DRAWING NEAR
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to His followers. When you think about the Holy Spirit, what comes to mind? What questions do you have?
THE CONTEXT
In the first seven chapters of Romans, God’s Holy Spirit is mentioned only once. In chapter 8, Paul mentions the Spirit almost twenty times. It is the Spirit who frees us from sin and death, enables us to fulfill God’s law, changes our nature, gives us the ability to overcome the desires of our unredeemed flesh, confirms our adoption as God’s children, and guarantees our eternal glory. In short, there can be no success or progress in the Christian life apart from an utter dependence on the third Person of the Trinity.
Paul closes the chapter with profound teaching about the believer’s absolute security. Not only are we saved by the blood of Christ and indwelt by the Spirit, but we also are safe in the Father’s love. The God who is in control of all things, who has graciously saved us from sin and death and who has begun the process of transformation in us, will never let us go.
KEYS TO THE TEXT
Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the divine agent who creates, sustains, and preserves spiritual life in those who place their trust in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is not merely an influence or an impersonal power emanating from God. He is a person, the third member of the Trinity, equal in every way to God the Father and God the Son. Among the many characteristics of personhood that the Holy Spirit manifests are: He functions with mind, emotion, and will; He loves the saints, He communicates with them, teaches, guides, comforts, and chastises them; He can be grieved, quenched, lied to, tested, resisted, and blasphemed. He is called God, Lord, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Yahweh (or Jehovah), the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of Jesus, and the Comforter and Advocate for believers.
Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has indwelt all believers, illuminating their understanding and application of God’s Word. He fills them, seals them, communes with them, fellowships with them, intercedes for them, comforts them, admonishes them, sanctifies them, and enables them to resist sin and to serve God.
UNLEASHING THE TEXT
Read 8:1–39, noting the key words and definitions next to the passage.
Romans 8:1–39 (NKJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
therefore (v. 1)—Here Paul summarizes the ramifications of the truths presented in chapters 1–7.
condemnation (v. 1)—a judicial term meaning a guilty verdict; the opposite of justification
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
the law of the Spirit of life (v. 2)—the gospel, the law of faith
the law of sin and death (v. 2)—God’s perfect law that, because of the weakness of the flesh, produces only condemnation.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
in the likeness of sinful flesh (v. 3)—Christ was fully man, but without the unredeemed humanness or fleshly nature of sinners.
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
walk (v. 4)—one’s manner of living
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
set their minds (v. 5)—a basic orientation or disposition of the mind that is set on satisfying the cravings of the flesh
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
spiritually minded (v. 6)—focused on the things of the Spirit
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
dwells (v. 9)—makes one’s home
10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
put to death the deeds of the body (v. 13)—the ongoing, lifelong process of relying on the Spirit’s strength to resist fleshly urges and to carry out God’s commands
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
led by the Spirit (v. 14)—usual-ly by illuminating the Scripture so that our sinful, finite minds can grasp God’s will
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
spirit of bondage . . . to fear (v. 15)—The unredeemed have no lasting peace because of the effects of sin and the prospect of punishment.
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
bears witness with our spirit (v. 16)—by fruitfulness and power, not mystical voices
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
heirs (v. 17)—We stand to inherit all that God is and has.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
futility (v. 20)—a reference to the effects of the curse (Gen. 3:17–19)
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
creation eagerly waits . . . groans (vv. 19–23)—the universal longing for the removal of the curse
firstfruits of the Spirit (v. 23)—The changes God works in us are evidence of the truth that we will one day be like Christ.
24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
groanings which cannot be uttered (v. 26)—divine articulations within the Trinity; profound appeals for the welfare of God’s people
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
all things work together for good (v. 28)—Our sovereign God orchestrates every event in life to bring glory to Himself and benefit (temporal or eternal) His children.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
foreknew (v. 29)—not omniscience, but the divine choice to set His love on us and establish a relationship with us
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
predestined (v. 30)—literally, “to mark out,” “appoint,” or “determine beforehand”
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
If (v. 31)—since
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1) List the various names for the Spirit that Paul uses.
2) According to this chapter, what acts/ministries does the Holy Spirit perform in us, through us, and for us?
3) How does the Spirit’s presence and work change our very nature?
4) What does Paul mean by the references to “groaning” in this chapter (vv. 22–23)?
GOING DEEPER
Consider Christ’s promise of the Spirit to His followers, given in the Upper Room.
John 14:15–17
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
EXPLORING THE MEANING
5) What more do you learn here about the Spirit?
6) How does the promise in John 14:17 relate to the promise of Romans 8:35–39?
7) Read Galatians 5:22–23. How can the presence of these qualities in your life bring a sense of hope and expectation?
TRUTH FOR TODAY
The Spirit-filled life does not come through mystical or ecstatic experiences, but from studying and submitting oneself to Scripture. As a believer faithfully and submissively saturates his mind and heart with God’s truth, his Spirit-controlled behavior will follow as surely as night follows day. When we are filled with God’s truth and led by His Spirit, even our involuntary reactions—those that happen when we don’t have time to consciously decide what to do or say—will be godly.
REFLECTING ON THE TEXT
8) According to the statement above, why is it important to read and know God’s Word? How is that related to being led by the Spirit?
9) The Holy Spirit was not given so that believers could enjoy ecstatic, feel-good experiences. The Spirit lives in us to change us. The Scottish theologian David Brown stated, “If you don’t kill sin, sin will kill you.” How, practically speaking, can God’s indwelling Spirit empower you for victory over sin today?
10) On a scale of 1–10, with 1 being “carnal” and 10 being “Christlike,” how would you evaluate your “life in the Spirit” right now? What needs to change?
11) Meditate on Romans 8:35–39. How does this benediction about God’s love encourage you?
PERSONAL RESPONSE
Write out additional reflections, questions you may have, or a prayer.