Life Through the Spirit
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[1] 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,[2] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[3] And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[4] 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man[5] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[6] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
In chapters 1-7, we saw God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, the coming and even now
present wrath of God, the perfect Savior given by God in Jesus Christ, and
justification and sanctification by faith in Christ. Previewing chapter 8:
In v1-4, Paul addresses how it is that we are able to grow in grace despite
indwelling sin and how we can retain an absolute sense of our assurance even
as we continue to wrestle with the patterns of sin. In v5-11, he deals with
how we can tell the difference between worldliness and godliness in ourselves.
In v12-17, Paul tells us how the Holy Spirit shows us that we are children of
God. Then in v18-25, he explains how is it that our present sufferings, trials,
tribulations, and difficult circumstances are used by God to work for our future
glory. In v26-27, he deals with how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. In v28-30,
Paul explains how a believer can be certain that God’s promises to him or her will
be fulfilled. In v31-32, Paul explains how we as believers can understand how much
God is for us. In v33-34, he explains how we can be secure in God’s justification
of us. Finally in v35-39, Paul addresses how we who feel like sometimes we’re
limping along, as if the world is going crazy, our hearts being broken every day,
are more than conquerors. The main theme of chapter 8 is the Holy Spirit working
in the justified to sanctify. Notice:-
V1-2 – No condemnation for those in Christ. How is that you can be sure that you
will not be condemned when you stand before God on the Day of Judgment? How can a
person who has seen his own sin, who has cried out with Paul in Romans 7:24,
“Wretched man that I am!”, how can he have the kind of absolute confidence of
Romans 8:1, “There is now therefore no condemnation for me in Christ Jesus”? How
can he have that kind of confidence? Paul suggests that there is more than struggle
with sin; there is more than battling our conflicting desires. Believers war
against sinful desires with spiritual desires, but that’s not all there is. There
is the Spirit of life indwelling each believer, and Paul is saying that the story
of this battle with sin is not only the battle between renewed desires and sin.
It’s the battle between God the Holy Spirit and sin.
Even struggling believers can be assured of their justification because of two
realities: First, our justification was accomplished by God and not by ourselves;
secondly, it is God Himself, God the Holy Spirit Who is working in us. God is
working in us. Think about that! Condemnation is the opposite of justification.
And Paul’s theme is the complete and irreversible nature of God’s justification.
When God justifies you, He gives you the final verdict. And so Paul glories in
that fact that there is no condemnation. When? Already now, and finally now.
“Finally now” is seen in v3. After all these years of promise, it was finally
realized in time. The “already now” won’t be seen clearly until v33-34. No one can
bring a charge against God’s elect, because they’ve been justified in Christ. It’s
already done. Now there is no condemnation. When a person is in Christ, and when
Christ is in a person, there is no condemnation. In Christ Jesus, God is always
for you. This is where Paul will go in Romans 8, once we get to v30-39.
This can be hard to believe sometimes. But notice 1 Corinthians 11:28-32
(Sometimes we get sick…) “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord
so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” When we are judged, with
weakness or sickness or even death, we are, Paul says, being disciplined by the
Lord so that we would not be condemned with the world. There is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, even if their sickness is a token
of God’s fatherly displeasure and discipline.
But how can believers have comfort? How can believers be confident? Paul says,
“The law of the spirit of life through Christ set us free from the law of sin and
death.” In other words, God has justified us, and God the Spirit is working to
sanctify us. Justification and sanctification are the grounds of our freedom and
our sense of freedom. Do not take confidence in your feelings, your law-keeping,
or your circumstantial blessings; rather take confidence in God, because of what
He has done and is doing. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at
work in us (Ephesians 1:18-20). In Luther’s classic hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is
Our God, we read, “Did we in our own strength confide our striving would be
losing.” That’s true for both justification and sanctification, so our trust for
assurance is in God Himself.
Notice the connecting link between v1 which speaks of no condemnation, and v2
which speaks of Spirit-empowered liberation. The verses are connected by the word
“for” or “because.” Now there are two possible meanings for that word “because.”
It could mean that practical sanctification and liberation from sin is the basis
for my justification, so I have to defeat my sin in the power of the Spirit first
in order to be justified; but I don’t think it does. Rather, I think it means that
the practical sanctification and liberation from sin is the evidence of my
justification. So I am justified (forgiven, pardoned) first, and then I give
evidence of this reality by living it out in practice. V1 is a declaration of
no condemnation, of our justification; v2 is a description of practical
transformation. First, we can say that being united to Christ by faith makes His
pardon and righteousness ours, so there is now no condemnation. Second, we can say
that being united to Christ by faith makes His power and authority over sin ours,
so the law of sin and death can be defeated. In Christ we get pardon from sin and
power over sin. V3 offers another example of this:
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V3 – God did by Christ what the law was powerless to do because of the sin nature.
Notice the “for” at the beginning of v3. This tells us that God sent His Son as a
human so that God could condemn our sin in His Son’s death rather than condemning
us. The ground of our freedom from condemnation is the work of God for us on the
cross, and it is given as the basis of v2. “The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has
set you free from the law of sin and death, because God condemned sin in His Son’s
death.” So the very thing that accomplishes our freedom from condemnation is not
given as the result of our triumph over sin by the Spirit (v2), but as the
foundation of our triumph over sin by the Spirit. No condemnation therefore
precedes and supports our liberation and transformation. Not the other way around.
This means that v2 (our liberation from sin) is the evidence, not the basis or
cause, of our justified condition without condemnation in v1. Why go to such
lengths to point out what could be seen as obvious? 4 Reasons:
First, it’s the difference between fighting fearfully to get justified and
fighting confidently because we are justified. Second, it’s the difference between
your heavenly court-trial being behind you with an irrevocable verdict of not
guilty, and your trial being in front of you with the verdict up in the air
depending on your performance. Third, it’s the difference between the freedom of
confidence and the bondage of fear. Finally and most importantly, it’s the
difference between giving Christ the double glory of both being our righteousness
as well as working righteousness in us, and giving him only the single glory of
helping us become our own righteousness.
On a practical level, Paul elaborates on the principle he offered in v1-2 and
explains how it works to help us understand our freedom in Christ. God accomplishes
through Jesus what neither we nor the law could ever accomplish because of sin.
And he gives us five things to consider: (1) God did what could not otherwise be
done; (2) God not only did what could not otherwise be done, but He did it through
Christ and in Christ and with Christ—at Christ’s expense; (3) He did it by making
Christ in the likeness of sinful man (God actually became fully man, in the closest
possible relationship to us); (4) God did this for the purpose of dealing with sin;
He sent Christ for sin, to conquer it; and finally, (5) Jesus has vanquished sin’s
power; He’s freed us from sin’s enslaving dominion; He has condemned sin in the
flesh.
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V4 – The requirements of the law were met not for us, but in us, as we live
according to the Spirit. Paul explains here that Christ’s victory over sin not
only liberated us from the curse of the law, but it frees us not from, but to the
obedience of the law. God justifies us in order to sanctify us. God grants us
pardon and declares us to be free from the condemnation of sin in order to work
the requirement of the law within us, so that we ourselves actually become those
who are godly and holy. Christ died so that we could and would become holy. He
died so that the requirements of God’s law would not only be fulfilled for us,
but in us. Paul is teaching here that God’s work of justification is inseparable
from His work of sanctification. And v1-4 really show us that without
justification, sanctification is impossible. The latter is a result of the former.
This is the method of holiness that glorifies him, not the law and not us.
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V5 – Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what
that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their
minds set on what the Spirit desires. Paul begins in v5 to contrast people who are
in the Spirit, in whom the Spirit dwells, and people who are in the flesh and in
whom the Spirit does not dwell. These are the only 2 varieties of people:
controlled by sin or controlled by the Spirit. This is an important fact to realize
and hold dear. Many Christians might think that there is a third class of people
who are neither controlled by sin nor by the Spirit. But this is not Biblical
teaching. We hear it from Paul; we hear it from Christ: “The person who is sins is
a slave to sin.” We are all controlled by the sin nature until freed by Christ.
So there is no third class. There are only two: Spirit-controlled and
sin-controlled. And Paul points to the differences of character, desire, attitude,
and conduct between those indwelt by the Holy Spirit and those not. Paul’s
primary reason for this contrast is to remind believers that the Holy Spirit
gives us life and the power of the Spirit is tremendous. In v5-11 we see the
absence of the spirit and its result, the presence of the Spirit and its result,
and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul first talks about the sinful nature, or the flesh, as human nature corrupted,
directed, and controlled by sin. He’s speaking of unbelievers as people whose mind
is on the things of the flesh and who walk after the flesh; he’s talking about a
basic moral condition, an inward frame of mind. It’s characterized by captivation
with the things of this world and one’s own agenda. Desires are in control, and
the sin nature controls those desires. Some of those things are civilly good, but
they’re not sought after in the frame of glorifying God, and so they are sinful.
Interestingly, Paul’s description of the unbeliever here does not contain a list
of sins; rather, Paul focuses on the disposition of the mind of unbelievers, and
the control of the sin nature and its desires that they are under.
Paul contrasts the unbeliever with the believer, saying that the mind of the
believer is focused not on the desires of the sin nature, but on the desires of
the Spirit, which is now in control of the believer. Either way, it’s the nature
and the desires that control the person. And this was exactly what Jonathan Edwards
said when we broke from Romans to talk about Calvinism/Arminianism. So here is
Scriptural proof of Edwards’ conclusion.
Notice that a Christian has his mind set on the things of the Spirit. His heart is
controlled by the Spirit. His reason, his desires, and his will reflect the
Spirit’s work. His purposes are spiritual. He’s at peace with God because of
justification. He’s reconciled to God, has life, a true knowledge in fellowship
with God, and tranquility, peace even in difficult circumstances because of that
justification that God has granted to him.
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V6 – The mind of sinful man is death; the Spirit-controlled mind is peaceful life.
Unbelievers do not look at the things of this life from the standpoint of God’s
glory, or their neighbors good. They are self-centered; they pursue their own
agendas and have set their mind on the things of the flesh, things that will pass
away. And the result for them is death. Believers, on the other hand, look at
things from God’s perspective; they strive for the glory of God and their
neighbor’s good, even if that comes at their own expense. Believers store up
treasures in heaven, where they will never pass away. And the result is life;
notice that it’s not just life, but peaceful life.
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V7 – The sinful mind is hostile to God; it does not and cannot obey God. The
reason the mind set on the flesh is death is because it is hostile to God, against
God. Unbelievers reject His rule by doing what they want to do rather than what
the Lord commands. The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it neither
does nor can subject itself to the law of God. In other words, a concrete
manifestation of this hostility to God is that the person refuses to submit to
God’s word. God’s word says, “Do such and such.” And the hostile mind says, “Well,
I don’t want to, so I won’t.” God’s word says, “Don’t do such and such,” and the
hostile heart says, “Well, I want to and I will.” The concrete manifestation of
hostility to God is a resistance of His Word, a resistance of His rule.
Paul says that the pagan mind is not even able to subject itself to the law of
God. It is morally impossible for the unbeliever to subject himself to the law
of God. Now you might be thinking, “Well, that doesn’t seem fair. God holds him
responsible for it. Why would He do that if it’s morally impossible for him to
do?” Paul is not saying, “Well, somehow there’s this grand scheme whereby God
forbids people from doing what they want to do.” He’s pointing to the heart again,
and he’s saying, “Look, if your heart is set on the things of the flesh, it is
impossible for your heart to at the same time be set on the things of God, the
things of the Spirit.” Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” It’s
impossible. It’s a moral impossibility to seek after the things of God while you
are wholeheartedly seeking after the things of the flesh.
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V8 – Those controlled by the sin nature cannot please God. Paul says it is
absolutely impossible to please God and love the flesh and love mammon at the
same time. The believer, in contrast to the unbeliever, does subject his mind
to the law of God. The mind of the believer is subject to the law of God. He has
a reverence, a love for, a subjection to the law of the Lord. It’s the mark of
the Spirit. He wants to be a Bible Christian. He wants to obey what God commands
in His Word. Whereas the unbeliever is not even capable of subjecting himself to
the law of God, the believer is able. Because of the Spirit’s change of our hearts,
we love the law. And notice the believer in v8 is able to please God in contrast
to the believer, and he does. The Christian loves to fulfill the law, the
Christian loves to fulfill his chief purpose in life, his chief end in life, to
glorify God and enjoy Him forever. It’s something that he delights in. God’s work
of saving grace always produces a heart change in believers that manifests itself
in their lives so that their attitudes, their goals, their purposes are different
from those who are unbelievers. Working backwards from v8-4, we see the 5 step
process: hostility, life, a spiritual mindset, a new walk in the Spirit, fulfilling
the law in love. Fulfilling the law is evidence of grace.
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V9 – You are controlled by the Spirit if the Spirit lives in you. If you do not
have the Spirit, then you do not belong to Christ. Paul has talked about what
happens when the Spirit is not present. Now he talks about the presence of the
Holy Spirit in v9. What makes the difference between a person who is walking
after the flesh and walking after the Spirit? And the answer is simply this: The
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It’s not that one person is inherently better than
another person; it’s not that one person is inherently a more faithful person than
another; it is the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why is it that some people walk
after the flesh? They are not indwelt by the Spirit. Why is it that some people
walk after the Spirit? Because they are indwelt by the Spirit.
V9 reminds us of the inseparableness of Christ and the Holy Spirit. It shows us
that a Christian by definition is in Christ. You know, so many people will teach
that first you receive Christ, and then at some later time you receive the Holy
Spirit. For Paul, to be in Christ is to be in the Spirit, and to be in the Spirit
is to be in Christ. And if you are not in Christ, you are not in the Spirit. And
if you are not in the Spirit, you are not in Christ.
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V10-11 – If Christ is in you, then your body is dead because of sin, but your
spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit lives in you, then God
will give your mortal body life through the Spirit. Paul offers an amazing word
of encouragement for the believer in v10. He says this: “The indwelling of the
Spirit assures your resurrection.” V10-11 are considered difficult verses, but
the thrust is very clear. Paul is basically asking you to ask two questions. First:
Who raised Christ from the dead? The answer is: God, the Father, raised Christ
from the dead by the Spirit. The second question is this: Who is it that is
dwelling in me? The answer is the same. God the Holy Spirit is the same Spirit
that raised Christ from the dead. If God the Father by the power of the Spirit
raised Jesus Christ from the dead, Who is it that is at work in me? It is the
Spirit of the Father who is at work in me. And if He raised Christ Jesus from the
dead, then I am assured that I, too, will be raised from the dead. And not only
this, but also that He will continue to perfect in me that which God had first
begun. And so Paul is pointing again to the fact that the law cannot supply the
power to save or sanctify. It continues to be the standard of sanctification; the
believer loves the law as he embraces Christ in grace; but it is the Spirit that
enables us to live the Christian life.
12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.[7] And by him we cry, "Abba,[8] Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Future Glory
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that[9] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
Paul’s teaching on sanctification always does two things at the same time. It
always energizes us to godliness and assures us of salvation. And if a teaching
on sanctification fails to do both of those things at the same time, it’s not
Pauline, and it’s not Biblical. Paul always energizes us to growth in grace,
and he always assures us of salvation. Notice several points in these verses:-
V12-13 – Therefore, we are obligated to be led by the Spirit. Paul says that
Christians are under obligation not to live the way someone lives apart from
Christ, but to live a different way. We have no debt or obligation to the flesh,
because our new life didn’t come from the flesh. It’s the work of God that has
given us this new life, and therefore, we ought not to live for the flesh or for
its goals. We are under obligation to God not to live according to the principles
and aims of a corrupt human nature. Paul is telling us in v12 that we ought to
grow in grace, because we are in debt to God. We are obligated to God because of
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We often say that in the Christian life the
great motive of the Christian life is gratitude. We don’t obey in order for God to
love us; we obey because He has loved us savingly in Jesus Christ. But Paul’s not
bringing before us a motivation of gratitude; he’s actually bringing a motivation
of obligation. Paul’s point in v12 is important because of the unbreakable link
between sin-killing and death on the one hand, and between killing sin and life
on the other.
And in v13, we see a bit of a paradox: “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”
Kill sin or it will kill you. Paul says that sinful living is always inseparably
linked to death. But he also says that putting sin to death is inseparably linked
to life. Sinful living leads to death, putting death to sin or putting sin to
death always leads to life. It’s paradoxical. Jesus in Matthew 16:25 said a similar
thing: “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his
life for My sake will find it.” It’s paradox. But how do we kill sin?
Paul here is indicating that the believer is always at work in sanctification.
The very phrase “you are putting to death the misdeeds of the body” indicates that.
The indicatives of grace never produce passivity in the true believer. They
produce a strong, grace-dependent, faithful activity on the part of the believer.
However, even with his emphasis on our activity, Paul makes it clear that the
deeds of the flesh are being killed by the Spirit. It’s not “me versus the flesh,”
it’s “the Spirit in me versus the flesh.” Who kills sin? You or God? Who gets the
glory for it? You or God? Or do you share, since you both have a role?
When Paul says, “putting to death the misdeeds of the body,” he doesn’t just mean
physical sins. He means those practices that characterize the sinful nature, which
are often expressed in a physical way. But it’s not just actions of the body. He’s
talking about all the characteristic practices of the sinful nature. When he says,
“by the Spirit,” he’s reminding us that killing sin, that warring against sin, is
something that flows from the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit through faith
and not by works of law. And when Paul speaks of life at the end of v13, he’s
referring to that fullness of eternal life that the saints enjoy in fellowship
with God. Your killing of sin is the effect of having life; dying is the effect
of sin’s killing you.
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V14 – Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. Paul says that those being
led by the Holy Spirit in sanctification are true sons of God. Christians realize
that sanctification always accompanies and is the evidence of sonship. God does
not respond to us; rather, He leads us to move and respond to Him by His Spirit.
He works in us. What does it mean to be “led by the Spirit?” Consider five things:
(1) We are governed by the Spirit constantly. Paul’s not saying that certain
Christians receive extraordinary swaying by the Spirit during certain trials;
that may be true, but that’s not what Paul is talking about here. Paul is talking
about the believer being governed constantly, not sporadically or occasionally,
but every second by the Holy Spirit. (2) The leading of the Spirit is primarily
about correcting not protecting. The Spirit is not protecting us from suffering,
but leading us through the refinement of suffering. The Spirit is making us like
Christ so that we can share in His glory. (3) The Holy Spirit does not merely guide
us; He empowers us. It’s not like an Indian guide who takes you across the
mountains through the treacherous passes, because he knows the way. He doesn’t
just have information that you need, but He is actually the force that keeps you
going. He’s the One who gives you the energy to start the trail in the first place
and to finish it just as surely. (4) The leading of the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean
that you are lost. He doesn’t displace you; instead He encourages and ages you.
It’s truly you who are growing in grace. It’s truly you who are following in the
way of the Spirit. The Spirit is encouraging and aiding you to be you. (5) The
Holy Spirit always leads us in the way of truth. How many times have you had
Christians come to you and say, “Well, the Spirit is leading me to do ‘X.’” And
you sit there scratching your heard, thinking, “What you’re saying that you’re
being led to do is wrong.” The Holy Spirit never leads against the word of God
or the will of God or the truth of God.
In v14 Paul confirms that eternal life invariably issues from sonship. If you are
a child of God, you have eternal life. If you have received Jesus Christ as your
Savior, then God has given you the right to be called His child (John 1:12). Have
you heard people say, “We’re all children of God”? We’ll we’re not. Only those who
have Christ are children of God. Likewise, sanctification is the invariable
expression of sonship. The children of God are always growing in grace. So Paul
says in v12 that we ought to grow in grace, because we are under obligation; in
v13 we ought to grow in grace, because sin kills and putting sin to death brings
life. And in v14, we ought to grow in grace, because we, as believers, are sons
of God. The purpose of the Holy Spirit in making us sons of God is to make us like
our Heavenly Father.
I have my driver’s license photo at age 16 and my dad’s at the same age. We looked
very much alike, and people who have seen them wonder which is which. I don’t mind
looking like my dad, because I love my dad. And He’s nice looking at age 53, and
I would love to be nice looking when I’m that age. Similarly, the Holy Spirit’s
purpose in indwelling believers is to make us look like our Heavenly Father so
that people say, “You know, you have a striking family resemblance to the good and
perfect and just and righteous Heavenly Father that rules this universe. Could you
be family?” And wouldn’t you be excited to answer, “Yes, yes. I’m a son of that
God. By grace I’ve been adopted into His family, and the Holy Spirit is making me
to be like Him. So I am beginning to have some of the character qualities that He
has.”
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V15-16 – We received not a spirit that makes us slaves to fear, but the Spirit of
adoption. And by the Spirit we received, we cry out to our Father. The presence of
the Spirit testifies for us, that we are God’s children. Paul’s point in v15 is
that Christians are sanctified through the work of the Holy Spirit through Whom
we approach God as Father as adopted children. Paul is saying that Christians are
to be mindful of Who the Spirit is that they have received. The Holy Spirit is not
the Spirit of bondage. He’s the Spirit Who came to set us free from the domination
of sin and guilt. He’s the spirit of adoption. He’s the One Who brings home the
benefits and the effects of the fact that the Heavenly Father has received us into
His family. The Spirit witnesses, along with our spirit, that we are truly children
of God, and thus heirs of God. Christians are assured of their sonship and their
inheritance by the witness of the Spirit.
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V17– If we are children, then we are heirs by adoption, co-heirs with Christ of
the Kingdom of God. And if we share in His sufferings, we will share in His glory.
Paul is saying that this assurance God gives us is not merely subjective or
objective; it’s both. Our spirit bears witness, and the Holy Spirit also bears
witness. Furthermore, Paul says that the Holy Spirit’s bearing witness that we
are sons of God does not mean that we’re not going to suffer. On the contrary,
precisely because the Spirit bears witness that we are true sons of God, we expect
to suffer in this life. Every trial in life is used by God to sanctify.
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V18 – Our present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory to be revealed in
us. Paul has given us the simple truth on suffering, that God is using it, that
God has purposed it for sanctification, and that the Holy Spirit is leading us
through it; but now he will elaborate on suffering, because it’s an issue that
often drives Christians, and all people for that matter, to despair. Paul wants
to do two things: teach truth about suffering and comfort those who are suffering.
And this verse is a great encouragement.
On the one hand there are the health and wealth teachers who say that if you do
not have health or success in all your endeavors of life, if you are not
experiencing triumph upon triumph, it is clearly a result of a lack of your
faith; because God wants you to have abundance. He wants you to be successful
and healthy. He wants you to have riches. And if you don’t, it’s clearly because
you lack the faith. Paul would say, “If your understanding of Jesus’ promise of
abundant life means a lack of suffering, you have misunderstood what Jesus said.”
On the other hand, there are others who cope with suffering by saying, “God just
can’t help it. God wasn’t able to control that. When bad things happen to good
people, it’s just another sign that though God wishes that He could help us in
those circumstances, it’s just out of His control. So take comfort. It’s not what
God wanted; He’s just as sad as you.” And Paul says, “No! That’s wrong too.” Both
views wrong.
The point is that the believer will suffer, and God is sovereign in suffering.
Paul makes that clear in v20, by the way; God Himself has subjected this creation
to frustration and suffering. We’ll look at that in a minute. God’s in charge,
even in the sphere of suffering and frustration. Suffering is part of His plan
for His people, and so we rejoice, just as Paul has said. Life in the Spirit is
a life of suffering. That’s the first thing that Paul wants us to know. Your
circumstances, almost certain to involve some sort of suffering, do not indicate
a failure in your hearing the will of God; your circumstances indicate to you the
reality which Scripture speaks of—in this life believers suffer. Look at Jesus in
that garden. What took Him to the garden? The will of God. What happened when He
got to that garden? Weeping, sweating, trembling, and brokenheartedness. He
prayed, “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass.” After that, He added,
“Not My will, but Yours be done.” So Paul is saying to the believer, “Do you
think that the Father would have called His only begotten Son that way, and would
not have called His adopted sons and daughters that way?” God calls us to glory
through the way of suffering, just as He did with Christ.
Paul also wants us to learn that life in the Spirit gives us a perspective on
suffering that no one else can have. Our trials here are real, and sometimes
they seem as they are beyond endurance; but the glory then is beyond compare.
Paul contrasts the suffering of the present with the glory of the future on the
grandest scale. And these sufferings include those inward battles with sin that
we continue to have, and the frustration which arises from living in a fallen
world, as well as coping with the injustices of this life or dealing with the
opposition or persecution that the child of God faces in one shape or form no
matter when or where he or she lives. Paul says that the sufferings of the present
time are nothing in comparison with the glory that is to be revealed. He is not
saying that we’re going through these enormous trials now, but what we’ll see when
we get to glory is just going to blow our minds, and it’s going to cause what we’ve
gone through to pale in comparison. He’s not simply saying that the glory to come
is going to be revealed to us as if it’s the curtains of a theatre being drawn
back, and we’re spectators seeing some incredible theatrical spectacle. He’s saying
something even better. Paul is saying that this is a glory not simply revealed to
us, but in us. Paul is speaking of our own glorification. And not only will we see
the glory of Christ when He comes, but we ourselves will share in that glory.
Picture the number of believers who are taking care of family members that suffer
from enormous handicaps and physical or mental difficulties. They lovingly care
for those family members. And think of that day when, through the grace of Christ,
there’s going to be a complete transformation. Glory will not just be shown to
them, but glory will be shown in them. Can you imagine that day?
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V19-22 – Creation is groaning, eagerly waiting for the sons of God to be revealed.
Creation was subjected to frustration by God, so He could liberate it from decay.
We are not alone in this frustration. Humans, believers, are not the only one who
must patiently await the consummation. Paul says that the whole creation is
groaning. The whole universe is caught up in the plight of the fall and the hope
of future glory. The creation is in bondage to decay on account of the sin of man.
The earth longs for its dryness to end. The wolves and lions long to eat plants
and cuddle up with lambs. Cobras are anticipating the day when they can play with
children without fear. Do you see evidence of these realities?
How do we know it was God that did this? How do we know it was not Adam by his sin,
or Satan by his temptation of Adam and Eve? We know this because of the words “in
hope” at the end of v20. Adam did not subject the world to futility in hope. Satan
did not subject the world to futility in hope. Neither of them had a plan for the
revelation of the children of God in due time. Only God could have done it in
hope; and He did. Which leads us to an incredibly important, massive truth: the
futility and corruption and groaning of the creation are judicial, not just
natural. It is a divine, judicial decree, not just a natural consequence of
material events. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, called “entropy,” that the
universe is running down, is effectively God’s subjecting the creation to futility
and decay and corruption. There is a painful realism in this text, and it is meant
to help you hold on to your hope as a Christian. It helps us endure our suffering
in this life to know that God Himself subjected the entirety of His creation to
frustration and disorder because of sin. All the misery of the world is a bloody
declaration about the nastiness of sin.
And we might think it strange that God has done this, but when we realize why, we
stand in awe. It pleased God to subject it to frustration so that He could
liberate it by Christ for His glory and give all things to His people as heirs.
When you experience suffering, remember that you are not alone, for the totality
of the created order has been objected to the effects of the fall as part of God’s
design not simply to bring glory to Himself, but to bring glory to His people.
When you’re suffering, remember that the whole created order is frustrated and
that God has a good purpose in it. Many Christians are unfortunately so desperate
to remove God from the suffering in the world that they are willing to become
“deists” in order to keep God out of the equation. A deist is a person who thinks
of the universe as a clock created and wound by God to tick on its own with no
divine interference. Everything was explained in terms of merely natural laws,
not divine decrees. And we see right here that deism is false. God is active in
creation, sustaining it by His powerful Word, and subjecting it to frustration
until that glorious fixed time when the sons of God are revealed. God promises
that the miseries of the universe are not the throes of death but merely the labor
pains of childbirth. And there is seriousness about that. But there is also peace
and hope.
What types of sufferings are included? Paul talks elsewhere specifically of
persecution-type sufferings, but here and following broaden the scope of suffering
to include all sufferings of every kind that we and all of creation face every
minute of every day. Think of any pain or suffering that you or your friends and
family or your pets or wild animals or even the land experiences. This is
God-subjected! And its purpose is to display the grossness of sin and to glorify
Christ as Redeemer, Restorer, Rebuilder, Rewarder, and Heir.
The comfort and encouragement of this text is not that God has nothing to do with
human sufferings or natural disasters, but that in all of these things and through
all of them, He has hope-filled designs for His people and His creation. That is
what v28 is going to say in summary: “God works all things together for good to
those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
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V23-25 – We also groan, waiting for the redemption of our bodies and adoption as
sons. Our hope in redemption is certain, though we do not yet fully possess it.
We wait patiently, knowing it will come at the time of God’s choosing. Paul again
reminds us that we’re not alone. We also groan, just like the rest of creation. Do
you groan? I know I do! I groan most in times of uncertainty. I groan when I sin
against the Lord in such a way that I should be better than that. I groan when my
children are sick. I just want it to be over. Come Lord Jesus. Yet life in the
Spirit, though it entails groaning, also entails an inextinguishable hope. Paul
has already said that we are adopted; here he says we’re waiting for our adoption.
He’s already said that we’ve been redeemed. Here he says we’re waiting for our
redemption. Though there is a present reality of our redemption, through there
is a present reality of our adoption; we are waiting for a full bestowment. We
are heirs, but we have not yet received the fullness of the inheritance. We have
within us the first fruits of the Spirit, but we have not yet received the fullness
of what we will be in the revealing of the sons of God. And so every believer
always lives with this forward-looking Spirit, living toward the sunrise, looking
for His coming. The Christian perseveres in confident anticipation, in hope,
looking to future glory.
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V26 – The Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding for us, since we do not
know what to pray for. Paul takes our weakness as a given, and he makes it clear
that even in that weakness, God ministers to us by His Spirit. Just as we are
helped in suffering by the certain hope of future glory, so also, we are helped
in our weakness by the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. God does not remove
our weakness by the Spirit. Rather, we remain constantly dependent upon Him, that
His power might be perfected in our weakness. When you’re saying, “I can’t do it,
I don’t have it in me, I don’t have the energy, I don’t have the knowledge, I
don’t have the wisdom, I don’t have a clue what to do,” God the Spirit is
indwelling you, helping you in your weakness. That’s Paul’s first word of
encouragement here.
Paul offers a second word of encouragement as well. The Spirit’s help in prayer
is a great comfort for us. When we have needs, we pray; prayer shows that we need.
Paul says that we don’t even know how to say to God that we’re in need. We don’t
even know what to express to God in prayer that we need. Even our expressions of
need are needy. Our prayers themselves fall short. And that’s precisely why the
Holy Spirit helps us in prayer. Most of us are keenly aware of our deficiencies
in prayer. Perhaps though, we might think a guy like Paul needed no help in prayer.
Well, think again. Paul says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know
what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us.” What great
encouragement that is—that Paul needs Spirit-intercession, because he is weak and
doesn’t know what to pray for! This is the Paul who prayed Ephesians 3:14-19, and
he counted himself weak.
The Spirit serves as an intercessor. These unutterable, inexpressible things which
we try to lift up to God, but can’t find words for, the Spirit causes these groans
which emanate from the believer’s heart to become the vehicle of His intercession
to the Heavenly Father. When you have no words to express gratitude or pain to your
Heavenly Father, the Spirit speaks. A man once said, “By the work of the Spirit, a
heart without words may bring down the blessing of God.” Picture Hannah, her heart
torn within her. And her lips are moving, but the words won’t come out. And Eli
thinks she’s drunk, because she’s moving her lips while she prays in the
courtyard, and no words are coming out. And the Spirit takes the groaning of
her heart and makes a prayer that Mary the mother of Jesus will copy at His
announced coming. Paul is saying not to underestimate the Spirit power in prayer.
But what is it that we don’t know to pray? We know that we should pray the
A.C.T.S. acronym, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. So why
do we need help here? I think this is directly related to our suffering, as
discussed in previous verses. We don’t know if we should pray for a complete
healing or for a peaceful death for the cancer-ridden 85-year old Christian
widow. Certainly there is an argument for both. We don’t know if we should pray
for a new house or if we should be content in our current dwelling. There are
pros and cons to each. But the Spirit knows God’s will, and when we contemplate
prayer in our hearts, though we know not the will of God, the Spirit prays it.
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9) V27– The Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
The Spirit prays for us according to God’s Will that God would bring to pass in
time the decisions and circumstances that would most magnify Christ in our lives,
and this happens especially when we are at a loss as to what the specific will of
God is in a particular circumstance, because of our weakness. Notice here in both
v26 and 27 that we have two intercessors before the Heavenly Father. Christ lives
at the right hand of God always interceding for the saints; and the Holy Spirit
indwells us, interceding. Picture a dog on the earth trying to speak to his
master, a man, who happens to be in the far reaches of the galaxy, without either
of them having a telephone or radio device, or even speaking the same language for
that matter. Now picture yourself praying to God. It’s the same sort of thing. We
have neither the right nor the ability to speak to God apart from our intercessors.
So picture a man praying to God. The prayer doesn’t even get out of the man’s mind.
But the Spirit is there, indwelling the man, and serving as a telephone or radio
device, complete with a translator to make sense out of the man’s babbling. And
picture Christ on the other hand, serving as the telephone or radio device, indeed
the mediator of the conversation, with God the Father on our behalf.
There is this huge encouragement in prayer, that the Father knows the mind of the
Spirit. Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit expresses our heart’s longings
perfectly to the Heavenly Father. And they are perfectly understood by the
Heavenly Father, even if we can’t quite comprehend them ourselves. It’s so
easy for us to become discouraged in prayer because we do it so badly, and we
don’t know what to say. But every prayer that the Spirit renders up through our
groanings is in perfect accordance with the will of God Almighty. It’s just like
the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ, where He says, “Not My will, but Your
will be done.” And every groan, every sigh, every moan, every unuttered and
unutterable expression, every word that gets stuck in the throat and cannot
come out, the Spirit makes it to be as acceptable and understandable as the
intercession of our perfect Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Picture Jeremiah
in chapter 20. He’s begging God to end his life. He’s cursing the day that he
was born. He has no clue. He is so torn up inside that he doesn’t know what to
pray. And the Spirit is taking that prayer and correcting it even as it goes up.
Picture David lifting up his broken sentences. He wails, “How long, oh Lord?” And
the Spirit is rendering it up in perfect accordance with the will of the Heavenly
Father in such a way that He turns it into Scripture and makes it a model prayer
for us…. (( Picture Elijah in 1 Kings 19 desiring death, as he thought he was the
last one of God’s people. But God said, “No. I’ve got 7000 suffering servants.”
And God gave him a new commission and a buddy named Elisha. Picture Paul, being
persecuted for preaching the word and perhaps thinking of moving to a different
town as his message was not being heard. And God appears and says, “I have many
people here.” And Paul stayed for 18 more months)) …. That’s the work of the
Spirit in us even today. And how comforting it is that the God of the universe
is working in you and in me to will and to act according to His good purposes
(Philippians 2:13).
More Than Conquerors
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[10] who[11] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[12] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[13] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul is bringing it all together here with the goal of assurance. Notice
several points in these verses:-
V28 – Which is it? Paul made this statement, which has recently replaced John 3:16
as the most quoted verse in all of Scripture, with something very important in
mind. In our text, we are given basically three options to choose from. Which is
Paul’s intended meaning? (1) In all things God works for the good of those who
love Him. (2) All things work together for good to those who love God. (3) In all
things God works together with those who love Him to bring about what is good. The
KJV renders this verse: “And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to [His] purpose.” The
Amplified Bible says: “We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their
labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for
those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.” The NASV
reads, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good.” The ESV,
my translation of choice, reads: “And we know that for those who love God all
things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
It is clear when we look at v28-30 that God works all things for the good of His
people. Look at the verbs. God is the actor; He is at work. God works everything,
even evil, for good. God works good in everything. We talked about deism last
time, that God has been passive since creation. And we saw that it is false. We
see it again here. God is working everything for good. That alone should give us
comfort.
Keep in mind the context of this verse. It follows a tremendous passage on
suffering, and it’s hard to learn how to cope with suffering while you’re
suffering. So Paul would say to learn how to cope, so that when you face trials
and sufferings, you will cope Biblically by taking comfort that God is working
good in your sufferings. He is actively bringing all things according to His
purpose and will to the consummation. It’s not just there is a future hope that
is certain; it’s not just that the Spirit helps us in our weakness; it’s also that
God is actively working all things for the ultimate good of His people. Paul is
not simply saying that all the nice things work together for our good. He is
saying that every obscene evil that you can imagine is turned by God to your best
interests: death, illness, marital strife, vocational problems, persecution
because of your belief, your child has been diagnosed with an incurable disease.
God causes all things to work together for good. Your wife wants a divorce. Your
job has been terminated, etc. God causes every single event in your life to work
together with other seemingly isolated events for your ultimate good.
Paul is not saying that all things are good in the believer’s life. There are many
things that are not good. Some not good things are done to us, which we experience
at no fault of our own. Other not good things we do ourselves. Paul is saying that
God works in all things, God works all things, everything individually,
comprehensibly for the good of the believer. Likewise, Paul is not saying to take
a “Que Sera Sera” approach to life, “whatever will be, will be.” Paul is not
saying, “Everything is going to work out just fine, so don’t worry about it.”
He’s not asking you to have a blind optimism, a hopeful resignation to your fate
in the future. That’s not his counsel. Paul is explaining the special providence
of God over His children. And it is one of the most comforting truths of the Bible,
because in it we learn that there is no meaningless or wasted suffering in our
life. There is no purposeless experience in the totality of our lives. God in His
sovereign wisdom works everything to bring about His purpose for glory.
But the only ones who can claim this comfort are believers. This promise, this
encouragement, this providence is not generic. It’s restricted; it’s
discriminatory. Paul is not talking about some sort of general principle of the
universe. This is a specific activity of the sovereign God on behalf of His
children, whom He has drawn into a saving relationship. We cannot assure
unbelievers with these words. For the unbeliever, for the one who has rejected
God, for the one who does not trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot say
this suffering will result in glorious good. This promise is only for believers,
for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This description
is of one people, not two different types. This people, believers, love God,
because He first loved us; because He’s done a work of grace in us, we love Him.
But Paul doesn’t just say it that way, because he knows that there are some people
who might think if he only said those that love God, it might seem as if God’s
encouragement here is based on our love of Him. And so he immediately stops and
says, “And let me remind you that those who love God are the called ones. They
love Him, because He called them. He sought them and ran to them. He drew them,
and consequently, they love Him.” So Paul looks at it from our perspective (those
who love God) and from God’s perspective (those who are called according to His
purpose). And both are upheld.
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V29 – Those God foreknew… And what is the purpose according to which we are
called? Paul lays that out here and in v30. For one thing, God has purposed
before the world’s foundation to conform His people to the image of Christ, to
glorify them alongside His Son. God is making us to be morally like Christ. And
this is sanctification. So God’s purpose in calling us is to make us holy, to set
us apart and glorify us as heirs. And no event of our lives can interfere with
that purpose. In a strange way the suffering of our lives is connected to that
glory. Look at Jesus life and how every event of His life, every event of His
humiliation is a part of His exaltation now. That’s so helpful, because there are
going to be experiences in our lives that we don’t understand. But, the Father
says, “Even if you don’t understand, I do; and I am causing these things to serve
the interests of your glory and your good.”
Now notice the word foreknowledge. Paul does not say that God foresaw something
about those people; it’s not that God foresaw some having faith, and therefore
predestined them. That doesn’t make any sense. It’s not what God foreknew about
those He predestined. It’s whom He foreknew. Paul is saying that God foreknew
them, not something about them. God knew them in an intimate way, just as we know
our wives. He fore-loved them. Just as the Old Testament speaks of God knowing His
people, it doesn’t mean He knows what they look like or what they are going to
do. It means that He is involved in a special love relationship with them, which
sets them apart from every other person in the world. We’re talking about a
personal relationship of love. God set His saving love on you before you existed.
Amos 3:2 God says to the people of Israel, “You only have I known among all the
families of the earth.” He knew about all the families but only chose Israel.
There are many, many more examples of this throughout both Old and New Testaments.
All things will work together for your good if you are called, and therefore love
God, because, or for, as v29 says, God has known you, and chosen you, and loved
you, before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter
1:20; Revelation 13:8; 17:8). I make these points not to make you angry or
discouraged, but to encourage you. Consider that just as behavioral conformity
to Jesus is a life-long battle with wrong deeds, and emotional conformity to
Jesus is a life-long battle with wrong feelings, so intellectual conformity to
Jesus is a life-long battle with wrong thinking. We should not be surprised to
see stumbling or struggling with the harder teachings of Scripture. Behavioral,
emotional, and intellectual conformity to Christ do not come all at once, but in
God’s timing.
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V30 – The Golden Chain of Salvation. Take “foreknew” from the previous verse and
add, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. Paul is saying that before
the foundation of the world God loved you, and because He loved you, He
predestined you. He chose you. He set a purpose for your life, and that purpose
is invincible. Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord
determines his steps.” And because He chose you, He then calls you to His purpose,
and He counts you righteous in Christ, He justifies you. And finally, He glorifies
you. Notice that sanctification is left out. Does that mean that sanctification is
unimportant? No. Paul has been talking about sanctification throughout this
chapter; it comes by suffering. The Spirit works in you to conform you to the
image of Christ, so that you can be glorified. As we are glorified, and as we
share in the glory of our older brother—how amazing to refer to Jesus that way—His
glory will not be diminished by our sharing in it. It will be manifested, because
He is the reason that we are participating in that glory. So is our participation
in that glory dependent on our choice? If so, then Christ’s glory is diminished.
But if not, then we can truly praise Him for saving us completely and forever. We
had no part in it. Paul says glorified as if it is done. It’s so certain
that you’re going to share this glory with God that Paul speaks of it in the
past tense.
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V31-32 – What we shall we say? If God is for us, who can be against us? How will
God not give us all things, since He gave His Son for us? Paul asks a great
question. How will God, Who gave Himself for us (who is this “us”?), not also
give us (who is this “us”?) all things? Those for whom Christ was given over to
death on the cross will certainly be given all things. Paul, in this section,
asks a series of questions meant to summarize the main arguments of the entirety
of his letter to this point. And so when he asks in v31, “What shall we say?”
he’s not simply referring to v28-30 as glorious as they are; he’s not simply
referring to chapter 8, as glorious as it is; he’s referring to the whole of
his letter, everything that he’s said to this point. Look at the next question
in v31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” By saying, “If,” Paul is not
intending to raise doubt. It might be better translated for us as “Since God is
for us, who could possibly be against us?” It’s a rhetorical question. It’s
answering the predicament that Paul pointed to in Romans 1:18-32. God is against
us, so how is God also for us? Paul has spent the first half of his letter to the
Romans explaining how God is for us in Christ. And if God is for us in Christ,
then what could it possibly matter if anybody else other than God was against us?
Paul is not saying there is nobody against the Christian, that there is no
opposition. He’s saying that there is no opposition worth considering, or worth
concern, compared to God being for the Christian. If the enmity which once stood
between you and God has been solved in Jesus Christ, then there is no enmity worth
concern. The rhetorical question is designed to draw attention to the truth that
Paul has already explained and bring it to bear upon the hearts of his audience,
so that they gain security, comfort, and strength.
Now it’s hard for us to really accept the message of v31 with the rhetorical
question. But Paul gives us v32 to reinforce the truth that he tried to evoke
from the question in v31. And it’s another rhetorical question, but it’s amazing
to consider the magnificent truth that stands within it. God loves us so much
that he did not even spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. According to
the rhetorical question, God will also give us all things. Who is God giving all
things to in v32? Those for whom Christ died. And we know that all people will
not be given all things. If we deny that statement, then we become universalists.
So here it is: Those for whom Christ was given will in turn be given all things
along with Christ. And it’s not everybody, but only those who believe.
But the real point of this verse is that God the Father acted as Priest in our
salvation. He provided, offered, and delivered up the sacrifice of the spotless
lamb, His own precious and eternally begotten Son, on behalf of all of His people.
So, how much is God for us? We hear it from Paul rhetorically. John 3:16 says it
simply: “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The wrath of God struck
in totality against Whom it had no right. The Bible says Judas delivered Him over
(Mark 3:19), and Pilate delivered Him over (Mark 15:15), and Herod and the Jewish
people and the Gentiles delivered Him over (Acts 4:27-28), and we delivered Him
over (1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4; 1 Peter 2:24). It even says Jesus
delivered Himself over (John 10:17; 19:30). But Paul is saying the ultimate
thing here in v32. In and behind and beneath and through all these human
deliverings, God was delivering His Son to death. Acts 2:23 “This Man, delivered
over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross
by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” Nothing greater has ever
happened for sinners than God delivering His Son to death.
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V33-34 – Who will bring a charge against us, knowing that God is the judge and is
biased in our favor? Who will condemn us, knowing that Christ has paid our ransom
and even lives to intercede for us? Paul’s point here is simply that there is no
condemnation for those in Christ. No one, not even Satan, can make a hearable,
valid accusation against those for whom Christ died, and it’s because God, the
creator of all existence, is the judge. This is the same rhetorical question that
Paul asked in v31-32, but here Paul provides a legal illustration. Picture the
judge giving His perfect Son not only to forgive sins but also to bear the
punishment price for sins. Paul is saying to his audience, “Ask yourselves,
‘Who could bring a charge before this judge?’ and ‘Who could possibly condemn
the defendant in this situation?’” And the answer that Paul wants his audience
to give is “No one.”
In v33 Paul shows how God the Father is for us. In v34 he shows how what God the
Son has done for us assures us that God is for us. It’s the same point from
different perspectives. Paul is giving a certain answer to fear and guilt in v33
by pointing to the Father’s love and justification. Paul is giving a certain
answer to fear and guilt in v34 by pointing to the Person and work of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Paul is practically writing this right from Isaiah 50:8-9. This passage is amidst
the portion of Isaiah’s writing often called “The Song of the Suffering Servant.”
The prophet is writing as if Jesus Himself was speaking. But notice how Paul makes
the transfer as if we are saying those same words that Jesus spoke of Himself as
if we were speaking about ourselves. That’s exactly what Paul wants us to see!
And this goes back to Paul’s understanding of the believers’ union with Christ.
Christ appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute Me?” But Paul hadn’t persecuted Christ. Oh but he had. He persecuted
those in union with Christ, and that’s the same as persecuting Christ. There’s
the union. Same goes the other way around. If Christ said it, it’s just as if
those in union with Him have said it.
The judge is already biased in our favor because He chose us. He loved us savingly
before the foundation of the world. We believers are His elect. Because He chose
us, we are united with His Son in the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son.
If the judge who justifies is biased, what good can it do to file a charge? What
good can it do try to condemn one the elect? They are justified by God the Father
and judge. And furthermore (and most importantly), the punishment that would fit
the charge has already been carried out on Christ. So that makes God both just in
judgment and the One Who justifies. This takes us back to what Paul said in Romans
3:26. God is not just forgiving us! He remains just in forgiving us, because the
punishment we deserve is still carried out. And this is what should give us such
a great confidence. God cannot punish me. He has punished Christ in my place. And
God cannot punish anyone for sins that have been punished in Christ at Calvary.
Paul is asking, “How can a person stand unafraid before God on judgment day?” And
v34 offers 4 answers: (1) Christ died. Paul is talking about Christ as the
substitutionary, atoning, propitiatory sacrifice for the elect. Those for whom
Christ died will never face the wrath of God, because the Son has faced the
totality of the wrath of God in their place. And therefore, they will not be
condemned. (2) More than that! Christ was raised. And the resurrection is
essential for our salvation. It shows God the Father’s acceptance of Christ’s
work on our behalf, and thus, since God accepted Christ’s work as payment in full,
those for whom Christ was raised cannot be condemned. (3) Christ is at the right
hand of the Father. When we say that, we are talking about the fact that God has
made Christ to be sovereign and exercise dominion over the universe for His people.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, and if He has set us free, we
cannot be held captive by sin and death. (4) Jesus Christ intercedes for us.
Many people picture Jesus somehow pleading in prayer for His Father to bless His
people. And that picture is wrong from two perspectives. First, it doesn’t do
justice to the status and authority of Christ. He is seated at the right hand
of the heavenly Father. In other words, He is the power in the universe. His
dominion and authority is unquestioned. Second, it depicts the Father as
uninvolved in the salvation of His people. Remember, He’s already on their side.
He’s already justified them. He’s already given them the Son. So, here’s the
picture: Christ is ruling all of creation in providence for the good of His
people, whom He bought. For whomever He died and rose and rules and intercedes,
there is no condemnation. If God is for us, Who can be against us?
-
V35-39 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? No one and nothing. We are
more than conquerors (in trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness,
danger, and sword) through Christ. Again Paul offers a rhetorical question,
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” And this time, it includes a
relational illustration. Not only are the elect judicially certain of God’s
unchanging love, but they are relationally certain of it as well. You might
hear from some people that God is relational, like a father, and that excludes
Him from being impersonal, like a judge. They’ll say God is more loving than He
is just. Yet Paul paints both pictures of God, the father and the judge,
side-by-side. They both describe God, and we can’t take one without the other.
And of course this rhetorical question, like the others, answers a point that
Paul already made. What does sin do, according to Paul? Sin separates us from
God. So Paul has worked in this letter to the Romans to show how God has dealt
with sin through Christ, and make the point that, if sin has been dealt with in
Jesus Christ, and if we’re united to Christ, then sin itself can no longer
separate us from God’s love. Neither can anything or anyone else. This is
supremely seen in Jesus’ cry of separation from the cross. Matthew 27:46
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Paul is reminding us that since
Jesus has experienced separation on our behalf, we in union with Christ will
never experience that separation from God. We will never experience that
separation, because He endured separation and secured salvation for us.
First, the emphasis here is on Christ’s love for us, God’s love for us, not on
our love for Christ or God. If our assurance or security depended on the
consistency and the quality of our love to Christ, none of us would ever be
assured. Paul is saying that God’s love for us actually secures our assurance
of salvation and our servitude. And then, having pointed us to the love of God,
because our security resides not in circumstances, but in something that flows
eternally from the heart of God towards His people, Paul is able to say that no
circumstance can interrupt, or defeat, or overthrow that love. No earthly
circumstance can separate us from the love of Christ, because the certainty
of that love doesn’t depend on circumstances or on our love. It depends upon
the unchangeableness of God’s saving love.
Second, many Christians will say, “God has really helped me to endure some of
the most difficult trials of life,” or, “Those trials made me stronger, going
through that hard thing made me stronger.” And nothing is wrong with those
statements, unless they think that the trials actually produced the grace.
And Paul says, “I’m saying more than that. I’m saying that you are more than
conquerors in all these things.” Now that’s an amazing statement. But what does
it mean? “More than conquerors” in trouble, hardship, persecution, famine,
nakedness, danger, and sword doesn’t seem like much to us, because, let’s face
it, we haven’t experienced many or much of those things. We certainly haven’t
experienced famine, nakedness, danger, or sword…yet. Perhaps these things are
coming, even in the Western world. But consider that the 20th century has seen
more Christian martyrs, folks killed for their faith, than the previous 19
centuries combined. That’s astounding! And we might not physically be among
them, but they are among us. And we suffer as a Body. And when believers are
persecuted, it signifies that we are joining in the fellowship of His sufferings.
It’s a sign of our union with Christ, and Paul understood this intensely and
experientially. Believers share in and are united with Christ in His sufferings,
not only in His benefits. And so suffering persecution is a function with union
with Christ. But how are we “more than conquerors”?
It’s not that you just barely get by, by the skin of your teeth. You’re a
hyper-conqueror. And it’s not just in the good things. It’s in all the bad
things, all the adversities you could list right now. In all things, God has
made you to be more than conquerors. But He hasn’t done it through those things;
He’s done it through the love of Christ. Through Christ’s love as exercised and
exhibited in the cross, you are more than conquerors. Paul is saying that in
those experiences we are made more than conquerors—not in spite of those
experiences, but in them. Precisely because God decreed that trial X should
happen, God made you to conquer in an extraordinary way. And furthermore, it
wasn’t the trial itself that produced the character in you. It was the grace of
God working in the trial. It was “through Him Who loved us.”
Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have
overcome the world.” Christ was more than a conqueror, and in Him, united to
Him, we are as well. There’s the union with Christ again. Consider 2 Corinthians
11; Paul defends himself to his audience, describing himself as weak and boasting
in God. When we think of Paul, we should think of a weak little man. And then we
should think of what God in His might and power has done in and through and by
weak little Paul. And then we see that God’s power is perfected in weakness,
through union with Christ, through God’s work in His people.
Finally, notice that Paul has explained that no earthly thing or person can
separate us from the love of Christ. Now he broadens the picture. Nothing in
all of creation, including supernatural beings, can separate us from God’s love
in Christ. Paul offers great encouragement as Romans 8 closes. He lists ten
things that cannot stand in the way. And these ten things include everything
that we can think of. In fact, nothing can separate us from the love of God in
Christ. How then are some separated from God for eternity in hell? Well, God’s
wrath remained on them. It was never removed by Christ. They were never part of
the “us.” They were never counted among the elect. Jesus will say to them,
“Depart from Me. I never knew you.” They were never united to Christ. And this
doesn’t sound very humble of “us” to say such things. It sounds boastful,
arrogant, snobbish, as if we were better or more deserving that those who
are not included. It seems unfair that God would include some and not others.
How can God send Christ to pay the punishment price of sin for some and not
others? And given Paul’s audience, we might expect Paul to go into an
explanation of how Jews relate to Gentiles in this issue of election and
how God chooses some and not others. And wouldn’t you know it? That’s exactly
what Paul will do, beginning in chapter 9, of which we’ll discuss the first 16
verses next time.
Footnotes
- 8:1 Some later manuscripts Jesus, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit,
- 8:3 Or the flesh; also in verses 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 13
- 8:3 Or man, for sin
- 8:3 Or in the flesh
- 8:6 Or mind set on the flesh
- 8:7 Or the mind set on the flesh
- 8:15 Or adoption
- 8:15 Aramaic for Father
- 8:21 Or subjected it in hope. 21 For
- 8:28 Some manuscripts And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God
- 8:28 Or works together with those who love him to bring about what is good--with those who
- 8:36 Psalm 44:22
- 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers
Bible text from
Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society.