Great Doctrines of the Bible
Lesson 14
The Believer’s Two Natures

Introduction
Millions of new believers in Christ are startled and discouraged, often to the point of utter despair, when, shortly after making a profession of faith, they find themselves tormented and tempted with the same weaknesses and tendencies displayed prior to their conversion. Why? Why does the battle never end? Why the ceaseless warfare within us? Is there no permanent peace? Can the battle ever be won? The purpose of this study is not only to present the reason for this constant conflict, but how victory and peace can be attained.

Importance of this Lesson

• To avoid bewildering confusion and heart-breaking dismay, it is vastly important that all new converts be carefully instructed concerning the believer’s two natures. Even Christians, saved for many years, often fail to grasp this fact. Some have taught erroneously that whenever one is saved or sanctified, he loses his old nature and cannot sin anymore. This teaching has led some to suicide and others to mental institutions.
• However, the clear biblical teaching that all believers have two natures does not provide anyone with the license to sin. Victory is available, as we shall see; however, Christians, themselves, cannot understand, explain their conflicts, be aware of an ongoing battle, walk in the Spirit, avail themselves of His delivering power, or reckon themselves to be dead to sin until they become aware of and understand this important truth.

Include this form on your page

The Lesson

I. ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE BORN WITH AND POSSESS A FALLEN SINFUL NATURE
Its Origin

1. In the beginning God created a perfect world and a perfect man and woman (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 31).
2. God never made a robot. He made Adam and Eve with the ability to choose. They chose to rebel against their creator and His Word. (Read Genesis 3:1-6.)
3. As a consequence, sin and death entered the world.
   1. Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
   2. 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die….”
4. Adam’s sin resulted in the moral ruin of the human race and all human beings since then have possessed Adam’s fallen, sinful nature.
   1. Romans 3:23, “For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
   2. Isaiah 53:6, “ALL we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;…”
   3. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are ALL as an unclean thing, and ALL our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.…”
   4. Romans 3:9, “…for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are ALL under sin.” There are no exceptions.

II. THE BIBLE STATES CLEARLY GOD’S ANALYSIS OF ALL HUMAN NATURE

1. Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.…”
2. Romans 3:9-12, “…They are all under sin…There is none righteous…none that understandeth…none that seeketh after God…They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
3. Job 15:16, “How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?”
4. Psalm 14:1-3, “…They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good…They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy.…”
5. Ephesians 2:1-3, all are “…dead in trespasses and sin; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath….”

III. THE BIBLE CONTAINS NAMES FOR THIS SINFUL HUMAN NATURE

1. The NATURAL MAN (1 Corinthians 2:14).
2. The FLESH (John 3:6; Romans 13:14; Romans 7:25).
3. The OLD MAN (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9; Romans 6:6).
4. The ADAMIC NATURE (1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12). While the phrase “adamic nature” is not specifically used, it is clearly implied.

IV. THE BIBLE PRESENTS CERTAIN DEFINITE CHARACTERISTICS OF FALLEN HUMAN NATURE

1. Deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).
2. Corrupt (Ephesians 4:22; Psalm 14:1).
3. Sinful from the beginning:
   1. Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Conception is not the sin. We are simply born with sinful natures.
   2. Psalm 58:3, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
   3. Genesis 8:21, “…The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth;…”
   4. At enmity with God (Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21; James 4:4).
   5. Totally unprofitable (John 6:63; Romans 3:12).
   6. Has three incapabilities:
      1. It cannot OBEY God (Romans 8:7). It is a state of rebellion.
      2. It cannot PLEASE God (Romans 8:8). The FLESH can do nothing that is pleasing to a holy God.
      3. It cannot UNDERSTAND God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Human nature is BLIND to spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:11).
   7. Consequently, all human beings without Christ are LOST (Isaiah 53:6), CONDEMNED (John 3:18), and abiding under God’s wrath (John 3:36).

V. BUT – AND HERE WE MUST SHOUT “HALLELUJAH” – CHRIST CAME TO GIVE ALL MEN A NEW LIFE, A NEW NATURE, A SPIRITUAL NATURE

1. 2 Peter 1:4 – We are made partakers of the divine nature.
2. That “divine nature” is the very nature of Christ.
   1. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “…if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE (creation)….”
   2. Galatians 2:20, “…yet not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME.…”
   3. Romans 13:14, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,…”
3. Christ came into the world to make His life available to all.
   1. John 10:10, “…I am come that they might have life….”
   2. 1 John 5:12, “He that hath the SON hath LIFE….”
   3. Ephesians 3:17, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;”
   4. Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear….”
4. In contrast to our old, sinful, human nature, this life of Christ in us is called THE NEW MAN.
   1. Colossians 3:10, “And have put on THE NEW MAN, which is renewed in knowledge….”
   2. Ephesians 4:24, “And that ye put on THE NEW MAN, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
5. Therefore, every human being who repents toward God and puts his faith in Christ as his Lord and Savior, becomes the possessor of a completely new nature, a spiritual nature, a divine nature – and that nature is the very life of Christ imparted to every believer by the Holy Spirit. This is what is meant by being BORN AGAIN (John 1:12; 3:3-8; 1 Peter 1:23).

VI. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT THERE IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE (until we receive our glorified bodies at Christ’s coming) A CONSTANT WARFARE BETWEEN THESE TWO NATURES

1. NEVER, in the Bible, is there any teaching that anyone under any circumstances can lose his old, sinful human nature.
   1. The teaching that – by being sanctified, Spirit-filled, baptized in or with the Spirit, or fully consecrated – a person loses his old nature, is totally false, misleading, without biblical foundation, and often demoralizing and destructive.
   2. The phrase, “A change of heart” is not found in scripture.
   3. Also, nowhere in the Bible is there the slightest suggestion that our old natures are ever refined, renovated, renewed or improved.
   4. Rather, as we shall see, it was positionally crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6), and we are by faith to reckon it dead (Romans 6:11).
2. Note clearly the warfare that exists:
   1. Romans 7:15-25, “…For what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I…it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me…in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing… For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do… I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me…” (Read this entire passage carefully and prayerfully, and note how it describes your own experience.)
      ¨ While Romans 8:2 reveals the source of victory, Romans 7, nevertheless, remains as an illustration of this perplexing warfare within every genuine believer.
   2. Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh lusteth (warreth) against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” And the problem is that within every believer, there are two natures diametrically opposed to each other and at constant war with each other. The question is, can a believer ever have victory? Is there ever any peace? Can the battle ever be won?

VII. AND, HERE AGAIN, WE MUST SHOUT A LOUD “HALLELUJAH”

1. The believer is not left alone to fight this battle. The blessed Holy Spirit comes to dwell with and in all who place their trust in Christ.
   1. John 14:16-17
   2. Romans 8:11, 15-16
   3. Galatians 4:6
   4. Romans 8:9
      (Read these verses carefully and study them.)
2. It is the Holy Spirit who makes the new life we have in Christ a reality and frees us by His power from the domination of the old life of sin.
   1. Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
   2. John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth…” (or gives life).
   3. Romans 8:4, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
   4. Galatians 5:16, “…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
      • As the believer recognizes the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life and daily relies upon His power, he walks in victory! While temptations arise, he will not “obey the lusts of the flesh.” Instead, the 9-fold fruit of the Spirit will be evident. (Read Galatians 5:17-25.)
3. There are additional means and sources of power for victory over human nature:
   1. THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD.
      1. John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth….”
      2. Ephesians 5:26, “That He might…cleanse it with the washing of water, by the word.”
      3. Psalm 119:9, 11, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word…Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”
         • THEREFORE, reading, studying and reveling in the Word is a powerful means of victory over sin.
   2. THE POWER OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
      1. 1 John 1:7 – It “cleanseth us from all sin.”
      2. Hebrews 10:19 – Through the mighty redemption and power of His shed blood, we have direct access to God! What a great source of victory!
      3. Revelation 12:11 – We overcome by the blood. While we here are not studying Satan and his operation, his appeal is to our fleshly nature and by the blood of Jesus we can prevail.
   3. THE POWER OF PRAYER.
      1. James 5:16 – It availeth much.
      2. Philippians 4:6-7 – Prayer removes anxieties, fleshly concerns and brings peace.
      3. James 4:2 – “…ye have not, because ye ask not.”
      4. Luke 18:1 – “…men ought always to pray, and not faint;”
      5. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing.”
      6. Prayer releases the power of God and makes the Holy Spirit operative in our LIVES (Matthew 21:22). (Read also Romans 8:26-27).
4. FINALLY, THERE REMAINS THE TWO-FOLD RECKONING.
   1. When Christ died, potentially and positionally, our old sinful, corrupt adamic nature was “crucified with him…that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6).
   2. Just as we, by faith, claimed forgiveness and eternal life in Christ, so, by faith, we are to enter into the blessed victory of Calvary by reckoning our old nature to have died with Christ and to be dead! Romans 6:11 – “Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin….”
      • To RECKON (Romans 6:11), means to rely upon, to consider it to be a fact, and act accordingly. Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ….” Galatians 5:24, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh….”
   3. I am, therefore, to consider my old life or nature as being dead, having died with Christ. I am to put it off as I would an old, dirty garment and put on the new garment we have in Christ and make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10).
   4. But all of this is the NEGATIVE reckoning. On the positive side, we are just as responsible to reckon ourselves to be ALIVE UNTO GOD (Romans 6:11).
      • I have been made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1). By faith, I must reckon myself to be “alive unto God”; that is, alive to, open and receptive to, aware of, all that God is to me, has for me, and wants to do through me.
   5. This two-fold reckoning results in a constant awareness of God’s presence in our LIVES, a constant flow of the life and power of Christ through us, and the constant, effective ministry of the Holy Spirit in and upon us. It frees us from the dominion of “the law of sin and death.”

Conclusion:
Therefore, even though the most devout Christian is never totally free of the conflict within: we have the blood of Christ to cleanse from sin and to give us access to God. We can pray in the Spirit, releasing God’s power within us; and we can read and reflect upon the sanctifying Word of God. As long as we, by faith, can reckon our old man to have died with Christ and as long as we are able to walk in the Spirit – we are without excuse for not claiming blessed victory. The battle has been won! Peace and joy are ours for the taking. Christ died not only for our sins, but also for our sinful natures.

Be triumphant. Become a “living dead man” (Romans 12:1). Pray ceaselessly. Let the Spirit take complete control. Claim the power of a risen life (Romans 6:4). Possess your possessions in Christ and be “alive unto God.” Say with Paul, “Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20).

I pray that God will anoint this lesson and make it a special blessing to your life.

Examination

This is the end of this lesson. In order to proceed with the examination, you must be preregistered* as a student with Rogma International. If you are ready to proceed with the examination, click one of the buttons below:

This version is recommended if you have a reliable internet connection. The exam must be completed during your open session, otherwise you risk losing any answers that you may have already completed.		If you are unable to complete the exam online, we suggest that you download this Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the exam and write your answers in the body of an e-mail message to your assigned grader.

* Although registration is not required, registered students can earn a Certificate of Accomplishment, Certificate of Achievement, or a Diploma. In addition, registered students are assigned a personal grader who will monitor their ongoing progress. If you would like to register first, click below. A student identification number and access codes will be e-mailed to you within a few business days. Click to register.