Rom 7:24 (NIV) What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? You now know that your body didn’t get saved, justified, and born again. For now it needs to be dealt with through a process called “sanctification.” It is a process that forces it to do the right, good, and righteous things. Just before you enter God’s Kingdom, it will experience a process called “glorification.” Let’s take a quick look at when your human body gets glorified.

1 Cor 15:50-52 (NIV) I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood [your human body] cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable (things that are dying and decaying) inherit the imperishable (things that last forever). Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep (die), but we will all be changed (glorified)--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable (glorified), and we will be changed (glorified). This is the moment when your body will be changed into a heavenly body (glorified). In the meantime, it will have to be dealt with in a different way (sanctified).

What a wretched man I am: The “want, hate, and delight” you got through salvation, justification, and being born again are VITAL. Rom 7:15 (NIV) I do not understand what I do. For what I WANT to do I do not do, but what I HATE I do. Rom 7:22 (NIV) For in my inner being I DELIGHT in God’s law. Those who lose the “want, hate, and delight” have lost their relationship with God. God doesn’t expect you to be instantly changed at salvation, justification, and being born again; BUT, He does expect you WANT to be changed, HATE the lack of changes, and DELIGHT in the potential changes from God. If He tried to change you without you having the “want, hate, and delight,” He would be going against your God-given free will; and, He is NEVER going to do that.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Prayer is YOUR indication to God that you WANT His help. It is your invitation to your heavenly Father giving Him permission to help you with your problems. You will need to say these words with your mouth so they can become your prayer to your heavenly Father. It is your invitation to Him to help YOU with YOUR body. You are confessing that you have two problems. One: That you are a wretched person. Two: That you are wretched because you have a body of death

Rom 7:25 (NIV) Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Fasten your seatbelt; this is going to be a rapid change in your life. Your prayer question is: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” The answer to your prayer question is: “Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!” You are going to be confessing: “What a wretched person I am!” You are going to be praying: “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” And, you are going to be believing: “Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!” As you confess, pray, and believe, you will be dealing with problems and solutions that will make major changes in you.

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Your mind is in your spirit; the sinful nature is in your body. And, at this moment, this Biblical passage is describing your current condition. But, soon your confession with your mouth and belief in your heart will START the change. This sanctification process isn’t exactly like salvation; salvation brings immediate forgiveness to all your past sins. And, it isn’t like justification that brings immediate forgiveness for all your present and future sins. Sanctification isn’t just an EXPERIENCE that happens the MOMENT you WERE born again; it is an ongoing PROCESS.

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. This means that your body still isn’t cooperating with your spirit and allowing you to treat yourself, other people, and God’s plan the right, good, and righteous way. SO, that means you will feel like a hypocrite to yourself and look like a hypocrite to those around you. That isn’t good news! It is great that we have a perfect record with God; but, it is easy to see that this current condition isn’t going to give us a good record with ourselves and others. So, how are we going to be rescued from this body of death?

Rom 8:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. It sounds like the solution is, as long as we are in our mind a slave to God’s law, it’s okay that we are in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. But, that would mean that, in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I will continue to see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members (Rom 7:22-23).

Why is it true that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? It is because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. We didn’t get set free from condemnation so we would end up feeling like and looking like hypocrites. Instead, we have a “grace period” of no condemnation so we can have access to the power of God. We are set free from the law of sin and death so we can through Christ Jesus be under the law of the Spirit of life. The law of the Spirit of life has the power to make our body start obeying us.

Rom 8:5 (NIV) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. First, you mind had to be set on the desires of the Spirit. Rom 8:6 (NIV) The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Second, our mind had to allow the Holy Spirit to control it. This doesn’t mean we lose our God-given free will; it means we, moment by moment and issue by issue, decide whether or not we give Him control. The more we give Him control, the more we win over our body.

Rom 8:9 (NIV) You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. What you will discover is, the more you allow the Holy Spirit to bring your body under control, the better you will treat yourself, other people, and God’s plan. This will help you trust the Holy Spirit with you and your body. If you finally get to the place where you totally trust the Holy Spirit’s control, then you will be ready to move into great victory over your body.

Rom 8:10 (NIV) But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. First, you will need to believe in your heart that the “if” in this verse is in fact a “since” for you. So, you will confess with your mouth: “SINCE Christ is in me.” Once you do that it MAKES IT POSSIBLE for you to say: “My body is dead because of sin, yet my spirit is alive because of righteousness.” This is possible because you believed that praying Matthew 6:9-13 and obeying Romans 10:8-10 gave you salvation, justification, and being born again; THAT brings Jesus in you!

Rom 8:11 (NIV) And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, Who lives in you. First, you will need to believe in your heart that the “if” in this verse is in fact a “since” for you. So, you will confess with your mouth: “SINCE the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is living in me.” Once you do that it MAKES IT POSSIBLE for you to say: “He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to my mortal body through His Spirit, Who lives in me.”

We will be looking at what to do with a body that He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, Who lives in you. Once you have prayed the necessary prayers from Romans 8:11, it will be like the power you experienced when you prayed for salvation, justification, and to be born again. You will find yourself having the power to START making your body do many new spiritual things. So, let’s get started praying the prayers in your workbook so you can get this power over your body. Once you have prayed and got the power, next week Jesus will be taking you into training for how to use that power.