Romans 6:6

King James Version (KJV)

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

Our old man is crucified with him - This seems to be a farther extension of the same metaphor. When a seed is planted in the earth, it appears as if the whole body of it perished. All seeds, as they are commonly termed, are composed of two parts; the germ, which contains the rudiments of the future plant; and the lobes, or body of the seed, which by their decomposition in the ground, become the first nourishment to the extremely fine and delicate roots of the embryo plant, and support it till it is capable of deriving grosser nourishment from the common soil. The body dies that the germ may live. Parables cannot go on all fours; and in metaphors or figures, there is always some one (or more) remarkable property by which the doctrine intended is illustrated. To apply this to the purpose in hand: how is the principle of life which Jesus Christ has implanted in us to be brought into full effect, vigor, and usefulness? By the destruction of the body of sin, our old man, our wicked, corrupt, and fleshly self, is to be crucified; to be as truly slain as Christ was crucified; that our souls may as truly be raised from a death of sin to a life of righteousness, as the body of Christ was raised from the grave, and afterwards ascended to the right hand of God. But how does this part of the metaphor apply to Jesus Christ? Plainly and forcibly. Jesus Christ took on him a body; a body in the likeness of sinful flesh, Romans 8:3; and gave up that body to death; through which death alone an atonement was made for sin, and the way laid open for the vivifying Spirit, to have the fullest access to, and the most powerful operation in, the human heart. Here, the body of Christ dies that he may be a quickening Spirit to mankind. Our body of sin is destroyed by this quickening Spirit, that henceforth we should live unto Him who died and rose again. Thus the metaphor, in all its leading senses, is complete, and applies most forcibly to the subject in question. We find that παλαιος ανθρωπος, the old man, used here, and in Ephesians 4:22, and Colossians 3:9, is the same as the flesh with its affections and lusts, Galatians 5:24; and the body of the sins of the flesh, Colossians 2:11; and the very same which the Jewish writers term הקדמוני אדם , Adam hakkadmoni, the old Adam; and which they interpret by הרע יצר yetsar hara, "evil concupiscence," the same which we mean by indwelling sin, or the infection of our nature, in consequence of the fall. From all which we may learn that the design of God is to counterwork and destroy the very spirit and soul of sin, that we shall no longer serve it, δουλευειν, no longer be its slaves. Nor shall it any more be capable of performing its essential functions than a dead body can perform the functions of natural life.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

Knowing this - We all knowing this. All Christians are supposed to know this. This is a new illustration drawn from the fact that by his crucifixion our corrupt nature has been crucified also, or put to death; and that thus we should be free from the servitude of sin.

Our old man - This expression occurs also in Ephesians 4:22, “That ye put off … the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” Colossians 3:9, “lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” From these passages it is evident that Paul uses the expression to denote our sinful and corrupt nature; the passions and evil propensities that exist before the heart is renewed. It refers to the love of sin, the indulgence of sinful propensities, in opposition to the new disposition which exists after the soul is converted, and which is called “the new man.”

Is crucified - Is put to death, as if on a cross. In this expression there is a personification of the corrupt propensities of our nature represented as “our old man,” our native disposition, etc. The figure is here carried out, and this old man, this corrupt nature, is represented as having been put to death in an agonizing and torturing manner. The pains of crucifixion were perhaps the most torturing of any that the human frame could bear. Death in this manner was most lingering and distressing. And the apostle here by the expression “is crucified” doubtless refers to the painful and protracted struggle which everyone goes through when his evil propensities are subdued; when his corrupt nature is slain; and when, a converted sinner, he gives himself up to God. Sin dies within him, and he becomes dead to the world, and to sin; “for as by the cross death is most lingering and severe, so that corrupt nature is not subdued but by anguish.” (Grotius.) All who have been born again can enter into this description. They remember “the wormwood and the gall.” They remember the anguish of conviction; the struggle of corrupt passion for the ascendency; the dying convulsions of sin in the heart; the long and lingering conflict before it was subdued, and the soul became submissive to God. Nothing will better express this than the lingering agony of crucifixion: and the argument of the apostle is, that as sin has produced such an effect, and as the Christian is now free from its embrace and its power, he will live to God.

With him - The word “with” σύν sunhere is joined to the verb “is crucified” and means “is crucified as he was.”

That the body of sin - This expression doubtless means the same as that which he had just used, “our old man,” But why the term “body” is used, has been a subject in which interpreters have not been agreed. Some say that it is a Hebraism, denoting mere intensity or emphasis. Some that it means the same as flesh, that is, denoting our sinful propensities and lusts. Grotius thinks that the term “body” is elegantly attributed to sin, because the body of man is made up of many members joined together compactly, and sin also consists of numerous vices and evil propensities joined compactly, as it were, in one body. But the expression is evidently merely another form of conveying the idea contained in the phrase “our old man” - a personification of sin as if it had a living form, and as if it had been put to death on a cross. It refers to the moral destruction of the power of sin in the heart by the gospel, and not to any physical change in the nature or faculties of the soul; compare Colossians 2:11.

Might be destroyed - Might be put to death; might become inoperative and powerless. Sin becomes enervated, weakened, and finally annihilated, by the work of the Cross.

We should not serve - Should not be the slave of sin δουλεύειν douleueinThat we should not be subject to its control. The sense is, that before this we were slaves of sin (compare Romans 6:17,) but that now we are made free from this bondage, because the moral death of sin has freed us from it.

Sin - Sin is here personified as a master that had dominion over us, but is now dead.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Baptism teaches the necessity of dying to sin, and being as it were buried from all ungodly and unholy pursuits, and of rising to walk with God in newness of life. Unholy professors may have had the outward sign of a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness, but they never passed from the family of Satan to that of God. The corrupt nature, called the old man, because derived from our first father Adam, is crucified with Christ, in every true believer, by the grace derived from the cross. It is weakened and in a dying state, though it yet struggles for life, and even for victory. But the whole body of sin, whatever is not according to the holy law of God, must be done away, so that the believer may no more be the slave of sin, but live to God, and find happiness in his service.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

6. Knowing this. Contrast “Know ye not?” (v. 3). Recognition of the vital union referred to comes from an understanding of the meaning and purpose of Christ’s death and resurrection, as Paul now explains further.

Our old man. That is, our former self in the old corrupt and sinful condition. Paul’s use of this expression elsewhere illuminates his meaning here (see Eph. 4:22, 23; Col. 3:9).

Is crucified. Rather, “was crucified.” The reference is to the experience of the believer when he first accepted Christ, renounced his evil past, and died to sin. Contrasting his former with his present state, Paul felt that he was like another being and had undergone a change as complete as that of death. His old self had passed away. He now was a new man in Christ, and Christ dwelt in him (see 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20).

This passage emphasizes the fact that conversion and rebirth mean more than a mere change of profession and habits of life. They involve a radical change in the inner man, which can be wrought only by the regenerating Spirit of God. The plan for man’s salvation brings not only deliverance from condemnation through acceptance of the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice, it brings also the birth or creation of a new self free from the slavery of sin.

The profound significance of the rite of baptism as here explained is clear evidence that infant baptism in no way fulfills the Lord’s purpose in ordaining this rite. It is the intelligent participation in the meaning of the symbolism that brings to the believer the blessing that was intended. He meditates upon each step in the process and thinks to himself, “Now I am entering into fellowship with Christ in His death. As I am immersed, I am being buried with Christ. As I emerge from the water, I am rising to the new life in Christ.” The ceremony is thus no empty, outward form, but a confirming and transforming experience that is ever remembered as symbolic of the end of the old life of sin and the beginning of the new life of righteousness in union with Christ.

The body of sin. That is, the body as the seat of sin, the body belonging to and ruled by the power of sin, in which the members are instruments of unrighteousness (v. 13). Similar expressions elsewhere are “the body of this death” (ch. 7:24), meaning, “the body that is doomed to die”; “the body of the sins of the flesh” (Col. 2:11), meaning, “the body that is prone to serve its own carnal impulses.” Thus “the body of sin” is equivalent to “our old man.” It represents the body, so far as it is the seat and instrument of sin and the slave of sin. It must be crucified and “destroyed,” so that sin may no longer use it as a slave.

Destroyed. Gr. katargeÅÂ, the same word used in ch. 3:3, where it is translated “make Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ without effect.” Compare the use of the word in chs. 3:31; 4:14. KatargeÅÂ implies bringing the body of sin to a state of inertness and disability. This does not mean, of course, that the physical body is to be destroyed, but that the body in its relation to sin is to be rendered as thoroughly inert and motionless as if it were dead.

Serve sin. Or, “be enslaved to sin” (see v. 17). To live in sin (v. 2) is to be in bondage to its power. Jesus taught that “whosoever committeth sin is the servant [slave] of sin” (John 8:34), but that the truth can set men free from its bondage (v. 32). It is through the impulses of the flesh that sin exercises its dominion and holds man under its control. Therefore, the old self must be “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20), so that the believer may be freed from sin’s evil sway.

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Ellen G. White
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 258

There is need that much time be spent in secret prayer, in close communion with God. Thus only can victories be won. Eternal vigilance is the price of safety. CT 258.1

The Lord's covenant is with His saints. Everyone is to discern his weak points of character and guard against them with vigor. Those who have been buried with Christ in baptism, and been raised in the likeness of His resurrection, have pledged themselves to live in newness of life. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4. CT 258.2

The Christian youth should be trained to bear responsibilities with brave heart and willing hand. He should learn to encounter the trials of life with patience and fortitude, to follow maxims of worth, and to confirm himself in habits that will enable him to win the victor's crown. There is no time more favorable in which to acknowledge the power of Christ's saving grace and to be controlled by the principles of the divine law. CT 258.3

Wherever in His providence God has placed you, He will keep you. “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Deuteronomy 33:25. CT 258.4

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Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6 (EGW), 1115

All who seek to sustain the doctrine of election, once in grace, always in grace, do this against a plain, “Thus saith the Lord.” ... [Ezekiel 18:21; 33:13 quoted.] 6BC 1115.1

Those who have been truly converted have been buried with Christ in the likeness of His death, and raised from the watery grave in the likeness of His resurrection, to walk in newness of life. By faithful obedience to the truth they are to make their calling and election sure (Manuscript 57, 1900). 6BC 1115.2

6 (ch. 2:7; see EGW on Matthew 3:16, 17; Luke 17:10; Ephesians 1:20, 21; Hebrews 4:15, 16; 9:24). Exalting Christ's Character—The most gifted men on the earth could all find abundant employment, from now until the judgment, for all their God-given powers, in exalting the character of Christ. But they would still fail to present Him as He is. The mysteries of redemption, embracing Christ's divine-human character, His incarnation, His atonement for sin, could employ the pens and the highest mental powers of the wisest men from now until Christ shall be revealed in the clouds of heaven in power and great glory. But though these men should seek with all their power to give a representation of Christ and His work, the representation would fall far short of the reality.... 6BC 1115.3

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Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7 (EGW), 908

(Ephesians 6:16.) Shielded From the Darts of the Enemy—When self is hid in Jesus, we are shielded from the darts of the enemy (Letter 16a, 1895). 7BC 908.1

5. See EGW on 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. 7BC 908.2

8. See EGW on Hebrews 12:1. 7BC 908.3

10. See EGW on Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 10:5; Hebrews 1:3. 7BC 908.4

20, 21. See EGW on Ephesians 6:4. 7BC 908.5

23. See EGW on Mark 12:30. 7BC 908.6

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Ellen G. White
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, 98-9

It is not well for one church to depend upon borrowing robes from another. Often when the robes are needed, they are not to be found; some borrower has neglected to return them. Every church should provide for its own necessities in this line. Let a fund be raised for this purpose. If the whole church unite in this, it will not be a heavy burden. 6T 98.1

The robes should be made of substantial material, of some dark color that water will not injure, and they should be weighted at the bottom. Let them be neat, well-shaped garments, made after an approved pattern. There should be no attempt at ornamentation, no ruffling or trimming. All display, whether of trimming or ornaments, is wholly out of place. When the candidates have a sense of the meaning of the ordinance, they will have no desire for personal adornment. Yet there should be nothing shabby or unseemly, for this is an offense to God. Everything connected with this holy ordinance should reveal as perfect a preparation as possible. 6T 98.2

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