Tuesday, 25 June 2013
For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. Romans 7:22
Paul speaks here of the “law of God.” In this verse and in the ensuing verses, he will speak of five separate laws –
1) The law of God (7:22)
2) The law of sin. (7:23) (…and death (8:2))
3) The law “in my members” (7:23)
4) The law “of my mind” (7:23)
5) The law of the Spirit of life in Christ (8:2)
Without any comment, it should be obvious that there are conflicts between these. There are those which are earthly and those which are spiritual. They war with each other and often bring us into testing, conflict, and confusion.
Paul says he has “delight in the law of God…” The term “delight” is the Greek word sunedomai and this is its only occurrence in the New Testament. It is indicating a pleasure deep inside, as if in the heart. The law of God is the inward man’s desire of the heart. But who is the “inward man” that he is speaking of? It is actually revealed in the 1st Psalm –
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
The inward man is the man who has already set his thoughts, conduct, and manner of life on the more noble things; the person that “sees the good” which God has laid out before him and who reaches for it. He rejects the wrong path and instead pursues God. This is what the psalmist is telling us and it translates into the person Paul calls “the inward man.”
Life application: There is a proper path to pursue in life and it is given in the pages of the Bible. In order to follow this path, the wise soul will delight in this beautiful word and will meditate on it day and night. Be wise – pursue the knowledge of God as displayed in the pages of the Bible.
Lord God, You have said that you are ever with me and that in You I live and move and have my being. I know this is true and so keep me ever-aware of this fact. Remind me of Your presence at all times so that my life, conduct, thoughts, and actions will be directed toward proper living and upholding Your glory. You are God, help me to live in Your presence rightly. Amen.