..."I Have Died To The Law"

“But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages sin? Absolutely not! But if I build up again those things I once destroyed, I demonstrate that I am one who breaks God’s law. For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.” Galatians 2:17-19 NET

One of the most unique concepts of being in Christ is the revelation of sin. Sin is anything of the flesh that exalts itself above the Spirit of God. It is incredible that when we come to Christ Jesus, He reveals that we are sinners by showing us how much we are of the flesh and not the Spirit. This revelation is not a condemnation but a call to a sanctification process. This process, while challenging, separates us from the desires of the flesh and leads us towards holiness. As we become holy, we are prepared to enter sacred space. Because God lives inside His people, we become that sacred space that God inhabits, and our bodies become the temple of the living God. This personal connection with God, where He chooses to dwell within us, is a testament to His love and value for each of us. This is why it is such a struggle battling against the flesh; it doesn’t want holiness; it only wants its way, not the Spirit’s. We are at war against the flesh.

When we explore the concept of the flesh, we come to understand that it even encompasses our knowledge of God and His love for us, as well as our understanding of the bible and its requirements. Paul, the apostle, was deeply versed in the Torah and Old Testament law and was taught by Gamaliel, a devout follower of the Torah and Jewish tradition. Paul had absorbed all there was to know from the leading scholars of his day about God and His purpose for our lives. Yet, Paul came to the profound realization that all this worldly knowledge was insignificant and even considered it garbage (and dung – in his words) compared to the enlightenment and humility that come from knowing and being known by Christ.

Christ does not encourage us to sin but does reveal sin so that it can be dealt with. If you have a dark and dank home, it is hard to see what is hiding in the corners and sometimes even right in front of you because of the darkness. When you have illumination, you can see what was hidden by the darkness, which is now revealed. The Spirit of Christ works the same way, illuminating a darkened soul and revealing dark corners that need attention and cleaning. Illumination is not to spotlight or to give credence to sin but to reveal sin for what it is: a work of the flesh contrary to the Spirit of God.

What if we turn away from following Christ and go back and rebuild our lives on the foundation of our old lives that was destroyed when we came to Jesus Christ? Do we not transgress? Do we not slap God in the face? We treat the work of the Spirit like it is nothing and has no impact on us. Moving away from faith and adopting works as the means of God’s favor makes us sinners, and we break God’s law. We don’t intentionally break God’s law; we break God’s law because we have adopted our sinful nature; we are sinners who love our sin. We must understand that we if we love Jesus more than we love our sins, we reject our sinful behavior and receive Christ's righteousness and purity. It is not one-upmanship, trying to be better than we were; we cannot be better; if we could be better, then we would be better, but we can’t because we are nothing more than flesh.

Even if we could be better people, we will still break God’s law. The only one who can keep God’s law is God Himself. The law was written to demonstrate that it takes someone who is divine to keep the law because of who they are, not because of what they can do. Jesus came and fulfilled the law because of who He was, not because of His works alone. His works only testify that He is God in the flesh. We have to die to the flesh so that Christ may arise in and through us to become our salvation.

Paul said in the above verse that he ‘died to the law,’ isn’t it saying the same thing as dying to the flesh? This is a profound concept of dying to the law of the flesh. Doesn’t the law pertain to the flesh and how we conduct ourselves in social circles and society, and doesn’t that also mean that being dead to that law of the flesh so that the law of the Spirit can take hold and manifest the Spirit of love? Freedom from the law of the flesh can only mean death to our natural desires, opinions, and previous training. Becoming alive in Christ and born from His Spirit means a new life in Jesus. This is a commitment to live in Christ, to die to our old ways, and to embrace the new life He offers.

It is not a leap of faith to believe that the law was not unnecessary; it was a crucial guide that led us to Jesus, the one who fulfilled the law and its requirements. He, who became our salvation, is the culmination of everything that came before. Jesus, as God’s Son, existed long before His physical birth to Mary and Joseph. He now resides in us through His Spirit, enabling us to experience the goodness of God both physically and spiritually. That we may enter into sacred space with Him as He redeems our natural bodies, and we are always before our heavenly Father as His sons and daughters.

Stephen Barnett