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8/18/2019 Romanidis Na Engleskom

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Anthropology of St. Paul

As we have said, for St. Paul, the law is good 1 and even spiritual.2 According to the "inner man" this is

obvious.3 But in spite of the fact that he can possess the will to do good according to the law he cannot find the power to do the good because he is "carnal and sold under sin."! f he himself, according to the "inner man," wants

to do good but cannot, it is no longer he who does the evil, but sin that dwelleth in him.# So he as$s, "%

wretched man that am& who will deliver me from the bod' of this death(") *o be delivered from the "bod' of

this death" is to be saved from the power of sin dwelling in the flesh. *hus, "the law of the spirit of life in +hristesus has liberated me from the law of sin and death."-

t is misleading to tr' to interpret this section of Paul according to a dualistic anthropolog', which would ma$e

the term, sar$i$os, refer onl' to the lower appetites of the bod'//and especiall' of the se0ual desires//to thee0clusion of the soul. *he word, sar$i$os , is not used b' Paul in such a conte0t. lsewhere, St. Paul reminds

married people that the' have not authorit' over their own bodies and so should not deprive one another, "unless it

be with consent for a time that 'e ma' give 'ourselves to fasting and pra'er, and come together again that Satan

ma' not tempt 'ou for 'our incontinenc'.111 *o the +orinthians he declare that the' are an epistle written notwith in$, "but with the spirit of the living od, not in tables of stone, but in fleshl' tables of the heart//en pla0i

$ardias sar$inais."12 +hrist was $nown according to the flesh13 and "od was manifested in the flesh."1 St. Paul

as$s whether, if he has planted spiritual things amongst the +orinthians, it is such a great thing if he shall reap the

sar$i$a1!. 4owhere does he use the ad5ective, sar$i$os , e0clusivel' in reference to the se0ual, or what is

commonl' called the desires of the flesh in contrast to those of the soul.

t seems that St. Paul attributes a positive power of sin to the sar0 as such onl' in the epistle to the alatians, who,

having begun int he Spirit, now thin$ that the' are being perfected in the flesh.1# *he sar0 here has a will which

1 6om. )712

2 v. 1

3 6om. )722

6om. )71-

! 6om. )71

# 6om. )72

) 6om. )72

- 6om. -72

6om. )713 ff

1 +or. )7/!

11 6om. 1!72)

12 +or. 373

13 +or. !71#

1 *im. 371#

1! +or. 711

1# al. 373


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desires against the pneuma.1) "*he wor$s of the flesh are manifest, which a re these8 adulter', fornication,

uncleanliness, lasciviousness, idolatr', witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

env'ings, murders, drun$enness, revellings and such li$e." 1- 9ost of these wor$s of the sar$os would re:uire the

ver' active, and even initiative, participation of the intellect, which here is an indication that the sar0, for Paul, ismuch more than what an' dualistic anthropolog' would be read' to admit. *he flesh as such, however, as a

positive force of sin, found over/emphasi;ed in alatians, where Paul is infuriated over the foolishness of his

readers,1 cannot be isolated from other references, where sin parasiticall' dwells in the flesh2 and where the flesh

itself is not onl' not evil,21 but that in which od flesh and soul? both denote the whole living person and not an' part of him. 2 *hus, in the %ld

*estament the e0pression, pasa sar0 >all flesh?, is emplo'ed for all living things,2! as well as for man in particular .2#

*he e0pression, pasa ps'che >all souls?, is used in the same manner.2) n the 4ew *estament, both e0pressions,

pasa sar02- and pasa ps'che,2 are used in perfect accord with the %ld *estament conte0t.

*hus we find that, for St. Paul, to be sar$i$os3 and ps'chi$os31 means e0actl' the same thing. "@lesh and blood

>sar0 $ai haima? cannot inherit the $ingdom of od"32 because corruption cannot inherit incorruption.33 @or

this reason, a soma ps'chi$on is "sown in corruption" and raised in incorruption8 it is sown in dishonor, it is

raised in glor'8 it is sown in wea$ness, it is raised in power."3 "A soma ps'chi$on is sown, and a soma

1) al. !71#/1-

1- al. !71/21

1 al. 371

2 6om. )71)/1-

21 . +or. 7118 6om. 1!72)8 +or. 3738 7118 !71#

22 *im. 371#

23 6om. )71)/1-8 ph. 271!

2 *resmontant, ssai sur la pensee


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pneumati$on is raised. *here is a soma ps'chi$on and there is a soma pneumati$on&"3! Both the sar$i$on and the

ps'chi$on and dominated b' death and corruption and so cannot inherit the $ingdom of life. *his onl' the

pneumati$on can do. "


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the living soul?, but never ps'che tes ;oes >the

soul of life?.!# *his is due to the fact that the ps'che, or sar0, lives onl' b' participation, while the pneuma is

itself the principle of life given to man as a gift from od,!) "Dho alone hath immortalit'."!- od gives man of e.g., according to the 4eo/platonic teaching of

St. Augustine and the 6oman scholastics in general concerning human destin'?. *he personalit' of man does not

consist of an immaterial intellectual soul which has life of itself and uses the bod' simpl' as a dwelling place. *he

sar0, or ps'che, is the total man, and the $ardia is the center of intelligence where the will has completeindependence of choice to become either hardened to truth or receptive to divine enlightenment from without. *he

pneuma of man is not the center of human personalit', nor is it that facult' which rules the actions of men, but

rather it is the spar$ of divine life given to man as his principle of life. *hus, man can live according to the pneuma

tes ;oes or according to the law of the flesh, which is death and corruption. *he ver' personalit' of man,therefore, although created b' od


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either to re5ect the act of creation, for which he was not consulted, or to accept the creative love of od b' living

according to the pneuma, given to him for this purpose b' od.

"*he mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the spirit is life and peace."! *hose who live according to theflesh shall die.# *hose who mortif' the deeds of the flesh b' the spirit shall live.#1 *he spirit of man, however,

deprived of union with the vivif'ing spirit of od, is hopelessl' wea$ against the flesh dominated b' death and

corruption#2//"Dho shall deliver me from the bod' of this death."#3 And, "the law of the pneumatos tes ;oes >spirit

of life? in +hrist esus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."# %nl' those whose spirit has beenrenewed#! b' union with the Spirit of od## can fight the desires of the flesh. %nl' those who are given the Spirit of

od and hear ts voice in the life of the bod' of +hrist are able to fight against sin. "*he Spirit itself beareth

witness with our spirit that we are the children of od."#)

Although the spirit of man is the principle of life given to him b' od, it can still parta$e of the filthiness of fleshl'

wor$s. @or this reason, it is necessar' for +hristians to guard against the corruption not onl' of the flesh, but of the

spirit, also.#- *he union of man=s spirit with the Spirit of od in baptism is no magical guarantee against the

possibilit' of their separation. *o become again enslaved tot he wor$s of the flesh ma' ver' well lead to e0clusionfrom the bod' of +hrist.# *he Spirit of od is given to man that +hrist ma' dwell in the heart.) "4ow if an' an

have not the Spirit of +hrist he is none of


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the other hand, those who have been buried with +hrist through baptism have died to the bod' of sin and are living

unto +hrist.)! *he' are no longer living according to the desires of flesh, but of the spirit. "*he fruit of the spirit is

love, 5o', peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, mee$ness, temperance//against such there is no

law. And the' that are +hrist=s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.")#

t is clear that, for St. Paul, the union of man=s spirit with the Spirit of od in the life of love within the bod' of

+hrist is life and salvation. %n the other hand, to live according tot he desires of the flesh, dominated b' the powers

of death and corruption, means death//"@or the mind of the flesh is death.")) St. Paul is dealing throughout hisepistles with the categories of life and death. od is life. *he devil holds the reins of death and corruption. Gnit'

with od in the Spirit, through the bod' of +hrist in the life of love, is life and brings salvation and perfection.

Separation of man=s spirit from the divine life in the bod' of +hrist is slaver' to the powers of death and

corruption used b' the devil to destro' the wor$s of od. *he life of the spirit is unit' and love. *he lifeaccording to the flesh is disunit' and dissolution in death and corruption.

t is absolutel' necessar' to grasp the essential spirit of St. Paul=s usage of the words, sar0, ps'che , and

pneuma, in order to avoid the widespread confusion that dominates the field of in:uir' into Pauline theolog'.St. Paul is never spea$ing in terms of immaterial rational souls in contrast to material bodies. Sar0 and ps'che

are s'non'mous and comprise, together with the pneuma, the total man. *o live according to the pneuma is not to

live a life according to the lower half of man. %n the contrar', to live according to the sar0, or ps'che, is to live

according to the law of death. *o live according to the spirit is to live according to the law of life and love.

*hose who are sar$i$oi cannot live according to their original destin' of selfless love for od and neighbor,

because the' are dominated b' the power of death and corruption. "the sting of death is sin." )- Sin reigned in

death.) Heath is the last enem' to be destro'ed.- So long as man lives according tot he law of death, in theflesh, he cannot please od-1 because he does not live according to the law of life and love. "*he mind of the flesh

is enmit' against od for it is not sub5ect to the law of od, neither can it be."-2 n order to live according to his

original destin', man must be liberated from "the bod' of this death."-3 *his liberation from the power of death

and corruption has come from od, Dho sent


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product of eschatological enthusiasts is to miss completel' the ver' basis of the 4ew *estament message. f the

destruction of the devil, death and corruption is salvation and the onl' condition for life according to man=s

original destin', then the means of passing from the realm of death and its conse:uences to the realm of life, in the

victor' of +hrist over death, must be ta$en ver' seriousl'. @or Paul, the wa' from death to life is communion withthe death and life of +hrist in baptism and a continuous life of live within the bod' of +hrist. *his new life of love

within the bod' of +hrist, however, must be accompanied b' a continuous death to the wa's of this world, which

is dominated b' the law of death and corruption in the hands of the devil. Participation in the victor' over death

does not come simpl' b' having a magical faith and a general sentiment of vague love for humanit' >Cuther?.@ull membership int he bod' of +hrist can come onl' b' d'ing in the waters of baptism with +hrist, and living

according to the law of the "spirit of life." +atechumens and penitents certainl' had faith, but the' either had

not 'et passed through death, in baptism, to the new life, or else, once having died to the flesh in baptism, the'

failed to remain steadfast and allowed the power of death and corruption to regain its dominance over the"spirit of life."

n regard to St. Paul=s teaching concerning baptismal death to the rudiments of this world, it is interesting to

note his usage of the word, soma , to designate the communion of those in +hrist who constitute the +hurch. *heword, soma, in both the %ld and 4ew *estaments, apart from Paul, is used predominantl' to designate a dead

person, or corpse.-# At the Cast Supper, our Cord used the word, soma, most li$el' to designate the fact that head of the bod'? to designate christ. t would have been much more normal to call the +hurch the bod' and +hristthe soul in the bod'.

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