Here Paul continues to speak about what life looks like for this who are “in Christ” and are subsequently living in the "new way of the Spirit.” What Paul asserts is that this new life involves a new obligation. Not one that earns or merits God’s love for us but one that naturally arises from God’s love for us. The theological term used for what we are called to is “mortification.” By the power of the Spirit living within us, we are called to war against sinful impulses that come from within and belong to our former life, and also against temptations that come at us from outside of us. This process is about becoming who we already are in Christ.
