Christ’s death is a matter of redemption, whereas Christ’s life is a matter of salvation. In order to save us in His life Christ must be the Spirit so that He can enter into us to be our life and everything. Therefore, Romans 8:2 mentions “the Spirit of life.” This Spirit is the living water in John 4 and the rivers of living water which flow out of the innermost being of those who believe into the Lord, referred to in John 7:38. The Bible tells us that this word which the Lord Jesus spoke was concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive, but at that time the Spirit was not yet, because the Lord Jesus had not yet been glorified (v. 39). After He entered into glory in His resurrection (Luke 24:26), He became the Spirit.
The Spirit is Christ who became the life-giving Spirit to come into us as our resurrection life to save us from the sinful nature within us. Paul said in Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.” This is salvation, which is Christ as our Savior. With the Redeemer there is redemption through the precious blood; with the Savior there is salvation by the Spirit of life. This Spirit of life has entered into us with the highest law to free us from the law of sin and of death. We can use the law of gravity as an illustration. Even though the law of gravity is very strong, there is a stronger law that can cause an airplane to overcome gravity.
Within us there is a transcendent law, the law of the Spirit of life. Philippians 1:19 refers to “the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” who is the Spirit of life. Here it does not say the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit; rather, it says the Spirit of Jesus Christ, referring to the Spirit of the incarnated and resurrected One, the life-giving Spirit. Philippians 1:19 says that we are being saved through the bountiful supply of this Spirit. This is Christ as our Savior saving us through the bountiful supply of the Spirit.
Therefore, there are two aspects here. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus on the cross was for redemption through His blood. His resurrection was for salvation by the life-giving Spirit. Among the four Gospels, only the Gospel of John refers to the fact that when the Lord Jesus died for us on the cross, both blood and water came out of Him. This is because the Gospel of John is concerned not only with redemption but also with life. Blood signifies redemption, whereas water signifies the Spirit of life. We should see both the redemptive side and the saving side. We have redemption through the precious blood and salvation by the Spirit of life. In brief, we have the blood and the Spirit. The blood is for redemption, and the Spirit is for salvation.
Hymns, #1058, verse 1 says, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, / Let me hide myself in Thee; / Let the water and the blood, / From Thy riven side which flowed, / Be of sin the double cure, / Save me from its guilt and power.” We have a double problem. On the one hand, we have a record of sins before God. On the other hand, we have the nature of sin within us. Only the blood and water can be the double cure for our sin. On the one hand, the redemptive blood redeems us that we may escape the eternal punishment for sins. On the other hand, the water of life saves us that we may be delivered from the power of sin. Sin not only causes man to suffer eternal punishment, but it also has the power, which is the law of sin, to dominate man from within. In our natural life we have no way to overcome the law of sin and of death, but the law of the Spirit of life can free us in Christ from the law of sin and of death. Only the precious blood can solve the problems concerning our condemned position and our record of sins. Only the Spirit of life can solve our problem concerning the law of sin and of death. God’s full salvation consists not only of the redemption through the precious blood but also of the salvation by the Spirit of life.
In God’s full salvation there is the redemption and there is also the saving. Redemption is the effect of the precious blood, whereas saving is the power of the Spirit. In God’s full salvation there are the redemption and the saving, and there are also the blood and the Spirit. To be redeemed is a matter that is once for all. Once we have been redeemed, we have been redeemed forever, and God will never condemn us because of our sins. However, to be saved is a daily and lifelong matter. We need to be saved every day. We are people who have been bought back and redeemed by God with a high price, but we still need to be saved every day in all things, both great and small. We have received redemption, which is by the blood, once for all; however, we need to experience salvation, which is by the Spirit, day by day for our whole life.
This wonderful Christ is our Redeemer; He died on the cross and shed His blood to accomplish redemption for us. Now in His resurrection He has become the life-giving Spirit to enter into us to become our daily salvation by the inner regulation and supply. We treasure His redemption which has cleared the record of our sins before God once for all. We treasure even more that as the Spirit of life He lives in us daily to be our salvation in life. Whenever and wherever we turn to Him and draw on the bountiful supply of Him as the Spirit, He enables us to overcome the power of sin and of death so that we can live before God in freedom and have a holy and overcoming life.