What is “the body of sin”?

Explanation:

To understand what Paul means by the body of sin, it is important to notice that the term σῶμα (body) does not mean physical body for Paul. Rather, Paul uses the term σῶμα to denote the whole man embodied in a particular environment.³ Sometimes this environment might be spiritual and sometimes it might be our physical universe, depending on the context. In the case of Romans 6:6, since Paul refers to the body as the body of sin, it is clear that he has in mind man’s embodied existence in this sinful world. Thus, the body of sin denotes the whole man as he belongs to this age of sin.⁴

Counterargument:

The problem here is that the term σῶμα can just as likely mean physical body. And in fact, Paul uses the term to refer to the physical body in both Romans 1:24 and Romans 4:19. First, in Romans 1:24 Paul explains that the ungodly dishonour their bodies among themselves, with bodies clearly denoting their physical bodies. Further, in Romans 4:19 Paul writes that Abraham did not weaken in faith, even when he considered the state of his own body; again, Paul is using the term body to refer to the physical body. Further, given that crucifixion has to do with the physical body, and that by being crucified with Christ we die to the body of sin, likely the body of sin is the physical body.

Response to counterargument:

While Paul might use σῶμα (body) to refer to the physical body in Romans 1:24 and Romans 4:19, he also uses it in Romans to refer to the whole person who inhabits this sinful environment. For example, in Romans 7:1–25 Paul will lament the fact that he is often compelled by the sinful nature to sin, before asking who will rescue him from his body of death Romans 7:24). In this case, body of death refers to Paul’s whole existence as a sinful person who inhabits a physical body that is located in this sinful world. In Romans 8:10 Paul writes that although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Of course, Paul cannot have the physical body in mind here because if the body is dead, there is no life. Likewise, when Paul refers to the body of sin in Romans 6:6, he likely has the whole person who currently inhabits a physical body in this world of sin.

Explanation:

Paul explains that the body of sin is brought to nothing when we are crucified with Christ. The immediate context suggests that the phrase the body of sin refers to the whole person who inhabits this sinful world in a physical body. We can detect this because Paul says in Romans 6:7 that the one who has died to sin has been freed from sin. Now, when he says this, he does not mean that the one whose body has physically died has died to sin. Rather, Paul means that for those who are crucified with Christ, sin no longer reigns over their existence. In other words, sin no longer reigns over their body of sin in the sense of reigning over the whole person as they exist in this world with a physical body.

Paul will say even more about this when we reach Romans 6:12–13, where he exhorts the Romans not to let sin reign over their mortal bodies. There he also has in mind the whole person.⁵

Counterargument:

Paul could mean physical body rather than whole person by his use of the term σῶμα, and this would still fit with the immediate context. The only difference is that when Paul says those who have died have been freed from sin (Romans 6:7), Paul has in mind that sin no longer controls the physical bodies of those who are crucified with Christ. Likewise, when Paul calls the Romans not to let sin reign over their mortal bodies, he may simply mean their physical bodies, which are susceptible to sin.

Response to counterargument:

When Paul writes that the person who dies is freed from sin in Romans 6:7, it is unlikely that he has in mind the physical body. For in Romans 6:6 Paul says that our old self was crucified with Christ. The old self is more than the body; it is the whole sinful person. Then in Romans 6:7 Paul says that the one who died is freed from sin. Of course, it is the old self, that is, the whole sinful person who is crucified, so it is the whole sinful person who has died and been freed from sin. And if the whole person is freed from sin, the body of sin that is brought to nothing is the whole person’s existence in a physical body that is brought to nothing, and not just the body.

The weakness of this view is that we naturally take body to refer to the physical body. So when Paul refers to the body of sin, it is natural to think he has the physical body in mind. Of course, once we see that Paul uses the term σῶμα (body) in a technical sense to refer to the whole person, which includes the body, we can see that the body of sin likely refers to the whole person.

Explanation:

The body of sin refers to the physical body characterized by sin. We can detect this because Paul says in Romans 6:6 that we are crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Now, it is the physical body that has been enslaved to sin, so the fact that being crucified with Christ releases us from the slavery of sin implies that our physical body is released from the slavery of sin.⁸ So the body of sin is the physical body that, because we are crucified with Christ, is brought to nothing in the sense that it is no longer enslaved to sin.

Counterargument:

According to this view, since the body of sin coming to nothing has to do with being freed from slavery to sin, and the physical body is enslaved to sin, the body of sin is the physical body. The problem here is that this argument simply asserts that it is the physical body that is enslaved to sin, but this is not what Paul says. Rather, Paul writes that we have been crucified with Christ, the body of sin is brought to nothing, and we are no longer slaves to sin. Notice, he does not say that our bodies are no longer slaves to sin, but that we are no longer enslaved to sin. Of course, we could just as easily refer to the whole person as the physical body. So Paul could just as easily be saying that the body of sin is the whole person, and the whole person has been freed from slavery to sin.

Explanation:

Paul explains that we have been crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be brought to nothing. To understand what Paul means by the body of sin, it is helpful to notice what he writes in Romans 6:12–13.⁹ There he exhorts the Romans not to let sin reign in their mortal bodies. He goes on to encourage them to let the members of their body be used not as instruments of unrighteousness, but instead as instruments of righteousness. By referring specifically to the members of the body, Paul makes clear that the physical body can be used for either unrighteous or righteous deeds. Of course, that Paul has the physical body in mind in this section implies that the body of sin that is brought to nothing is the physical body.¹⁰

Counterargument:

The fact that Paul characterizes body in both Romans 6:6 and Romans 6:12 in a certain way suggests that he has something more than physical body in mind. That is, in Romans 6:6 Paul characterizes the body as the body of sin. Then in Romans 6:12 he includes the adjective mortal to characterize the body as the mortal body. The reason Paul characterizes body is because when the Jews considered the reality of the whole person, they considered the whole person in their currently embodied state.¹¹ That is, they considered persons to be essentially embodied, but their embodied existence could change. For example, persons now exist as mortal, but they will eventually have spiritual bodies and exist immortally.¹² So when Paul exhorts the Romans not to let sin reign over their mortal bodies, he has in mind their current existence as mortal beings. Likewise, when he refers to the body of sin, he means their whole existence as embodied sinners.

The weakness of this view is that it is not easy to see what it means for a body to sin apart from the person who inhabits that body. That is, a body as a body cannot sin, because a body is simply a physical object, and physical objects do not sin. Still, since a person with an intellect and will inhabits the body, the body sins only when the whole person is responsible for that sin.