In different parts of the New Testament, we see a dichotomy delineated between the spirit and the flesh. We have to be careful as to how we interpret these passages. We could easily assume that the "spirit" here is synonymous with the spiritual, and the "flesh" with the material. But the meaning is a bit more complex. Flesh, in this context, refers to anything that takes us away from God; whereas spirit refers to anything that takes us toward God. Some material things, depending on what they are and how we approach them, can take us toward God. Some spiritual things, again depending on what they are and how we approach them, can take us away from God.
Christianity does not consider the material world to be evil. We believe that the material world is good in its nature, but fallen and marred by sin. Human nature too is fallen due to sin, and as a result, we have concupiscence, that is to say, a tendency toward sin. Due to concupiscence, our desires are disordered, and we are continually tempted to use the material world in an unwholesome way, harmful both to ourselves and to the world around us.
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Image Credit: Icon of the Resurrection of Jesus - Resurrection Gate, from Wikimedia Commons.
