LESSON: ARE WE STILL A "SINNER" AFTER SALVATION IN THE BODY OF CHRIST?
BY SOLA SCRIPTURA AND APOSTLE PAUL'S DOCTRINE
PREFACE
One of the most common statements heard in religion is:
"I am just a saved sinner."
But is that how Apostle Paul identifies members of the Body of Christ?
The issue is not whether we have sinned in the past, or whether we can still commit sins in the flesh.
The issue is identity.
What does God call those who are in Christ?
Do we remain identified as sinners, or has God given us a completely new identity?
Let us allow Apostle Paul to answer.
WE WERE SINNERS
Paul never denies our former condition.
Romans 5:8
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Notice the past condition:
"while we were yet sinners."
Before salvation we were:
Lost
Condemned
Dead in sins
Children of wrath
Ephesians 2:1-3
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."
That was our former identity.
NOW WE ARE SAINTS
After salvation Paul consistently calls believers:
Saints
Brethren
Sons
Heirs
Members of the Body of Christ
Paul never opens an epistle with:
"To the sinners at Corinth."
Instead he writes:
1 Corinthians 1:2
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints."
Ephesians 1:1
"To the saints which are at Ephesus."
God's description of saved believers is saints, not sinners.
WE ARE A NEW CREATURE
Salvation is not merely forgiveness.
It is a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
A new creature is not merely an improved sinner.
A new creature is a completely new identity in Christ.
A tighter Pauline wording would be:
THE OLD MAN WAS CRUCIFIED AND BURIED WITH CHRIST
Paul teaches that the old man was not merely improved or reformed. He was crucified, buried, and put away through Christ's death.
Romans 6:6
"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed..."
Romans 6:4
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death..."
The sinner that we were in Adam was judged at the cross.
Our old identity was crucified with Christ and buried with Him.
God no longer sees us in Adam, but in Christ.
We are now identified with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
Colossians 3:3
"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
The old man is not being repaired.
The old man was crucified and buried.
The believer is now a new creature in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
SIN STILL DWELLS IN OUR FLESH
This is where many become confused.
🚨👉Paul does not teach sinless perfection.
🚨👉Believers can still sin.
🚨👉But Paul carefully distinguishes between the new man and the sinful flesh.
Romans 7:17
"Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."
Romans 7:18
"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing."
Notice the distinction:
The new man is in Christ.👈
Sin remains in the flesh.👈
The problem is not our position in Christ.
The problem is the flesh we still carry until we die or get raptured and given glorified bodies.
OUR POSITION IS RIGHTEOUS
God no longer sees us as condemned sinners.
He sees us in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
Not merely forgiven.
Not merely tolerated.
Made the righteousness of God in Him.
PAUL'S IDENTITY LANGUAGE
Paul repeatedly tells believers who they are:
Saints
New creatures
Sons
Heirs
Ambassadors
Members of Christ's Body
Sealed by the Holy Spirit
Never once does Paul command believers to identify themselves as "sinners."
Instead he tells them to live according to their new identity.
Ephesians 4:24
"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
CONCLUSION
According to Apostle Paul's doctrine:
✅ We were sinners before salvation.
✅ We can still commit sins in the flesh until we die or get raptured and receive glorified bodies.
✅ We are not sinlessly perfect.
But:
✅ Our identity is now saints.
✅ We are a new creature.
✅ We are members of the Body of Christ.
✅ We are the righteousness of God in Christ.
The believer should not identify with what he was in Adam.
The believer should identify with who he is now in Christ.
Romans 6:11
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The question is not:
"What was I?"
The question is:
"Who am I now in Christ?"