Light Brings Salt
Volume 2, Issue 1 January 4 , 2004
Dedicated to the
Systematic Exposition of the Word of God
The provision of our
freedom/liberation - the how
Romans 8:3-4
Grace succeeds where the law fails; Grace motivates to holy
living; while
the law is unable to do so!
In verse 3 the focus is on the HOW
of our freedom and liberation in Christ while in verse 4 the
focus is on the WHY!
"For
what the Law [M/L] could not do, weak as it was through the flesh [OSN], God" [in grace has the
perfect and complete solution]
The Law could not do avdu,natoj speaks
of having no ability, being powerless, incapable of fulfilling an objective,
here of providing the freedom that is ours in Christ.
Its inability is because it is weak avsqene,w indicates
being powerless; continually weak. The means or source of the law's weakness is
the presence of the sin nature with all its various lust patterns including a
propensity to human good.
We must remember that there are things that the law cannot
do! This is true even being from the source of God, therefore perfect, holy, righteous/just
and good as Paul made clear in Rom. 7:12.
The law is just but it cannot justify anyone. The law is holy but it can
not make anyone holy! The law demanded righteousness but can not enable one to
live righteously.
The law points out that as an unbeliever I am a sinner but
it cannot make me a saint! What the law was incapable, powerless to do; God did!
How? Sending the lamb! (Jn 1:29) The trouble
is not with the law itself, but with the our sin nature which resides in and uses the
flesh to manifest its self centered desires.
But God intervened and He did this by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh; this
phrase is critical. The key word is likeness (o`moi,wma) which
means a resemblance,
a similarity. It does not bear the conotation of
exactness as eikwn, it
stresses similarity but leaves room for differences. If Paul would have said that God sent His Son
in the likeness of flesh that would say that He was not true humanity which is
heresy and contradicts 1 Jn 4:2 which is a clear
statement of orthodoxy.
He came into the world in human form, He resembled sinful
humanity but with a major difference, He had no sin nature, He was without sin. (1 Pet 2:22;
2 Cor. 5:21;
1 Jn 3:5b)
Phil 2:7 says the same thing; "...having become in the likeness (o`moi,wma) of
men..."
By Paul's use of the aorist of (gi,nomai) - having
become emphasizes the entrance
into a new state, something that
previous to the incarnation that He wasn't - a new state, namely true
humanity.
This leads to several important observations:
1. This expresses the fact that Christ became true humanity,
but also was not merely humanity. There are two important differences between
the humanity of Jesus in the incarnation and mankind:
#1 - the unique union of the two natures, deity/humanity.
#2 - the absence of the old sin nature because of the virgin
conception.
2. His becoming man did not exclude His possession of Deity.
It was not an exchange but an addition of the 2nd which points to His absolute
uniqueness.
3. He was in the incarnation and is today at the right hand
of the Father, a person of two natures. (hypostatic
union - u`postasij)
God sent His Son to do what the law could not do, (as an
offering) for sin; lit. "concerning
sin, He condemned sin in the flesh."
The aorist indicative of the verb condemned takes us back to the cross. What is it that is condemned here? The sin, or
sins? What is forgiven when you believe
in Christ? Sins are forgiven! Never is the sin nature said to be
forgiven; it is condemned! The guilt
of sin is forgiven, this Paul dealt with in Romans
chapter 3-5.
The focus here in this context is on the root cause of sin,
the sin nature and so we have another aspect of the work of Christ on the cross
for us, through His death He condemned the sin nature that resides in the
flesh.
The Why of the provision of freedom
for the believer
This freedom is linked
to His having condemned the sin nature in 8:4.
"in order that the requirement of the Law
might be fulfilled" This is
an important and very loaded statement.
It begins by stating that this is a purpose or reason that
He condemned the sin nature.
The requirement of
the Law
[to. dikai,wma] - speaks of the ground or basis of something,
here what is the righteous standard, the moral precepts of the law.
Paul doesn't define his focus at this point but gives us a
clue in
Is the law able to provide the motivation and the enabling
to fulfill these commands? Is it able to
motivate loving obedience? No! What
about 1 Pet 1:15-16? This flows
from the righteous standard of the Law. Yet it is addressed to believers of
Church age. It is linked to our behavior. Notice carefully the context of
Can you fulfill these commandments?? You can't but He can in
you! That is, the Holy Spirit as He
ministers to you! Illuminating the Word as He fills and enables
you to properly apply truth in those circumstances or situations.
The verb is "might
be fulfilled" carefully notice what follows; the righteous
requirements of the Law are fulfilled not by us but in us!
His working in us!
The verb "might
be fulfilled" [plhro,w] is
also passive and therefore indicates that this fulfillment of the requirement
of the Law is accomplished by someone or something outside of ourselves. It is
the law of the Spirit of Life (8:2), that is, the indwelling Holy Spirit who is able
to accomplish what we are incapable of
doing (ch-7) through His enabling of us.
There is choice involved on our part if we are to realize this fulfillment in
us of the righteous requirement of the Law, i.e. will of God. The last phrase
describes exactly who is in view; that is the ones in whom the righteous
requirement of the Law is being fulfilled.
Provides us with the
balance: "who do not walk according to the flesh,
but according to the Spirit."
This is a description of the Normal Christian life.
Question! Who is
doing the walking? What determines
whether it is by the flesh or by the spirit?
The verb walk
is peripate,w and it indicates a
pattern of life; Paul uses it to speak of ordering one's conduct/behavior in
life.
The preposition according to is kata.
and
it has the idea of domination; [also has
the idea of standard/criteria, according to]; therefore what the believer is
dominated by.
The standard by which we as
believers are to walk, is stated here by a negative and a positive. Not this
but this! Common for Paul!
The negative: not
by the flesh The
positive: but according to the Spirit. What Paul is describing here is the believer
who is empowered, enabled by the Spirit is the one who is not fulfilling, or responding to the desires of the flesh
but is fulfilling the righteous requirement of the will of God. Living in the sphere of the will of God! Applying the truth of the Word known. That is living the
The normal Christian life is a SUPERNATURAL LIFE and we are given SUPERNATURAL
POWER to live this life.
The Diving enablement for Phase 2 living is from the Holy
Spirit who indwells all believers.
Paul in Phil 2:12-13 speaks to the balance between choice
and the strengthening or enabling of the Holy Spirit. The balance between the divine provision -
enabling and our responsibility as believers.
Our responsibility in
What's the logical goal and objective of the Christian
life? To be conformed to the image of
His Son! (Rom
For it is God
at work in you" This
phrase describes a characteristic of God and His relationship to us as
believers. Basically energew means
to work effectively, productively, to put forth power. Here it is used to
describe the energy, the effective power of God himself, in action, in our
life, that is, for after the cross
living. The present tense says He
will always be there, be available to you!
We can put a monkey wrench into this! Putting the sin nature
back in rulership which shuts off the power source!
What Paul is saying here is that God is the source of the
power, the
enablement to fulfill our responsibilities as Believers, the goal, the
objective He has for us. Which member of the Trinity is in view do you think?
The Holy Spirit!
"...both to will
and to work for His good pleasure.."
The purpose of this enabling power is expressed by two
infinitives to will and to work.
What is informing your decisions, your will? Is it divine viewpoint or is it human
viewpoint?
#1 - to will
- qelw, to desire, to will; describes the function of
volition in mankind [idea of course is to choose divine viewpoint]
#2 - to work
- energew; to act, to be at work, to work
effectively, productively; emphasis is on what is being produced in life,
divine good production (DGP). [this is the outflow of one's thinking]
The result of the to
will and to work is
the believer accomplishing "...His
good pleasure..."
What does God take delight in? What is He pleased with? Whatever lines up with His will or purpose and
therefore what is consistent with His Holiness.
God's will / desire is never arbitrary, that is
fatalism, it is never whimsical, by chance but it is always purposeful, has an objective. All leads to being conformed
to the image of His Son!
We see here in these verses the bringing together of man's
responsibility and God's enablement in the life of grace with great power.
For the believer who is walking by the Spirit, that one is
no longer standing in contradiction to the will of God therefore God is the one
who is acting or working in Him as we live out the precepts of the Word. All
volitional choices are then molded by the will of God, DVPT and the resulting
actions of the believer then take place out of loving obedience to God.
When there is conflict between the indwelling Holy
Spirit/Word on one side and the flesh, sin nature, on the other side and when
we as believers choose to respond to the sin nature at that time, we're no
longer in fellowship then the choices made are not acts of obedience to God no
matter how good they might appear to man.
This enabling - working power of God in the life of each
believer is through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
If He is quenched or grieved He is no longer operative, no longer
empowering, therefore the only power in the life is our own human ability,
human merit, no divine power.
The only way we will KNOW the WILL of God, and therefore be
able to please Him or as Paul is saying here that our will and desires will be
the same as those of God, are if we know the Word of God because it is through
His Word that we learn who He is and what He desires for us.
The word stored in your mind is used by God the Holy Spirit to bring into
the thinking, the conscience [analysis center] of your soul so that you have in
your thinking exactly what God expects of you at that time.