According to the Spirit

(Click here for an audio version.  The intro and conclusion are from 'So Many Books' by Michael Card)


"For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."  (Romans 8:3-4)

In the last In His Grip we dove into the phrase ‘according to the flesh’.  Today we set our sights upward in a more positive direction to its opposite, ‘according to the Spirit’. 

First and foremost, Romans 8:4 above tells us that God’s righteous requirement of us cannot actually be fulfilled by us, but must be fulfilled in us by the Holy Spirit.  This is the only possible way.

How, and why? 

New Life

Let’s start at the beginning, that is, the beginning of new life.  In John chapter 3, Jesus, in one of His most widely known statements, said to the Pharisee Nicodemus:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (from John 3:3)

What did He mean?  Jesus was talking about a second birth, a new, spiritual birth.  He would further explain:

"Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'"  (John 3:5-7)

In other words, physical birth (‘of water’), a birth in the flesh, is not sufficient.  We must be born of the Spirit.  The Apostle John explained just a few chapters earlier:

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."  (John 1:12-13)

New Lord

Later on Paul goes on to explain...

"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."  (Romans 8:14)

...and:

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."  (Galatians 5:25)

This new life birthed by God in us will begin to show certain evidence of new life, that is, indicators that God is ruling in the heart.

And so, unlike any other religious tradition, true Christianity tells of how lives will reflect new life given by God, rather than how one can gain new life by behaving differently.  In other words, transformation must happen within before evidence can be seen without.  Transformation never occurs from the outside in.

New Liberty

This new life will be characterized by life and peace:

‘For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.’ (Romans 8:6)

‘Thou dost keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee.’ (Isaiah 26:3, RSV)

It will be characterized by dying to sin and living to God:

"for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live."  (Romans 8:13)
 
It will be characterized by consummate freedom:

"But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."  (Romans 6:17-18)
 
 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."  (2 Corinthians 3:17)

What a difference!  Rather than being burdened by seeking to establish our own righteousness to try to please God (Romans 10:3), a burden which no one in history has been able to successfully carry (Acts 15:10), we submit to and receive the perfect righteousness of God on our behalf:

"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation [atoning sacrifice] in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."  (Romans 3:21-26)

Life.  Peace.  Freedom.  According to the Spirit.

"If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."  (Romans 8:10-11)

There is no other way to truly live.

Next time, we’ll talk about Christ in us not only being the path to true life, but to life-giving relationships.

Until next time,

In His Grip,

Mark D. Twombly
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