8, Mark 13:20, John 3:6
σαρκός 8x sarkos John 17:2, Romans 8:3, 1 Corinthians 5:5, Galatians 5:17
σάρκας 7x sarkas James 5:3, Revelation 17:16, Revelation 19:18
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 39x Romans 2:28, Romans 7:5, Romans 7:18, Romans 7:25
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 37x Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:8, Luke 24:39, John 6:52
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 37x John 1:13, John 3:6, John 17:2, Romans 6:19
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 26x Matthew 16:17, Matthew 19:6, Matthew 24:22, Matthew 26:41
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 7x James 5:3, Revelation 17:16, Revelation 19:18
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural 1x Revelation 19:21
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use this word to teach both the goodness of Christ's incarnation and the seriousness of sinful desire.
- Let context decide whether sarx means human flesh, descent, weakness, or fallen orientation.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that sarx always means the physical body is bad.
- Do not claim that believers can make peace with the flesh's passions and desires.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Colossians 2:11 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σαρκός, sarkos flesh The form nudges the reader to hear flesh as the related sphere in which sins are located or characterized, so the focus stays on what Christ's circumcision removes rather than on flesh as an abstract term. Read verse guide Colossians 2:13 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σαρκὸς sarkos flesh The form contributes to a portrait of former human condition, making the verse sound concrete and personal rather than abstract. Read verse guide John 1:13 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σαρκός, sarkos flesh The form marks flesh as the source or belonging sphere of the will denied in John 1:13. Read verse guide John 1:14 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ sarx flesh The form strengthens the reading that John is making a direct incarnation claim: the Word became flesh and lived among us. Read verse guide Romans 3:20 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ sarx flesh The form contributes to a universal reading of the verse: as a nominative singular with πᾶσα, it points to humanity as a whole under the statement that justification does not come by law works. Read verse guide Evidence Summary
Greek word. In Paul, flesh denotes humanity's fallen nature as opposed to God's Spirit, not mere physical body.
Source Gloss
flesh
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 151 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 16:17 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Matthew 19:5 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
σάρκα sarka
flesh, body
Read verse Matthew 19:6 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Matthew 24:22 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σάρξ· sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Matthew 26:41 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Mark 10:8 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
σάρκα sarka
flesh, body
Read verse Mark 10:8 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σάρξ. sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Mark 13:20 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σάρξ· sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Mark 14:38 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Luke 3:6 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ sarx
flesh, body
Read verse Luke 24:39 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
σάρκα sarka
flesh, body
Read verse sarkov
flesh, body
Read verse sarx
flesh, body
Read verse John 3:6 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σαρκὸς sarkov
flesh, body
Read verse John 3:6 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σάρξ sarx
flesh, body
Read verse John 6:51 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σάρξ sarx
flesh, body
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 6 Aligned forms 147 Case pattern Accusative (44) Number pattern Singular (139)
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 16:17 · Matt 19:6 · Matt 24:22 · Matt 26:41 · Mark 10:8 · Mark 13:20 · Mark 14:38 · Luke 3:6 · John 1:14 · John 3:6 · John 6:51 · John 6:55 · John 6:63 · Acts 2:26 · Acts 2:31 · Rom 3:20 26×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine John 1:13 · John 3:6 · John 17:2 · Rom 6:19 · Rom 8:3 · Rom 8:5 · Rom 8:6 · Rom 8:7 · Rom 9:8 · Rom 13:14 · 1 Cor 5:5 · 2 Cor 7:1 · Gal 4:13 · Gal 5:16 · Gal 5:17 · Gal 5:19 37×
Genitive · Plural · Feminine Rev 19:21 1×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Rom 2:28 · Rom 7:5 · Rom 7:18 · Rom 7:25 · Rom 8:3 · Rom 8:8 · Rom 8:9 · Rom 8:12 · 1 Cor 7:28 · 2 Cor 4:11 · 2 Cor 10:3 · 2 Cor 12:7 · Gal 1:16 · Gal 2:20 · Gal 3:3 · Gal 4:14 39×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 19:5 · Mark 10:8 · Luke 24:39 · John 6:52 · John 6:53 · John 6:54 · John 6:56 · John 8:15 · Acts 2:17 · Rom 1:3 · Rom 4:1 · Rom 8:4 · Rom 8:5 · Rom 8:12 · Rom 8:13 · Rom 9:3 37×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Jas 5:3 · Rev 17:16 · Rev 19:18 7×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Human nature in its embodied form.
Flesh, fallen human nature.
Flesh, fallen human nature.
Additional Occurrences
1-john Flesh sárx
human nature in physical reality
John 1:1-18 ϒὰξ sárx
flesh
John 6:22-59 ϒάξ sárx
flesh
John 6:60-71 ϒάξ sárx
flesh
Mark 10:1–12 σάρξ sárx
flesh; bodily unity
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 147 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σάρξ is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Describes the sphere of weakness and sin opposed to God’s will. 1 John 4:1-6
Contrasts with the Spirit as the realm of hostility and death. Romans 7:14-25
Affirms real incarnation, not illusion. Romans 8:1-11
Points to incarnation and sacrificial offering.
Human limitation apart from divine grace.
Affirms the genuine humanity of Christ against docetic denial.
Affirming Christ’s real incarnation safeguards the reality of atonement.
Canonical Themes
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Sarx is a word where context protects doctrine. If teachers make flesh always mean sinful nature, John 1 and 1 Timothy 3 become impossible to handle faithfully, because the Son truly appeared in the flesh. If teachers make flesh only mean physical body, Romans and Galatians lose Paul's sharp account of sinful opposition to the Spirit. The word therefore demands disciplined reading.
In Christ, flesh names the real humanity He assumed to save His people. In fallen humanity, flesh may name weakness, natural descent, or the sin-opposed-to-Spirit orientation that must be crucified. Sarx helps readers honor embodiment while refusing the rule of sin.
Anchor passage
John.1.14
Doctrinal connections
- John 1:14: the Word became flesh, affirming the true incarnation of the Son.
- John 3:6: natural birth cannot create Spirit-born life.
- Romans 8:3-4: God condemns sin in the flesh through the sending of His Son.
- Galatians 5:16-24: the flesh opposes the Spirit and must be crucified with its passions.
- 1 Timothy 3:16: confession of Christ includes His appearing in the flesh and vindication by the Spirit.
- G4983 Soma: body language overlaps but is not identical; sarx requires its own contextual range.
Sarx can mean flesh in a physical, human, kinship, weakness, or morally fallen sense. The word's meaning must be inferred from context rather than forced into one English category.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament flesh language often highlights human creatureliness, mortality, kinship, and weakness before God. The New Testament receives that range and adds the decisive clarity of the Word becoming flesh and the Spirit's victory over sinful flesh in Christ.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain