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FOR IF YOU ARE LIVING
(habitually) ACCORDING TO THE FLESH: ei gar kata
sarka zote (2PPAI): (Ro
8:1,4, 5, 6; 6:21,23; 7:5; Gal 5:19, 20, 21; 6:8; Eph 5:3, 4, 5; Col
3:5,6; Jas 1:14,15)
Related Topics:
See in depth notes on
Walking in the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26)
Galatians 5:16;
Galatians 5:17;
Galatians 5:18;
Galatians 5:19;
Galatians 5:20;
Galatians 5:21;
Galatians 5:22;
Galatians 5:23;
Galatians 5:24;
Galatians 5:25;
Galatians 5:26
Spirit filled: Being Filled With the Spirit:
by Wayne Barber
Spirit filled: Spirit Filled Families:
by Wayne Barber
See
Exposition of
Ephesians 5:18 - Be Filled With the Spirit
Note that both
"if"
clauses are first class conditional sentences ("if you are living
according to the flesh...if by the Spirit") which assume the actuality
of the thing stated. In other words the conclusions following the "if"
statements, are assumed to be true and logically follow. Their solemnity
corresponds to the seriousness of the action in the “if” clauses.
Note that in 8:13a the life of the
flesh is the death of man while in 8:13b, the death of the flesh is the
life of man.
For (1063)
(gar) explains why we are not under obligation to the flesh to
live habitually under the dominion of the fallen nature. Why not?
Because if that is one's lifestyle, they will die! Not just physical
death but spiritual death culminating in eternal confinement to the Lake
of Fire resulting in eternal separation from his or her Creator God (see
notes
"Second
Death.", and notes
Revelation 20:11ff).
Morris
writes that...
There is a change from “we” to
“you” as Paul turns to the link between living the fleshly life
and death. This does not mean that he saw the Romans as living the
unregenerate life; Lloyd-Jones sees “a general statement comparable to
the form of speech which we use when we say to a person, ‘If you put
your finger into that fire you will be burned’ ” (p. 109). But there is
certainly a strong note of warning. To live “according to the flesh”
is to live with one’s horizon bounded by the flesh, that is, by the
concerns of this life. To live like this is death (cf. 1Ti 5:6). There
is certainty in you will die, “a sure effect from the given cause” (Morris,
L. The Epistle to the Romans. W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press)
S Lewis Johnson
points out that there is some disagreement in how the statement "to
live after the flesh is to die" is interpreted noting that...
There are two ways to take the "ye
shall die." Many take the words to mean that, if one lives the
corrupt life that flows from a corrupt nature, then spiritual death
shall ensue as the natural destiny. The true believer will persevere in
righteousness as the bent of his life, while the unbeliever perseveres
in unrighteousness (cf. Jas 2:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,
24, 25, 26-see notes
James 2:14-26
; Ro 6:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
22, 21- see notes
Ro 6:15-23). Others, thinking that
the apostle is referring here to believers, refer the verb to physical
death, linking it with sin unto death (cf. 1 John 5:16). The former view
seems more likely. (Romans 8:5-17)
Living (2198)
(zao) in the
present tense
means that one is not
just behaving for a moment under the "spell" of the old evil nature but
that this person is behaving continually, habitually having their life
dominated and directed by the evil nature, the
flesh.
According to
the flesh (kata sarx) as explained earlier conveys the idea
of one placing themselves down and therefore under the dominion or
control of the evil flesh nature. Not a good position to be in
spiritually speaking!
If a professing (not necessarily possessing) "Christian" habitually
lives in sin and shows no concern for repentance, forgiveness, worship,
or fellowship with other believers, he proves that he claims the name of
Christ in vain. Many false Christians in the church work hard at keeping
their lives pure in appearance, because other people think more highly
of them for it and because they feel prouder of themselves when they act
morally and benevolently than when they do not.
YOU MUST
(are on the verge of suffering death, about to) DIE: mellete
(2PPAI) apothneskein (PAN):
“You are on the point of dying”, “are
about to", "are certainly going to”
Must (3195)
(mello) means to to occur at a point of time in the future which
is subsequent to another event and closely related to it. Mello
means to be inevitable, with respect to future developments be on the
point of doing or suffering something (in this case death) must be or
has to be. In this particular context mello clearly denotes not merely
the future aspect, but the certainty of its coming to pass.
Mello -
109x in 106v - Matt 2:13; 3:7; 11:14; 12:32; 16:27; 17:12, 22; 20:22;
24:6; Mark 10:32; 13:4; Luke 3:7; 7:2; 9:31, 44; 10:1; 13:9; 19:4, 11;
21:7, 36; 22:23; 24:21; John 4:47; 6:6, 15, 71; 7:35, 39; 11:51; 12:4,
33; 14:22; 18:32; Acts 3:3; 5:35; 11:28; 12:6; 13:34; 16:27; 17:31;
18:14; 19:27; 20:3, 7, 13, 38; 21:27, 37; 22:16, 26, 29; 23:3, 15, 20,
27; 24:15, 25; 25:4; 26:2, 22f; 27:2, 10, 30, 33; 28:6; Rom 4:24; 5:14;
8:13, 18, 38; 1 Cor 3:22; Gal 3:23; Eph 1:21; Col 2:17; 1 Thess 3:4; 1
Tim 1:16; 4:8; 6:19; 2 Tim 4:1; Heb 1:14; 2:5; 6:5; 8:5; 10:1, 27; 11:8,
20; 13:14; Jas 2:12; 1 Pet 5:1; 2 Pet 1:12; 2:6; Rev 1:19; 2:10; 3:2,
10, 16; 6:11; 8:13; 10:4, 7; 12:4f; 17:8. NAS = about(30),
almost(1), am about(2), certainly(1), come(12), delay(1), future(1),
going(19), intend(1), intending(8), later(1), must(1), next*(1),
point(1), propose(1), ready(1), things to come(3), will(6), will
certainly(1), would(3), would live...thereafter(1), would certainly(1).
Vincent
writes that mello signifies an...
expression stronger than the simple
future of the verb. It indicates a necessary consequence.
Die (599)
(apothnesko
[word study]
from apo = away from, indicates separation +
thnesko = die) means literally to die off. Literally
apothnesko refers to natural death in which one's vital, life sustaining
functions cease (Mt 22:24).
Apothnesko
is also used figuratively to refer to not responding to something due to
separation from it and thus having no part in. It can also mean to
become dead to something. For example, in Romans 6, Paul teaches that
since we have "mystically" but in a very real sense died with Christ
when He died on the Cross, we have died to the power of sin in our life
-- we are dead to sin. In Gal 2:19 Paul teaches believers have died to
the Law, for Christ's death fulfilled the Law perfectly and we are in
union with Him and stand before God in His perfect righteousness. In a
similar way in Col 2:20 Paul says we have died to the elementary
principles of the world and are free from the need to obey decrees
having to do with Asceticism (a rigid outward self-discipline, by which
the spirit strives after full dominion over the flesh, and a "superior"
grade of virtue).
Apothnesko
as used in Ro 8:13 is a reference not to literal death but to spiritual death
and ultimately the loss of eternal life (cp use of apothnesko in the
spiritual death believers experience with Christ in Ro 6:7, 8, 9 - see
notes
Ro 6:7;
8;
9).
In this case the spiritual dying results in the separation of the soul
from God and this equates with the loss of eternal life.
And so here in Ro
8:13 the death Paul describes does not refer to physical death but to
spiritual, because even those who live according to the Spirit will die
physically (if the Lord should tarry).
Paul constantly
reminds us that living after the dictates of the flesh ends in death.
The voice of the fallen flesh deceives one into thinking that the flesh
offers "real life" (like the commercials "grab all the gusto you can
get!" or "you only go around once!"). What a habitual lifestyle of
obedience to Sin and the flesh does sometimes offer is short term "gain"
which ultimately brings long term loss... loss of eternal life!
Apothnesko
- 100x in NT - Mt 8:32; 9:24; 22:24, 27; 26:35; Mk. 5:35, 39; 9:26;
12:19, 20, 21, 15:44; Lk 8:42, 52, 53; 16:22; 20:28, 29, 31, 32, 36; Jn.
4:47, 49; 6:49, 50, 58; 8:21, 24, 52, 53; 11:14, 16, 21, 25, 26, 32, 37,
50, 51; 12:24, 33; 18:14, 32; 19:7; 21:23; Acts 7:4; 9:37; 21:13; 25:11;
Ro 5:6, 7, 8, 15; 6:2, 7, 8, 9; 7:2, 3, 6, 10; 8:13, 34; 14:7, 8, 9, 15;
1Co. 8:11; 9:15; 15:3, 22, 31, 32, 36; 2Co. 5:14, 15; 6:9; Gal. 2:19,
21; Php 1:21; Col 2:20; 3:3; 1Th 4:14; 5:10; He 7:8; 9:27; 10:28; 11:4,
13, 21, 37; Jude 1:12; Re 3:2; 8:9, 11; 9:6; 14:13; 16:3
There are a few commentaries
that are generally accepted as conservative and evangelical which have
comments similar to the College Press
NIV Commentary that makes the following statement (with which I
strongly disagree but am including to make the reader aware of how some
commentaries handle the interpretation of this verse)
"This verse is a
strong affirmation of the real possibility that a Christian can fall
from grace and lose his salvation. Those who cling to the dogma of “once
saved, always saved” deny this, of course." (Jack Cottrell, PhD,
Cincinnati Bible Seminary).
Other commentaries use this verse similarly to Cottrell to justify their
belief that a genuine believer can "fall from grace" and lose their
salvation, these beliefs in general reflecting the position of
Arminianism, which believes that the judgment of eternal death remains a
real possibility for the Christian. That is not what Paul is teaching in this passage. The point he is making is that if one has a
lifestyle
(present tense) that is
continually controlled by the desires of the evil flesh, how can such a one
ever make the claim that he was a believer in the first place? He will die
as he lived -- in his sins. He lived habitually like an unbeliever
because he in fact always was an unbeliever. There is a deadly false
teaching in some evangelical circles that one can pray a prayer of
acceptance of Christ as Savior and thereafter demonstrate absolutely
no change in lifestyle or behavior but instead spend the rest of
their life living in sin. This is not what Scripture teaches! Do not be
deceived!
C. H. Spurgeon
affirmed the eternal security of genuine believers in the following
illustration...
The believer, like a man on
shipboard, may fall again and again on the deck, but he will never fall
overboard.
Kenneth Wuest explains this section of Ro 8:13...
Assuming that a person lives habitually under the dominion of the
evil nature, Paul says, that person is about to be dying. The verb is
present in tense, and therefore durative in meaning, indicating habitual
action. The individual who lives habitually under the dominion of the
evil nature is an unsaved person. That one is on the way to final death
in the Lake of Fire. But the person who by the Holy Spirit habitually
puts to death the deeds of the body, will live. That person is a saved
person.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Studies in the
Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament: Grand Rapids: Eerdmans)
John MacArthur explains that...
The apostle is not warning genuine believers that they may lose their
salvation and be condemned to death if they fall back into some of the
ways of the flesh. He has already given the absolute assurance that
“there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus” (Ro 8:1). He is rather saying that a person whose life is
characterized by the things of the flesh is not a true Christian and is
spiritually dead, no matter what his religious affiliations or
activities may be. If he does not come to Christ in true faith, he must
die the second death under God’s final judgment. (MacArthur,
J: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Press)
Don't misunderstand what Paul is not saying. He is not saying believers
won't ever sin or from time to time fall back into patterns of sin they had before they
were regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Clearly legitimate children of
God do fall back into sin when their focus turns away
from Lord and His sufficiency and onto themselves and to the things of
the world. Stated another way, there may be times in a believer's life
when a snapshot might show that person as if they were living according to the flesh,
but over time they would exhibit evidence of progress in holiness.
Neither is
Paul suggesting that a believer should “Let go and let God”, a philosophy
promoted by some who advocate a so-called "deeper life", in
which one progressively rises to higher and higher levels of
spirituality until sin and even temptation are virtually absent! As long as a
believer is in his or her earth suit, they will be subject to the
passions of the
wily evil
flesh
and will need to keep putting sins to death by the power of the
indwelling Holy Spirit and His ever sufficient supply of grace. Only in heaven
will our need for this "practical" or "progressive" sanctification
(growth in holiness) come to complete and final end, for when we see
Christ, we shall be like Him (1Jn 3:2, 3 - What is He like? Holy of
course. Sinless. Glorified.) Until the consummation of our blessed hope
(Titus 2:13-note), all
believers are admonished to continually be about the Father's business
of putting sin to death by the Spirit (cp Col 3:5-note).
William Newell
has some sobering thoughts...
Here is a terrible warning:
(1) It is one of the great red lights
by which God keeps His elect out of fatal paths. (Compare 1Cor 15:2, Col
1:23-see
note
Col 1:23)
(2) It shows how those who have
received a knowledge of the truth and are addressed by the apostle as
among God's people, may yet be choosing a flesh-walk-which involves the
refusal of the Spirit, a refusal to be led by Him, as are all God's real
sons (Ro 8:14-see note
Romans 8:14).
(3) Death, here, is of course eternal
death, as in Romans 6: "The end of these things is death" (Ro
6:21-see note
Romans 6:21); and
here in Romans 8: "The mind of the flesh is death." (Ro
8:6-see note
Romans 8:6)
(4) Note that expression "about to
die" (mellete). Those following a flesh-walk are not yet viewed as dead,
so let them hear and repent quickly, lest they become as those
professing Christians became in Jude 1:12: Autumn trees without fruit,
twice dead, plucked up by the roots, "-summer ended, a fruitless autumn,
and Divine cursing. or "twice dead" means that there was an awakening, a
quickening, and a tasting, as in Hebrews Six; tasting of the heavenly
gift-eternal life; then, final apostasy, and withdrawal of all gracious
influences; the very roots, as in the barren fig tree, plucked up and
withered. Born again? No. Yet "escaping the defilements of the world, "
only to choose to go back to a "twice-dead" condition. Surely the mind
of the flesh is death! (Romans 8: Expository Notes Verse by Verse)
NOW FOR...
THE BELIEVER'S
OBLIGATION!
BUT IF BY THE
SPIRIT
YOU ARE PUTTING TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY
(Ga5:16): ei de pneumati tas praxeis tou somatos thanatoute (2PPAI):
(Romans 8:2-note;
1 Cor 9:24, 25, 26, 27
-note;
Ga 5:24-note;
Ep 4:22-note;
Col 3:5, 6, 7,8-
notes;
Titus
2:12-
note;
1Pe 2:11-note) (Ro
8:1-note;
Ep 4:30-note;
Ep 5:18-note;
1Pe 1:22-note)
(Acts 19:18, Col 3:9-note
Gal 5:18-note Jn 6:63 contrast Mt 16:27)
But I say,
walk
(present
imperative
= command to conduct ourselves continually surrendered to the sweet
Spirit. Why? Obviously because we are in the state of continual need to
do so! The supernatural Christ life cannot be lived by natural means, no
matter how good or religious or holy they might appear) by the Spirit,
and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For (or
"because" - this further explains the rationale for why Paul commanded
them to continually walk in the Spirit) the
flesh
sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh;
for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the
things that you please (See notes
Galatians 5:16;
Galatians 5:17)
The Early Church Father
Irenaeus wrote that...
The Spirit works, the Son
fulfills His ministry, and the
Father approves; and man is thus brought to full salvation.
It is worth noting as an aside that
the
assurance of believers’ salvation
is validated or demonstrated by
their Christian lifestyle (this topic is discussed in James 2 [Jas 2:14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,2 6- see notes
James 2:14ff] and
throughout the book of 1John, eg, 1Jn 3:6 where "sins" is
present tense = continually commits sins, 1Jn 3:7- What is the warning?
What is the danger? Why would he need to give such a warning?, 1Jn 3:8 -
"practices" is present tense = defining sinning as one's way of
life. Just in case we missed it John repeats the vital truth 1Jn 3:9 -
"cannot sin" again means the genuine believer cannot continually commit
sins as the habit of their life. Why not? What does John say is true of
such a person? 1Jn 3:10 drives home his point - what is the obvious
point that can be clearly seen and easily known? Some would twist John's
straightforward teaching, saying it means something else. Let the text
speak for itself and this vital truth becomes "obvious" [as John
says] -- this truth is vitally important for modern day evangelicalism,
lest one be deceived and believe a lie, die and wake up in hades to
their shock and horror!).
Paul began
Romans 8 teaching why
believers are no longer under condemnation explaining that
the law (principle)
of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has
set you free
from the law (principle) of sin and of death. (see note
Romans 8:2)
What Paul is setting before his
readers is very similar in intent to what God said through Moses to
Israel (except of course they did not possess the indwelling Spirit as
believers today do)...
See, I have set before you today
life and prosperity, and death and adversity... So choose life in order
that you may live, you and your descendants (Deut 30:15, 19b)
Comment: God's
expectation of moral commitment and personal effort by the children of
Israel was no less than what God expects of believers today. How much
more privileged and responsible are we who possess the indwelling Spirit
of Christ!
By the
Spirit - It is not within a man of himself, of his own power or his
own will, to be able to put to death sin. It is only with the aid of
the Spirit; by cherishing and cultivating His influences. The Spirit
gives us the "want to" and "energizes that "want to" so that it can
produce a result pleasing to God (Php 2:13-see notes
Php 2:13). What
God
requires of believers can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit Who
indwells us. And yet we are not forced to be moral/ethical puppets but
instead are commanded to carry out our part of the supernatural
transaction (Php 2:12-see notes
Php 2:12)
John MacArthur comments
that...
Paul’s first instruction
concerning what his readers must do in the struggle with sin destroys
several false views of how believers are made holy: 1) that in a
crisis-moment we are immediately made perfect; 2) that we must “let God”
take over while we remain idle; and 3) that some turning-point decision
will propel us to a higher level of holiness. Rather, the apostle says
the Spirit provides us with the energy and power to continually and
gradually be killing our sins, a process never completed in this life.
The means the Spirit uses to accomplish this process is our faithful
obedience to the simple commands of Scripture (MacArthur,
J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word Pub)
Pastor Ray Pritchard writes...
I
once heard Dr. Ryrie call Romans
8:13 the most important single verse on the spiritual life in the New
Testament. He liked it because it contains a beautiful balance. There is
God’s part—"if by the Spirit"—and there is our part—"you put
to death." Spiritual growth comes when we do our part as we rely
upon the Holy Spirit’s enablement. True spirituality is neither entirely
passive ("Let go and let God") nor entirely active ("I’ve got
to do this all by myself"). This verse balances a moment-by-moment
dependence upon the Spirit with a tough-minded attitude toward the
flesh. Is the spiritual life dependent upon God or upon me? The answer
is Yes! I cannot do it without God. God will not do it without me.
(Think of the) illustration about a car versus an elevated train. One
operates on the storage principle (You put gas in the tank
and you drive it. You burn the gas and when you're out of gas, you stop,
you get more gas, you run it again, you burn it, you get more gas, you
keep on driving until you run out. You're constantly running and
stopping, running and stopping, filling and refilling.), the other on
the contact principle (You have the two rails on the
outside and the electrified third rail in the middle. What is it that
keeps the elevated train going? As long as the train stays in contact
with that third rail in the middle, it will go and go and go and never
stop. Too many people think that walking with the Holy Spirit is like
riding in a car. You get filled with the Holy Spirit and you get run
down and you get filled up again and you get run down. So they're
constantly up and down, up and down, being filled and emptied, being
filled and emptied. That's not the Christian life of the New Testament.)
The Christian life operates on the contact principle. Just as the train
moves forward as long it stays in contact with the third rail, even so
your spiritual life moves forward as you stay in constant contact with
the Holy Spirit. The whole question of the Spirit-filled life resolves
itself into this: Are you keeping in contact with the Holy Spirit? Your
job—your only real job as a Christian—is to stay in contact with the
Spirit -- Day by day. Hour by hour. Moment by moment...How
well have you been staying in contact? (Read his
entire message
including his discussion of "Three Faulty Ways to Live the Christian
Life")
Matthew Henry writes that...
Consider the consequences, what
will be at the end of the way. Here are life and death, blessing and
cursing, set before us. If you live after the flesh, you shall die; that
is, die eternally. It is the pleasing, and serving, and gratifying, of
the flesh, that are the ruin of souls; that is, the second death. Dying
indeed is the soul’s dying: the death of the saints is but a sleep. But,
on the other hand, You shall live, live and be happy to eternity; that
is the true life: If you through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the
body, subdue and keep under all fleshly lusts and affections, deny
yourselves in the pleasing and humouring of the body, and this through
the Spirit; we cannot do it without the Spirit working it in us, and the
Spirit will not do it without our doing our endeavour. So that in a word
we are put upon this dilemma, either to displease the body or destroy
the soul.
Hendriksen emphasizes that...
Those, and those alone, who by
the Spirit, put to death the disgraceful deeds of the body, are able to
rejoice in the fact that they are being led by the Spirit, and therefore
will truly live. (Hendriksen,
W., & Kistemaker, S. J. New Testament Commentary Set, 12 Volumes. Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House)
Haldane adds that...
No man overcomes the corruptions of
his heart but by the influence of the Spirit of God. Though it is the
Spirit of God who enables us to mortify the deeds of the body, yet it is
also said to be our own act. We do this through the Spirit. The Holy
Spirit works in men according to the constitution that God has given
them. The same work is, in one point of view, the work of God, and in
another the work of man.
(Haldane,
R. An Exposition on the Epistle to the Roman. Ages Classic Commentaries)
This same truth (the idea of "by the
Spirit") is emphasized out by Paul in his second epistle to the
Corinthians where he wrote...
Not that we are adequate in
ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our
adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new
covenant, not of the
letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives
life. (2Corinthians 3:5, 6)
Putting to death
(2289)
(thanatoo
from thanatos = death) means literally to kill, to cause
to be put to death, to mortify, to give up to death, to condemn to death
or to deliver over to death. And so in the NT some uses are literal
(Mt 10:21, 26:59, 27:1, Mk 13:12, 14:55) and mean to cause cessation of
life as by condemning to death or delivering/handing one over to be
killed.
In the context of Ro 8:13 Paul is using
thanatoo in a figurative sense (metaphorical), meaning to mortify or subdue the
evil desires and deeds that emanate from those desires. By using the
present tense
Paul is calling for a
sustained effort on the part of believers to "search and destroy" these
death dealing deeds. Remember that "death" speaks of separation so what
a believer enabled by the Spirit is to do is to separate moment by
moment, day by day from the evil deeds of the fallen flesh nature.
In Ro 7:4 thanatoo speaks of
the death that the believer dies through supernatural, mystical but very
real unity with the body of the crucified Christ.
Thanatoo - 11x in NT - Matt.
10:21; 26:59; 27:1; Mk. 13:12; 14:55; Lk. 21:16; Ro 7:4; 8:13, 36; 2Co.
6:9; 1Pet. 3:18.
Thanatoo - 153x in
non-apocryphal Septuagint, most in the literal sense - Ge 38:10;
Ex 14:11; 21:12, 14f; 31:14f; Le 20:2, 9, 10f, 15f, 27; 24:16f, 21;
27:29; Nu 15:35; 21:6; 35:16ff, 21, 31; Deut. 17:7; Jdg. 6:31; 9:54;
13:23; 15:13; 16:30; 20:13; 21:5; 1Sa 2:6; 5:10f; 11:12; 14:45; 17:35,
51; 19:1f, 5, 11, 15, 17; 20:8, 33; 22:17f, 21; 24:7; 28:9; 30:2, 15;
2Sa 1:9f, 16; 3:30, 37; 4:7; 8:2; 13:28, 32; 14:6f, 32; 18:15; 19:21f;
20:19; 21:1, 4, 9, 17; 22:41; 1 Ki. 1:51f; 2:8, 24, 26, 34f; 3:26f;
11:40; 12:24; 13:24; 15:28; 16:10; 17:18, 20; 18:9; 19:17; 2 Ki. 5:7;
7:4; 11:2, 15, 20; 14:6, 19; 15:10, 14, 25, 30; 16:9; 17:26; 21:23;
23:29; 25:21; 2 Chr. 22:11; 23:15, 17, 21; 24:22, 25; 25:3, 27; Job 5:2;
26:13; Ps. 37:32; 44:22; 59:1; 79:11; 102:20; 109:16; Eccl. 10:1; Jer.
8:17; 38:15; 43:3; Lam. 3:53; Ezek. 3:18; 18:13; 33:8, 14;
Paul previewed this statement
("putting to death...") in Romans 6 commanding his readers to
continually...
"Even so
consider
yourselves to be dead to
Sin,
but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (see note
Romans 6:11)
(Comment: How is this to be done? Faith is the key! Faith lays
hold of the truth that in Christ I have already died (Col 3:3-notes
Col 3:3
"for you died") and by faith I reckon this true. The "even so" of Romans
6:11 points back to the glorious truths of Romans 6:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11 that we been
crucified, buried and risen with Christ and now are in Christ. The more
we by faith [and remember faith is closely related to our obedience to
the Spirit] reckon on our position the more it becomes true [by the
power of the Spirit] in our practice.
Vine notes that...
The verb thanatoo, “to put to
death,” is the same as in Ro 7:4
(see
note), where it is
used in the
passive voice.
That was the act of God through the death of Christ. This verse states
the responsibility of the believer himself (Ed note: Here Paul uses the
active voice
= calls for a
volitional choice, a choice of one's will). The power for this is not
his own, but that of the Holy Spirit. In Col 3:9
(note)
the believer is said to have “put off the old man with his doings.”
That is recorded as the initial act of the new life, to be followed by
the constant fulfillment of the putting to death of the deeds of the
body as mentioned in this verse. The body is here regarded as the
instrument of the flesh, the principle which tends to animate it. (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)
(Bolding added)
Webster's Dictionary
helps understand this "mortification" by defining "kill"
as
"to destroy the vital or essential
quality of...to cause to stop...to check the flow of current
through...to put an end to...to deprive one of life".
We are to put to death the evil
deeds of the body, not make excuses for our failure to do so. For
example, we continue to give in to the old patterns and excuse
ourselves by saying we are weak but at least we are honest. We create
elaborate excuses for our sins, saying things like we were deprived as
children or our upbringing is to blame. We minimize our sins by
looking at others and saying at least we are not as bad as others. And
the list of excuses goes on and on. God says "Put these things to
death"!
We are to deprive
Sin
of its power by depriving it of
life and a lifeline...
By "starving" it (e.g., by making
no provision for the flesh in regard to its
lusts
- see note
Romans 13:14)
By ceasing let sin reign in our
mortal bodies and ceasing to present our members to sin (we have control
over our members -- eyes, ears, hands, etc - Ro 6:12, 13-see notes
Ro 6:12,
13)
(Comment:
Sin
is like a deposed monarch who no
longer reigns, nor has the ability to condemn, but works hard to
debilitate and devastate all his former subjects.
Sin
is still potent, and success
against it demands the Spirit’s power.)
By filling our mind with thoughts of
the things above (Col 3:1, 2, Php 4:8-see notes
Col 3:1,
3:2,
Php 4:8).
By abstaining (continually =
present tense)
from "from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul" (1Pe
2:11-see notes
1Pe 2:11)
Puritan John
Owen in his discussion of Romans 8:13 explaining Paul's metaphor of
putting to death wrote...
"To kill a man, or any other living
thing, is to take away the principle of all his strength, vigor, and
power, so that he cannot act or exert, or put forth any proper actings
of his own; so it is in this case. Indwelling sin is compared to a
person, a living person, called "the old man," with his faculties, and
properties, his wisdom, craft, subtlety, strength; this, says the
apostle, must be killed, put to death, mortified, i.e., have its power,
life, vigor, and strength, to produce its effects, taken away by the
Spirit."
"Mortification abates [sin's] force,
but doth not change its nature. Grace changes the nature of man, but
nothing can change the nature of sin... Destroyed it may be, it shall
be, but cured it cannot be...If it be not overcome and destroyed, it
will overcome and destroy the soul. And herein lies no small part of its
power...It is never quiet, [whether it is] conquering [or] conquered. Do
you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you
live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be
killing you."
Paul has a similar
message regarding the believer's current interactions with the old
Sin
nature and the evil of the
flesh...
1Cor 9:27 but I buffet
my body (literally = hit under the eye and figuratively knock out the
bodily impulses to keep them from preventing Paul from winning souls to
Christ) and make it my slave (Spirit empowered self denial - are you a
"slave" to your body? Does your body give the orders?), lest possibly,
after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified
(adokimos [see
bema] = means to test and
find not passing the test. It does not = losing one's salvation -
disqualified athletes did not lose citizenship - those who failed to
meet requirements could not participate at all - in context seems to
refer especially to fleshly sins, especial sexual immorality, that
disqualify - a disqualified believer might be "put on the shelf" and
was no longer usable by the Lord in addition to suffering loss of one's
eternal reward!
Meditate
deeply on this warning beloved)." (1
Corinthians 9:24-27) (See
John Piper's sermon series on "Olympic Spirituality:
Part One: Beyond the Gold
Part Two - How Shall We Run?)
Based upon the believer's new
life in Christ Who gave them a new and supernatural power Paul commanded
the Colossians...
Therefore (based upon the truth about
their new supernatural position and power
- Col 3:1, 2, 3, 4 - see notes
Colossians 3:1;
3:2;
3:3;
3:4)
consider
(aorist
imperative
= Do this now and do it effectively! Can convey even a sense of urgency)
the members of your earthly body as
dead
to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts
to idolatry. (Maclaren
likens it to a man who while working at a machine gets his fingers drawn
between rollers or caught in the belting. “Another minute and he will be flattened to a shapeless
bloody mass. He catches up an axe lying by and with his own arm hacks
off his own hand at the wrist.... It is not easy nor pleasant, but it is
the only alternative to a horrible death”)
6 For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come,
7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander,
and abusive speech from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its
evil practices, (see notes
Colossians 3:5;
3:6;
3:7;
3:8;
3:9)
Comment: Puritan
Richard Baxter wrote, “Use sin as it will
use you; spare it not, for it will not spare you; it is your murderer,
and the murderer of the world: use it, therefore, as a murderer should
be used. Kill it before it kills you; and though it bring you to the
grave, as it did your Head, it shall not be able to keep you there”
Deeds (4234)
(praxis from prásso = to do, perform) is an act, deed or
practice. In the plural, praxis refers to one's acts or works and
by extension to one's conduct. Praxis has the basic meaning
of a doing of something, i.e., a deed. It later came to connote
something that was ordinarily done or practiced, a normal function.
Praxis - 6x
in NT - Matt. 16:27; Lk. 23:51; Acts 19:18; Rom. 8:13; 12:4; Col. 3:9
Body (4983)
(soma) refers to the material body which represents an organized
whole made up of parts and members. Our physical, mortal body is
morally neutral, But since we live in physical bodies, sin finds
expression through the body. Therefore in the present context Paul uses "body" as
essentially synonymous with the old flesh.
"The deeds of
the body” are those actions and practices which express undue
dependence on satisfying the base human appetites and ambitions inherent
in the fallen
flesh
which characterize one who is not alive in Christ Jesus.
Robert Haldane
writes that "the deeds of the body" is synonymous with...
the works which corrupt nature
produces. The believer neither indulges nor walks
according to them, but
mortifies and puts them to death. Those to whom the Apostle wrote had
mortified the deeds of the body, yet they are here called to a further
mortification of them, which imports that this is both a gradual work,
and to be continued and persevered in while we are in the world. This
shows that the sanctification of the believer is progressive. (Haldane,
R. An Exposition on the Epistle to the Roman)
Morris notes that the
verb thanatoo...
may be used of literally putting
a person to death (Luke 21:16 etc.), or of undergoing the danger of
death (see note
Romans 8:36).
Mortifying deeds means killing them off, getting rid of them altogether.
But the tense is
present,
which indicates a continuing activity. It is not something that we can
do once and for all and be done with. It is a daily duty. What is to be
killed is “the deeds of the body”....Such actions are the objects
of decisive and hostile action as far as the believer is concerned.
There is to be no life in the deeds in question. They are not living
options. And this is to take place through an action of the believer
(“you put to death”), though not an unaided action, for the
mortification is to be done “by the Spirit”. It is the energy of the
divine Spirit, not the energy of the flesh, that enables the believer to
put the body’s deeds to death. (Morris,
L. The Epistle to the Romans. W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press)
S Lewis Johnson
comments that...
To mortify the deeds of the body is
the practical, or experiential, side of Ro 6:11
(see
note). It is
the reckoning put into practice in the daily life, the self-abnegation
that must characterize the believer. It is the result of the law of the
Spirit of life and His operation within the believer, the working of the
Spirit to suppress and destroy the effects of the sin principle. The
apostle refers to the activity in Galatians 5:24 as a position, and in
Colossians 3:5
(see
note) as an activity and
process (Sermon
on Romans 8:5-17)
Mounce comments that...
The lower nature does not
automatically fade away when a person comes to Christ. The need to put mor
to death the evil practices of the body is ongoing. Note as well that
the way to crucify the old self is to obey the promptings of the Spirit.
When we walk in fellowship with the indwelling Spirit, the desires of
the lower nature are not met. For all practical purposes they are put to
death. It is only when we break fellowship with the Spirit that our
sinful nature is able successfully to reassert its fraudulent claim on
our lives. The key to freedom from what we were is constant reliance on
the active presence of the Spirit. (Mounce,
R. H. Romans: The New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman Publishers)
See the article by
Greg Herrick entitled "Of
the Mortification of Sin in Believers", based on Romans 8:13
and puritan John Owen's classic (but difficult to read in its old
English style) on putting to death sin. Another superb article by John
MacArthur gives many guidelines on the practical "Mortification of Sin".
Ray Stedman offers an interesting illustration of the spiritual
war involving the evil flesh and the Spirit of God
"At the close of World War II, a picture appeared in a
magazine showing a soldier in conflict with a tank. I remember the
picture vividly because it was in color and it showed a tremendously
huge army tank bearing down on the tiny figure of the soldier, about to
crush him. How frightened he was, as this massive tank was about to
overwhelm him. The picture was designed to show the odds involved when a
foot soldier with a rifle faced a tank. Then it showed what happened to
that soldier's odds when the bazooka (a rocket launcher) was invented.
It showed him standing with a bazooka in his hands. It was the same
soldier, but he had a different weapon. The next picture showed the
tank, shrunken in size, with the soldier at least equal in size, if not
a little larger.
This is what Paul is saying to us. WITHOUT THE POWER OF
GOD released in our lives, we are like an infantry soldier in the
presence of a tank. We cannot do a thing. It is too much for us. But, by
trust in the power of the living God at work in us, we can rise up in
the FACE OF TEMPTATION, and, armed with the BAZOOKA OF THE SPIRIT, we
can say, "YES" to the Spirit & "NO" to the flesh -- and He will make it
stick! We can turn and begin to live as God intended us to live."
(Read Pastor Stedman's complete message
Why not Live?)
(Bolding added) (Note that the order is not by accident but is critical
- First = "Yes" to the Spirit. Then = "No" to the flesh.
Be careful not to reverse the order or you may find the "tank" runs you
over!)
John MacArthur in the abstract
of his article entitled "Mortification of Sin" writes that...
"It is puzzling how a Christian who
has experienced liberation from sin's dominion can at times give in to
temptation in his daily life. The OT account of Agag and the Amalekites
is a good illustration of how Christians should deal with sin. They
should not try to co-exist with it, but should remove it completely.
Saul partially obeyed God's directive, but Samuel obeyed it to the
letter by killing King Agag. Christians obey God's command to mortify
sin by living a life in the Spirit and not acknowledging any obligation
to the flesh. Consistent effort to mortify sin in the body comes through
a life lived in the Spirit. Mortification is the believer's
responsibility and includes such responsibilities as abstaining from
fleshly lusts, making no provision for the flesh, fixing one's heart on
Christ, meditating on God's Word, praying incessantly, exercising
self-control, and being filled with the Spirit (Ed note: I would add confessing
our sins 1Jn 1:9) Covering up sin, internalizing it, exchanging it for
another sin, or merely repressing it do not equate to sin's
mortification. Continuously and uncompromisingly removing sin resulting
in a conscience free from guilt is what the process entails." (Master's
Seminary Journal: Volume 5: #1, Spring, 1994)
The Puritan writer Richard Baxter
warns pastors of the danger of preaching about putting to death the
deeds of the body and yet not doing it themselves...
Take heed to yourselves, lest you
live in those sins which you preach against in others, and lest you be
guilty of that which daily you condemn. (Ro 2:1-note) Will you make it your
work to magnify God, and, when you have done, dishonor him as much as
others? Will you proclaim Christ’s governing power, and yet condemn it,
and rebel yourselves? Will you preach his laws, and willfully break
them? If sin be evil, why do you live in it? if it be not, why do you
dissuade men from it? If it be dangerous, how dare you venture on it? if
it be not, why do you tell men so? If God’s threatenings be true, why do
you not fear them? if they be false, why do you needlessly trouble men
with them, and put them into such frights without a cause? Do you “know
the judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of
death;” and yet will you do them? “Thou that teachest another,
teachest thou not thyself? Thou that sayest a man should not commit
adultery, or be drunk, or covetous, art thou such thyself? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou
God?” (Ro 1:32-note;
Ro 2:17-note;
Ro 2:21-note,
Ro 2:22-note,
Ro 2:23-note,
Ro 2:24-note) What! shall the same tongue speak evil
that speakest against evil? Shall those lips censure, and slander, and
backbite your neighbor, that cry down these and the like things in
others? Take heed to yourselves, lest you cry down sin, and yet do not overcome
it; lest, while you seek to bring it down in others, you bow to it, and
become its slaves yourselves: “For of whom a man is overcome, of the
same is he brought into bondage.” “To whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.” O brethren! it is
easier to chide at sin, than to overcome it. (2Pe 2:19-note;
Ro 6:19-note)
(from
The Reformed Pastor)
YOU WILL LIVE: zesesthe (2PFMI):
Live (2198)
(zao) according to some commentators is purely an eschatological
reference. In other words they say Paul is not speaking about our
quality of living in our earthly bodies but is only referring to our
future life with God in eternity. I would agree with others that both
aspects (our present and our future life) are included in the
life Paul
promises the Spirit filled, Spirit empowered, obedient saint. While every believer enters into
eternal
life in one sense when they are born again, it is possible to possess
this eternal life and yet not experience it fully or abundantly as Jesus alluded to in
John 10 declaring...
"The thief comes only to steal, and
kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have
it abundantly (over and above, superabundant, superior in
quality)" (John 10:10)
In short, it is not enough for us to have the
Spirit. Paul is teaching that it is mandatory that the Spirit must have
us! Only then can the Spirit share with us the abundant, victorious life
that is possible in Christ. Believers have absolutely no obligation to the
flesh
(Ro 8:12-see note
Ro 8:12), because the
flesh
has only brought trouble into
our lives. We do however have an obligation to the Holy Spirit, for it is the
Spirit Who convicted us, revealed Christ to us, and imparted eternal
life to us when we trusted Christ. Because He is “the Spirit of Life,”
(Jn 6:63). He (and He only) can empower us to obey Christ and enable us to be
more like Christ, even "more than conquerors through Him that loved us"
(Ro 8:37-see note
Ro 8:37).
Then as we continue to walk according to the Spirit (Ro 8:4-see note
Ro 8:4
cp Ga 5:16- see notes
Galatians 5:16),
by being spiritually minded (Ro 8:6-see note
Ro 8:6),
the believer can put to death sinful deeds and live for God.
Morris
explains that if you put to death the deeds of the body in the energy of
the Holy Spirit you will live and warns that...
Real life is not a possibility
when we choose to luxuriate in the body’s deeds. We must renounce all
such deeds if we are to experience life in the Spirit. This is not
because some meritorious achievement is required of us as a way of
earning such life. It is because the two are incompatible. The one
excludes the other. There is a living that is death and there is a
putting to death that is life. (Morris,
L. The Epistle to the Romans. W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press)
LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
William Newell has a lengthy
discussion of this life in the Spirit...
But if, by the Spirit, ye put to
death the doings of the body, ye shall live-Here is a most definite
word that the body is under the control of sin; and a most definite
statement as to the manner of a holy life.
1. The deeds, or doings of the body
are naturally selfish, and so, evil, for the body is not redeemed. (See
same word "deed" in Lk 23:51.) The body would have its every
desire gratified-because it so desires. It has no governor in itself but
the sin by which it is still dead-to God and all holiness. Even the
lawful needs and desires of the body become sinful and deathful if the
body is allowed to rule. In Ro 6;12-note
we hear: "Let not
Sin
reign in your mortal body
that ye should obey the desires of it" (the body). The beasts and
birds follow the instincts and desires of their bodies, being without
spirit, conscience or sin. But man cannot do so. For he has, yea, he is,
essentially a spirit, though he dwells in a bodily tabernacle, and has a
conscience, under the eye of which all his consents or refusals pass,
and that constantly. And to let his unredeemed body govern him, is to
fall far below the very beasts: for he lets
Sin
reign in his mortal body, when
he lets the lusts of the body control his decisions.
2. Now God says the "doings" of the
body are to be put to death. Not that our bodies are not dear to God.
They are, - and if we are Christ's our bodies are members of Christ
(1Cor 6:15). But they are not redeemed as yet. And God has left us in
these unredeemed bodies, that we may learn-
(1) the badness of our old self-life,
as we see that in our flesh there dwelleth no good thing;
(2) the exceeding sinfulness of
Sin,
-and learn to hate and abhor it;
(3) the sweet and blessed path of
relying on the indwelling Holy Spirit, -nay, even of using His Almighty
and willing power by acts of simple faith; for it reads, "If WE, by the
Spirit, put to death the doings of the body."
For we must note most carefully that
a holy life is to be lived by us. It is not that we have any power, for
we have none. But God's Spirit dwells in us for the express object of
being railed "upon by us to put to death the doings of the body."
Self-control is one of that sweet cluster called "the fruit of the
Spirit, " in Gal 5:22.
How confidently Paul walked in this
power of the Spirit! "In the Holy Spirit, " he says, in 2Cor 6:6, -"in
pureness, " etc. And again, "I will not be brought under the power of
any" bodily desire, however lawful. And again, "I buffet my body, and
bring it into subjection; lest, having preached to others, I myself
should be rejected" (1Co 6:13; 9:27).
A holy life without a controlled body
is an absolute contradiction; not to be dreamed of for a moment. Indeed,
God goes further here, and says, "Ye shall live, -if ye by the Spirit
put to death the doings of the body": the opposite path being, "If ye
live according to flesh, ye are about to die!"
WALKING BY THE SPIRIT
When we announce that the Scripture
teaching is that walking by the Holy Spirit has taken the place of
walking under the rule of the Mosaic law, there remains to be examined,
and that most carefully, just what walking by the Spirit means.
1. It does not mean to desert the use
of our faculties of moral perception or of moral judgment.
Although there doubtless are
occasions in which the believer, being filled with the Spirit, acts in a
wholly unanticipated way; and although there may be times when he will
be carried quite out of himself in ecstasies of joy or love; and
although the believer walking by the Spirit will normally be conscious
of the almighty power within, of triumph over the world and the flesh:
nevertheless the feet of the believer will never be swept from the path
of conscious moral determination. He will always know that so far as
decisions of moral matters are concerned, he has still the sense of
moral accountability, or, perhaps better, responsibility. The believer's
own conscience will protest against any such letting go of himself as
has been unfortunately found throughout Church history when people have
submitted themselves to such ecstatic states that moral judgment
and self-control were cast to the winds.
We do indeed read of most remarkable
experiences) and that in deeply approved saints, in which their spirits
were over- whelmed by the vision of Divine things, and we must adduce
that in such experiences they were rapt and ecstatic; but never to the
losing of that self-control which, we read in Ga 5:22-note, is a fruit of the
Spirit. Even in the- exercise of the gifts spoken of by the apostle in 1Corinthians 12 to 14, it is definitely declared, "The spirits of the
prophets are subject to the prophets."
It is in the abandonment of the sense
of moral responsibility into unscriptural surrender of the mental and
spiritual faculties, -into other control than self-control directed by
the Holy Spirit, that such awful extravagances have occurred in Church
history.
2. To be led by the Spirit does
indeed involve the surrender of our wills to God. But God, on His side,
does not crush into fatalistic abandon those very faculties with which
He has endowed men. On the contrary, the surrendered saint immediately
finds His faculties marvelously quickened, -his faculties both of mind
and of sensibility. All the powers of his soul-life (which include his
intellect, tastes, feelings, emotions, and recollective memory) are
renewed. His will being yielded to God, God now "works in Him to will"
as well as "to do of His good pleasure, "-in which the surrendered saint
rejoices.
But while it is indeed God who works in us even to will, yet it is true
that walking in the Spirit is still our own choice: "If ye by the Spirit
put to death the doings of the body"- we read. The Holy Spirit is
infinitely ready, but God leads rather than compels.
There is deep mystery, no doubt, in
the great double fact of God is working in us to will, and on the other
hand, of our choosing His will, moment by moment. We can only affirm
that both are taught in Scripture, and we ourselves know both to be
blessedly true. (Romans 8: Expository Notes Verse by Verse)
Beet explains that "put to death" is...
a bold personification: a close parallel in [Col 3:5-see note
Col 3:5].
Experience proves that our past actions, especially often-repeated
actions, are a living power in us today, urging us on in the path we
trod yesterday. This present power of bygone thoughts, words, actions,
we call habit. To destroy it, is to put to death the actions of
the body. The
present tense
(of thanatoo) implies that the destruction is going on day by
day; and therefore implies that the evil influence of their past conduct
continues even in the justified. It is gradually destroyed, as it was
gradually formed, by single acts. Every act of an opposite kind weakens,
and so far tends to kill, the influence of our past life. But the
destruction of habits is gradual. Our body is already dead, in the sense
that through the death of Christ its subjection to sin, and its rule
over us, have ceased. But the actions of the body, i.e. the habits of
our former life, still strive to regain for the body which begot them
its lost dominion. The increasing weakness of these habits is a measure
of spiritual growth. (Beets
Commentary) (Bolding
added)
Wayne Barber asks...
Now how do you "put to
death the deeds of the body"?
By saying "Yes" to God. That's the
mark of a believer, who will live forever.
Now be careful and
don't misunderstand Romans 8:12, 13 - these verses are not saying
that if you drift and let flesh rule over you, that somehow you
are going to be cut off from God and you are going to die. And
some go so far as to say that this verse teaches that you can
"fall from grace". E.g., the College Press NIV Commentary Series
comment on this Ro 8:13 says
"that a Christian can fall from grace
and lose his salvation."
That is NOT WHAT PAUL IS SAYING…remember
what Paul said in
Romans 8:1
"There is NOW therefore NO CONDEMNATION
for those who are IN Christ Jesus." (see note
Romans 8:1)
Context
is king in
interpretation and the NIV comment fails to interpret this verse in
light of the overall context of Romans 8. There is no sentence of
eternal death just because I slip back up under the Law and am
frustrated immediately. This does not mean that I have lost my
salvation! That is not what Paul is saying here.
In the
immediately preceding context Paul clearly was contrasting two
radically different lifestyles - on one side, those in Adam and on
the other, those in Christ. Those walking as a lifestyle according
to the flesh receive death but those walking according to the Spirit
experience life and peace. So Paul is contrasting two distinctive and
different families and two different eternal destinies - those in
Adam
("in the flesh") versus those in Christ (in the Spirit). (see
Chart
contrasting in the flesh vs in the Spirit)
So if a person is living habitually according to the
flesh, he
must die, where the verb for "must" is (mello) which literally
means he is about to die. The point is that his death (and almost
certainly this refers to eternal death) is imminent…he is certain
to die.
On the other side in Christ are those who are as a habit of life
by the Spirit putting to death the deeds of the body. Paul's point
is that as a believer, you have within your mortal body, the
Resource you must have to put to death the sinful deeds of the
body.
Not only do we have the
Resource, the Holy Spirit, but we
also owe a debt to Him.
Why? Just focus on the Cross. He died for
sin. If you ever take your focus off the Cross, you are going to
be "bewitched" and you are going right back into being obligated
to the
flesh
(cf Galatians 3:1 "You foolish Galatians, who has
bewitched
you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified?"). But when you keep your focus on the cross ("the word
of the Cross…to us who are being saved it is the power of God." =
the enablement for sanctification) you realize that is why Jesus
died - He condemned sin in the flesh.
Therefore now I am not
obligated to the
flesh
anymore. It cost Jesus His life on the
Cross and a cruel death. Now that He is resurrected…now that I've
put my faith in Him…now that His Spirit lives within me…now I am a
debtor, bound by duty to live a life of righteousness and
holiness…to live a life of surrender to Him (Ro 6:13-note "present
(yield, surrender) yourselves to God as those alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.")…to
put to death the deeds of the flesh.
And with the phrase "You
will live" in (Ro 8:13) Paul points us to the future…you will persevere
and you will possess the fullness of the life that God has given
to you for all eternity.
So how do you put to death the deeds of the body? Go back to
Romans 6:12-14...
do not let
Sin
reign in your mortal body that
you should obey its lusts. (Ro 6:12, 13, 14- see notes
Romans 6:12,
6:13,
6:14)
So sin can "reign" in
our mortal body, that part of us even as believers which is
decaying and destined to die. This is where
Sin
is resident - in the hollows of
our decaying body. So Paul says in essence make up your mind that
Sin
will not reign. And yet all of
us know that the
flesh
can deceive our mind and
somehow we think that we just have a right to do what the
flesh
wants me to do.
Have you ever heard the phrase
"Well, let's just let our hair
down for a little while."
To many people that saying
means let's just live a while according to the flesh because after
all it's a struggle walking after the Spirit. We have to make up
our mind that we will not just take a little "R & R" dealing with
Sin.
Remember it's not that you
can't...it is really that you won't deal
seriously with whatever problem you are wrestling with. Then you
have to do something about it as (Ro
6:13) says -
I've got to learn way of presentation - I don't look at the
flesh
at all. I've got to start
learning how to put myself in proximity to what God can do in my
life. I've got to learn to get into the Word of God. Don't build
your faith from what you hear from the pulpit. Build your faith on
what the Word of God says - be a Berean. Check it out. The Word of
God is the authority. Not the preacher. The Holy Spirit is the
real Teacher.
If you're not regularly
in the Word of God, then you can be assured that you have already
been deceived by your
flesh
and you are living a very
discouraged and defeated life because you think somehow you are
now obligated to what your
flesh
is shouting out for you to do.
If you are not in the Word of
God and it is in you, then you are not placing yourself in the
place where God can begin to work in your life.
How many Christians are deluded
into thinking that if they just go to a "higher life" or "deeper
life" or "exchanged life", etc, etc, conference, that they will be
"zapped" by the speaker or the material and they will emerge a
spiritually mature believer?
Finally Paul sums it up in
Romans 6:14
"For sin shall not be master
over you, for you are not under law, but under grace." (see
note
Romans 6:14)
What does it mean to be
under law? Simply put it means you are still trying to do it
yourself! You say
"I know how I'll be more
spiritual. I'll set my alarm and get up at 3AM every morning."
And that will last for a short
time, but that's not serving God in the newness of the Spirit.
On the other hand, being
under grace means that I place no confidence in my
flesh
and instead I'm putting
my confidence in the Holy Spirit of God. And then if the Holy
Spirit wakes me up at 3AM for a "quiet time" I get up and
surrender to Him. You agree with Him...
"I am under Your authority and
I am obligated to do what You tell me to do and I know that it is
in Your power that I do it and so I surrender myself to You."
And the rest of it is history!
We've got to lay hold of what it truly means to be under amazing,
miracle working grace.
Don't fall for the trap of
setting up a list of rules that you can and can't do anymore and
expect that to produce the fruit of victory. That won't do
anything but "irritate" your
flesh
and bear fruit for death
(see notes
Romans 7:5).
What you do is your put
yourself up under the Spirit and you learn to obey what He
says to do. And this is the essence of what Paul says in (Romans
8:14) (see
notes)…
You have to allow the Spirit to
lead you…
You've got to let the Spirit
dominate you…
You've got to let the Spirit be
in control of your life by constantly surrendering to Him.
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