Romans chapter eight part one

Life Through The Spirit

[Romans chapter 8; verses 1-17]

by Rev. Paul J. Bern

In today's lesson we will be moving on to the book of Romans chapter eight. There is a lot here so I am going to divide it up into several parts as we move through this remarkable piece of Scripture. The first part consists of the first 17 verses that we will be covering today. I will break this up into several paragraphs as usual so that the full depth of its meaning can be soaked up like a sponge and enjoyed by everyone in order to help fortify the hearts and minds of all those who freely choose to believe in Jesus and his message. So without any delay, let's start at verse one.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in 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. (Romans 8: 1-4 NIV)

The first half of the first sentence simply means that if we believe in Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul and spirit we cannot be condemned when our lives is over so long as we practice all due diligence in putting our faith into action. We all have life through God's Spirit because, “the law of the Spirit of life sets me free from the law of sin and death”. The Holy Spirit of Jesus is that Spirit of life that is spoken of in the Scriptures, and it is through him that we are set free. That's because if it were not for Jesus, then when our lives were over one of two things would happen. Either we would instantly be transformed into nothing at all, simply ceasing to exist, or we would wake up in hell and burn forever. Blackest darkness would be reserved for us in the first possibility, or we would be immersed in fire and consumed, either of which would be defined as a lack of the presence of God, possibly even the lack of the presence of anything.

To stop this from happening, God sent Jesus to be an offering for each one of us. Just as the Scripture says, “God [sent] his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering”. God gave His one and only son because He loves us so much that He was willing to undertake anything – up to and including the death of his only Son – to make sure that we would always be with Him, both in this life and in the eternal state that exists after our bodies die. Without Jesus we would be unable to measure up to God's standards because God is Holy. “ And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us”; no one is righteous in the eyes of God. This is a hard fact to learn but a true one nonetheless. But the way out is to live as the rest of the verse says, “...do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit”. The Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit of Christ. The text of this quote then continues as follows:

“Those that 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. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8: 5-8 NIV)

The sinful mind wants only what nature desires, or more accurately what our emotions desire. On the contrary, the spiritual mind only wants what the Spirit desires. The two are diametrically opposed to one another and as such they can never be mixed together. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace”. The sinful man is a dead man even though he lives as a dead man walking. A Spiritual mind is filled with life and peace, free from turmoil and conflict. So if you want a more trouble-free life (and who doesn't?), work on being a more Spiritual person, provided that this is done in the Holy Spirit and in no other. Then and only then do we really start living as opposed to having a mere day-to-day existence that sprouts from a sinful mind. Living is always preferential to a mere existence, and being in control due to having a Spirit-filled mind is the ultimate life experience when compared to the mere existence of a sinful mind, which is never satisfied. In contrast, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ generates the purest satisfaction and purpose within every true believer.

“You, 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. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And 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. (Romans 8: 9-11 NIV)

If the Spirit of God lives in us through Jesus Christ then we will be controlled by that same Spirit. We will be incapable of living according to our old sinful nature because the Spirit of Christ that lives within us won't allow us to do so. You either have the Spirit or you don't, as it says in the next sentence, “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” This is about as cut and dried as you can get, and the Bible leaves no room for doubt here. But then it clarifies this in the next verse when it says,”But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” So if Christ is in us, the only thing really alive is our spirit. If Christ is not in us, the only thing that is alive is our flesh, and even then only for a short while. When that life is over, it's over forever. Not so with life in the Spirit, which lasts forever even after our bodies die. The passage concludes the same way when it says, “And 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.” If God raised Jesus from the dead, then he can and will raise up from the dead all those who were believing in and living for Jesus when they died. It is just as the apostle Paul wrote elsewhere in the New Testament regarding this topic when he wrote, “... and the dead in Christ shall rise first”, which had to do with the rapture of the Church. And that's the best news of all. And now let's conclude today's study stating at verse twelve.

“Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For 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, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father”. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8, verses 12-17, NIV)

“... if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” If we live with much carnality, it only feels good for the short term, but in the end the payoff is death. These are the kinds of people who die of STD's, accidental drug overdoses and other addictions. Sin is addictive behavior, and it takes too many forms for me to list them here, but suffice it to say that when Jesus comes back for his Bride, which will be here before you know it, only those without spot or blemish (in the spiritual sense) will be raptured away to be with the Lord. Those who get left behind for the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation – as foretold by Jesus himself – will be faced with the choice of taking the mark of the Beast so they can live, work, buy and sell, or of refusing to take the mark, or the number of his name, or who refuse to bow down and worship his image. Whose image, you may ask? None other than than the man of perdition himself, the Antichrist. Those who refuse to do so will be killed and yet shall live forever, but those who take his mark will be condemned to eternal death.

“... you have received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry,“Abba, Father”, is a Biblical way of saying we are all adopted into the kingdom of God. The phrase 'Abba, Father' is an ancient way of saying 'Daddy, Daddy!' if it is translated straight into English from the original Biblical Hebrew and/or Greek texts. First and foremost, this means we are one big happy family. In that regard I would say we are doing fairly well, and so let's continue to do so in our daily living (denominational differences notwithstanding). By living this way, we make our entire life one big happy occasion, the power of which is being generated by the Holy Spirit. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs... if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” It does appear to me as I ponder this bit of Scripture that since we are all born with a sinful nature in the sight of God, and have been “born again of the water and of the Spirit” through Christ, we are now also a part of the risen Christ. And when we become part of the risen Christ, we know we have attained eternal life because Jesus paved the way for us to travel down that road to eternity. So let's keep our eyes on the prize and focus on Jesus who waits for us at the finish line of faith.