“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. — The basileia (dominion) of sin, though broken, still tempts; the body (σῶμα, soma) in its earthly mortality remains a site of moral struggle. Paul addresses the paradox: legally dead to sin yet still inhabiting bodies where sin whispers. Ethics flows from eschatology: the reign of sin is terminated, but believers must enforce that verdict through obedience.
Church Fathers on Romans 6:12
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof.” He does not say, let not the flesh live or act, but, “let not sin reign,” for He came not to destroy our nature, but to set our free choice aright. Then to show that it is not through any force or necessity that we are held down by iniquity, but willingly, he does not say, let it not tyrannize, a word that would imply a necessity, but let it not reign. For it is absurd for those…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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