Salvation-The Location of the Sin Nature
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday November 25, 2015
Salvation: The Location of the Sin Nature
Lesson # 4
As we noted, Genesis 3 and Romans 6:6 teach us that the sin nature resides in the genetic structure of the human body.
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. (NASB95)
“Our body of sin” is composed of the articular nominative neuter singular form of the noun soma, “our body” and the articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun hamartia, “of sin.”
The noun soma is a reference to the human body.
The noun hamartia is not in the plural but rather in the singular and is articular indicating the sin nature is in view rather than personal sins or in other words, the word in the singular emphasizes sin as an entity and not sins in general.
The noun refers to the inherent propensity in mankind to commit mental, verbal and overt acts of sin.
The articular construction also emphasizes that Paul is speaking of sin as an entity emphasizing the underlying root cause of personal sins or the principle of sin.
The noun soma is modified by the articular genitive form of the noun hamartia, “sin,” which functions as an “attributive genitive” meaning that it specifies an attribute or an innate quality of the head noun, which is soma, “body.”
This type of genitive expresses quality like an adjective but with more sharpness and distinctness and thus, it emphasizes the “sinfulness” of the human body or in other words, that it is “inherently sinful” because it is corrupted by the sin nature, which resides in its genetic structure.
This would agree with what we see in our own bodies, which deteriorate with age and eventually cease to function and decompose which is further indication that the sin nature resides in the genetic structure of the physical body.
The fact that the sin nature resides in the genetic structure of the physical body is why the justified sinner needs a resurrection body to replace his sinful body.
This is one of the reasons why Christ had to die physically and rise from the dead in a resurrection body because the sin nature resides in the human body.
Therefore, the human body is inherently sinful, which is the result of the curse that the Lord put on Adam and his posterity (See Genesis 3:18-19) but Douglas Moo and others disagree with this interpretation.
Commenting on the usage of the words soma and hamartia in Romans 6:6, Douglas Moo writes, “The ‘body’ to which Paul refers is naturally often understood to refer to the physical body. If so, the qualification ‘of sin’ would not mean that the body is inherently sinful (a Greek notion rejected by the Bible) but that the body is particularly susceptible to and easily dominated by, sin…There is little evidence that Paul conceived of the physical body as the source or reigning seat of sin. However, we should not go so far as to say simply that ‘body of sin’ means ‘man in his fallenness.’ Paul chooses soma to connote the person as the instrument of contact with the world, a choice especially appropriate in a context that speaks of crucifixion. It is that ‘aspect’ of the person which ‘acts’ in the world and which can be directed by something else: either by that person’s new, ‘higher nature’ or by ‘sin.’ Here, then, Paul wants to say that our capacities to interact with the world around have been rescued from the domination of sin.”
As we can see from Moo’s statement, in order for him to come to his interpretation of this expression “body of sin” he must interpret soma, “body” as being “the person as the instrument of contact with the world.”
If he doesn’t then as he even noted, then this expression means that the body is inherently sinful.
In the writings of the Paul, the noun soma refers to the following: (1) The human body whether the body of mortals or Christ’s human body (Romans 1:24; 4:19; 6:6, 12; 7:24; 8:10, 11, 13, 24; 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:3; 6:13, 15, 18, 19, 20; 7:4, 34; 9:27; 12:14, 15, 16, 17, 18; 13:3; 15:35, 40, 44; 2 Corinthians 4:10; 5:6, 8, 10; 12:2; Galatians 6:17; Ephesians 5:28; Philippians 3:21; Colossians 2:11, 23; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:5, 10, 22) (2) Figuratively for the body of Christ (Romans 12:4, 5; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 17; 12:12, 13, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27; Ephesians 1:23; 2:16; 4:4, 12, 16; 5:23, 30; Colossians 1:22, 24; 2:17, 19; 3:15; Hebrews 13:3 (3) Figuratively for the Person of Christ in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24, 27, 29) (4) Resurrection body of the believer (1 Corinthians 15:37, 38, 44) (5) Moon, stars and planets (1 Corinthians 15:40). (6) Bodies of animals (Hebrews 13:11).
Up to this point in the book of Romans, soma has always been used with reference to the human body by Paul with no reference whatsoever that it denotes the person as the instrument of contact with the world (cf. Rom. 1:24; 4:19).
Also, the noun soma is used in Romans 6:12, 7:4, 24, 8:10, 11, 13 and 23 and in every instance refers to the human body and not the person as the instrument of contact with the world.
Notice in Romans 7:24 that Paul calls the human body, the “body of this death” meaning that the sin nature is the reason why human beings are born spiritually dead and eventually die physically.
Notice in Romans 8:10, Paul says that the “body is dead” because of the sin nature.
Paul not only teaches that the sin nature resides in the genetic structure of the human body but also the Holy Spirit indwells the believer’s body and will raise the believer’s body at the resurrection (cf. Rom. 8:13, 23).
As we noted earlier, the fact that the sin nature resides in the human body is further indicated in that Jesus Christ’s human body was not the result of the sexual union between Mary and Joseph but rather the result of the Holy Spirit impregnating Mary (Luke 1:35; cf. Hebrews 10:5-7).
He could not have a human body that was the result of human copulation because the sin nature is passed down in this manner and resides in the body and this is significant in that it makes clear that Jesus Christ did not have the principle of the sin nature residing in Him since the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary.
He did not have a human father who could pass down the sin nature in sex and this makes clear that our Lord was not under the headship of Adam like the rest of the human race.
Every member of the human race is under the headship of Adam due to physical birth but Jesus Christ did not have a sin nature because He did not receive a human body as a result of human copulation.
Now, because He did not have a human father and that His human body did not have a sin nature residing in it, it is then clear that the rest of the human race are sinners due to the fact that they possess a sin nature that resides in their physical bodies since it is passed down through copulation.
The human body of Adam became corrupted as a result of his disobedience, which he passed down to his posterity.
Also, in Romans 6:6, the noun hamartia could also be interpreted as a “genitive of production,” which takes place when the genitive substantive “produces” the noun to which it stands related and therefore, we could translate the expression to soma tes hamartias, “the body, which produces sin.”
Either way you slice it, the text makes clear that the sin nature is resident in the physical body, thus making the human body inherently sinful.
Genesis 3:18-19 teaches that the fall of Adam not only affected his fellowship with God but also it effected his environment and his physical body!
The physical body of human beings eventually ceases to function and decompose into the dust of ground because it is inherently sinful and they are inherently sinful because of the curse the Lord put on Adam and his posterity.
Therefore, in Romans 6:6, the noun soma is obviously a reference to the human body.
Therefore, we can see that every member of the human race is born into this world, physically alive yet spiritually dead and in need of justification and thus, the status of spiritual death was passed down to Adam’s posterity since spiritual death entered the human race through the sin nature.
So, spiritual death is the status of possessing a sin nature due to the imputation of Adam’s original sin in the Garden of Eden.
Physical death is passed down to the entire human race through the sin nature.
Adam died spiritually first (Genesis 3:6-8) and then physically (Genesis 5:5) and this pattern holds true for his posterity, the human race.
Now, personal sin is the result of obeying the desires of the sin nature and is a manifestation that one has a sin nature and the penalty for committing personal sin is spiritual death and this is what Adam and Eve suffered the moment they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Spiritual death is the result of possessing a sin nature and committing personal sin perpetuates this status while physical death is the result of possessing a sin nature that resides in the genetic structure of the human body.
Spiritual death is the product of the sin nature and personal sin perpetuates this status of spiritual death.
The human race is under the status of real spiritual death because of the sin nature, which was passed down from Adam.
Therefore, spiritual death is the consequence of not only possessing a sin nature but also obeying its desires and committing personal sin.
Spiritual death reigned over the entire human race because of Adam’s transgression (cf. Rom. 5:17) and the entire human race was condemned because of Adam’s transgression (cf. Rom. 5:18).
Eternal condemnation, the second death (Revelation 20:11-15) is the ultimate consequence of possessing a sin nature, committing personal sin, being spiritually dead.
Therefore, the problems of the sin nature, spiritual, death, physical death, personal sins and eternal condemnation are all interconnected.
Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths dealt with all of these.