In the universe there are two worlds, two realms, a spiritual world and a physical one. In this spiritual world there are demons, evil spirits, and many negative things which bother us. Paul had a revelation of the spiritual world. In Colossians 2:14 and 15 he points out that when the Lord Jesus was crucified, He stripped off the rulers and the authorities, making a display of them openly and triumphing over them. Those who crucified the Lord Jesus did not know what was taking place in the spiritual world while the Lord was on the cross. But the demons and the evil angels realized that the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross meant their defeat. According to Colossians 2:15, God the Father came in to clear the way so that Christ’s crucifixion would not be frustrated. Therefore, through the death of Christ on the cross, the rulers and authorities were defeated. This indicates that during His crucifixion Christ was fighting against the evil powers. The evil powers could not prevail against Christ on the cross.
After the Lord Jesus died, He was buried. In a sense, the evil angels were glad that Christ was buried. When He was about to rise up from the dead, the enemies of God once again tried to frustrate Him. The evil powers did their best to hold Him, to retain Him, in death. But according to Acts 2:24, it was impossible for Christ to be held by death. He arose from among the dead and ascended into heaven. When He ascended, He stripped off the evil powers and captured them. My purpose in mentioning this is to point out that the Christian life is not only related to the physical world, but is also involved with the spiritual world.
Our problems in the Christian life are not mainly with the physical world, but with the spiritual world. Even sin is not actually a physical matter. On the contrary, it is something spiritual and exists in the spiritual realm. Therefore, if we would overcome sin, we need spiritual power, spiritual strength. Mental power, which is actually related to the physical world, cannot release us from the power of sin. Sin is spiritual, and it can be overcome only by means of spiritual power. Concerning this spiritual power, Romans 8 is vital.
In 8:4 Paul refers to both the physical world and the spiritual world. He says that we “do not walk according to flesh, but according to spirit.” The expression “according to flesh” refers to the physical realm, but the expression “according to spirit” refers to the spiritual world. The Christian life is complicated. On the one hand, we have a physical part related to the physical world; on the other hand, we have a spiritual part—our spirit—which is related to the spiritual world. We need to see that the Christian life is involved with both worlds and that these worlds exist within us. We have the flesh, and we also have the spirit. We need to consider whether we are living in the flesh, in the physical world, or in the spirit, in the spiritual world. Are we walking according to the flesh or according to the spirit?
In 8:3 we see that concerning sin God did a great thing: Through the incarnation of the Son of God, God dealt with the problem of sin, condemning sin in the flesh. Verse 3 includes both the incarnation and the crucifixion. God sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin: this refers to Christ’s incarnation. Then God condemned sin in the flesh; this is related to Christ’s crucifixion.
God condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Notice that in verse 4 Paul says fulfilled, not kept. If he had said kept instead of fulfilled, this verse would mean that we must keep the law. However, here Paul refers not to keeping the law, but to the fulfilling of the righteous requirements of the law in those who walk according to spirit. This means that the requirements of the law are fulfilled not in those who keep the law, but in those who walk according to spirit.
Romans 8 is deep, profound, and very experiential. Without adequate spiritual experience, we cannot understand this chapter. According to verses 3 and 4, God sent His incarnate Son concerning sin. Through the death of His Son on the cross, God condemned sin in the flesh. His purpose in condemning sin was that the righteous requirement of the law of God may be fulfilled in us, not by our efforts to keep the law, but by our walking according to spirit. Thus, we are not law-keepers; we are those who walk according to spirit.