In 8:2 Paul says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death.” The life in 8:2 is the saving life in 5:10 and the reigning life in 5:17. Hence, 8:2 is the direct continuation of 5:10 and 17. The saving and reigning life has a law, and this is the law of the Spirit of life. We may also say that this law is the law of the saving and reigning life. In chapter eight we have the continuation and the development of the saving and reigning life revealed in chapter five. In Romans 8 we have not only the saving and reigning life itself; we have the Spirit and also the law of this life.
As Paul was writing chapter eight of Romans, he had a number of wonderful matters in view. In this chapter he puts these matters together. First, in Romans 8 we have the Divine Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Verse 15 speaks of the Father: “For you have not received a spirit of slavery to fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father.” Verse 3 speaks of the Son: “God sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” This chapter speaks of the Spirit again and again (vv. 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 23, 26, and 27). Therefore, in Romans 8 we see the Trinity of the Godhead; that is, we see the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
In this chapter we also see the process through which the Triune God has passed. In verse 3 we have the incarnation, for this verse says that God sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin. This involves incarnation. Second, in Romans 8 the death of Christ is strongly implied. Verse 11 says that God raised Christ Jesus from among the dead. How could the Lord have been resurrected if He had not died? Therefore, here we have incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.
In this chapter the resurrection of Christ is revealed in a rich way. This chapter emphasizes the resurrection because it is a chapter on the Spirit, and the Spirit is the reality of resurrection. We should not try to separate the Spirit from resurrection. Only in the Spirit can we have a full realization of the resurrection of Christ. Romans 8, therefore, is concerned with both the Spirit and resurrection. Because this chapter refers to incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, we may say that it reveals the process through which the Triune God has passed.
In Romans 8 Paul also has much to say regarding our experience. In this chapter he not only speaks of the Spirit of God, but also speaks of our regenerated human spirit. For example, 8:10 says, “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness.” The spirit in this verse, of course, is our spirit, not the Holy Spirit. Because we have Christ in us, our spirit is life. For this reason, we need continually to turn to our spirit. Whenever you feel that you are weak or tired, you need to turn to your spirit. Are you tempted to lose your temper? Turn to your spirit. We have a part of our being that is life, and this part is our regenerated spirit. No matter how young or new a believer may be in the Lord, the regenerated spirit of that one is life. Praise the Lord that in the New Testament there is a verse that tells us that our spirit is life!
Romans 8:6 says, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” We have seen from verse 10 that our regenerated spirit is life. Now according to this verse we see that the mind set on the spirit is life. We all know that our mind is troublesome. For example, doubts arise from the mind. All day long we are bothered by our mind. But according to verse 6, even our troublesome mind can be life. In this verse Paul clearly says that the mind set on the spirit is life and also peace. Therefore, our spirit is life, and it is possible for our mind to be life as well.
In 8:6 we see the condition that must be fulfilled if our mind is to be life. This condition, this requirement, is that the mind be set on the spirit. If our mind is set on the flesh, the mind will be death. But if we turn our mind to the spirit and set it on the spirit, our mind will be life and peace. Many of us can testify of this from our experience. For example, suppose you are tempted to be angry with a certain person. If you set your mind on the flesh, surely you will be angry. But if you set your mind on the spirit, your mind will be life. First our spirit becomes life through regeneration. Then by being set on the spirit our mind can also become life.