Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | i am confused about Romans.7:15-20 | Rom 7:14 | shirleytoys | 47844 | ||
Does it mean that we are not really to blame for our sins as it is not really us but what is in us that does it according to Romans. 7:15-20? | ||||||
2 | i am confused about Romans.7:15-20 | Rom 7:14 | ChristLifer2001 | 47845 | ||
Shirleytys, Great question, sis. Paul is describing his struggle to live under the Law as a system of gaining God's acceptance. Trying to live under Law is always going to result in self-defeat and self-condemnation because we can't do it. Paul makes reference here in this passage that though he wants to do the right things, there is a power within him called "indwelling sin" that will use the Law (which is holy, righteous, and good - verse 12) to commit sin. Paul says that this "power of indwelling sin" is within him, but it is not him i.e. it is not his identity. Notice some of the statements he makes: "I am doing the very thing I hate." "I do the very thing I do not wish to do." "For the good that I wish, I do not do." "I joyfully concur with the Law of God." And yet, there was something in Paul, that was not Paul, causing him to sin. "No longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me." - vs 17 "But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me." - vs 20. This "power of indwelling sin" dwells in what Paul calls the flesh - not that the body is inherently evil, but the the power of indwelling sin will use the Law to cause the flesh to sin. Everyone still has what the Bible calls "the flesh" - the tendency to get our needs met apart from God, the desire to edify self. This is the part of us that we war against - the Spirit against the flesh. Though this power of indwelling sin is in us, it is not us. We are new Christians in Christ - 2 Cor 5:17 - with a new spirit and heart. It is only as we walk in the Spirit - appropriating our union with God's Spirit, then we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Hope this helps. ChristLifer2001 |
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3 | Possible definition for 'Flesh'? | Rom 7:14 | Evan | 47848 | ||
Wanted to float an idea for a possible definition of 'Flesh' and 'Spirit'. I guess the problem I keep having with 'Flesh' is that it does talk about Jesus coming 'in the flesh'(1 John 4:2, 2 John 1:7 etc etc). What does it mean that Jesus came 'in the flesh'? I think 'flesh' could mean this sinful age that is in oposition to God. 'Spirit' is the age to come that is heavenly and of God. Just an idea, feel free to shoot it down... |
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4 | Possible definition for 'Flesh'? | Rom 7:14 | ChristLifer2001 | 47865 | ||
Evan, I'm not here to shoot anything down, brother. Just to point to the Word, written and Living. :) Yes, Jesus did come in the flesh. But there is more that one definition of "flesh" in the scriptures just as there is more than one definition of spirit. Spirit is used of the essence of God - God is Spirit i.e. He is not primaryly of the physical universe (in fact, He made it out of nothing). The word "spirit" is also used of man's immaterial part. It can also mean an attitude or an emotion. Even evil demons are known as spirits. So how do we know which spirit is which? We must look at the context to see what is being spoken of. Flesh likewise has different definitions. Sometimes "flesh" means the physical body. When the Bible states that Christ came in the flesh, this is what it means. But in many of Paul's writings, "flesh" has a different connotation. Most of the time "flesh" means a condition where man operates out of his own resources, doing things his way. Proof? Consider Gal 3:3, Paul asked them if they thought that they could be perfected by the flesh (self-effort to keep the Law). Phil 3:4-6 - Paul talks about whether or not he could put confidence in his flesh. Look at what he lists there as "flesh": circumcision, a Jew, a Benjamite, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, zealous for the Law, blameless in the Law. These traits all spring from Paul's indentity apart from Christ - his natural "self". But he said he put no confidence in all these qualifications - vs 3. Paul says in Rom 8:9 that the believer is no longer "in the flesh." Is he speaking of an out-of-body experience here? I would think not. Rather, he is saying that the believer now draws his identity from being in Christ, not from self-effort. Paul says in 2 Cor 5:16 that we no longer estimate people according to the "flesh" - self-accomplishments. Why? Because according to vs 17, the believer is a new creation. As far as flesh and Spirit refering to ages, I haven't seen that for myself in the scriptures. So I'm not sure what you mean by that statement. But I do feel that in Rom 7, Paul is making reference to flesh as self-effort. He says that no good thing dwells in his flesh - vs. 18. The human body is not inherently sinful but the power of indwelling sin causes the "flesh" to use the body as an instrument of sin. So self-sufficiency "flesh" can be either good looking (like Paul's qualifications) or it can be bad like the works of the "flesh" as in Gal 5:19. Either way, good flesh or bad flesh, it is getting our self-needs met apart from God's provision. Therefore both are unacceptable to God. Our standing with Him is never based upon self-effort to make ourselves holy or self-effort to avoid sin. It is based upon the finished work of Christ. He is our identity. And it is only as we walk in the Spirit in that identity that we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh - be they "good" or "bad." Hope this helps, brother. ChristLifer2001 |
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