1 John 3:16


"By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

Monday 15 February 2010

God Did

How did God make the New Covenant unconditional? He did what man could not do. He fulfilled both parts of the covenant Himself.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Rom 8:1-3).

God is the one who condemned sin in our flesh.

We have traditionally taken this passage in the opposite manner to that intended by Paul. We thought Paul was setting a condition for no condemnation, which included two things: that we walk in the Spirit and that we do not walk in the flesh. We did not know that this change in our lives is what Christ did in the gospel.

We thought that by walk in the Spirit Paul meant that we adhere to our discipleship programme. We thought that do not walk in the flesh meant that we do not do certain things. So we had two sets of rules. Things we had to do and other things we could not do. We thought that when we fulfilled these then we would have no condemnation. We tried to call this grace, while we were never able to achieve it.

This two sets of rules brings us back to Romans 7: “That which I would…that which I would not…”.

This interpretation is opposite to Paul’s point. The context of Romans 7 is that law brings us under bondage. Paul’s solution was the gospel. The answer is not to walk in the flesh, depending on our ability to fulfil conditions by law, but to walk in the Spirit, which means the free grace of Christ through His work: His death and resurrection.

This is another example of how we so often twist the meaning of scripture through a “devotional” interpretation. To walk after the Spirit means to live by the grace of God and not by law. It does not mean to be spiritual by fulfilling conditions. To be in the Spirit means to be born again. Paul said this specifically in vs. 9:
But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of Christ dwell in you. But he that does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. (Rom 8:9).

To be in the Spirit is not speaking in tongues nor doing anything else. It is Christ in you. It is His life. The condition of being in the Spirit is met by Jesus Christ when He gives us new birth. The human plan for “salvation” (depending on our ability to fulfil conditions) is contrasted with God’s plan, His free grace in Christ Jesus.

To walk after the flesh means to trust in a carnal commandment, which has no power to impart life, but only to testify of our sin and thereby bring death (Heb 7:16). The commandment is called carnal because it depends on human ability. There is condemnation for those who walk by the flesh, i.e. by the law. But for those who are in Christ the conditions are fulfilled and the power of sin is broken.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under law, but under grace. (Rom 6:14).

This is Paul’s point and his teaching.

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