Page 19 - Laying Down the Law

them.

Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

In placing His Spirit in man, those so transformed would find that a new life was
now resident within them. It was a divine life. This life is produced by the holy,
incorruptible seed of God. It is growing up into the full image and likeness of the
Father.
This divine life resident in man would produce in Him the desire (to will) and
the power (to do) the Father’s good and perfect pleasure. Such a man is truly a new
creation. He has no need of an outward Law to restrain him, for the Spirit within ever
yearns to do the will and pleasure of the Father.
It was necessary, until the Spirit was given, for those men who were devoid of
spiritual life to be kept under the guardian of the Law. It would be chaos if such men
were left unrestrained, for the sin nature would lead them to all manner of
abominations. Therefore, Yahweh gave to Moses His Law.
The Law was given not only as a restraint upon men who lacked an inner
conformity to Yahweh, it was given to expose this lack. The history of Israel under the
Law reveals clearly that those ordinances delivered to Moses were incapable of
transforming the nature of the men to whom they were given.

Galatians 3:21
If a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would
indeed have been based on law.

The best among the people fell woefully short of the righteousness of God. David
was a man after God’s heart, but he committed adultery and murder. The Law
presented a standard of righteousness that fallen man could not attain to. Paul
testified to this aspect of the Law.

Romans 7:5-14
For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the
law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been
delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should
serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. What
shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not
have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known
covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." But sin, taking
opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire.
For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when
the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment,
which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the