What is the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2)?

To begin with we must distinguish between "the law" and "law" without the definite article in the original Greek. If we possess the "New Translation" of the late Mr. Darby we can pretty easily do this, even though we are unable to handle the Greek text. "The law" is specific, and indicates the law of Moses whereas "law" is characteristic, and sets before us rather that principle or feature which characterized the law of Moses, viz., God formulating and codifying His righteous demands upon man, and then basing His attitude towards man upon man's attitude towards Him as revealed by his response thereto.

Then we have also to distinguish between both the above meanings and the use of the word in such a passage as Romans 8:2. Here it bears the same sense as it does when we speak of the laws of the universe, or more specifically of the law of gravitation, and indicates some controlling force which operates with uniformity of action upon all under its power.

82 Verse 2. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." The old man could never get rid of its law (law here is power, or nature acting uniformly), but here we have another man, the new man; and that has its law, and what is that? life in Christ: a law as uniform in its spirit of action as any natural law. And this law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is godliness, associating with Him out of the sphere of sin and death. The law, dealing with the old man, had no power against this law of sin and death - this contrary spirit of action; but now there is the new man, with a new law, and that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus; but he does not speak of walking in the Spirit, till he has said, "no condemnation," as there is no power for walk till that question is settled. We saw in chapter 7 the desires of the new life, but working towards the law, and, therefore, no power; but here it is life itself in Christ acting in its own law.

Verse 3. "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh." The law was not in fault. It failed through the weakness of the flesh; you cannot make anything perfect out of bad materials. A man may be a very skilful workman, but if you set him to work on bad materials, all his skilfulness would prove of no avail. If it is to carve on wood, for instance, he may display the most exquisite taste and workmanship, and produce that which all must admire, and declare to be perfect, and without a blemish or a fault: but if he were to attempt to do the same on clay instead of wood, or on rotten wood, it would crumble to pieces beneath his hand, and thus all his skill would go for nothing; so the law attempting to work on the flesh only crumbles it to pieces. The law never effected the giving of righteousness. It promises life to those who keep it, but it never gives life; what man could not do, God can do. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh," in dying the just for the unjust. God condemned, or, as you might say, executed sin in the flesh for us by the death of Christ. He did not die only for my sins (though that is true), but for my sin. The root of sin that is in my nature, and that which worries and distresses the heart of the sincere believer daily, is put away for faith by death, and we are dead to it, as well as those sins that are committed; for the heart says, and rightly too, that God ought to condemn it, and trembles; now how is this to be met? By God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, or as a sacrifice for sin.

"The law of sin and death" does not mean the law of God, as some of the divines strangely said through making "the law of the Spirit" to be the gospel; it simply means the uniform principle of the flesh in moral character and in result. Power is in the Spirit who has shown us our place in Christ and set us free as alive to God in Him. Thus the common place of no condemnation to those that are in Christ is shown to be inseparable from a new life in the power of the Spirit in Christ risen, which freed us from sin and death as a law; and this is made intensely personal. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus freed me from the law of sin and death." The next two verses will explain how God in His grace has effected this, without enfeebling, yea, maintaining in no other way so well, His holy condemnation of evil — of our evil.

Verse 2. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” We have seen the terrible law, or power of sin; have we not also known and felt it? But what new law, or power, or principle, is this? Is it the power of my new nature as born of God? No; though, as such, I did delight in the law of God; but that did not make me free from the law of sin, as we have seen. But this does — the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. This is God the Holy Ghost dwelling in us; it is not now death, but the Spirit of life. Thus, as we have seen, we have a justified life. Now we have power — the law of the Spirit of life. Elsewhere we learn that the life we now have is eternal, and the Spirit is eternal. Thus the power we have is eternal. We have seen that the flesh, or sin, is still in us — that which is born of the flesh; but here is deliverance from its power: made free from the law of sin and death; made free by infinite, eternal power, the law of the Spirit of life. It is not “will” do, but, “has made me free.” So terrible is our depraved old sinful nature, that, though born of God, and I delighted in the law of God, longed to keep it; yet the law of sin in my members brought me into captivity. Has it not been so? But now we are made free from its power, by a greater power — the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Oh, for more simple faith in the word of God; yea, and also in the Holy Ghost dwelling in us! This verse sums up the whole of chapter 6. It is the principle of reckoning ourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Jesus Christ, applied by the power of the Spirit.

Questions have been raised here as to "the law," used at the beginning and at the end of this sentence. There is no real difficulty nor ground for doubt. The apostle has already given us to see his use of the term for a given principle acting uniformly, as when he speaks of "law of faith" (Rom. 3:27) in contrast with "law of works;" and later still "law in my members," or "of sin," there contradistinguished from the "law of my mind."

The meaning then is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus acting constantly to a given end. Undoubtedly this is only since the gospel was preached, but it does not therefore mean the gospel. Nor does the apostle say life only, but "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." In the distressing conflict under law, described in the latter portion of Romans 7, there was life: else there would have been insensibility to sin; but not the power of the Spirit working in and with it: else there would have been liberty, and not the bondage that there was then.

Now let us put these two things together. The Spirit is come as the Divine Representative of the absent Lord, gone on high; the disciples are left as the human representatives, with authority to ask in His name. Having done so, we shall at once realize that consequently it is of the utmost importance that we are dominated by the Spirit of God. He indwells us that He may dominate us. This we see brought to pass in the Apostle Paul, when he writes that, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). The word, "law," is here used evidently in the sense of, "effective control." Dominated now by the Spirit, Paul was set free from the domination of sin and death. He not only had "life in Christ Jesus," but also the Spirit, as the energy of that life. In verse 9 of that chapter He is called, "the Spirit of Christ," since He is here as we have seen, to represent Him.

We have a new life — "life in Christ Jesus." But not only so, we have the Spirit, who gives energy to that life, indwelling us. And it is His controlling power that sets us free in experience and practice from the power of sin and death, that used to control us in our unconverted days, and that, apart from the control of the Spirit, would still work havoc in the life of service: to God to which we are dedicated.

Not only have we life in Christ Jesus but the Spirit of that life has been given to us. Thereby a new force enters our lives. Coming under the controlling power of the Spirit of God we are released from the controlling power of sin and death. The greater law overrides the lesser.

Moreover, the Spirit always acts according to one unchanging principle, for this is the meaning of the expression "the law of the Spirit". Law is an unchanging unbending principle. Thus the law of the Spirit is always to set aside in the believer that which has been condemned and set aside in the death of Christ, in order to manifest in the believer the life of the risen Christ. By the action of the Spirit, engaging our hearts with Christ, we are practically set free from the law of sin and death.

It is well to remark that this freedom is not said to be from the presence of sin and death, but from "the law of sin and death". While down here we shall not be free from the presence of sin, but, by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" we are made free from the power of sin and death.

Let us carefully notice the absolute finality of this verse. It is no attainment of experience or of spirituality that made Paul feel free from the law of sin and death. Nor did he merely feel free: such was not the question. Feelings must not be trusted here: we must have established facts, not feelings. And such we have here — “The law of the Spirit, of life in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Blessed, unchangeable truth — applicable to every saint of God, though indeed not realized by all. But be this as it may, it stands in all its noble grandeur, always the same, ready to be appropriated by the faith of all who take it as it stands. “Hath made me free”: this is rest indeed. It is nothing to be grasped at nor sought with the strivings of human labor, experience, or feelings: freedom is accomplished through Christ Jesus — the Spirit of God also attesting it in the soul.

This was “what the law could not do.” Why? It was weak through the flesh. The flesh — sinful flesh — could only draw the displeasure of law and bondage to its judgment. The law itself had no strength to redeem souls from its bondage. It could leave a man free who had never sinned, but it could not liberate one who had sinned.