This is the seventh part of our study on the word νοῦς (Strong's #3563) which, in the general sense, represents the perceptive ability of the mind. In specific application to the believer, it refers to a person's ability to perceive spiritual truth. This week's study is taken from Romans chapter seven, which is one of the Bible's most revealing chapters dealing with the Christian walk.
It is Paul who first states, in Romans 12:2, that it is necessary for each Christian to go through a transformation of the perceptive abilities of his mind (νοῦς). He also teaches, in 1 Corinthians 2:9-16, that he who belongs to Christ has the mind (νοῦς) of Christ through the abilities of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 7, Paul shares the reflective process he went through and his conclusions about the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit of God.
In order to appreciate and understand this great section of teaching, one must approach it correctly, upon the basis of the Greek text. Some say that Romans 7 presents who Paul was before he became saved. Others say this chapter represents a defeated Christian because Paul uses the personal pronouns "I, me, my, and myself" some 47 times in chapter seven. However, the truth is that the use of the Greek personal pronouns in this chapter express the reflective thought of a believer, not the expression of a defeated Christian.
In Romans 7:7-12, Paul uses aorist and imperfect tense verbs to relate his experience while being under the law as a non-believing Jew. He says in verse 9 that at one time he "was living" without the Law. This was a time period prior to becoming a Son of the Law at the age of 13. He goes on to say that before this time, sin was dead — that is, sin was not sin because He was not under the Law. He goes on to say that after the commandment came, sin "revived" and "I died." He says that the Law "deceived" him and "killed" him because sin, having taken occasion through the commandment, "worked out" in him every lust. He presents an example in verse 8 when he says that when he heard the commandment, "You shall not commit lust," sin worked out all manner of lust. So he found that the hearing of the Law causes sin to rise up and express itself through the flesh.
In the first few verses of Romans 7:13-20, Paul uses perfect tense verbs to express the condition that was carried over from his life as a non-believing Jew to that of a believer in Christ. In verse 14, Paul begins to use perfect tense and present tense verbs to express his present condition, as a born-again believer; that is to say, his condition at the time of his writing the Book of Romans. He says in verse 14, "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I myself am fleshly, having been sold under sin." When he says that he is fleshly and has been sold under sin, he uses the present active indicative (εἰμι, Strong's #1510) and the perfect passive participle (πεπραμὲνος, Strong's #4097) to describe the current condition or state of his flesh as a believer. In Romans 7:15-20, Paul describes, in reflective language, the struggle he found between his will to do the will of God and the evil that was in his flesh fighting against his desire to serve the Lord. He expresses his conclusion about his flesh in verse 18 by saying, "good does not dwell in me - that is in my flesh." In verse 20 he comes to this conclusion: "Now if what I myself do not desire, this I am doing, I myself am no longer working it, but the sin dwelling in me." Paul uses the present tense verb to describe that which he currently does not desire to do, but finds himself presently doing. His conclusion is that He is no longer doing it (the present tense of κατεργὰζομαι, Strong's #2716), it is the sin currently dwelling (present participle of οἰκὲω Strong's #3611) in him that is at work. Paul shares his conclusion in verse 21.
Romans 7:21-25 (Literal Translation):
21) I find then the law in me, the one desiring to do the right, that the evil is present with me.
22) For I take pleasure in the law of God according to the inward man;
23) but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind (νοῦς) leading me captive in the law of sin which is existing in my members.
So far, Paul finds three laws in this chapter that are constantly at work in the life of the believer.
The first is the law of his mind. The word he uses for mind is νοῦς, the area of the mind that perceives spiritual truth coming from the Spirit of God. The second is the law of God found in the Commandments. The third is the law of sin that currently and continuously exists in the physical members of his body. This law of sin is described as warring (present participle) against his νοῦς, the arena of the mind that receives and understands the spiritual perception coming through the Holy Spirit. Paul is describing his perception of the war that is raging continuously within his life. He is saying that the law of sin in his flesh is constantly waging war against his perception of the things of the Lord.
24) I am a wretched man; who will deliver me from out of the body of this death?
25) I give thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore then, on the one hand I myself am serving the law of God with my mind (νοῦς); but on the other hand with the flesh the law of sin.
In the midst of the struggle between the flesh and his desire, in the inward man, to serve the Lord, Paul expresses the anguish of the struggle by realizing that he is a wretched man and looks forward to the deliverance from the "body of this death." Before describing the fourth law found in Chapter 8, he summarizes his conclusion about the struggle. In the Greek text, he uses language that shows a contrast. He says, "On the one hand" in the perceptive process of his mind he is serving the law of God, but in contrast to this, "on the other hand" with the flesh he is serving the law of sin. The answer to his dilemma is found in Romans 8:2 where he presents the fourth law: "For the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus freed me from the law of sin and death."
In reflective language, Paul is presenting his analysis of those laws that are in continuous operation in the life of every believer, the resulting struggle because of them, and his conclusion regarding them. This is the perception (νοῦς) of the truth about himself: that the law of God is good, but he himself is evil. He finds that in the inward man he perceives (νοῦς) the spiritual things of the Lord and desires to do them; but the law of sin that dwells in his flesh, wages war against his mind in order to pull his attention away from the spiritual perception of the Lord and to focus it into the flesh.
The main reason people choose to approach this text apart from the rules of Greek thought, is either a conscious or subconscious desire to eliminate two active principles from the believer's life. The first is Paul's statement in Romans 7:18: "For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is in my flesh..." The word translated "good" is ἀγαθὸς (Strong's #18), which denotes the inner, spiritual good. The second is Paul's conclusion that he takes pleasure in and desires to serve the Lord with the perceptive process of his mind, but his flesh serves the law of sin. There are some people who do not want to accept the fact that Paul is revealing that the law of sin dwells in the flesh of the believer and there is no good thing of spiritual value in it.
Understanding these laws presented by Paul is the key to understanding the importance of Romans 8:1: "Then there is now no condemnation to the ones in Christ Jesus." Many believers feel a sense of condemnation and guilt over the constant battle with the flesh and its desires. The good news is that there is no condemnation against the ones who are in Christ Jesus and who are involved in the struggle against sin.
Next week we will study from Romans 8, continuing with Paul's perception of the Christian life as he presents the fourth law that sets us free from the law of sin and death.
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Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 41 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course.
He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.