Upon conversion, however, we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). But the problem of reconciliation then shifts to the self and to those two components the New Testament refers to as “the flesh” and “the spirit.” How? After conversion our will and conscious intent are for God or “the spiritual,” as we’ve seen with Simon Peter. But the layer upon layer of life experience that is embedded in our bodies, as living organisms born and bred in a world set against or without God, doesn’t directly and immediately follow the shift of our conscious will. It largely retains the tendencies in which it has so
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