Essential Enlightenment -Wm R Newell

[NetChaplain]

Paul’s great endeavor, in his entire Romans Seven struggle, was to make “the flesh,” his old man, consent to do that holy law of which his new man approved. He had not yet despaired of himself. When he understood this conflict, he thought he had in his own will the power to do the things, that since his conversion he delighted in. The fact is he had not yet realized the absolute distinction between the old and the new creations. And it was through this heart-rending experience that he found the new or “inward” man to be distinct from the old man; that the realm of “the spirit” was absolutely separate from that of “the flesh”; that old man, with all its life and energy, was to be despaired of, not sanctified.

The discovery that was new to Paul was: “I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see a different law in my members” (vs 22, 23). When he realized the real situation, he no longer sought how to make the flesh serve God, but how to get clear away from the old man. He cried out not, “Who shall help me subdue this body of death?” but, “Who shall deliver me out of this body of death?” When he said, “Who shall deliver me out?” he showed that at last he recognized himself as the new creature and all else as condemned and corrupt. And when he said, “Who shall deliver me out?” he confessed at last his utter weakness, even in his new life, to war against sin. Then God could deliver him.

Every effort toward growth that proceeds from “the flesh,” or the “old man,” is regarded as man’s endeavor to keep the law or requirements of God. And the whole object of the Apostle in this passage is to draw us off from all self-effort, to rely (as seen in Romans Eight), upon the Holy Spirit instead of our own strength the sin we hate.

A most interesting line of study as to the office of the law is seen in the following verses: In Romans 3:19, that law meets the offender and arrests him, stops his mouth from his vain excuses and carries him for a “hearing” before God, where he is adjudged guilty. In Galatians 3:22 (RV), the law “shuts up” the condemned soul in the jail of conviction of sin; and in verse 23, is seen keeping the prisoner “in ward” (RV), “shutting up” the offender securely. There is no buying off this stern jailer, either by paying for past offences, or by promises of a future “reformed-I”.

In Galatians 2:19, 20, the law is seen taking out his prisoner for execution and becoming himself the executioner: “I through the law died . . . I have been crucified.” The law, thus, cannot have mercy. It can only condemn and execute. But thus it (the law) becomes our servant to bring us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith, apart altogether from its works (Gal 3:23, 24). The law drives us, as high offenders, out of its realm, by putting us to death. Then we find life in Christ. And no one, in his experience, finds Christ, till spiritually he has died to the law. Christ is not to be found in the realm of the law (which is the old creation), but in that of grace (which is the new creation). So that all they that are of legal works are abiding under the curse of the very law they dream they are satisfying (Gal 3:10).

 

[james1523]

I used to think Paul's writing of his experience and struggles.. was his present state when writing his epistle. Actually he was describing his former state, as a devout Jew.. who loved the law nonetheless, but had no power to keep it...and found himself a sinner. I can imagine that this revelation of his, occurred some time between His road to Damascus experience, and writing the epistle. Initially he did continue keeping Jewish observances, but eventually found himself living like a Gentile.

This struggle with the flesh, the old man, was evident in all of the old testament saints. Abraham slept with his slave-girl, David committed adultery, murder, Solomon, Saul, etc.. all had their own problems.. Job was self-righteous, Noah got drunk and was shamed, Samson struggled with lust etc.

I am amazed that some Christians use these examples to excuse behaviors. But rather they demonstrate the old man present in even the most devout old testament saint, and the need for the new creation.

 

[NetChaplain]

I used to think Paul's writing of his experience and struggles.. was his present state when writing his epistle. Actually he was describing his former state, as a devout Jew.. who loved the law nonetheless, but had no power to keep it...and found himself a sinner.

Hi Brother - I wanted to get your opinion on this, which is what I finally came to understand. I find it helpful to consider "the law" as the will of God, because the Gentile was never under it. I believe "the law" for the Gentile is "the law of sin and death," which Adam incurred and Christ annulled, concerning the guilt and rule:

For I delight in the law of God,.... "This an unregenerate man cannot do; he does not like its commands, they are disagreeable to his corrupt nature; and as it is a threatening, cursing, damning law, it can never be delighted in by him: the moralist, the Pharisee, who obeys it externally, do not love it, nor delight in it; he obeys it not from love to its precepts, but from fear of its threatenings; from a desire of popular esteem, and from low, mercenary, selfish views, in order to gain the applause of men and favour of God.

"Only a regenerate man delights in the law of God; which he does, as it is fulfilled by Christ, who has answered all the demands of it: and as it is in the hands of Christ, held forth by him as a rule of holy walk and conversation; and as it is written upon his heart by the Spirit of God, to which he yields a voluntary and cheerful obedience: he serves it with his mind, of a ready mind freely, and without any constraint but that of love; he delights together with the law, as the word here used signifies; the delight is mutual and reciprocal, the law delights in him and he delights in the law; and they both delight in the selfsame things and particularly in the perfect obedience which the Son of God has yielded to it." -J Gill

 

[james1523]

Hi Brother - I wanted to get your opinion on this, which is what I finally came to understand. I find it helpful to consider "the law" as the will of God, because the Gentile was never under it. I believe "the law" for the Gentile is "the law of sin and death," which Adam incurred and Christ annulled, concerning the guilt and rule:

For I delight in the law of God,.... "This an unregenerate man cannot do; he does not like its commands, they are disagreeable to his corrupt nature; and as it is a threatening, cursing, damning law, it can never be delighted in by him: the moralist, the Pharisee, who obeys it externally, do not love it, nor delight in it; he obeys it not from love to its precepts, but from fear of its threatenings; from a desire of popular esteem, and from low, mercenary, selfish views, in order to gain the applause of men and favour of God.

"Only a regenerate man delights in the law of God; which he does, as it is fulfilled by Christ, who has answered all the demands of it: and as it is in the hands of Christ, held forth by him as a rule of holy walk and conversation; and as it is written upon his heart by the Spirit of God, to which he yields a voluntary and cheerful obedience: he serves it with his mind, of a ready mind freely, and without any constraint but that of love; he delights together with the law, as the word here used signifies; the delight is mutual and reciprocal, the law delights in him and he delights in the law; and they both delight in the selfsame things and particularly in the perfect obedience which the Son of God has yielded to it." -J Gill

I think there are two types of laws, there are written laws, which are external to us, and there are unwritten laws, which are internal to us... e.g. the law of McDonald's.. this law says that if you eat McDonald's often you will probably get fat, and malnourished.

I believe vs 22 "law of God" refers to the written law (the external written law). But then in verse 23 he talks about laws in himself, internal laws.

A person is comprised of body, soul and spirit. In each of these parts is an internal law:

1) In the body is the law of sin and death.. this is the indwelling sin in our flesh.. this is from Satan.

2) In the soul is the law of the mind (vs 23), which is the mental desire to do good, it wants to keep the commandments, it even can feel desire and emotion for the written law, it is in this mind and emotions and will (the inner man) that he delights in the written law of God (vs 22)... this is man.

3) There is the law of the Spirit of life in the spirit (Rom 8:2). This law of the Spirit of life frees us in Christ from the law of sin and death. In other words... the Spirit of Christ dwelling within our spirit has enabled us to keep the written law. Christ went to the cross and died, taking his body made in likeness to our body of sin and death, to the grave, and hence Satan in the flesh was defeated. Jesus rose again triumphant, demonstrating that the law of sin and death, could not keep him in the grave.

So the situation is we have God's external written law, and 3 internal laws. The 3 internal laws correspond to our 3 parts, body, soul and spirit.. and these also correspond to the influence within us of satan, ourself, and God.

Our soul is caught in the battle between Satan in the flesh and God in the Spirit. The law of sin and death in the body is stronger than the law of the mind, hence we are overcome by Satan and fall into sin, even though we try to fight against it. This is the condition of an unregenerate person. They may delight in the law of God in their mind, but they have no power to keep it because of the indwelling sin in the flesh. The law of the Spirit on the other hand is stronger than the law of sin and death. Rom 8:2 - the law of the Spirit of life frees us in Christ from the law of sin and death. In other words... the Spirit of Christ dwelling within our spirit has freed us from what stopped us keeping God's external law.

Verse 7:24 says his body, the law of sin and death, stops him from keeping the written law of God that he wants to keep (in his mind), and this is the pitiful state as an unregenerate man.
Vs 24: Wretched man am I! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?
Hence verses 25 and prior, refer to the state of an unregenerate person.

The start of chapter 8 describes the solution and the condition of a regenerated person - the Spirit of God dwelling in the believer in Christ Jesus. What has occurred since we became believers is that we have received a new husband. Our first husband died (the old man) so we are free to marry the second husband Christ (Rom 7:2). This is another way to say that the Spirit of God has joined himself to our spirit ( the two have become one), and our old man was crucified with Christ. To say it another way.. when the Spirit joined to our spirit, a new law, the law of the Spirit was installed into us. This law is not an external but an internal law. Just like the law of sin and death says if we mind the things of the flesh we will die.. the law of the Spirit says that if we mind the things of the Spirit, if we set our mind on Christ, we will have life. Since our soul is caught in the battle between God and satan, we must align our soul (mind, emotions, will) with the Spirit of God in order to have life. To put it another way, we are like Garden of Eden's, where God (as the Spirit joined to our spirit), man (as us, who we are, in our soul) and satan (as sin in the flesh) dwells. God sets before us the tree of knowledge of good and evil (sin, death, satan), and the tree of life (Christ). We must choose from which tree we wish to eat... and the fruit that we eat, that fruit we will bear. Hence, the matter is no longer about what we do, but of what we eat. When Christ said to us "he that eateth me, even he shall live by me" Jn 6:57, he invites us to eat of Him as the tree of life, so that we may have life.

Actually I and other commentaries disagree with J Gill's commentary that the unregenerate cannot delight in God's law. In Psalms it says "Ps 119;47 How I delight in your commands! How I love them!"
Have you ever seen a group of Jews worshiping God with tears streaming down their face? They certainly love God, they love His law and delight in it. Every man loves and delights in his religion, otherwise he would not follow it. As a devout Jew, Paul very much delighted in the Law and was zealous for it... in Romans 7 he was describing how he cannot keep it even though he delighted in it.. and then in Romans 8 reveals how he could keep it...by the law of the Spirit!

Romans 8 describes the life in the Spirit, keeping of God's law not of the letter, but in the Spirit. The law of the Spirit is an internal law which has programmed us to be conformed to the image of Christ, as the One who fulfilled the law, fulfilled all righteousness. And not only that.. whilst in our former state , our body of sin and death, satan in the flesh, permeated all parts of our being, soul, fallen spirit and conscience... now the Spirit of God can permeate all parts of our being.. our mind (to give us the mind of Christ), even our body - to give life to our mortal bodies (Rom 8:11). In giving life to our mortal bodies, we have assurance of resurrection from the dead, physical healing, and overcoming our general weakness. So that we can boast in our weakness for it reveals the power of God.

I will post Clarke's Commentary on the Bible that explains more about the matter of delighting in God's law, and that unregenerate people can delight in it:

I delight in the law of God after the inward man - Every Jew, and every unregenerate man, who receives the Old Testament as a revelation from God, must acknowledge the great purity, excellence and utility of its maxims, etc., though he will ever find that without the grace of our Lord Jesus he can never act according to those heavenly maxims; and without the mercy of God, can never be redeemed from the curse entailed upon him for his past transgressions. To say that the inward man means the regenerate part of the soul, is supportable by no argument. Ὁ εσω ανθρωπος, and ὁ εντος ανθρωπος, especially the latter, are expressions frequently in use among the purest Greek ethic writers, to signify the soul or rational part of man, in opposition to the body of flesh. See the quotations in Wetstein from Plato and Plotinus. The Jews have the same form of expression; so in Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 10, 3, it is said: The flesh is the inward garment of the man; but the Spirit is the Inward man, the garment of which is the body; and St. Paul uses the phrase in precisely the same sense in 2 Corinthians 4:16, and Ephesians 3:16. If it be said that it is impossible for an unregenerate man to delight in the law of God, the experience of millions contradicts the assertion. Every true penitent admires the moral law, longs most earnestly for a conformity to it, and feels that he can never be satisfied till he awakes up after this Divine likeness; and he hates himself, because he feels that he has broken it, and that his evil passions are still in a state of hostility to it.

 

[james1523]

“I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see a different law in my members” (vs 22, 23).

For I delight in the law of God,.... "This an unregenerate man cannot do;

Just to clarify my point, an unregenerate person can delight in the law of God, as revealed in the Psalms and by experience, and this is precisely the reason why Paul wished to be rid of the flesh so he could keep the law of God...he wanted to keep it, he saw that the law "was good", it was something to be desired, like the fruit of the tree of knowledge, that Eve saw was good. But like the tree of knowledge, because it contained no life, eating its fruit led to sin and death. The difference between an unregenerate person and a regenerated person, is not their desire to do good, nor them seeing that the law indeed is good, or their desire to keep the law, the difference is whether or not they have life. This is the difference between the multitudes of religious folk, in all religions, and even upstanding atheists , who desire good, they seek good, they do good, but they have no life in themselves...and the Christian who has received Christ's life in themselves.

When God created everything, it was all good. Even the tree of knowledge was good. But it has no life. The tree of knowledge represents the written law of God... and the tree of life represents Christ. We could say that when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge, they ate of the written law of good versus evil which gave them knowledge of sin and thus killed them. Rom 3:20 for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The Pharisees ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.. they sought life in the Scriptures, they sought life through their knowledge, they no doubt delighted in their religion, in God's law, but they had no life because they did not eat of Christ the tree of life:
Jn 5:39-40 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

 

[NetChaplain]

Thanks James for your laborious input, which helps me to know more of where your understanding is on this. The way you presented it made me realize that this issue is significant to post a thread concerning it, which I believe addresses what we are discussing.

Thanks for your continued fellowship and God's blessings to your Family.