Mulling it Over - Romans 8:14-17

We have been working our way through the 8th chapter of the book of Romans in the New Testament. Paul’s letter to the Jewish Christians at Rome is full of doctrine relevant to the Christian faith including the infamous “Roman Road”, a miniature gospel in just a few verses (Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10, and 10:13). It also gives plenty of teaching on how to conduct ourselves with relation to others.

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Today we are looking at the following verses:

“14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified ”

— Romans 8:14-17 (NASB 1995)

These verses are essential to understanding our position in God’s kingdom. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are instantly received into God’s family. What does this really mean, especially in light of the dysfunction of so many families in the world around us. Today it seems we know more broken families than whole ones; blended families than original families; families filled with struggles and heartbreak. Why would I want to be part of that? As we dissect these verses we will gain a better understanding of the beauty of being part of the family of God.

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For all who are being led by the Spirit of God…

These verses are meant to describe those who are believers in Christ. Not just belief that He existed, and was a great teacher, but that His purpose was to live, die and rise again so that we might be able to be part of His family. If we are part of this family we are led by His Spirit. Yes, we can quench and grieve the Holy Spirit, but if we are growing in our relationship with Him and becoming more Christ like, we will respond to His leading.

…these are the sons of God.

Right away in this first verse we receive our positional attribute. We are “the sons (and daughters, of course), of God.” Paul will spend the next few verses putting an exclamation point on this position.

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For you have not receive a spirit of slavery, leading to fear again…

This is an important sentence, so read it again! If you are a child of God, a daughter of God, you are not enslaved, no matter how you might feel; no matter your struggles, fears, addictions, bad habits, failures, or worries. When you begin feeling enslaved, know right away, that spirit is not from God. God does not want us to be fearful. Everything He has done for us was to raise us out of the valley of fear, so that we might wander freely on the mountaintops of peace.

The reason Paul wrote these words, by the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, was in part to confirm to the Christians in the church at Rome that they were not enslaved to anyone or anything. Rome may be the governing entity, a believer might even by a slave in their socioeconomic standing, but they were not to be enslaved to any teaching or doctrine that tried to add to the gospel. Christ, and Christ alone.

Any time we add to the gospel of Jesus Christ we bring ourselves under the enslavement of ideas, thoughts and teachings that are not accurate. In turn this thinking leads to enslavement and that leads to fear. We will never be good enough. We will never do enough. Our purpose, worth and standing is given to us by God through our relationship with Jesus. To do anything else will find us never able to be that person, or attain that level of “goodness”. We will be enslaved, and that will leave us always feeling fearful.

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…but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

Again, Paul reminds us we have been received into the family of God. He makes it legal by using the term, adoption. God didn’t just invite us to come dwell with Him, eating His food, using His resources, and in turn benefiting from His limitless wealth and love. He went so far as to actually adopt us. That adoption is both a binding legal act, and a practice is interesting. Not only do we legally belong to the family of God, but we can take on the characteristic of children belonging to their biological parent by calling God in the familial and familiar sense, “Abba! Father!” Calling God Abba is an intimate term and acknowledges Him as the one who knows us best.

But how can we be sure of all of this?

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit, that we are children of God…

The Holy Spirit who dwells in you when you call upon the name of Jesus; when you believe in what He did on the cross and that He rose again; that Spirit testifies with our own spirit that we are children of God. There is a deep, solid confirmation within us when we turn off the noise and really allow God to speak to us that we are one with Him. We are His kin, His children, His daughters and sons.

…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ…

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If the last few verses didn’t convince you, then this should. Adoption means we are not only children of God, but children of the King. We are fellow heirs with our brother, Christ. We will inherit, as He will inherit the glory and riches of His Father’s heavenly kingdom. This inheritance is not without cost.

…if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified.

Living life as a Christ follower in this fallen world means we suffer. But our suffering is not in vain. We suffer, as Christ suffered, for a great a mighty purpose, the glorification of our God and King, our Abba, Father. The beauty is found in the last phrase, “…that we may also be glorified.” You see, just as God the Father will glorify His Son, Jesus, He will also glorify us. What a glorious day that will be!

Relentless - Part 6: Home

Laney, could hear the steady beep, beep, beep of the machine monitoring her heart. She knew where she was, and what was going on. She was dying, but an amazing peace surrounded her, a living, breathing presence. She thought back to all those years ago, the night Steve walked out on her; the night the Shadowed Ones tried to get her to take her life; the night she met her unborn daughter. That night she had given her heart back to its maker; the King.

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“GG?” A sweet, young voice called her name and she could feel the tender hand on her own. She opened her eyes.

Her youngest great grandchild stood next to her hospital bed. He was only eight, but his faith in the King was as strong and as deep as a mighty tree. She smiled at him.

“Silas.” Her voice came out in a raspy whisper.

“GG? Are you going to see Him? Are you going to see the King?” His eyes were wide with hopeful, childlike anticipation.

Laney managed a nod. “Yes, sweetheart. Yes I am.”

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Laney turned her head and saw the room filled with her family. She could see Steve in every single one of them. The thought made her smile. Steve hadn’t really given up on her, just like the King and His Son, he relentlessly pursued her.

For a long time she carried the guilt of her abortion, and it made seeing Steve even harder, but gradually, time, and the King’s soothing words reminded her she was forgiven. She was made new, and nothing ever captured her attention again, like His love.

Silas squeezed her hand. “GG, when you get there can you tell Gpa I miss him? Can you also say hi to Cocoa, and Nut?”

Laney managed a soft chuckle as she thought about the last two dogs she and Steve had rescued. The grandkids had been a little older than Silas when they adopted a dark brown puppy from a puppy mill, and a fluffy, white, very busy puppy from the Humane Society.

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“Silas, I will tell them, and I’ll tell Myles, Sophie, Frito, and Chip.”

Silas’ brow wrinkled. “Were those your doggies when you were younger?”

“Oh, yes, Silas. Myles and Sophie were the dogs who helped rescue me. Frito and Chip were your dad and Aunt Evi’s dogs as they grew up.”

Steven Jr. stepped forward and put his hands gently on Silas’ shoulders. “Come on, bud. We need to let Gram rest.”

Silas squeezed her hand one more time then let his father lead him a way from the bed. Laney looked at all of the blessings the King had given her. His grace and mercy showed in every single face that stood in that room.

She lifted her hand towards her son. “Steven, come.”

Steven stepped to the bed and put his arm around his mother lifting her so she could see everyone.

“I love every single one of you, and I know you love me. You all know my story, because I never want you to go down the road I did…to run away from the King. No matter what happens in your lives, only He is truly trustworthy, and loves you completely. He alone makes you exactly who you are supposed to be. Always remember.”

Laney leaned back weakly on her son’s arm, and he gently placed her head on the pillow. “Good bye, Mom. We’ll see you again.”

Her daughter, Evi, came over and kissed Laney’s forehead, her tears anointing her mother for her last journey.

Laney closed her eyes.

* * * * * * * * *

When Laney woke, the first thing she felt was warmth. It was as though she was laying on a glorious Mediterranean beach, the sun beaming down on her with a gentle breeze blowing across her skin. She took a breath and realized she could breath without pain, and she could smell. A million different scents blended together filling her with a joy she had never known. She opened her eyes.

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She found herself in a garden, one that caused all the Better Homes and Gardens winners to look faded and tiny in comparison. She sat up. She was on a blanket, and laid out beside her was a picnic complete with gingham napkins, a wicker basket, and food that looked like nothing she had ever seen before. She felt her stomach growl. What a glorious feeling after years of having no appetite.

“Laney.”

She looked up. There stood Steve, and her daughter Elena. They had decided to name her, after they had gotten back together. Both of them looked radiant. Stepping out from behind them was the King, His Son, and their presence, Arabella. Arabella was luminescent, as though a million stars filled her very being.

The Son came to her and reached out His hand. “Laney, we are so glad you are here. We have been waiting for you.”

Love, all at once a force, a thought, a breath, a place, an entity clothed her as His hand touched hers.

She was home.

Called and Glorified

I want to continue looking at our two verses from two weeks ago, Romans 8:29-30. We have been slowly moving through this chapter, mulling over each verse or a few verses at a time. Often when I am writing a post, I think to myself that I can get through a set number of verses, but then when I actually get to typing, I realize there is just too much, and I must cut back. As we saw two weeks ago, verse 29 is packed full of information including words that we don’t often use in our vocabularies. When is the last time you used a sentence with the words predestined or foreknew? I bet it wasn’t just yesterday. I hope that the definitions I gave you in the last post were helpful as we moved through the study.

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Today we are going to focus on verse 30. Let’s take another look at both verses.

“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

— Romans 8:29-30 (NASB)

Without further ado, let’s jump in to our verse.

…and these whom He predestined…

Two weeks ago we learned that the word predestined means to “decree, determine, appoint or settle beforehand” (Webster’s Online Dictionary). The word these is referring to the people talked about in verse 29. Last week we came to understand that these are the followers of Christ. These are the ones that God drew to Himself and conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. We also discussed that His knowledge of our choice to accept Him as our Lord, doesn’t not delete our free will. Foreknowledge, predestination and free will work together in a way that our limited minds cannot understand.

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…He also called…

If you recall, the definition of the word called included words like summon, invite, and rouse. I like that idea of “to rouse from sleep,” (Webster’s Online Dictionary). When God calls He is trying to wake us up. He is trying to rouse us from the sleep of darkness. Much like that very curse that Maleficent cast on beautiful Aurora, we were unaware of our need for a Savior until God began to beckon and call, bidding us to rise from our slumber. Just like the young princess, we had to be rescued by a great warrior, one who was willing to sacrifice His life for our well being. It was the prince’s kiss that woke the princess and so too, our Lord’s Holy life touches our hearts with a gentleness and love, to which no other love can compare.

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…and these whom He called…

The ones who are called are those that have risen out of the dark sleep. Many are roused from their slumber, but not all actually get up and get out of bed. During this pandemic, I have found it very hard to get out of bed in the morning. I don’t want to get up and face the world that we are currently living in. If I chose to stay in bed, I would waste away, no longer wanting to eat, or drink or be a part of humanity. The same is true when we are called by the God of the universe. If we do not wake, we will never know the depth of the beauty of the world around us and of a relationship with Him. Perhaps you are wondering, why bother getting up.

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…He also justified…

We get up because He justified us. Jesus, whose mercy is new every morning, was Himself, the surety for our salvation. It is because He justified us that we are able to have a relationship with this all powerful, magnificent being. Christ and His blood make us holy and because of that we are able to approach the throne of grace without trepidation.

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“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

— Hebrews 4:6 (NASB)

This verse tells us we can draw near to the throne with confidence. We can do that because of what Christ did on the cross. Jesus made us righteous. He made us worthy of salvation.

…and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What does it mean for us to be glorified? The verse says that “these”, meaning us, as we are the ones He called and justified, He is going to glorify. Let’s go back to the definition of glorified: to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration: to cause to be or seem to be better than the actual condition. I want to look at this definition in two ways as both are applicable to the fact that He glorifies us.

The first half of the definition is talking about honoring someone. We do honor people in many ways, but how does God honor us? We know that honor, and praise are words applied to Jesus and His Father. In fact, Jesus’ desire when He walked this earth was to honor and glorify His Father.

“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

— John 12:28 (NASB)

“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,”

— John 17:1 (NASB)

“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

— John 17:5 (NASB)

In a similar way a child might desire to honor their parent on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, or a soldier might honor his commander and his country by living by a code of conduct becoming a soldier, and by being willing to give his life. We also honor those who have gone before us by putting up memorials and by setting aside days, like Memorial Day to remember the sacrifices that were made for our freedom.

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The Bible also says that God will honor us. What exactly does that look like? Let’s look at a few verses

“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

— John 12:26 (NASB)

“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”

— Psalm 91:15 (NASB)

God can honor whom He choses to honor and part of that may have something to do with our standing in Christ.

The second part of the definition refers to the idea that to glorify someone causes them to be, or seem to be better than their actual condition. Isn’t this true of us? The reality is, Christ has caused us to be better than our actual condition. What was our condition? We were sinners, sleeping in the darkness. There is nothing about our condition that gives us the ability to be holy and pure as God is holy and pure. However, when we become Christ followers, our situation changes. His blood makes us holy. He has glorified us, making us capable of being called the children of God. One day we will be glorified with new bodies and we will walk in the presence of the Holy God. That will certainly be an honor for us.

I hope these verses have once again encouraged you in your relationship with Christ. He loves you and wants to make Himself known to you.

Until next time, keep laughing and keep looking up!

Waiting with Eagerness

Last week we looked at how many of the tragedies that are happening in the world are part of the creation of God groaning as it waits for the return to glory. Not only is it waiting for its return to glory, but for ours as well. Imagine what it must have been like when the earth had just been created. Try to see in your imagination how clear the air was. Have you ever been up in the mountains where it seemed that the air was so fresh and clean? Have you ever noticed in the spring or fall how absolutely blue the sky is? Try imagining what it must have looked like to the eyes of the first man and woman. We are so very limited by our senses and our knowledge. That’s why I believe God gave us an imagination.

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Today, I want to look at the next three verses from Romans 8.

“23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

— Romans 8:23-25 (NASB)

Paul just got done talking about creation’s turmoil as it waits eagerly for a realization of what it was truly meant to be. Now he speaks to our own groaning.

And not only this, but also we ourselves…

The first phrase of this verse refers back to the previous verses. Paul is saying, not only is the creation struggling and groaning like a woman giving birth, but also we ourselves. Why, if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior would we not be exempt from this tension? Let’s move on.

Having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves…

What does it mean that we have the first fruits of the Spirit? The Day of Pentecost was the day that the first believers received the Holy Spirit. From that point on, each of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior receive His spirit. The first fruit according to Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary is grace.

“Grace is the first-fruits of glory, it is glory begun. ”

— Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary on Romans 8:23-25

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The first fruits of an arbor are a cluster of grapes. The grapes themselves are sweet and good to eat, but it is not until they are made into wine, that a person can fully drink. God’s grace is only the beginning. That grace gives us what we need to live, but we will not know it fully realized until we come into glory. It is this desire for what is to come, this reuniting with our Lord, our Savior, that causes us to groan inwardly.

“Present receivings and comforts are consistent with a great many groans; not as the pangs of one dying, but as the throes of a woman in travail—groans that are symptoms of life, not of death. ”

— Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary on Romans 8:23-25

I really love that idea. These feelings we have of not being complete; of not fitting in to this world; of desiring something greater and more; these are not bad feelings, but those which motivate us to continue to live and to live an abundant life in the power of Jesus Christ. It is those feelings that draw us closer to our Lord.

…waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body…

We will not know the fully complete adoption until we pass out of these mortal confines. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 -

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known”

— I Corinthians 13:12 (NASB)

The idea of no more tears, illness, pain or death is beyond our imagination because we are limited by our flesh, but in the Spirit we can know that this will be the case. We wait with eagerness for this flesh to be left behind so that our spirits can fully connect with His.

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes in what he already sees?

The hope that is mentioned in this verse has to do with the future; the future and the redemption of our bodies. When we come to Christ, our spirit is redeemed by what Christ has done on the cross and the grace, His grace, that is extended to us. When we die, or when Christ comes again this hope that we cannot see will be fully realized. We will be with Him and we will have new bodies.

Hope by definition cannot be in something that already has taken place. Hope is set on something, some outcome that is yet to happen. I have this plaque hanging in my kitchen and think it summarizes the idea of hope well.

But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Once again we see the word eagerly describing the word wait. This is how we are to wait for our adoption. This is how the earth waits for its return to glory. This is how we are to wait for the redemption of our bodies. The word eager, according to Webster’s Online Dictionary means, “Marked by enthusiastic, impatient desire or interest.” Are you waiting for your Lord with eagerness?

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

— Philippians 3:20 (NASB)

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

— Philippians 3:20 (NASB)

From Suffering to Glory

We’ve been walking through Romans chapter 8 at a turtle’s pace. I think going through a passage of Scripture, or a single verse at a slow pace, can really help us to learn, understand and make the knowledge God wants to impart to us, so much more impactful, than if we race through, like the hare, in the infamous race.

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Last week we only got through verse 16 of the chapter, but it was time well spent. We learned the Spirit of God, speaks to our spirit, a part of us God the Father created us with for the purpose of having communion with Him. If we have not given our lives over to Christ, the spirit God created us with will not thrive and grow, and will definitely not be able to know the things of God.

Let’s delve into verse 17.

“ 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:17 (NASB)

Last week we learned the Spirit of God testifies with our spirit we are children of God. This week we go the next step.

…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…

We are not just children of God, we are heirs. What does it mean to be an heir? Let’s take a look at how Webster’s Online Dictionary defines heir.

1 - one who receives property from an ancestor : one who is entitled to inherit property

2 - one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office

3 - one who receives or is entitled to receive something other than property from a parent or predecessor

All three of these definitions give us insight to our position in Christ as God’s children. Because we have taken on the name of Christ and been washed in His blood, we are now entitled to everything that He makes available to His own Son. We have access to His power, His authority and His perfection. In reality we are extremely limited by our flesh and by the darkness that surrounds us on this earth, but I honestly believe if we had the faith of a mustard seed, like Christ talks about in the gospels, we would be able to do amazing things.

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It is important to remember that much of what goes on in the Christian life is in the spiritual realm. We can see the results of prayer in this earthly realm, but that doesn’t mean if we don’t see results that nothing is happening. It is possible when we are praying in His Spirit we are fighting battles and giants much bigger anything we can imagine. Believe me, I can imagine some pretty big stuff. Ha, ha. So when I say we have access to power, we do not become like Superman and have the ability to fly. Christ didn’t fly when He was a man, although He could have. What we do have, is the power of Christ to bring down strongholds and forces of darkness.

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“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

— Ephesians 6:12 (NASB)

Not only do we have access to Christ’s power, perfection and authority, we are heirs to an eternal kingdom. We really are children of the King. You are a princess and no matter your opinion on Disney, a princess you are and you might as well accept the fact.

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…if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him…

What exactly does it mean to “suffer with Him.” We have not been scourged, beaten or nailed to a tree, so how is it that we suffer with Christ? When Paul wrote this to the believers in Rome it was during a time in which the early church was beginning to endure persecution and suffering. In the same way, today, many churches and believers all over the world deal with persecution and struggle for the sake of Christ. Even in our own country we are beginning to feel the pangs of trying to live for and lift up the name of Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but there are times, when I really feel as though our invisible enemy, who is very real in the spiritual realm, is after me and my family. I am sure many of you have felt that same pressure or oppression from the enemy. Whether, he is actively involved in the things we struggle with or numbers of his minions are, I am sure there are times we are being toyed with. God will not allow Satan to kill us, but there are times He allows that influx of enemy fire, both for our own growth and for the glory of His kingdom. This is part of the suffering we go through. Even His own Son, Jesus was lead into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).

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What is the point of all this suffering and struggle? “…that we may also be glorified with HIm.” When Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand, He was glorified. In the same way, when we die, our bodies will decay, but our spirits in union with His Spirit will ascend into heaven, where we will be with Him forever. It would be lovely if we had the glory here in this life, but that is not the goal. The goal is to honor and glorify Him, then when we are done, He will glorify us, bringing us home and giving us a place at His table as His children and heirs.

I hope you enjoyed delving into Romans 8:17 today. Be sure to check back next week for a look at the next few verses. Thanks so much for following along.

Have a great day.