Chopper
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- Aug 11, 2013
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Romans 6:14 "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." (ESV)
The following is a study into being delivered from the power of the sinful nature that is in all Christians. I believe that all Believers in Christ Jesus need to know what exactly Almighty God has, by a supernatural surgery, placed inside all "born again" Children of God to overcome that sinful nature that we all inherited from Adam.
My favorite Greek Professor, Dr. Kenneth Wuest, has provided the following....This is long, and not everyone will totally understand this study, but give it your best, and you'll come away with great wisdom and knowledge in our battle against sin.
Romans 6:11-14
Dr. Wuest,
"We come now to another aspect of the method whereby the saint obtains victory over sin. In verses 1-10, Paul has presented two main facts; first, the believer stands in the position of a permanent relationship of freedom to the sinful nature, and need not obey it, and second, the divine nature is imparted by which he is given both the desire and the power to do God’s will. This is the inner spiritual machinery God has installed whereby the believer lives his Christian life. But, like an automobile engine, this machinery works best when it is serviced regularly. There is always a change for the good in a new convert’s life. But if he does not understand this inner change and adjust himself properly to it, he lives a mediocre Christian life. This adjustment Paul speaks of in verses 11-13, namely, that which the believer must do if he expects the best results from this inner change God wrought in him.
He is to do two things, one, reckon himself dead to sin, two, reckon himself alive to God. The word "reckon" is logizomai, "to reckon, count, compute, to take into account," Here Paul is exhorting the saints that in their endeavor to live a life in accordance with the Word of God, they should take into account the fact that they are dead to sin, that they have been disengaged from the evil nature, that it has no power over them anymore, that they are scot free from it and can say a point blank NO to it, also to take into account the fact that they are alive to God, that is, that the divine nature has been imparted with the result that that nature gives them both the desire and the power to regulate their lives in accordance with the Word of God. Now, reckoning one’s self dead to sin and alive to God does not make one so. God constituted the saint so when He saved him. But the act of reckoning brings into better operation with beneficial results, the working of this inner spiritual machinery. For instance, there is a game in which a blindfolded person is brought into the room, and made to stand on a table board which rests on some books on the floor. Two young men lift the board about a foot, and warn the young man not to bump his head against the ceiling. Thinking that he is near the ceiling, he loses his balance and falls off. He lost his balance and fell because he reckoned himself where he was not. Just so, a Christian who fails to count upon the fact that the power of the sinful nature is broken in his life, fails to get consistent victory over it, with the result that he lives a mediocre Christian life. He reckoned himself where he was not.
Another young man is blindfolded and stood on the board. He knows the game. When the board is lifted and he is warned not to bump his head against the ceiling, he remains perfectly straight and maintains his equilibrium, because he reckoned himself where he was. And so it is with a Christian who counts upon, the fact that the power of the sinful nature is broken. He knows that he does not have to obey it, and that he has the power to say NO to it, and he turns his back on it and does what is right.
The Christian who does not count upon the fact that the divine nature is implanted in his inner being, goes on living his Christian life as best he can more or less in the energy of his own strength with the result that he exhibits a mediocre Christian experience. But the believer who counts upon the fact that he is a possessor of the divine nature, ceases from his own struggles at living a Christian life, and avails himself of the life of God supplied in the divine nature. So the first adjustment the Christian should make is that of counting upon the fact that the power of the indwelling sinful nature is broken and the divine nature imparted, and order his life on that principle.
When the saint counts upon the fact that the power of the sinful nature over him is broken, he obeys the exhortation of Paul, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body." "Reign" is basileuō, "to exercise kingly power." The verb is present imperative with the negative mē, which construction forbids the continuance of an action already going on. It is, "Stop allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in your mortal body." The sinful nature is a dethroned monarch. The believer has the responsibility of keeping it from mounting into the throne of his heart, the place which the Lord Jesus should occupy. The believer is well able to do this. His will is free. He has the divine nature and the Holy Spirit to urge him on, and give him the desire and. the power to refuse the sinful nature and obey the Word. Paul says, "Order your behavior in the sphere of, by means of, the Spirit, and you will positively not fulfil the desires of the flesh" (Gal_5:16).
Paul says, "Stop allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in your mortal body with a view to obeying it in the sphere of its passionate cravings." Now, to what does the word "it" refer, to the sinful nature or the body? Logic would lead us to relate the pronoun to the sinful nature, but Greek grammar refers it back to the body, since the pronoun is neuter, the word "sin" is feminine, and the word "body," neuter. The pronoun in Greek agrees with its antecedent in gender. It is true that the sinful desires originate with the evil nature, not with the physical body. But why does Paul in this instance relate them to the body? The answer is found in the fact that the sinful nature is an intangible, invisible entity, and cannot be watched. It is an unseen enemy whose tactics cannot be observed and therefore cannot be guarded against. But the saint is able to keep watch over the members of his body, what his eyes look at, his ears listen to, his mind thinks about, his hands do, and where his feet carry him.
But not only will the saint who counts upon the fact that the power of the sinful nature is broken, stop allowing it to reign as king over him, but he will obey Paul’s exhortation, "neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin." The verb is again present imperative with mē, "Stop yielding." The verb is paristēmi, "to place beside or near, to present, to proffer, to put at one’s disposal." We are to stop putting the members of our body at the disposal of, at the service of the sinful nature. The word "instruments" is hopla. In classical Greek the word referred to the weapons of the Greek soldier. Paul thinks of the members of the Christian’s body as weapons to be used in the Christian warfare against evil. The saint, counting upon the fact that he has been disengaged from the evil nature, does two things, he refuses to allow it to reign as king in his life, and he stops putting his members at its disposal to be used as weapons of unrighteousness.
Now, the saint who counts upon the fact that the divine nature has been implanted, will obey Paul’s exhortation, "Yield yourselves to God, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." The word "yield" is again paristēmi, but in the aorist imperative, which commands a once for all action to be done at once. Paul says, "Put yourselves at once, and once for all, at the disposal of God, as those who are actively alive out from among those who are dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness, at the disposal of God." This is a once for all act of the saint dedicating himself to God and His service, an act to be lived by, and upon the basis of its implications, moment by moment. The saint should live his life every day with the consciousness of that fact in his mind.
When the saint obeys the instructions laid down in these verses relative to his adjustment to the evil nature and the divine nature, Paul says, "The sinful nature will not exercise lordship over you," and he gives the reason, "You are not under law but under grace." To be under law refers to an unsaved person who attempts to live in obedience to the law of God. To be under grace is to be a saved person who has been the subject of the surgical operation in which the power of the sinful nature has been broken and the divine nature implanted. The poet says, "Do this and live, the law commands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. A better word the gospel brings. It bids me fly and gives me wings." Wings in Scripture, speak of supernatural power.
Translation: Thus also be constantly counting upon the fact that on the one hand, you are dead ones with respect to the sinful nature, and on the other, that you are living ones with respect to God in Christ Jesus. Stop therefore allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in your mortal body with a view to obeying it (the body) in its passionate cravings. Moreover, stop putting your members at the disposal of the sinful nature as weapons of unrighteousness, but by a once for all act and at once, put yourselves at the disposal of God as those who are actively alive out from among the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness at the disposal of God, for (then) the sinful nature will not exercise lordship over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
Dr. Kenneth Wuest
The following is a study into being delivered from the power of the sinful nature that is in all Christians. I believe that all Believers in Christ Jesus need to know what exactly Almighty God has, by a supernatural surgery, placed inside all "born again" Children of God to overcome that sinful nature that we all inherited from Adam.
My favorite Greek Professor, Dr. Kenneth Wuest, has provided the following....This is long, and not everyone will totally understand this study, but give it your best, and you'll come away with great wisdom and knowledge in our battle against sin.
Romans 6:11-14
Dr. Wuest,
"We come now to another aspect of the method whereby the saint obtains victory over sin. In verses 1-10, Paul has presented two main facts; first, the believer stands in the position of a permanent relationship of freedom to the sinful nature, and need not obey it, and second, the divine nature is imparted by which he is given both the desire and the power to do God’s will. This is the inner spiritual machinery God has installed whereby the believer lives his Christian life. But, like an automobile engine, this machinery works best when it is serviced regularly. There is always a change for the good in a new convert’s life. But if he does not understand this inner change and adjust himself properly to it, he lives a mediocre Christian life. This adjustment Paul speaks of in verses 11-13, namely, that which the believer must do if he expects the best results from this inner change God wrought in him.
He is to do two things, one, reckon himself dead to sin, two, reckon himself alive to God. The word "reckon" is logizomai, "to reckon, count, compute, to take into account," Here Paul is exhorting the saints that in their endeavor to live a life in accordance with the Word of God, they should take into account the fact that they are dead to sin, that they have been disengaged from the evil nature, that it has no power over them anymore, that they are scot free from it and can say a point blank NO to it, also to take into account the fact that they are alive to God, that is, that the divine nature has been imparted with the result that that nature gives them both the desire and the power to regulate their lives in accordance with the Word of God. Now, reckoning one’s self dead to sin and alive to God does not make one so. God constituted the saint so when He saved him. But the act of reckoning brings into better operation with beneficial results, the working of this inner spiritual machinery. For instance, there is a game in which a blindfolded person is brought into the room, and made to stand on a table board which rests on some books on the floor. Two young men lift the board about a foot, and warn the young man not to bump his head against the ceiling. Thinking that he is near the ceiling, he loses his balance and falls off. He lost his balance and fell because he reckoned himself where he was not. Just so, a Christian who fails to count upon the fact that the power of the sinful nature is broken in his life, fails to get consistent victory over it, with the result that he lives a mediocre Christian life. He reckoned himself where he was not.
Another young man is blindfolded and stood on the board. He knows the game. When the board is lifted and he is warned not to bump his head against the ceiling, he remains perfectly straight and maintains his equilibrium, because he reckoned himself where he was. And so it is with a Christian who counts upon, the fact that the power of the sinful nature is broken. He knows that he does not have to obey it, and that he has the power to say NO to it, and he turns his back on it and does what is right.
The Christian who does not count upon the fact that the divine nature is implanted in his inner being, goes on living his Christian life as best he can more or less in the energy of his own strength with the result that he exhibits a mediocre Christian experience. But the believer who counts upon the fact that he is a possessor of the divine nature, ceases from his own struggles at living a Christian life, and avails himself of the life of God supplied in the divine nature. So the first adjustment the Christian should make is that of counting upon the fact that the power of the indwelling sinful nature is broken and the divine nature imparted, and order his life on that principle.
When the saint counts upon the fact that the power of the sinful nature over him is broken, he obeys the exhortation of Paul, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body." "Reign" is basileuō, "to exercise kingly power." The verb is present imperative with the negative mē, which construction forbids the continuance of an action already going on. It is, "Stop allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in your mortal body." The sinful nature is a dethroned monarch. The believer has the responsibility of keeping it from mounting into the throne of his heart, the place which the Lord Jesus should occupy. The believer is well able to do this. His will is free. He has the divine nature and the Holy Spirit to urge him on, and give him the desire and. the power to refuse the sinful nature and obey the Word. Paul says, "Order your behavior in the sphere of, by means of, the Spirit, and you will positively not fulfil the desires of the flesh" (Gal_5:16).
Paul says, "Stop allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in your mortal body with a view to obeying it in the sphere of its passionate cravings." Now, to what does the word "it" refer, to the sinful nature or the body? Logic would lead us to relate the pronoun to the sinful nature, but Greek grammar refers it back to the body, since the pronoun is neuter, the word "sin" is feminine, and the word "body," neuter. The pronoun in Greek agrees with its antecedent in gender. It is true that the sinful desires originate with the evil nature, not with the physical body. But why does Paul in this instance relate them to the body? The answer is found in the fact that the sinful nature is an intangible, invisible entity, and cannot be watched. It is an unseen enemy whose tactics cannot be observed and therefore cannot be guarded against. But the saint is able to keep watch over the members of his body, what his eyes look at, his ears listen to, his mind thinks about, his hands do, and where his feet carry him.
But not only will the saint who counts upon the fact that the power of the sinful nature is broken, stop allowing it to reign as king over him, but he will obey Paul’s exhortation, "neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin." The verb is again present imperative with mē, "Stop yielding." The verb is paristēmi, "to place beside or near, to present, to proffer, to put at one’s disposal." We are to stop putting the members of our body at the disposal of, at the service of the sinful nature. The word "instruments" is hopla. In classical Greek the word referred to the weapons of the Greek soldier. Paul thinks of the members of the Christian’s body as weapons to be used in the Christian warfare against evil. The saint, counting upon the fact that he has been disengaged from the evil nature, does two things, he refuses to allow it to reign as king in his life, and he stops putting his members at its disposal to be used as weapons of unrighteousness.
Now, the saint who counts upon the fact that the divine nature has been implanted, will obey Paul’s exhortation, "Yield yourselves to God, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." The word "yield" is again paristēmi, but in the aorist imperative, which commands a once for all action to be done at once. Paul says, "Put yourselves at once, and once for all, at the disposal of God, as those who are actively alive out from among those who are dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness, at the disposal of God." This is a once for all act of the saint dedicating himself to God and His service, an act to be lived by, and upon the basis of its implications, moment by moment. The saint should live his life every day with the consciousness of that fact in his mind.
When the saint obeys the instructions laid down in these verses relative to his adjustment to the evil nature and the divine nature, Paul says, "The sinful nature will not exercise lordship over you," and he gives the reason, "You are not under law but under grace." To be under law refers to an unsaved person who attempts to live in obedience to the law of God. To be under grace is to be a saved person who has been the subject of the surgical operation in which the power of the sinful nature has been broken and the divine nature implanted. The poet says, "Do this and live, the law commands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. A better word the gospel brings. It bids me fly and gives me wings." Wings in Scripture, speak of supernatural power.
Translation: Thus also be constantly counting upon the fact that on the one hand, you are dead ones with respect to the sinful nature, and on the other, that you are living ones with respect to God in Christ Jesus. Stop therefore allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in your mortal body with a view to obeying it (the body) in its passionate cravings. Moreover, stop putting your members at the disposal of the sinful nature as weapons of unrighteousness, but by a once for all act and at once, put yourselves at the disposal of God as those who are actively alive out from among the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness at the disposal of God, for (then) the sinful nature will not exercise lordship over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
Dr. Kenneth Wuest
