"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8v1-2
The phrase at the end of verse 1 "who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit," is not in all the original manuscripts, and should not be there. This would be contradictory to Paul's teaching, which has been without any doubt that justification in the sight of God is a gift from God and is in no way conditional, depending on our walk. However, the phrase does appear in all the original manuscripts at the end of verse 4 and this would agree with the context there where Paul is speaking of the responsibilities of the believer so justified. Our walk, our way of life, does not contribute one iota to God's salvation but, having been justified it ought to change our lives.
He continues his teaching giving the reason why there is now no condemnation, and he says "for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." I have been taken out of the rule and realm of sin which resulted in death and have been brought into the rule and realm of the Holy Spirit of God, and this is described as "life in Christ Jesus." This brings us to the subject of our new life in Christ as being under the control of the Holy Spirit. In chapters 1 - 7 he made only one reference to the Holy Spirit, (in chapter 5v5), where he said that the "love of God has been poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us." Here in chapter 8 the Holy Spirit is mentioned no less than 17 times and so clearly what is being taught here is that, having been justified in Christ we now have the real presence of the Holy Spirit with us, along side us, and within us, empowering every aspect of our lives. A reading of the upper room ministry in John chapter 14 - 16 would indicate the same as what Paul is teaching here. Jesus said to his disciples "I am going away, but I will send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who shall abide with you forever." The extent of the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is quite comprehensive in this chapter, and we would want to consider each one of them.
The powerful inworking of the Holy Spirit is set out here in this chapter in an unmistakable way, and a précis of what is here is as follows: the Spirit indwells us, we walk after the Spirit, the Spirit leads us, the Spirit empowers us, the Spirit will glorify our mortal bodies, the Spirit bears witness, He is the guarantee of future glory, and He helps us in our infirmities and our prayers. This is just as Jesus said "another Comforter," another Divine being, the same as Me, One to comfort, One to lead, One to teach, One to warn, One to help. This is the meaning of the phrase "the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death." This is the secret of the Christian life. Many have been heard to say, if only the Lord Jesus were here things would be so much better; what this passage is teaching is that He is here with us in the Person of the Holy Spirit, and consequently there is no need for the believer to live after the flesh which only brings misery. We are not only graciously saved by God from the penalty of our sins, but we are graciously enabled by God to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and the rest of the chapter is an expansion of this.
BY DIVINE GRACE WE ARE NOW FREE TO SERVE GOD!
Tomorrow d.v. we continue with verse 3
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