The context of the above verse tells us that when we choose to live according to our sinful nature we slay our resurrection to eternal life. But if we choose to follow the Holy Spirit in putting to death the actions of our body we shall obtain eternal life.

Let us explain.

Paul, in the first five chapters of Romans, warns us of God's wrath against sin, and also of the fact that the righteousness we are seeking can no longer come from an observance of the Law of Moses but only from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the sixth chapter of Romans, Paul explains that placing our faith in Christ does not mean we are free to sin. Rather, if, after having been baptized into Christ, we then choose to live according to our sinful nature, we will die spiritually.

In the seventh chapter of the Book of Romans, Paul emphasizes that there is a law of sin dwelling in our flesh that prevents us from finding righteousness by observing the Law of Moses.

And then Paul asks, "How will I ever be delivered from this body of sin I am dragging around?"

In chapter eight of Romans, Paul assures us that if we will choose to live in the Spirit of God rather than in our sinful nature, the righteousness of the Law of Moses will be ascribed to us, just as though we had observed it perfectly. This righteousness comes from Jesus Christ who Himself kept the Law of Moses perfectly.

Then the Apostle Paul mentions the goal of our salvation, the making alive of our sinful body. This is the answer to Paul's question in Chapter Seven, "Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11—NIV)

The promise of God in John 3:16 is that if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we will not perish but have everlasting life. This verse includes God's Life in our inward nature, but is pointed especially toward immortality in the body; for this is what was lost in the Garden of Eden.

Since Christ dwells in us at the present time, the Spirit of the Resurrection is in us. But our body is dead because of sin.

Because of this, the Christian life is one long battle against the sin that dwells in us.

If, through the Spirit of God, we put to death the deeds of our sinful nature, we will attain eternal life in our inner man. Then, when the Lord appears, our body will be raised from the dead and then filled with God's Life as a suitable covering for our eternally alive inner man.

But if instead of pursuing righteousness and eternal life we continue to live in a sinful manner, we will lose the down payment of eternal life we were given when we first received Christ. Then, when the Lord appears, there will be no living inner nature upon which to put a body of life and righteousness.

To be continued.