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Scripture Reading: Rom. 5:18-19, 21; 6:3-11, 14; 7:4-6, 8-11, 14-24; 8:1-11, 16, 26-30
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans can be divided into several parts. The first part is from chapter 1 through 5:11. The second part is from 5:12 through the end of chapter 8. The third section is from chapter 9 through chapter 11. The fourth section is from chapter 12 through the end of the book. The first two sections deal with man’s need for God’s redemption and deliverance through Christ, respectively. The third section speaks of the divine grace in God’s selection. The fourth section tells us how to act in accordance with our redemption and deliverance.
The first section of Romans speaks of God’s redemption, and the second part deals with God’s deliverance in Christ. We have to see the difference between redemption and deliverance. Redemption is something done by God in Christ for us, yet it is outside of us. Deliverance, on the other hand, is accomplished by God in Christ not only for us but also within us. Hence, redemption is objective, whereas deliverance is subjective.
God accomplished redemption and delivers us because we have two great problems. First, we have many sins, that is, sinful deeds, before God. As a consequence of our committing these sins, we are condemned by God according to His righteous and holy law (cf. Rom. 3:23). Our sinful deeds, however, are not our only problem before God. Our other problem is that we are sinners with the sinful nature. Not only do we commit sins; we ourselves possess the sinful nature and are therefore sinners. Because of our two great problems, God had to do two things for us. First, He had to redeem us from the law; He had to do something for us so that the requirements of His righteous and holy law would be met, and He could release us from it. God in Christ accomplished redemption on the cross. On the cross Christ bore all our sins and died for us. All the requirements of God’s law have been met by the redeeming death of Christ (Matt. 5:17; Rom. 10:4; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19). Because of Christ’s redeeming death, we have been redeemed and released from the condemnation of God’s righteous and holy law (Gal. 4:5). When we heard these glad tidings, the Holy Spirit worked within us and imparted faith into us, causing us to believe in Christ’s redeeming death and receive Christ as our Savior (14, Rom. 10:17). When we believed into Christ, we were justified by God (Acts 13:39) through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to redeem us from the condemnation of God’s law. We are no longer under God’s condemnation; we are justified by God (Rom. 5:18). This is redemption (3:24; 5:1).
We have been justified by God and are therefore no longer under God’s condemnation according to His righteous and holy law. Even though our problem of sins has been solved, we have a second problem — we possess the sinful nature. In order to deliver us from the sinful nature, God has to do something further. It is not enough for Him to redeem us; He must also deliver us in Christ from the sinful nature. Whereas His redemption is objective to us, His delivering us is subjective and more vital and important to us in our experience. Suppose that there were no deliverance to accompany our redemption by God. If there were only the redemption of God, there would be no way for us ever to be delivered from the sinful nature that is within us. Although we could be justified by God, we could never be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God (8:29). Hence, we must not only be redeemed and thereby rescued from the condemnation of God’s righteous law; we must also be delivered from our sinful nature, our natural man, and be conformed to the image of Christ.
The second section of Romans presents four very important figures. The first figure is Adam, who is presented in Romans 5, especially beginning from verse 12. Chapter 6 presents the second figure, Christ. The third figure, presented in chapter 7, is the flesh. The fourth figure is the Spirit, whom we see in chapter 8. If we add the preposition in before each of these figures, we have four in s, which could be considered as headings for these four chapters in Romans: “in Adam” (ch. 5), “in Christ” (ch. 6), “in the flesh” (ch. 7), and “in the Spirit” (ch. 8). These four figures also form two pairs that oppose one another: Christ versus Adam, and the Spirit versus the flesh. Christ solves the problem of Adam, and the Spirit is the only One who can solve the problem of the flesh.
What does the flesh have to do with Adam, and what does the Spirit have to do with Christ? We can begin to answer these questions by asking another pair of questions: Where is Adam today, and where is Christ today? These questions should cause us to begin to realize that the flesh has something to do with Adam and that the Spirit has something to do with Christ. Adam is in the flesh, and the flesh is the expression, the very living, of Adam. In other words, the flesh is the reality of Adam lived out through us. Likewise, Christ is in the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is the manifestation of Christ. Expressed differently, the Spirit is the reality of Christ manifested, lived out, by us and through us. The reality of the fifth chapter of Romans is therefore in the seventh, and the reality of the sixth chapter is in the eighth. Romans 5 gives a record of sinful Adam, but we must look to chapter 7 to see the reality and living of Adam. In the same way, although Romans 6 gives a record of Christ, we must go to the eighth chapter to find the reality of Christ — the Spirit. Hence, the reality of Adam is in the flesh, and the reality of Christ is in the Spirit.
The more we live in the flesh, the more we will manifest Adam. If we see a person live in the flesh from morning to evening, we are actually seeing Adam from morning to evening, for to live in the flesh is to manifest Adam. By the same token, the more we live in the Spirit, the more we express and manifest Christ. If we live in the Spirit, people will see Christ within us and upon us. In principle, if we simply live in the Holy Spirit, we will be conformed to the image of Christ, transformed into the likeness of Christ, and we will manifest Christ in our daily living (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 1:20).
We are redeemed and justified by God, yet if there is the redemption and justification of God and nothing more, God remains outside of us. In addition to being redeemed by God, God Himself in Christ through the Spirit has come into us. This is why at the end of the second section of Romans, we find the phrases Christ is in you, the Spirit of God dwells in you, and the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (8:10, 9, 11). When Christ delivers us, the God who redeemed us is no longer only objective to us. Rather, the God who has redeemed us becomes the subjective God to us. He is now not only the God in the heavens but the God in us. God is now able to come into us in Christ as the Spirit. Now we are mingled with God as one. He as the Spirit can bear witness with our spirit (v. 16). His Spirit and our spirit — two spirits — can be joined as one (1 Cor. 6:17). Deliverance is in the Spirit; it can never be realized outside the Spirit.
We must learn how to realize God’s deliverance in the Spirit. This is the central point I would like to fellowship with you. Deliverance is not in teaching or correction; it is in the Spirit. The book of Romans stresses the point that God the Spirit is now in our spirit to be the living deliverance to us. If we are going to realize the deliverance of God, we must be in the Spirit, know the law of the Spirit of life, know how to walk according to the mingled spirit, and know how to cooperate with the Spirit (8:2, 4-6, 14).
Now let us see this matter of our deliverance in greater detail. All children inherit certain things from their parents. As those who are the sons of Adam and who are in Adam, we have inherited primarily two things — sin and death (5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22). Sin is under the condemnation of God, and it always brings in death (Rom. 6:23). Because we are sinners and are sinful, we are under death and are doomed to eventually die. Not only so, the Bible tells us that we are dead already (Eph. 2:1, 5). Hence, as those who are the descendants of Adam and who are in Adam, we are sinners and we are sinful. Moreover, we are under death, we are dead, and we are going to die. The two main items in our inheritance from Adam are sin and death.
Just as in Adam we receive a certain inheritance, in Christ we also gain an inheritance. Christ is versus Adam. Accordingly, our inheritance in Christ is versus our inheritance in Adam. While in Adam we inherit sin, in Christ we inherit righteousness (Rom. 5:12, 19); and while in Adam we inherit death, in Christ we inherit life (1 Cor. 15:22; Rom. 5:18). Righteousness is versus sin, and life is versus death. Righteousness brings us redemption, and life brings us deliverance from the sinful nature. We are now redeemed by Christ as our righteousness and delivered by Christ as our life. We must realize that we are not redeemed by the righteousness of Christ; rather, we are redeemed by Christ Himself as our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; Jer. 23:6). In like manner, we are delivered by Christ as our life. In Christ, we inherit righteousness and life.
Because we are born as humans, we are in Adam. We are transferred out of Adam into Christ by death and resurrection. By death we are able to be transferred out of Adam, and by resurrection we are enabled to be transferred into Christ. We could say that by death we “died out of Adam” and by resurrection we were “raised up into Christ.” Our transfer from the realm of Adam into the realm of Christ can be accomplished only by a process of death and resurrection.
How then can we die and be raised up? To die and be raised up is not a simple or small matter. Here we have to see something wonderful. Both this death and resurrection have been accomplished by Christ. If we are united with Christ and are identified with Him, what He experienced in the past will be our experience, our history. Once we become united and identified with Christ, we have a long history. Once we are in Christ, our background entails far more than it did before we were in Christ. Since we are now in Him, we must realize that we have been crucified on the cross outside of Jerusalem, buried in a tomb, and resurrected from death and the grave. What Christ has experienced is now your history. His history is your history. When He died on the cross, you died in Him. When He was buried, you were buried in Him. When He resurrected, you resurrected in Him. You are in Him. You are united with Him. You are identified with Him. Because this is the fact, the apostle Paul could proclaim that “our old man has been crucified with Him,” that “we have been buried...with Him,” and that God has “raised us up together with Him” (4, Rom. 6:6, cf. vv. 8-9a; Eph. 2:6). In Christ, we have been crucified, buried, and resurrected. We need to have the vision, the revelation, that this fact has been completed in Christ. If you realize this fact by seeing it in the Scriptures, this will be a standing for you from which nothing and no one will be able to move you. Always reckon that you have died, been buried, and resurrected. Be assured that what has happened to Christ has happened to you as well. Take this fact as your standing.
Christ’s history being our history can be rather hard for our natural mind to understand. When I was in my twenties, I read these things in Romans but was not able to understand them. I said to the Lord, “You died on the cross nineteen hundred years ago. How is it possible that I could have died then too?” Although at first I could not understand this, one day the Lord opened my eyes. It is quite simple. Today it is possible for events that take place in America to be seen on television in the Far East at the same moment they take place. This is possible because of electricity. We could say that the Spirit is like the electricity in this illustration. It is in the Spirit that things that happened long ago can be realized by us today. According to the illustration, the events that are recorded in America can also be stored by electronic means and then be retrieved and played back in the Far East many years later. In the same way, all the things wrought by Christ so long ago can be transmitted to us in the Holy Spirit.
With the Holy Spirit there is no problem of space or time. Whether or not we experience Christ’s history depends upon whether or not we are in the Holy Spirit. If we are in the Holy Spirit, the death and resurrection of Christ will be very real to us. This is because these facts are transmitted to us by and in the Spirit. It is only in the Spirit that we can realize the reality of the death and resurrection of Christ. Just as it is impossible for people in the Far East to see the things that happen in the United States without electricity and television, it is impossible for us to experience the reality of the death and resurrection of Christ without the Spirit. Just as electricity makes viewing distant events natural and easy, the Holy Spirit makes everything that Christ has experienced our history, our story. The day that I saw this vision, I was very happy. I said to the Lord, “O Lord, now I know that I am in You. I am one with You. What You have experienced is my history. You died, and I died. You resurrected, and I resurrected. Now by Your death and resurrection I am out of Adam and in Christ.” This is the practical experience of Romans 5 and 6.
It is a fact that we are no longer in Adam but in Christ. However, we must realize that our history is very complicated. In our history, in addition to the cross and the death and resurrection of Christ, there is the history of Moses. Moses was the law-giver. Through him, the law of God was given (John 1:17). Adam gave us sin and death, and Christ gives us righteousness and life. But between Adam and Christ, there was another man named Moses through whom the law was given.
The law is a complication. Although the law of God is very good, we need to forget about it. I have the boldness to tell you to forget about the law of God because according to God’s Word it has nothing to do with us and is in fact foreign to us as believers (Rom. 6:6; 7:4; Gal. 2:19). We have been brought out of Adam and are now in Christ. Anything that is outside of Christ we should not try to touch. Since the law is something that is outside of Christ, we should not try to touch it.
Forgetting about the law, however, is not so simple. The fact of the matter is that although we may try to forget about it, we simply cannot do it. Perhaps we were able to forget about it yesterday, but today someone may come to us and remind us that according to the law we must love our neighbor. Such a teaching causes us to remember the law. We ourselves often remind ourselves of the law. Our prayer to the Lord in the morning may bring us back to the law. We may pray for the Lord to help us keep such laws as doing good, honoring our parents, submitting to our husband, and loving our wife. You may remind me that such laws were taught by the apostle Paul. But I in turn would remind you that while Paul tells the children to obey their parents, he tells them to do it “in the Lord” (Eph. 6:1). Whether it is obeying our parents, loving our wife, or submitting to our husband, we must never do these things outside of Christ. Rather, we must do them in Christ, in the realm of Christ. Today the biggest problem with us is the problem of trying to keep the law.
There is one thing in my life that is particularly difficult for me to overcome — my being proud, or my tendency to look down on others. Pride is my most difficult problem. When I was in my late twenties, every day I prayed to the Lord that He would help me to be humble. Nevertheless, I would always have to repent to the Lord for my pride and ask His forgiveness. Morning after morning, day after day, I petitioned the Lord concerning my pride. Yet sometimes, even immediately after breakfast, I would have to repent to the Lord for my pride. Sometimes I would pray, “Lord, I was proud again just now after breakfast. I looked down on the brothers. Forgive me. Lord, help me to not be proud from now until noon.” But my experience proved that the Lord never helped me in this regard. Not only did He never answer my prayer; He frequently sent someone to me to arouse my pride. Sometimes I was successful in not being proud until nearly noon and would happily tell the Lord, “Lord, there are only several minutes left until noon. With Your help I will be successful.” But before I had finished uttering such a prayer, a very peculiar brother would come to me, and my pride would be stirred up. Soon I realized that I could not help myself and that I would never have success in the matter of pride. My story was one of failure instead of success. Although I always tried, I always failed. Then one day when I was reading Romans, the Lord showed me that we are not only dead to sin but also to the law. Romans 7:4 says, “You also have been made dead to the law.” Dead persons are neither able to commit sin, nor are they able to keep the law. Keeping the law is not the duty of dead people. There is no obligation for dead people to keep the law, because, being dead, they have nothing to do with it. Dead persons have nothing to do with sin and nothing to do with the law. The day that the Lord spoke to me in this verse, my eyes were opened. I praised the Lord that I had died not only to sin but also to the law.
According to Romans 7, whenever we try to keep the law, that is an indication that we are exercising our self and are still living in the flesh. In other words, it means that we have forgotten that we are dead. Always remember that if you are trying to keep the law, you are in the flesh, which means that sin will revive and you will die (v. 9). While it is good to die in the sense that we have died with Christ (6:6), it is not good to die as a result of sin reviving. Whenever you try to keep the law and live in the flesh, sin will revive and will fight with you. Sin will always overcome you and make you a captive (7:23). The Lord has to open our eyes so that we can see that we are dead persons who have nothing to do with sin and the law. Such a death has released us not only from sin but also from the law.
By death and resurrection, we came out of Adam and are now in Christ. Not only so, we have nothing to do with the law. Never try to keep the law. Just remember that you have died and resurrected with Christ and that now the Spirit of the Lord lives within your spirit. Simply follow Him, walk with Him, and get in line with Him. Then the strongest, most powerful law, the law of the Spirit of life within you, will take care of you and will bring the victory to you.
