LIVING BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - LAW of the SPIRIT of LIFE in CHRIST JESUS vs LAW of SIN and DEATH
ROMANS 8:2 NKJV
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has
made me FREE from the law of sin and death.
Daniel Mace New Testament
for the Christian dispensation of a spiritual life has set me free from the legal state of sin and death.
Weymouth New Testament
for the Spirit's Law -- telling of Life in Christ Jesus -- has set me free from the Law that deals only with sin and death.
Williams New Testament
For the life-giving power of the Spirit through union with Christ Jesus has set us free from the power of sin and death.
ROMANS 8:1-2 MSG
With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved.
Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud.
A NEW POWER is in OPERATION.
The SPIRIT of LIFE in CHRIST, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
Condemnation is like a black cloud
WHAT IS the law of sin and death?
"The law of sin and death" is the habitual tendency to sin which works in the members before the sinner is converted and joined to Christ.
It is the carnal or fleshly nature from which man is freed and to which he dies when connected to Christ.
It is the law of sin.
1 JOHN 3:4 TPT
Anyone who indulges in sin lives in moral anarchy, for the definition of sin is breaking God’s law.
In Romans 8:2 -
Paul begins his explanation of WHY there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus:
‘because through CHRIST JESUS the law of the Spirit of life set ME free from the law of sin and death.’
When do you feel condemned?
There must be a law for condemnation to happen.
When there is no law, there is no condemnation.
Under grace which come by Jesus Christ, grace, it is called undeserved favour
Those who believe in Him will not get the same condemnation or punishment when we break the law. This is underserved favor.
You break the law, you deserve punishment, if you are living under law. When you live under Christ, which is under grace, in Christ, you do things that break the law, that is sin, you deserve punishment under the law, in Christ, this punishment gone on Him, you go free. You don't need to be punished. There is therefore no condemnation.
There are four key players in this verse:
'Me'.
'The law of sin and death'.
'The law of the Spirit of life'.
'Christ Jesus'.
About ‘me’ – Paul has already in Romans made our position as condemned sinners very clear:
He has testified to the common sinfulness of us all – Romans 1:18 – 3:18.
ROMANS 3:9-10 NKJV
What then?
Are we better than they?
Not at all.
For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;
He has affirmed our inability to ever be acquitted by God on the basis of our own efforts –
ROMANS 3:19-20 EASY
So, we know that God's Law belongs to the Jews.
God told them to obey everything that his Law teaches.
As a result, nobody can say: ‘God should not punish me.’
Everybody in the world must stand in front of God and he will judge them.
God's Law shows people clearly that they have done wrong things. Nobody can become right with God because they obey that Law.
ROMANS 3:23 NKJV
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
He has reaffirmed our past and present failure – Romans 3:23.
He has stated our inclusion in the condemnation incurred by all of Adam’s descendants –
ROMANS 5:13 NLT
Yes, people sinned even before the law was given.
But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.
ROMANS 5:14 NLT
Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did.
Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.
God sees us in Christ and sees us without breaking any law
We can ultimately be blessed and go heaven
ROMANS 5:15 TPT
Now, there is no comparison between Adam’s transgression and the gracious gift that we experience.
For the MAGNITUDE of the GIFT FAR OUTWEIGHS the CRIME.
It’s true that many died because of one man’s transgression, but HOW MUCH GREATER will GOD’S GRACE and his GRACIOUS GIFT of ACCEPTANCE overflow to many BECAUSE OF what one man, Jesus, the Messiah, did for us!
Learn what is in Christ
Christians live out of Christ
ROMANS 5:16 TPT
And this free-flowing gift imparts to us much more than what was given to us through the one who sinned.
For because of one transgression, we are ALL facing a death sentence with a verdict of “GUILTY!”
But this gracious gift leaves us free from our many failures and brings us into the perfect righteousness of God—ACQUITTED with the words “NOT GUILTY! ”
Adam gave "Guilty" verdict
Jesus gave "Not guilty" verdict
ROMANS 5:17 TPT
Death once held us in its grip, and by the blunder of one man, death reigned as king over humanity.
But now, how much more are we held in the grip of grace and continue REIGNING as KINGS in LIFE, ENJOYING our regal FREEDOM through the GIFT of PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS in the one and only Jesus, the Messiah!
ROMANS 5:18 TPT
In other words, just as condemnation came upon all people through one transgression, so THROUGH ONE RIGHTEOUS ACT of Jesus’ sacrifice, the perfect righteousness that makes us right with God and leads us to a VICTORIOUS LIFE is NOW AVAILABLE to ALL.
ROMANS 5:19 TPT
ONE MAN'S DISOBEDIENCE opened the door for
all humanity to become SINNERS.
So also ONE MAN'S OBEDIENCE opened the door for MANY to be MADE PERFECTLY RIGHT with GOD and ACCEPTABLE to HIM.
Your salvation is not 3 quarter only, it is 100% pure and accepted to God. In Christ, we are fully perfect before God. He does not base perfection in our right doing or wrong doing, He based on Christ
About ‘the law of sin and death’ –
- this is the law, or biblical principle, that sin incurs a penalty,
that SIN MUST be PUNISHED, that demands the DEATH of the sinner.
It is GOD’S operating principle by which we all stand under his wrath, CONDEMNED as GUILTY SINNERS, and DESERVING HIS JUDGEMENT and the imposition of sin’s just penalty.
When you sin, you deserve punishment. The principle of sin and death.
God’s justice demands that sin be punished, and God,
even in his love, does not act contrary to his justice.
The wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23.
The soul that sins shall die – Ezekiel 18:20.
Death came to all men, because all sinned – Romans 5:12.
We died with Christ
Our sin was punished, but in Christ
God punished us in Christ, Jesus took our punishment
God punished everyone in Christ
Jesus rose from the dead and we rose from the dead.
The old us were condemned when Jesus was condemned on the cross.
Each one of us died and buried with Him
We rise to new life
When we died, all sinful nature died
We were punished in Christ, died in Christ
Rather it affirms, and makes us aware of, our condemnation and death.
It is the operating principle in the dominion of darkness from which we have been rescued.
If this was the only thing that was true, if this was God’s only operating principle, we would all still be condemned.
But there is ANOTHER ‘law’ in operation.
There is another operating principle at work here, just as in nature there are different ‘laws’ at work – such as ‘the law of gravity’ and ‘the law of aerodynamics’.
It is not that these different laws are contradictory or competitive, but that the ADDITION of another element into the situation reveals the concurrent existence of a totally different ‘law’ and outcome.
About the ‘LAW of the SPIRIT of LIFE’ – this is the ‘law’ or ‘principle’ of faith
ROMANS 3:27 TPT
Where, then, is there room for boasting?
Do our works bring God’s acceptance?
Not at all!
It was NOT our works of keeping the law but our FAITH in HIS FINISHED WORK that MAKES us right with God.
We are under the NEW COVENANT of the SPIRIT not the old covenant.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:6 TPT
He alone makes us adequate ministers who are focused on an ENTIRELY NEW COVENANT.
Our ministry is not based on the letter of the law but through the POWER of the SPIRIT.
The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit pours out life.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:7 TPT
Even the ministry that was characterized by chiseled letters on stone tablets came with a dazzling measure of glory, though it produced death.
The Israelites couldn’t bear to gaze on the glowing face of Moses because of the radiant splendor shining from his countenance—a glory destined to fade away.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:8-9 TPT
Yet how much more radiant is this new and glorious ministry of the Spirit that shines from us!
For if the former ministry of condemnation was ushered in with a measure of glory, how much more does the ministry that imparts righteousness far excel in glory.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:17 TPT
Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the HOLY SPIRIT, and wherever he is LORD, there is FREEDOM.
JAMES (JACOB) 1:25 TPT
But those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty are fascinated by and respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it—they experience God’s blessing in all that they do!
This principle of grace is called the 'law of the Spirit' because
it is ONLY by the OPERATION of the SPIRIT of GOD that :-
[1] we are convicted of sin,
[2] we understand and believe the truth about Jesus Christ,
[3] we are united with Christ through faith.
It is the operating principle of the kingdom of God's Son.
About CHRIST JESUS – HE IS the ADDITIONAL FACTOR that enables the difference.
If only the weight of an object is in play, the law of gravity draws it down.
But if lift and thrust are added and sustained the object is set free from that downward pull.
The law of aerodynamics has kicked in.
If the weight of our sin is the only factor, then the law of sin and death condemns and binds us.
But when JESUS CHRIST is added, we are set free from that just condemnation.
So Paul says ‘through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death’.
Fish live under water nearly all the time.
They do not breathe air.
Instead, they use their gills to take in oxygen from the water around them.
Like all marine creatures, fish need water to survive, but what many people don’t understand is that they are just as dependent on oxygen as we are.
Most fish, if not all, get their oxygen supply in the water—which is where gills come into the picture.
Fish’s unique respiratory systems make use of gills to let water in and extract the oxygen from it using the tiny blood vessels found on the gills’ surface before discharging waste gases back out.
You can say that gills work like our lungs, which are also uniquely designed to absorb atmospheric oxygen.
Another odd similarity is when fish allow themselves to be swept away by water currents so they can conserve their energy and oxygen supply in the water, which is basically the same as what we do when scuba diving.
So when a fish is out of the water, the gills would normally arch and collapse as it’s unable to find oxygen the way it’s designed to.
While it’s still a matter of debate if fish feel intense pain,
they will die of suffocation, sometimes in a matter of seconds,
when separated from the water.
Some species of fish can actually live for a few days on land and can breathe air or absorb oxygen with their skin.
These are typically amphibious fish and larger underwater creatures that are capable of storing air so they can last out of the water.
It’s just a matter of how long and what they do to survive for surprisingly long periods of time.
If a fish wants to live out of water and fly like a bird,
what has to happen?
Would you prefer to be a fish or a bird?
Why is the fish in the water swifter than the bird in the air when it ought to be the contrary, since the water is heavier and thicker than the air?
Indeed, water is denser than air.
The fish might have travelled along the water currents to move about, but can't the same apply to birds (travelling with the winds)?
Each creature lives by its own laws.
JOHN 3:6-7 NKJV
That which is born of the FLESH is FLESH, and that which is born of the SPIRIT is SPIRIT.
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be BORN AGAIN.’ [from Above]
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 AMP
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah)
he is a NEW CREATION (a NEW CREATURE ALTOGETHER);-
the OLD [previous MORAL and SPIRITUAL CONDITION] has PASSED AWAY.
Behold, the FRESH and NEW has come!
G2937 creature
Original: κτίσις ktisis
Phonetic: ktis'-is
- the act of founding, establishing, building etc
the act of creating, creation
creation, i.e. thing created
of individual things, beings, a creature, a creation
anything created
From G2936; ORIGINAL FORMATION (properly the act;):- building, creation, creature, ordinance.
We are called new creation. Make in heaven
1 JOHN 3:9 AMPC
No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.
Human sin passed on to everyone
1 JOHN 3:9 TPT
Everyone who is truly God’s child will refuse to keep sinning because GOD’S SEED remains within him, and he is UNABLE to continue sinning because he has been FATHERED by GOD HIMSELF.
1 PETER 1:23 AMPC
You have been REGENERATED (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is IMMORTAL by the ever LIVING and LASTING WORD of GOD.
If you are still living under sin and death, there is so far to go.
Christ has made us the new creation, the new DNA
Comments