Message 31 - By Leroy
Surface
“In the Flesh”
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:8
A
large part of the message this month is an excerpt from my commentary on the book
of Romans, titled “THE FOUNDATION.” Less than two months since its release in
mid November, almost two thousand copies have been given out, both hand to hand
and through the mail. We have done this completely free of charge to the
receivers. It has now been translated into Spanish, and the Lord willing, the
Spanish version will be released in early March, 2010. We have also developed a
correspondence course on “THE FOUNDATION” and already there are nearly a
hundred people taking it with more asking to participate every day. Several
study groups have begun across the nation, each by men or women who were
independently led of God to do so. I realize these numbers are very small when
compared to the great task that is set before us, but I recall the words of the
prophet Zechariah in the day Zerubbabel laid the foundation for the House of
God; “…who hath despised the day of small things? for they
shall rejoice, and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel…” (Zechariah 4:10). The task God has given us is greater
than the might and power of men to do. That “task” is to re-educate the people
of God in the truth of the gospel, and it can only be accomplished by the
Spirit of God working with us.
The
seventh chapter of Romans has become
an adage for the struggles people have, trying to serve God. It is commonly
believed today that the “Romans Seven
Experience” is the norm for a Christian life, but the truth is, the problem
is due to the absence of life. There are those who were once saved, and even “Spirit-filled,” who find themselves
trapped in the Romans Seven Experience.
They should read Romans 7:9 very
carefully: “…I was alive without the law once: but when the
commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Regardless of how you interpret this verse, two things stand
out and cannot be denied; “…sin revived, and I died.” This person cannot revive themselves again. They
cannot simply walk away from sin, because they are “…sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). Sin is once again their
master, and its cruelty knows no bounds. It will drag them down into the pits
of helplessness and hopelessness, knowing that they are lost and about to be
cast headlong into the pit of hell. They have tried to “be strong,” and to “do
good,” but they cannot. There is no hope for them until the horrible scream
arises from their tormented soul, “O wretched man that I am!
Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” That is where sin
took Saul of Tarsus, and that is when he came face to face with Jesus on the
Damascus road.
It
is the height of absurdity to seek to comfort these who are in such bondage by
giving examples of others who are “saved,
Spirit filled, and love the Lord with all their heart,” yet are also in
bondage to those same sins, of which Paul said, “…they that do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul warns against such comfort of sinners
in I Corinthians 6:9-10, saying, “Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Notice
what Paul says in Galatians 5:19-21
concerning the “works of the flesh” which
he names individually as follows: “Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as
I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Again
in Ephesians 5:5-7, Paul says, “For this ye know, that
no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
and of God. Let no man deceive you
with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the
children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
Paul
clearly says in each of these places, “they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of
God.” He
did not, however, leave them without hope. In I Corinthians 6:11 he also says, “And such were some of you: but ye are
washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” The “hope” for
those who have thus fallen is to, in the words of Jesus, “…repent, and
believe the gospel.” Many of those who were truly
alive in Christ before sin revived have “repented”
day and night, a thousand times over. For those, it is time to stop
repenting and “believe the gospel.”
The
“Romans Seven Experience,” as it is
called by many today, actually begins with Romans
7:5 and continues through Romans 8:8.
It begins with Paul’s words in the fifth
verse of chapter seven, “…for when we were in the flesh…,” and ends with this conclusion in the eighth verse of chapter eight, “…So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Everything that is written between these two verses is
written to prove the conclusion which Paul reaches about those who are “in the flesh;”
and that conclusion is, they “cannot please
God.” With
such a damning statement about those who are “in the flesh,” we must determine the meaning of the term. The flesh in this
text cannot speak of the human body, because even Jesus could not have pleased
his Father if that were the case. The proper definition of “flesh” as used in this text is “human nature;” the nature which
has been polluted by the entrance of sin which came through Adam’s
transgression. Human nature that is polluted by sin can never please God.
It
should be noted that Paul uses the “past
tense” in his statement, “…when we were in the flesh.” This statement can
only be understood in the light of his words in Romans 8:9, which say, “But ye are not in
the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” On the basis of these statements by Paul, we know that his “Romans Seven Experience” was before he
was saved and filled with the Spirit of God. Paul describes to perfection the
experience of every unregenerate person who tries to please God through keeping
the righteousness of the law. This was
Paul’s experience, as Saul of Tarsus, from his youth until the day he
surrendered to Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. It is also the experience
of millions of professing Christians today who have never, as Saul of Tarsus
was, been “under the law;” but have
tried to please God through obeying thousands of principles given to them by
their religious leaders and teachers. However, they find, just as Saul of
Tarsus did, that they will never please God through the keeping of principles.
It
is commonly taught that a child of God has “two
natures,” both a “sin nature,”
and a “divine nature.” It is amazing
that the philosophy of the Gnostics and the Nicolaitans of the first century, “which thing” Jesus said He “hated” (Revelation 2:15), would become the fundamental doctrine of many
twenty first century churches. The Gnostics believed that the physical body of
man was inherently evil, while the spirit of man was inherently holy; thus the
man could be holy and pleasing in the eyes of God while his body continued in
sin. This describes the “doctrine” of
a majority of the teachers in the modern church. So what is the truth
concerning these two “natures?”
Adam
had a “human nature.” The scripture
says that God formed man from the dust of the ground, breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and “man
became a living soul.” His nature was human with the breath of the divine.
There was no sin in Adam’s nature. It must be understood that there was no sin
in Adam when he walked away from the tree of life to the forbidden tree. It is
for that reason that even a child of God must not trust his human nature. There
was no sin in Adam’s nature until he disobeyed God, but his human nature was
attracted, not to “sin,” but to the “beauty,” the “wisdom,” and the “nourishment”
of that “tree” which held the promise
of making them “as gods, knowing both good and evil” (Genesis 3:5-6). His disobedience to God opened his nature for sin
to enter. His nature was polluted with sin and Adam became a slave to the sin
in his nature. It was through this pollution and bondage of sin that the human
nature became known as the “sin nature.”
Jesus
had a “divine nature.” To show that Adam and Jesus were different in nature, Paul
said in I Corinthians 15:45, “The first man
Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam (Christ)
was made a
quickening spirit.” Then, in the forty
seventh verse he says, “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is
the Lord from heaven.” There was no sin in Jesus when He was born into this world,
just as there was no sin in Adam when He was formed of the dust. The difference
in their nature was that Jesus could not
have sinned. He could not be “tempted
to sin” even though He was “…tempted (tested)
in every point
as we, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus
came into the world as the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world” (John 1:29). This he did
through His death on the cross, just as the writer says in Hebrews 2:9, “…that He (Jesus) by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” When Paul says in Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with Him (Jesus), that the body of sin might be destroyed…” he is speaking
of the “destruction” of the sin that
entered man’s nature through Adam’s transgression. The Greek word “katargeo,” which was translated “destroyed” in this verse, means “to render entirely idle (useless).” It
is the same word that is used in I
Corinthians 15:24-26, where Paul tells of events at the “end,”
just after the great white throne judgment. “Then cometh the
end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign,
till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Both sin and death
entered through Adam’s disobedience. The first was “destroyed” when it was nailed to the cross of Christ with our “old man.” The last will be
“destroyed”
when both “death and hell” are
“cast into the
lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14).
Does
this writer believe that sin is so destroyed in the believer that it cannot
revive? No, I do not! I do know, however, that it cannot revive
unless the believer is “moved away from
the hope of the gospel” (Colossians1:23),
which is “Jesus Christ, and Him
crucified.” In Hebrews 2:14,
there is something else that is “destroyed”
through the death of Jesus on the cross. “…that through death he
might destroy him that had the power
of death, that is, the devil….”
Do I believe that the
devil has been destroyed into non-existence?
To believe that would be the ultimate in stupidity, because he is still
the “god of this world.” He is not our god however, because for the
believer, the devil is “destroyed.” We dwell in a place where
there is no sin, and the devil cannot touch us, because we dwell “in Christ.” John says in I John 3:5-6, “…ye
know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not….”
Jesus was manifested to
“take away our
sin.” There
are two places in the sixth chapter of
Romans that Paul says we are “free
from sin.” The first is in verse
eighteen, “…being then made
free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness…,” and the second place is in verse twenty two, “…but now being
made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life.” The term “made free from sin” does not mean that
the believer has received “power over
sin.” It simply means that Jesus took the sin that polluted our nature, and
nailed it to His cross. While the child of God still has a “human nature,” it is freed from the sin that once dominated it. He
has made us partakers of His divine nature, which will never co-exist with sin.
The “Romans Seven Experience” cannot
be the experience of those who abide in Christ, but it is the only experience
possible for those who are yet “in the flesh.” Paul
was not “in
the flesh,” but “in the Spirit” from the moment the “Spirit of the Lord” came into him (Romans 8:9).
The
remainder of this message is an excerpt from “THE FOUNDATION,” which is my
commentary on the first eleven chapters of Romans. The scripture setting is Romans 7:5 through Romans 8:8. Study it prayerfully, with an open heart toward the
truth of the gospel.
5 For
when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work
in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
“When we were in the flesh…” The word “flesh” is translated from the Greek word “sarx,”
and has various meanings and applications as follows:
Strong’s definition of “sarx:” flesh (as stripped of the skin), i.e. (strictly)
the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body
(as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external,
or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) human
nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] and passions),
or (specifically) a human being (as such):
The
proper understanding of the word “flesh” as used in the book of Romans
is “human nature.” The term, “when we were in the flesh,”
however, speaks of more than human nature. Paul was speaking of the time before
he believed upon Jesus when he tried to serve God through fleshly means under
the Law of Moses. Paul asked the question of the Galatians who turned from
Christ to trust in the law, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now
made perfect by the flesh” (Galatians 3:3). They had been “born
of the Spirit,” but they were seeking to fulfill their salvation through
the keeping of ordinances, principles, holy days, feast days, and rituals, all
of which are dead works of religion, and all of which are performed “by the
flesh.”
“…the motions of sins, which were by the
law…” The Law does not create sin; it only
identifies and forbids it. The very nature of sin is to rebel against the law. “The
motions of sins (the emotions of sins)” speaks of “concupiscence,”
which is defined as “longing, especially for that which is forbidden.” It
“works in the members” of every unregenerate person, but especially
those who are “under the law.” When it is “at work (in motion),”
every fiber of the human body will seem to crave what the law forbids. Its only
fruit is “unto death.”
6 But
now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that
we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
7 What
shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by
the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not
covet.
Jesus
said, “Except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).
The scribes and Pharisees had no problem keeping the first nine commandments,
because these only regulated outward behavior. In these they were “blameless.”
It is the tenth and last commandment, “Thou shalt not covet,” that
destroys the “righteousness” of the “self-righteous.” It is the
only commandment that discovers and uncovers the sin that is resident in the
heart of man. It is the only commandment that no one can obey by the force of
his or her will power. It is the source of the breaking of all the other
commandments. Take covetousness out of the heart of man and he cannot break any
law of God, because “covetousness” is the nature and source of all sin.
This one commandment ultimately stripped Saul of Tarsus of all his
righteousness that was by the law, and destroyed him in his own sight.
8 But
sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of
concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
9 For
I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived,
and I died.
10 And
the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
The
commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” is life to one and death to another.
Let me explain! A sinner is convicted of
sin and repents. He comes to God believing the gospel that his “old man of
sin” (Romans 6:6) is nailed to
the cross with Jesus. He hears the words, “thou shalt not covet,” and
rejoices, because his former life had been destroyed by covetousness (as is
every life without Jesus Christ). His heart, having now been “purified by
faith” (Acts 15:9), has no
covetousness in it. He rejoices that the “Son has made him free, and he is ‘free
indeed’” (John 8:36).
“Thou shalt not covet” is good and wonderful news to this man. On the other
hand, to those who are merely religious, “thou shalt not covet” is the most “grievous” of all
commandments. For Saul of Tarsus in his self-righteous state, the commandment
was “unto death.”
11 For
sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
When
Paul speaks of “the commandment,” he is still speaking of that
one commandment, “thou shalt not covet.” Sin had no occasion against
Saul of Tarsus in any other commandment. He was much like the “rich young ruler,” who walked
sorrowfully away from Jesus; “All these have I kept from my youth up: what lack
I yet?” (Matthew 16:19-22) All that both of these young men lacked was
revealed by the tenth commandment, “thou
shalt not covet.” The rich young ruler walked away “sorrowful” because he had great riches. Saul, discovering the
meaning of the tenth commandment, was deceived. He would obey this commandment
also and be perfect. It was only then that he began to discover the nature of “sin” that was in him. The warfare had
begun.
Multitudes
in the churches today are also deceived by sin and condemned by the same
commandment. In order to make the fact of sin in their heart acceptable, they
are taught that the Law of God has been abolished. Others teach that the things
we have no control over cannot condemn us. In fact, the tenth commandment is
the only commandment that reveals sin in the heart, and that sin (the sin
nature) is what Jesus died to take away (John
1:29). Saul of Tarsus found no remedy in the Law of Moses that would
satisfy the Law of God. When “the
commandment came,” that is, when understanding of the commandment came, it
destroyed all of his righteousness and he became as a living dead man.
12 Wherefore
the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Paul
defends the Law of God, and specifically the tenth commandment as “holy, and
just, and good.” He defines the nature of God’s law, as he will further do
in the fourteenth verse.
13 Was
then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might
appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the
commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Paul
continues his defense of the tenth commandment. Remember that the commandment
was “ordained unto life” (verse
ten). It is the source of “glorious liberty” to the redeemed (Romans 8:21). Saul’s problem was not “the
commandment;” it was the covetousness of his heart. Saul of Tarsus, a man
who could not be condemned by any of the first nine commandments (Philippians 3:6), had always considered
the desires of his heart to be as nothing, because he did not obey them. Now
that the understanding of the tenth commandment, “thou shalt not covet,”
had come, Saul also understood that he was “exceeding sinful.” In the
definition of the Greek word translated “exceeding,” we see that in
Saul’s own sight he was a sinner “beyond others.” Years later Paul
confirmed this in I Timothy 1:15
when he said he was “chief of sinners.” As Jesus had told the Pharisees,
he was like the sepulchers of the prophets; he was “beautiful on the
outside,” but on the inside he was “full of dead men’s bones,” and
now, he knew it.
14 For
we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
With this verse we must make some distinctions between “The Law
of God” and “The Law of Moses.” The Law of God is spiritual, and is written
in the hearts of a spiritual people (Hebrews
8:8-13). The Law of Moses, which was “added because of transgressions,” (Galatians 3:19) is carnal (Hebrews 7:16; Hebrews 9:10), and was given to a carnal people. When God gave His
Law audibly to the congregation of Israel in the twentieth chapter of Exodus,
they could not receive it because they were “carnal.” God defined the
problem to Moses in Deuteronomy 5:29,
“O that there were such
an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments
always….” They could not keep it, because they were “carnal, sold under sin.” The Greek word
“sarkikos” that was translated “carnal” in this verse means “similar
to flesh,” and was translated as both “carnal,” and “fleshly.” That
was the state of Saul of Tarsus; “…fleshly, and sold under sin.” The
Greek word for “flesh” is “sarx,” and speaks of the “human
nature” which is “sold under sin.” In the verses that follow he lays
out the proofs that he was sold under sin.
15 For
that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate,
that do I.
The
great apostle Paul continues speaking as Saul of Tarsus for the remainder of this chapter. He
offers proof that Saul is carnal until the day of his surrender to Jesus
Christ. The proof of his carnality is “…what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I.”
16 If
then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Saul recognizes that if righteousness does not reign in his heart,
he must have a law to control his actions, therefore he consents that the law
is good.
17 Now
then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Saul recognizes that if he is doing things he doesn’t want to do
then something else is in control. It is not him, but sin that is in his heart
and nature. He is a slave to sin.
18 For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will
is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
“…(that is, in my flesh,)…” The word “flesh” as used in this verse does not refer to the
physical “body,” but rather to the “human nature” which controls
the body. “For I know that in me (that is, in my human nature,)
dwelleth no good thing…” It is Saul of Tarsus who comes to this
realization, and it is proven to him, “for to will is present with me; but
how to perform that which is good I find not.” It was in his “mind”
to serve God, but it was in his “nature” to serve sin. He had the “will”
to perform, but he did not have the “way.” What a sad predicament for
people to find themselves in, but there are far too many who do.
19 For
the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
This
verse continues to prove there was nothing good in Saul of Tarsus, even though
he had been “blameless,” according to the righteousness of the law, for
his entire lifetime (Philippians 3:6).
Remember the saying of the rich young ruler who walked sorrowfully away from
Jesus; “All these have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? ” (Matthew 16:19-22) Jesus took the covers off and revealed his “lack”
in the next verse. It was this tenth commandment, “thou shalt not covet,”
that caused the rich young ruler to “go away sorrowful.”
20 Now
if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in
me.
Saul of Tarsus discovered that even if he had never committed an
outward act of sin, yet sin dwelt in him. It was proven to Saul because he
began doing things he did not want to do.
21 I
find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
It is the very nature of sin to resist the good and do the evil. As
long as sin remains in the heart and nature of man, he may struggle to do the
good, and may even succeed in the working of good, but evil is always present
with sinful desires in the heart.
22 For
I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
The
“inward man” of Saul of Tarsus was
his mind and intellect. Intellectually, he loved the Law of God, “but…”
23 But
I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
“Human nature,”
left to itself, is no better or higher than the beasts of the field. It is the
intellect that makes man to be above the beasts. The Law of God, being “spiritual,”
was given to “define” the higher divine nature, but Israel could not
receive it. The Law of Moses was given to “control” human nature. Notice
the level of some of the commandments: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,
both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death;
their blood shall be upon them. And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is
wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no
wickedness among you. And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to
death: and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and
lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely
be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:13-16). Human nature, left to itself, will descend to
the level of the beast of the field. It is only the “disciplines” of
law, whether religious or secular, that hinders that bestial level of human
nature.
Saul of Tarsus was well disciplined by the Law of Moses. Such
behavior as described above was out of the question, yet he, as does every
unregenerate person, had sin dwelling in his human nature, seeking control of
his members. The “law in his members” that warred against the “law of
his mind” was simply his “sinful human nature” that warred against
his mind and intellectual desire to please God.
“…warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin…” This phrase brings to mind the methods of
ancient warfare. A city with strong walls would come under attack by a powerful
enemy. For a time, the walls would hold against the siege, but the city would
be cut off from all supplies from without. Daily, the battering rams and the catapults
would batter the walls, while inside the city the food supplies would be
rationed. The battering of the walls would continue night and day until the
walls were breached, at which time the malnourished inhabitants would be taken
captive and led away as slaves. This is the description of the warfare within
Saul of Tarsus after his “sin” was discovered by “the commandment (thou
shalt not covet).” His “walls of defense” built up by the Law of
Moses were battered to the ground, and Saul could no longer keep himself. He
was “brought into captivity” to that “law of sin (sinful human
nature)” which was in his members.
24 O
wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
It
must have been during the time that Saul of Tarsus was “breathing out
threatenings and slaughter” (Acts
9:1), and “making havock of the churches” (Acts 8:3), that he became a “wretched
man” in his own sight. From within, though never publicly, there came the
cry, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death.” The term “body
of this death” is used in the same way as “the body of sin” in Romans 6:6, and speaks of the “entire
body (or source) of sin and death.” It was that “cry for
deliverance” that brought Saul of Tarsus into a direct confrontation with
Jesus Christ (Acts 9:3-5). There, he
found the answer, given in the next verse, which is the basis for the gospel of
Jesus Christ as the apostle Paul preached it.
25 I
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve
the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Thank God, there is deliverance from sin “through Jesus Christ
our Lord.” How this was accomplished through the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ is the indescribably “good news” which is called “The
gospel of Jesus Christ.” The last phrase of this verse closes out the
chapter, defining for one last time the dilemma Saul of Tarsus was in before he
met Jesus. With his mind (intellect) he served the Law of God, but in his human
nature, he was the slave of sin.
The Eighth Chapter
of Romans
In this eighth chapter,
Paul shows the “glorious liberty,” the “overcoming power,” and
the “complete victory” of those who are “in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1-39
1 There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
“There is therefore now…” The word “therefore,” translated from the Greek word “ara,”
draws a conclusion about those who are “in Christ Jesus.” They are
not condemned. They do not live under the “death sentence” due to sin;
neither do their “hearts condemn them” (I John 3:20-21). The word “now” speaks of “now…in Christ
Jesus,” and draws a contrast between those who are “married to Jesus”
and those who are “married to the law.” It is a contrast between those
who have received the “glorious liberty (from sin) of the children of
God” (Romans 8:21), and
those who continually struggle in the bondage expressed in the seventh chapter
of those who are “under the law.”
“…no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus…” The word “condemnation” is
translated from the Greek word “katakrima,”
which means “adverse sentence.” Paul
will tell us why we are not condemned in the third verse.
“…who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit.” The word “after,”
used two times in this phrase, is translated from the Greek word “kata.” It
was most commonly translated “according to,” and then as “after.” These
translations do not do justice to the word as it is used in this verse. “Kata,”
in this verse, is best understood to indicate the “source” of the walk
of those who are in Christ. Their source is the Spirit, and not the flesh (or,
human nature). It is also beneficial to understand that Paul often used “flesh”
and “Spirit” to identify the two covenants, “law,” and “grace”
(Galatians
3:3).
2 For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death.
The
“law of the Spirit” is “life in Christ Jesus.” Jesus
Christ is the only source of “life” to fallen man. The phrase “…hath
made me free…” should have been translated “hath liberated thee” from the law of sin and death. If the “law of the Spirit” is “life
in Christ Jesus,” it follows that the “law of sin and death” is the “sin
and death” that inherently reigns in the human nature of man. Thank God, we
are delivered from “sin and death” through the death and resurrection of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
3 For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh:
“What the law could not do” is defined in the last phrase, “condemned
sin in the flesh.” The law could “condemn (try, condemn, and punish)
the man,” but it could never “condemn (try, condemn, and punish)”
the sin that was in the man. God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
(human nature) for the express purpose of condemning, not the man that was in
sin, but the sin that was in the nature of the man. John the Baptist introduced
Jesus to the world saying, “Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world” (John 1:29). This is what Jesus did
through His death on the cross. Paul explains it best in Romans 6:6; “Knowing this,
that our old man (of sin) is crucified with Him, that the body (the entire body and source) of sin might be destroyed….”
4 That
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.
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.
Those who live by their human nature think on and desire the things
of the natural man. Their “affection” is on “things of earth (Colossians 3:2),” and they take
care of those things. Those whose life is of the Spirit and grace of God think
on and desire the things of God. Their affection is on “things above,” and
they “seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God” (Colossians 3:1).
It is actually a matter of what you are “born of.” Jesus said, “That
which is born of the flesh (fallen human nature) is flesh (fallen
human nature); and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).
6 For
to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
In this verse a new English word is introduced. The word “carnally”
is translated from the Greek word “sarx,” and is used just as the word “flesh”
was used in previous verses. It speaks of “human nature” under the
control of sin. The word “minded,” translated from the Greek word “phronema,”
speaks of “inclination or purpose.” “Carnally minded” relates to those
who are “born of the flesh;” they are “flesh;” sin dwells in
their nature, and their inclinations and purposes are “fleshly.” That is
the definition of “(spiritual) death.” Paul did not say the “carnally
minded will die;” he said “to be carnally minded is death.”
To be “spiritually minded” relates to those who are “born
of the Spirit;” they are spirit, and their inclinations and purposes are
spiritual. Paul makes the conclusion, “to be spiritually minded is life and
peace.”
7 Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be.
Human
nature under the control of sin is the enemy of God. The inclinations and
purposes of man, which have their source in a nature polluted with sin, is what
Paul called “enmity” in this verse. The Greek word “echthra,”
translated “enmity,” is defined by “Strong’s concordance” as “hostility;
… a reason for opposition.” It is
the “quality” that makes unregenerate man the “enemy of God.” Paul
concludes that human nature with indwelling sin is not subject to the Law of
God because it cannot be. That “impossibility” brings another conclusion
in the next verse:
8 So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
We
must keep in mind that it is not the “body” that is the enemy of God, but
the “human nature” that sin dwells in. The conclusion is that “fallen
human nature” cannot please God.
9 But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Paul has drawn several conclusions in previous verses, each of them
proving more and more that man can never please God through his own abilities
or the inclinations of human nature. In this ninth verse, he brings yet another
conclusion, this one with great hope. “…ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” All previous
conclusions were based upon the fact of sin dwelling in the nature of man. This
conclusion is based upon the fact of the “Spirit of God” dwelling “in
us,” that is, “in our nature.” It is impossible for the Spirit of
God to “co-habit” with sin, therefore the conclusion, “Ye are not in
the flesh… if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.”
“Now if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Peter
says, “Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust” (II Peter 1:4).
God promised in Ezekiel 36:26, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I
put within you.” This is the result of the “new birth” Jesus told us
we must receive (John 3:6-7). The “new
spirit” of Ezekiel 36:26 speaks
of a “new (divine) nature” and not of the Holy Ghost, because in
the next verse (Ezekiel 36:27), God
promised, “And I will put my spirit
(The Holy Ghost) within
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and
do them.”
Paul
spoke to the Colossians about “the mystery
which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to
his saints.” He said it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27). “Christ in you”
indicates a “new heart,” and a “new spirit (nature).” Paul concludes, “if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (he
does not belong to Christ).” Every person should take note of
this.
Message 31 - By:
Leroy Surface - In the Flesh
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