By being born again, we have become new creatures in Christ, and this spiritual birth ushers us into the newness of life. Having died with Christ spiritually and risen again with Him, we are united to Christ by faith, and now we walk in the newness of life, which mirrors the new way of the Spirit. And this new way of the Spirit positions 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."
Now that we are in Christ, we've been made free from the law, and so we are no longer expected to walk in the flesh, having died to sinful nature. Being in Christ means that we have the liberty to serve a new purpose in accordance with God's will, because we are now being ruled by the Spirit of God.
Old way of the written code refers to oldness of the letter (Mosaic law). By dying with Christ to what once bound us, we have been released from this old way. To that effect, Pauline epistolary expression reads, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2 ESV).
The results which the old way of the written code could not accomplish in us have now been accomplished in us by new way of the Spirit through the glorious gospel of Christ. To instantiate this verity, the New Living Translation of Romans 8:3 reads, "The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins" (NLT).
One of the benefits of this new way is that we can make decisions through the lens of spiritual wisdom, understanding and intelligence, not by following the rules and requirements of the written code of the law. Grace introduced the new way of the Spirit, meaning that we serve God through the power of grace at work in us, the greatness of divine power which we never had access to, until we resurrected with Christ. The power of this grace transcends natural limitations and causes us to function in spiritual dimension that denotes a greater plane of life.
Bearing fruit of righteousness is also a sign of serving in the new way of of the Spirit (see Philippians 1:11). It is a mission based on justification and righteousness, meaning that such cannot not be derived in the old way of the written code. To that effect, apostle Paul said, "So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God" (Romans 7:4 NLT).
The old way was in the order of religious observance which also includes the ten commandments, and so it was powerless to bear fruit to God or produce the likeness of Christ, instead its fruit resulted in sin and death. But by the virtue of new birth, we are totally freed from the such state of bondage - the law of sin and death, and now we bear the fruit of righteousness.
The new way of the Spirit depends on the finished work of Christ, not on natural birth or by imposition of rules and regulations. The old way of the written code depends on performance of set standards and utilizes a system of rewards and punishments to attain its objectives. So by subscribing to the old way, it would just be 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 where we draw from spiritual realities by faith. For instance, the Holy Spirit Himself is unseen by the physical eyes, yet we live and operate by His guidance and governing influence, as though we see Him one-on-one. Simply put, it is a walk by faith, not by sight (see 2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV). Shalom!
I'm a partaker of divine nature and I live by the Spirit on account of God's grace. My life, my behavioural conduct and my spiritual walk in this world rest upon functioning in the new way of the Spirit because I'm born of the Spirit. Hence, I don't function by sight, but by the mystery of faith. with my Christian walk and course of life patterned after Christ, in line with spiritual realities. Glory to God!
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