Deeper Life #129

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

—Romans 6:6

THE IMPORTANT THING IS NOT what I am thought to be, what I would like to be, or what I think I am, but what I really am in the sight of God.

I am ruled by my disposition. Not my human nature nor my personality, but my disposition is the principle that rules my personality. And disposition is what the atonement of Jesus Christ radically alters. That disposition is called “the old man,” the “body of sin,” or “original sin,” and it is something quite apart from human nature. For this reason, the apostle Paul distinguishes emphatically between “the flesh” and “this mortal body.”

Sin is not the essence of your mortal body. Sin is the disposition that rules it, and it is what Jesus Christ cleanses through the atonement.

Prayer Thought: Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the grace to be freed from the power and pollution of the carnal nature of sin.

SUGGESTED READING: Romans 6:1–18