This Body of Death

[Flos_Campi]

In Romans 7:24 . In the older translations there is reference to a body of death.
‘What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death’?
Is this referring to the individual persons actual body, or something else.
I say this, because I understand that in Roman law, there was an absolutely horrific practice , whereby a convicted murderer had a cage strapped to his body containing the body of the person he had murdered and he did this until he himself died.

Now, there is obviously a difference between my body of sin and death and somebody elses. The thought occurred to me that if we take the Roman legal point, then it could be a reference to the murder of Abel by Cain, meaning the murder that all pagans carry out on those around them who do not love their neighbour in accordance with the words of St. John, anyone who does not love his neighbour is his murderer.
But if that is wrong, then the more accepted interpretation which is that St. Paul is talking about, the individuals own body of sin and death, is the real point here, which of course is now redeemed by the atonement and resurrection of Our Lord.

So, as with all scripture, there is really a great deal in that one short phrase, and I would appreciate a steer.

Thanks.

 

[nablaise]

Interesting obseravtion.

I think the body of death is our physical body. I am doing refections on Genesis on mainly the first three chapters.

I think the cruxifiction was a destruction of this body of death. Or more precisely the destruction of death in the original body and the restoration of the original body.

At our resurrection, I think our body will have been transformed. We will have a ‘glorious’ body.

God bless

Alain

 

[rciadan]

Interesting obseravtion.

I think the body of death is our physical body. I am doing refections on Genesis on mainly the first three chapters.

I think the cruxifiction was a destruction of this body of death. Or more precisely the destruction of death in the original body and the restoration of the original body.

At our resurrection, I think our body will have been transformed. We will have a ‘glorious’ body.

God bless

Alain

I must agree.

1. 
   *]Paul, I think, is referring to the problem we all face, namely that, even though we have been redeemed and are doing our best to be disciples of Christ, we still face and often succumb to temptation. This can be extremely frustrating and even lead to despair. Haven’t we all cried out with the same or similar words of agony?
   *]Paul was not guilty in any way that would earn such punishment as he had been baptised and was no longer guilty on oridinal sin.

 

[Zooey]

The sarx, the fleshly body which is where we inherit original sin…
There used to be in older texts, a reference to “the World, the Flesh, & the Devil” as the three sources of sin, and its consequence of separation from God.
So Paul feels temptations & sufferings weighing him down (like a literal dead weight), but then he exclaims his praises to God for the freedom granted him, when he was baptized…and is comforted.

 

[Epistemes]

The word which St Paul uses in this passage is soma, not sarx.

Soma, in Pauline theology, means** our being in the world**, not **our involvement in the world **as *sarx *implies. *Soma *is morally neutral, thus the death he speaks of is natural death, not the spiritual death which *sarx *effects.

When Paul refers to his “body of death,” he is not attempting to be figurative or imply more than what the text says: our body, our soma, **our **being in the world, is death.