The Boat in Two Waters: Flesh versus Spirit

Romans 8:9 declares, "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit"—yet the flesh remains in us, even after we leave it behind. Joseph S. Exell's Victorian illustration captures this paradox through a striking nautical image: a boat that has sailed the salt ocean, battered by storms and half-filled with briny water, now navigates fresh river currents. The vessel no longer dwells in the salt water, but the salt water dwells in it still.

So the Christian has abandoned the "Adam-sea" forever, having entered the "Christ-sea" eternally. The old nature—sarx (flesh)—remains within us for mortification and expulsion, yet we no longer belong to Adam's dominion.

This distinction shields believers from two errors. First, under satanic temptation, we must not believe that mixed corruption negates our grace; the presence of remaining weakness does not erase our spiritual identity. Second, we must judge others charitably. Malicious observers fixate on any visible "flesh" in God's children while blind to the Spirit's work. Paul's testimony to the Romans affirmed their true state in grace—discerned through charitable judgment and pastoral knowledge—not by their perfection, but by their genuine possession of the Holy Spirit. The salt water may slosh in the hull, but the boat sails on living waters.