The future "we shall be" must not be taken to refer to the yet future resurrection of the

dead, but is the employment of the future for what is called "the ethical necessity", as for

Future resurrection is, of course, implied, but the apostle is more concerned with

present "walk", and to show that its only hope of success lies in the fact of the risen life

already there in Christ at the right hand of God. Much the same course is pursued in

Col. 3:, where the fact that we have been raised with Christ is brought forward as the

incentive to set our mind on things above where Christ is, and so to mortify our members

that are upon the earth.

As we shall serve our readers best by dealing with one point at a time, and as the next

verse introduces yet a further development in the doctrine of sanctification, we will close

this present article here, having established point No. 2, namely, that sanctification,

whose sphere is newness of life, is possible only by union with Christ in His death, burial

and resurrection.

We have seen in previous studies that sanctification has a sphere--"newness of life",

and a condition--"unity with the likeness of His death and resurrection"; we now

proceed to the consideration of a third feature, a state--"liberty".

Verse 6, where our study is resumed, ends with the words: "That henceforth we

should not serve sin."  From this point to the close of the chapter we have many

references to "servants" (literally "slaves") who were once under an awful dominion, but

are now "free". With chapter 7: comes a change of figure, from that of a slave to that

of a married woman under the law, who is set "free" from her marriage and all its

obligations by the death of her husband. This is appropriately brought to a conclusion in

verse 6 with service "in newness of spirit".

The following passages will help us to see how prominently "freedom" and

"servitude" figure in these chapters; in each case one of the verbal forms of eleutheros is