Here we are unpacking the 6th question in our “Death to Life” Series, Rm. 7:24, Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
The 3 Points of Focus are
1-He Condemned Sin in the Flesh (Rm. 8:3)
2-Setting our Mind on the Spirit or the Flesh (Rm. 8:5)
3-The Body is Dead because of Sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness (Rm. 8:10)
2 Cor. 12:7-10
Like Pauls thorn in the flesh, us believers have a body of death that we have to carry around until the day we die. This is a reminder of our need for Christ an other peoples’ need for salvation.
Acts 26:28-29
King Agrippa asked do you think you can covert me in such a short time?
Paul desired all men to be like him except for the chains.
1-He Condemned Sin in the Flesh
(Romans 8:1-4)
In this text,
1.1-What are the two internal driving laws at play in the person Paul is talking to?
(The law of the Spirit of Life and the law of sin and death, these are internal verses the external law of God via 10 commandments Ex. 20, Matt. 5:21-22, 5:27-30)
1.2-What has one of the laws done to the other?
(The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death Rm. 8:2)
1.3-What law was unable to succeed because it was weakened by the flesh?
(The Law of God Rm. 8:3 (Do not Covet) Rm. 7:7-8)
1.4-How did God make a way to accomplish what the law was unable to do?
(By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us Rm. 8:3-4)
1.5-What is the purpose of condemning sin in the flesh?
(In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Rm. 8:4)
1.6-Why is that necessary from your point of view?
(Because for God to be the just and justifier of us Rm. 3:26, if he shows mercy to us and disregards our sins, it is very different than Him actually taking the punishment and paying the price for the sins.)
2-Setting our Mind on the Spirit or the Flesh
(Romans 8:5-8)
So in this text, when talking about choosing to set your mind on the Spirit or the flesh
2.1-Is that a choice that anyone can make or is it only a choice that believers can make?
(apart from me you can do nothing John 15:5, John 6:44,63,65, God enables us and calls us to set our mind on the Spirit)
2.2-Is Paul talking to believers here or unbelievers or both?
(Potentially Both. To believers to realize who they are in Christ and unbelievers to recognize their need for Christ Rm.8:9)
2.3-Can an unbeliever set their mind on the spirit?
(No unless your are born again Rm. 3:3, 5, you can not understand the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:10-16)
2.4-Is that something that can be done without being born again or repenting and placing faith in Christ?
(no. Rm. 8:8)
2.5-What condition are we in before our salvation, do we have access to the Spirit?
(We are bent towards rebellion to God. We rebel from Him because it is what we freely want to do. His ways are a burden to us. Rm. 7:21-24)
2.6-If the only option for an unbeliever is the flesh, what good can they choose from their flesh?
(A atheist man can be faithful to his wife, be a reasonably good dad, be a good employee contribute to his community all within his flesh, but when asked to submit to God’s commands, he has a rebellious nature in his flesh that prevents him for doing so. Rm. 8:7)
2.7-Apart from the grace of God, can anyone within their flesh, fulfill the righteous requirement of the law?
(By no means Rm. 8:3-4)
Human Responsibility and Free Will
In the last part of Rm. 8:4, it says that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The text goes on to go back and forth between setting the mind on the Spirit or the Flesh and the fruit produced from this.
In Rm.8:7, is says that the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. This word submit is important in my opinion in regard to the law. We either submit or rebel from the law. And here we have a clear description on what drives our submission or rebellion. It matters what we set our mind on. Acts 2:37 or Acts 7:54
The careful consideration here though in regard to others, is when we urge a person to seek and submit to God’s word and they are not able to do so, are they saved?
The reason this is important is because it is impossible for the flesh to focus on the spirit. Only by the spirit can a person choose Christ.
1 Cor. 12:3 and Matt.16:17
In these two verses it is highlighted that “no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.”
And it also describes when Peter confessed Jesus as the Lord, that Jesus told him “Blessed are you for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in Heaven.
3-The Body is Dead because of Sin,
but the Spirit is Alive because of Righteousness
(Romans 8:9-11)
Here in this part of the passage Paul addresses two things,
1-How do we know if we are in Christ (vs. 9)
2-And how the believers body dies, but his spirit lives. (Vs. 10-11)
3.1-What does it mean that the body is dead because of sin?
(Because of the fall our old man has died Rm. 5:12)
3.2-How do we know if our Spirit is alive?
(You have a new heart with new and right desires) Rm. 8:9, 16, Jer. 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26, Heb. 8:10-12
3.3-How and when does the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead give life to your mortal bodies?
(He internally gives us life immediately, but will also complete that work when we die and receive our glorified bodies. Rm. 8:20-27, 2 Cor. 4:16-5:10)
3.4-How does this life giving relate to the death of the first Adam in Gen. 3?
(Just like Adam didn’t fully physically die in Gen. 3:7-11, he did immediately spiritually died the moment he recognized his nakedness and feared God because of it. This starts the broken relationship that for most only gets worst over time as we continue to fear God and hide from Him. In the same way, when we eat the bread of life, we immediately can find a peace with God and can come to realize you don’t need to hide from Him or cover up who you are. Come to Him as Adam did originally naked and unashamed Gen. 2:25. He already knows what you look like anyway, whether you try to hide it or not. Be real and honest with your creator and ask Him to direct your ways.
James 4:7-8, Prov. 20:24, Ps. 119:105, Prov. 19:21, Prov. 3:5-7
We will meet one more time as a Q&A for this series. Just and overview and a time for you to share your heart and struggles with the text personally. We will just take the time to process the big picture of it all.
We will take a couple weeks and look at a few topics from the Charles Spurgeon book to finish this series and transition into the next one in John 5-8.
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