Mortify therefore your members
Not your bodies, as the Ethiopic version reads, nor the members
of the natural body, but of the body of sin, indwelling sin;
which as a body consists of various members, which are parts of
it, rise out of it, and are used by it, as the members are by the
body; and intend the sins of the flesh, or sinful actions, which
are generally performed by the members of the natural body, in
which the law of sin is, and by which it operates; so that the
mortification the saints are here exhorted to, in consideration
of having a spiritual life in them, and a hope of eternal life in
Christ, from whence the apostle argues, is not a mortification or
destruction of the body of sin itself, or of the being and
principle of it in the soul, where it is, and lives, and dwells,
and will as long as the saints are in this tabernacle, but of the
deeds of the body, or of sinful actions, as to the life and
conversation; and signifies a denial of them, an abstinence from
them, and a non-performance of them; (See Gill on Romans
8:13). These members, or deeds of the body, or acts of
sin, are called "your": for as the old man is ours, the vitiosity
of nature is what we bring into the world with us, and is rooted
and incorporated into us; so the actions that flow from it, and
are done by it, are not to be ascribed to God, nor even to Satan,
but they are our own actions, and which are performed by the
members of our mortal body, or by the faculties of our souls: and
are,
which are on earth:
or earthly; are concerned about earthly things, the things of the
world, worldly lusts and pleasures, which rise out of earthly
mindedness, and incline unto it, and are only what are done here
on earth, and will have no place in heaven. The particulars of
which follow:
fornication;
the sin of uncleanness committed by single persons, or out of the
state of marriage, and which the Gentiles did not account sinful:
hence so much notice is taken of it, with a censure, and so
often, by the apostle, in almost all his epistles, and dehorted
from, as a sin against the body, as what disqualified for church
communion, and was not to be named among the saints, who should
be dead to that, and that to them, as to the commission of it.
Uncleanness;
of every sort, all other impure actions, as adultery, incest,
sodomy, and every other unnatural lust; all which should be
abstained from, and never committed by those who profess to be
alive unto God.
Inordinate affection;
which may intend the passions, or first motions of sin, stirred
up by the law, and which work in, and operate by the members of
the body, and bring forth fruit unto death, and therefore to be
opposed by such as have a life in Christ; and also those vile
affections, which some in a judicial way are given up unto, and
prevail with those who are effeminate, and abusers of themselves
with mankind, and which are to be abhorred and denied by all who
are heirs of the grace of life, and expectants of an heavenly
one.
Evil concupiscence;
so called to distinguish it from that natural concupiscence, or
desire after things lawful and necessary, and which is implanted
in nature by God himself; and from that spiritual concupiscence
or desire after spiritual things, and that lusting against the
flesh and carnal things, which is formed in the heart of a
regenerate man by the Spirit of God. It is the same with
(erh ruy) , "the evil
imagination", or corruption of nature so much spoken of by the
Jews. This here is what is forbidden by that law, "thou shalt not
covet", ( Exodus 20:17
) ; and includes every fleshly lust and inordinate desire, or
every desire after that which is not lawful, or does not belong
to a man; as what is another's property, his wife, or goods, or
anything that is his; and so very naturally follows,
covetousness;
an immoderate love of money, the root of all evil, an insatiable
desire of having more, and of having more than a man's own; and
is enlarged as hell, and as death is not satisfied, but still
craves more, without making any good use of what is possessed:
which is idolatry.
The covetous man, and the idolater, worship the same for matter
and substance, even gold and silver; the covetous man lays up his
money, makes no use of it, as if it was something sacred; he
looks at it, and adores it, and puts his trust and confidence in
it, and his heart is so much set upon it, that he neglects the
worship of the true God; and indeed no man can serve God and
mammon. Some think, that by this (pleonexia) rendered "covetousness", is meant, that
greedy desire after the commission of all uncleanness, and impure
actions, which were perpetrated by the followers of Simon Magus
in their religious assemblies, and under the notion of worship,
and as acceptable to God, and therefore called idolatry; and
which ought not to be once named, much less practised, among the
living members of Christ. Moreover, such filthy actions were
performed by the Gentiles in the worship of their deities.