1. “In the putting off of the body of the flesh”; “You have put off the old man” (Col. 2:11; 3:9).
Man’s strongest bondage and entanglements come from his flesh and the old man. From these there is no escape for those who are not saved. However, in Christ those who are saved have escaped the flesh and the old man. The Lord’s death and resurrection enables them to put off the flesh and the old man. The Lord’s life of death and resurrection enables them to experience this putting off and to no longer be bound by the flesh or be under the bondage of the old man.
1. “God sent forth His Son...born under law, that He might redeem those under law” (Gal. 4:4-5).
Our sins place us under God’s law. God’s law is righteous, and it places righteous requirements upon those who are unrighteous and sinful. If we do not fulfill the righteous requirements of the law, we cannot escape the curse of the law. The Lord Jesus came and paid the price for us on the cross, fulfilling the righteous requirements of the law and redeeming us out from under the law to release us from the law and its curse and to give us freedom.
2. “We have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held” (Rom. 7:6; see also Gal. 2:19).
In the past, we were under the law and bound by the law. Through faith in Christ, we have escaped the law. Christ was put to death as our Substitute. He paid the entire price required by the law, redeeming us out from under the law and releasing us from the condemnation of the law. In terms of our union with Christ, we were included in His death, causing us to die to the law which bound us and releasing us from the bondage of the law. The law cannot lord it over those who are dead; they are released from its control. Because we died together with Him, we have been released from the control of the law and are no longer responsible to it.
3. “Sin will not lord it over you, for you are not under the law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).
In the past, we were under the condemnation of the law and under the control of the law. The Lord Jesus died in our place to redeem us from the condemnation of the law, or from the condemning law. He also brought us to die with Him, releasing us from the control of the law, or from the controlling law. Then He made us live together with Him in resurrection, giving us His life and enabling us to live under God’s grace. Therefore, we are no longer controlled under law; rather, we are free under grace.
4. “For freedom...Christ has set us free...Do not be entangled with a yoke of slavery again” (Gal. 5:1).
The words freedom and set...free refer to being set free from the law and being given freedom. In the past, we were under the law and entangled with a yoke of slavery. Christ released us through His redemption and set us free from the yoke of the law, giving us freedom.
5. “So then you are no longer a slave but a son” (Gal. 4:7).
A person under the law is like a slave without freedom. When he receives the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, as his Savior, the Spirit of sonship enters into him and gives him the life of God, making him God’s son and giving him freedom.
6. “You were called for freedom” (Gal. 5:13).
Because we sinned, we fell under the bondage of the law. God came and called us to receive His salvation and thus released us from the bondage of the law and gave us freedom.
7. “Our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 2:4).
A person under the law is a slave to ordinances and is bound by the letter; after he receives the Lord’s salvation, he becomes a son of God in Christ and enjoys the freedom of life.
8. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).
The letter of the law places people under bondage, but the Spirit of the Lord frees them. Before a person is saved, he does not have the Spirit of the Lord; consequently, he is under the bondage of the letter of the law. When we were saved, we received the Spirit of the Lord; consequently, the Spirit of the Lord freed us from the bondage of the letter of the law, giving us freedom.