To live in sin is to live in death. Sin is the absence of eternal life.

God has promised to deliver us from the body of death provided we sow to the Spirit during the days of our pilgrimage.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23)

"The redemption of our body." Our new personality has been born of God. Our body will be adopted by the Lord provided we sow each day to our new personality, praying, reading our Bible, obeying God sternly in every matter, gathering with fervent believers as possible, giving, serving, and doing all else that is part of the Christian discipleship.

The Lord Jesus lives in Divine Life and He Himself is Divine Life. In Him there is no sin. As each day we walk before the Holy Spirit, ready to forsake and repent of our sins as the Spirit guides us, we remain without condemnation. Day by day, line upon line, command upon command, rule upon rule, the graveclothes of sin are unwound and removed from us. As the sin is removed eternal life enters our personality. As eternal life enters our personality we have the strength to remove more graveclothes. The cycle spirals upward until we stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (Colossians 4:12)

Eternal life always is associated with righteousness—righteousness that at first is imputed and then is wrought in our personality until we think, speak, and act in a righteous, holy manner.

Eternal life always is the end result of righteous, holy behavior.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end [result is] everlasting life. (Romans 6:22)

If we say we have eternal life and are not walking according to the Lord's commandments we are deceived.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4)

Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. (I John 2:24,25)

Eternal life is a promise made to those who continue to abide in the Son and in the Father.

Righteousness always is an issue of life and power. The power of sin and the resulting death reside in our flesh. We want to do good but the law of sin in our flesh fights against us. Our physical body truly is a body of death.

To be continued.