Unlimited: The New Way of the Spirit
Nov 11, 2022 671
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code (Romans 7:6).
Here the apostle Paul contrasts the “old way of the written code” with the “new way of the Spirit.” By dying on the cross, Jesus has released us from the law. We are no longer bound by the law. Instead of serving God by trying to keep the law, we serve him in a new way. This is the new way of the Spirit.
In Hebrews 10:19–22 we are told of “a new and living way” that has been “opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body” (v.20) so that “we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (v.19.)
Instead of serving God by trying to keep the law, we serve him in the new way of the Spirit.
Paul is using imagery from the temple in Jerusalem, which he knew well, to illustrate important truths. There was a massive curtain in front of the Most Holy Place, on which were embroidered cherubim (Ex. 26:31; 36:35.) The Most Holy Place represented the throne of God, and the cherubim pointed to the cherubin with a flaming sword which prevented Adam and Eve returning to the Garden of Eden after their sin.
But now, Jesus has opened a way through the curtain, by which we can have access to God. This “new and living way” is through his own body, broken for us as a sacrifice at the Cross.
Spiritual Application
Are you trying to serve God according to the law, or are you serving him in the new way of the Spirit?
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