Sin as a State of Being

It is enlightening to realise that in the New Testament, the verb form of the word “sin” only appears 19 percent of the time. The other 81 percent is the noun form of the word “sin”. This means that the majority of the time, the New Testament is referring to sin as a state of being, rather than something that a person does.

Romans 6:6 says that the body of sin has been done away with. The Message translation uses the term “our old way of life”, which is says was nailed to the cross with Christ. Therefore, we are no longer at sin's every beck and call! The Living Bible puts it this way:

⁶ Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin's control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin;

Romans 6:6 TLB

Vincent’s Word Studies includes the following explanation of this verse in relation to the phrase “body of sin”:

The phrase body of sin denotes the body belonging to, or ruled by, the power of sin, in which the members are instruments of unrighteousness (Romans 6:13).

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says the following in relation to “body of sin” pertaining to this verse:

That the body of sin - This expression doubtless means the same as that which he had just used, “our old man,” But why the term “body” is used, has been a subject in which interpreters have not been agreed. Some say that it is a Hebraism, denoting mere intensity or emphasis. Some that it means the same as flesh, that is, denoting our sinful propensities and lusts. Grotius thinks that the term “body” is elegantly attributed to sin, because the body of man is made up of many members joined together compactly, and sin also consists of numerous vices and evil propensities joined compactly, as it were, in one body. But the expression is evidently merely another form of conveying the idea contained in the phrase “our old man” - a personification of sin as if it had a living form, and as if it had been put to death on a cross. It refers to the moral destruction of the power of sin in the heart by the gospel, and not to any physical change in the nature or faculties of the soul; compare Col. 2:11.

I believe that we can look at Romans 6:6 as meaning that the corrupt, sinful nature of man in its entirety has been nailed to the cross, and therefore, no longer finds its place in the heart of the believer. This inner transformation was prophesied by Ezekiel 11:19-20.