Since the beginning of humanity, all flesh has been contaminated with a condition called sin. Sin and death came into the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord, causing them and the rest of God’s creation to become subject to this fallen condition. Sadly, many people are walking through this world not even knowing they have it.
In David’s Psalm of repentance, he acknowledged the fallen nature that we are born into.
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).
I want to make note right away that just because we are born in a physical sin condition, it is not a reason that we should disregard it, willfully sinning against God. David acknowledged this in the two previous verses.
“For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” (Psalm 51:3-4).
Because it was a “choice” that brought sin into the world by Adam and Eve, all humanity inherited the inclination to sin as well as the “condition” it comes with. This is labeled by many as “original sin.”
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
David’s son, King Solomon, also acknowledged that all men sin.
“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
This is why Jesus said that “no one is good” except for Him, the only sinless Man (Luke 18:19). This is also why the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness. If Satan could get Jesus to sin in the weakness of His humility, then Christ’s mission to redeem sin-infected humanity would have been over right then and there. Only a sinless Man could save sinful mankind.
Satan tried to abort God’s mission to save humanity through His son as soon as He came into the world when Herod attempted to have the baby Jesus killed in His most vulnerable state, (Matthew 2:16). Satan continued to use wicked men to have Jesus killed throughout His earthly ministry; but because Jesus was sinless, He could not be killed no matter what they tried. In fact, we should acknowledge that Jesus was not killed at Calvary; rather He gave up the ghost (Luke 23:46).
Because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), Jesus was exempt from dying! He could have hung on that cross for days, or even weeks, and He would not have died. This makes the thought of what He endured in His agony even more excruciating and His shed blood that much more precious. However, once the atonement was complete, He declared it was finished and gave up the ghost (John 19:30).
When we sin against God, it is a choice, but our physical fallen flesh is a condition that all human beings are born into, which is why all fallen humanity needs a Savior. That Savior is Jesus Christ, who came into the world through sinful flesh but did not sin in that flesh, thus redeeming our fallen state by doing so! He lived the perfect life that no one could ever do.
“And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5).
He then went to the cross and paid the price for our willful sins (the ones we do by choice)! Then He died and rose again, thus defeating death, which is the consequence of our sin.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Jesus did it all! He saved our fallen flesh (by living a perfect life); He saved us from death (by dying in our place), and He provided eternal life (by rising from the dead). He provided full redemption for us through His completed atoning sacrifice.
We receive this eternal life the moment we place our belief, trust and faith in Jesus Christ. This is the born-again experience (see John 3:5-16). Once we have done this, we then become a member of God’s family.
“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).
For those that believe in His name, their souls are immediately saved and their fallen flesh has an appointment to receive a new glorified body on that great Day when Christ comes to call His bride Home.
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).
The struggle for us who are saved Christians is that although our souls are saved, we are still living in these “vile bodies” that are subject to pain, suffering and sickness. This is where Scripture encourages us to walk in the Spirit rather than the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17), and the Holy Spirit will guide our lives and set us free.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
The law of sin and death was initiated on the day that Adam disobeyed God and sinned. The Lord told Adam, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
The very day that Adam transgressed against God, he immediately became spiritually dead, and the physical aging process began. Adam lived to be a ripe age of 930 years old, but his physical body had still taken on the condition of sin, which led to physical death that we have all inherited. But God in His mercy and grace has provided a remedy to this fallen condition through our Savior Jesus Christ.
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
As we walk this earth in our sinful flesh, battling temptations every day, we can find strength and support in the sinless life that our Lord Jesus Christ lived for us in obedience to the Father.
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:10-11).
Jesus left His heavenly abode and entered into this fallen world of humanity so that He could redeem our fallen flesh. The Gospel of John says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Greek text translates the word “dwelt” as “tabernacle.” The Greek word “skenoo” literally means “to pitch a tent.” So that verse literally reads, “and the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”
A tent is a temporary dwelling place. Both Paul and Peter used the word “tent” (tabernacle) as an analogy for the human body.
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1).
“Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me” (2 Peter 1:13-14).
Notice how both Paul and Peter referred to their tents (bodies) as being temporary. It is fitting that Paul was an actual tent maker by profession (Acts 18:3). Paul even confirms that we have an eternal dwelling place prepared for us in the heavens, just as Jesus is also preparing an eternal Home for us (John 14:2-3).
We can be comforted knowing that when Christ comes for His bride, He will clothe us with our new glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-53) and take us to our new glorified Home (1Thessalonians 4:16-17; John 17:24).
While we groan in this fallen flesh waiting for the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23), we can embrace God’s promises that He will replace our mortal state and transform it into one of glory as He is.
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
“For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life” (2 Corinthians 5:4).
Living life on this earth in these fallen frames can be difficult at times. Sickness, pain, suffering and temptations can invade our mental peace and well-being, but we have to remember that it is temporary. And if we walk in the Spirit as the Bible encourages us to do, then we will receive “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding that shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Just as Jesus died to save our souls, He lived a perfect life to save our flesh. He is coming soon to clothe us in glory! Hold the line and stay poised; our redemption draws near!
I would like to end this article with one of my favorite verses in the Bible, one that I like to use as my own personal statement of faith which is one that Paul wrote as his own, that can also be used by anyone else as their own.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
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All Scripture quotes are from KJV, and all bold texts were applied by me for emphasis of subject matter.