“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1–2, NKJV).
As believers, we have been transferred permanently into the kingdom of God’s Son. We now live under a totally different law, the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ. We are no longer under the law of sin and death as long as we walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. This is a totally different paradigm than the system under the Old Testament law.
What we are talking about here is a new world with a different set of rules and laws, a world that we experience while in our earthly existence. The law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ now rules in our relationship with God, and not the Old Testament law comprised of the law of sin and death. We are still under a law, but a different law powered and sourced in the person of Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit. The law of Moses could not save us because our flesh (or self) did not have the power to meet its demands. The law’s purpose was to show us we needed a Savior. Because Christ satisfied the requirements of the law for us by paying the penalty for our sin through his sacrifice in our place, we now have a right standing with God as a gift from him.
We are now identified with Christ in his resurrection. When we accept Christ’s work on the cross, we are raised with him from the dead and our spirit is given new life. The law of the Spirit in which we now live enables us to serve God in a new way. We have died to the law and have been delivered from it so that we can live in the newness of the Spirit.
The Old Testament law represents the impossible, what we need to do to please God and come into his good graces. The work of Jesus Christ eliminates all of that. We come to God now because of what Christ did for us on the cross. It is totally because of God’s grace that we no longer need to rely on self. This, to me, represents the difference between darkness and light. It is self-effort versus the power of Christ who works in us. We simply live our life in response to God’s grace, and that my friends, gives us freedom.
The Son-powered life is a life possessed by the Holy Spirit of God, controlled by him, and empowered by him. It is only available to us as we trust in him. When we fail to avail ourselves of this life, we become oblivious to what God wants to do through us.
Once we meet his conditions of waking up and rising from the deadness of the prison of self, his light will be on us. And when Christ shines on us with his favor, we will grow in our relationship with God and be in a position to harness his power to bless those around us.
In what ways are you living your life in response to God’s grace?
Son Power is available to you only as you trust in God.