Although scholars have debated whether Paul in Romans 7:14-25 is referring to his pre-conversion state or to his post-conversion state, it is clear that being “carnal” (ruled by the “flesh”) is a condition that every believer in Jesus must confront post-conversion.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 5:23)
Paul here refers to what some have termed the “Trinity of Man.” According to this verse, a human being consists of spirit, soul, and body. In the Greek text, each of these three has its own definite article and each is separated by the conjunction meaning “and” or “also.” We find in Genesis 1:26 that man was created in God’s Image and Likeness. The New Testament presents God as a Triune Being. Although the term “Trinity” does not occur in the text of Scripture, many historians attribute the term to Tertullian in the second century. Since man carries the “Imago Dei,” we should expect that man also would be a “trinity.” Jesus tells us in John 4:24 that “God is a Spirit.” Thus, we should expect that man would be primarily a spiritual being. And so we conclude that man is a spirit, who has a soul, and who lives in a body.
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things [pertaining to that “new creation”] are of God…
II Corinthians 5:17-18a
It is obvious that at the New Birth, the body does not become a “new creation.” If we had blue eyes before embracing faith in Christ, we still have blue eyes. Now the time will come when our bodies WILL be transformed and glorified by the same energizing dynamic of the Holy Spirit that wrought in regeneration. In other words, when the last trumpet sounds, our bodies will be “born again.”
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (I Corinthians 15:53)
It is also evident that every aspect of the soul (the mind, will and emotions) was not instantly transformed at the moment of regeneration. There are still thought patterns and mentality paradigms that must be discarded and “renewed” by the Word and the Spirit of God.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)
Paul is writing to believers at Rome, exhorting them that their minds must be “renewed.” So since our bodies do not automatically become “new” at Regeneration, and since our minds do not totally become “new” at Regeneration, that only leaves our spirit. At the New Birth, our spirit becomes a New Creation in Christ. Then begins the process of transformation of life, by renewing our mindset and bringing our bodies into subjection.
Sadly, many Christians are caught in a cycle of “sin and repent,” similar to the one described by the Apostle Paul. What they want to do they do not do, and what they do not want to do, they do. Guilt over past failures and lack of demonstrative victory has caused many precious people to simply give up on the quest to actually live out a holy life upon the earth. Some in desperation have taught that Christians must sin a little bit each day because they can’t help it. In over forty years of ministry, I have discovered that Christians don’t sin because they HAVE to. Rather, they sin because they CHOSE to. And the guilt that follows has paralyzed them and stopped their forward progress.
However, Paul gives us the answer as we move from Romans Chapter 7 into Romans Chapter 8. Paul already informs us in Romans 6:4 that sins “dominion,” its power and authority, it’s right to dominate us is broken as we apply and walk in the Grace and Empowering of God. God’s Grace empowers us to overcome sin. It does NOT “excuse” us to stay in sin. The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ not only paid the PRICE for sin, but also broke the POWER of sin! From that platform of revelation that victory is already ours through Christ, we can begin to walk out of bondage an into glorious liberty.
In Romans 7, Paul vents the frustration he felt over the “law of sin” that still seemed to war in his members. But as he moves into Romans 8, his tone changes from struggle to triumph. My paraphrase (“midrash”) would read like this:
Who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord, that there is now no “guilty” verdict for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the spiritual Law of Life has made me free from the law of sin and death (that was “warring” in my members). For what the written Law (“Torah”) could not do through weakness of the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. He did this in order that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fulfilled in us, to the degree that we live out of the realm of the spirit, and not according to the realm of the flesh.
Higher laws generally always supersede lower laws. For example, the laws of aerodynamics supersede the law of gravity. The law of gravity doesn’t cease to exist, but by the application of a higher law it can be “overcome” and we can fly in an airplane, so long as the engine stays on. By the same token, the “law of sin” may still continue to exist in our “members” until that last glorifying trumpet sounds, by the application of a higher law, the Law of Life originating in the realm of the spirit, the “law of sin” can be overcome. Since the Law of Life HAS made us free, the application of that Law will empower us to progressively overcome (as long as we keep the engine on). We can develop sensitivity to the realm of the spirit, and learn to live out of the unlimited resources resident there. To the degree that we do learn to live out of that realm, our minds will be renewed, our lives transformed, and the “law of sin” overcome, not only judicially by the Cross, but also practically in actual demonstration in our lives. And so, the vicious cycle of “sin and repent” will begin to be broken in those besetting areas of our lives. Be Blessed!
