This morning I am briefly reflecting on a couple of passages from Paul's letter to the Romans, the first found at the beginning of chapter seven, the second being found at the beginning of chapter eight. Here are the first set of verses from Romans 7:1-4 NIV:
[1] "Do you not know, brothers and sisters---for I am speaking to those who know the law---that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? [2] For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. [3] So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man."
[4] "So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."
The logic of Paul's writing is very straight-forward most of the time. Here he begins by proving that the laws only apply to a person while they are alive, not if they are dead. It is not something that we think about often, but it is actually really good news. For we have died to the Law when were were united with Christ, in His death! We Gentiles were never really subject to the Law, but much of the church still embraces a Law-like legalism, and to that we can apply the same truth. When we unite ourselves to Christ, we become hidden in Him (Col 3:3), and now experience the benefits of being dead to sin and to the Law.
He came to set us free, and did so by His death AND resurrection! It is not just His death, but even more so it is His rising from the dead that sets us free. Paul continues this line of thinking into Chapter eight where he writes the following - Romans 8:1-4,9-11,14-17 NIV:
[1] "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
[9] "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. [10] But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. [11] And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
[14] "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. [15] The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” [16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. [17] Now if we are children, then we are heirs---heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
It is not enough to die to sin, but His desire is that we now live in Him, through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The Spirit is given to witness to our true and new identity as we are hidden in Him. We are God's sons and daughters! Let the Holy Spirit in you testify to this reality!
We are set free from the Law and sin!
We are hidden in Christ!
We experience the life of the Holy Spirit living within us!
We are set into God's family!
We are His Sons and Daughters!
We are Co-heirs with Christ!
As Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians 5:1 NIV: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Here he is talking about the Law)
He also writes in his second letter to the 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NIV: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. [18] And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
The Lord's desire is that we use this new identity, this relationship as His daughter or son, this inheritance we have received with Christ, this freedom from the Law and sin to become more like Him. His desire is that we are transformed into His image, with ever increasing glory! The enemy, through the spirit of religion, has worked hard to convince us that none of this is true, except maybe that we might squeek our way into heaven, but we certainly can't live free victorious lives here on earth. He has tried to convince us that all this wonderful stuff is only true in heaven.
However, Paul wasn't talking about our lives in eternity! He was talking about our present reality! It is time for us to put those thoughts of judgment and the law behind us, for we have been set free! Our old identity, our old man, was crucified with Christ, and we now live with Him, hidden in Him through the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead! We are now living as God's sons and daughters! We are now Christ's co-heirs!
Let us throw off the shackles and learn to live in the freedom the Spirit brings! Let us contemplate Him that we might be transformed into His image! Let us walk in our true identities!
Amen and Amen!
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