What the Law Can't Do, God Does!

Romans 8:3-11:

“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, 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.”

The law could not save us, and lest you think God made a mistake in creating the law, think again. He intended that the law [His law which He Himself is able to keep because He is holy] would show us our inability to secure the heavenly places and eternal life by our own holiness [we have none of our own no matter who we are], so that we would call upon Him Who is so willing to save us and give us life abundantly and everlasting [rather than relying strictly on ourselves and thereby turning our backs on God]. Therefore, He Himself came in the flesh, to live as we live, yet perfectly keeping the law by His own perfect righteousness, which He then imparted as a free gift to us…who believe.

“For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”

We do not have the Spirit of Christ in us, until we are born again. John 3:3-5: “Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God….except a man be born of water and of 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.” AND…

Once we are born again, we do in fact have the Spirit of God dwelling within us, and God’s Word being True…which of course it cannot be anything but True…then we do not pay attention to the things of the flesh, we pay attention to the things of the Spirit. We might not always do what we want to do spiritually, but we no longer WANT to do those things of the flesh (as Paul said earlier on in Romans). We want ONLY to do the things of the Spirit. It therefore is our body that sins, while we are kept in righteousness, because the One Who dwells within us IS RIGHTEOUS. Once again, it is not us being righteous, EVER! It is only God Himself doing it in us, “lest any man boast.”

“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Do you see what He is telling us? Our bodies are dead because of sin; but we are alive in the Spirit of God, and just as God was able to raise the dead body of Jesus to immortal life, so has He already given us a new life in the Spirit, with our immortal bodies to follow at some later date. God does for us what the Law could not do! We cannot do it. The Law proved to us that we cannot do it. Then God came and proved to us that HE CAN! AND HE DID!

And we have much to be thankful for! We have everything to be thankful for! We have no reason to be anything but joyful! IF WE BELIEVE HIS WORD. If you cannot grasp the power of the things Paul states for us in Romans, please, please persevere in your study of Romans until you grasp it! It will change your life! It did mine!

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]