But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will never bring to fulfillment the cravings of the flesh. For the flesh desires strongly against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are contrary to one another, in order that those things which you desire you cannot do (Galatians 5:16–17).
The sin nature dwells within the flesh; therefore, it causes the cravings of the flesh to desire what is wrong, unrighteous, and sinful. These desires are contrary to the things of the Spirit, which involve love, freedom, righteousness, and seeing things as they truly are.
To overcome the sin nature, we must apply the truth to our lives: Know (Romans 6:5–6); Reckon (Romans 6:11); and Yield (Romans 6:13). We do not use law against the sin nature, for the law gives it strength (1 Corinthians 15:56). Therefore, to have victory over the sin nature, we govern our lives by the newness we have in Christ and seek out and follow the desires we receive from the Holy Spirit to do righteousness. The Holy Spirit then steps in and produces desires in us that are stronger than the cravings of the sin nature, so that in the end, we do not fulfill its desires but continue to live a life of freedom and righteousness in Christ by following the desires from the Spirit.