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What does "the body of sin" in Romans 6:6 mean?



      

Romans 6:6

ESV - 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Clarify Share Report Asked October 16 2015 Mini Timothy Adekola Supporter

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Eced7a1f c81d 42f4 95ea 9d5719dce241 Singapore Moses Supporter Messenger of God, CEO in IT industry, Astronaut, Scientist
The "old man" in Rom 6:6 is none other than Satan himself, "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2; 4:22-24 Col. 3:9; Jn. 8:44; 1Jn. 3:8; 5:18). To call this the old Adamic nature is erroneous, for nothing happened to Adam other than his submission to Satan and a moral fall. Adam had the same body, soul, and spirit after the fall as before. The only difference was a change of masters. There is no such thing as an old nature other than man's own body, soul, and spirit dominated by satanic powers, as in Rom. 6:6

Being "dead to sin" (Rom. 6:2), "crucified with him" (Rom. 6:6), "dead with Christ" (Rom. 6:8), "dead to the law" (Rom. 7:4), and like expressions are common among Hebrews, Greeks, Latins, and other people. To die to a thing or person, is to have nothing to do with and to be totally separated from it or him. To live to a person or a thing is to be wholly given up to and to have intimate connection with that person or thing. Having the old man crucified means that one has no further dealings with him. In fact, 1Jn. 5:18 says the wicked one does not touch the one who is born again.

October 16 2015 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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Q jcryle001 JD Abshire Supporter
Question: What does "the body of sin" in Romans 6:6 mean? “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:6)

First we need to establish that the primary biblical usage of “old man” comes from two words. Old (Gr. Palaios) means old, ancient, well worn. Man (Gr. Anthrōpos) is simply a human being, either male or female. 

“Body” (Gr. Sōma) refers to the physical body and “of sin” (Gr. hamartia) to be without, to err, miss the mark, be mistaken, violate God’s law, etc.
Note the pronoun “our” which identifies the old man Paul is referring to. Next he uses the conjunction “that” (in order that, so that) the body of sin might be destroyed. Which body? The body Paul just referred to, the old man. 

The salvation experience is three-fold. 1. Upon (genuine) saving belief in Christ the individual is saved from the guilt and penalty of sin. 2. The born again believer is being saved day by day from the power and dominion of sin. 3. When Christ returns believers will be saved from the very presence of sin and free from all the disease and sickness associated with sin and God’s curse upon the world.

Point number 2 is what Paul is talking about; the believer is being saved day by day from sin’s power and control over him. As he states in Romans 6:3-5 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:”

January 25 2016 1 response Vote Up Share Report


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Mini STANLEY S. DRANE Supporter
I'm glad you asked. We see in Romans 6:6 (LIfe Application Bible Notes) the power and penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross.Our "old man", our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power.The "body of sin" is not the human body, but our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ, we stand acquitted, "not guilty"before God. The difference is that before we were saved, we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ (see Galatians 2:20).

July 22 2017 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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Mini John Rowland Supporter
The words 'body' or 'bodies' in Rom 6 - 8 are used 8 times and always refer to our physical bodies. Therefore 'body of sin' refers to the fact that in some way sin infects our bodies. This is not to say that we fall into the Gnostic error, teaching that matter and hence our bodies are inherently evil.

Somehow sin enslaves our bodies and is expressed through our bodies. Even in the case of the born again Christian the body remains in a fallen condition and in a fallen world as is proved by pain, sickness and the aging process. 

The difficult question to answer is how is the body of sin is 'brought to nothing' or 'rendered powerless' or 'annulled' as it is variously translated? In the original Greek, the verb is in the aorist tense, the passive voice and in the subjunctive mood. Respectively these mean that it is a once for all action and it is done to us. Then the subjunctive mood indicates potentiality or possibility.

How can this come about? When we are obedient to 6:11--14 we fulfill the conditional aspect that the subjunctive infers. In v11 we must consider or reckon with the fact that we are new persons in Christ. Hence we must refuse (according to v12-13) to use our bodies to express sin. According to v14 law is not our master but grace is. What grace? In the context of the earlier verses of this chapter it is the grace that caused the old person we were in union with Adam to be crucified with Christ. It is the grace that caused us to rise to new life in union with Christ. The best way to live a Christ like life is to constantly remember the wonder of what it is to be a Christian. In the face of sin and temptation we need to realize that we are the new persons that Paul teaches us here in Romans 6

I could prove that this method is not only in the writings of Paul but also in James, 1 and 2Peter, 1John and indeed in Christ's own teaching.

September 25 2017 1 response Vote Up Share Report


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79693848 422794911937989 3282113917685334016 o David Wood Supporter
The body of sin is something that manifests as a part of the spiritual makeup of a human being, that weaves its way into a person's psychological and physical makeup through behavior. 

First of all, what is sin? Sin is transgression against the Law (1 John 3:4). The Law is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy for those of you who are not aware of what the Law is.

So what happens when we sin? An example would be in the 10 commandments (which is not all of the Law) would be lying. If we lie, it will create a spiritual reaction that allows satan to begin forming power over a person, and that power will grow until one of a couple of things happens:

1. The lie will grow to more lies and more transgressions
2. The person repents (which means to "change" and also consists of correcting one's behavior)

So when we sin, it forms a sort of reaction that creates transgressions that build on top of each other, and then there is a sort of interaction with external spiritual entities (demons) that can happen, where a sort of sub personality is formed in a person. For example, if you ever have felt that you don't want to do something bad, but then you do it anyways. This war is what Paul describes in the next chapter of Romans (7) in the following verses:

14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

---end quote

Ok, so he describes in the following chapter what he means. Basically, you have sin, which creates a body of sin, the body of sin then wars against the Holy Spirit, and it is a constant battle between the mind and the heart, and there is one way to conquer it, and that is through Jesus Christ. How do you do that?

1 John 1:9 says:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Basically, unconfessed sins (even if you are not aware of them) will continue to compound and form a sort of inner body that is attached to demonic energy, that is known as "the body of sin" which I could also explain in terms of modern psychology if you study hypnosis and "parts integrations" you will see a similar phenomenon. Psychology is not aware that all of these phenomenon simply come from sin in the first place, however. They are simply aware of how they can manifest in a person's behavior, which is a somewhat segmented personality (Which happens to us all but moreso to others).

How do you conquer the body of sin? A thorough, thorough process of confession and repentance, and none of this "confess to God only" unbiblical nonsense. The Bible teaches to confess your sins to other people as well. (James 5:16) and to confess sins, you have to know what it is. Read Torah. (Gen-Deut)

Love,
Dave

May 31 2021 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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