Romans 6:6 and 11 through 14 explain the relationship between sin and the body in the clearest way. We want to look at this portion briefly.
Verse 6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves." Before we were regenerated to be a new man, though we did not admit it, we were simply an old man. Only when we received the new man was our old man exposed. This old man includes everything we have in the old creation. In His crucifixion the Lord Jesus was a substitute for our sin and death. He also brought every sinner to the cross. His death was the death of the entire human race because through incarnation He became one with man. His death was the death of our old man because through faith we are one with Him. It is a fact that "our old man has been crucified with Him." The Lord Jesus accomplished this for us.
What is the purpose of our crucifixion with Him on the cross? It is so that "the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves." Here we see the relationship between sin and the body. We "serve sin" because "the body of sin" has not been "annulled." All the power of sin is in this body. The base and stronghold of sin are the body. Man is a slave of sin because the body is a slave of sin. If the body is not dealt with by the cross, our whole body will be entangled by sin.
Other verses in the Bible also link sin and the body together because the body is the dwelling place of sin. Romans 7:17-18 says that sin "dwells in me...in me, that is, in my flesh." Verse 23 says, "Making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members." Colossians 3:5 says, "Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and greediness."
From God's point of view, the body of man is actually the body of sin because sin is the instigator of the body. By reading the foregoing verses, we can see how closely sin and the body are related. All sins committed by man are affected by the body. Understanding the reason for this is not very difficult because "the lust, having conceived, gives birth to sin" (James 1:15). The root of sin is lust, and the hiding place for lust is the body. The Bible speaks of "the flesh with its passions and its lusts" (Gal. 5:24). Actually, countless numbers of sins originate from our physical body. Because a certain kind of lust exists in the body, the corresponding sin issues forth.
If a man wants to be delivered from the power of sin and to no longer be a slave of sin, he must overcome his body. In Romans 6:6 the apostle tells us how the Lord saved us from the bondage of the body: He took our old man with Him to the cross, thus annulling the body of sin. According to the original text, the meaning of the word annul is to "disable," "dull," and "wither." By His accomplishment on the cross, the Lord has disabled and withered our body of sin, so that we no longer need to be the slaves of sin. The body still exists; it is not annihilated or totally dissolved. But all the lusts that come as a result of our physical make-up are withered away and made of no effect by the Lord. Although we all have our natural weaknesses inherited from our physical make-up, we can still have complete victory through the cross.
Verse 11 says, "So also you, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus." Verse 6 tells us three things: a fact, a purpose, and a result. To die together is a fact, to be annulled is the purpose of dying together, and to overcome sin is the final result. But verse 11 teaches us the way to practice verse 6, by reckoning what the Lord has accomplished as real. Verse 6 says that our old man has been crucified with Him and that the body of sin has been annulled. Now, by believing this to be true, we receive that work of the Lord's cross which deals with our body. And soon we shall see all the passion, evil desire, and natural disposition and affection of the body put to death by the Holy Spirit.
Verse 12 says, "Do not let sin therefore reign in your mortal body so that you obey the body's lusts." The salvation of the Lord Jesus is complete in that He has crucified our old man; "therefore," we can be liberated now. If sin still reigns in our mortal body, it is no longer because we have to obey sin; rather, it is because we choose to allow sin to reign. The whole question now is a matter of the choice of our will. Since the Lord Jesus has crucified our old man, the problem is no longer whether or not the body of sin can be overcome. The question now is how do we choose? If we "do not let" sin reign in our body, the evil desire in the members cannot force us to surrender. On the other hand, if we do not use our will to choose what the Lord has accomplished for us, we may still serve sin as slaves in our experience, even though the Lord has crucified our old man. Many believers do not understand why they do not see the effectiveness of their co-death, even though they have believed the truth of co-death. I believe that not a few have made their mistake here. Though we believe that the fact in verse 6 is true, our will must resist the reigning of sin as stated in verse 12. Only then will the fact accomplished by the Lord become effective. Otherwise, if our will responds to sin, our believing will be of no effect. Formerly, the body and sin were deeply united (hence the term "the body of sin"). Now, however, because of the Lord's salvation, believers need not let sin reign in their body any longer. Although the body still has its lusts, the believers need not obey them.
Verse 13 says, "Neither present your members as weapons of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness to God." Here we have the word "neither" which follows "do not let" in verse 12. "Do not let" is related to the body, and "neither present" is related to the members. The first verse refers to the whole, while the second verse refers to the parts. The first verse refers to a denial of the place of sin in the entire body, and the second verse refers to a denial of the reigning of sin in the individual members.
What a relationship we can see here between sin and our body with its members. Sin needs the body to be its dwelling place and the members to be its instruments. Without the body and its members, there is no place for sin to be expressed. If believers want to overcome sin in their body, they must reject its reign. If they want to overcome sin in their members, they must not be its instruments.
In the following verses there is the matter of two presentations. One is the presentation of ourselves, and the other is the presentation of the members. The phrases "do not let" and "neither present" are on the negative side, whereas the two presentations mentioned in verse 13 are on the positive side. Presenting ourselves is presenting our entire body. It is to completely present to God our entire being through the exercise of our will, allowing God to be Master over everything. Presenting the members means consecrating every individual member to God to accomplish righteousness. These presentations are all in the realm of resurrection. If the believer wants to overcome all the natural lust, addiction, and inclination of his body, as well as all the weakness, uncleanness, and sin which come from his physical constitution, he must rely on the fact that he has died together with the Lord and must exercise his will to oppose and reject the authority of sin in his body. He must not allow sin to use any of his members as an expression of its power. Moreover, based upon the resurrection of the Lord, he must yield himself to God so that he may employ his members positively in accomplishing righteousness. If a believer merely has faith in the co-death but does not exercise his will in rejecting, his faith is dead and is of no effect. On the other hand, if a believer merely exercises his will to "not let," and does not take as a foundation the fact of our co-death with the Lord, the exercise of his will is in vain. After he has thus properly taken care of the negative side, he must also believe on the positive side that he is resurrected with the Lord. Then he must yield himself and his members to God.
Presenting oneself positively is the most important step in overcoming the body. Our will must be subject to God. Otherwise, there is no possibility of overcoming. We must not only renounce sin but also pursue God. It is not enough to stop committing sin; we must also desire righteousness. The positive going forward will keep us from the negative sliding backward. If we act according to the order God has set forth and specifically present ourselves and all our members to Him who has called us unto consecration, He will surely accept such a presenting of ourselves. He will saturate us with Himself and cause us to do His will in all things. We must present ourselves continuously and believe that the resurrection life of Christ is being lived out of us in reality. The result of this practice is verse 14: "Sin will not lord it over you."
