‘I am a wretched, afflicted man! What will rescue and deliver me from out of this, the death-body?’ (Romans 7 v 24).
As Paul has reasoned through and analysed the process that leads him as a Christian to speak and behave in ways that God disapproves of, and the situation seems to be depressing and hopeless. And that is indeed the sub-conclusion that Paul reaches in this verse. Paul refers to his physical body as ‘the death-body’ or as it is in some translations, ‘body of death’. Even now, as a Christian, he does not simply desire to speak and act in a particular way and it then happens without fail. As a Christian he does not merely intend to avoid a certain manner of speech or a particular behaviour and then it simply happens as he chooses. This contrariness is certainly my experience as a Christian and I am sure that it is your experience too. What is causing this problem? It is not divine law itself that is at fault, but his physical, fleshly body - his human constitution inherited from his ancestors. His physical flesh possesses raw passions, desires, impulses, energies and inclinations – in short, an impetus that seeks to work itself out to completion by carrying across to the other side from within so as to be manifest in his speech and behaviour. These energies within our fleshly constitution are working in opposition to God such that they lead us away from life. If we follow these impulses and inclinations, they produce increasing levels of blindness and ignorance with regard to spiritual realities, and a hardness or callousness deep within us with regard to spiritual realities, and this in turn leads to further wayward speech and behaviour. These energies, inherent within the fabric of our flesh, lead us to ignorance, insensitivity and unresponsiveness to God – to withering away, dying away and death – hence Paul calls it our ‘death body’. Paul has outlined this process for both Gentiles and Jews in Romans 1 v 18 – 3 v 20 and thus he says, ‘I am a wretched, afflicted man!’. Even as a Christian, enlightened and illuminated with regard to God, the Messiah and the gospel, and closely identifying with delight in the Law of God down from the man within, he still does not manage to live a life of perfect godliness. This is because the contrary impulses within the fabric of his physical flesh take him captive.
This gives rise to Paul’s rhetorical question – ‘What will rescue and deliver me from out of this, the death body?’ Who is able to leave their body in order to be free from these raw passions and impulses so as to serve God in perfect purity? The answer is self-evident, no one has such ability and power. But that is not quite the question that Paul asks. He is no longer looking to himself and his own ability to observe divine law, because he has shown how weak and lacking in ability he is. Instead he looks outside of himself. In effect he asks, ‘Is there anything ‘out there’ that will rescue me from out of my physical constitution, my death-body?’ Every translation reads, ‘Who will rescue me?’ The Greek word can mean ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘which, or ‘why’ – but the word ‘what’ fits better with the next verse than ‘who’. What can deliver Paul? ‘The free kindness and favour of God’, (verse 25a).
