The Law of God, the Law (1)

 

[Romans 7:21-23]

 

Let’s look at Romans 7:21-23: “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I 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.” The conjunction “so” (verse 21) connects with the second part of verse 20, which says, “It is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me.” And here, "sin living in me" (verse 20) refers to the power of sin, or the power of Satan. It is a mistaken idea to think that there is a force of Satan within us. There can be no force of Satan within us because the only one who dwells within us is God alone.

Our God is an omnipresent God. In other words, God is an omnipotent God. The omnipresence of God means that God is present everywhere, at once and simultaneously. An omnipresent God means that God is everywhere at all times. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). Our Lord, being omnipresent and omnipotent, can be present at the same time in countless places where two or three are gathered. However, Satan cannot do this. In other words, Satan cannot be everywhere at once, as the Lord can. Although Satan himself cannot do this, his power affects us through his followers, and they influence God’s children in an evil way. Therefore, it is not that Satan’s power is within us, but his evil influence is impacting us.

The Apostle Paul speaks of “a law” in Romans 7:21. The word "law" appears five times in Romans 7:21-23: “a law” (verse 21), “God’s law” (verse 22), “another law” (verse 23), “the law of the mind” (verse 23), and “the law of sin” (verse 23). These five occurrences of the word "law" can be divided into two categories: the law of God and the law of sin. Here, the law of sin [“a law” (verse 21), “another law” (verse 23), “the law of sin” (verse 23)] refers to the power of Satan. And the law of God [“God’s law” (verse 22), “the law of the mind” (verse 23)] refers to the law that God gave to the Israelites through Moses at Mount Sinai after their Exodus from Egypt.

Now look at Romans 7:23: “But I 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” [(modern version): “There is another law at work in my flesh. It fights against my mind and makes me still a slave to the sin that is within me.”]. Right now, within our members, the law of God and the law of sin are fighting against each other. This battle is an intense spiritual war. And this fierce spiritual battle is one in which we must fight with our very lives.