In the previous chapter we saw that the world is connected to Satan. Now we need to examine another topic that is related to him—sin. Sin is connected not only to Satan but also to the world. These three topics—the devil, the world, and sin—are closely related.
1. “The anointed cherub”; “The devil” (Ezek. 28:14; 1 John 3:8; John 8:44).
The originator of sin is the devil. In chapter 53 we saw that he is the cherub anointed by God, the highest archangel, who became proud and rebelled against God. His rebellion against God was the beginning of sin. He is the first sinner in the universe. He sinned “out of his own possessions” (v. 44). He is a sinner from the beginning. Therefore, this sinning archangel is the originator of sin.
1. “The devil has sinned from the beginning” (1 John 3:8).
The devil has sinned from the beginning. This refers to the time before man was created. Before there was man, there was sin. Sin originated with the devil at the time of his sin. When the anointed cherub, the highest archangel, became the devil, sin came into existence.
1. “Through one man sin entered into the world” (Rom. 5:12).
After sin originated with the devil and after the creation of man, the devil tempted man to rebel against God. Through his temptation, the sin within him was injected like poison into man. The devil injected his poison into Adam, the ancestor of the human race, by tempting him to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All humans are Adam’s descendants. When the devil injected his sin into Adam, sin was passed to all his descendants. Therefore, sin is present in all humanity. When a person is born, sin is present within him. No one is not sinless; neither does one have to wait to commit a sin in order to be sinful. A person is sinful because his parents are sinful, having received the sin that was injected into Adam and which has been passed from generation to generation from our common ancestor Adam. According to the Bible, sin entered into the world through one man, Adam.
1. “I am fleshy, sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14).
The Bible speaks of both sin and sins, with sin referring to indwelling sin and sins referring to outward manifestations of sinful acts. Since indwelling sin relates to man’s sinful nature, it is often referred to in the Bible in the singular as sin. Since outward sins relate to man’s sinful actions, it is often referred to in the Bible in the plural as sins. Romans chapter 1 through the first part of chapter 5 emphasizes our outward sins, our sinful actions. The second half of chapter 5 through chapter 8 emphasizes our sinful nature, the sin that indwells us. Man’s sinful nature is present from birth. We are sold under the sinful nature that we inherited from Adam. When Adam followed Satan to rebel against God, he sold himself to sin and also sold all his descendants to sin. Adam and all his descendants have a sinful nature and are slaves to sin. No one is free from sin.
2. “It is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me” (Rom. 7:17, 20).
Man’s inward nature is full of sin, and it is active within man. This indwelling sin is actually the personification of the devil within us. As such, sin dwells in us and forces us to do evil and to commit sins.
3. “Sin revived” (Rom. 7:9).
Our sinful nature cannot be separated from our living. Although the operation of sin may seem to be dormant at times, it can always be revived. This shows that sin is part of our living.
4. “Sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, worked out in me coveting of every kind”; “For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me”; “Become death to me” (Rom. 7:8, 11, 13).
Since sin is personified in us, it seizes every opportunity to cause us to commit sins. For example, it works out coveting of every kind in us by means of God’s commandment, and it can deceive us, kill us, and even become death to us. This proves that indwelling sin is strong and living.
5. “Sin reigned in death” (Rom. 5:21; see also 6:12).
In addition to operating in us, indwelling sin reigns with authority in us, controlling us and causing us to die.
6. “Lord it over you” (Rom. 6:14).
Since indwelling sin reigns and exercises authority over us, it also lords over and controls us, making us its slaves. Having been sold to sin as slaves in Adam, sin is our master, and we have no way to escape its control or to free ourselves from it.
7. “The law of sin” (Rom. 7:25).
Every living thing lives according to a law of life. Since our indwelling sin is living, it also operates according to the law of its life. The Bible calls this law the law of sin. The law of sin is out of sin, belongs to sin, and causes people to sin. This law is in the corrupted members of our flesh, and it fights against the law of good in our mind and eventually captures us (v. 23), causing us to do evil and to die (vv. 21, 24). Since this law causes us to sin and to die, it is also called the law of sin and of death (8:2).
A law is a natural power that operates spontaneously. For example, gravity is a law that acts to draw things toward the earth. Similarly, indwelling sin has a natural power that causes us to sin spontaneously. Because the law of sin operates within us automatically, we do not have to exert any conscious effort to commit sins. Since sin is living in us, it indwells us, reigns over us, lords over us, controls us, enslaves us, makes us do sinful things against our will, and causes us to die. It is a spontaneous law with a natural power that causes us to sin and die.
Most people do not pay attention to this aspect of indwelling sin, and it is also difficult for people to understand. People think of sin primarily in relation to outward actions. Consequently, they do not believe that a person is sinful if he does not commit definite sinful acts. They do not have a clear realization of man’s has a sinful nature. Consequently, they do not realize that a person who does not commit gross sinful acts is still full of sin and therefore a sinner. If a peach tree does not produce peaches, it is still a peach tree because it has the nature of a peach tree. It is a peach tree because it has the peach tree nature; it does not need to produce peaches in order to be a peach tree. Similarly, man is sinful and a sinner because he has a sinful nature; he is not a sinner only because he has committed some sinful acts.