Romans 7:17
But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Truth to Learn
There is a battle going on within us that requires surrender.
Behind the Words
The word translated “dwells” is the Greek word oikousa, which is a participial form of oikos, meaning “a dwelling place or a house.” Oikousa means “living somewhere as a permanent residence, as opposed to a temporary residence.”
Meaning Explained
Two verses back Paul lamented, “For that which I am determined to do I don’t always do but, on the other hand, that which I hate to do I keep on doing” [my translation]. In the current verse he appears to absolve himself of any responsibility. What does he mean when he says, “it is no longer I who do it”? We have to refer back to verse fifteen to answer this. There he said, “For what I determine to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” You see that it is Paul’s will (determination to do good) versus his actions that he is talking about. So, in the current verse he says that in his inner most self his greatest desire is to do good, but this gets overpowered by the sin that dwells in him.
Now, what does he mean when he says that sin “dwells in me?” Paul is telling us that sin has taken up a permanent residence in him (and us); therefore, the natural propensity to sin is a permanent part of our human bodies. We can’t get away from it and we can’t overcome it. So we’re not responsible when we sin, right? Wrong!
Before we were saved, this was true; we had no choice but to sin. But now that we have been saved, we have someone else living inside us. Romans 8:9 says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells (the same word as in Romans 7:17) in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” Also in 1 Corinthians 3:16 he says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells (the same word as in Romans 7:17) in you?”
When we were saved, a marvelous thing happened. God the Father gave us a token to guarantee His promise to redeem us, a seal of our salvation (see Ephesians 1:13, 14) . That token, that seal, that guarantee is the 3rd person of the Godhead, God the Holy Spirit. God is actually dwelling in us. That’s one reason that we are told that God will never leave us nor forsake us. He will always be with us because He dwells in us, that is, He has taken up permanent residence in us.
Now consider this, of the two that dwell within us, our sin nature (which Paul has been talking about here) and God, which do you think is stronger? “Well, that’s obvious!” you say. “God is stronger!”
You are absolutely correct. As we yield ourselves to God, as we surrender our will to His, He has control and He overcomes our sin nature. But, when we take the reins of our own lives, when it is our will that is calling the shots, our sin nature takes control because it is stronger than we are.
Application
He (or she) who desires to please God must continually surrender his or her will to God. That is the only way we can live a victorious life!
Is your will completely surrendered to God today?
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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