What is Christianity Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

'The physical body is "dead'

Back to 'Christ in You'


And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)

Our physical body remains dead in the sense that it still contains in itself the centuries-old tendency toward rebellion against God and subjection to the will and ways of Satan. It therefore is spiritually dead.

The physical body (even of the saint) is an artesian well of adultery, pride, hatred, idolatry, covetousness, lying, murder, occult practices, and every other filthy action, word, motive, and imagination that is an abomination to the God of Heaven.

Only the Spirit of God working through the cross of Christ possesses the wisdom and power to deal with the passions of the flesh and fleshly mind of mankind. As soon as the physical body and the soulish nature begin to express themselves, all the religious principles and resolutions of the self-righteous person are as so much debris flying about in a hurricane.

While our new born-again inner man is receiving eternal life from the Holy Spirit, as we walk under the lordship of Christ, our mortal body remains dead in the bondage of sin. Our body is protected by the Passover blood and therefore is not destroyed by God as His Spirit moves throughout the earth, bringing judgment upon sinful deeds.

The blood of Christ makes an atonement for us so God can restore us to a state of fellowship with Himself. By faith we assign our old nature to the cross with Christ in order that we may be raised with Christ in the full power of His resurrection life.

If we give the Holy Spirit our full attention and cooperation He will enable us to put to death the deeds of our physical body. 

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)

Our task is to confess our sins, as the Holy Spirit leads us into an awareness of them, and then to renounce the sins, to draw near to God, and to resist the devil. It is not God’s will that we should remain in captivity, in subjection to the sinful urges of our own body.

We walk in the power of eternal life as we continue to confess and forsake our sins. The Holy Spirit provides the wisdom and strength that we need. If we walk each day in the Spirit of God we receive the peace, joy, power, sound mind, and victory over sin that are the possessions of those who follow Christ.

If we, Christian or not, continue to live after the lusts of our flesh and mind we will die spiritually. Also, we may come to an untimely end in the present world (I Corinthians 11:30). It is possible to be born again in Christ and then to die spiritually because the new life was not nurtured adequately. "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die." (Romans 8:13, Luke 8:14).