Life of a believer.
In chapter seven, Paul stated that sin exploited a command to incite sinful desires in the sinful flesh. The sinful human spirit made the flesh weak and unable to resist sin’s influence. Therefore, sin employed what was good to produce undesirable results in the flesh. However, the law is not defective, but the flesh is weak. The law is powerless to produce good results in weak, sinful flesh. The law, as designed, demands perfect obedience, and punishes human disobedience. It cannot help the sinner. However, God gave it a new human spirit in Jesus Christ because he loves humankind. The new human spirit is willing to follow guidance from the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the yielded believers. The new human spirit acting on the old human body results in a civil war between two natures. The two natures wage war in the minds of yielded believers. However, the yielded believers know that they have full victory in Jesus Christ. Because the new man is victorious in Jesus Christ, he is not under the law’s dominion. Therefore, the law cannot condemn the yielded believers.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1, NET. This statement is the capstone of Paul’s doctrinal presentation in the previous chapters. We learn in chapter eight that the life of the yielded believers is the victorious life of Jesus Christ. The life of the yielded believers begins with no condemnation. It continues without defeat. And it ends with no separation from God ever again. Why is the life of a new man undefeatable? “For the law of life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2, NET.
The yielded believers are justified sinners. They are no longer under the law’s dominion but under the Grace – Jesus Christ. The yielded believers have undergone a radical change of their minds. They have a new attitude and a new way of thinking. They have the attitude of Jesus Christ; therefore, they think like Jesus. The yielded believers have a new spirit, the spirit of Jesus Christ. Because of the new human spirit, God sent the Holy Spirit into the minds of yielded believers. The Holy Spirit communicates to our new human spirit that we are God’s children irrevocably. The Holy Spirit helps our new human spirit to make correct decisions. Therefore, there is no reason for those in Christ Jesus to yield their bodies to sin’s control.
Continued in the next blog.
