To Paul, the fundamental Jew steeped in the traditions of the Law of Moses, letting go of the Levitical traditions and embracing the Lord Jesus was a stupendous undertaking. To be assured that God was receiving him even though his mind was not on the Law but on the living Christ was a daily challenge.

Day by day Paul's faith laid hold upon Christ. Day by day the assurance, the joy, the peace increased. The most profound of human problems was being dealt with—Paul's will was being converted to the will of God. Because Christ's Life was increasing in Paul, Paul was delighting to do God's will.

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalms 40:8)

The most peaceful, joyous experience possible to a human being is attained when our will is identical with the will of God. Then we are free. Then we are God's bondslaves. Then we are in the rest of God. Then we are united with Him in His death and resurrection.

As long as any part of our will is not found in God we are in partial slavery to our own self-will, which is equivalent to slavery to Satan. If we persevere in following Christ we remain free from the Law of Moses, free from the guilt of sin, free from the compulsions of sin, and finally, free from self-will.

To obtain all these freedoms is to attain the resurrection that is out from among the dead.

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection [Greek, out-resurrection] of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)

For those who have attained to the inner resurrection, that which is available now—in this life, there remains only the filling of our mortal body with the Spirit of God. The filling of our mortal body with incorruptible resurrection life marks our adoption as a son of God.

And not only they [the material creation], 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)

"Waiting for the adoption."

Our inner nature must be born of God but our body is to be adopted.

Deliverance from sin is not the goal. Deliverance is a means to the goal. The goal is to be in the image of Christ and to be in union with Christ. In order to attain the goal and thus be made available to God for the fulfillment of His purposes, we must be delivered from moral impurity, and especially from self-will.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)

We are dealing in Romans 6:6 with two entities:

Our old man.

The body of sin.

The old man is our original adamic personality.

The body of sin is the sin that dwells in our flesh and is the reason for our body being dead—cut off from the eternal Life of God.

To be continued.