Introduction
On Sunday, October 11, at the Église Protestante Évangélique Elim, the preacher continued her series on life in the Spirit. In previous weeks she had compared the Christian life to an airplane in flight: one force pulls down, another lifts up.
This morning she tells "a wedding story" from her youth in Macau, then opens Romans 7. Her question is simple: who were you married to before you knew Jesus, and who do you belong to now?
Her conviction fits in one sentence: Jesus' death set you free from your fleshly nature so that you could be united with Christ. Your new identity is the key to "making the flight successful" and rising toward heavenly life.
Outline of the Message
1. Two Forces, Two Laws
- An airplane in flight is subject to two forces: gravity, which holds it down, and aerodynamic lift, which raises it up. The Bible speaks of the same reality with two laws: the law of the Spirit of life and the law of sin and of death (Romans 8:2).
- The law of sin goes by other names: the flesh, the old man, the fleshly nature. "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16-17): the two are opposed to each other.
- God's solution is "extremely radical": a crucifixion. Jesus was crucified so that we could be set free and fly upward.
- Jesus has already accomplished everything, but he joins us to his cross. Suffering is part of the path: whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin (1 Peter 4:1). Often we want to avoid suffering according to God's will, and we end up suffering even more severely and intensely.
2. A Pastor Faithful to His Covenant
- In Macau, where many Chinese people took refuge when China became communist, the preacher knew as a child a pastor in his thirties, handsome, gifted, committed to the Lord, and a Chinese opera singer. Several women in the church were interested in him, but he stayed "unmoved."
- His secret: he had married shortly before leaving China, thinking his wife would join him. The border closed and they were separated.
- He refused every marriage proposal: "I am bound by a marriage commitment." Ten years went by. Many told him the law would allow him to start a new life. His answer: "If I do that, I will be an adulterer before God. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, a covenant."
- A widowed colleague, capable and "with a heart on fire for the Lord," worked at his side. A feeling grew, but he still said no as long as he was bound.
- One day word came that his wife had died. With the death certificate in hand, he married this sister. He had waited 25 years. The marriage was "extremely happy," and the couple bore much fruit for the church.
3. Romans 7: A Death That Sets Free
- The Bible tells a similar story in Romans 7:1-6. The law has power over a person only as long as he lives: a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive. If he dies, she is free to belong to another without being an adulteress.
- Paul is speaking to people "who know the law," the law of Moses but also law in general, which the Romans themselves knew. It is obvious to everyone.
- "Therefore, my brothers, you also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you would be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit to God."
- The day you gave your life to Jesus, you were set free from sin and from the law. You were transferred under "the new regime of the Spirit." These are two different regimes.
- Thanks to the death of Jesus, who bore the penalty the law demanded, we are free to be legally joined to another. And that person, of course, is Jesus.
4. Who Were You Married To?
- The preacher asks the congregation. Answers come quickly: the things of the world, sin, the flesh. Verse 5 says it: "when we were living in the flesh."
- We were married to, bound to, united with our fleshly nature. "A horrible husband": cruel, twisted, full of lies, making us do all sorts of bad things.
- "You are under his control, you cannot break away, you belong to him." That was our condition before accepting Jesus: manipulated, drawn into doing things we sometimes did not even want to do.
- Then the good news: one day the wife comes home and finds her husband sitting motionless in his chair. A heart attack. He is dead. This oppressed and mistreated woman is set free and can be united with another.
5. A New Identity in Christ
- Spiritually, we are now united with Christ. "Aren't you happy?" In Ephesians 1, every blessing is poured out on you because you belong to Christ: you are forgiven, saved, loved, chosen, and you have received the Holy Spirit.
- You have become a new creation. The preacher stresses one point above all: it is a new identity.
- When a woman marries, she changes her name. The preacher herself, in marrying a Frenchman, changed her name and obtained French citizenship. In the same way, we have a new citizenship: we belong to heaven.
- The devil has a tactic: to make us believe we are still married to our sinful nature. If you believe that, you feel powerless and oppressed. But Jesus set you free and gave you the ability to live the life of the Spirit, in freedom and in power.
- The life of the Spirit is not made only of miracles and spectacular moments. It is "a daily walk, day after day," like an airplane that has to hold its altitude.
- The Bible says to consider yourself already in this position (Romans 6:11). Instead of repeating "I failed," stand in who you are in Christ, follow the current of grace, and resist, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whatever pulls you down: the flesh, sin, the world.
6. The Children of Each Marriage
- "A natural consequence of marriage is that there is fruit": children. And children do not come alone, you have to be united with someone.
- The first marriage, to the fleshly nature, also produces children: the works of the flesh in Galatians 5, which the preacher had studied the previous time in four categories. When you are united with the flesh, those children come naturally.
- The second marriage produces other children: the fruit of the Spirit, which the congregation recites in groups of three. Love, joy, peace; patience, kindness, goodness; faith, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
- After a sermon, someone told her they had cut off all social media. But if you strive in the flesh, you fall back into the works of the flesh. "It is not a question of effort, it is a question of life."
- If you are attached to Jesus, in a relationship of intimacy with him, you will bear fruit automatically. "It's as simple as that." Jesus transforms you from the inside.
7. Staying on Course, Eyes Fixed on Jesus
- Jesus is in heaven, and today it is the Spirit within us who leads us. Walking by the Spirit, living by the Spirit, being led by the Spirit: that is life with Jesus.
- The congregation reads Hebrews 12:1-2 together. The preacher sums it up: "You have to fly, but you have to stay on course." She invites everyone to say it to their neighbor.
- We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, like a cloud of airplanes flying at different altitudes. Throwing off the burden and the sin means getting rid of whatever pulls us down.
- God is not unaware of the struggles many face. Life is not easy, and daily worries pin us to the ground. Trials are unavoidable, but God sees them and takes care of us. We have to persevere and say: "I am going to keep taking off."
- Eyes fixed on Jesus means having a destination. He is up there, he never changes, and he gives strength to keep going. He endured the cross and despised the shame because of the joy that awaited him, and he has prepared a place for us to join him.
Key Takeaways
- Through Jesus' death on the cross, you are set free from the law and from your fleshly nature to belong to Christ.
- The devil wants you to believe you are still bound to sin. In Christ, your identity is completely changed.
- The life of the Spirit is a daily walk: consider yourself in Christ, follow the current of grace, and resist whatever pulls you down.
- The fruit of the Spirit does not come from your efforts but from your union with Jesus: "it is not a question of effort, it is a question of life."
- In trials, stay on course by fixing your eyes on Jesus, who is waiting for you at the destination.
Personal Application
- Is there an area where you still live as if you were married to your fleshly nature?
- What lie about your identity have you believed, and what truth from Romans 7 or Ephesians 1 can you set against it?
- Are you trying to produce the fruit of the Spirit through your own efforts, or are you first seeking intimacy with Jesus?
- What trial is pinning you to the ground right now, and how can you fix your eyes on Jesus this week?
Verses Cited
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the marriage image in Romans 7 mean?
A married woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to belong to another. In the same way, through Jesus' death on the cross, we are set free from the law and from our fleshly nature to belong to Christ, the Risen One, and to bear fruit for God.
Why does the fruit of the Spirit not come from our efforts?
The preacher compares the fruit of the Spirit to the children of a couple: they are born of the union. The efforts of the flesh lead us back into the works of the flesh. Whoever is united with Jesus and lives in intimacy with him naturally bears love, joy, peace, and the other fruit of the Spirit.
How can I stay in the life of the Spirit day to day?
The life of the Spirit is a walk from day to day, like an airplane holding its altitude. We need to consider ourselves in Christ, refuse the devil's lie that we are still bound to sin, follow the current of grace, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2).