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Once again let us sound out the note of freedom that the apostle strikes here:--
"The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me FREE" (Rom. 8: 2).
"For ye have not received the spirit of BONDAGE" (Rom. 8: 15).
How have we been made free?:--
"If her husband be dead, she is FREE from the law . . . . . Wherefore, my brethren, ye
also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ . . . . . We are delivered from the
law, having died to that wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit,
and not in oldness of the letter" (Rom. 7: 2-6).
The close association of the spirit with freedom finds an exposition in II Cor. 3:,
where the ministration of death and condemnation is contrasted with the ministration of
the spirit and righteousness. The conclusion reached is that "where the spirit of the Lord
is, there is liberty" (II Cor. 3: 17).
Written plainly across Rom. 8: are the words: "The flesh profiteth nothing." Let
us rejoice that condemnation is past and that the law under which we live is the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The life we now live in the flesh is by the faith of the Son of
God, and only as indwelt by the spirit of Him that raised up Christ from the dead can we
hope to live well pleasing to Him, to suffer without shame, and to rise more than
conquerors.
The expressions found in Rom. 8: 5-15 to denote "the spirit" are full and varied.
Among them we have pneuma Theou and pneuma Christou (8: 9). The words Theou
and Christou, "of God" and "of Christ", are examples of the "Genitive of Character", and
mean Divine pneuma (or Divine spirit) and Christ pneuma (or Christ spirit). This refers
to the new nature, and is set in contrast with the flesh which we derive from Adam. This
Christ pneuma is the "sonship pneuma"; and as many as are led by the Divine pneuma,
this new nature, are sons of God.
The first occurrence of "spirit" in Romans (Rom. 1: 4) is important, as it refers to the
nature of the Lord Jesus. As regards His flesh, He was "of the seed of David". As
regards His spirit, He was "the Son of God". Here we have the Christ pneuma of
Rom. 8:, without which we cannot be "sons".
The spirit of Christ, in Rom. 1: 4, is associated with resurrection and holiness. The
word translated "holiness" here is unknown outside the Scriptures. The word is
hagiosune and occurs three times: II Cor. 7: 1, I Thess. 3: 13, and Rom. 1: 4.
Hagiosune means something more than being holy as to character. It denotes the nature
of holiness itself:--
"Hence pneuma hagiosune, a pneuma of holiness, being the Genitive of Apposition,
means a pneuma which is holiness itself. This agrees with Luke 1: 35 where it is
distinctly stated to Mary that `that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God . . . . .' accordingly, at His birth He was declared to be `the Son of God'.