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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
March 2
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Today's Pathway:
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In Romans 8:1-3 we saw that the believer is no longer under condemnation because Christ took his sins upon Himself on the cross and freed him from the law of sin and death. We also saw in verse 3 that Christ condemned sin in the flesh. Verse 4 tells us why:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
While it is certainly true that when we got saved we were declared to be "not guilty" and received the righteousness of Christ, this is not what Paul is emphasizing in verse 4. He is not talking about what happened at salvation; he is talking about what happens after salvation.
"Might be fulfilled in us" is the key phrase to understand the meaning of Paul's words. The word "fulfill" means, "to complete, to carry out to the full, to accomplish, to satisfy". The verb is passive, which means that this is being done to the believer, not by the believer. It is also subjunctive, which presents the action or the event as something wanted or expected. Also, notice that the prepositional phrase says "in us", not "by us". Paul is saying that the born again Christian should be expected to be living out the righteousness of the law in his daily life. However, he is not doing it by himself; he is doing it because someone or something is enabling him to do so. Who is enabling him? The Holy Spirit! We know this because the last half of the verse says "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit". Harry Ironside summed it up this way:
"The Holy Spirit has produced a new nature in the man in Christ, and linked with this new life are new affections and desires. The new man gladly responds to the will of the Lord as revealed in His Word. Thus the righteousness of the law is actually produced in the one who walks not after the flesh, not in the power of the old nature. The practical good required by the law is produced in the person who lives in obedience to the Spirit, Who has come to take possession of us for Christ."
In the book of Ezekiel God said that the New Covenant would include
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
According to these verses, the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit would cause believers to walk in obedience to God's commands, which is the same thing that Paul says in verse 4.
It is God's plan that His children not live fleshly lives, but Spirit-empowered lives. In fact, "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" is a description of the true believer's character. Paul's teaching in verse 4 is this: as we walk according to the Holy Spirit He continually sanctifies us. As we yield control of our lives to Him, He empowers us to love God and to love our neighbor, which is the fulfillment of the law (Matthew 22:36-40).
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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