Sermon for March 22, 2026, Fifth Sunday in Lent

Romans 8:1-11 (Fifth Sunday in Lent—Series A)

“Preserved in Body and Soul Forevermore”

Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Enfield, CT

March 22, 2026

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text is the Epistle Reading from Romans 8:

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus freed you from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law was unable to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as a sin offered, He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who are not walking according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those according to the Spirit on the things of the Spirit. ⁶For the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For the mindset of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not submit to the Law of God, for neither is it able. ⁸And those who are in the flesh are not able to please God. ⁹But you, you are not in flesh but in Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person is not His. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, on the one hand, the body is dead because of sin, and, on the other hand, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹And since the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life also to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Greek philosophers like Plato and others believed that the physical body was evil. But, in a person’s physical body dwelt a soul that was good. The goal of life, then, became to set the good soul free from the evil body because the physical body was a hindrance to the soul’s ascent to ultimate goodness. In the 2nd century A.D., the Gnostic worldview also considered that the physical body was bad and the soul was good. Death, then, was a blessing because it allowed the good soul to get rid of the bad body.

          And this concept of the good soul and bad body finds itself in our culture as well. Consider how often we hear phrases like “my body is just a shell” or “I can't wait to be rid of this earthly body.” These expressions are rooted in the Gnostic tradition inherited from Greek philosophy. Many people today cling to the idea that life is experienced most meaningfully in the “soul’s journey,” often discussing the body in dismissive terms. For instance, when someone passes away, people may say things like, “They are free now from their earthly body,” suggesting liberation from a flawed vessel. This connects back to the Greek thought that the body is merely a temporary home for a good soul, highlighting how this mindset still subtly influences our views on life and death today. In the midst of mourning a loved one, many express sentiments grounded in the belief that the “true self” of the deceased been released from the confines of a decaying body: “It’s just their body lying there. But the real person is gone.” This perspective again echoes the Greek philosophy that elevates the soul while downplaying the physical body, showing how such views shape our experiences and dialogues around death in today's society.

          However, the Bible reveals a different truth: God created both our bodies and souls and declared everything “very good” in Genesis. Our bodies are not mere containers for the soul. Humans, as the crown of God’s good creation, were created to be body and soul. That’s what makes us unique as human creatures of God. At creation, God made Adam and Eve in His image with a good soul and a good body. They were perfect in themselves as God made them so in His image.

          It was not the Lord’s intention that humans ever be anything less than body and soul. A disembodied soul is not a human. A soulless body is not a human. You and I are not only a body. You and I are not only a soul. We are a body into which God has placed a soul, a person into which God has breathed life. In giving a person a particular body and soul, God has made us either male or female. And it is with our body and soul that we relate to God, to other people, to other living things, and to this world.

          But death entered into this world through the sin of Adam and Eve. Death is the penalty for sin. God said to Adam in the Garden, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19 ESV). The penalty of death affects all people in their bodies and souls. Every person conceived and born inherits sin and the consequence of death from their parents. This original sin or inherited sin means that as a person—body and soul—we are corrupted and subject to death. At death, the soul is separated from the body. The God-given unity of the body and soul is broken. For the one who believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord through the gift of faith, their soul will immediately be with Christ in heaven. But the body will remain in the grave until the resurrection.

          The resurrection of the body at the Last Day is a testimony to the value God places on our physical existence, emphasizing restoration and not the condemnation of the body. On the day when Christ comes again, your soul will be reunited with your physical body as your body will be raised from the dead and then glorified as a body fit for eternal life in a new creation. 1 Corinthians 15, “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:42-44 ESV). The whole human you, the real you in body and soul, will be raised and glorified and preserved forevermore.

          If the body were bad and the soul were good, it would make no sense for the Son of God to become a human with a body and soul in order to save humanity in body and soul. That fact that the Son of God took to His divine nature a true human body and soul in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit confirms the value of both body and soul, even in humanity’s sinful condition.

          Paul wrote in our Epistle that God sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as a sin offering.” He “condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who are not walking according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” If physical bodies are no good, why would God send His Son into a human body so that He might save people in both body and soul? And, if physical bodies are no good, why would God give His Holy Spirit to dwell in our bodies as His temple? (1 Cor. 6:19). Paul writes that His Spirit “dwells in you.” Why would God waste His time and energy filling you with His Spirit if your body was just a holding container for your soul and was going to be tossed out later? Because Your body has value, even though it is corrupted by sin. Your soul has value, even though it is corrupted by sin.

          You, the real complete “you” in body and soul, have value to your Father in heaven—even though you are by nature sinful and unclean, even though the natural mindset of the sinful nature is hostile to God and unable to submit to God’s Commandments. We are sinners in both body and soul. Nevertheless, Jesus took upon human flesh, yet without sin, so that He might redeem us in body and soul from sin and death. Paul says in verse 2 of our text, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus freed you from the law of sin and death.”

          That is freedom from sin and death for you, the whole you, the “body and soul” you that God created you to be. Jesus shed His blood as He suffered and died on the cross. Jesus allowed Himself to become subject to our death so that death would no longer have power over us. Jesus willingly gave up His soul in death so that we would have no fear of death. Luke 23, “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46 ESV).

          On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead in body and soul! Oh yes! The real, total, complete God-Man Jesus rose in body and soul from the dead foreshadowing your resurrection from the dead. We read in Romans 8:11, “And since the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life also to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

          Your body will live again just as surely as those dry bones in the valley came to life. Your body will rise from the grave just as certain as Lazarus came forth from the tomb. Your body and soul—YOU—have been redeemed by Christ the Crucified and Risen Lord. Your sins are forgiven and you have eternal life in body and soul in a new creation forevermore. The Lord has given you the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you, according to His grace. The Spirit has gifted you saving trust in Jesus and delivers to you through Word, Baptism, and Supper the forgiveness and eternal life Christ won for you with His life, death, and resurrection.

          And that forgiveness and life eternal are for you in both body and soul! The whole human you—body and soul—is forgiven. The whole human you—body and soul—has eternal life. These are Jesus’ gifts to you through His Spirit in Word and Sacrament. And your Lord and Savior will keep you evermore in body and soul into His new creation.

          “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Th. 5:23-24 ESV). Amen.