Title: 13
Author: JOEG
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Company: Auth Co

© 2002 Joe Griffin	                                   ▼                        02-01-10.JSH-595 /

The Inscrutable Question: Believer Not Obligated to First Husband, Rom 8:13a; Recognizing the Flesh as Dead Results in Living the New Life, Rom 8:13b

Romans 8:13a
The verse begins with a conditional conjunction e„, ei which introduces the protasis of a first class condition.  This is a supposition from the viewpoint of reality for those who are out of fellowship, “If and it is true that you live,” the second person plural, present active indicative of the verb:
		z£w, zao -	“If and it is true, that y’all live”
		present:	retroactive progressive; denotes that which has begun in the past and continues to the present.  It is sometimes called the present tense of duration and indicates that the behavior patterns here are habitual and facilitated.
		active:	The carnal or reversionistic believer produces the action by habitually functioning under wheel-tracks of wickedness.
		indic.:	Declarative; a statement of fact.  When the indicative mood is linked with the conditional conjunction e„, ei they form a first class condition: the supposition is true.  The supposition of habitually carnal behavior is verified next by the accusative propositional phrase of norm and standard:
		kat¦ s£rx, kata sarx -	“according to the norms and standards dictated by the sinful nature.”
This believer has a self-imposed destiny that is confirmed next by the apodosis of the first class condition introduced by the present active indicative of the verb:
		mšllw, mello -	“to be about to do something; at the point of doing something,” therefore, “to be destined.”
		present:	futuristic; denotes an event which has not yet occurred, but which is regarded as so certain that in thought it may be contemplated as already coming to pass.
		active:	the carnal or reversionistic believer is producing this action.
		indic.:	A statement of fact.  What in fact is about to occur is the administration of the sin unto death, noted next by the present active infinitive of the verb:
		¢poqnÇskw, apothneisko -	“to be dying”
		present:	perfect; denotes the continuation of existing results through present time; a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasized as a present reality.
The carnal believer is in the process of dying due to his refusal to rebound.
		active:	He produces the action of approaching physical death by this refusal.
		inf.:	Conceived result; this is the consequence of locked-in carnal status.
1)	This believer is on the verge of physical death because of habitual involvement in cosmic living.  The Apostle John refers to this circumstance as the sin unto death in:
	1 John 5:16b -	There is a sin unto death.
		2)	Here John uses the phrase: e„m… ¡mart…a prÕj q£natoj, eimi hamartia pros thanatos - “There is an habitual status of sin terminating in death.”
		3)	John indicates that the believer can continue the process of making poor decisions in the cosmic system until he creates a situation requiring maximum punishment.
		4)	That situation is to live a life that is characterized by a status quo of sin.  The punishment is termination of physical life.
		5)	The “sin terminating in death” is not a specific sin but a lifestyle of habitual sinning that leads to maximum punishment.
		6)	John does not use the same word for death as did Paul in Romans 8.  Q£natoj, thanatos means the act of dying or to be already dead.  Paul uses ¢poqnÇskw, apothneisko in the present tense, “to be dying.”
		7)	Paul is presenting options to those who are living in reversionism.  John speaks of the end result if they don’t take the doctrinal option.  The option the carnal believer needs to take is addressed in the second conditional sentence of verse 13.
Romans 8:13b
1)	The second conditional sentence is introduced by the adversative conjunction, dš, de.  It sets up a contrast between the reversionistic believer who is headed toward the sin unto death and the positive believer who is headed toward rewards.
2)	The latter is also a first class condition, indicated in the protasis by the conjunction e…, ei with the indicative mood.  This is an assumption based on reality.
3)	The protasis is called the subordinate clause of a conditional sentence.  When it is a first class condition then the implication is this: if you subordinate yourself to the conditions stated in the protasis then the consequences stated in the apodosis will in fact occur.
4)	For the positive believer the subordinate condition requires him, by means of the power of the Holy Spirit, to recognize that the power of the flesh is dead.
5)	In other words, if you don’t want to die the sin unto death then you are going to have to put to death the works of the flesh.  The verb is the present active indicative of:
		qanatÒw, thanatoo -	“to condemn to death,” “to recognize as dead.”
		present:	Retroactive progressive; denotes that which has begun in the past and continues to the present; also called the present of duration.  What began positionally at salvation must continue experientially throughout life by means of rebound and spiritual growth.
		active:	The believer, in order to fulfill the conditions of the protasis, must produce the action by rejecting the habits of the flesh.
		indic.:	Potential of obligation; the believer is obliged to fulfill the condition to live the new life.
		6)	That which the believer is obliged to put to death is stated next.  It includes the direct object:
		pr©xij, praxis -	evil or disgraceful actions or behavior; wheel-tracks of wickedness.  The source of this disgraceful behavior is identified by the noun:
		sîma, soma -	“of the body.”
		7)	These disgraceful behaviors may be expressed by either licentious or ascetic thoughts, decisions, or actions.  But either way they find their energy in the flesh.  They must be recognized as such and put to death by means of the power of the Holy Spirit.
		8)	If the believer subordinates himself to this corrective procedure then he will be able to live a new life free of slavery to the first husband.
		9)	This is the consequence stated in the apodosis, the future middle indicative of the verb: z£w, zao - “you shall live.”
10)	The expanded translation of the verse reads like this:
Romans 8:13 -	indeed if you as a believer live under the authority of the flesh and you do, you are destined to die [ the sin unto death ], but if by means of the Holy Spirit you recognize as dead the actions of the body [ human works ] you shall live the new life [ sophisticated spiritual life ].

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