Thoughts from Culhwch

“I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh” Why does Paul speak in human terms? What are human terms? The more I try to find the answer the less I feel like can grasp any of it. It slips through my fingers. But the effect of this statement is still profound. We need to be spoken to in human terms, we need to hear the word of god in terms related to exactly our situation as frail, weak, fleshly individuals. If all I get in Paul is the philosophic, or the principles of things never enfleshed, then I may be prone never to live out what he says. I think, still, I am prone never to live out what he says. I so often get scripture and only think of it as a nice head game. But here, Paul says he is speaking in human terms. The reason? Our flesh is weak. When I back away from trying to figure out what this means, I realize that I am in need of this. My flesh is weak, my mind wants to do it all, without ever setting my body on its journey, or its work. But here, we realize that yes, our flesh is weak, we may never get that task done, we will never purify ourselves, we will never make ourselves holy before God. At the same time, we learn that God’s word has a vision of how we are supposed to live lives as incarnated beings, here and now in this world. I must obey with my flesh. I must pursue the things of God, the things He has called me to do; and I must renounce sin, dying to it.

“present your members as slaves to righteousness” Don’t miss it. Our flesh is weak; we fail a lot. But God is good, and offers us this, that we can be slaves of righteousness. I can submit to righteousness. Not only the ideal I, the “ego” of some metaphysical existence. But the I that is my body. My members, not just my mind, my hands and feet, not just my will. All of me is to submit before God. But as slaves we have a good master who knows our weakness of flesh, who knows our struggles. We have a master whose burden is light. We no longer suffer as slaves to unrighteousness. But as slaves to righteousness. God has taken into account our failings and given us grace to be slaves to God. This is a joy, for it is freedom from all the bondage that we could never break free of.

“resulting in sanctification” This slavery results in holiness, a holiness we could never attain with our own weak flesh, that we might never hear or take in in some spiritual language that could not be spoken of in human terms. Instead the gift of the gospel is the good news to us as human beings whose flesh is so weak. We should watch for the signs of this in our lives so that we do not miss them.

“and the outcome, eternal life” This whole thing is working to an outcome. Eternal life. Sanctification points us to another transformation. No longer are we bound to death, but in dying to sin with Christ, we gain eternal life.