Jesus Christ is the fountain of life.

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What an encouraging verse! Let’s think back into chapter 7. There he mentioned the law in the members of his body which he also called the law of sin and and in this verse he calls it the law of sin and of death. He mentioned the law of the mind in vs. 23, which I think was referring to the law of righteousness. Here he introduced another law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. I have suggested that when Paul used the word nomos in these verses, he had in mind a principle or a dynamic that was a work. Another way to understand it is this: nomos literally means to parcel out or it refers to something that is assigned. For instance, an employee might be given an assignment that contributes to the success of a project. A certain task has to be accomplished for the project to be completed. Hopefully this helps us grasp the scope of God’s plan of salvation. The law of God has an assignment: to define, aggravate, and give sin a stage upon which to manifest itself. The flesh’s assignment is to sin against the Law of God. The regenerated mind’s assignment is to hear the Law of God and agree with it. The assignment of Jesus Christ is to instill the breath of life into those God has given to Him from before the foundation of the world. Paul clearly stated this in 8:11. “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, who is also the Spirit of life. Pay close attention to Jesus’ prayer recorded in John 17:1-2 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.” The apostle John also wrote in 1 John 5:12, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” What an encouraging verse Rom. 8:1 is to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Spirit of life, and we have been set free from the flesh’s assignment to sin by our union with Jesus’ death on the cross and by the indwelling Spirit of Christ who has been assigned to us for the purpose of righteousness. Love can only flow out of the Spirit of life in Christ. His life sets us free from the assignment of the flesh because we are not trying to fulfill the law of God by fleshly means. We live by the life of Christ. We love through the life of Christ. He lives in us, and loves through us for the glory of God. Have you realized what God did for you through Jesus Christ? Are you living to love with Jesus because you have His life in your mortal body? Have you experienced the freedom Christ was sent to accomplish in your life. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” [by trying to do good according to the Law]. Don’t let this pass by without a pause and meditation on what Paul declared in Rom. 8:2. Read it again and again until you are awed by the power of the cross, the love, goodness, wisdom, and grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is the fountain of living to love with Jesus. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com