Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. Paul was aware that his preaching freedom could be misunderstood. As a matter of fact, it had been made known to him that there were those who understood freedom to mean that they were set free to do whatever they wanted and to act in a manner that showed disregard of rules that ensured societal order. This was both a misunderstanding and misuse of the freedom in Christ that Paul was preaching.
Christ sets men and women free from the works of the flesh. These are works that are selfish, works that only seek the pleasure of the individual at the expense of others. Paul places such works in the same group as adherence to the observance of “material” law (such as circumcision) for they are driven by the same thing: the flesh (as opposed to the spirit). Not to be confused with the body (for that will lead to the heresy of dualism), the flesh refers to that which is materialistic and short lived. They are those things that never endure. According to Paul, he/she who has been set free by Christ is driven not by the desire for things that never endure but rather by the spirit. Those who are driven by the spirit have been set free and are able to love, show kindness, and are generous. They are able to achieve this because they are have attained self-transcendence and are able to seek the good of the other. He/she who is driven by the spirit as such stays away from the works of the flesh not for its own sake but rather for the sake of the other. This is the way of Christ.