Sometimes mixing two things together strengthens them to form a composite. Sometimes it weakens them. The latter seems to be the case here. It is not just that the Law is unable to do what is needed, it is that the Law, weakened by “the flesh” is unable to do. We might infer from what we have seen and what comes next that the result of “the Law” meeting “the flesh” is “sinful flesh”, like the result of a chemical reaction. Or alternatively consider how an entity might try to absorb and neutralise, overcome or improve another but actually is weakened by it. For example, West Germany suffered incredibly as the reunification with East Germany brought in regions with massive economic problems. What the Law was unable to do because The Flesh weakened it, God did. He did this by sending Jesus.
Note, Jesus was “in the likeness of sinful flesh” The wording is interesting on two counts. First, Paul says “in the likeness.” Wider context is important. Jesus was not simply appearing to be like a human, he was fully human but perhaps “in the likeness” causes us to pause. There is of course a significant difference. Jesus was not contaminated by sin, not culpable, he was not sinful, not a sinner. However, Paul chooses to say “sinful flesh” not merely “flesh” I suspect that here, he wants to make clear that Jesus came in the same manner or likeness as post-fallen Adam. He truly shared our nature. In that sense, sinful flesh is “condemned flesh Before we worry that this would make him culpable, it is important to remember that Romans 5 puts us under the penalty of death, distinguishing Adam’s one sin and its far reaching consequences from our own individual sin.
God’s method was to condemn sin in Jesus. He took sin on himself, elsewhere, Paul will say that Christ “became sin for us. Note too that it was sin and not Jesus that was condemned. This perhaps also gives us another sense in which sin is the alien interloper but here, sin has no power over Jesus. Instead, in Jesus, sin is defeated and condemned (v3). There is a purpose to this as well. The righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled but only for those who live or walk in the Spirit. What is this righteous requirement and how is it fulfilled? Well we will need to look at the next few verses
