Natural Man - Romans 7:15-25

The IM points out that verses 14-27 have quite a bit of information added into them from the JST, which the IM says “provides numerous clarifications of these difficult scriptural passages.” Jokes on me because I still don’t really understand what Paul is saying in this section. There’s a lot of talk about sin and law and flesh and evil that I just don’t understand what he’s saying exactly, honestly I’m completely lost.

Fortunately, for me, the IM gives a pretty good break down of what Paul is trying to say in the second half of chapter 7, which is an exposition of “the conflict between ‘the flesh’ and ‘the inward man.’” This makes sense because if Paul is teaching about the difference between the law of Moses and the gospel of Christ, then the need to expound on the varying purposes of the change is important.
From what I’ve heard, before we came to earth, when we were chosen to experience this mortality, we had progressed as far as we could spiritually, without the use of a body. This is logical because not having a body in the pre-mortal world would have limited the spiritual growth that we could have made. And we also know that God wouldn’t have sent us down here if we weren’t spiritually prepared. I’m not saying that we were completely perfect in spirit before we were born, but we had progressed far enough and held firm enough that mortality wouldn’t be a breaking point for us.
If we “mastered” spirituality before coming to earth, then that would mean that our goal here is to master our physical bodies, and that seems to be what Paul is trying to teach right here. The connection between our bodies and our spirits is probably pretty complex, and really, if we think about it, our lives are ruled by our bodily functions: hunger, thirst, fatigue, going to the bathroom, breathing, sweating, itches, pain, etc. And all of these are on a day by day, sometimes minute by minute basis.
We are constantly bombarded with our body saying, “hey I’m hungry” or “hey, take a break” or “hey, I have to pee.” It’s almost like our spirits were given this super high-maintenance machine that we are supposed to learn to care for and manage and only use for righteous purposes.  And we are still supposed to maintain our spirituality while caring for this burdensome monster, our body.
I can only liken it to parenthood with your first child. I had already raised my siblings and my babies were really good, so it was super easy for me, and I was young and had more energy. I don’t really feel like motherhood was difficult for me until I was doing it alone, which looking back was almost immediately, but then it was done.
But with the parenthood analogy, we really only have our selves to focus on and worry about, and then suddenly, there is this blob of a little human that needs constant attention and feeding and changing and playing and snuggling 24/7. It’s like, how are you ever supposed to live a normal, functional life again if the baby is your focus all the time.

But eventually you get into a routine so all the anticipated needs planned for and fulfilled, the baby gets older and sometimes less demanding, or at least more predictable. And that’s how it is with our bodies too, I suppose. We get older and can go for longer without eating, like a few times a day instead of every 20 minutes. We can make it to the bathroom instead of going in our pants, we can sleep efficiently, and we can manage our bodily needs in a way that allows us time to focus on our spirituality.
But then again, our body isn’t something we have to learn how to take care of despite of our spirit, but a lot of it is learning how to take care of our body in a way that allows our spirit to grow. Meaning that the spirit and the body don’t operate independently of each other, one with physical needs and one with spiritual needs, but they function in concert with each other.
In verse 14, there is a cross reference to D&C 29:34 which says, “Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, not the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.” So the Word of Wisdom about what we should eat and drink is a spiritual commandment? What about the law of tithing, where we give up a portion of our income? What about the commandment to not kill or to not commit adultery? These are all spiritual commandments that have to do with actions taken by our physical body?
Why do we need commandments for how to use our body then if our spirit is in control? Our spirits have never commanded a physical body before, so it’s a new concept for us, and like we discussed with all those constant needs that the body has, the most convenient way to satisfy those needs is to do whatever is easy and move on. For example, when a baby is crying because it’s hungry, it’s super easy to feed them ice cream or whatever you have handy to shut them up, but we all know that feeding a baby ice cream is not a healthy choice.
Therefore we can not always trust our bodies to make the best choices for itself when fulfilling a need that it has, either because it is not a healthy choice or because it will have consequences for our spirit. The body will gravitate towards bad food, alcohol, promiscuity, laziness, etc because that’s the easiest way to get by in this fallen world in which we live. Our spirit is capable of knowing and therefore acting better. This is not necessarily a natural instinct that our spirit has, but if we are receptive, then our spirit can be taught the right ways of happiness that comes from God. The inverse of that is also true, that if we are not receptive, then our spirits are not able to be taught the ways of God and happiness.
Thus the goal in life is to reconcile the dichotomy between the righteousness that our spirit desires and the human nature that comes naturally to our bodies, and this is what Paul is speaking about at this point. The IM comments, “Because of the Fall, our mortal bodies sometimes experience feelings and desires which, if followed, lead to acts contrary to the laws of God.” It’s the default, natural state of being for half of our self, the body, so we have our refined spirit that has grown but forgotten, struggling with our body that just wants to eat, sleep, and have sex all the time.
Paul’s language is interesting while writing this because he uses the first person which could lead to the inference that he himself has been guilty of all these carnal crimes. If he had committed these serious sins, I fully believe that he could repent and become a prophet of God, but it would take time and soul searching. But that repentance is available to all regardless of the sin is an immutable gospel principle. The IM says, “Paul uses first-person pronouns in this passage- ‘I,’ ‘my flesh,’ ‘sin dwelleth in me,’ and so on- but his teachings describe the inner struggle common to all who strive to live the laws of God. Like other ancient writers, he sometimes wrote in the first person rhetorically to discuss conditions that applied to all people.”
Speaking in the first person could make Paul seem relatable instead of condemning, which would probably make the audience less defensive and more receptive to his message. The IM continues, “Paul’s statement, ‘with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin,’ does not mean that Paul yielded to temptations of the flesh, but it meant that even as he yielded to God, his flesh opposed him. The crucial point for Paul was that he knew the source of deliverance from the weakness of the flesh.”
I think all of us can relate to Paul’s message here, we all struggle with the battle between what our spirit wants and what our body wants, whether it be sleeping when we should be doing something, eating something forbidden or unhealthy, having sex outside of the prescribed bounds of marriage, drinking alcohol, fighting out of anger, etc. Overall, it is a very difficult lesson to learn and for many of us, will be the struggle of a life time.
The IM quotes President Russell M. Nelson as teaching about self-mastery, “Not an age in life passes without temptation, trial, or torment experienced through your physical body. But as you prayerfully develop self-mastery, desires of the flesh may be subdued. And what that has been achieved, you may have the strength to submit to your Heavenly Father, as did Jesus, who said, ‘Not my will, but thine, be done.’ When deepening trials come your way, remember this glorious promise of the Savior: ‘to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.’”
I really feel like we don’t have to wait until we’ve become masters of ourselves to receive the Lord’s help in overcoming temptations. I believe, and have felt in my life, that strength and help comes when we desire to overcome temptation and to do God’s will, but our flesh is weak. We can do it, we can be wise and strong and righteous, and we can have God’s power to help us accomplish it the whole way through.