"Indeed, I know that nothing there dwells in me, that is of the flesh of me is good, indeed, the will is present with me, but I find not how to work out the good"1
This is a powerful verse, so lets look deeper into this will. Is it my will or His will, or both? And what does Paul mean when he says the will is present. This word for will is theló, "to desire, wish," it is the good pleasure of His will to birth His persuasion (faith) in us. God wants by the good pleasure of His will to show His goodness towards us. It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance, and the purpose of Grace, for us to work out His will.2 God works in us His will, we are persuaded that His will is perfect, good, and acceptable.
Did you know water covered the planet and the Spirit of God roamed the waters before there was light? Water is essential to life. The One who was in the beginning with God, the Word of God, who was with God and was God, who created all things in the beginning, He spoke, let there be Light and there was Light. And He said let the dry land appear and it appeared, it was called earth, and from the dust of the earth man was formed and God breathed His Spirit in man. The first man Adam was a living soul, the second man Jesus a life giving spirit.3 Jesus gives us living water and eternal bread so that we never hunger nor thirst. He is the author of faith, which was in the beginning preached to Abraham who believed, and He goes further by depositing in us a life giving Spirit.
Adam and Eve were shamed, of the nakedness of their sin, they had exchanged the goodness of God for a lie. Even without a sinful nature they believed life could be found elsewhere. Jesus came to do away with such shame, to preach, give good news to the poor, to anoint the eyes of the blind... to heal the shame, to lift the burdens... This giving or preaching is euaggelízō, it counters the shame, it anoints the eyes to see the truth, that life is in the Son, in sin is death, the serpent lies. The good news seeks to divinely persuade that eternal life is found in eternal food from heaven, not in things that spoil with use. The word for faith,pístis is derived from peithô, "persuade, be persuaded" – properly, be persuaded, come to trust; faith. It is truly laboring into food from heaven, as the serpent persuaded man to the idea that life was elsewhere faith persuades us of the goodness of God.
To rule over sin I am to learn to become a slave, not a slave to an organization, nor to traditions and teachings of men, but a slave to righteousness. "For when you were slaves to sin you were free in regard to righteousness."8 Your will was to sin, free in regard to righteousness, now you have a new will. You were property that belonged to another but now you belong to God. "for to will is present with me..."9 If we agree that we are to become slaves to righteousness, then the argument is not about sin, focusing on the issue, but on the solution. The solution involves dying in Christ and being raised into newness of life, a slave to righteousness. We are born from above, so what has been deposited within us is the will to do good. Jesus is the author and perfecter or finisher of our faith. It is already finished.
"For sin will no longer rule over you, indeed you are not under the Law, but under Grace."7 If someone uses Grace as a license to sin they are either void of the Spirit, the will is not present, or they have not accepted that His will is good and pleasing, they still struggle with sin. They have not died in Christ. Death in Christ is a releasing from the dominion of sin and the Law to serve in the new living way of the Spirit. Grace is a means to rule over sin, to not be under the penalty of the Law. I can not boldly approach the throne of God but through Grace by faith, faith comes from its author Christ whose works make us righteous and it is by Grace I am not condemned nor under a ministry of condemnation. It because of this that I am hidden in Christ, as Paul writes. So we stand in Grace, such is important.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."11
Paul found the will is present with me, but I find not how to work out the good. The sensual flesh, nothing good is there. This word for good is agathos, meaning good in nature, good whether it be seen to be so or not. It can be seen to be good, we can train the flesh to have good habits or bad habits, but nothing of the flesh is intrinsically good. God measures the internal, the heart. The religious Pharisee Jesus said were outwardly clean but internally unclean. This word for clean is derived from kathaírō – make clean by purging (removing undesirable elements.) Jesus removes the heart of stone and replaces it. Jesus said if He did not clean, wash one would not enter the Kingdom. "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above."2
How to work out the good. The will is present but I do not know how to work it out, to have dominion over sin in the flesh. Now, Paul writes, "the will of God is good and acceptable and perfect."5 Oh, why would I accept something if I do not believe it is good? And it is Good! it is this goodness that leads men to repentance, as He is a good, good Father! I was an orphan, enslaved to the flesh, by Grace He adopted me, made me a son, I have this new nature. So how do I find this will acceptable and perfect when my mind is at enmity against God and will always be? while my Spirit is redeemed my flesh is not. "I find another principle in the members of me that war against the law of the mind of me and making captive me to the law of sin, being in the members of me."6 I am born again, Alive, and I am still in a body of death, I find not how to work out the good.
"O wretched man I am who will deliver me out of this body of death."7
Jesus will save me. The will is present. "Indeed, God is the One working in you both to will and to work according to His good please."8 You see? there is a will being worked so as to work out His will. Oh, but we are not left without the solution, how wretched that would be, to not be delivered from this body of death? I can bring life to this mortal body. But it is a process, I need to prove that his will is good and acceptable and perfect. This word for prove is dokimazo, properly, to try (test) to show something is acceptable (real, approved.) Obedience comes through proving and accepting the good pleasure of His will, and it is this proving or testing that all believers must do. Prove what is acceptable and good, it is nothing less than divine persuasion.
"Be not conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewing of the mind for to prove by you what is the will of God, the good and acceptable and perfect."9
This word for conformed (from sýn, "identified with" and sxēmatizō, "having outward shape") Obviously we can see the conforming to the lusts of the flesh in the sensual outwardly sexual immoral person. But conforming, is "identified with having outward shape" which Jesus pointed out in the Pharisee, who learned to conform or cleanse the outside but not the inside. So we see the conforming starts inward, and is worked out. My spirit salvation is being worked out into my soul salvation. It is a process which begins inwardly and the conforming continues in the transformation or metamorphosis of the inward into the outward. This metamorphosis happens through finding His will acceptable as the supernatural power of the living and active doubled-edged sword of Word and Spirit renews my mind.
This is a powerful verse, so lets look deeper into this will. Is it my will or His will, or both? And what does Paul mean when he says the will is present. This word for will is theló, "to desire, wish," it is the good pleasure of His will to birth His persuasion (faith) in us. God wants by the good pleasure of His will to show His goodness towards us. It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance, and the purpose of Grace, for us to work out His will.2 God works in us His will, we are persuaded that His will is perfect, good, and acceptable.
Did you know water covered the planet and the Spirit of God roamed the waters before there was light? Water is essential to life. The One who was in the beginning with God, the Word of God, who was with God and was God, who created all things in the beginning, He spoke, let there be Light and there was Light. And He said let the dry land appear and it appeared, it was called earth, and from the dust of the earth man was formed and God breathed His Spirit in man. The first man Adam was a living soul, the second man Jesus a life giving spirit.3 Jesus gives us living water and eternal bread so that we never hunger nor thirst. He is the author of faith, which was in the beginning preached to Abraham who believed, and He goes further by depositing in us a life giving Spirit.
Adam and Eve were shamed, of the nakedness of their sin, they had exchanged the goodness of God for a lie. Even without a sinful nature they believed life could be found elsewhere. Jesus came to do away with such shame, to preach, give good news to the poor, to anoint the eyes of the blind... to heal the shame, to lift the burdens... This giving or preaching is euaggelízō, it counters the shame, it anoints the eyes to see the truth, that life is in the Son, in sin is death, the serpent lies. The good news seeks to divinely persuade that eternal life is found in eternal food from heaven, not in things that spoil with use. The word for faith,pístis is derived from peithô, "persuade, be persuaded" – properly, be persuaded, come to trust; faith. It is truly laboring into food from heaven, as the serpent persuaded man to the idea that life was elsewhere faith persuades us of the goodness of God.
To rule over sin I am to learn to become a slave, not a slave to an organization, nor to traditions and teachings of men, but a slave to righteousness. "For when you were slaves to sin you were free in regard to righteousness."8 Your will was to sin, free in regard to righteousness, now you have a new will. You were property that belonged to another but now you belong to God. "for to will is present with me..."9 If we agree that we are to become slaves to righteousness, then the argument is not about sin, focusing on the issue, but on the solution. The solution involves dying in Christ and being raised into newness of life, a slave to righteousness. We are born from above, so what has been deposited within us is the will to do good. Jesus is the author and perfecter or finisher of our faith. It is already finished.
"For sin will no longer rule over you, indeed you are not under the Law, but under Grace."7 If someone uses Grace as a license to sin they are either void of the Spirit, the will is not present, or they have not accepted that His will is good and pleasing, they still struggle with sin. They have not died in Christ. Death in Christ is a releasing from the dominion of sin and the Law to serve in the new living way of the Spirit. Grace is a means to rule over sin, to not be under the penalty of the Law. I can not boldly approach the throne of God but through Grace by faith, faith comes from its author Christ whose works make us righteous and it is by Grace I am not condemned nor under a ministry of condemnation. It because of this that I am hidden in Christ, as Paul writes. So we stand in Grace, such is important.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."11
"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."3
Entering the kingdom of God is matter of being born again, having a new nature. It begins with a change of will. This heart of stone, symbolic of the tablets of stone, the Mosaic covenant, is replaced with a circumcision not of the flesh, but of the heart by the Spirit, sealed, washed the outward flesh, blood cleansed the heart and conscious of bad works, into the will to do good works. The will becomes present in all believers, as we have a new nature, a born again spirit. We are given a Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father! I am adopted fully by Grace and by faith in Christ, it is the works of Christ which redeem me. This is the new nature or will of the Spirit in me, to do good. Paul finds this principle, the will is present, that he delights in the laws of God, in his inner being.
"I find not how to work out the good."1 While the will is present Paul finds another principle of the flesh, "I find then the law : when I want to do good, evil is right there with me." This word for "work out" is (from katá, "throughout, exactly according to," intensifying ergázomai, "work, accomplish") to work fully, i.e. Accomplish; from a higher to a lower plane. Of course this speaks to the idea that it is finished, we fight from Victory, as Paul writes "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."4 I have the will, a new nature, "indeed, the will is present with me, but I find not how to work out the good." This is the question; how do I work out the good, from a higher to a lower plane. Or as Paul writes elsewhere, how do I work out my salvation with fear and trembling.4
"O wretched man I am who will deliver me out of this body of death."7
Jesus will save me. The will is present. "Indeed, God is the One working in you both to will and to work according to His good please."8 You see? there is a will being worked so as to work out His will. Oh, but we are not left without the solution, how wretched that would be, to not be delivered from this body of death? I can bring life to this mortal body. But it is a process, I need to prove that his will is good and acceptable and perfect. This word for prove is dokimazo, properly, to try (test) to show something is acceptable (real, approved.) Obedience comes through proving and accepting the good pleasure of His will, and it is this proving or testing that all believers must do. Prove what is acceptable and good, it is nothing less than divine persuasion.
"Be not conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewing of the mind for to prove by you what is the will of God, the good and acceptable and perfect."9
This word for conformed (from sýn, "identified with" and sxēmatizō, "having outward shape") Obviously we can see the conforming to the lusts of the flesh in the sensual outwardly sexual immoral person. But conforming, is "identified with having outward shape" which Jesus pointed out in the Pharisee, who learned to conform or cleanse the outside but not the inside. So we see the conforming starts inward, and is worked out. My spirit salvation is being worked out into my soul salvation. It is a process which begins inwardly and the conforming continues in the transformation or metamorphosis of the inward into the outward. This metamorphosis happens through finding His will acceptable as the supernatural power of the living and active doubled-edged sword of Word and Spirit renews my mind.
It is a process, Jesus gives us the Spirit and Truth to help in this. We work in the process by reading and meditating on the Word of God. Such will works in me, it delivers me from the dominion of sin, as I find His will acceptable, good, and perfect. The will is present and now I find the means to work it out. I present my flesh willingly, as a living sacrifice, or as Paul writes presenting my members as slaves to righteousness, not to the outward conformation of lust nor to the outward following of rules and regulations, the letter of the law, the ministry of condemnation, but to a new life giving Way of the Spirit. We are baptized into His death and raised into newness of life. I am no longer a slave to the flesh, the will is present in me, I am a slave to righteousness.
"Indeed, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death."10
No Longer Slaves
No Longer Slaves