Dr Paul Allen

In Romans, Paul uses the Greek term sarx (translated variously as ‘flesh’, ‘sinful nature’ or ‘human nature’) on several occasions but in different ways, the difference in use being particularly notable in chapter 8. Sometimes, it refers to the characteristic of being human (Rom. 1:3; 4:1; 8:3; 9:5, 8), and human effort (Gal. 3:3).  However, on other occasions, it is clear that he is using flesh , not to refer to the physical body and mortality, but to describe something much more malevolent and malignant that militates against God in a way that makes it inseparable from sin; indeed, the term ‘sin’ is often synonymous with ‘the flesh’ (8:4–9, 12–13; 13:14).  In this respect, to live a life dominated by sin is equivalent to living a life controlled by the flesh. It is as if flesh and sin gang up on the believer and make it difficult to live as a follower of Jesus—so difficult that one wonders how it can be achieved.  It is in this context that the Spirit, who was mentione...

  Jesus repeats the truth of v. 51c, but now puts it in a conditional form: unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man … you have no life in you. Verse 54 puts the same truth positively, Whoever eats my flesh … has eternal life ; and again, Jesus promises to raise such a person up at the last day. In addition to the repetition of a basic theme, several fresh points are added. (1) The one whose flesh is eaten bears the title the Son of Man (cf. notes on 1:51; in this discourse, vv. 27, 62). In one sense, he is simply a man, i.e. someone with flesh and blood; but he is also the one on whom God has set his seal of approval (v. 27), the bread from heaven, the one who descends and then ascends ‘to where he was before’ (v. 62). ‘Son of Man’ is thus a title that speaks of Jesus as the man where God is supremely revealed, and the flesh of this ‘Son of Man’, unlike the flesh of any other, must be eaten if one is to gain eternal life. (2) The words and drink his (my) blood are added ...

 

How would you answer if I were to ask, “Who are you?” No doubt you’d say things about where you’re from, what you enjoy, and what you do for a living. As we look to Romans 8, Paul states our identity: we’re “in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1–2). We’re justified and no longer condemned. Our assurance is a Christ-centered reality. In addition, Paul mentions the Holy Spirit nineteen times in verses 1–27. In other words, because we’re in Christ we’re also in the Spirit. Paul proclaims our assurance is a Spirit-produced reality. CONTRASTING IDENTITIES (ROM. 8:5–8) A Different Kind of People. The ESV refers to “those who live according to the flesh” and “those who live according to the Spirit.” The Greek word translated “live” (ontes), however, is better translated as “are”: He actually says “those who are according to the flesh” versus “those who are according to the Spirit.” To be “according to the flesh” is to be born dead in sin, condemned, and bonded to sin and death.  To be “according to ...

Two weeks before Christmas, my heart stopped. Seated next to me in a congregational meeting, my wife sees me close my eyes and slump. After a few seconds, the old ticker providentially revives “on its own.” It happens four times during that meeting. Maybe I’m just too inactive, I think. Perhaps if I get up and walk around a bit, I can get the juices flowing, and whatever is going on will clear up. While I’m pacing in the church lobby, one of the elders says he doesn’t think I look quite right. I call my physician, and he recommends that I get to the emergency room for an evaluation. I’m not to drive myself. In the emergency room, the surgeon hooks me up to a bunch of wires and asks a whole battery of questions to diagnose what’s going on. “Are there heart problems in your family?” “Yes, my dad died of a heart attack at 60. So did his dad.” “But do you feel pain?” “None.” “Did you feel dizzy?” “Not really. The room wasn’t spinning. I wasn’t nauseous.” “Did you pass out?” “Not really. I ...

I preached from 2 Corinthians 1 where Paul talks about his sufferings as an apostle and about how he constantly faced death because of the gospel. On numerous occasions during his ministry, Paul believed that he would surely die. Paul says that when the clouds began to gather and he felt he was about to perish, the thing that got him through was knowing that even if he died, God would raise him up. 2 Corinthians 1:9 “We had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” The whole passage is about the hope of the resurrection. I exhorted this congregation that they should make this their hope when they face suffering. They should trust in the God who raises the dead. After the service was over and when I was greeting people, a gentleman who looked to be in his 40’s or 50’s came up to me and said, “You know that was really good except the part about our bodies being resurrected.” And I’m thinking, “Well, that was ki...

We all sin, many times daily! We sin secretly and may repent secretly, or with brother.  We may habit a habitual sin, where we daily repent but keep falling into temptation. Sometimes we are put on a pedestal, admired, but sin lays within. You feel you are too deep into brokenness and sin. Is brokenness the same as sin? Is repentance needed daily? WHAT DO YOU DO? The true believer’s response to the gospel of Jesus Christ is to pursue a radical transformation of the heart and mind in order to be conformed to the image of God in Christ (Col. 3:10).1 The central endeavour of this response is repentance. Repentance is the necessary response to the gospel through faith, as both faith and repentance are mutually congruent and inseparable.2  Repentance necessarily entails the pursuit to arrest and vanquish our innate corruption while intentionally pursuing a newness of life in the likeness of Christ. The former is what the Scriptures call mortification, and the latter, vivification.3...

Whenever you see spirit and flesh set side by side in a passage (“the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” or “the spirit wars against the flesh,” as Paul says here), we’re talking about, not the warfare between the physical body of man and his internal, mental, or spiritual inclinations, but rather the conflict that every Christian experiences between his old nature—his fallen nature, which is corrupt and is filled with desires that are not pleasing to God— and the new nature within him that has been brought to pass by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.  Now, life becomes complicated once we are renewed by the Holy Spirit (when we become a Christian); now we have two principles at war within ourselves: the old inclinations and the new inclinations.  The old inclination is against God, and the new inclination is to obey God and to do that which is pleasing to him. In this Galatians passage, Paul discusses the ongoing battle that all Christians experien...