Romans 8:1-39
I remember how, as young men, we used to discuss the subject of spirituality. We would read the letters of the apostle Paul and come across the phrase “a spiritual person.” We asked ourselves, “What does that mean?” Who are the “spiritual” ones in the church? Perhaps the old deacons… We did not dare to call ourselves “spiritual” — first, because we thought that to call someone “spiritual” would be a mark of pride. We told ourselves that if so-and-so said he was spiritual, then he must be proud. And second, we did not dare to call ourselves “spiritual” because, in our view, the ones who were considered “spiritual” — the leaders of the church — did not, from our youthful vantage point, behave like people who were very “spiritual” at all…
Later, however, I came to understand that Christians have no choice about whether to be spiritual or not. Because to be “spiritual” simply means to be a person of the Spirit. And if you are not spiritual, you are not born again. And if you are not born again, you are not saved and have no chance of seeing the kingdom of God. For in John 3:3 the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus:
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
And further down he explains that this new birth must come about through the Holy Spirit. So, after I had read all of this, I decided for myself once and for all that, since I am born again, I am also spiritual.
Two verses from 1 John chapter 4 gave me particular encouragement — both speak of abiding in God. The first was verse 13:
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:13)
So how can we be sure that we abide in God? If we have His Spirit within us. I had been baptized with the Holy Spirit, which means God had given me of His Spirit. You see, in this verse abiding and spirituality are set on the same level. If you are spiritual, then you can be sure that you abide in God. To “abide” means to “remain” in the state you are in — “filled with the Spirit.” And abiding matters, because what happens to the one who does not abide in the Vine? He is “thrown away” and “burned” (John 15:6).
6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. (John 15:6)
That is rather sobering, isn’t it? If you do not abide, you will be cut off, thrown away, you will wither, and you will be gathered up to be burned. So I want to encourage you and to convince you and to urge you: “Do everything you can, everything that depends on you, to make sure that you abide in God.”
Back then I searched the Word of God for verses that would assure me that I abide in God. The verse that sets my mind at rest on this is 1 John 4:15:
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. (1 John 4:15)
This is truly very reassuring, because I sincerely confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore, I abide in God and He in me. And since I abide in God, His Spirit abides in me. And since God’s Spirit abides in me, then I am not fleshly but spiritual.
Of course, the question of spirituality is not quite so simple. What John is speaking about here is that, amid the widespread heresy of Gnosticism and its denial of the human nature of the Son of God, if someone still holds to the true faith and the right confession, then he is still part of the church.
In other words, it is not enough merely to confess once that Jesus is the Son of God. That confession must find expression in every sphere of your life. Because, if we really want to be spiritual, then we must be filled with the Spirit every single day. That is exactly what Ephesians 5:18 says:
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)
Otherwise, there is a danger that you will come to resemble a bottle that has a label for one thing but is full of something else. Recently at home we had a bottle of rubbing alcohol that had cracked, so I poured it into a “Fanta” bottle. On the outside it says “Fanta,” but inside there is alcohol. Of course, Deyana immediately corrected me and made me remove the label and write on the bottle what was actually in it. Because otherwise we can mislead people. On the outside it says “spiritual,” but when you take a sip — not “spiritual” but “poisonous”… So may God help us not to confuse people’s idea of what a “spiritual person” is — and may we ourselves not lose our salvation.
So I want to tell you: if you publicly confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and if you abide in God, you are spiritual. Our churches are made up of spiritual people. And I assure you, it is best for you, if you are not spiritual, to become spiritual, and if you are spiritual, better to remain spiritual. Because there is only one danger for the spiritual, and that is that they become fleshly. But I encourage you: “Let us be spiritual people, since we are spiritual people!”
And here I cannot help but add that this awareness of God’s presence in your life is not necessarily something you must feel. Some people feel it, others feel it sometimes, and still others feel nothing at all. Because what matters to God is not our sensing of His touch; what matters to Him is our faith, our devotion, and our conduct. For there are people who at times can feel exceptionally filled with the Spirit, but in the very next moment lack the fruit of the Spirit. That is why Jesus said to His disciples, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of!” Because in one moment we can be of one spirit, and in the next moment be of another spirit.
In Romans chapter 8 the apostle Paul speaks of seven new gains that the spiritual possess. And I think these new gains of the spiritual are something exceptionally precious. Because this world seeks material gains, but today I am going to speak to you about spiritual gains.
A NEW STANDING
The first gain of the spiritual person is his new standing with respect to his spiritual status. The spiritual person is not in the position of one accused before God, but in the position of one justified before God (Romans 8:1).
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, (Romans 8:1)
In Christ we are under a new jurisdiction, under new laws — in Him the laws of sin and death do not operate within us; in Christ the law of the life-giving Spirit operates within us. That is what verse 2 says:
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, (Romans 8:2-3)
Look, what is at issue here are laws. Just as there are earthly laws — for example, the law of gravity — so there are spiritual laws too. For instance, if we drop an object from a certain height, what will happen to it? It will fall, it will travel in a certain direction, and that direction will be downward. Why? Because the force of the earth’s pull is acting upon it. And no matter how many times we drop it, it will always fall in the same direction. Why? Because it is under the influence of certain physical forces.
In a similar way, before we were saved in Jesus Christ, the law of sin was operating within us. In the natural person, who has not believed in Christ, who is not filled with the Holy Spirit, the law of sin is at work. So no matter how many times you drop him, he will always sin. A person who has not believed in Jesus Christ, a person who is not in Jesus Christ, has no Spirit and no ability to please God.
But here the apostle Paul says that through Jesus Christ God accomplished what He could not accomplish through the Law. What was the purpose of the Law? To stop sin, to remove sin. But when the Law is applied not to spiritual but to fleshly people, its power weakens, and instead of defeating sin, it gives sin an occasion to begin producing in us a desire to break all its legal prohibitions (Romans 7:7-8).
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. (Romans 7:7-13)
So, because of the law of sin and death that operates within us sinful people, God’s Law, which was given in order to restrain sin, could not fulfill its purpose. But when Jesus Christ came, through His death on the cross He condemned sin in the flesh, paid the price for all our sins, and made it possible for the Spirit to come into us. So in us who are spiritual, the law of sin and death no longer operates — it can operate, if we allow it — but in us there operates “the law of the life-giving Spirit.” This law sets us free from the law of sin and death.
So, through Christ’s sacrifice we are free from sin. But not only that. Because of that sacrifice, cleansed from sin, we can also have the Holy Spirit within us. Having the Holy Spirit within us, we are no longer fleshly but spiritual. And as spiritual people, we can long for the things of the Spirit, we can think on the things of the Spirit. A fleshly person cannot long for the things of the Spirit. The fleshly long for the things of the flesh. Only spiritual people can long for the things of the Spirit; only spiritual people can think on the things of the Spirit. Because here in this passage the word for “longing” actually means “mind,” a way of thinking (“phronema”). So, in Christ we are spiritual people. And as such we have within us this longing — “the longing of the Spirit,” “the mind of the Spirit,” or, as the Orthodox version puts it, “spiritual-mindedness.” So now we can submit to God’s Law, because through the Holy Spirit we can sincerely desire to carry out God’s will — something that is impossible for the natural person.
This, in fact, is the New Covenant. Not only that God will forgive our sins and remember them no more, but also that He has written His laws on our hearts (Ezekiel 11:19-20)! In Hebrews 8:7-11 we read:
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:7-11)
So, if we have the Spirit within us, we have the mind of the Spirit and the ability to carry out God’s will.
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:4)
So the requirement of the law was that there be no sin, and it is fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)
A person without the Holy Spirit does not submit to God’s law not only because he does not want to, but because even if he wanted to, he cannot; he is incapable of carrying out God’s will.
Here I would like to offer a little explanation of Romans chapter 7 as well. There, when the apostle Paul speaks of his inner struggle, he is not speaking as a spiritual person.
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:14-24)
Notice that right at the beginning of this passage the apostle Paul says, “I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.” “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” — these are not the words of a person who has the Spirit. Because tell me, which is the real Paul — the one in chapter 7 or the one in chapter 8? In chapter 7 he says, “Sin lives in me.” But in chapter 8 he says, “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Which is the real Paul? I think it is the one in chapter 8. Because in chapter 7 he is speaking as a fleshly person who tries to use the law for sanctification, in order to demonstrate that the Law is powerless to do anything at all — not only for our justification, but also for our sanctification. Here the apostle Paul presents himself as someone he is not, simply in order to prove his point.
What the apostle Paul is saying here is this: a person who has not believed in Jesus Christ, a person who does not have the Holy Spirit, cannot please God. But a person who has believed in Christ — yes, the old laws are still at work in him, but alongside them the new law is also at work in him — that is, within us there is not only the law of sin and death, but we also have within us the Law of the life-giving Spirit. And indeed, in this eighth chapter the apostle Paul says that this law sets us free from the earlier laws. Whoever is in Jesus Christ is now under the Law of the life-giving Spirit. This is our new standing. It is an incredible gain that we possess, and we can make use of it if we believe it. Because everything in the kingdom happens through faith.
Augustine said, “Love God and do as you please.” Why? Because if you truly love God, then everything you please will be good.
A NEW PRESENCE
In Christ, the spiritual person has not only a new standing. The spiritual person has within himself a new resident. Who is this new resident? He is the Holy Spirit Himself.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9)
I told you! Without the Spirit of Christ within us, we cannot consider ourselves Christ’s. If we do not have the Spirit of Christ within us, we are not God’s. What does the Holy Spirit do in us? First, He gives us new birth, or brings our own spirit to life.
10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)
Second, the presence of the Holy Spirit within us guarantees a resurrection like Christ’s.
11 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 because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)
And so, at the beginning of our spiritual life the Holy Spirit gives us new birth. At the end of our spiritual life the Holy Spirit will raise us from the dead. And what does the Holy Spirit do at present? He helps us in the struggle against the flesh and against sin.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13)
You see, fleshly people have no choice. They are fleshly, they live according to the flesh, and they die. But we, the spiritual, have a choice. We have the Spirit, and through Him we can put to death the misdeeds of the body and live.
All of this, however, does not happen without our consent. In order for the Spirit to work in us, we must surrender to His rule.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. (Romans 8:14)
This is the mark by which it can be known whether we are born again and whether we are God’s — whether we are led by the Holy Spirit or not.
A NEW ADOPTION
And so, the first gain of the spiritual person is his new standing in Christ. The second is the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life. The third is his adoption into God’s family.
What does adoption give us? First, intimacy with our heavenly Father.
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)
The spiritual person ought not to be afraid of God. Through the Holy Spirit he has the right to call God “Father.” And he does so with full confidence, because the Holy Spirit within him confirms that he really has been adopted into God’s family, since he has God’s Spirit in him.
The second thing that adoption gives us is a right of inheritance together with the Son of God.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:17)
If this is not a gain — to be an heir not merely of some person, but of God Himself.
A NEW HOPE
The fourth gain of the spiritual person is his new hope in Christ. This hope consists in our full and final redemption from every evil, which includes, first of all, our redemption as sinners, and then the redemption of the whole universe. Paul describes our hope by painting for us the contrast between our present and our future condition.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:18-25)
A NEW HELPER IN PRAYER
The fifth gain of the spiritual person is his new helper in prayer. Who is this helper? The Holy Spirit. Why do we need Him? Because we do not know either what to pray for or how to pray.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, (Romans 8:26)
The intensity of the prayer of our helper in prayer is incredible. He prays with groans that cannot be expressed in words.
but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans; (Romans 8:26)
Our prayer may or may not be heard, but the prayer of our new helper in prayer cannot fail to be heard. Why is His prayer heard? Because it is according to God’s will.
27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:27)
A NEW ASSURANCE
The sixth gain of the spiritual person is his new assurance. What does this new assurance of ours consist in? In this: that even when at first glance it may not appear so to us, everything that happens in our lives is in some way for our good.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
It does not matter what happens. It does not matter what we go through. The crisis does not matter. The pain does not matter. Death does not matter. Whatever we go through, it is for our good. Nothing can dim our enthusiasm. Nothing can discourage us. Who are the people who can have this hope? Only those who love God and who share in carrying out His plan. Who are these people? They are the spiritual.
A NEW DESTINY
And finally, the seventh gain of the spiritual is their new destiny. In summary, our new destiny consists in this: God the Father Himself has decreed that all of us who have believed in Him should become like His beloved Son. The steps by which God moves toward achieving this goal are five: foreknowing, predestining, calling, justifying, and glorifying. And notice here that this refers to the very same people. Those who are foreknown are the predestined, they are also the called, they are also the justified, they are also the glorified. So, if you are sure that you are at least in one of these groups, then you can be sure that you are part of the rest as well. I, for example, cannot say whether I am foreknown or predestined by God. Nor can I know whether I will be “glorified.” But I know that I am called. God has called me to be His and to serve Him. I know too that I am justified by God because of my faith in Christ. Therefore, since I am called and justified, I can also be sure — and with absolute certainty — that I am also foreknown and predestined, and that at God’s appointed time I will also be glorified. These are simply the stages of God’s plan of salvation; these are the steps by which God saves.
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)
Perhaps you have heard of the doctrine “once saved, always saved.” In our circles it is rejected, because we think it would make people slack and they would stop “working out their salvation.” Can a person lose his salvation? Yes. But only on one condition — if he stops being spiritual. Because one of the gains of the spiritual is that, if they are saved, the only way they can lose their salvation is to stop being spiritual and turn into fleshly Christians. In other words, as little as we may like it, the doctrine “once saved, always saved,” according to the apostle Paul, is valid and true for those who abide in Christ.
Why can we be sure that, having been justified, we will also be glorified? First, because it is impossible for anyone to bring a charge against us. God justifies us; therefore, He does not accuse us or condemn us. So neither will God allow us to be accused and condemned, nor will Jesus Christ, who does not accuse us but intercedes for us. There is only one who accuses us, but he is powerless before God’s love for us.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
We can be sure that the Father is on our side for one fundamental reason. He gave up His Son to death for us. And He would not be inconsistent — first to give His Son for us, and then to destroy us — since that would render the sacrifice of His Son meaningless.
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. (Romans 8:32-33)
We can be sure that Christ is on our side for three reasons. First, He gave His life for us; second, He rose for us; and third, He now prays and intercedes before the Father for us. For Him to accuse us would be incompatible with all His dealings toward us so far.
34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)
Furthermore, there is no power that can separate us from God. This includes both the power of death and the power of life; both angels and demons; both the present and the future; both all beings from the realm of supernatural activity that is above the earth, and all beings from the realm of supernatural activity that is beneath the earth. Because no one is stronger than God, and God’s love for us will never allow us to be separated from Him. That is why the apostle Paul rightly points out that we become “more than conquerors,” but not by our own strength, rather “through him who loved us.”
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)
And so, we have been speaking of seven new gains of the spiritual:
- A new standing — no longer under the law of sin and death, but under the law of the life-giving Spirit
- A new resident — the Holy Spirit
- A new adoption — we can turn to God with the address “Father!” and be His heirs
- A new hope — a redeemed, resurrection body and freedom from bondage to decay
- A new helper in prayer — the Holy Spirit Himself, who makes up for our human weakness with His divine power and wisdom
- A new assurance — that all things work together for our good
- A new destiny — to be transformed according to the image of the Son of God
I do not know about you, but all of this inspires me. I do not know whether you sense it, but in this chapter the apostle Paul is not merely unfolding some theological theme. He is worshiping God, glorifying Him, and thanking Him for His endless mercies. The new gains that we have in Christ are unsurpassed. So let us be encouraged — to live not as fleshly people, but as spiritual people, which is what we are! And may all the thanks and all the glory be to God alone!