Serving in the Newness of the Spirit and not in the Oldness of the Letter

“Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are freed from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.”

“For the love of Christ constrains us, because we are convinced that one has died for all, therefore all have died. And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3-4.

God did something altogether new, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.” Hebrews 2:14-15. Here we read about the mighty work, which God did in and through His Son, a work that made it possible for the just requirement of the law to be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Then we, too, begin to serve in the newness of the Spirit. Most professing Christians know nothing of this, and so they never come to live a godly life. They reckon that Jesus fulfilled the law in our stead. But then we must ask: Where do they get this understanding? Just what is the requirement of the law? It is this: “You shall not covet.” Romans 7:7.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’” Matthew 5:27-28. In this passage Jesus shows us the fulfillment of the law: You shall not covet. Lust (covetousness) is hidden from others, which is why the law was powerless, because it was weakened by the flesh. Therefore, God had to send His Son in the flesh in which lust dwells, in order to condemn lust in the flesh; and Jesus put this lust to death in the flesh. That is why it is written, “In the likeness of sinful flesh.” In us the lusts have been actively at work; thus our flesh has become sinful. We read “that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” The death mentioned here is death to the lusts in the flesh. Jesus came with this new kind of death. And because He put the lusts in the flesh to death—He did not commit sin—therefore, death could not hold Him. The resurrection from the dead proved that He was god’s Son. Romans 1:3-4.

Since this death was first active in Jesus, it is called the death (or dying) of Jesus. We can carry this same death in our bodies, and then the life of Jesus will also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:10-11. We read of Jesus, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Hebrews 9:14. He poured out His Spirit upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost. At that time they were endued with power from on high, as Jesus had promised them. Acts 1:8. Only then could they begin to serve in the newness of life, in the new ministry of the Spirit. In this ministry, sin in the flesh was put to death; this is what enabled the disciples to be Jesus’ witnesses. However, the Spirit was not only sent to give them power, but also to guide them into all truth. John 16:13. This is what God did with Jesus when He “condemned sin in the flesh.” Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:2.

Jesus had to live by faith. He Himself did not know how to condemn sin in the flesh; it was God who condemned sin in the flesh, and Jesus co-operated by offering Himself up in the power of an eternal Spirit. Jesus consecrated this way for us into the sanctuary. When it was consecrated, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom. “By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent is still standing.” Hebrews 9:8. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” the veil was rent and the way was open. Before this, only the High Priest could enter the sanctuary, but not without blood. He did not enter in with his own blood, but with the blood of animals. Jesus, on the other hand, entered in with His own blood and secured an eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12.

When the Father condemned sin in the flesh, Jesus was obedient and offered Himself up in the power of an eternal Spirit. He inaugurated this ministry in the newness of the Spirit; and in so doing, He produced the blood of the covenant. “Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God’ . . . He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.” Hebrews 10:7-10. “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep . . . .” Hebrews 13:20. He came “not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth.” 1 John 5:6-10.

The blood of Jesus gives us boldness to enter the sanctuary. But we must serve in the newness of the Spirit, or we will not come to the testimony of the blood; nor will we have the boldness to enter the sanctuary. Jesus said: “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.” John 12:25-26. Then we are serving in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

The Pharisees, after catching a woman in the act of adultery, said to Jesus: “‘Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?’ . . . Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’” (I wonder if He didn’t write on the ground what Moses says further on: “You shall not covet.”) Then it goes on to say: “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one.” John 8:5-11. (NKJV) Jesus had quite a different gospel to give her: “Go, and do not sin again.”

The Pharisees were serving in the oldness of the letter. This ministry is also called the “ministry of death.” We read about these two ministries in 2 Corinthians 3. There, in verses 17 and 18, we see the result of serving in the newness of the Spirit. “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” 2 Corinthians 4:1. This ministry leads us to fellowship in the Spirit, to the unity that Jesus prayed for: “. . . that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:21.