The Cross and the Spirit – Romans 8:1-17
Gospel in a Sentence: God made a way for wicked sinners to be reconciled to Himself through the blood of Jesus Christ so that we might be made alive eternally and that our sins would be paid in full; we are given the righteousness of Jesus Himself and He takes on our sin, resulting in a right standing with God the Father.
Big Picture: The Holy Spirit leads all Christians to obey God’s righteous requirements on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Goal: That we rely on the promises that God has given us, concerning obedience in life and future resurrection, secured by Christ’s death and resurrection.
Key Ideas
1) Everyone in Christ through faith has already been freed from condemnation, since they’ve been transferred from the realm of sin to the realm of the Spirit.
2) There are only two ways to live: according to the flesh and according to the Spirit.
3) Everyone who has the Holy Spirit will fight sin in their lives, increase in obedience to God, and eventually rise from the dead physically with a body uncorrupted by sin.
Key Terms
Law of – Law can be in reference to the Old Covenant Law (Romans 2:12-13) or Natural Law (Romans 2:14) reflected in our consciences. However, when the phrase ‘law of’ is used, it typically is referring to principles in a certain realm. For example, every nation is ruled by a government, and those governments exercise laws. Those laws could be called the ‘law of the nation,’ meaning that it is the body of rules that governs the government of that nation. The term ‘law of’ in Romans has the same idea. There’s a realm that’s governed by certain principles.
Flesh – The Old Era of the world before Jesus came; the age governed by sin before Jesus began to reign by saving people from every nation. Some versions of the Bible translate the word flesh as ‘sinful nature.’ While this helps us understand that the ‘flesh’ has something to do with sin, it makes it appear as something in each person, as opposed to the world in which every person lives and of which every person is part.
Spirit – Namely, the Holy Spirit. In contrast with the ‘flesh,’ the Holy Spirit governs the New Era, the New Creation, in which Jesus has begun to reign as Christ, or Saving King. The age, or world, or Kingdom, of the Spirit has crashed into the old world of the flesh. Both now coexist because Christ has entered the world. When he is revealed in judgment, the age of the flesh will end.
Abba – The Jews in 1st Century Palestine spoke a language, related to Hebrew, called Aramaic. Abba is the form of the word ‘father,’ used to address one’s father. It does not mean ‘daddy’ or reflect any sort of childish address of a father. Therefore, if any of you men start praying to God as ‘Daddy,’ I will smack you.
Glorified – To be given honor, or to have worth ascribed to or recognized in someone. God is glorified when his worth is recognized and responded to appropriately with delight and praise. Our destiny is to be glorified with Christ. That does not mean we have any sort of worth of our own, but that we will, when we see Jesus, be fully conformed to his image. We will be made like him in character, and all of the stains and effects of the flesh will be removed from us.
Key Observations
8:1 ‘Therefore’ indicates that Paul is concluding an argument. He is probably referring back to 7:6 – the Law aroused our sin and we died; but, because Christ suffered the penalties the Law required in our places, we are free from being judged by it forever. This word ‘now’ connects 8:1 and 7:6, and refers to the reality that with the Christ event, the whole course of history was changed forever. Already now and right now there is no condemnation from God for those united to Christ Jesus through faith.
2 ‘For’ indicates that this is the basis for the removal of condemnation from us; namely, that we have been transferred from realm to realm. In this case, the Holy Spirit has removed us from the world of sin and death and placed us into his own world. We are now governed as members of the Kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of this world. This is all ‘in Christ,’ or by virtue of union with him, since his death and resurrection have secured that realm transfer for all his people (those united to him).
3 ‘For’ here indicates that Paul is going to tell us how God, by the Spirit, transferred us from realm to realm. First, he notes that the Law (here the Old Testament Commandments) couldn’t give us entry into the Kingdom of God because we were governed by the flesh, and thus rebelled against the Law. However, God sent his own Son into the world. He was human like us, but was not ruled over by the old sinful world of ‘flesh,’ even though he entered the world of ‘flesh.’ God carried out the verdict our sin required on him – he condemned it and punished it.
4 The phrase ‘in order that (noun) might (verb)’ indicates purpose. Verse 4 tells us, thus, a reason that God condemned Christ for us, namely, that the righteous requirement of the law would be fulfilled in us. This could mean that Christ’s death met all of the Law’s demands, or it could mean that Christ’s death has given us the ability to live in growing conformity to the Law. Contextually, the latter seems to make more sense, though the former is certainly true. Paul clarifies who he’s talking about at the end of the verse – it’s people who live lifestyles characterized by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, and thus do not live lifestyles in agreement with the old world controlled by sin. These are the people whose sin has been condemned in the condemnation of Christ by God the Father.
5 The word ‘for,’ beginning this verse, indicates that Paul is about to tell us an explanation of the two types of people he’s just mentioned in verse 4, those belonging to the flesh and those belonging to the Spirit. This explanation will last through verse 8. In verse 5, we see that one’s thought life is reflective of the realm in which they live. What they purposefully think about reflects who their master is – sin or the Holy Spirit. This does not teach perfection; but it does teach that each person for whom Christ died will normally be purposefully thinking in agreement with the word of God. In other words, a converted person has a new ‘normal.’ They no longer have minds controlled by sin; but rather, normally and purposefully think about God’s word and treasure what God treasures. It’s not a perfect mind, but it’s a mind that has a completely different ‘normal.’
6 This is further explanation of the two kinds of lives. One whose mind is controlled by the old sinful world will die forever. One whose mind is set on the Spirit, from the Spirit gets eternal life and peace in the presence of God forever.
7-8 This is further explanation of the one who is in the flesh. Because his mind is controlled by the old, sinful world, he is hostile to God. His mind is incapable of submission to God’s Law; therefore, he can never please God.
9 Here Paul wants to give Christians assurance that they’re not of the flesh; but he also wants to drive a sharp wedge between the one who is of the flesh and the one who is in the Spirit. We learn that all who belong to Christ, that is, all Christians, have the Holy Spirit, and therefore are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.
10 ‘But’ indicates a contrast. Here, it is the contrast between the fact that our bodies are dead, but the Spirit is life. In other words, because we still are in this sinful world, with bodies tainted by sin, we carry in us the stain of death and will die physically. Even so, the Spirit has granted us new life, and will give us resurrection life later. This is all because of the righteousness of Christ counts in our places. This verse starts with the phrase ‘if Christ is in you.’ This does not mean that Jesus is identical to the Spirit, but reflects that fact that both persons of God are fully God, and the Holy Spirit communicates the fullness of the person of Christ to everyone in whom he dwells.
11 This is the continuation of the thought that the Spirit is life in verse 10. Because the Holy Spirit is in us, God the Father will raise us physically from the dead just like he raised Christ physically from the dead, and our bodies will never be stained by sin again.
12 ‘So then’ indicates that Paul is going to draw out a conclusion of the sharp distinction between those in the flesh and those in the Spirit (non- Christians and Christians). This conclusion is that we aren’t debtors to the old world. We do not belong to it and owe nothing to it. We are not under its control.
13 We have been freed from sin’s control for a reason. Everyone whose life is characterized by the flesh will face death and hell. However, everyone who lives in agreement with the Holy Spirit will get eternal life. This does not mean that people are justified by obedience! Rather, it means that everyone whose sin was condemned in Christ faces no condemnation and has been given the Holy Spirit who will absolutely produce obedience in growing degree. The life in the Spirit here is characterized by trust in the Spirit’s power granted through the death of Christ, and also decisive action on our part to fight against the sinful tendencies that we still have in our bodies before the Spirit gives us resurrection bodies.
The Spirit-Filled Life
When modern, American Christians think of the Spirit-filled life, many think of emotional experiences or even miraculous Spirit-granted gifts. Though the Holy Spirit’s work should certainly influence our emotions, and he does give gifs to the Church, these emphases are not what the Bible emphasizes when speaking of the work of the Spirit.
Romans 8 gives us a wonderful summary of the Spirit’s work in every believer’s life. It might be a good idea to, before reading forward, think about how you would summarize the teaching of Romans 8:1-13.
Basically, the Holy Spirit applies the work of Christ to every believer’s life. He has united us to Christ so that Christ’s death counts for our sins and his righteousness is the basis for our righteous standing. He will raise us from the dead when Jesus returns to earth. And now, he gives us the ‘newness of life’ that Jesus has purchased for us, so that our minds are set on him and we walk in normal obedience to God’s laws.
Though the Bible promises us that the Holy Spirit will do these things in every Christian’s life, it’s not automatic. We have a role to play! We see that we walk, or live, in agreement with the Spirit (v. 4), we set our minds on the things of the Spirit (v. 5), and we put to death the deeds of the body (v. 13).
How do we do these things? How do we live in agreement with the Spirit? Romans 8 gives us a very simple answer, involving two parts: dependence and choice.
1) Dependence. Romans 8:13 tells us that our killing of the body’s deeds is done ‘by the Spirit.’ This makes sense, doesn’t it? The Spirit is the one who applies the death of Christ to us for our forgiveness. He is the one who set us free from our old selves. He is the one who gave us a new mind and heart and life. So we should trust him! We must remember what Christ has done for us, and that there is already now no condemnation for us, despite our sins. We must thank God for his promises of heaven, and we must pray, just like the Lord himself taught us, ‘hallowed by your name,’ or in other words, ‘glorify your name!’
2) Choice. Romans 8:13 says that we are putting to death the deeds of the body if we are in Christ. This means that we take decisive action in fleeing temptation, resisting the devil, and pursuing righteousness. We take practical steps in ending the indulgence of sinful lusts in our lives. We practice godliness and discipline ourselves for holiness. There is hard work, but we must remember that it is hard work trusting in the Holy Spirit!
It may help to break this down into a few simple steps, involving an open Bible and time in prayer.
i. Think, specifically, about what God has commanded in his word, and about how your life matches up to his Law.
ii. Confess your specific sins to God, being grieved for grieving him.
iii. Think about the righteousness of Christ and your right standing before God. (This is one of those times in which Scripture memory is very helpful!)
iv. Thank God for your justification and your promised future with him.
v. Ask God, in specific ways, to change you so you glorify him more.
vi. Take decisive action to rid yourself of sin. Instill disciplines, get accountability, rid yourself of temptation. Be extreme and decisive.
vii. Thank God that he will one day glorify you with Christ.
That is the life the Holy Spirit has for us now. There are no magic bullets for ridding oneself of particular sin – just remembering the Gospel, trusting and praying in light of the Gospel, and taking decisive action because of the Gospel. As we do those things, the Holy Spirit will do his work in our lives, conforming us to the image of Christ himself.
14 Verse 13 is true because of verse 14 – all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. That is to say, if anyone is a son of God, he is led by the Spirit of God. What are the sons of God led by the Spirit to do? They put to death the body’s deeds. They do righteousness, not lawlessness. They respond positively to God’s word, not in rebellion. By the way, it is sons of God, not children of God. Sons in the ancient world were known for doing what their father did. We are sons of God through faith in Christ and are being transformed to be like him. The Bible also refers to us as children of God (even in v. 16 here). There, the emphasis is on our relationship and inheritance rather than our behavior.
15 ‘For’ indicates that this verse is further evidence of the sonship of everyone who is in Christ. The Spirit himself is a Spirit of adoption, who causes us to address God as ‘Abba,’ Father, just as Christ himself did (Mark 14:36). This is in contrast to being a slave of sin, knowing that we deserve punishment, and thus living in fear.
16 How do Christians cry out to God as Father? By the Holy Spirit, who makes us aware that God is our adoptive Father.
How can I know I’m a Christian?
At this point, you’ve probably seen quite clearly the answer to the question Paul poses for himself at the beginning of Romans 6, namely, will Christians go on sinning? No! One who is in Christ has a new nature granted by the Holy Spirit, and will bear fruit.
Many Christians, especially those with sensitive consciences, as a result of this truth combined with the presence of sin in their lives, will struggle with feeling like they are truly saved. They’ll wonder if God is truly at work in their lives, or if they are not truly Christians. Often, they approach God with anxiety or fear.
This is by no means a new problem in Christ’s Church. For instance, John writes a purpose statement for 1 John at the end of the letter in which he says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life”(1 John 5:13). Peter, in 2 Peter 1:10, instructs us to ‘be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure.’
God desires that we know that we are truly his children, and more, he commands us to seek that certainty.
This issue is complicated by the issue of the complexity of human nature. Sometimes we can know something to be objective truth but feel as if something else were true. As a result, there are two kinds of ‘assurance’ that one truly will enter the Kingdom of God. These two types of assurance are called Objective Assurance and Subjective Assurance.
1) Objective Assurance is assurance of our salvation that comes from outside of us. It is the declaration that all who are united to Christ through faith are forgiven and will enter heaven. Objective assurance is Christ himself. Why would someone enter heaven? Christ and Christ alone. Objective Assurance is merely the reality that all in Christ will forever be united to him.
2) Subjective Assurance is the experience of assurance by the Christian. Though Objective Assurance is unchanged by how we feel, Subjective Assurance in large part depends on our experiences of three things. First, it depends on our experiences of the declaration of Objective Assurance. Second, it depends on our ability to see the production of obedience in our lives. Third, it depends on our ability to believe the witness of the Holy Spirit.
i. Subjective Assurance depends on our experiences of the declaration of Objective Assurance. As we saw from Romans 1, Christians grow by hearing the Gospel proclaimed to them. We tend to forget the Gospel and require constant reminders. If we go for a time without receiving the Gospel, our feelings of assurance will waiver. The solution to this problem is to hear the Gospel. God has instituted the elders/pastors of the local churches for this purpose – to preach the Gospel. It is their job to proclaim and apply the truth of the cross of Christ and what it does for us every Lord’s Day. Christians need this. If a Christian is not in a local church in which this is happening normally and regularly, that Christian is spiritually starving rather than being nourished, and should immediately pursue membership in a local church in which the Gospel is regularly proclaimed and applied.
ii. Subjective Assurance depends on our ability to see the production of obedience in our lives. This is the substance of 2 Peter 1 and 1 John. Now, some people do not see fruit because there isn’t any. They should be afraid that they aren’t saved, because they’re not. The solution to this issue is the Gospel – and a Holy Spirit-produced response of repentance and faith. However, some Christians don’t see fruit because they’re perfectionists and see the lack of perfect fruit or the lack of fruit in every area of life as a complete lack of fruit. These people need to be reminded that God has purposed that their perfection wait until they see Jesus. We must remember that the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is mixed in with our present sins. The solution for people who can’t see fruit in their lives is to remember this reality, and to return to the truth of their Objective Assurance before God – namely, the perfection of Christ’s death in saving his people.
iii. Subjective Assurance depends on our ability to believe the witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16). The Holy Spirit testifies that we are children of God to our spirits. Now, our ability to receive that testimony may be hindered by a lack of fellowship with Christ, the presence of unrepentant sin in our lives, a forgetting of the Gospel, or trying to be perfected by the Law. The solution to this issue is to again return to Objective Assurance. The Gospel is written in Scripture by the Holy Spirit, and it is this Gospel that he uses to declare to us, to witness to us, that we stand forever justified before God the Father.
To summarize, then, every Christian has Objective Assurance – namely, Christ who stands before the Father as the one who has secured their redemption perfectly and forever. The Subjective Assurance, or experience of assurance, of a Christian can waiver based on their regularly hearing the Gospel, their ability to see fruit of the Spirit in their lives, and their believing the inner witness of the Holy Spirit without hindrance. A lack of Subjective Assurance does not mean someone is not a Christian! But we all should pursue it.
17 Since God has adopted us into his family, we now are heirs, just as Christ is. We get what he is promised by being a son of God – and we are children of God by being united to the one, obedient Son of God. A condition seemed to be attached to the end of this verse. We are heirs if we suffer with Christ now to be glorified with him later. Is this a condition added to the condition that we trust Christ? No. However, having the Holy Spirit means living life according to that Spirit, living like a son of God, living in agreement with God’s righteous requirements; and that means that we will deal with the sufferings of this life in the way that Christ dealt with them, looking forward to glory as a future goal and promise. The next study will delve further into this topic.
Sample Discussion Guide:
-What are some words that you think describe a ‘Spirit-filled’ Christian?
-On a scale of 1-10, rate your confidence that the Holy Spirit is changing you? Why did you give the number you gave?
-In tonight’s study, we’ll be looking at how the Holy Spirit changes everyone who believes in Jesus, and hopefully clear up some misconceptions about what he does. Let’s pray. Have someone pray.
-Have someone read vv. 1-4.
-Why should it be a surprise that there’s now no condemnation for those in Christ?
-These verses describe how every believer in Christ will never be under God’s condemnation. How did God do that?
-The truth that God did what the Law couldn’t in removing condemnation from us through the death of Christ should never be boring. If our emotions are not affected by these realities, there’s a problem. What should we do if we’re bored by the Gospel?
-Those who are now no longer condemned by God through Christ’s death no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Explain the flesh/Spirit contrast. See the definitions section for help. Paul goes on to contrast how deep that lifestyle control goes by telling us that what we think about reflects who our master is.
-Have someone read vv. 5-8.
-What do these verses say about a person’s mind who has not turned to Christ? About someone who has?
-If you have trusted Christ, his death has made significant changes to your mind. Your old mind, controlled by sin, is dead, and replaced by a new one. Practically, what do you think those differences look like in every day life? How do you see evidence of the Spirit’s work in your mind?
-In vv. 9-17, Paul addresses the people receiving this letter who have repented from their sins and are following Christ. He tells them what the Holy Spirit is doing in their lives.
-Have someone read vv. 9-11. What does God promise us in these verses about the Holy Spirit’s activity?
-Righteousness is a really important word in Romans. How would you explain the idea that the Spirit is life because of righteousness? Be ready to explain justification and its benefits here, because that’s the point of this verse.
-What difference does v. 11 make to you personally?
-Have someone read vv. 12-17.
-Because of what the Holy Spirit has done and will do, we learn in v. 12 that we have no obligations to the flesh – to the old world controlled by sin. We are free! This freedom is reflected in our relationship with the Holy Spirit. What do vv. 13-17 tell us about our relationship to the Spirit?
-Do you have any questions about the things you just listed?
-What do you think it looks like to put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit in v. 13?
-These verses teach us that everyone in Christ is free from obedience to sin, has no need to fear condemnation from God, is adopted by God, and is guaranteed an inheritance of glory through Christ. How are those truths pertinent to the daily task of putting the deeds of the body to death by the Spirit?
-What role does the Spirit play in putting the deeds of the body to death? What role must you play?
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