I still don't see what point you think your making? Yes Paul was speaking of the truth HE WALKED IN daily. Not some truth he believed 10 years ago.. And of course we who are born-again are New Creations, but we must walk daily in that truth according the Spirit and not the flesh. The "flesh" -old man, is only as dead as we crucify the flesh in our daily walk in the Spirit. One must ignore the majority of Pauls epistles and correction to the church to believe the "old man" has no power in the believer.
Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Ro 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ro 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Ro 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
That 10 years ago idea is your thing - the finished death is a real, living fact at any time. That is why we "..always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." 2 Corinthians 4:10.
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh,"4 in order that the righteous requirement. of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. [Hostile to God, unable to submit to God's law? How then could these people be born of the Spirit (saved) and yet be unable to submit to God? At least the saved have the ability or choice to please God!] 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e]his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. " Romans 8:3-14.
And so Christ Jesus "condemned sin in the flesh.." And that is the key! For without that condemnation of sin in the flesh (the death of the old man!) we are still slaves to sin! And slaves to sin can not pursue righteousness! The mind of flesh is unable to please God or submit to His law. ""For we know that
our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[
a]
that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has
died has been set
free from sin." Romans 6:6-7" No finished death, no freedom from sin.
Does being in the world mean we are worldly? No. We are in the world, but not of it. Does living in these bodies of flesh mean we are fleshly? No.....in the flesh, but not of it! "Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it." Romans 8:12.
For once the sin nature of our flesh has been condemned and put to death through Jesus Christ, our flesh is a tent our spirits live in while we dwell on this earth. "For we know that if
the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." 2 Corinthians 5:1. "I think it is right to refresh your memory as long
as I live in the tent of this body," 2 Peter 1:13. This flesh becomes our servant. "No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:27. We then have authority over it and no longer must be ruled by our flesh. Gone is the fleshly mind - for we have the mind of Christ. "for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:16.
Even our Lord walked in a tent of flesh....a fleshly body. Would anyone dare say he had a living sin nature when in that flesh? And our Lord......is the Firstborn among many.....our example! "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14.
"Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:34-36. Again...it comes down to one thing - the old man is either dead or he isn't. For as long as he is alive one is a slave to sin, and not a free son of God. One or the other. It can not be a gradual thing.
So one has been freed from being a slave to sin. But God will not force one to walk in the Spirit. One can chose to go back to the old patterns....back to his own vomit. But that choice is there because the rule of the sin nature (and if it is alive it will rule) has been broken. "He condemned sin in the flesh." There is also the fact that a young Christian is not instantly mature. He is born of the seed of Christ "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:23. But, by the Spirit, he must grow up. "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18.