1. “I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me...I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members” (Rom. 7:21, 23).
If we had only the law of good in our mind, we would be able to successfully serve the law of God. However, we have another law within us that is contrary to the law of good in our mind. This law is in our members, that is, in our body. This law steadfastly opposes the law of good in our mind and prevents us from doing good in accord with the law of good in our mind. Rather than doing good, this stronger law causes us to follow the evil lusts in our members. This law is related to Satan’s fallen, evil life.
When man fell, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was taken into the human body. Thus, the fallen, evil life of Satan entered into man’s body, becoming “the evil” that operates as the law of sin in his members. Although the evil life of Satan entered the body, it spontaneously invaded the soul and affected the human spirit. The body is the base of the operation of Satan’s evil life, but this life also damaged the other parts of man’s being. The life of Satan corrupts man by moving from the outermost part (the body) toward the innermost part (the spirit). However, the life of God saves man by spreading from the innermost part (the spirit) to the outermost part (the body). Every incident of sinning begins with the operation of the law of sin in our members, our body. Whenever the law of good in our mind causes us to desire to do good, the law of sin in our members wars against this law of good and makes us captive to the law of sin. When we desire to do good, the evil that is present with us prevents us from doing the good that we desire. Consequently, rather than doing good, we do evil.
2. “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells...If what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me” (Rom. 7:18, 20).
The human body that God created was pure and without sin. When the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was taken into man’s body, Satan’s evil life was mixed with man’s body, and it became evil and sin in man’s body. This transmuted man’s body into the flesh. According to its narrowest definition, flesh refers to our fallen and transmuted body. However, the Bible also refers to fallen humanity itself as flesh (3:20; Gal. 2:16). Humanity is referred to as flesh because all of humanity is controlled by the flesh and is completely of the flesh. Our body contains the evil life of Satan, which is a sinful life and even sin itself. Therefore, in our flesh, our transmuted body, nothing good dwells; instead, there is only the evil element of Satan’s life. The evil life of Satan is a law that causes us to sin. It originates from the flesh of our transmuted body, and it has an automatic corrupting power, which captures us and makes us do what we do not will to do.
3. “With the flesh, the law of sin” (Rom. 7:25).
Because the flesh was formed by the transmutation of our body though its mixture with the evil life of Satan, our flesh spontaneously serves the law that is related to this evil satanic life. This law is called the law of sin. The evil satanic life was mixed with the human life in our body, making it the flesh and corrupting it with a law that makes us sin. Consequently, our flesh serves this law and practices sin.
There are two opposing laws within every fallen human being. The first law is related to man’s good created life, and it operates in the mind of our soul and creates a desire within us to match the outward law of God. The second law is related to the evil, fallen satanic life that operates in the members of our body and causes us to sin. The desires of our mind and the actions of our members are in opposition to each other because they are related to opposing laws. Our mind serves the good law of God, but our flesh serves the evil law of sin. These laws are in opposition to each other because they are related to two different laws which come out of two different kinds of life. Of these two laws, one is good and the other is evil; thus, the relationship of one toward the other is a relationship of opposition and even war. The good human life has a tendency toward good and constantly desires to do good. The fallen satanic life has a tendency toward evil and constantly causes us to do evil. The fallen satanic life always defeats the desires of our good human life. As a result, we do not do the good that we desire but instead practice the evil that we do not will to do.
Chinese philosophers call the struggle between these two laws the battle between reason and lust. They equate the element of good in our created life with reason, and the sin that dwells in our fallen body is equated with the lust of our flesh. The reasonings that either accuse and excuse are reflections of our conscience (2:15), but they operate through our mind. Thus, the good that our mind desires to work out passes through the faculty of reason. The lust that is related to our fallen nature is in our members; it operates in our body, working out the evil that comes from lust. A person with a strong faculty of reason tends more toward what is good, whereas a person who is easily influenced by his lust tends more toward what is evil. Every good action of man is supported by the reasoning faculty of his mind, and every evil action of man is instigated by the lusts in his members. When the reason in man’s mind temporarily prevails, it causes man to do good, but when the lust in man’s flesh ultimately wins, it causes man to do evil.
This battle between reason and lust is the basis of the warfare between the law of good and the law of sin that is mentioned in Romans 7. No person can escape this warfare; it is a consequence of our human birth. The warfare between the evil, fallen satanic life and the good created life in us did not begin only after we were saved, and it is not the struggle between the flesh and the spirit that is spoken of in Galatians 5. This inner warfare is present in all people, even those who are not saved. This struggle between good and evil is the common experience of all people.
Before we were saved, the reasonings in our mind directed our desires toward what is good, but the lust in our members conquered these reasonings, making us unable to work out the good and causing us instead to do the evil that is disapproved of in our mind. This is the condition of every person in the world. Even though a man’s reasoning clearly warns him of the dangers of gambling, his lusts override his good reasonings, and he continues to gamble. This lust, which causes people to disobey the reason in their minds, is particularly evident among opium smokers. Every person who smokes opium at some point has no desire to smoke opium and even determines to not smoke opium, but the lust in his members, which is the addiction to opium in his body, causes him to disobey his reasonings and to continue to satisfy his craving for opium. It is rare for an opium addict to pass up an opportunity to smoke opium. It is almost impossible for an addict to obey the reasonings in his mind and overcome the power of his addiction. As a result, the lust in his members is victorious. We do evil things that go against reason and that are contrary to our will because there is a law of sin in our members in addition to the law of good in our mind. We can desire to do good and even decide to do good because the law of good operates in our mind. However, we often go against our will because there is a law of sin operating in our members. Consequently, even though we will to do good, we cannot practice the good that we will.