The question we are dealing with is, Does theChristian have orle, or tslo natwes; has the oldulnr been emdicated, or not? I believe there aretwo keys that unlock the saiptr:r'al answer. Thecne is the doctri,:ne of the two men,and thesther is the doctrine of poeition. Firet, we shatrl

esnsider the trro men--the two Adams whomnstitute the foundation of all God's dealingsr*"ith humanity.

I. TffiE DOSMTINE OF THE TWO MEN.."THEflft,Sf MAN"--When "the first man, Adarn,"si:rned, he died positianally--totally dead to God:spirit, soul, and bdy. Thereafter his position wasm.an:fested in his c*ndition; he began to die*xpiendatly" ln God's mercli, it was some ?00

F*ars bef*r* Adqnn fully experienced thein*rital-l* sur**ffie of his position of death.

Adam, as head of the human race, took all ofhumanity int* ihai p*sition of death. " In Ad.am alldie" (I Crr. l"S:22). AIl in Adam have his life andrberefcre are "by nature the children of \firrath"{[ph. t:3]. The Ad*rnic life is the Bourca af sin in€1'e:T-sne, whether unsaved or saved (Rom. 5:12).

Bue *o the fall, A.lam beeame "flesh"--nat only inM.3', but in soul and spirit as well. "My Spirits&eJJ rrot always *triue witlz man, for ttwt lw alaor* fresh' (Gen. 6:3). Hence, the race spawned byAdam and Eve is "flesh.u "Thnt whith i* born oftlz* flesh ia flesh" (.Iohn 3:6). It is not that thenat'ural r:!an has flesh, or is in the condition off?esh; he is {lesh.

P*ul wrcte, For I krww

*'ell that he said "*y"

tlwt. in me {that is, in mything" (Rom. 7:18). Noteflesh. As a believer Paul

was mdwelt by his Adamic [ife, the old man, andhe assumed full responsibilitl' for his sinfulactions.

In his position Paul was not "in the flesh," but"in Christ Jesus." Still, in his condition hisAdandc life was present $dth him, and he ownedfull responsibility for its sinfulness. He said,"Whatsoeuera mon sowet'h, tlwt shallhe olsa rffip.For he thilt soweth ta hia flesh shall af tfu fleshrcap mrruption" (Gal. 6:7,8). He also said that thebeliever wiil, at the Bema, suffer loss for thefleshly deeds done in the body.

Bacause the first Adam sinned and became mortalflesh, he was superseded by the spiritual LastAdam, the "new il'Ian." This constitutedcondemned Adarn the "old man." The fallen Adam

is the old man, he is the flesh; he possesses a

sinful nature. One courplete man.

Thc \Yord speaks of the activities of the old man,

both in the unsavcd and the saved, as "the rYill of

the flesh, the dcsircs of the flesh, the rvorkingeof the flesh, the wisdom of the fiesh, thepurnlcsss of the flesh, tbe rvarring of the flesh,

the glorying of the flesh," It also refers to those

rviro "rvalk eccording to the fle sh, after tha flesh,

and make a fair etrorv in the flesh." Her.e we have

the personification of the old man--identicallymanifested before and after one's salvation.

A rnan is e substantive entity, a perrcn- The

mits, or characterisfics, of B rtran are non-

substantive, and comprise his nature. A nature iss compoeition of attributeo, and is not to be

considered n substantive entity' Some of the

"pooitive" fieshly characteristies of the old man,

aspects of the old nature, ffie love, joy, peacen

I ongsuffe"ing, gentlenes s, goodne ss, faithfulne s s,

meeKness, ano se[-control. HolYever lovely, tnese

are but fleshly facsimiles of the firuit of the Spirit.

On the other hand, some of the negative fleshlycharacteristics of the old man, aspects of thatsame old nature indwelling every man, are" adultery,fornieation, uncleanness, lasciviousness,idolahry, hatred, strife, jealousy, unzth, factions,seditions, heresies, envyings, murders,dnrnkenness, revelings, and the like."

Beautiful and beneficial as the positive

cha:acteristics of the flesh may be, all, includingL;th the positive and the negative, are rejected of*,:C. \t'h1'? Because their source is the condemned

i:iruc iife. For "in me (that is, in my flesh)j;'ill*ih no gccC thing."

TIJE SECO\T }L}i'" (the Last Adam)--Who can

i ::.'.' ::rt the Lord Jesus has fivo natrrres? And if:r.':, r:i';res. t;'0 lives: He is the Son of God, and3' -; li:* S.rr c': ]lan. He is perfect God and

= '-'- - \f-- l*:-{;-:r-" -rrrri -rr h3postaric union--the oneness of

! lzlr'- v -U -rl$Il.

The, blessed aspeets of the lord Jesus' divine-buuan life and nature ara His love, His joy, Hisp:ace, His longsuffefug, His gentleness, Hisg+sdness, ftris faithfulness, His meekness, and Hisseif-control. All positive--no negative. He rvas and

is, and ever shall be, impeccable.

[I. THE DOCTBINE OF PCSITION..HMFOSITION FACf0B--Consider the believer'spositional history. Before antthing was broughtinto being--the universe, the world, Adam--I, a

chosen, elect, and called person was conceived inm1" Father's heart and purpose (See Eph" 1:4,5;

2 Tim. L:9; Ps. 139:16.)

My Father called the world into being, andcreated Adam to be head of the human race fmthat world. I was identified positionally with thesourice of hunanity. When Adau' sinned audthereby positioually died to God, I died in hirn.When he became flesh, I becane Ilesh in hirn.When he was condemned I was condemned iBhim.

?he rejected old Adam \ras rreplaced by theaccepted new Maa, the Last Adam. When theFather sent His only begotten $on into the worldHe subjectsd rlim to the death of the Closs inorder to rescue me &om rny Adamie death,because He loved me as His chosen one from alletenrity.

While the Lamb of God was on the C\,oss, myFather laid all my as-yet-trncomnitted sins uporHim, and His death for those sins fued me foomtheir penalty. While the [.ord Jesus was on thesame Chss the Father id.entifred rtre, in myAdamic life of sin, with His Son who was made tobe that sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Ia Him, I died unto sin.

[, the sinful one, was aot fmgiven--my sins wereforgiven, but not the cld rnap, the source of thosesins. "M send,irtg His awn,Son in t?w lihsnfisa ofsinful flesh o,nd for sin,eondcrnrr,d sin in tlwflesho (Rou. 8:3). I was uot forgiven in order tostart all over as a first-Adam petisoa. No; "I was

rucified with Christ.* I died unto sin in Him" Inthat death I was positioaally separated foom myAdamic life, the souree of sin. The l"ord Jesus'

death for me rredeemed me foomthe penalty of mysins; my positional death with Him freed me fromthe condemned Adamic life and its reign.

As "his (God's) worhanship, (newly) created inChdst Jesus" (Eph. 2:10), I naay be progressively

&eed frrm the rreien of indwellinn Adamic sin in

t.I'tjl t,(rLl,l.&LUrVU, gD I lg\rAlrtl .llrJ$trlt tlgtllt.I JJltl,ggrl I

sh but alive unto ffi in Christ (fiom 6:11).

MY ESSH\ITIAL IDBIIITF My Father, ineternity pa*, formed me positbnally as anindividual in His mind. He fomed me ectually(mndition), at a later date, in my mother's womb.Tte fall did not trnmake me as a man, a particularperson; my newbirth does not unmake me as thatman. What is inhinsic to my personhood I neverlose; my identity is never changed.

TYhatever cha4ge I pass thruugh in my new birthas to spirit and soul, whatever change awaits mybody at the Baptrre, I shall rever lose myessential identity with who my Father c,onceived

me to h before the foundation of the worl{ IVIy

sucifrxion with the Lond Jesus did not afrect myunique identity as newly created in Christ Jesus.Eather, it deshoyed positionally all that I was inthe fleshly Adam. "Behol4 old things are passed

away,u positionally.

Somans 6S sets forth doctuinally, andpositionally, what happened to me as identifiedwith the Lord Jesus in His death unto sin on theCloss. Paul wrote, "Krwwing this, thfrt our old,

nwn was cnrcifud with Hitn, tlwt tlu W of sinmtght b dpstrcyd, thnt lwnrefarth we slwuld, wtBerae sin."

I, the old Adamic rnnpr was mrcifi,ed with Him,that the body of sin Gin in tota) might be

destnoyed, condemned in death-not forgiven. Ithe sinful one was ondemned in the death of theChss in ornder that I night be re-crreated in therisen life of the Last Adam.

SliF-NATLIRISIW--Before goiqg on with ourpmitional hirto*y, we shall deal briefly with the*cae-nahre"

errcr. The teaching ofthe eradication

oI the old man" Is cent€red in a wrongunderstanding of Romans 6:6, mainly through theinJluence of Arminian and Covenant theology.

Here is where the growing number of those whor:eject or misunderstand positional ruth have

falter.ed and fallen.

The sriptural contexl of Romans 6:1-10 ispositional, judicial. The "one natur€" teachingviews verse 6 as experiential and actual. Hence, itis rnaintained that the old man is actuallyrucifred and gone--eradicated. Yet this view

adm.its to indwelling sin in the believer. Some say

it is a residual inJtruence from the pre-salvation

life, along with accumulated habits. Therefore,

some advocate the forming of new habits tocounteract and replace the old sinful ones. This isa fomn of legalisny'behaviorism.

Obher "one-nature" prcponents insist that whilethe old man is eradicated, and the body of sin

actually desfooyed, sin rem,ains in the believer.

This "energy force" of sin then ivorks through the

soul, with the permission of the will. (It seems tobe forgotten that the man in Romans Seven was

willing with all his might not to sinl) Sin working

thrcugh the soul and body is referred to as the

"condition of flesh."

But the Wonl teaches that "fle sh" is a peraon, not

a confition. "Fathers of our flesh" (Heb. 12:9)

pruduce progeny of flesh. Belief in the eradication

of the old man tends to relieve the Christian of

much of his responsibility concerning the activity

of his fleshly {damic life. He is wont to place the

blame on Satan, ffid upon tendencies developed

prior to salvation.

This is the trux of the matten it is not possible for

the eource of sin (the old man) to be eradicated,

while retaining sin itself. Effect must have a

ffirr*e: If you have sin, you have its sotrrce, i.e.,*e Adamic old man. Paul exhorts the believer to*pr* off..Jhe old man, which is cormpt aeordingts the deeeidul lusts " (Eph. 4:22). He does not tellthe believer to put off what is not in residenee!

"He that hath the Son, hath [ife; he that hath notthe Son of God hath not life" (I John 5:12). On theother hand, He that hath the Adamic old man,bath sin; he that hath not the Adamic old man,hath not sin.

Back Bow to our positional history. Positionallyfued fram the Adamie life through my death untosis i:r the Lord Jesus, the Father was at liberty toi**nffi the es*ntial me with His Son, srd in Hisre*Irl:rectioa I was re-mated, alive unto C'od inf,*s- SflLea He arose, "the beginning of the (new)

reaeim. of Crod" (Bev. 3;14), I amse with [Iim inEffis***s sf lif*-a to*ally rrew cneatioa.

1&* tle Ld Jesus, aow Head of the new*wlq reded t* the right hand of His Father,t{* tnn& me :ri*b lli&. The Father, having re-*re#se m* ir His Son, raised me up with Him,and ma& me sit in heavenly places in Him.

I was separated. by death (positionrlly) fuom theGrsfi Adas to be re-mated in union with the t ast

Adam in His sucifixion, burial, resurection andascensioa" ln Him I became a totallyne\r creation.Old Adamie things positionally passed away inthe death of Calvary. In my condition, they arepassiqg away as I grow spiritually. Acttrally, theywill totally and eternally pass away at my death*r atthe Rapturre--whicheven comes frEt. Even so,

srae t ord Jesus!

There I *m in my position, uHd with Christ in*&d." In the Lord Jesus, I am accepted in theSeloved, complete in IIim, entirely sanctilied in

Him, perfect in Him. All of that, and morr, hasbeen held in spiritual escrrw ever since the Onervho is my Life ascended to the right hand of thefather. All hnd ta be mmpletd psitionally beforca single Christian er,sted* bemuse Chnationity rs

faunded uryn the finixhed work of the IndJesusClzrist.

fF{S CO}i-SffiON FACI'OR--Born into thisworld in the life and image of the first Adam, Igrew up a cond.emned sinner, dead in trespasses

and sins. In His own time and purpose the Fathercalled me, and by FIis grace tr responded in faitb,responsibly accepting the Lord Jesus as rnySaviour. At that moment the Holy Spirit, by Hisindwelling, brought the life of the Lord Jesus to be

my Christian life. Then and there I entered intomy position as a new seation iu the Last Adam,with my old Adamic life stiU abiding in my body ofmortal flesh. Remove that life and the Adamicb*dy dies, for both unsaved and saved.

In the Spirit's tirne, I came to realize thepcsitional facts in the lVord concenring me. I sarv

that I had died unto sin at the Cross, cntcifiedwith the Lard Jesus. In tirno I learned not tostrugglc against the old man within, but to countby faith upon the pooitionel truth of the Cboss: Ias a new crcation had been taken out of the flesh,

and been re-reat*d in union with the risen LordJesus, seated at the Father's right hand in glory.

Abide atrcve!

As I reckon my new self positionally dead untosin, the Holy Spirit progrcssively applies thatfinished position to my gryowing condition' Iexperience step by step the freedom fnrm thercign of indwelling sin that was n'rought at

Calvarl'. My condition begins to conforot to itssourre, nny position.

-*.*'*'ise, reckoning upon my position as "alive

;:1i0 God in Christ Jesus," the Holy Spirit centerc

m1' heart and mind upon the One who is myChristian life. As I behold Him by means of the\ford, in personal fellowship and worchip, the

Spirit develops that completed life with ever-

nreasing growfh, slowly conforming me to the

mage of the Son.

At the Rapture, I will receive my renewed body,

Iike His glorious body. Then, but not until then,

ml' body of mortal flesh \yill be instantlynansformed into my spiritual body. The old man*'ill finally be eradicated, and I will be in eternal

r,:ndition what has been my position since my

teath and resuntction in Hirn at Calvary--yes,

snce My Father formed me in His heart in*lernity past.