The Body of Sin

God fulfils His conditions by His cross and by implanting in us a new heart. “He works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13), according to the prophets. He “condemned sin in the flesh”. He is the one who puts sin to death in our lives. He meets that condition by giving the new birth.

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin. (Rom 8:10).

In Romans 7, Paul speaks of the body of sin, which controlled his life. He cried out for an answer “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” and then answered, “Thank God, through Jesus Christ.”. A better way of reading Rom 8:10 is, “If Christ is in you, the body of sin is dead.”.

The J. B. Phillips translation reads, “Now if Christ does live within you His presence means that your sinful nature is dead…”. This is the meaning of Paul in Rom 8:10. It is his answer to the sin nature, which he struggled with in the previous chapter. Contextually, this is what Paul is speaking about.

Because Christ condemned sin in the flesh, the body or life and power of sin in the flesh is dead. This is the basis of our sanctification, not what we do.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:2).

They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Gal 5:24).

Our power over sin is not in our religious traditions, or in discipleship programmes. It is only in what Christ did. Grace is our power over sin. “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Rom 6:14). By Christ we are dead to the law, that we might be married to another (Rom 7:4). He did this unconditionally. We had no part in doing it.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Rom 6:6).

This is done unconditionally in the new birth, by the gift of the new nature in Christ. We are quickened by Christ to walk in sanctification by His faith.