In Romans 6 the Apostle Paul knew he was crucified with Christ, to do away with the body of sin, so we no longer are sin’s slave, but in Romans 7, Paul severely struggled between knowing the truth and experiencing the truth, just as a farmer struggles between planting a seed, the seed-life transforming the seed into a plant, pushing its way through the soil, and producing more seeds, or a woman’s struggles from conception to delivery, which in Romans 8:1-8 is Paul’s deliverance from the law of sin and death (sin leading to death, 1 John 5:16-17), James 1:12-18), by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, for this is what Romans 8:1-2 says.
Romans 8:1-11 is Paul explaining how “those who are in Christ Jesus, and walk in agreement with the Holy Spirit, frees us from the law of sin and death, so the righteous requirements of the law (what the law demands of us) are fulfilled in us, who walk in agreement with the Holy Spirit” rather than walking in agreement with the flesh or the desires of the sinful flesh.
The human body has only two parts: “carnal”, which is our natural human self that is not sinful but is what 1 Corinthians 2:14 says cannot understand spiritual things, because they are foolishness to the carnal mind, and then the “flesh”, which is the sin-nature or the desire to sin we inherited from Adam that is sinful and must be redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit.
To be carnal minded is spiritual death, so we do not understand Scripture or God’s plans and will for us, but to become spiritually minded is life and peace in the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that frees us from the law of sin and death, for the carnal mind does not believe or obey God’s plans and will; thus, the carnal mind sees God as an enemy, but when we allow the Holy Spirit of life and peace to live in us, it frees us from the life and desires of the “carnal” (natural mind) and “flesh” (desire to sin) of the human body, so we trust God’s plan and will.
When Christ Jesus lives and reigns in us, the carnal or natural mind and fleshly sin, we inherited from Adam is dead because of Adam’s sin, but our human spirit becomes alive in Christ Jesus, because of His righteousness, and this same resurrection life that was in Jesus, the resurrected Christ, will also resurrect us, when it is God’s timing to do so.
Romans 8:12-17 explains how we owe absolutely nothing to our sinful flesh, and should no longer live in agreement with our sinful flesh, but rather ask the Holy Spirit to put to death the actions of sinful flesh (the body), so Christ Jesus can live through us, freeing us from the slavery of sin’s fear of death (Galatians 2:20), so the Holy Spirit in us can loudly cry out in us, “Abba, Father”, or “Father, You really are my Father”, because the Holy Spirit has given us His true witness we really are God’s legal children, His legal heirs, and Christ’s legal joint heirs, to all the Godhead is and has.
Jim Nabors
