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Note —

1. The Spirit frees from the law of sin. In reference to this you may consider Him either essentially as He is God, or personally. As it is the Son's proper act to free from the guilt, so it is the Spirit's proper act to free from the power of sin, it belonging to the Son to do all without and to the Spirit to do all within. That which God once said in reference to the building of the temple — "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit" — is applicable here.

2. This is done by the Spirit of life. This refers either to the Spirit as He is a living Spirit, or refers to the time when the Spirit quickens and thus regenerates, or to the method of regeneration itself. The Spirit who renews, when He renews, by renewing, brings sin under.

3. It is the law of the Spirit by which this is done. Here is law against law, the power and efficacy of the Spirit against the power and efficacy of sin (Ephesians 3:20). The law of sin has a moral and a physical power; and so with the Spirit. He hath His moral power, as He doth persuade, command, etc.; and He hath His physical power, as He doth strongly, efficaciously incline and impel the sinner to such and such gracious acts; yea, as He doth effectually change his heart, make him a new creature, dispossess sin of its regency, and bring him under the government of Christ. And herein the law of the Spirit is above the law of sin. Set corrupt nature never so high, yet it is but a finite thing, and so hath but a finite power; but the Spirit is an infinite being, and puts forth an infinite power. For the better opening of the truth in hand, note —

I. THE NECESSITY, SUFFICIENCY, EFFICACY OF THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT IN FREEING MEN FROM THE POWER OF SIN.

1. The necessity of the power of the Spirit. Omnipotency itself is requisite thereunto; that is the strong man which keeps the palace till Christ, through the Spirit (which is stronger than it), comes upon it and overcomes it. The power of nature can never conquer the power of sin, for nature's greatest strength is on sin's side. That the power of the Spirit is thus necessary if you consider that —

(1)  Sin is in possession.

(2)  It hath been so a long time.

(3)  Its dominion is entire; it hath all on its side.When there is a party within a kingdom ready to fall in with the foreign force that comes to depose the tyrant, he may with more facility be vanquished; but if all the people unanimously stick to him, then the conquest is the more difficult. Christ said, "The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me"; so the poor sinner may say, "The sin-subduing Spirit comes, but He finds nothing in me to close with Him."(4) The natural man likes the power of sin.

(5)  Sin is very resolute for and in the maintaining of what it hath; it will fight it out to the last, and die rather than yield.

(6)  Satan sets in with it, and upon all occasions gives it all the help he can, as allies do.

2. Its sufficiency. As Christ is able to save to the utmost from sin's guilt, so the Spirit also is able to save to the utmost from sin's power. God once said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Now, as that grace is sufficient to bear up under the heaviest afflictions, so this grace is sufficient to bring down the strongest corruptions. Who is sufficient for these things? Why He, and none but He, who hath infinite power.

3. Its efficacy.

(1) He doth not only in a moral way advise, counsel, persuade the sinner to cast off sin's bondage, but puts forth an insuperable strength upon him, and so goes through with the work.

(2) When He comes about this or any other saving act, He doth not leave the sinner's will in suspense, but, in a way congruous to its liberty, He overcomes and determines it for God against sin, so as that it shall neither hesitate nor make any resistance to His grace.

II. IN WHAT WAYS THE HOLY SPIRIT DOTH EXERT HIS POWER.

1. He effectually works upon the understanding, that being the leading faculty.

(1) Whereas He finds it under darkness, He acts as a Spirit of illumination, filling the soul with saving knowledge. It required Omnipotency to say, "Let there be light"; no less a power is requisite to the saving enlightening of the sinner (Ephesians 5:8). But this being done, sin is broken in its power by it; for ignorance is one of its royal forts.

(2) Whereas it lies under sad mistakes, therefore the Spirit doth rectify it and makes it to judge aright.

(3) Whereas it is full of high and proud thoughts, of strange imaginations and reasonings, He casts them down (2 Corinthians 10:5).

2. He then proceeds to the will.

(1) Of all the faculties, sin contends most for the will, which, when it hath once gained, it will not easily part with. And so, too, the Spirit contends most for the will. He puts forth the greatest efficacy of His grace for the setting of that right and straight for God, that it may choose and cleave to His holy commands in opposition to the laws and commands of sin.

(2) Yet though He acts thus efficaciously, He doth not at all violate its liberty, but exerts all this power in such a way as agrees with that liberty (Psalm 110:3; Song of Solomon 1:4). He removes that averseness, obstinateness, reluctancy, that is in it against what is holy and spiritual.

3. In acting on the affections, He disengages them from sin, and sets them directly against it, and so freeing the sinner from the love of sin.

Application:

1. Let such who desire this mercy betake themselves to the Spirit for it.

(1) See that you pray in faith, believing in the sufficiency of His power.

(2) Let all other means be joined with prayer. They are but means, and therefore not to be relied upon; yet they are means, and therefore not to be neglected.

2. Let such who are made free from this law of sin own the Spirit of life as the author of their freedom, and ascribe the glory of it to Him.

3. Greatly to love and honour the Spirit.

4. As you have found the law of the Spirit in your first conversion, so you should live under the law of the Spirit in your whole conversation.

5. Set law against law — the law of the Spirit against the law of sin.

(T. Jacomb, D. D.)

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KJV: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

WEB: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.