Thanks be to God: (7:25):
With the preceding verse (7:24b) who will rescue me from this body of death, Paul jumps with joy that speaking in present tense that we have a deliverer the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes we are in the life long process of deliverance, the victory is sure extending to eternity and we shall surely win the battle. Because the believer is united to Christ, he is dead to the Law and no longer under its authority. But he is alive to God and able to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Even after speaking about the victory, Paul says: “I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (7:25b) appears to be something like a split mind. There is the real me and there is a sin living in me. But it does not teach us that a believer is living in divided life: sinning with his flesh and serving God with his mind. This means that his body is being used in two different ways at the same which is impossible. The believer realizes that there is a constant struggle within him between flesh and the Spirit and he must feed the Spirit in order to keep the flesh in control. Yes we have got a new mind, but the body is old. When we have completed our journey in this world, the Lord grants us with a brand new body “the glorified body” which is not subject to any desires of the flesh.
Ex: The famous example that two dogs (a black and white) are made to fight, who will win? Obviously the dog which is given good feeding and strong enough. Similarly when we feed Spirit with the word of God, the Spirit will have always the upper hand while fighting against the flesh.
A few questions to answer before we move to next chapter:
- Is it possible to be obligated to the law and united to Christ at the same time? (7:3)
- The commandment against coveting helped Paul to see that he was sinful (7:7-8). Do we have similar experience which helped us to realize that we are also sinful?
- If the law brings me death instead of life, how can it be good? (7:10, 12). What are the activities that we consider as law in our life?
- Have I struggled with sin in the way that Paul describes in (7:15-20)?
- If I blame my sins on a hostile power within me (7:20ff), do I reduce the importance of fighting against it?
- Is God delivering me from the slavery of sin and death? (7:24).