The Doctrine of Sin, Part 5

By Lewis Sperry Chafer

[Author’s Note: This installment, which is the first section of the fifth and last main division of a series of discussions on the Doctrine of Sin, has been preceded by I, “The First Sin in Heaven and its Effect” (Bibliotheca Sacra, October, 1934); II, “The First Sin on Earth and its Effect” (Ibid., January, 1935); III, “Man’s Present Estate as a Sinner” (Ibid., April, 1935); IV, “The Specific Character of the Christian’s Sin” (Ibid., October 1935). These articles aim at a practical, Biblical treatment of the Doctrine of Sin rather than its philosophical and metaphysical aspects.—L.S.C.]

V: The Divine Remedy for All Sin

[This, the final major division of this discussion, will appear in three sections—(I) The present article, embracing (a) “The Divine Cure for the Sin of the Angels,” (b) “The Divine Cure for Imputed Sin,” and (c) “The Divine Cure for the Sin Nature”; (2) embracing, (a) “The Divine Cure for Personal Sin,” (b) “The Divine Cure for Man’s Present Estate Under Sin,” and (c) “The Divine Cure for the Christian’s Sin” (Ibid., April, 1936); and (3) “The Final Triumph of God Over All Sin” (Ibid., July, 1936).]

Among the many revelations which the Bible presents is the unfolding of truth concerning the divine conquest and final triumph over the sin which has been permitted to invade the sphere of the universe. So pronounced is the Bible’s emphasis upon sin and its cure that it is sometimes called the Book of Redemption; but as sin’s injury has extended far beyond the boundaries of that limited company of human beings who compose the Church of Christ, so its cure, of necessity, extends beyond those limitations. Angels, man, heaven and earth are affected by sin, and the Bible declares in precise details the final purpose of God for all beings and each and every sphere whether it be by regeneration, restoration, recreation, or retribution. This extensive and important body of Scripture constitutes the authoritative foundation upon which the doctrine of the divinely designed and provided cure for all sin, with its manifold features, is based. This body of Scripture will now be approached, in the main, under the same general divisions of the Doctrine of Sin which have been observed throughout this discussion, namely: (1) The Sin of the Angels; (2) Imputed Sin; (3) The Sin Nature; (4) Personal Sins; (5) The State of Man Under Sin; (6) The Christian’s Sin; and (7) The Final Cure for All Sin.

1. The Divine Cure for the Sin of the Angels

Though, as has been previously stated, sin originated in heaven and with the angels, a great company of whom kept not their first estate but fell and are now the fallen angels under the leadership of Satan who by creation is himself the highest and greatest of all the angels, no word of Scripture, so far as I have been able to discover, even intimates that there is any form of cure provided for the sin of the fallen angels. As it will yet be demonstrated in this discussion, heaven, as a tabernacle composed of “things” and with no reference to those who dwell therein, has already been purified by the blood of Christ, and the heaven that now is will be dismissed to make place for the New Heaven that is to be; but, so far as revelation may be traced, there is no redemption for, or restitution of, the angels. The fact that no saving grace is extended to them is a challenge to the various forms of Universalism which contend that because of His immeasurable love and because of His righteous freedom to act in behalf of sinful men through the death of Christ, God is compelled to save and restore every creature, angelic or human, that has turned from Him through sin. It is to be observed that the first angel that sinned, like the first man of the human race, sinned apart from the promptings of a fallen nature. It is equally true that the first angel sinned against a far greater light than did the first man, and that the first man was subject to a tempter, as the first angel was not. But none of these facts, important as they are, compel God to be equally gracious to all, nor is the revelation of these facts accompanied by any suggestion that there is now, or ever will be, any redemption for the fallen angels. On the contrary, our Lord has spoken of “everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41), which would seem to include all of the fallen angels, and this place of torment is again identified as “the lake of fire” into which Satan is to be cast, and which is his abode forever (Rev 20:10). Thus without remedy might this sinful race have been related to God had it not been for His grace which has planned, executed, and is now in the process of applying a priceless redemption through the blood of His Son, which grace includes each and everyone whom He, in sovereign election, has chosen. The fact that there will be those of the human family, as Scripture certainly discloses there will be, who will not be included in the benefits of saving grace is made more apprehensible by the fact that the entire group of angelic beings who have fallen in sin are deprived of any hope of salvation. The glorious picture which the Bible presents of a restored universe with every enemy destroyed does, also, make a place for a sphere of torment where Satan and his angels abide forever, and into which place lost men must go; though that place is never said to have been prepared for men, but rather for the devil and his angels.

2. The Divine Cure for Imputed Sin

The sin which is imputed is restricted to the one original, Adamic disobedience and to that specific aspect of its evil effect which imposes the penalty of physical death upon each member of the Adamic race. As pointed out in a previous article, a distinction should be observed between the aspect of the one Adamic sin which results in physical death and the aspect of that sin which results in spiritual death, or the sin nature. Both alike proceed from a common cause—the one initial disobedience of Adam. The divine cure for the Adamic nature, or spiritual death, is yet to be considered in this general discussion.

The divine cure for that phase of the Adamic sin which is reckoned to all human beings by an actual imputation resulting in their physical death, appears in a sequence of divine accomplishments which are finally consummated in the complete disposition of death itself. Being a divine judgment which was imposed on the human race subsequent to creation, death is foreign to the first stage of the divine plan for this earth. As created, man was as enduring as the angels. Though some of the angels sinned, it has not pleased God to impose the sentence of death upon them. Their judgment is of another form. The first angel to sin was not a federal head of the angels, nor is there among them any procreation with its problem of heredity. Therefore, there could be no parallel experience as to judgments from God for sin set up between the human race and the angels. It is to be observed, however, that as the divine cure for human sin extends to the earthly creation, death is now the lot of the creature as it is the lot of man. The Scriptures predict the coming day when death will be banished from the universe forever. The Apostle Paul declares that as a result of Christ’s reign over the millennial earth, death, the last of the enemies of God’s creation to be destroyed, will disappear forever (1 Cor 15:26). Similarly, the Apostle John, when enumerating the things which, though characterizing the present order, will be absent from the final and future order, writes these emphatic words, “and there shall be no more death” (Rev 21:4). After that time, it is implied, no living thing, including unregenerate individuals of the human race, being raised as indeed they will be, will have any promise of relief from their estate through death. Turning now to the various and progressive aspects of divine dealing with physical death, it may be observed:

(1) The death of Christ

The careful student of doctrine, when exegeting the Scriptures, soon becomes aware of the imperative need of discriminating between physical death and spiritual death, and in no aspect of this great theme is the human mind more impotent than when considering the death of Christ in the light of these distinctions. There could be no doubt as to Christ’s physical death, even though He, in His humanity, being unfallen, was in no way subject to death; nor was He, in His death, to see corruption (Ps 16:10); nor was a bone of His body to be broken (John 19:36). On the other hand, Christ’s death was a complete judgment of the sin nature for all who are regenerated, and He, as substitute, bore a condemnation which no mortal can comprehend, which penalty entered far into the realms of spiritual death—separation from God (cf. Matt 27:46). In His death, He shrank back, not from physical pain, nor from the experience of quitting the physical body, but, when contemplating the place of a sin bearer and the anticipation of being made sin for us, He plead that the cup might pass. The death of Christ was wholly in behalf of others; yet, while both the physical and the spiritual aspects of death were demanded in that sacrifice which He provided, it is not given to man, when considering the death of Christ, to dissociate these two the one from the other.

(2) The keys of death

Through His death and resurrection, Christ became possessed of “the keys of death.” That He had not before His death wrested this specific authority from Satan is intimated in these words: “That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14); however, after His resurrection and ascension He spoke from heaven saying, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death” (Rev 1:18). The nullification on the part of the Son of God of this great authority which had been before accorded to Satan is in agreement with Christ’s word that “all power is given unto me,” and represents a transfer of authority which must mean much indeed to every member of this death-doomed race.

(3) The Christian’s part in Christ’s death

The Christian’s relation to Christ’s death is far more vital than a mere acquittal based upon the historic fact of that death. The Scriptures proclaim the believer’s identity in Christ’s death upon a basis so complete that the believer is declared to be dead, having died in Christ’s death. United to Christ, as he is by the baptism of the Spirit, the Christian partakes of all that Christ is and all that He has done. Several abrupt phrases detached from their context will serve to emphasize this truth: “Dead to sin”; “baptized into Christ’s death”; “planted together in the likeness of his death”; “crucified with him”; “dead with him” (Rom 6:2–11); “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal 5:20); “Ye died” (Col 3:3 R.V.); “We died with him (2 Tim 2:11 R.V.); “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh” (Gal 5:24). The basic meaning of these and many other passages is that the child of God now has the undiminished value of Christ’s death to the extent that both justification and positional sanctification come to him by virtue of his organic union with Christ. Christ was obedient unto death, but not for Himself; His death was so completely the death of others that they are reckoned to have died in His death.

As to the meaning of 2 Corinthians 5:14, there is disagreement. We read, “Because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.” The double use of πάντες (as also in Rom 5:18 and 1 Cor 15:22) is thought by some to represent the same numerical company in each case; by others it is contended that in each case it is the whole group, numerically, of only the specific class indicated. The latter contend that by the first πάντες all men are declared (potentially) to be included in Christ’s death, but that the numerical total indicated by the second πάντες is restricted to those who actually, by faith, enter into the blessing that Christ’s death provides. The latter interpretation, as has been seen, is sustained by the New Testament generally. The result is that, for the one thus united to Christ in His death, death as a judgment is passed, and only resurrection privileges and blessings abide.

However far-reaching the blessings may be which accrue to the believer because of his identification with Christ in His death, he is not yet free from the experience of physical death, if perchance he does not remain here on the earth until the coming of Christ to receive His own. The experience of the soul and spirit being separated from the body which is physical death, remains the one and only way of departure from this sphere until that blessed day. However, to the child of God, death has been softened. As to his body, it is to him but a falling asleep in Jesus; but, as to his soul and spirit, it is to be present with the Lord. Death has been robbed of its “sting,” and “to die is gain.” Indeed, Christ “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim 1:10). The unregenerate people who experience physical death are thereafter subjected to the second death. But upon those who are saved and who experience physical death “the second death hath no power” (Rev 20:6).

Having declared the universality of death and the universality of resurrection (1 Cor 15:22. Cf. John 5:25–29), the Apostle points out one notable exception. This he designates as a ”mystery,” or a truth not clearly revealed in the old order, though both Enoch and Elijah had served as types of those who leave this world without dying, and the experience of these two men is abundant proof that God is able to translate living persons into heaven whenever He so chooses. The Apostle, using the softened word, sleep, when referring to the Christian’s death, states: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep” (1 Cor 15:51). Christ, likewise, declared, as recorded in John 11:26, “whosoever liveth [in contrast to those who experience death—cf. ‘though he were dead’ of vs. 25 ] and believeth in me shall never die.” And, in like manner, it is stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 and 17 that there are those who will be alive and remaining when Christ comes for His own, and these, it is revealed, are to be caught up without death to meet the Lord in the air. This same experience is intimated to Peter by Christ concerning John, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me” (John 21:22). However, those who are thus translated are also changed, for “this mortal must put on immortality.” That believers may go without dying is evidence that death is no longer a necessary judgment upon them; for they have been taken out from all condemnation (Rom 8:1 R.V.).

(4) Death in the Millennium

But one passage seems to bear upon this division of the doctrine of the divine cure for physical death within the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. In Isaiah 65:20 it is written and most evidently of the coming Kingdom age: “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” Obviously, physical death is much restrained in the age of the glory of this earth. In like manner, it is in that same age that the reigning Messiah shall put down all rule and all authority and all power. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Cor 15:24–26). Thus the reign of so terrible a curse and so dreaded a foe, though permitted to continue its blight over even the redeemed and through all the ages, is finally banished forever by the irresistible authority and power of the Son of God.

3. The Divine Cure for the Sin Nature

As a faithful warning, God said to Adam, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” or, dying thou shalt die (Gen 2:17). Though his physical death was delayed many centuries, Adam died spiritually on the day in which he disobeyed and repudiated God. The whole character of his being was abruptly changed; not merely that he was charged with the guilt of sin, but he was changed in every part of his being. He who was, in his creation, satisfying to his Creator became a degenerate and depraved man in himself, capable of generating only after his kind, and through fallen Adam a spiritually-dead race has been propagated, who are blighted by a death which is none other than separation of the soul and spirit from God. Indicative of this great change in Adam, we observe him hiding from God, as a confession of his own change of heart, and, likewise, we are told of a divine expulsion from the garden, with other penalties, as an expression of the judgment of God. No longer did God come down and walk with Adam in the cool of the day. This spiritually-dead condition, which is termed a fallen, or Adamic nature, is transmitted without diminution from father to son throughout all generations.

That Christians are wont to sin and do sin is observable on every hand. This is equally true of those who, through erroneous teaching, have been encouraged to profess that they have attained unto sinless perfection. In arriving at an understanding of the problem of the source from which sin proceeds in a Christian, and the issues involved in its cure, it is essential to recognize the meaning and force of three terms which are employed in the New Testament:

”Flesh” (σάρξ).

The word, in its general use, refers to the physical body. It however has a moral, or ethical, meaning as well and with this we are concerned. “Flesh,” when used in the Bible with a moral meaning, refers to more than the physical body; it includes in its meaning the whole of the unregenerate person,—spirit, soul and body. It includes the body, but it also includes the human spirit and soul as animating the body. A physical body is “flesh” whether dead or alive. But the moral use of the word implies that it is alive and includes that which makes it alive and that which expresses itself through the physical body. The life impulses and desires are called “lusts of the flesh.” “If by the Spirit ye are walking, ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16. See also, Eph 2:3; 2 Pet 2:18; 1 John 2:16; Rom 13:14). That the Bible use of the word “lust” is not limited to inordinate desires is evidenced by the fact that the Holy Spirit is said to “lust against the flesh,” according to the next verse in this context (see, also, James 4:5). The Scriptures are still more explicit concerning the breadth of the meaning of this word. Reference is made to “fleshly wisdom” (2 Cor 1:12); “fleshly tables of the heart” (2 Cor 3:3); and “fleshly mind” (Col 2:18, cf. Rom 8:6). The Apostle does not say that either his body or nature are “fleshly”; he says “I am fleshly” (Rom 7:14), and, “in me (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing” (Rom 7:18). “Flesh” is self. The unregenerate self is, within itself, hopelessly evil and condemned; but it is subject to the present control and ultimate transformation provided for in the grace and power of God.

Into this whole “natural man” a new divine nature is imparted when we are saved. Salvation is more than a “change of heart.” It is more than a transformation of the old. It is a regeneration or creation of something wholly new which is possessed in conjunction with the old nature so long as we are in this body. The presence of two opposing natures (not two personalities) in one individual results in conflict. “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other” (Gal 5:17). There is no hint that this divine restraint upon the flesh will ever be unnecessary so long as we are in this body; but the Bible bears a clear testimony that the believer may experience an unbroken “walk in the Spirit,” and “not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” To secure all of this, no removal of the “flesh” is promised. The human spirit, soul, and body abide, and the victory is gained over the “flesh” by the power of the indwelling Spirit.

”Old Man” (παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος).

This term is used only three times in the New Testament. Once it has to do with the present position of the “old man” through the death of Christ (Rom 6:6). In the other two passages (Eph 4:22–24; Col 3:3, 9) the fact that the “old man” has been put off forever is made the basis of an appeal for a holy manner of life.

In Romans 6:6 we read: “Knowing this, that our old man is [was] crucified with him.” There can be no reference here to the experience of the Christian; it is rather a cocrucifixion “with him” and most evidently at the time and place when and where Christ was crucified. In the context this passage follows immediately upon the statement concerning our transfer in federal headship from the first Adam to the Last Adam (Rom 5:12–21). The first Adam, as perpetuated in us, was judged in the crucifixion of Christ. Our “old man,” the fallen nature received from Adam, was “crucified with him.” This cocrucifixion, it will be seen, is of the greatest importance, on the divine side, in making possible a true deliverance from the power of the “old man.”

In the second passage in which the term “old man” is used, the fact that the old man is already crucified with Christ is the basis for an appeal: “That ye [did] put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye [did] put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph 4:22–24).

In the third passage the position suggests again the corresponding experience, “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Col 3:9, 10). Positionally, the “old man” has been put off forever. Experimentally, the “old man” remains as an active force in the life and can be controlled only by the power of God.

There is no Biblical ground for a distinction between the Adamic nature and a “human nature.” Unregenerate people have but one nature, while those who are regenerate have two natures. There is but one fallen nature which is from Adam, and one new nature, which is from God.

The “old man,” then, is the Adamic nature which has been judged in the death of Christ. It still abides with us as an active principle in our lives, and our experimental victory over it will be realized only through a definite reliance upon the indwelling Spirit. The “old man” is a part, but not all, of the “flesh.”

”Sin” (ἡμαρτία).

The third Bible word related to the source of evil in the child of God is sin. In certain portions of the Scriptures, notably Romans 6:1 to 8:13 and 1 John 1:1 to 2:2, there is an important distinction between two uses of the word sin. The two meanings will be obvious if it is remembered that the word sometimes refers to the Adamic nature, and sometimes to evil resulting from that nature. Sin, as a nature, is the source of sin which is committed. Sin is the root which bears its own fruit in sin which is evil conduct. Sin is what we are by birth, while sins are the evil we do in life.

There is abundant Biblical testimony to the fact that the “flesh,” the “old man,” or “sin,” are the source of evil. The child of God has a blessed “treasure” in the possession of the “new man” indwelling him; but he has this treasure in an earthen vessel. The earthen vessel is the “body of our humiliation” (2 Cor 4:7; Phil 3:21).

Personality—the Ego—remains the same individuality through all the operations of grace, though it experiences the greatest possible advancement, transformation, and regeneration from its lost estate in Adam, to the positions and possessions of a son of God in Christ. That which was, is said to be forgiven, justified, saved, and receives the new divine nature which is eternal life. That which was, is born again and becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus, though it remains the same personality which was born of certain parents after the flesh. Like physical death, the Adamic nature, which is the perpetuator of spiritual death, is not now dismissed; but, in the case of the redeemed, it is subject to gracious divine provisions whereby its injuries may be restrained.

Salvation from the power of sin for the Christian, like salvation from the penalty of sin for the unsaved, depends upon two factors, namely, the divine provision and the human appropriation.

(1) The divine provision

In each of these aspects of salvation the righteous basis for the divine provision is found in the death of Christ. That lost men might be saved from the penalty of sin and unto eternal glory, Christ died for our sins (1 Cor 15:3); that regenerated men might be saved from the power of sin unto a holy walk, Christ died unto sin (Rom 6:10). Christ’s death for sin provides a finished work of God upon which He is able to remain just while He justifies the one who believes on Christ (Rom 3:26). Christ’s death unto sin provides a finished work of God upon which He is able, by the unceasing energy of His Spirit, to advance the sanctification of those from among the saved who “walk in the Spirit.” Since Christ died for sin, there is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who believe; their standing and safety being perfected forever in Christ. Since Christ died unto sin, there is a walk upon a new principle made possible for those who are saved whereby their present state and sanctity may be according to the will of God for them.

The new-creation, organic union between the resurrected Christ and the believer is based, according to the Scriptures, upon the substitutionary work of Christ in all its aspects and is accomplished by the regenerating work of the Spirit whereby Christ is begotten in the believer, and by the baptizing work of the Spirit whereby the believer is placed in Christ. The words of Christ, “ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20), announce both aspects of the Spirit’s ministry in relation to the new creation. These great transformations are wrought by the Spirit at the moment of, and as a part of, salvation. As to the placing of the believer in Christ, we read: “For by one Spirit are we all [including each and every one] baptized into one body...and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:13); and, again, “For as many of you [with reference to all who are saved] as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:27).

When seeking to apprehend what is wrought by the Spirit’s baptizing ministry, it is essential to determine the precise meaning of βαπτίζω. This is one of the great words of the New Testament and is used in relation to both real and ritual baptism, that is, both Spirit and water baptism. Being thus employed, whatever meaning is assigned to it in the one case should, reasonably, be assigned to it in the other case. Like βάπτω (used but twice in its primary meaning—to dip—, Luke 16:24; John 13:26, and but once in its secondary meaning—to stain, or dye, by whatever means—, Rev 19:13. Cf. Isa 63:3 where the same event and situation is described), βαπτίζω is subject to both a primary and a secondary usage, and not a few exegetes contend that its New Testament usage is restricted to its secondary meaning. The primary meaning, according to practically all authorities, is to submerge in a physical envelopment, or an intusposition; while the secondary may imply no more than that a person, a thing, or a power, exercises a dominating or transforming influence over the object it is said to baptize. Thus, quite apart from an actual intusposition, it is possible for one to be baptized into repentance, into the remission of sins, into a name, into Moses, or into Christ. Baptism by the Spirit into Christ is far removed from a physical envelopment. Βάπτω, like its English equivalent—to dip—, implies both a putting in and a taking out, while βαπτίζω, like its English equivalent—to submerge, or immerse—implies only a putting in; and, in the case of a baptism into Christ, no removal is either desirable or possible. The one thus joined to Christ partakes of all that Christ is, as to meritorious standing, and all that Christ has done as to substitution—His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. Christ being the righteousness of God, the believer, when thus joined to Him, is ”made” the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21), and, therefore, is ”made” accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6), and by the blood of Christ is “made nigh” (Eph 2:13). Likewise, when, in His judgment of the believer’s sin nature, Christ has been crucified, has died, has been buried, and has been raised from the dead, the child of God, for whom Christ has thus wrought, is said to have been crucified, to have died, to have been buried, and to have been raised from the dead in his Substitute, and as completely as though he had himself personally experienced each and every feature of that judgment.

The central passage on sanctification, which is by the Spirit on the ground of Christ’s death unto the sin nature, is Romans 6:1–14. In ascertaining the precise facts concerning the basis upon which God is free to control the old nature, as set forth in this Scripture, too much emphasis cannot be put upon the truth that the old nature in each believer is already judged in the death of Christ. The unregenerate man is dead in sins (Eph 2:1), but the regenerate man is dead unto sin (Rom 6:2).

The passage opens thus: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin [We who have died to sin. So, also, vss. 7, 8, 11; Col 2:20; 3:3], live any longer therein?” It would not become us as the children of God, and it is not necessary for us to do so since we are now “dead to sin.” We cannot plead the power of a tendency over which there is no control. We still have the tendency, and it is more than we can control; but God has provided the possibility of a deliverance from its power both by judging the old nature and by giving us the presence and power of the Spirit. We are dependent upon God alone for deliverance by His Spirit; but He could not deliver until our sin nature is righteously judged. This He has done, and He has also given us the Spirit who is ever present and wholly able. Thus the necessity to sin is broken and we are free to move on another plane and in the power of His resurrection life. The argument in this passage is based on this vital union by which we are organically united to Christ through our baptism into His body. The passage continues “Know ye not [or, are ye ignorant] that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” As certainly as we are ”in Him” we partake of the value of His death. So, also, the passage states: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death” (cf. Col 2:12). Thus we are actually partakers of His crucifixion (vs. 6), death (vs. 8), burial (vs. 4), and resurrection (vss. 4, 5, 8) and as essentially as we would partake had we been crucified, dead, buried and raised. Being baptized into Jesus Christ is the substance of which cocrucifixion, codeath, coburial and coresurrection are attributes. One is the cause: while the others are the effects. All this is unto the realization of one great divine purpose. “That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life,” or by a new life principle. Our ”walk,” then, is the divine objective. Christ died in our stead. The judgment belonged to us; but He became our Substitute. We are thus counted as copartners in all that our Substitute did. What He did forever satisfied the righteous demands of God against our “old man” and opened the way for a “walk” well pleasing to God (cf. 2 Cor 5:15).

As the passage proceeds, this truth of our copartnership in Christ is presented again and with greater detail: “For if [as] we have been planted [conjoined, united, grown together, the word is used but once in the New Testament] together in the likeness [oneness, see Rom 8:3; Phil 2:7] of his death, we shall be [now, and forever] also in the likeness of his resurrection.” We are already conjoined to Christ by the baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:12, 13) which places us positionally beyond the judgments of sin and we are therefore free to enter the experience of the eternal power and victory of His resurrection. “Knowing this [because we know this] that our old man is [was] crucified with him [for the same divine purpose as stated before], that the body of sin might be destroyed [Our power of expression is through the body. This fact is used as a figure concerning the manifestation of sin. The body is not destroyed; but sin’s power and means of expression may be disannulled. See vs. 12], that henceforth we should not serve [be bond-slaves to] sin [the “old man”]. For he that is dead is freed [justified] from sin [they who have once died to sin, as we have in our Substitute, now stand free from its legal claims]. Now if we be dead with Christ [or, as we died with Christ], we believe we shall also live with him, [not only in heaven, but now. There is as much certainty for the life in Him as there is certainty for the death in Him]: Knowing [or, because we know] that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him [We are thereby encouraged to believe as much concerning ourselves]. For in that he died, he died unto sin [the nature] once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God” (and so we may live unto God).

As certainly as this passage does not enjoin self-crucifixion, self-death, self-burial, or self-resurrection, so certainly it does not enjoin a reenactment of two out of four of these divine accomplishments—burial and resurrection—by an ordinance, regardless of the meaning with which the ordinance is supposed to be invested. The only thing the believer is enjoined to do, in view of Christ’s death unto the sin-nature, is to reckon himself to be dead unto it; not, indeed, to reckon the nature to be dead, but to reckon himself, being in Christ and a partaker of all that Christ wrought in judgment of that nature, to be dead unto it. Apart from such reckoning, it is clearly implied that sin, as a living force, will reign in the mortal body (Rom 6:11, 12).

The fact that the sin-nature is judged is a revelation of supreme importance and speaks of God’s faithfulness in behalf of His saved ones, but He also reveals to them the knowledge of His measureless provision for their sanctification and daily life. The record concerning Christ’s death unto the sin nature is not given merely to enlarge our knowledge of historical facts; it is given that we may be assured that there is deliverance from the reigning power of sin, as once we were assured through the revelation of the fact that Christ died for our sins that there is salvation from the penalty of sin. The death of Christ unto sin is the ground of a great confidence. Thus it may be concluded that the divine provision for the believer’s deliverance from the domination of the sin nature is two-fold, namely, (a) a legal and righteous judgment of the sin nature, and (b) the gift of the indwelling, victorious Spirit of God.

(2) The believer’s responsibility

In gaining a deliverance from the power of sin, the believer’s responsibility is stated in one word—faith (a faith which not only reckons one to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God—Rom 6:11—, and which yields one’s self unto God—Rom 6:13). Naught else remains for him to do since, as above stated, God has provided the righteous ground upon which the deliverance may be wrought by the Spirit and has caused that same victorious Spirit to indwell the believer for this very purpose. The requirement is not an act of faith, such as once secured our regeneration; it is an attitude of faith, which is renewed and pursued in every succeeding day. To walk by means of, or in dependence on, the Spirit is to be delivered from the lust of the flesh (Gal 5:16). Here, as a life principle of procedure, faith is, as always, opposite to human works. The Apostle testified that the result of his struggle, when he strove in his own strength to realize spiritual ideals, was utter failure and he could only conclude that to will was present with him, but how to perform that which is good he found not (Rom 7:18).

Before quoting this Scripture which reports the Apostle’s struggle, it should be noted that there is no erroneous supposition more universal and misleading than that a Christian can, in his own strength, command and control the old nature. The Apostle’s experience and failure along this line is given in this Scripture as a warning to all Christians. No mention of the Spirit appears in this passage. The conflict is not between the indwelling Spirit and the flesh; it is rather a conflict between the new “I” and the old “I.” The new “I” is the regenerated man who, for the moment, is hypothetically isolated from the normal relationship to, and dependence on, the Spirit, and is seen in unaided human strength to be confronting the whole law, or will, of God (vs. 16), the vitiated flesh (vs. 18), and the impossible demands for a holy life which are properly expected of every regenerate person (vss. 22, 23, 25). The Apostle’s experience answers the vital question, namely, Can the regenerate man, apart from dependence on the Spirit, do the will of God, even though he delight in the will of God (vs. 22)? In tracing the salient features of the Apostle’s conflict and defeat, for clearer identification of the combatants we shall employ the Apostle’s two names—Saul, the man of the flesh, and Paul, the regenerate man. The passage, with some comments, is as follows: “For that which I [Saul] do I [Paul] allow not: for what I [Paul] would, that do I [Saul] not; but what I [Paul] hate, that do I [Saul]. If then I [Saul] do that which I [Paul] would not, I consent unto the law [or will of God for me] that it is good. Now then it is no more I [Paul] that do it, but sin [Saul] that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me [Saul] (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I [Paul] would I [Saul] do not: but the evil which I [Paul] would not, that I [Saul] do. Now if I [Saul] do that I [Paul] would not, it is no more I [Paul] that do it, but sin [Saul] that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I [Paul] would do good, evil [Saul] is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members [Saul], warring against the law of my mind [Paul who delights in the law of God], and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin [Saul] which is, in my members. O wretched [Christian] man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death” (Rom 7:24)?

The answer to this great question and cry of distress with which the above passage closes is given in a following verse (Rom 8:2): “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” This is more than a deliverance from the law of Moses: it is the immediate deliverance from sin (Saul) and death (its results, cf. Rom 6:23). The effect of this deliverance is indicated by the blessedness recorded in the eighth chapter, as in contrast to the wretchedness recorded in the seventh chapter. The helpless and defeated “I” is in evidence in the one case, and the sufficient and victorious “I” by the Spirit, is in evidence in the other. We are, then, to be delivered by the “law [or power] of the Spirit.” But attention must be called to the fact, stated in 7:25, that it is “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We are delivered by the Spirit; but it is made righteously possible through Jesus Christ our Lord, because of our union with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection.

Similarly, two natures were still in evidence in the Apostle’s experience since with the mind he desired to serve the law of God, but with the flesh he desired to serve the law of sin (Rom 7:25). He did not remain a defeated Christian, for he found the faith principle of life, and this he states in Romans 8:4, which passage, with verse 3, is a consummation of all that has gone before from the beginning of Chapter six, “That the righteousness of the law [the whole will of God for each believer] might be fulfilled in us.” It could never be fulfilled by us. This victory, he goes on to state, is only for those who walk not in dependence on the flesh, but in dependence on the Spirit. Deliverance from the power of the old nature, we thus discover, is in no way dependent on human effort other than that which is required to maintain an attitude of faith. There is a “fight of faith,” and in this conflict the combatant seeks by divine enablement to preserve an unbroken reliance upon the Spirit of God.

Nor is a freedom from the power of the sin nature secured on the part of the Christian by a supposed eradication of that nature through a falsely-imagined, second work of grace. Though embraced by multitudes of earnest people, there is no Scriptural basis for either the rationalistic notion of eradication or for a supposed second work of grace; arguments for which are drawn almost wholly from mere human experience—of all things most uncertain. The unscriptural character of these theories is obvious: (a) Eradication is not the divine method of dealing with the Christian’s foes. There is no eradication of the world, or of the flesh, or of the devil, nor is physical death, so closely related to spiritual death, eradicated in this life. In every case, including the Adamic nature, the believer has but one assured way of deliverance—dependence upon the indwelling Spirit. (b) Were the claims of the eradicationists true, there would be no reason for the maintenance of a faith position and the great body of Scripture which directs the believer into the realization of the victory which comes alone by faith would be rendered meaningless. The two phrases-”not able to sin,” and ”able not to sin”—represent widely divergent ideas. The Word of God teaches that, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, the child of God, though ever and always beset in this life by an evil disposition, may be ”able not to sin.” The consciousness of sinfulness, or of a tendency to sin, has been the experience of the most spiritual saints of all generations and especially as they have come into closer fellowship with God. Having drawn near to God, Job, the upright in heart, abhorred self; and Daniel, against whom no sin is recorded, under like circumstances, said, “My comeliness in me is turned to corruption.” Galatians 5:16, 17 describes the method by which spirituality has ever been approached by any member of this fallen race. The method is not one of ignoring the power of the sin nature, much less supposing it to be eradicated; it is rather in discovering the counter agency for victory which is provided in the indwelling Spirit. “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die [or are in the way of death]: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [reckon to be dead] the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (or, are in the way of life,—Rom 8:12, 13). The opposite of spiritual death is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. In spite of the presence of the sin nature, every Christian is “alive unto God,” having passed from death unto life; and, by the indwelling Spirit, every Christian is fully equipped unto every good work.

Lewis Sperry Chafer

Dallas, Texas