- OUR DOUBLE NATURE — PAUL TEACHES :
- Paul alerts the believers regarding our 2 natures: The flesh Adamic nature and the spiritual nature from God
- “The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust;
and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”
1 Corinthians 15:47-50
[We acquire the image of the heavenly Man, Jesus Christ, when we are born again and Christ comes to our spirit by the Holy Spirit and gives us eternal life]
- “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 [The man of
flesh will continue to grow old and ultimately die, but the heavenly man in us will continue through the process of sanctification continue to grow more and more like Christ.]
- Our Adamic flesh earthly nature is rebellious and opposes the Spirit of Christ in us like Adam rebelled against God his Creator. Paul observes that same
battle in his own body: [Romans 7:14-25]
- “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” [7:14]
- “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” [7:15]
- “But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” [7:17]
- “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” [7:19]
- “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.” [7:21-22]
- “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.” [7:23]
HOW TO OBTAIN VICTORY :
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”
[Gal. 5:16-17]
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” [Romans 8:1]
- DEATH TO THE OLD MAN AND NO LONGER SLAVE TO SIN :
- When we are born again, our dead spirit that we inherited from Adam [Romans 5:12] is changed by the Spirit of Christ that comes
to dwell in us. The Spirit gives eternal life to our dead spirit and we are born again of the Spirit [John 3:5, John 5:24] We are sealed with the
Spirit [Eph. 1:13]. But the flesh continues dead in sin. Paul explains how this also changes when we are baptized in Christ and in His death.
- Paul’s letter to the Romans :
- “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”
- “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,”
- “That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
- “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
- “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Romans 6:3-6
- Letter to the Colossians :
- “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who created him.” Colossians 3:9-10
- Letter to the Ephesians :
- That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Eph. 4:22-24
- THE WORKS OF THE FLESH — WARNINGS FROM THE APOSTLES :
- PETER: Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking… Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts which war against the soul. 1 Peter 2:1, 11
- JAMES: Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
You lust and do not have… Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants
to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:1, 4
- PAUL: Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments
of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall
not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:12-14