WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC #35
The Two Natures #4
January 13, 2000
Brian Kocourek
Over the past
couple weeks we have been examining the difference between the two natures that
Jesus spoke of in St. John 3:6
In John 3:6 we read, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit." This speaks of two natures, that of the flesh and that of the spirit. For the past couple of weeks we have been examining the characteristics of these two natures.
This morning I wish to recap what we have learnt so far in our study, and then I wish to show the conflict between these two natures.
Now, if you'll
recall we first began to look into the nature of the man because we were
examining a thought of brother Branham's concerning the great deception at the
end time when the entire world will be deceived except for the elect.
We found the
reason the people will be deceived is because they want to be deceived. In the
Book of Jeremiah 5:30 we read, A wonderful and
horrible thing is committed in the land; 31
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means;
and my people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in the end
thereof?
We then began to examine this nature in man that would want deception. We first examined the characteristics in the old nature, or the natural man and we found that the Scriptures refer to this nature in several ways.
Now, to better understand this warfare that takes place within the Truly Born again Son or Daughter of God, let's turn to St. John 3:6 again and read, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Here, we see the Lord Jesus
teaching a fundamental doctrine. But the natural man will not receive it.
I CORINTHIANS 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.
Here we see three characteristics of the natural man, or the man who has not been born again. These three characteristics are found in every man that is not born again. And they are…
#1) He can not receive the things of God.
#2) Because the things of God are foolishness to him.
#3) because he just can not understand them.
Now, this is a sad condition to find oneself in. Not being able to understand the things of God and therefore those things of God seem rather foolish and because they seem rather foolish you do not want anything to do with them. Therefore, the final conclusion is, that in the end, you will reject them.
Now, that is what the natural man has to look forward to.
Let's now, review the characteristics of the natural man, the man who has not been born again.
In John 3:6 this natural man is called the flesh. Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh." And concerning this Flesh, Jesus said in…
JOHN
6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the
flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you,
[they] are spirit, and [they] are life.
In ROMANS 7:18, Paul said, For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.
Again in Ephesians 4:22 Paul tells us the "The Old Man is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts"
In 2 Corinthians 4:16 Paul calls it "The Outward Man" which actually perishes day by day.
In Jeremiah 17:9 it is called the natural heart, which is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked", so deceitful that it constantly betrays us and deceives us, and so deceitful that only God can really know it. Jesus said, in Matthew 15:19. "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."
In Romans 8:7 we read, For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 ¶ And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.
The "mind" is the source of our thoughts and our actions. Therefore, it is that part of the flesh which thinks—and its thoughts are always contrary to God, and have "the nature of sin".
Galatians 6:8 "He That Soweth To His Flesh Shall Of The Flesh Reap Corruption but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. " All efforts to improve the flesh, all provision made for the flesh, all ordinances connected with the flesh, all end in corruption and death: all "perish with the using".
ROMANS
8:13 For if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die:
And that is the result of walking in the flesh and living in the flesh, for there is but only one promise to those who live in and walk after the flesh and that is death. That is your one expecation that you know you will surely receive. DEATH
Now, we also examined the characteristics of the one who has been born of the Spirit.
Let's read again what Jesus said in St. John 3:6 Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of he spirit is Spirit." In other words, that which is born of he flesh remains flesh. Period, and that which is born of THE Spirit is Spirit and will remain spiritual.
Now, in recapping our thoughts on the characteristics which define and identify the man who has been born or shall we say reborn in his spirit, let's look at several scriptures which refer to this new man.
First of all it is called "Spirit". This is in contrast with, and opposition to, the "flesh", as the title of the old nature: and it is so called because it is born or begotten of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6).
Now we are looking at spirit in contrast to flesh. This is something that happens to the spirit which is in man. Then it is something that happens within man, or shall we say begins a new creation within the man.
Now, we know the new birth speaks of as Jesus said here, He that is born of THE SPIRIT (the Holy Spirit) must be spirit, for every seed must bring forth after it's kind, or it's nature. Then if you have been born again by the Spirit of the Living God, you will receive the very nature of the Living God into your being. And then if your Father is Holy, for He is called the Holy Spirit, then if you have received His seed Life and therefore His nature into your mortal being, then you can't help to live Holy.
This new spirit within you partakes of the nature of the Holy Spirit:
This new nature, is then a divine nature for it is a God nature birthed into you by the Spirit of God.
It is called the Divine Nature
in 2 Pet. 1:3-4 (read)
This is why it is said to be "perfect", and unable to commit sin. I John 3:9 we read, "Every one that has been begotten of God does not produce sin [unbelief], because His seed [the nature of God] abideth in him: and he [the new man] cannot sin because of God he (or, it) has been begotten." I John 18, 19,
The New Man Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10.
"The new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). And is said to be "according to the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:10).
"The Inward Man" (Rom. 7:22; 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:16). This is contrast with "the outward man" which perishes day by day, while this "inward man is renewed day by day".
In Ephesians 3:16, it is rendered "the inner man", Instead of perishing, it is constantly being nourished and replenished day by day with grace and strength by the Holy Spirit; so that Christ thus dwells in the heart by faith [Eph. 3:16);
The inward man delights in the law of God (Rom. 7:22). The other "is not subject to the law of God" (Rom 8:7). Hence, the conflict between them, which must go on till death ends the struggle. This is what caused the Apostle Paul (and all who have like precious faith) to cry out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death", or, as in the margin this body of death. The genitive, "of death", is probably the genitive of relation, as in Romans 8:36, where the Greek "sheep of slaughter" means, and is rendered "sheep for the (i.e., appointed for) slaughter". So here, "the body of death" is the "body appointed to death" (Rom. 5:12; Heb. 9:27): and the cry is, "who shall deliver me from this?" and the triumphant answer is, "I thank God [He will deliver me] through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 7:24). The next verse furnishes us with another title.
The Mind (Rom. 7:23, 25). The word here used for "the mind" is nous and denotes the new nature, as it does also in chapter 7:23, 25. It is used in contrast with "flesh" (as "spirit" is), because it denotes that which is inward and invisible. This "mind" serves the law of God (Rom. 7:25) and delights in it (5:22). Hence, "the law of the mind" is put for "the law of God" in verse 23.
Another title is pneuma-Christou Christ's spirit, or Christ-spirit (Rom. 8:9). There is no article in the Greek. This is not another name for the Holy Spirit. Neither is it a separate spirit distinct from the Holy Spirit, for the "spirit of Christ", as man, There is no other spirit of Christ. But this pneuma-Christou is the new nature which makes us "sons of God" as He is "the Son of God". In Galatians we have further instruction concerning Romans teaching; and in Galatians 4:6 we have the explanation of Romans 8: "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the pneuma of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, i.e., my Father". Pneuma-Christou is therefore another name for the "son-ship spirit" which we have in Romans 8:15: not "the spirit of adoption", as in A.V., but "a sonship-spirit", pneuma whyothesias.
Thus, the new creation within us is called pneuma-Christou, because "the Holy Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit (or new nature) that we are children of God; and, if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:16, 17). Hence it can be truly said: "Now if any man have not pneurna-Christou (or the new nature) he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9). For Christ the Son of God, and all the sons of God possess the precious gift or a "sonship spirit". That is why it is called pneuma-Christou, or Christ-Spirit. Being sons of God: with Christ, we are then "heirs also; not only God's heirs, but Christ's joint-heirs; if so be that we suffer together, that we may be glorified together also" (Rom. 8:17). It is called pneuma-Christou; because it is the sign and token that it is Christ-spirit, and therefore a sonship-spirit; because "whom he foreknew he predestinated also [to be] conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be Firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1-3). His perfect righteousness (Phil. 3:9). His holiness (1 Cor. 1:30). His peace (Phil. 4:7). His Father's secret purposes (Eph. 1:9). His Father's love (1 John 3:1). His glorious resurrection body [Phil. 3:21). His coming glory (Rom. 8:17; Col. 3:4; 1 John 3:2). Himself (1 Thess. 4:17).
And all this because God has created within us a new nature, which He calls pneuma-Christou. But, meanwhile, here on earth, it is our privilege to share His rejection. "The world knoweth us not because it knew Him not" (1 John 3:1).
"For I reckon that not worthy are the sufferings of this present time [to be compared with] the glory about-to-be-revealed unto us" (Rom. 8:18). This order of the Greek words shows us where the emphasis is to be placed, though the English of the A.V. reads more smoothly. The fact of our rejection by a religious world, and by a worldly church, must be to us the blessed token that we are God's sons, and therefore partakers of the Christ-spirit, or the new nature, which is God's gift.
It is in this same verse (Rom. 8:9), and in connection with this name for the new nature, that another name is given to it. It is called:
Pneuma-Theou, or Divine spirit (Rom. 8:9, 14). The Greek is literally "spirit of God". Not "the Spirit" (for there is no article), but "God's spirit"; or, as we may render it, Divine spirit. It is so called because it comes from God. God is the Creator and Giver of the new nature.
It is "new" in contrast with the old. It is "spirit" because it is in opposition to the "flesh". It is "inward" in contrast with the "outward". It is "mind" in contrast with the body. It is pneuma-Christou or sonship-spirit, in opposition to a bondage spirit. And it is pneuma Theou or Divine spirit, because it is from above, from God; and is begotten "not of blood" nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13).
Those, who are so begotten, are, and have the right to be called, "sons of God". The two verses in Romans 8, in which this title of the new nature is used (9 and 14), tell us all that we can learn of this aspect of it: Verse 9, "Ye are not in flesh, but in pneuma, if indeed, pneuma Theou dwells in you." Verse 14,
"As many as are led by pneuma Theou, they are sons of God"
(as in John 1:12, 13).
ROMANS
8:13 For if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of
God, they are the sons of God.
GALATIANS
5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit.
JOHN
6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the
flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit,
and [they] are life.
ROMANS
8:1 ¶
[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
ROMANS
8:10 ¶
And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the
Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.
Now, here is the problem. In Galatians 5:17, we read, "the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
Again we will read this verse
from other translations, NIV "For the sinful nature desires that which is contrary to
the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in
conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are
led by the Spirit you are not under the law.
We have seen that, though the two natures dwell side by side in the same personality, it is clear that we have certain responsibilities with regard to each of them, quite apart from precepts, rules, regulations, and "commandments of men".
Our first responsibility is to accept God's estimate of it.
Romans 6:8-11 "He that died has been [and is] justified from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall live [again] also with Him: knowing that Christ having been raised up from among [the] dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over Him. For He who died, died unto sin once for all; but He who liveth, liveth unto God. Even so ye also reckon yourselves indeed [to be] dead ones as to sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus" .
Romans
5:6 "This knowing, that our old man
was crucified with [Christ]."
Galations 2:20, "I was crucified with Christ; Nevertheless I am living, [and yet] no longer is it I that am living, but Christou-Pneumou that is living in me,."
It's not a matter of feeling it, but of believing it, or Faith. If we are guided by our feelings we shall never enjoy a new birth. He never said do you feel it, He said, Do you believe it". "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). God has declared this great fact in His Word (or we could have never known it); we hear that Word; faith believes it and rejoices in what it hears; and believes God, apart from feelings. Therefore our first responsibility concerning the old nature is to accept God's estimate of it, and to reckon it (as He does) as having died with Christ when He was crucified.
Our next responsibility is that we are to reckon it as being dead. For what good is it to us? For in it there is "no good thing".
He expects us to believe it is dead, because He says it is. He looks for us to consider it as buried. In the natural man there may be found natural religious and likeable characteristics: and he may cultivate these. But the child of God doesn't need that! And will not cultivate these. For, by walking according to the new nature, and led by that, what need will there be for cultivating the flesh? Led by that, we have Christ in the place of "religion"; and, we have "the mind of Christ". This infinitely exceeds anything that we could ever produce by any attempted cultivation of the old nature. This leads to ....
Our third responsibility, which is Romans 13:14 to Make No Provision For The Flesh. Always remember "the flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:63). If we believe His estimate of it we shall never seek to make it, or force it, to do anything for God, either in the way of worship or service; we shall never try to get it to do anything by way of meeting God's demand for righteousness. We shall remember that all such righteousness is "as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). The flesh can be made very religious. Religion has to do solely with the flesh. All its ordinances are connected with, the flesh. They are things that the flesh can perform. Remember, it was the religious people that crucified the Lord Jesus. That is what religion will do, when perverted and misused by the old nature. That is why God said, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold; to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22).
James said, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows, in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (Jas. 1:27). In other words, if you want to do something religious, then do acts of mercy and kindness because they are purer and better than all outward religious acts of service and services; bowing and kneeling; crossing and counting beads; drawing near with the lips, and observing days.
Collossians 2: 20-23 "If ye died with Christ from the religious ordinances of the world, why, as living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to ordinances ('Touch not, taste not, handle not'; which all are to perish with the using); after the commandments and doctrines of men?"
Col. 3:1-3 "If ye then were raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things which are upon the earth. For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God".
Thus we are taught as possessors of the new nature, not to make provision for the old nature; not to feed it nourishment which it loves ; remember brother Branham's story about the Indian Chief? He said there were 2 dogs warring within Him, and the one he fed was the one that was winning.
The old nature is full of pride. That is why the congregations are crowded where they teach what is called "practical"; and the people are told to "do" this or that (not that they will necessarily do it); but still it gratifies the old nature of the religious man that loves to hear "precept upon precept, precept upon precept", rule upon rule, rule upon rule." But to honor God's Word above all else? To magnify His Word and abase man? That's not what the old nature wants to hear. Where the worship is based on spirit and Truth, the churches are deserted. Because they hate the light, neither will they come to it, lest their deeds may be made manifest. But where provision is made for the flesh; where there is plenty of music in the choir, and "things to do for God" in the pulpit, there he will be found multitudes. There is more danger for the child of God in the things that pertain to "religion" and in the refined desires of the carnal mind, than there is in the coarse and vulgar "lusts of the flesh". The child of God will not readily, or so easily, make such provision for the flesh.
Our final responsibility to the flesh we find in Colossians 3:5 "Mortify, Therefore Your Members Which Are Upon the Earth This sounds very strange at first, after being told repeatedly that we "died with Christ". It sounds practical also. But for a thing to be practical, it must be practicable. It must be something which we are able to do. The word "mortify" means to make dead; therefore we are to treat it as having become dead. It is because of the fact that we died with Christ, and hence, have put off the old man, and have put on the new, that we are therefore on that account to "reckon" the "members" of our body "as good as dead", and to account them as being impotent, and unable to produce any "living", or "good works".
All so-called "good" works done by the old nature are "dead works". They are wrought by our members which are, in God's estimation, "as good as dead". Only those are "good works" which God Himself has "prepared for us to walk in" (Eph. 2:10); and which are done in the spiritual strength of the new nature. Oh! that God's estimate may be ours: that, like Abraham, we may be not "weak in faith" in this important matter; but strong, believe God; and thus, set free to center our affections on the things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God; and to wait for our manifestation with Him in glory.
THE CHARACTER AND END OF THE NEW NATURE
We are now in a position to consider what we are taught as to the new nature itself. We have looked at its various tides and characteristics; and now we wish to learn what is said about its character and end.
It Cannot be Changed. In this respect it is like the old nature: "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit", and remains spirit (John 3:6). No known power can ever change it into flesh; or alter its character. It is divine in its origin, and perfect in its nature (I John 3:9, 18). Its origin is the Spirit of God (John 6:63). Its instrument is the Word of God (1 Pet. 1:22, 23; John 6:63). It is not altered or affected by any of the frailties, infirmities, or sins of the flesh. By it we are made the sons of God; and it is the token to us that God is our Father. The gift of this new nature, or spirit, is called our "sealing", (Eph. 1:13)
Romans 8:30 "Whom He did predestinate [to be conformed to the image of His Son, 5:29] them He called also: and whom He called, them He justified also: and whom He justified, them He glorified also." Grace ensures glory: for "the Lord will give grace and glory" (Ps. 84:11). If He gives the grace it is the pledge that He will give the glory. It must be so. He will not make us "perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. 1:28) and then judge us imperfect. He will not make Christ to be our righteousness and holiness (1 Cor. 1:30) and then unmake His own work.
If we are "complete" in Christ (Co1. 2:10) we cannot become incomplete. If He said, we will go through the judgment, then how could we ever be left behind?
The mystery was "ordained by God before the world" specially "with a view to our glory" (1 Cor.2:7). We may be perfectly sure therefore that His purpose cannot and will not fail; and that it will end in "our glory".
This new nature cannot be forfeited—No, not even by sin: for even this contingency is provided for in I John 2:1, 2, "If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is [and remains] the propitiation for our sins." We are not reminded of what we have done, but what He has done. We are not to look upon ourselves and our confession, but we are directed upward to Christ and His position. Our thoughts are not occupied with our humiliation, but with Christ's "propitiation": that is always before the Father; for Christ is there, and we are there in Him.
The new nature is "Life and Peace" (Rom. 8:6).
Then what is the end of the new nature? It will result in a Resurrection and Rapture. (Rom. 8:11). For, if the pneuma (the nature) of Him that raised up Jesus from among [the] dead dwelleth in you, He that raised up Christ from among [the] dead shall make alive again your mortal bodies also on account of His pneuma (or spirit or nature) that dwells in you."
This is the glorious end of the new nature. As the old nature ends in death and corruption, so the new nature will end in rapture or resurrection. For "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 4:23). The one is God's judgment; the other is God's grace. The one is sins "wages"; the other is grace's "gift". This gift is possessed, and will be enjoyed, only by those to whom it is "given". The Lord Jesus in His last prayer declared that the Father had given Him power "that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him" (John 17:2, 6, 9, 11, 24). Therefore it is written: "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:11, 12). T
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE TWO NATURES
Having learnt so much, separately, about the characteristics of the two natures, from Romans 6—8, we have now to learn the experience and the doctrine about them as existing together in the one personality. This doctrine is taught chiefly in Romans 7. Every child of God has the experience, but not every such child knows the doctrine. This means nothing but trouble, confusion, doubt and anxiety. No rest can be known, no peace can be enjoyed unless we learn for ourselves from the Word of God, what His own explanation is concerning the conflict between the two natures. The experience of that conflict is trouble and unrest; and nothing but the knowledge of the true doctrine concerning it can remove that trouble; and, not only does it remove it, but at the same time it provides us with the greatest assurance we can possibly have on earth that we are the children of God. The experience of this conflict is the one thing in which the true child of God differs from the mere religious professor. The latter knows nothing of or of the abiding sense of inward corruption which this experience always creates. The very fact, therefore, of this experience of the conflict, is the best, and indeed, the only real assurance we can have that we are "born of God" (I John 3:9); that we are "His workmanship" (Eph 2:10); and that He has begun in us that good work which He will carry on, carry out, complete, and perfect concerning us (Phil. 1:6). The right understanding of the doctrine concerning this experience can bring only peace and comfort to us: and without it all must be trouble, unrest, and confusion.
It is this which forms the subject of Romans 8. Let us note how it stands in the general structure of the Epistle. It forms part of a larger member which begins at chapter 5:12, and goes on to the end of the eighth chapter (8:39). The subject is sin (or, the old sinful nature).
The conflict between the two natures may be compared to a ship, on which a new Captain has been put on board by the owners. The old Captain has so long held command, and his enmity to the owners is so great, that he has practically treated the vessel as his own; and kept the crew in perfect bondage. The crew have submitted to it, never having known any other authority; or understood what real liberty of service was. From time to time they have heard of it; they have passed other vessels which they saw at once were very different from their own. But, now that the new Captain is in authority they begin to find out what the difference is. The new Captain, henceforth always has control of the helm and the charge of the ship. The ship is the same, the crew is the same. Even the old Captain remains on board. The book of instructions which the new Captain has brought on board tells that the old Captain has been judged and condemned: but the sentence cannot be executed except by the proper judicial authorities, when they reach port. They cannot put him ashore, or throw him overboard. But, he no longer "holds the helm or guides the ship". He tries from time to time to get hold of the wheel, but in vain. He succeeds sometimes in putting forth his old influence by creating disaffection in some members of the crew; for he knows them and their weaknesses well from his former complete control of them. He occasionally bribes or deceives some of them into acts of insubordination which they afterwards deeply regret. But the old Captain cannot get at the "ship's papers". They are now put quite out of his reach, where he cannot touch them. He cannot succeed in altering the ship's course; or change the port for which she is now making. He does not read the book of instructions; and if he looks at it, he does not understand it (1 Cor. 214). The ship's company were once his executive, and carried out only his will: but there is now no obligation for any of them to obey his orders, or to recognize his authority. They are released from it; and henceforth they are under the orders of the new Commander. They are to "reckon" the old Captain as already condemned; and the sentence as only waiting to be carried out. As to his power over them, they are to reckon themselves "as good as dead" so far as he is concerned.
This is the argument of Romans 6:17-19. "But thanks be to God that [though R.V. whereas] ye were the servants (or bond-servants) of sin, yet ye have obeyed from the heart that line of teaching unto which ye were delivered. (18) And being set free from [the dominion of] sin, ye became servants of righteousness. (19) I speak as a man, on account of the weakness of your flesh): for as ye [once] yielded your members in bondage to [work] uncleanness and to iniquity to [work] iniquity; even so now ye present your members in bondage to righteousness to [work] holiness."