Principles of living a godly life [71] - Present hardship – Future honour [3]

 ‘For the empty original formation has begun and is continuing to be placed under, absolutely not willingly or voluntarily, but by means of the placing under on the basis of confident expectation 21 that even the original formation itself will be set free away from the enslavement, the decay and ruin, penetrating into the freedom, the honour and glory of the children of God. 22 For we appreciate that the whole of the original formation is jointly groaning and jointly suffering birth pains up to the present time’, (Romans 8 v 20 - 22).

Paul is writing about judicial approval and rightwiseness, not only in terms of Christians standing free from divine condemnation at the Day of Judgement, but also in terms of divine judicial approval and rightwiseness in conducting their lives moment-by-moment at this present time. Paul introduced the theme of opposition between the Christian's physical fleshly constitution with its impulses and energies, and the movement or current of the Breath of God that indwells the Christian’s deep inner core, (verses 1 - 4). He has said that the Christian’s fleshly constitution has not been transformed and that in this sense Christians are existing within a ‘dead body’ that remains intrinsically unresponsive to God, grieving and weighing Christians down. But the Christian’s fleshly constitution is enabled to serve God by means of the movement, influence, current and energy of the Breath of God dwelling deep within them, (verses 4, 5) as the source of Life within the Messiah, (verse 10). The current of Breath of God enlightens the Christian’s mind and influences their own breath and impetus - the current, movement and inclination within them. Christians are not indebted to their flesh, nor obliged to follow its raw passions. Instead, Christians are putting to death the actions of the body down from breath, and as they do so they will live. 

In effect Paul is answering his earlier question. ‘What will rescue and deliver me from out of this, the death-body?’ (Romans 7 v 24). Paul’s logical reasoning in answering this question brought him to say ‘if you are putting to death the actions of the body down from breath’ then you are being led by the Breath of God. And, ‘as many as are being led by the Breath of God, these are existing God’s sons’, adopted as children and heirs of God. 

But it is plain that the redemption of Christians from out of divine condemnation, self-forfeiture and loss, by means of the Messiah, has not yet reached the end result. But Christians possess ‘confident expectation 21 that even the original formation itself will be set free away from the enslavement, the decay and ruin, penetrating into the freedom, the honour and glory of the children of God’, (verse 20b, 21). Christians expect that the empty, aimless, transient original formation itself will be radically changed such that it will be set free from enslavement to decay and ruin. This radical, fundamental change of the original formation will penetrate into ‘the freedom, the honour and glory of the children of God’. 

There is a sense in which Christians have already been brought forth as a new formation, but there is also a sense in which this bringing forth has not yet reached its culmination or end point. Christians possess welcome confident expectation that redemption will indeed reach its end point, such that even their original formation – their physical, flesh and blood constitution – will, in the future, be changed. But at this present time, Christians continue to exist within their unchanged ‘clay vessel’. 

In verse 22 Paul says that Christians know and appreciate that ‘the whole of the original formation is jointly groaning and jointly suffering birth pains up to the present time’. In this verse Paul seems to step back and take a broader view by looking at the whole of humanity, and perhaps even the whole original formation, which was originally seen as ‘very good’ but which has now fallen from that state. God’s plan of redemption and restoration is being worked out, but many of these fundamental changes are still to be fully brought forth. Thus the empty, aimless, transient original formation is ‘jointly groaning and jointly suffering birth pains up to the present time’. This ongoing process of change is painful for the original formation, causing it to groan and suffer birth pains. I interpret it in this way because in verse 23, Paul makes a comparison with Christians, as we will see in the next post.

The process that Paul has been talking about involves the original formation being ‘unwillingly and involuntarily placed under’. As we read in verse 20, ‘the empty original formation has begun and is continuing to be placed under, absolutely not willingly or voluntarily’. So finally, we can ask, ‘What is the empty original formation being subordinated to? Unwillingly being placed under what or who? The original formation is being placed under the delegated ruling authority of the Messiah as Paul explains in his first letter to the Corinthians when he looks at the culmination of God’s Kingdom. Initially, Jesus will return and come close having taken up the mantle of King of kings to rule the nations with an iron rod during the Millennium Reign. Paul writes about the culmination of this reign, ‘the end, when he [Jesus] will hand over the kingdom to the God and Father when he will have annulled all dominion, and all authority and power. 25 For it is necessary for him to reign up until he put all the enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be abolished - death. 27 For ‘He puts all things placed under His feet’. But when it may be said that all things have been arranged under, it is evident that the one having placed all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things will have been placed under Him, then also the Son himself will be placed under the One Who has arranged all things under him, so that God may be all in all’, (I Corinthians 15 v 24 – 28).

Principles of living a godly life [70] - Present hardship – Future honour [2]

 Paul says that ‘…away and separate from the attentive thinking and supposition of the original formation, the unveiling of the sons of God is welcomed away from, and out of, eager waiting in full expectation. 20 For the empty original formation has begun and is continuing to be placed under, absolutely not willingly or voluntarily, but by means of the placing under on the basis of confident expectation 21 that even the original formation itself will be set free away from the enslavement, the decay and ruin, penetrating into the freedom, the honour and glory of the children of God’, (Romans 8 v 18 - 21).

In verse 20 Paul gives the reason why ‘the unveiling of the sons of God is welcomed away from, and out of, eager waiting in full expectation’. He once again uses the Greek word ‘ktisis’, which in the previous post I said means ‘original formation’. In terms of human beings, the word refers to their original arrangement or formation that they inherit - the sensuous, earthy, fleshly human constitution with its impulses and passions that as a result of Adam’s disobedience are opposed to God because of the fall into disobedience. This original formation is now described as ‘empty’ – as transient, aimless and lacking usefulness. 

But that is by no means the end of the narrative. The context of this passage is that Paul is talking about Christians being judicially approved and made rightwise. With regard to Christians he tells us that ‘the empty original formation has begun and is continuing to be placed under’. He states this in the aorist tense – in other words this ‘placing under’ is something that has started in the past and is continuing at this present time and will continue into the future. The ‘original arrangement and formation’ – the natural human constitution of flesh and blood - is in a process of being ‘placed under’ at this present time. The Greek word is ‘hupotassó’, meaning ‘to appoint or arrange under’. I will explain ‘under what’ in the next post. 

However, the Christian’s ‘empty original formation’ that lacks usefulness – their physical body of flesh and blood - is not willingly or voluntarily ‘being arranged under’ or ‘arranging itself under’. The Christian’s physical constitution per se, their ‘original formation’, is unresponsive to God and in fact, the energies and impulses inherent within the fabric of flesh are opposed to God. So the transient, aimless original formation has begun and is continuing ‘to be unwillingly arranged under’ ‘on the basis of confident expectation’ of something. This welcoming confident expectation is ‘away and separate from the attentive thinking and supposition of the original formation’ (verse 19). It is not arising from the empty original formation itself. It is not a welcome confident expectation that is ‘naturally emerging’ from the Christian’s flesh and blood. Rather, it arises separate and away from the attentive thinking and suppositions that arise from the empty original formation of our earthy constitution. It is something distinct and separate.

So the next question is, ‘Confident expectation of what?’ Paul tells us immediately in verse 21 – ‘confident expectation that even the original formation itself will be set free away from the enslavement, the decay and ruin, penetrating into the freedom, the honour and glory of the children of God’. The Christian’s welcome confident expectation is that ‘the original formation itself will be set free away from the enslavement, the decay and ruin’. Their confident expectation is with regard to a radical and fundamental change to the original formation itself, a change that will penetrate into ‘the freedom away from the enslavement, the decay and ruin, the honour and glory of the children of God’.

As Paul says elsewhere, the original formation of flesh and blood cannot inherit or even see the Kingdom of God. Christians are already existing as a new formation having been born again, but the process is not yet complete. But Christians possess confident expectation that their original formation, their inherited, fallen, fleshly constitution, will in the future, when redemption is made complete, be set free from its enslavement to self-forfeiture, decay and ruin. The Christian’s eager, confident expectation is that their physical body will be changed.  ‘…we will all be changed within an indivisible moment in time, within the jerk of an eye, at the final trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be aroused without decay, not perishable, and we will be made different’, (I Corinthians 15 v 52). 

It is on the basis of this eager, welcome confident expectation that at this present time the empty original formation is being ‘placed under’, (verse 20b). ‘Because we are existing within the tent, we are groaning and weighed down on the basis that we do not wish to be stripped out of clothing, but to be clothed over so that ‘the subject to death’ be swallowed down by Life’, (II Corinthians 5 v 4). There is part of the incentive or motivation for Christians ‘putting to death the actions of the body’, (verse 13). This is quite a different process from the legalist’s proposal that Christians turn to the written codes of Covenant law and try to use them as a spur towards holiness.

Principles of living a godly life [69] - Present hardship – Future honour [1]

 ‘For I consider that the suffering of this present time is not comparable to the honour and praiseworthiness about to be revealed towards us, 19 for away from the thinking of the original formation, the unveiling of the sons of God is welcomed away from eager expectation’, (Romans 8 v 18, 19). 

Paul has introduced the idea of the Christian’s liberation and standing within divine approval (verses 15 – 17a), but he says that Christians ‘are sharing suffering together [with the Messiah] in order that also they share praise and honour together’, (verse 17 b). But he goes on to say that this present suffering bears no comparison to the honour and praiseworthiness that is about to be revealed towards ‘us’, by which Paul seems to mean ‘Christians’. That would seem to be another of his general statements. He then goes on to explain this in more detail, in what actually in some ways prove to be a difficult few verses. So take a deep breath.

What is Paul saying? He is saying that ‘the suffering that we [Christians] are experiencing at this present time bear no comparison to the honour and praise about to be revealed towards us [Christians], for…’. The word ‘for’ is a conjunction, a ‘joining word’ used to express cause, explanation, inference or continuation. So we can perhaps use the word ‘because’. This then gives us ‘the suffering that we [Christians] are experiencing at this present time bear no comparison to the honour and praise about to be revealed towards us [Christians] because…’. We then come to the Greek word ‘apokaradokia’, a word made up of ‘apo’, meaning ‘away from’, which usually denotes separation or departure, and ‘dokeo’ meaning ‘attentive thought’ or ‘supposition’. This now gives us ‘the suffering that we [Christians] are experiencing at this present time bear no comparison to the honour and praise about to be revealed towards us [Christians], because away from the attentive thought and supposition of…’. The next question is, ‘Attentive thought and supposition of who?’ 

The Greek word is ‘ktisis’, usually translated as ‘creation’, such that in many translations we tend to find something like this – ‘For the earnest expectation of the creation awaits the revelation of the sons of God’. The word ‘ktisis’ means ‘original formation’, ‘what is formed’, ‘what is founded or planted’. So the issue is this – is Paul referring to the whole of ‘creation’, as in humans, animals, plants, mountains and so on, or does he mean something more restricted? The word occurs just 19 times in the New Testament in the form of a noun, 15 times in the form of a verb, and 4 times in reference to what is formed. In almost every case it is translated into English as ‘creation’, or ‘to create’ or ‘that which was created’. I translate it as ‘original formation’.  

Meyer’s New Testament Commentary points out that Christians are different from the ‘ktisis’, and even opposed to it. Since Paul is talking about the attentive thoughts and suppositions of the ‘original formation’ I suggest that he is referring to human beings as they are in their natural, earthy, sensuous human constitution within flesh and blood, their ‘death-body’. What he calls the ‘old self’ or ‘old humanity’ elsewhere.   As Meyer says, Christians are different, something that Paul has also been saying. There is a polarising difference between Christians who are brought forth as a ‘new formation’ in comparison to their old, inherited, natural original formation or ‘old self’. Paul has been saying that the old formation, as a result of Adam’s disobedience, is enslaved to and pays attention to flesh and its impulses and energies. But the new formation pays attention to the Breath. 

Paul is saying that separate and away from the thinking and suppositions of human beings existing within their original formation, ‘the unveiling of the sons of God is welcomed away from eager expectation’. The ‘unveiling of the sons of God’ would seem to refer to Christians effectively being brought forth as a free gift of God at this present time, and more especially to the completion and end result of their redemption in the future at the return of the Messiah. Separate and away from the thinking and suppositions of human beings within their original formation, this unveiling is being eagerly awaited. The Greek word is ‘apekdechomai’, meaning ‘eager waiting in full expectation’. The consistent theme across all the passages where this Greek word is used is the Christian’s hopeful and patient waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled in the future. 

I am suggesting that verses 18b and 19 are best fully translated and amplified something like this. ‘…the suffering of this present time is not comparable to the honour and praiseworthiness about to be revealed towards us, 19 because away and separate from the attentive thinking and supposition of the original formation, the unveiling of the sons of God is welcomed away from and out of eager waiting in full expectation’. [And breathe out].

Principles of living a godly life [68] – The Christian’s daily life and standing

 ‘…if you are putting to death the actions of the body [down from] breath [pneuma] - you will live, 14 because as many as are being led by the Breath [Pneuma] of God, these are existing God’s sons. 15 Because you are not receiving a breath of slavery once more, penetrating towards fear and alarm. On the contrary, you are receiving breath [pneuma] of placement as a son, within which we are crying aloud, ‘Abba!’, ‘Father!’ 16 The Breath [Pneuma] is also bearing witness together with our breath [pneuma] that we are existing children of God - 17 and if children, also heirs, indeed, heirs of God and joint heirs with the Messiah since indeed we are sharing heavy emotion or adversity together, in order that also we share in praise and honour together’, (Romans 8 v 13 - 17).

Once again we see Paul using as well as distinguishing between the words ‘Breath’ and ‘breath’. His teaching is that only those brought forth by God within the Messiah by means of the Breath of God are made alive and responsive to God and His Messiah. They and they alone possess the Breath of God in their deep inner core. If a Christian is living their life moment-by-moment down from breath, that is, down from the current, energy and movement of their illuminated and enlightened heart and mind, then the practical result is that they are co-working with God and ‘are putting to death the actions of the body’. But Christians are engaged in a battle, in warfare. They have been ‘roused up’ in the ‘inner man’ concerning ‘spiritual’ realities and their minds and hearts are being enlightened and illuminated by the Breath to perceive and be persuaded of unseen realities. But at the same time they are weighed down and grieved by their fleshly constitution because of its inherent energies that are opposed to God. So they [ego] are seeking to put the actions, the outworking, of their fleshly impulses to death since these impulses and energies are working in opposition to God. This warfare is wearisome and grieving because Christians are in a state of adversity within themselves.

The illustrations that Paul presents elsewhere with regard to this situation are those of an athlete training and disciplining their body in order to win the race, or that of a boxer punching away these contrary actions. The Christian’s enlightened ‘I’, [ego], is exhorted to exercise enlightened self-control and illuminated self-discipline with regard to regulating their wayward fleshly behaviours, to ‘possess their vessel’, to ‘rein these fleshly impulses in’, to govern their body by enlightened self-control. But they do not always succeed. And if Christians are persistently and excessively wayward, bringing the gospel and the Messiah into disrepute, they are in danger of losing a portion of their inheritance. They are also in danger of being cut off from the fellowship – excommunicated – both in order to deliver their breath, as well as to maintain the cleanliness of the fellowship.

But as many as are being led by the Breath of God – the source of their enlightenment – they are existing as God’s sons. Because Christians are not receiving a current or movement of fear, terror and alarm within their heart and mind with regard to the settled anger and judicial condemnation of God. Even if they were born Jews or were Gentiles who had become Jewish proselytes under Sinai Covenant law, then ‘the Messiah buys us up completely from out of the curse of the Law’, (Galatians 3 v 1). Instead, Christians are receiving breath of placement as sons, such that they are crying out ‘Abba! Father’ – the expression of reconciliation.

‘The Breath [Pneuma] is also bearing witness together with our breath [pneuma] that we are existing children of God’, (verse 16). Paul once again combines the use of ‘Breath’ and ‘breath’ in this single verse. The movement and current of the Breath of God and His Messiah is also carrying evidential witness together with the Christian’s breath – together with the current and movement of the Christian’s enlightened heart, mind and ego. What is the Breath of God bearing evidential witness and testimony to? The Breath of God is carrying evidential testimony that they exist as children of God, brought forth or ‘born again’ of God. There is an agreement of movement between the Breath of God and the Christian’s breath, presenting evidential testimony that they exist as children of God. This is beyond the ability of unbelievers, and it reflects the polarising difference between Christians and unbelievers.  

And ‘if children, also heirs, indeed, heirs of God and joint heirs with the Messiah since indeed we are sharing heavy emotion or adversity together’, (verse 17). The battle that Christians are engaged in as they pursue godliness means that they are ‘sharing heavy emotion or adversity together, [with the Messiah and the Breath of God], in order that they also share in praise and honour together [with the Messiah]’ – an expression of their union within the Messiah. This grief and weighing down bears no comparison to the praise and honour that Christians will participate in as they are brought to completion.

Having mentioned grief and suffering, Paul then goes on in Romans chapter 8 to look forward to the Christian’s reward and their security within the love of God in what are a very familiar and comforting set of verses for many Christians. 

Principles of living a godly life [67] – The Christian dynamic applied [1]

 ‘Therefore then brothers we are absolutely not existing as indebtors to the flesh, to be living down from the flesh. 13 Because if you are living down from the flesh you are at the point of dying and withering away, but if you are putting to death the actions of the body [down from] breath [pneuma] - you will live’, (Romans 8 v 12, 13). 

This verse confirms that Paul is writing to Christians about how they are conducting their lives moment-by-moment at this present time. He has said that Christians exist at this present time within a dichotomy. On the one hand, the ‘inside of the cup’ – their inner self, their ‘I’ [ego], heart and mind, is now roused up from out of deadness by the Breath, and enlightened towards sensitivity and responsiveness to God. 

But on the other hand, the Christian’s fleshly constitution has not been transformed. Their physical, fleshly body still retains its inherent impulses that lead towards speech and behaviour that God disapproves of. In this sense it is a ‘dead body’, grieving and weighing them down. So how is the Christian’s fleshly constitution enabled to serve God? It is enabled by the movement, influence, current and energy of the Breath of God dwelling within Christians, (verse 11) as the source of Life within the Messiah, (verse 10). 

That is the theology or teaching. Paul almost always states and then reasons through theological teaching before turning to its practical application. That is nearly always how the Apostle works. He presents enlightened knowledge of unseen realities and then reasons this knowledge through to its logical conclusion as a basis for the Christian’s practical intentions, speech and behaviour. 

He begins to apply the theology he has been explaining here, in verse 12 – ‘Therefore then brothers’. What is his general conclusion with regard to the present situation that Christians find themselves in? It is twofold. First – ‘We are absolutely not existing as indebtors to the flesh, to be living down from the flesh. Because if you are living down from the flesh you are at the point of dying and withering away’. Christians don’t owe their fleshly constitution anything, they are not indebted to their flesh. Not only is their fleshly constitution unable to deliver them from divine condemnation, but its inherent impulses and raw passions are continuing to oppose God. It is no use turning to divine law to oppose these passions because these impulses use the injunctions of divine law as a starting point to make self-forfeiture more extensive and more abundantly known. Paul does not say ‘putting to death the actions of the body’ by turning to divine law because divine law brings down knowledge of self-forfeiture and settled anger. Christians are under no obligation to follow their fleshly impulses or to allow their fleshly passions to lead or govern their speech and behaviour. If they do then they are at the very point of dying and withering away. They are at the point of ‘hardening their heart’, of ‘grieving the Breath’, of wandering astray into error and insensitivity, even of losing a portion of their allotted divine inheritance – not their deliverance - but a portion of their reward. 

Second, ‘but if you are putting to death the actions of the body [down from] breath [pneuma] - you will live’. There it is again – the Breath as the source of Life within the Messiah. However, sometimes the Apostle writes the word ‘pneuma’ with a capital ‘P’, and sometimes not. This is something that I am only just becoming aware of and something that the translators don’t always follow, so this nuance is not always presented correctly in English translations. Because I have only recently become aware of Paul’s grammatical style in the Greek text with reference to Breath/breath, I have not commented on it before. 

Assuming that the copyists have rendered the Greek text accurately, as Paul wrote it, then we see that in Romans, Paul uses lower case - ‘breath’ - in Romans 1 v 9; 2 v 29; 7 v 6; 8 v 1, 4, 5, 6, 10. But he uses an initial capital letter – ‘Breath’ – in Romans 5 v 5; 8 v 2, 9, 11. I propose that when he uses the Greek word ‘Pneuma’ - with a capital ‘P’ - the reference is definitely to ‘the set-apart Breath of God and His Messiah’. Whereas if he uses a small ‘p’ – ‘pneuma’ - then he seems more likely to be referring to the impetus or current of the Christian’s enlightened or illuminated heart and mind.  

Here in verse 13, Paul uses the lower case word. If a Christian is living their life moment-by-moment down from breath, down from their enlightened heart and mind, then the practical result is that they are putting to death the actions of the body. The actions of the body are the ‘works of the flesh’ as described in Romans 1 v 18 – 32 and Galatians 5 v 19 – 21. These are the fleshly behaviours that Christians are putting to death down from breath. Down from their enlightened and illuminated heart and mind they are resisting and opposing their fleshly actions. They may not always succeed in overcoming these fleshly behaviours, as fleshly impulses sometimes take them captive, but their enlightened heart and mind is nevertheless leading and inclining Christians to oppose and avoid these fleshly behaviours. And as Christians do this ‘they will live’ – they will be responsive and sensitive to God – alive to God. 

Paul states the same conclusion in his letter to the Galatians. ‘So I say, walk around within Breath [Pneuma] and absolutely do not bring to completion eager fleshly desire. 17 Because the flesh is focused on passionate desires against the Breath, [Pneuma] and the Breath [Pneuma] against the flesh. Because these resist and oppose one another in order that if you desire, you do not construct it, 18 and if you are led by the Breath [Pneuma], you are not under law’, (Galatians 5 v 16 – 18). In these verses Paul uses an initial capital letter – ‘Breath’. The source of the Christian’s enlightened heart and mind is of course the ‘Breath’ of God. Paul portrays Christians as walking around moment-by-moment by both ‘Breath’ (Galatians 5 v 16), and ‘breath’ (Romans 7 v 6; 8 v 1, 4, 9, 10). Indeed, Paul uses both grammatical styles in Romans 8 v 10 - Christians are existing ‘within breath, [pneuma], since indeed, Breath [Pneuma] of God is dwelling within you’. Their heart and mind is enlightened since the Breath of God is dwelling within them. Therefore they are exhorted to walk around day-by-day within breath – within and down from the impetus and current of their enlightened mind and heart, illuminated by the Breath of God and His Messiah.