Jesus Defeated Sin So I Can Walk In The Spirit

a. “What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son": The law could not defeat sin; it could only detect sin. Only Jesus can defeat sin, and He did just that through His work on the cross.

b. “By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh”: In order to defeat sin, Jesus had to identify with those bound by it, by coming in the likeness of sinful flesh. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul carefully chose his words here, indicating that Jesus was not sinful flesh, but He identified with it entirely.     

• We could not say that Jesus came in sinful flesh because He was sinless. We could not say that Jesus came in the likeness of flesh, because He really was human, not just like a human. But we can say that Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh because although He was human, He was not sinful in Himself.     


• “He condemned sin in the flesh”: Sin was condemned in the flesh of Jesus as He bore the condemnation we deserved. Since we are in Christ, the condemnation we deserve passes us over.

c. “That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us”: Because Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law, and because we are in Christ, we fulfill the law. The law is fulfilled in us in regard to obedience because Jesus’ righteousness stands for ours. The law is fulfilled in us in regard to punishment because any punishment demanded by the law was poured out upon Jesus.     

• Paul does not say that we fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. He carefully says that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us. It isn’t fulfilled by us but in us.     


• Simply put, Jesus is our substitute. Jesus was treated as a sinner so we can be treated as righteous.

d. “In us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”: The people who enjoy this are those who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Their life is marked by obedience to the Holy Spirit, not by obedience to the flesh. 

• God wants the Spirit to rule over our flesh. When we allow the flesh to reign over the Spirit, we find ourselves bound by the sinful patterns and desperation that marked Paul’s life in his “Romans 7” struggle. Our walk – the pattern of our life – must be according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh.     


• Walking in the Spirit means that the course, the direction, the progress of one’s life is directed by the Holy Spirit. It is a continued and progressive motion.     


• “Observe carefully that the flesh is there: he does not walk after it, but it is there. It is there, striving and warring, vexing and grieving, and it will be there till he is taken up into heaven. It is there as an alien and detested force, and not there so as to have dominion over him. He does not walk after it, nor practically obey it. He does not accept it as his guide, nor allow it to drive him into rebellion.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)

Based on the Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik