Steven
E. Runge, High Definition Commentary: Romans
(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 129-134
Romans 7:13–25a
Paul has addressed three issues left over from the discussion begun in 5:20 regarding the relationship of the law and grace. We should not go on sinning so that grace might increase (6:1), nor because we are under grace instead of under the law (6:15). And the law is not sinful. Paul now goes on to address the question of how the law can be good if it brings about death. This discussion ties back to 5:20, but it also follows up on the final thoughts of 7:11.
This is probably one of the most controversial passages in Romans because of its perceived implications about the role of sin in the believer’s life. The basic tussle revolves around whether Paul is talking about his pre-Christian struggle with sin or describing a present struggle. The key to moving forward is to closely read what he says and how. Whichever side of the debate you favor, keep an open mind. We need to read the passage in terms of Paul’s framework and understanding of the problem, regardless of how we might think of it today.
Paul introduces this section with a rhetorical question on the nature of the law. If it is holy and righteous and good (7:12), then why does it bring death? How can that be good? In the second half of verse 13, Paul explains that it is sin, not the law, that creates this situation. Sin has been the culprit all along. The arrival of the law simply revealed that sin is inescapable (3:19; 7:7).
Paul makes an important distinction in this section between the flesh of our mortal bodies, and the inner person or soul that resides inside the flesh. This is not to say that there is a physical distinction here. A skilled surgeon could not extract one from the other. Rather Paul contrasts the law being spiritual with himself being fleshly, a slave to sin. This slavery is manifested in our lives by doing things we hate ourselves for doing, and not doing the good we wish we would do (7:15).
Verses 16–17 mark an important shift in Paul’s argument—away from sin as an exterior force to sin as something actually living in Paul. We typically refer to this as the sin nature, but Paul makes a metaphorical distinction between the inner person and the outer flesh. The flesh is the part of us that will die, but it is also where sin lives. Read verse 18 closely: The information here strengthens Paul’s preceding assertion. Paul claims that good does not dwell in him, that is, in his flesh. This is a critical clarification we must not overlook.
Two important points emerge here. First, when Paul says there is no good in him, he is referring to his flesh, that mortal part of him that will die. He is not making a global statement about himself, but about what he conceives of as his flesh. The implication is that if there is good in him, it resides somewhere other than his flesh. In this section, Paul describes the two parts of us that are locked in a spiritual battle: the inner person and the outer flesh. They are not physically distinct or separable. Romans 8:10 provides the clearest description: the flesh/outer person is dead because of sin, but the Spirit has made our inner person alive and it dwells there. Although this concept may sound strange to us, it was common knowledge in the first century. Even today, we use this same distinction between body and soul.
We need to be careful not to read a dualistic view into the metaphor. Throughout Romans, Paul traces the development of God’s plan to fully redeem His creation from the effects of sin. Our physical bodies are a part of this affected creation, which explains why final redemption includes new, redeemed bodies. Our inner person/spirit may be reborn, but our physical body is beyond saving. This is the metaphor Paul uses. We need to respect it for what it is without imposing our modern notions concerning a person’s makeup. Failure to do this is what has led to most of the arguments about this passage. What exactly is it that goes away when someone dies? Will we ever fully understand the essence of life?
Paul treats his struggle with sin—the not doing the good he desires and vice versa—as a natural consequence of the sin dwelling in his flesh. He is not deflecting responsibility, but recognizing the ongoing problem of sin living in the flesh. As long as we live in unredeemed, fallen human bodies, our redeemed inner person must contend with our sinful nature trying to regain control.
With Paul’s metaphor in mind, let’s step back a bit and see what the process of salvation looks like. Before Christ redeems us, we are completely—in our inner and outer person—spiritually dead and enslaved to sin. Recall from 5:12 that when sin entered the world through Adam, death came with it. The presence of sin affected every part of creation, including our physical bodies.
Inner Person vs. Outer Flesh: Paul uses specific terminology throughout Romans to distinguish between the inner person (what we would call a soul) and the outer person (our mortal body). As a result of Adam’s sin and our own, the inner person is spiritually dead, and the outer person is in the process of decay, destined to die as a result of sin.
One part of us died spiritually (Paul’s “inner person”), and the other part became host for the sin that will eventually make it die (Paul’s “outer person,” “the flesh”). But with the gift of God through Jesus Christ, we were made alive with Christ through His death and resurrection (Rom 5:17–18; Eph 2:5), or at least one part was. The other part is waiting for the final redemption of the body, when the process will be completed (Rom 8:23).
Thus far, Paul’s explanation of life has focused on the inner person. For the remainder of this chapter and part of the next, he focuses on what’s to be done with the outer person—the flesh in which sin continues to live as we await the redemption of that outer person when Jesus returns (Rom 8:22–23).
In order to describe the struggle we face as we await the final redemption of our bodies, Paul uses a two-part metaphor of the inner person and the outer flesh. Both the inner and outer facets of the unredeemed person are walking dead, like a zombie. We are spiritually dead with respect to God, and doomed to physical death as a consequence of God’s judgment against sin.
Inner Person vs. Outer Flesh: Once we accept God’s free gift of righteousness in faith, our inner person is born again, renewed. But until God redeems all of creation, we still have to live our lives in a fallen body.
According to the metaphor, the inner person died at the fall in Genesis 3, and it is what has been made alive and redeemed by faith through grace. This inner person is also where the Holy Spirit dwells. The flesh is condemned to death as a result of our sin. Our physical body is also where Paul says sin dwells and will continue to dwell until we and all the rest of creation are finally redeemed and made new (8:18–23). The inner person has been redeemed and set free from having to obey the desires of sin/the flesh. Nevertheless, until we receive our new bodies, we still must contend with the effects of sin in our world and in our fallen bodies of flesh.
Paul describes God sending Jesus “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (8:3) to make clear that, as God incarnate—in the flesh—He faced the same struggle with sin as we do. This is why Satan was able to tempt Him with the same cravings of the flesh that we face (Matt 4:1–11). Because of this dwelling in the likeness of sinful flesh, the writer of Hebrews claims that Jesus can sympathize with our weakness because He was tempted in the all the same ways, yet without sinning (Heb 4:14–16). He lived in the same fallen fleshly context as we do, but He never gave into its temptations.
As believers, we are to follow Jesus’ model—specifically, living in this flesh but refusing to give in to its desires. Only by walking in the Spirit can we resist giving in to them (Gal 6:16). This is why, in Romans 6:12–13, Paul exhorts us not to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies. We are no longer to offer ourselves to sin, but to God. Even though we have been set free from the power of sin, we are still tempted by it.
Inner Person vs. Outer Flesh: We are no longer enslaved to the flesh, but must wage a war against the desires of the flesh described in Romans 7:25b. The redeemed inner person/mind longs to serve and obey God, whereas the flesh still draws us to serve sin.
Jesus’ bodily resurrection is critical to God’s plan of redemption, since our bodies—and all physical creation—will also be redeemed at Jesus’ return. Thus, Paul’s argument about wrestling with sin describes everyone’s battle, believer and unbeliever alike (8:11). Anyone living in a not-yet-resurrected body faces this pull. But as we await this final redemption, God provides the Spirit to strengthen us to serve Him and resist the deeds of the flesh (8:12–13). It is our only hope for not becoming enslaved to sin again.
In Romans 7:21–23, Paul summarizes the lessons from his exposition on our existence as partially redeemed beings. Our inner person is complete, but the outer person awaits the future glory. Although the inner person longs to do good and delights in God’s law, the flesh wages war to take over the mind and dominate the inner person again. We need to be rescued from this sinful flesh (7:24), and that is precisely what Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplished, even though the final redemption is not yet completely fulfilled.
Verse 25b serves as a bridge—summarizing the previous section and presenting the big idea for the next one. Romans 8:1 is not the big idea for what follows; it is a consequence of 7:25b. Paul’s primary purpose in this passage has been to highlight the battle against sin that we all face, regardless of whether we are believers. Although believers have the incredible gift of freedom from this slavery and the opportunity to serve God, we must do so within the confines of an unredeemed body that is still subject to the temptations of sin. Paul’s message continues as he tackles the practical steps we can take to victoriously live for God despite our present state.