Romans 8:12-17 - Life in the Spirit
When we come to know Christ, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us.
• What does that mean for us? Is our life going to be different? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in my life?
• These are important questions. We know God the Father, we know Christ our Saviour, and we need to know the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
• Paul makes it clear to us in Romans 8 that the Holy Spirit is in our lives and plays an important role.
From Romans 1 to 7 Paul mentions the Spirit only a couple of times (4 times) but in Romans 8 alone, he said it 19 times.
• Paul wants us to understand the work of the Spirit in our lives because we need Him.
• Most of the time in this chapter Paul addresses Him as “the Spirit”. Twice he uses "the Spirit of God" (v.9 and 14); twice he called Him "the Spirit of life" (v.2 and 10), one time as the "Spirit of Christ" (v.9) and once as the "Spirit of adoption" (v.15).
• We cannot run away from this central figure in this chapter.
He is very involved in our lives and I want to share these 3 points today - recognising the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit, the WORK of the Holy Spirit and the WITNESS of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
He is not an occasional visitor; He takes up residence in us. He lives in us:
• 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Jesus said it earlier before He left, in John 14:16-17 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
• Jesus said this after verse 15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
• Right after saying “you will keep my commandments” Jesus says He will ask the Father to provide us with another Helper, who will help us keep His commandments.
• John 14:26 “…the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Jesus says this Helper will be with us forever (v.16), He dwells with us and will be in us (v.17). And “we know Him” (v.17) for He will bring to our mind the words of Christ. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of truth.
Secondly, Romans 8 tells us of the work of the Spirit in our lives.
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
• Last week we heard that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
• The Holy Spirit assures us that we are forgiven, because He, the Spirit of life, set us free from the law of sin and death (8:2).
• He convicts us of the truth of the Gospel and He assures us of our forgiveness when we repent and believe Jesus.
Romans 8 says with His presence in us, we can now live by the Spirit and not the old ways of the flesh.
• The Spirit guides us and enables us to live right so that “the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us” (8:4).
• He empowers us to live in obedience to God’s will, not under the dictates of the flesh but in the enabling power of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has a role to play in our salvation and our sanctification.
• In salvation, bringing conviction and assurance; in sanctification, helping us walk and grow in holiness.
Romans 8:12-17 ESV
12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For 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. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, we are ‘under obligation’ (NASB), ‘we have an obligation.’ (NIV)
• What debt, what obligation? To live by the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the body. NIV the misdeeds of the body.
• We have an obligation, now that we know Christ and are given a new life, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, to live a sanctified life.
Paul’s use of the phrase ‘we are debtors’ or ‘under obligation’ is apt. That’s precisely how we feel when we receive a favour. We want to do something for the other person.
• We feel that we “owe it to God” and we want to “repay Him” for His favour.
• That’s why Paul says in Rom 12:1 “… in view of God’s mercy” - in view of what God has done for us, let us “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is our spiritual act of worship.” KJV: “which is your reasonable service.”
• We have to, we ought to, we are obliged to live a life of holiness before God, a life that reflects Christ. This is our reasonable act of worship.
1 Cor 6:19-20 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
You see now that God’s purpose in sending His Son Jesus is more than just for our justification (salvation) but also for our sanctification.
• The Christian life cannot be truncated to just justification; it’s not just getting saved. God’s will is holiness.
• We are called to live a life reflecting the character of Christ while on earth. “Do not be conformed to this world.” (Rom 12:2)
That’s the redemption purpose of God, not just our justification but also sanctification.
• Our freedom from condemnation cannot be and is not the end goal; holiness is.
• Therefore our obedience to God is important. It is the distinguishing mark of the new life. And we can do that now because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Thirdly and finally, we see THE WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
He is the Spirit of adoption, Paul says. He testifies to us that we are sons of God.
NIV puts it straight, He is the “Spirit of sonship”.
• He replaces the fear in us with the freedom we have in Christ.
• He helps us to recognise God as our Father and bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
• And by the Spirit, we cry, “Abba! Father!” Both meaning the same, Abba in Aramaic and Father in the original Greek. God places us into His family by His grace.
From being slaves living in fear to becoming sons living in freedom.
• Remember the parable of the prodigal son? He moves from being a son to wanting to become a slave in the family. He does not know the heart of the father.
• God wants us to be His sons and daughters. It does not just refer to our relationship but to our privilege as sons of God.
• 8:17 “…and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”
The Holy Spirit is the “seal” guaranteeing what is to come - Paul wrote later in
Eph 1:13-14 “13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee (NASB pledge) of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.”
• The Holy Spirit is the Christian’s seal and pledge, proving who we are in Christ – the redeemed children of God and we belong to Him.
• The seal is not a thing but a Person. The Holy Spirit comes to take residence in us, believers of Jesus Christ.
These TWO things are true of Christians:
One, as sons of God, we are led by the Spirit of God (8:14) - present
• We are not left to face life on our own. We are led by the Spirit, this is the mark of Christians.
• To be led means He is always with us; we are never alone because He dwells in us.
• It’s foolish to ignore Him. He is speaking to us.
Two, as sons of God, we will share in His glory (8:17) - future
• Paul did not explain what it means to be heirs and co-heirs, but the next section gives us a hint. He talks about the future glory we share with Christ as sons of God.
• We tend to think of inheritance as the estates or possessions that we get as heirs but it would be odd to think of it that way when we are in heaven.
• I believe it is more like the experience of the Levites. The Lord says “They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.” (Deut 18:2)
We belong to God as sons and heirs, and we share in His glory. Paul will share more in the next section.
If we walk around in a palace today, that does not mean we belong to a royal family.
• But when we walk in heaven that day, it will mean we belong to God’s family.
• No one who does not belong to Christ will be there. It is the place of glory that the Holy Spirit is leading us to. When we die, we will be promoted to glory.
Paul concludes with a word of encouragement for the Romans under persecution: “we suffer with him [Christ] in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (8:17).
• The sufferings we endure as Christians here on earth pales in comparison to the future glory that we will have with Christ.
God’s redemption goal is for our justification, sanctification and glorification.
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God’s Spirit is a gift from the Father to every Christian. He is with us and in us.
• He reminds us that we are sons. He leads us and empowers us so that we can live and act like sons of God to the glory of the Father.
• Let us honour Him and treasure His presence with us. Let us appreciate His work in our lives today.
Let me close.
When we are on a guided tour, we have a tour guide who is there with us to give us instructions, shows us where to go and explain the sights.
He is usually holding a flag high so that we can follow him. We want to stay close because he knows where we are going and explains what we are seeing.
I believe we have this experience when we are on a tour. We get distracted by the sights and we wanted to take pictures. We run around to take quick snapshots here and there, and soon find ourselves drifting away from the group.
We have to run after the group and missed out on what the guide has said. Now and then, the guide has to stop and gather everybody.
Or you have this experience - you are not with any tour group and you do not understand what you are seeing. So you go near to one and eavesdrop on what that tour guide says. You decided to follow them because there was this running commentary.
The Holy Spirit is the Guide in our lives. He is always with us to remind us of the Word of God and explain it to us, bringing conviction and understanding. We have to stay close - within hearing distance - to hear and understand what is going on. As sons of God, we are led by Him. To be well-led and guided by the Spirit, we need to stay close and hear Him out.
I am wearing this HPB (Health Promotion Board) fitness tracker that was given to us for free. I used to chuck it aside but now that I need to monitor my heartbeat more, I took it out and wear it.
• It has this workout mode that shows your heart rate and step count in real-time.
• I got to realise that when the bpm reaches 125, the tracker will vibrate to tell me that my heart is beating fast.
• And if I kept going at that pace, it vibrates again and then this line appears: “Take It Easy!” Meaning I need to slow down.
• If I sit down for too long, the tracker vibrates and tells me to “Get Moving!”
The Holy Spirit does that in our lives, reminding us of what Christ has said and prompting us to make changes.
• He dwells in us and monitors our conditions. He prompts us to stay on the right track and obey the will of God. The Spirit empowers us to do so.
The choice remains with us. We have the freedom to do what He says or disobey His promptings.
• The one who obeys is always blessed and will stay healthy and strong spiritually.
• Let us treasure the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Appreciate Him.
PRAYER:
We praise you, Lord for your work of redemption. Continue to do your good work in us, Lord and transform us into the likeness of your Son Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, we pray, AMEN.
[You can view the sermon with slides at https://tinyurl.com/KTCC-EnglishService.]
