Principles of living a set apart, godly life [58] – Two fundamental principles

 ‘…Under these circumstances, no judicial condemnation within Jesus the Messiah at this present time 2 because the fundamental principle of the Breath, [Pneuma], the Life within Jesus the Messiah, has set you free away from the fundamental principle of self-forfeiture, loss and the death. For the powerless incapable law, within which it is weak and feeble by means of the flesh, God, having sent His Son within resemblance of self-forfeiting flesh, and concerning self-forfeiture and loss, has condemned self-forfeiture and loss within the flesh’, (Romans 8 v 1 - 3).

Paul mentions two opposing fundamental dynamic principles of movement within Christians – 

Life within Jesus the Messiah

And

Self-forfeiture, loss, and the death

The principle, inclination and direction of movement towards self-forfeiture, loss and death is inherent within the fabric of our fleshly constitution and works in opposition to God. As a Christian, ‘I’ closely identify with delight in the honourable, praiseworthy law of God, but this principle within my fleshly constitution leads me to self-forfeiting behaviours that ‘I’ do not intend. 

But Christians are brought forth as part of the free gift of God by means of the Messiah and they possess the set-apart Breath that is moving on the basis of the fundamental principle of Life within the Messiah. The consequence is that ‘the Breath, [Pneuma], has set them free away from the fundamental principle of self-forfeiture, loss and the death’. Christians possess a direction of movement, a current, deep within their inner core that ‘outsiders’ or ‘unbelievers’ do not possess. 

How does this relate to the written codes of Covenant law? ‘For the powerless incapable law, within which it is weak and feeble by means of the flesh, God, having sent His Son within resemblance of self-forfeiting flesh, and concerning self-forfeiture and loss, has condemned self-forfeiture and loss within the flesh’, (Romans 8 v 3). Paul has been looking at the objections of those seeking divine approval by means of seeking to obey the injunctions of divine law since chapter 7 v 1. He has not forgotten that Covenant law has been an aspect of his discussion of divine approval, and he returns to divine law in verse 3, in the light of all that he has been saying, particularly since chapter 7.

 

So where does Paul direct Christians when it comes to perpetual Life with a capital ‘L’ - to sensitivity and responsiveness to God and His Messiah? Where do Christians look to obtain Life-energy that opposes the impetus of self-forfeiture, loss and death inherent in their flesh, in their day-to-day existence? ‘Aha!’ say Christian legalists. ‘We look to divine law! We look to the written codes of Mosaic Law – of Sinai Covenant Law, such as the Ten Commandments - to spur us on towards a clean, godly life.’ But that is not what Paul says here, or anywhere else. Given what he has been saying, Paul initially points Christians to the free gift of by means of Jesus the Messiah.

How is divine approval attained and maintained in daily life? How is self-forfeiture dealt with? Not by turning to try to walk in obedience to the written codes of divine law. Why don’t Christians turn to Covenant law if they agree with delight in divine law that is good, honourable and praiseworthy? Christians don’t turn to divine law because it is weak, feeble, powerless and incapable. The reason for this weakness of the law is the Christian’s earthy, sensuous, fleshly constitution with its inherent principle of self-forfeiture, loss and death that moves in opposition to God. 

Divine approval is attained like this - God loves the world in this way – He sent His only-begotten Son in the likeness of flesh, such that His Messiah condemns self-forfeiture and loss within the flesh. Paul does not direct Christians to divine law because our fleshly constitution makes the law weak and ineffective. Instead, he directs Christians to the good news of the free gift of God, Jesus the Messiah. Why? He will explain in the next verse.  

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [57] – No condemnation within Jesus [3]

 ‘What will deliver me from this death-body? Rejoice! The free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah our Lord! So then indeed, I am willingly serving God’s law with the mind, but [my] flesh, [is enslaved to] fundamental principles of self-forfeiture and loss. Under these circumstances, no judicial condemnation within Jesus the Messiah at this present time 2 because the fundamental principle of the Breath, [Pneuma], the Life within Jesus the Messiah, has set you free away from the fundamental principle of the self-forfeiture, loss and the death’, (Romans 7 v 25 – 8 v 1, 2). 

This is how Paul is logically reasoning as we come to the beginning of chapter 8. He has been dealing with some anticipated objections to the way of divine approval since the beginning of chapter 6, especially in relation to the Christian’s freedom away from the written codes of divine Law. He is now beginning to bring together his conclusion about the wider theme of divine approval, especially in relation to Covenant law. He has introduced ‘the free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah our Lord’, and has made the general statement that ‘Under these circumstances, no judicial condemnation within Jesus the Messiah at this present time’, (verse 1). 

Even though as a Christian ‘I am willingly serving God’s law with the mind, but [my] flesh [is enslaved to] fundamental principles of self-forfeiture and loss’, nevertheless, at this present moment, because of the ‘the free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah our Lord…Under these circumstances, [there is] no judicial condemnation within Jesus the Messiah at this present time’. Note that Paul is not referring to something that will happen in the future. He is not saying that there will be no condemnation at some time in the future, at the Great Assizes. He is saying that there is no condemnation now, at this present time. 

Paul tells us why is there no condemnation in the next verse. ‘Because the fundamental principle of the Breath, [Pneuma], the Life within Jesus the Messiah, has set you free away from the fundamental principle of self-forfeiture, loss and the death’, (Romans 8 v 2). Paul returns to the theme of ‘breath’ that he mentioned earlier in Romans 7 v 14. This time the Greek word has a capital letter indicating the Breath of God set-apart from the world. In connection with set-apart Breath he also introduces the concept of ‘the fundamental principle of the Breath, [Pneuma], the Life within Jesus the Messiah’, which he places in opposition to ‘the fundamental principle of the self-forfeiture, loss and the death’. In this verse he also moves the focus away from himself and to the Hebrew Christians. Having explained the situation using himself as an illustration, he now applies the themes he has introduced to these Jewish Christians and says ‘Life within Jesus the Messiah, has set you free away from the fundamental principle of self-forfeiture’.

So what is Paul describing? He says that ‘under these circumstances’ of ‘the free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah our Lord’ there is no judicial condemnation within the Messiah at this present time because of a ‘fundamental principle’. Paul uses the word ‘nomos’, meaning ‘law’ and this is very often how the verse is translated – ‘the law of the Spirit of the life in Jesus’. This Greek word can refer to ‘the written codes of Covenant Law’, or to ‘law’ as a general principle, or to both simultaneously. The particular sense is determined by the context. 

Because Paul is referring to the set-apart Breath I propose that Paul intends the sense of a ‘fundamental principle’, a basic truth about the movement of set-apart Breath, an authoritative regulation and guide of the direction of movement of set-apart Breath. What is the fundamental principle of set-apart Breath? It is ‘Life within Jesus the Messiah’. This movement of set-apart Breath, the principle of ‘Life within Jesus the Messiah’ has ‘set you free’. By ‘you’ Paul means Christians, especially Hebrew Christians who ‘know the law’. What are Christians set free away from? They are set free away from the ‘fundamental principle of self-forfeiture, loss and the death’. Once again, by the word ‘law’ Paul means a ‘fundamental principle’. As Paul has said earlier, ‘the extended free gift of God [is] perpetual Life within our Lord Jesus, the Messiah’, (Romans 6 v 20 – 23). This principle of the set-apart Breath - Life within the Messiah - has set Christians free from ‘the fundamental principle of self-forfeiture and loss’ that is inherent within their fleshly constitution, and ‘the death’. As part of the free gift of God by means of the Messiah, Christians possess the set-apart Breath in their deep inner core. The current of set-apart Breath, moving on the principle of Life within the Messiah, has liberated Christians away from the fundamental principle of the self-forfeiture, loss and the death that is inherent in their flesh. 

This liberation has been completed in the past. But make no mistake – I am not saying that Christians are therefore perfectly free from fleshly impulses, or that their battle against their fleshly impulses is easy. Nor am I saying that Christians are free to do anything they want. 

Principles of living a godly life [56] – No condemnation within Jesus [2]

 Paul possessed a legal frame of mind. He constructed his arguments and conclusions carefully and logically, paying close attention to the meaning of words. Sometimes his reasoning is complex. For example, most of us compare and contrast two elements or facets of a problem but Paul has now introduced no less than six elements, all of which are interconnected in some way. 

These are the elements that he has introduced in this discussion -

1) His main theme from chapter 6 has been divine Law in relation to obtaining divine approval. His stance is that Christians are dying away from and set free from the written codes of Sinai Covenant law. Nevertheless, Christians closely identify with delight in good, clean and praiseworthy divine law. 

2) By means of Sinai Covenant law people come to know self-forfeiture and loss. But self-forfeiture uses the opportunity provided by divine law as a starting point to increase, such that we see that self-forfeiture is present in all of our thoughts, words, desires and so on. Thanks to the written codes of Covenant law we are no longer ignorant of self-forfeiture and loss. But we are deceived, because we thought that divine law led to life – ‘Do this and you will live’ - but instead it leads us to death. Knowing Covenant law leads to a greater knowledge and experiential awareness of the extent and magnitude of self-forfeiture, divine disapproval and loss, which we come to plainly see.

3) Divine law pertains to the realm of Breath - the unseen current and energy away from God, the Messiah and the heavenly realm. 

4) Christians exist as flesh, which has inherent energies, impulses and inclinations that are opposed to Breath. 

This places Christians in a battle -

Fleshly energies work to bring divinely disapproved-of speech and behaviour to completion. 

On being brought forth by God, ‘I’ [ego] am not intending to engage in such disapproved-of behaviour. But fleshly impulses take me captive.

5) How can I be delivered away from my flesh? By the free gift of God by means of Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

6) Under these circumstances, no judicial condemnation within Jesus the Messiah at this present time.

If the Apostle had been a juggler, he wouldn’t have been throwing two or three balls in the air, but these six. No wonder Romans chapter 7 proves to be a difficult chapter to interpret and understand correctly. At the start of chapter 8, Paul is continuing with his discussion of the means of divine approval – ‘Under these circumstances, no judicial condemnation at this present time’

Principles of living a godly life [55] – No condemnation within Jesus [1]

 ‘Rejoice! The free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah our Lord! So then, indeed I am willingly serving God’s law with the mind, but [my] flesh, [is enslaved to] fundamental principles of self-forfeiture and loss. Under these circumstances, no judicial condemnation within Jesus the Messiah at this present time’, (Romans 7 v 25, 8 v 1).

Paul continues his discussion about judicial approval and deliverance in verse 1 of chapter 8. Very often the start of this verse is translated in to English like this – ‘Therefore there is now no condemnation…’. But there is nothing in the immediately previous verses at the end of chapter 7 to directly suggest that Paul has successfully argued such a conclusion. Chapter 7 actually ends with the strongest assertion of the sin-awaking and sin-detecting power of divine Law and the consequent conflict within the Christian. ‘So then, indeed I am willingly serving God’s law with the mind, but flesh [is enslaved to] fundamental principles of self-forfeiture and loss’, (Romans 7 v 25).

Thus it is better to refer the introduction of chapter 8 to the whole of Paul’s previous logical reasoning. Verse 1 is especially connected with chapters 5 and 6, and the first section of chapter 7, which state, (using various means of imagery), the union of those brought forth by God with the Messiah by means of the set-apart Breath. So far in his letter to the Romans the Apostle has discussed and explained, from many sides, the central theme of salvation, divine approval and its immediate results. These aspects include union with the Messiah, bond-service to God, enlightened liberation of the will, and so on. His last theme has been the place of the written codes of divine Law. With regard to both unbelievers and Christians, divine Law cannot subdue self-forfeiture, but only expose and condemn it. Paul has answered various anticipated objections, partly to vindicate the set-apart cleanliness and praiseworthiness of the Law, partly to expose the magnitude of self-forfeiture, and partly to reinforce the truth that divine approval has to be attained by another way. 

But it is even better to consider the opening words of verse 1 to be the start of a new aspect in the light if all that Paul has been saying. Understanding the Greek word ‘ara’ is the key here. The meaning of the word is more nuanced than the English word ‘therefore’. Thayer states it like this, ‘under these circumstances, something either is so, or becomes so’. It refers to a preceding assertion or fact, (verse 25), or even to something existing only in the mind, and leads to something that follows on as a consequence. With verse 1 we have another example of the later superimposition of chapter and verse divisions on the text potentially getting in the way. Paul is continuing to logically progress from what he has been saying previously. And he has by no means finished talking about divine law, which he will return to in verses 4 and 7 of chapter 8 as part of his continuing discussion about Christians and maintaining divine approval day-by-day.  

I also want to note that the rest of the verse 1 says, [Not walking down from flesh, but down from breath] [pneuma], (Romans 8 v 1b). It is highly probable that these words are to be removed or omitted since it is very likely that copyists inserted them here. We will come across these words a little later, in their correct place, as Paul continues his reasoning and analysis. But when placed here, they intrude and distract from the sequence of Paul’s logical propositions. 

Principles of living a godly life [54] – Deliverance through the free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah

 ‘Rejoice! The free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah our Lord! So then, indeed I am willingly serving God’s law with the mind, but flesh, fundamental principles of self-forfeiture and loss’, (Romans 7 v 25).

Paul has led us to a point of helplessness, even despair, concerning our inability to set ourselves free from, or to overcome the inherent impulses within our fleshly constitution. By means of God’s law we know that God disapproves of certain behaviours – but in knowing God’s Law we begin to perceive our self-forfeiture in every aspect of our being. As we are by nature, our fleshly impulses lead us to self-forfeiture and loss – to divine disapproval and judicial condemnation. Even as Christians who are persuaded of the good news of the Messiah and desiring to live a godly life day-by-day, the intentions that arise within our enlightened mind are being frustrated and opposed by these impulses and energies within our physical flesh. Paul asks, ‘What will rescue and deliver me from out of this, the death body?’

Then, suddenly, Paul talks about rejoicing and giving thanks. Why? Because the answer to his question is, ‘the free kindness and favour of God by means of Jesus the Messiah our Lord!’ We get a sense I think that he cannot contain himself any longer. He thanks God for effecting a deliverance that is beyond his own ability. There is a way of divine approval and Paul places it completely in God’s free favour by means of the Lord Jesus, Messiah. What divine Law cannot do, and what our human constitution cannot do, is being accomplished by means of the Messiah as a result of God’s free favour. 

Paul then succinctly restates what he said earlier in verses 20 – 23. ‘So then’. He sums up the position that he has arrived at thus far. He returns to the polarising dichotomy between his godly intentions as a result of his enlightened mind, and the opposing impulses of his fleshly constitution. This is where he is as a Christian at this present time. On the one hand, ‘I [‘ego’ as governor/controller/regulator] am indeed willingly serving God’s law with the mind’, in my ‘inner man’ or the ‘inside of the cup’. I am agreeing alongside good, clean, praiseworthy divine law and my intention is to honour and praise God in my speech and behaviour. But my ‘flesh [my death-body], is serving fundamental principles of self-forfeiture and loss’. So I sometimes fail to do what ‘I’ [ego/governor/regulator] intend. Because impulses inherent in my fleshly constitution working in opposition to God, are taking me captive and working themselves out from within, They are carrying across into self-forfeiting speech and behaviour that Covenant law condemns and God disapproves of.

Paul maintains the important concept of separation between ‘ego’ – ‘I’ as inner controller/governor/regulator – and the raw energies inherent within his fleshly constitution. He established this position in Romans 7 v 17 - 23. He says, as a Christian, ‘I’ [ego] am not deliberately originating these raw impulses in my flesh from out of nothing by using my mind. Nor am I closely identifying with them. Rather, these impulses and inclinations are inherent within my earthy, sensuous, fleshly constitution, within the fabric of my flesh. Therefore, as a Christian, when I see myself behaving and speaking in ways that God disapproves of, ‘I’ [ego] am not fully, completely and wholeheartedly co-operating with bringing these impulses to fruition. They have taken me captive within self-forfeiture and loss and ‘I’ am grieved by such behaviour.