BCP- Paul Again? Paul Again!

For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.

Paul opens up a can of spiritual whoop ass in just about every letter. Can you imagine living with him however? I can't I probably would have thrown him out...not that he would have stayed he would dusted his feet long ago and been out on the road bring spiritual gifts. Opinionated? Yes. Man of his times? Yes. Gives persons with a Multi cultural, diversity loving backgrounds heart attacks? Yes. Needs to be wrestled with...most certainly yes.

Paul writes with such conviction and power. At this point in my spiritual life (and later I most likely will see it differently) I see Pauls central conviction that the body will die. Knowing that the physical body will die, Paul theology seems to dwell on it. What I see today is not that he even sees the body as so bad. The body simply will not do for him what Christ crucified will do for him. For that reason the body stands in sin. Pursing the needs of the body is for Paul secondary for pursuing those things which last beyond death ie the spirit. I don't think Paul is a duelist but more of a realist. The body dies so by giving it all the attention (rich foods to eat, money to buy things to build up the body, excercise so that one never gets old, etc, etc, etc) is a losing proposition. It is not so much that the body is bad (I think) but that the body has only one direction...death. If all I have done is emphasize the life of the body in my life I have lived into...death.

The law is spiritual. That suggests that the life of faith is following the law of the spirit. This means placing the spirit above the body...not because it is better but because it will live and to obtain it is to live into it.

Ok I have a class...time to go.