THE NEW WAY OF THE SPIRIT

MONDAY 09 AUGUST 2021

By being born again, we become new creatures in Christ and this spiritual birth ushers us into the new way of the Spirit. Having died with Christ spiritually and risen again with Him, we are united to Christ by faith, and now walk in the newness of life, which mirrors the new way of the Spirit. The new way of the Spirit invites us to live in reality beyond the natural realm.

Reference: Romans 7:6 English Standard Version (ESV) "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

In time past, when we walked in the flesh, we reaped the consequences of that choice because of our limited and sin-controlled nature. In fact, in the flesh, the sinful passions that arouse through the law works in unbelievers to bear fruit that lead to death. Now the situation is different for those in Christ. This is why the Bible says, "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death" (Romans 8:1-2 NLT).

Now in Christ, we are made free from the law, and so we are no longer expected to walk in the flesh, having died to sinful nature. Having Christ in us means that we have the liberty to serve a new purpose, because we are now being ruled by the Spirit of God.

Old way of the written code refers to oldness of the letter (law). By dying with Christ to what once bound us, we have been released from this old way. The results which the old way of the written code or law of Moses could not accomplish in us are now accomplished in us by new way of the Spirit through the glorious gospel. One of the benefits of this new way is that we can make decisions through the lens of spiritual intelligence, not by following the rules and requirements of the written code of the law.

Grace is the new way of the Spirit, meaning that we serve God through the power of grace at work in us, a power we did not have access to before. The grace of God transcends natural limitations and causes us to function in greater spiritual dimension or plane of life.

Bearing fruit of righteousness is also serving in the new way of of the Spirit (see Romans 7:4; Philippians 1:11). It is an attitude and way of justification, and such cannot not be derived in the old way of the written code. The old way was in the flesh, and so it was powerless to bear fruit to God or produce the likeness of Christ, instead its fruit resulted in death. But by the virtue of new birth, we are freed from the old state of bondage to the law of sin and death to bear the fruit of righteousness.

The new way of the Spirit depends on the finished work of Christ, not on physical ordinances or the imposition of rules and regulations. The old way of the written code depends on the performance of set standards and utilizes a system of rewards and punishments to attain its objectives. So by the old way, its just easy or natural to fall short of pleasing God. But in the new way of the Spirit, we please God by walking in the Spirit and we function in the unseen perspective and spiritual realities by faith. For instance, the Holy Spirit Himself is unseen by the physical eyes, yet we live and act by His guidance and intelligence as though we see Him. Simply put, it is a walk by faith, not by sight (see 2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV). Shalom!

Scripture Reading - 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 6:10-13; Colossians 2:20; Galatians 2:19.

Exuberant Declaration: I'm a partaker of divine nature and I live by the Spirit on account of God's grace. My life, conduct and walk in this world rest on serving in the new way of the Spirit because I'm born of the Spirit. Hence, I don't function by the faculty of sight, but by the mystery of faith, with my Christian walk and course of life patterned after Christ in reference to spiritual realities. Glory to God!