Title: The Work of God's Law
Commentary on Romans 58
God's Law
Romans 8:3 - 4
Introduction: The words of Romans 8:3,4 given today are important to us in two ways. One is that God has done the things of the law that we cannot do because of our weakness. And in verse 4, it explains why God has done what we cannot do in this way, so that we may fulfill the requirements of the law. It can be said that this word expresses the same meaning as the word in Romans 7:4. “Therefore, my brethren, you also were put to death to the law through the body of Christ, that you might go to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God.”
The implication of these two verses is that God has set us free from the curse of the law, set us free from sin, and saved us, so that we will no longer be slaves to the sins of the past, but bear fruit for God. It means that it is in order to bear fruit. That is what he meant when he said, “that the requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us.”
1. What the Law Can't Do
(1) This means that we cannot do what the law wants us to do. The law is good and spiritual to us because it is a commandment given by God. The reason we fail to keep the law is not because the law is weak. The weak side is rather on our side. If we only keep the law, we can attain righteousness through that law. But because we are weak, we cannot obtain righteousness by keeping the law. Therefore, the law, which was supposed to give us righteousness, came to play the role of convincing and condemning because of our weakness (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16).
(2) The law makes it clear that the reason why we cannot accomplish the good and spiritual will is because of our “weakness through the flesh.” The law is righteous and good and strong, but our flesh is weak. Our bodies cannot meet the requirements of the law. Although the law lacks nothing and has everything, it cannot give us righteousness because our bodies are weak.
When we say that our bodies are weak, we mean that we are not able to do what the law requires. The sin we inherited from Adam is imputed to us, and we are born as slaves to sin, a body sold to sin. The Bible testifies to this fact in many ways. “For through one man death reigned through him” (Romans 5:17). We are “carnal, sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). All these words are proof that we cannot fulfill God's holy law because our bodies are weak.
2. God Does
But it says, “God does it.” He said that God can do what we humans cannot do because of our physical weakness. These words have already been spoken by God. Then let's take a look at how God did this.
(1) He said that He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh because of sin. The word “because of sin” refers to the cause of our physical weakness. We cannot do the work of the law because of this sin. As long as we have sin, there is no way for us to fulfill the righteousness of the law because we are slaves to sin and are subject to the rule of sin. God sent His Son into this world to accomplish through Him what was impossible because of this sin.
(2) It is said that He sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. After all, such a problem is a problem that only God can solve, but God said that He sent His Son in the form of sinful flesh to solve this problem. He said that he was in the shape of a sinful body. He took the form of a sinner, not a sinner. This means that He came in the same flesh as our sinners (John 1:14, Philippians 2:6-8).
(3) Why did God have to send his Son in the likeness of sinners like us? This is to fulfill the law on our behalf, which we cannot fulfill because of our weakness. Because God is true and just, he cannot do anything in a way that is contrary to his truth and justice. God accomplished the truth and justice by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to accomplish the work of the law, which was impossible because of our sinfulness.
Jesus could never come as a sinner. The reason is that in order for Jesus to fulfill the law for us, we must keep the law and never sin as much as we do.
(4) Then, what is the work of the law that Jesus must fulfill on our behalf? This can be seen in two ways. One of them is that we still have to pay a sufficient price for the sins we have committed. But because he said that the penalty for that sin was death, the Son of God had to do it. Second, he fulfills the righteousness of the law, which we could not achieve. While Jesus was in this world, he had to lead a flawless and legal life. This work of Jesus has been handed over to us by God by uniting us in our faith. In this way, God has done what we cannot do because of the weakness of the flesh.
(5) God did this by condemning the Son to sin. To say that He condemned our sins means that He passed our sins on to Him so that He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. His suffering was the result of our sins, and he imputed our sins to him so that he could be judged as a ransom sacrifice.
3. That the requirements of the law might be fulfilled for us.
In the end, God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to do the work that we could not do in our weakness, so that the requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. You did. Here, the object of us, who walks after the spirit and not after the flesh, means “all Christians who have benefited from God doing what we were unable to do because of our weakness.” Christians are people who have to live after the Spirit. Sometimes they are deceived by the flesh and sometimes swerve astray, but this is not a normal Christian life.
Conclusion: We should be thankful for what our God has done for us through His Son. We have now fulfilled the law in the Son. This should not be surprising. All that Christ has done is more perfect than the law, more holy, more righteous, and more spiritual, so that our righteousness and life are perfect and perfect. But God is saying that what He has done for us is so that we can glorify Him.