The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 238

"the mind of the flesh i~ cleath;" thi~ is as 1111r~ly the result of such 11, perverse activity of our nature as th,)Ugh 1t were consc10usly designed. and sought after. What is death, to such a one as me.n? The complete separation of the soul from God I And bow is such death wrought by the "miml of the flesh"? By the reciprocal hostility between sin and God, which must work an utter mutual exclusion. 1. Bin's Mstuity to God. (Ver, 7,) The very essence of sin is rebellion against the Diviue authority. The "flesh," viz. all the lower desires and passions of man's nature, broken loose from their proper governance, together with the more spiritual faculties which have been dn~"ed down by the riotous animal impulses into a kindred perversion and anarchy-t,he fl;sh is "enmity lll!:ainst God." And, this being so, man's very sin, by its own action, shuts out God. Oh, what a suicide is here I For, with God, all good must ultimately be gone. 'l'he rebel rioters bar every avenue to shut out God; they darken the windows that the light of heaven may not shine; they exclude every breath of life and liberty. 2. God's hostility to sin. (Ver. 8.) But God is not a mere passive influence, whose exclusion from sinful man is determined solely by the express action of man's sin itself. God is a Spirit! Yes, no mere influence, but a living Person; a living Will! And God were no God, if he. were not a holy God; and, being holy, ever hostile to all sin. It must be so. And therefore, when man erects his own rebellious will against his Maker, God's presence is not merely shut out from the soul by sin, but God in grief- yea, and in wrath, in holy wrath-withdraws himself. "They that a.re in the flesh cannot please God." So, then, on these two grounds, "the mind of the flesh is death." Both by the repugnant action of sin to God, and by the repugnant action of God to sin, all the favour and love and life of God are banished from the heart. II. THE MIND OF THE SPIRIT, But if the inevitable result, and in some sense the conscious choice, of sin is the loss of God, what is the result of the true and right activity of the renewed nature, when the "spirit" is inspired by the Spirit of God, and restored to its proper ascendancy over the "flesh"? "The mind of the spirit is life and peace:" this is the necessary result; this is the result which is consciously sought after and desired, What is this life? The perfect possession and enjoyment of God, and of a.11 good in God. And how is it wrought by the "mind of the spirit"? As in the former case, by the reciprocal action between the renewed spirit and God; though here, not reciprocal enmity, but reciprocal love. 1. The craving for God. "The spitit thirsts for life in God, which is its element, and sacrifices everything to succeed. in enjoying it perfectly" (Godet). This is the very essence of the new life, as of all trua spiritual life, a. desire for God (see the Psalms, passim). And, by the appropriating power of faith, the spirit possesses itself of that which it desires. It hungers, and is fed. 2. The response of God. As above, God is not a mere atmosphere to be breathed, but a living God to give or withhold himself. And just as he withdraws in holy wrath from sinful man, so he imparts himself in gracious love to the humble, believing soul (see John xiv.-xvii.,_passim). So then" the mind of the spirit is life"-life which consists in the full possession of God, and, with him, of peace, joy, strength, and perfect liberty. Yes, "this is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Chrisi whom thou hast sent" (John xvii. 3). Which shall he our portion, our destiny? Life? or death? We answer, practically, by living nccording to the flesh or the spirit. But this latter is possible only in one way: does the Spirit of God dwell in us ?-T. F. L. Ver. 9b.-The Spirit of Ohrist. Let us resume a little. The "flesh" and the "spirit," e.s elements of man's complex nature. Latter controlling power, itself God- controlled. There was to be a supreme and established. domination of spirit over flesh, according to God's design, But reverse took place; spirit sunk in flesh. But God's Spirit has not forsaken the spirit of man. Cannot relW8It its own supremacy, but hie help is nigh. For thoucrh he cannot enter into fellowship with sinful man, and if mnn persist in sin must uitimo.tely withdraw altogether, yet now he seeks to save. And so the dualism of man's own nnture, which is hopeless, gives way to this higher and better dualism, which is essentially full of hope. God's contnct with 1utm is in conscience; mnn's appropriation of God is in Christ. Hence a true faith iu Christ is inevitnbly followod by .tho reigning influence of Christ's Spirit in the heart. 'l'h,, trut>, 11,ttrnctivo dootrino of tho S1;>irit: uot a suwothiug antagouistic to ovorythiug that i~  THE EPISTLE OF' rAtJL 'l.\) TlI:m ROMAN'S. ton. vm. 1-89.