Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 2 Study # 1
July 31, 2016
Humble, Texas
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1769 Translation:
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
1901 ASV Translation:
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof:
13 neither present your members unto sin [as] instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace.
- I. The Follow-up On "Reckoning".
- A. The verses of 6:12-14 are a loop, beginning with an imperative respecting the "rule of a king" and ending with an indicative respecting the "rule of a lord". Command with Promise.
- B. Stop letting The Sin reign in the "mortal of you body".
- 1. The present tense imperative implies an on-going reality that needs to be blocked: "Stop letting The Sin rule as a king in your mortal body...".
- 2. The "mortal body" implies that Paul is acceding to the fact that the body is, itself, unchanged by justification and redemption.
- a. This is no denial of the new reality that the mortal body has become the Temple of God by reason of His Spirit's indwelling presence.
- b. The problem is that the body is fundamentally unchanged by that new reality because the Spirit does not directly hold dominion over that body by His presence. He resides; but He only "dominates" by His alteration of the loves and beliefs of the "person" for whom the body is a "tent", and that alteration is significantly hindered by a plethora of associated issues. Thus, we have the entire New Testament as "revelation" designed to address that plethora.
- 3. Paul is also strongly implying that "mortality" is an on-going problem and at least a portion of the root of The Sin's ability to "reign".
- a. The "power" of this "reign" is the body's potent tendency to "react" in situations of living without thought because of an insidious commitment to self-preservation.
- b. The use of "reign" is the use of a word that is tied to the sovereignty of a "king" who does as he pleases to the limits of his domain and its resources.
- c. The problem of all "kings" among men is that they let their authority run in multiple directions that have nothing good in them for the kingdom.
- 4. The outcome of the reign of The Sin in the mortal body is "unto the obedience to its lusts".
- a. The Sin needs a way to express itself: a "body" is the typical means.
- b. The permission given to The Sin comes in the form of "hearing and submitting". This means that there is a dogma presented and believed as a person "hears [and places him/her self] under" whatever is set forth in the dogma.
- c. Thus, The Lie, in some nefarious detail, is set forth as truth with apparent support [You will not die]. Here it is necessary for a person to know and understand the components of temptation.
- 1) At the root of temptation, in terms of the body, are a strong aversion to pain and a complementary commitment to pleasure.
- 2) At the root of temptation, in terms of the soul, are a strong fear of things to come and a complementary commitment to dependence upon "man" for security.
- 3) At the root of temptation, in terms of the spirit, are a strong aversion to being subjected to humiliation and a powerful preference to exaltation in the eyes of men.
- d. The "lusts" of The Sin are all derivations of the above simplicities, but are all the more deceptive simply by reason of the magnitude of their number: as colors are almost infinite in a variation of three basic colors (blue, yellow, and red), so also are the lusts of The Sin.
- 1) That the problem is "lusts" indicates powerful passions that are disinclined to respond to half-hearted remedies. If this was an easy method, we would not need the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
- 2) That these "lusts" show up in so many varied forms means that it will be a remarkable reality if a person escapes the sowing of a great deal of "corruption" as he/she moves through the days of his/her living. There is a life to be had, but it is not going to be the experience of the casual and uncommitted. There has to be, and is, a workable method, but it is not without its own demands for steadfastness in faith.
- 5. The method...
- a. No longer be placing your members alongside The Sin as tools of unrighteousness. In other words, stop doing what you have been doing [another present imperative].
- b. Rather, in a strong adversarial stance, place yourself alongside The God as one living out from the dead and [place yourself alongside The God and] your members as tools of righteousness. Once again the identity we have in Christ in respect to His resurrection.
- c. Clearly, both of these imperatives using the same verb, call for the decision that follows on the heels of legitimate "faith" as it exists as "reckoning". This is not self-effort; faith never is. This is simply taking a firm hold upon the promise(s) of God in active decision making so that we expect His intervention.