Moving along to the fifth verse of Romans’ eighth chapter, we read, “For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh” (8:5a). We have to resist the temptation to turn these statements inward and begin thinking about them in personal terms, thereby turning “things of the flesh” into those things that we define as “sin” based upon nothing more than personal biases, prejudices, and preferences. Doing so does damage to Paul’s message and to the message of Christ as a whole. The “things of the flesh” do not take upon themselves a new constitution as we reach this verse, but must be understood in the context already presented.
That context is the covenant, the law, and the works of the flesh in which God’s covenant people (at the time of Christ and of Paul’s writing) were engaged for purposes of separation and the eventual elevation of national Israel over the nations as the establishment of the expected kingdom of God. Therefore, when we read about those who live according to the flesh, and understand that as living according to the works of the flesh (traditions that served as national boundary markers), then it is quite easy for us to understand that their outlook is shaped by the things of the flesh. Their entire interaction with the world was based upon the specific, nationalistic construct that had been created.
For Paul, this stands in sharp contrast with “those who live according to the Spirit,” who “have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit” (8:5b). Those who live according to the Spirit are those, both Jew and Gentile, that have moved beyond the nationalistic boundaries and desires through their recognition of, and belief in Jesus as Lord and Christ. This position of faith-grounded belief is the result and evidence of the activity of the Holy Spirit---the same Spirit that delivered the power that raised Christ from the dead. Paul points out that it is union with Christ that is all-important, and this union with Christ, based on a believing, faithful allegiance to Him because of Who He is as proved by the Resurrection, is the boundary marker of God’s covenant peoples. Owing to that, the all-important works of the flesh to which Israel has been holding no longer has a place of service in denoting the people of God. In and through Christ, there is a worldwide unity of peoples that form the kingdom of Israel’s God, where no division is necessary or even tolerated. This, of course, is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham to bless all peoples through his (Abraham’s) seed (the Christ, Who can be understood as the faithful Israelite.
Because this breaking down of all divisions, which reminds God’s people of the removal of the wall of hostility that separated them from Him, in which all distinctions are erased is such a radical concept for the world of his day (and even our own day), the people that live inside this new construct are said to live according to the Spirit. Indeed, their outlook must be shaped by the things of the Spirit, with the main thing of the Spirit being the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and His being shown forth as Messiah of Israel and therefore the ruler of the world through the now-inaugurated kingdom of God. Since one can only come to believe in such a thing through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit and its gift of faith that is transmitted through the preaching of the Gospel, the only conclusion to be reached is that such an outlook, and therefore the responses of life that are dictated by that outlook, are shaped by the Spirit of God.
In the sixth verse, Paul relates that “the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace” (8:6). The nationalism that surrounded the traditions represented by the works of the flesh is the same nationalism that fomented and sustained the revolutionary fervor against the Roman oppressors that was so prevalent in Israel in the days of Jesus and Paul. Paul, with knowledge of the words of Jesus, and ears to hear the message that Jesus was communicating to His countrymen, makes the point to Jews here in Rome, who might be tempted to support or take up arms with their brethren in Judea against the Romans if and when the time would come, that a life outlook that is dictated by holding to those things of the flesh is death. Conversely, the outlook of the Spirit---with its understanding that the kingdom of God was established through what Jesus Christ the Lord had done, without the use of sword or shield, and in which He suffered all of the violence and death---caused a looking upon of all men that believed in Jesus as heirs of the blessings of that kingdom, infusing a Spirit-empowered love and missionary compassion to extend the kingdom of God to all peoples by the preaching of the Gospel, and the eternal life and peace to be had in union with Christ.
Finishing the thought that was begun in the sixth verse, Paul writes that “the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, not is it able to do so” (8:7). If we remember that the law was designed to allow God’s people to effectively bear His image and shine as lights in the world that would engender God’s blessing and draw all men to God so as to bring them under the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, while reflecting on the fact that Israel failed to uphold the minimum requirements of the law (resulting in destruction, deportation, and ongoing exile), and later turning the law into a barrier of hostility that effectively kept those that were not a part of Israel from entering into covenant, then we are able to understand why Paul speaks of the outlook associated with the works of the flesh as being hostile to God and not submitting to the purpose of God’s laws. The law was being perverted in its use, and could not serve in its intended capacity.
No comments:
Post a Comment