This is, I think, short of the reality that the human mind was made in the image of God, and despite the presence of the sin nature, can reflect upon God's word and can follow one's conscience. If Man is strictly the "mind of the flesh," then he is in "total depravity," which I do not agree with. This is strictly a Protestant concept by which one version of Predestination is conceived of.
Hi Randy,
I prefer to stick with Biblical terminology, as this is what conforms my mind most readily to Christ.
I don't find "total depravity" in the Bible.
What I DO find . . .
Romans 8
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
You are either after the flesh, or after the Spirit, and that means specifically according to the flesh, or according to the Spirit. This is further defined as being determined by whether or not the Holy Spirit lives in you. So if you are indwelt by the Spirit, you are "according to the Spirit", and otherwise, you are "according to the flesh".
The flesh mind brings death, the spirit mind brings life. The flesh mind is at war with God, and cannot fulfill God's law.
But if you are in Christ, though the body of flesh is in a state of living death, as it were, the spirit is nonetheless alive in Christ.
And Ephesians, Colossians, both speak of people dead in trespasses and sins. Colossians puts it this way, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh. Not being separated away from your flesh. To have your flesh cut off.
So rather than say we are totally depraved, I would say that we are dead in sin, in a hopelessly ruined flesh that cannot have life being God's enemy. But in Christ we are cut away from that flesh body, we are reborn not from Adam, in death, but from God, in life, specifically, the life of Christ.
Prevenient Grace allows depraved Man to receive and to obey God's word, because all men were created with the capacity to respond to God's word. The depravity of the sin nature does not prevent Man from doing what he was created to do, which is walk in the nature of God.
Prevenient Grace is also not a Biblical term. I myself think of prevenient grace as describing what God does when He presents His gospel to us, enabling us to actually make a choice whether we will act on the faith He gives, or whether we will reject Him.
But whether or not God gives a gift of grace to enable people to do certain things, still, Jesus said, unless a man be born again, he CANNOT see the kingdom of God. And he can't! He doesn't have the eyes.
Where is the Scripture that all are created with the capacity to walk in the nature of God? What I find is that none are righteous, all fall short.
Romans 5
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Through the offense of one the many be dead, literally, already dead. We are dead in trespasses and sins, because Adam disobeyed.
We are under condemnation not because of our own sin, but because of Adam's sin.
We do not sin because we make bad choices, we make bad choices because we are sinners, having been made sinners by Adam's sin.
And by the same token . . .
We are not alive to God because we haven't sinned, rather, because Christ didn't sin.
We are not accepted by God because we did something righteous, rather, because of Christ's righteousness.
And we don't start being righteous because we start making better choices, rather, Jesus' obedience.
We may be bound to a sin nature, whether as an unsaved pagan or as a Christian still infected with the sin nature. But we can still do good, bound by that nature, or freed from the power of that nature by the regeneration of Christ.
We can do good or bad in our own eyes according to our various temperments and upbringing. But none of this is salvific, because they are the works of dead men.
The sacrifices in the Law, and God's forebearance in general allowed mankind the opportunity to not be condemned before Christ came and died. But those things did not give life.
As Christians we are liberated from the power of sin, but still are infected by the sin nature, and limited, to some extent, by the effects of that sin nature. Though we are freed from the condemnation of that sin nature by Christ, we are still impacted by the effects of sin in our flesh. It is only that we can still do good and obtain a new nature that dominates over sin.
Be it to you according to your faith, is what I've learned.
We are born with a new nature, our Father's nature.
Ephesians 4
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Again, "after God" is, "according to God", that is, in God's pattern. In this case, righteous, and truly holy.
We are liberated from the sin nature . . . how?
It is by death and resurrection into Christ.
As such, we cannot say that anybody still impacted by the sin nature--all of us--are in the "mind of the flesh." Even as Christians we still have the sin nature, and at times have the "mind of the flesh," as Paul assumes in his exhortations *not* to be that way!
"It is no longer I that sin, but the sin that lives in me." We are not a mixture of good and evil, righteousness and depravity. Rather, we are righteous and holy child of God who lives in a corrupted and dead body of flesh which wars against us.
And that we spend our lives in a struggle and fight against that flesh, when the battle is won through faith, not effort. By believing in Jesus, His love, His power, His life in me.
Much love!