You are free in Christ because He is fully God & fully man.
Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 19: The Two Natures of Christ
We believe that by being thus conceived
the person of the Son has been inseparably united
and joined together
with human nature,
in such a way that there are not two Sons of God,
nor two persons,
but two natures united in a single person,
with each nature retaining its own distinct properties.
Thus his divine nature has always remained uncreated,
without beginning of days or end of life,
filling heaven and earth.
His human nature has not lost its properties
but continues to have those of a creature—
it has a beginning of days;
it is of a finite nature
and retains all that belongs to a real body.
And even though he,
by his resurrection,
gave it immortality,
that nonetheless did not change
the reality of his human nature;
for our salvation and resurrection
depend also on the reality of his body.
But these two natures
are so united together in one person
that they are not even separated by his death.
So then,
what he committed to his Father when he died
was a real human spirit which left his body.
But meanwhile his divine nature remained
united with his human nature
even when he was lying in the grave;
and his deity never ceased to be in him,
just as it was in him when he was a little child,
though for a while it did not show itself as such.
These are the reasons why we confess him
to be true God and true man—
true God in order to conquer death
by his power,
and true man that he might die for us
in the weakness of his flesh.
Summary
In Romans chapter 8 we see the importance of the dual natures of Christ. In the previous chapters, Paul has spoken at length on sin and the law. In chapter 7, Paul speaks to how despite his desire to uphold God’s law, which is good and holy, he finds his flesh still serves sin. Despite our ongoing battle with sin, Paul reminds us in the opening verses of Romans 8 that our eternity is secure in Christ.
Paul refers to what he calls the “law of the Spirit of life” as well as “the law of sin and death”. Neither of these are the same as God’s law. The law of the Spirit of life is speaking of God’s power, while the law of sin and death is the power of sin.
Another way to understand this is that through Christ Jesus, the power of God has set us free from the power of sin.
Dig Deeper
Verse 3 speaks of God “sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh”. Through the incarnation, the Son took on flesh, which is a human nature. Notice how verse 3 uses the word “likeness”. The Son took on flesh, much like the flesh of mankind, except that he alone is without sin.
Through Jesus, God has done what the law could not, which is to set us free. This is no fault of the law of God, the fault lies solely with mankind. Paul described this as “the law, weakened by flesh”. The law is good and holy; however, a sinful humanity is unable to keep God’s law.
Because Jesus is both fully human and fully God, he was able to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. Our sin is a trespass against the law of God, one that requires condemnation. Because Jesus has a human nature, yet has not been corrupted by sin, at the crucifixion sin was condemned in the flesh.
What this has done is invalidate any claim that sin may have on you. The law has been fulfilled and the power of sin is broken. If your faith is in Jesus Christ for salvation, there is no condemnation. Your enslavement to sin has ended and the Holy Spirit empowers you to do God's will.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who did for us what the law was powerless to do;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Ephesians 3
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