September 8, 2020
Minister: Pastor Bola Bello
For the past few weeks, we have been considering issues of the law of sin and death and the law of the Spirit of life. It has been established that the Spirit helps us overcome the flesh. Today we will see the powerlessness of the law in making us conquer sin and see the laws of the Spirit by which we can live above the desires of the flesh.
Romans 8:1 is a legal statement. However, being in Christ Jesus is not enough for you to be exonerated from condemnation. You can still be disapproved though you are in Christ if you walk after the flesh. It is to a man who walks in the Spirit that there is no condemnation. You need to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:2) because He can never lead you to sin. The law of the Spirit of life has overcome the law of sin and death. Naturally, the soul of man yearns for that which is against the law. Therefore, the Adamic nature cannot conquer sin hence the need for the law of the Spirit of life which is given through Christ. It is a life-giving law and the more you walk by it, the more the change that is seen in you. This law of the Spirit of life has helped men to walk and please God from the time of Abraham until the era of Jesus.
Now let us consider some of the laws of the Spirit of life.
- The law of faith
Abraham was not called the father of many nations because he prayed but because of his faith. Anyone that will operate in righteousness must learn to operate in faith. Faith took Jesus to the cross, He obeyed the law. Obedience to the law in itself is faith. By obedience to law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, you are made righteous (Romans 5:19). Those who walk in the law of faith will never live in condemnation. As seen in Acts 4:12-13, the root of our faith is our belief in the name of Jesus. No man walks by the law of man and gets counted to be righteous (Romans 3:27). It is important to note that the church is not an organized body of lawless people. Truly, we are not under the law of sin and death but we are not excluded from the law of Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
- The Law of Meditating on the Word of God
There is a need to stay with God’s word. The word builds and prunes us. Every time you stay with the word, you agree to be pruned. The New Testament is given to us to live by, just the way the Old Testament was given to the men of old to live by. In the Old Testament, the law was written on their forehead but in the New Testament, the law is written in our hearts and meant to be meditated upon.
2 Corinthians 3:7-18
In the word, a believer finds breakthrough, victory, glory and every good thing. The word of God is capable of bringing to effect what is recorded in 2 Corinthians 3:7-13. When we devote time to meditate on God’s word, we are made into the same image as Christ and we come into perfection like Him (Ephesians 4:13).
In the next teaching, we will examine more laws of the Spirit of life and how they help us become more like Christ.