… and I no longer live,
Summary: Understanding Paul’s meaning requires what the psychologists call “active listening.” We must expand our thinking to engage Paul’s mind and vision for what he means.
This passage is a hard one.
We know that Paul sometimes speaks metaphorically. When he says, “I died to the law,” we understand that “I died” means something different than literally dying. He also speaks in conceptual terms that require us to discern his meaning from the context of his words. When he says, “the law,” we must consider the many types of laws to understand how he uses the word “law.”
In the same way, when he says, “I no longer live,” Paul doesn’t mean that his sense of self is dead and no longer bothers him.
It would be nice if we could put to death our ego and allow Jesus to fully possess our being. The problem with taking Paul literally, is that our sense of self is part of us. It is part of who God made us to be and what God loves about us.
There are things about Paul that Jesus loves because they are unique to Paul. In the same way, he loves you and me because we bear the marks of our Maker’s creativity.
The part that Paul wants dead is the stubbornness and willfulness of his heart.
When Adam and Eve rejected God and chose to go their own way (Genesis 3), several things happened. The first was that they “died” to God in the same way that the Prodigal Son was dead to his father (Luke 15:32).
The second thing that happened was that eating from the forbidden tree changed their spiritual eyesight. The serpent promised that if they ate the fruit, they would “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4). Oddly, even though the serpent is the “father of lies” (John 8:44), there was a grain of truth in what he said.
The lie was that they would be like God. God is perfect in every way. Eating the forbidden fruit, in this case, was the opposite of God’s perfect will. The truth was that they had known good and would now know “evil.” This rejection of God’s will was the change from what they had known before.
Before, all they had known was God. When they ate the forbidden fruit, they knew the meaning of disobeying God. This act of rebellion is the definition of evil.
In the same way that Adam and Eve turned their backs to God, Paul is declaring that he has turned his back on evil. Instead of doing the opposite of God’s will, he has submitted to God’s Son, Jesus.
Application: Seek to understand God’s will.
Food for Thought: How does God’s definition of evil compare with our human definition of evil?
Due to our sinful rebellion, we are evil from God’s point of view (at the very least in our unredeemed state; Matthew 7: 11; Jeremiah 17: 9; Genesis 6: 5).
Yet most people do not see that they are evil or understand the true depravity of their condition (Romans 3: 10 – 18; James 2: 10). So we can think we are ok in God’s sight when in fact we are not. God has no evil in Him and He is not tempted by evil (James 1: 13). Meanwhile, the thoughts of the human heart are continually evil. Because we minimize the seriousness of our true condition, we minimize the true definition of evil. We are ok with some evil. We do not see our sin as all that bad. But God, with His perfect standard, does not accept any sin.
Our only hope is to agree with God and embrace the work done for us on the cross.
Rich,
I love your statement, “Our only hope is to agree with God …”
Amen!!
I think the human definition of evil is “profoundly wicked and immoral.” We usually reserve that term for someone who has done something profoundly wicked or immoral with no regrets or sense of justice.
God’s definition of evil goes beyond just the profoundness of what we do, or even what we do, but also what allow ourselves to think, what we allow ourselves to feel. I believe it is safe to say that anything done, thought, or felt outside of love for God or each other, is contrary to who God is, is self-serving, is sin, and is evil.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
The love of money is really the love of self, self-interest, self-preservation, self-edification. A person cannot love as God loves and still love themselves above God and others.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Chris,
Evil is … “anything done, thought, or felt outside of love for God or each other…”
Well said!
How does God’s definition of evil compare with our human definition of evil?
God’s definition of good has been established at creation and is eternal while man’s definition of evil is a moving target which will vary within countries, and time. (Genesis 1:10,12,18,21,25,31, Romans 1:20). God’s definition of evil rules and determins who will spend eternity in heaven, with God, or eternity in hell, separated from God.
God is the absence of all evil and is frequently identified as “the Holy One of Israel” (2 Kings 19;22, Psalms 71:22, Isiah 1:4, 54;5). Jesus the Son of God is holy. Jesus is even addressed by the title “Holy One of God” by demons (Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34). All believers become increasingly holy as we move closer to God, and become increasingly perverted, evil as we move away from Him.
God speak’s the truth to all mankind regarding sin and righteousness.
The work of the law is written on the hearts, and their consciences also bearing witness, either accusing or defending them. (Romans 2:15)
When the He (The Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.(John 16:8)
When people chose to become evil in themselves, they become evil in thought and deed toward others. They bring evil upon themselves, or give way to its temptation, until God willl give “them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28)
Thank you, Ron!
I like the illustration of moving closer to God being “good” and farther away being “evil.” That makes a lot of sense.
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