Spirit Empowers Believers
BIBLE PASSAGE(s):
(Romans 8:12-16, 26-30, 35-39)
MEDITATION:
ROMANS 8
VERSES 12-13:
“brethren”
– Paul was talking to believers.
“therefore”
– Points back to what Paul said about the Spirit in verses 1-11.
Paul says we are obligated to live one of two different lifestyles;
and, he doesn’t indicate that we can live a portion of each type.
1. Sinful nature is…a road that leads to death.
Note:
Death for those in sin means eternal separation from God.
It is not a death where we no longer have an awareness of
anything, but a total awareness of the pain and agony we
suffer eternally for rejecting God’s Son.
2. Spirit nature…a road that leads to life.
– It includes putting to death the sinful nature (and deeds).
(Galatians 5:24)
Note:
This is a continual process (we keep
putting to death the sinful deeds).
Question:
Since believers continue to struggle with the temptations of
the old life, how can we put the old sinful nature to death?
– “by the Spirit”
Paul says we have to turn them over to the Spirit
and He will put them to death
(we just aren’t strong enough to do it ourselves).
Considerations:
– Those who ‘live in sin’ and ‘feel no guilt’ should be concerned.
– Those who ‘struggle with temptation’ AND ‘rely on the Spirit’s help’,
should be assured they are children of God.
VERSES 14-16:
Verse 14:
If ‘not having the Spirit’ is evidence that we are
not a child of God (Romans 8:9),
then ‘being led by the Spirit’
is evidence that we are God’s children.
Verse 15:
Those who are led by the Spirit:
– Are set free from the slavery of sin.
– Are set free from fear.
Question:
Fear of what?
– Fear of being a slave to sin.
– Fear of the consequences of a sinful life.
– Fear of death.
– Can refer to God as Father.
Note:
Two descriptions of how sinners become God’s children.
1. A new birth by the Spirit (John 3:3-8).
2. By adoption.
Note:
Paul was writing to Christians in Rome and he
used the Roman laws about adoption to illustrate
becoming children of God.
– A person (usually a slave) could be adopted
into a family other than his own.
– The adoption process had to be performed
before witnesses.
– The adopting family paid a price to the
natural father (or slave owner).
– The adopted child assumed all the duties
and privileges of a child by birth.
– The adopted child became an heir
with equal standing as the others.
Note:
This is what happens when
the Heavenly Father adopts someone.
– The price of redemption has been paid.
– The adopted person becomes a full
child of God, and a full heir of all He has.
Verse 16:
The Holy Spirit assures us that we belong to the Lord,
when we live by the Spirit (“with our spirit”).
VERSES 26-37:
Verses 17-25 transition from 12-16 to 26-30.
Verse 17:
As adopted children of God, believers are
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.
Verse 18:
The sufferings of earthly life
aren’t worthy to be compared to future glory.
Verses 18-21:
The redeemed look forward
to the glorious day of freedom.
Verse 22:
All creation groans as it looks to that day.
Verse 23:
Those who are adopted groan as they await
their full inheritance – the redemption of the body.
Verses 24-25:
Although believers are already God’s children,
they live in a patient hope for the coming redemption.
The focus of these verses
is on one weakness – our prayer life.
– Jesus gave His disciples the model prayer,
but we still need help in praying.
– We need both general and specific help.
– We don’t always know what to pray for.
– We don’t always know how to express our concerns in prayer.
Example:
How do we pray for someone with a terminal illness?
– When words fail us, the Spirit lifts our prayers to the Father.
– God searches the hearts of those who pray
(probably for desire and sincerity).
– Both the Father and His Spirit
want prayers to focus on the Will of God.
Note:
This is how Jesus prayed.
– God knows the mind of the Spirit is focused on His Will.
– The Spirit enables us to pray to God
(prayer is God’s work in us).
– The Spirit doesn’t intercede to convince the Father
to pay attention to our prayers; God already knows
and cares about our concerns.
– God uses our Spirit-inspired prayers to work out His Will,
Note:
Prayer may not cause God to change His Will,
but it may result in God willing a change.
Example:
Sodom and Gomorrah – Any righteous people found
would change His plans to destroy the cities.
Verse 28:
In times of trouble or heartache,
Christians can find comfort in these words.
This verse tells us that:
– Those who love God
are the ones called according to His purpose.
– God has a purpose.
– The universe and the people
are part of His plan and purpose.
– Christians find meaning and live with purpose
because we believe God is working out His
purpose, and we are included in it.
– Others live in fear
because they believe there is no purpose.
– God’s purpose is good.
– God can bring good out of painful situations.
Note:
It doesn’t say that bad things
will not happen to God’s children.
Note:
Our difficulties may be part of God’s plan
for changing us from what we are by nature,
to what He intends for us to be.
Note:
We may not have the answer to,
“Why did this happen?”,
but Paul says it is part of His good purpose.
VERSES 29-30:
These verses tell us some things about God’s purpose.
1. The source of our salvation is God’s eternal love.
“foreknew” translates to “knew beforehand”.
“predestined” translates to
“marked out the boundaries beforehand”.
Both terms refer to actions by God
before the foundation of the world.
This shows that salvation comes from
the heart of God…from the beginning.
2. His purpose is that His people
are conformed to the image of His Son.
Note:
This is the “good according to His purpose”.
Paul wrote of this as an ongoing process (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Another way to say it:
“God’s purpose is that Jesus might
be the firstborn among many brethren”.
Note:
This goes back to Romans 8:17.
3. God completes what He starts (Philippians 1:6).
Paul listed 5 stages of God’s work in the lives of believers.
– In addition to the first two
(which took place in eternity),
he adds two that take place in this life
and one that will take place at the end of time.
– He called those He predestined.
Question:
Called them to what?
– To come to salvation
(we can’t be saved unless we are called).
– Those He called, He justified.
– Being justified by faith in Christ
is the first stage of salvation
that we personally experience.
Note:
When we heed His call, admit that we
are sinners, and openly profess our
belief that Christ died for our sins, then
according to His Word, we are saved.
– Those who are ‘justified’, will be ‘glorified’.
Note:
Although this stage is in the future,
Paul states it as if it has already happened.
Summary:
– The Spirit helps believers pray
according to the Will of God.
– God works all things together for His good purpose.
– His eternal purpose is that His people
are conformed to the image of His Son.
VERSES 35-39:
Paul had just made 2 important points:
1. No one can successfully oppose God;
we belong to Him (Romans 8:31-32).
2. No one can successfully condemn us because Christ
died for us, and God justified us (Romans 8:33-34).
One last issue remained – Can anyone or anything
separate us from the love of Christ?
– This is what he addresses in verses 35-39.
Note:
Separating us from His love “could” imply
losing our salvation (but that does not happen).
Paul lists several things that threaten
to separate us from Christ’s love.
– Trouble (tribulations).
– Hardships (struggling to get by; sickness; etc.).
– Persecution
(exclusion and/or ridicule as a result of our faith).
– Famine (world hunger).
– Nakedness (lack of adequate clothing).
– Danger (hostile environment).
– Sword (threat of death).
– Death (feared by many).
– Life (possibly the times
when succumb to fleshly desires).
– Angels (probably means evil angels).
– Demons (Satan’s disciples).
– Present (current circumstances).
– Future (worry).
– Powers (ruling governments).
Note:
We can see the potential (and results) of ungodly
people in government and the laws they enact.
– Height (forces or beings above the earth).
– Depth (forces or beings below the earth).
– Anything else in creation.
Note:
He quotes Psalm 44:22 to point out that
believers have always faced persecutions.
Note:
He didn’t promise that believers would be exempt
from these threats, but he did promise that none of
these things would separate believers from the love
of Christ.
Note:
This is not our love for Him, but His love for us.
He promises that Christians will have victory
in the midst of persecution.
Question:
How are we assured of this victory?
– The Spirit is not mentioned in the last part
of Romans 8, but taking the scriptures as a
whole shows that the Spirit (Who defeated
sin and death) is the power that will give us
victory.
Summary:
– Many things threaten to separate us from the Lord.
– God doesn’t promise we will be exempt
from the presence of these things.
– He promises that none of these things
can separate us from God’s love.
ACTION:
God gives us the Holy Spirit, and we need to depend on Him to:
– help us with our prayer life
– help us with our problems
– help us with our temptations
– help us use our spiritual gifts in serving the Lord
We must make a choice to allow the Holy Spirit to have control
in our lives if we expect to live more righteously. Of course that
means we will make a conscious choice to exchange our selfish
desire to be in control for His control of our thoughts, words,
and actions.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gracious gift
of the Holy Spirit as a bonus to Your salvation You
have given me. Help me to realize the powerful impact
He can have in my life when I allow Him to have more
control of my life. Father I know that everything You
give me is for my good because it is an expression of
Your love for me. You do not give me something to
set on a shelf, but what You give me, You expect me
to use and enjoy. Thank You for how the Holy Spirit
can change my life and focus in so many ways!”
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