Romans 8 Study
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Introduction:
A. Romans 8 is easy to decipher with the correct foundations of truth.
B. Spiritual supernatural gifts existed in the church at Rome:
1. Rom 12:6 gift of prophecy
2. Rom 1:11 Paul wanted to impart spiritual gifts in order to establish them firmly
3. Notice the parallel thought that the miraculous Holy Spirit teaches and admonishes. This is NOT something the personal indwelling does.
a. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another." (Romans 15:13–14)
b. 1 Jn 2:27 you have no need for anyone to teach you... His anointing teaches you all things
I. Romans 8:9-11
"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But 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. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:9–13)
A. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the assurance we will be resurrected:
1. Our resurrection is based upon the Holy Spirit who indwells us.
a. It is unreasonable to base the assurance of a miraculous raising from the dead upon a non-miraculous indwelling.
b. Assurance of their miraculous resurrection was
2. The phrase that you need the miraculous to “belong” to Christ is part of a pattern of similar verses that say the same thing
a. The ungifted would “have the miraculous” by merit of being a member of the local church where other members possessed the power.
b. We know not every Christian had supernatural gifts but their assurance was that they led the singing, passed communion and participated in full communion with a local church which in sum had many who performed miracles.
3. Today, we are in possession of the Bible which is the product of a miracle and it provides us the assurance we will be saved.
a. Just as the ungifted in the first century found assurance through his communion with those who had the supernatural gifts, so too the ungifted today find assurance with the past miracles of the first century.
4. Man with indwelling spirit vs. man without indwelling spirit
a. Notice Paul contrasted enemies and imposters who did not have the spirit miraculously, with Christians who did.
b. False apostles made promises and prophecies BUT HAD NO POWER. They were without the spirit.
c. Promises and prophecies made in the first century church were assured to be true because men were present who “had the spirit” (ie. supernatural power) and this differentiated the entire assembly from the false prophets without power.
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Man with Spirit |
Man without the Spirit |
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Guarded gospel by HS who "dwelt" in them (spiritual gifts) 2 Ti 1:14 |
Deceive unsuspecting with smooth and flattering speech (no gifts) Rom 16:17 |
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In the demonstration of power: 1 Cor 2:3,4 |
Demonstration of words only: 1 Cor 2:3,4 |
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Paul to test their power: 1 Cor 4:19,20 |
Paul not to test their words: 1 Cor 4:19,20 |
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Anyone who doesn’t have the Spirit doesn’t belong to him: Rom 8:9 |
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B. A non-miraculous personal indwelling doesn’t “make you know” will be raised or give assurance of salvation:
1. Rom 8:9 anyone who doesn't have spiritual gifts is not His
a. what about those without gifts?
b. How does man with personal indwelling know he is His?
2. Rom 6:16 gifts bear witness with our spirit we are children of God
a. How do we know we are sons, not having the witness of the Spirit?
b. How can personal indwelling bears witness with our spirit?
3. 1 Jn 5:7-12 spiritual gifts witness that God has given us life
a. Can those without witness of Spirit be sure of their eternal life?
b. How can personal indwelling witness to us, God has given us life?
4. 1 Jn 3:24; 4:13 we know we abide in Him, because He has given us gifts
a. How could the ungifted man know he abided in Him?
b. How can personal indwelling make us know we abide in Him?
5. Eph 1:13 gifts given as a pledge (tangible, visible proof) of inheritance
a. How could ungifted man have this assurance?
b. How is personal indwelling a pledge (tangible, visible proof to us) that we have an inheritance?
C. Assurance of resurrection without miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit:
1. How do we today know the Bible is a confirmed book since gifts have ceased?
a. We know Jesus and Bible writers had the witness of Spirit
2. How could the Samaritans know they were saved before they got gifts?
a. Philip had gifts that confirmed the gospel to them.
3. How could John say we could be sure of our salvation by the HS when he knew that many who would read his letter did not have gifts?
a. Because the gospel would have been preached to them by gifted men and by the Spirit given to us (the church) we would know.
4. How could the “ungifted” man in the church in Rome have assurance he would be resurrected?
a. The same way we have assurance today: Knowledge that true miracles had taken place.
b. For the first century Christian in Rome, he had others in church who performed miracles.
c. For us today, he have the bible which is the tangible product of past miracles!
II. Romans 8:14: “Led by the spirit”
"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8:14)
A. Context of Rom 7-8
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Romans 7 |
Romans 8 |
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spirit dwells in me: 7:17-18 |
Sin dwells in me 8:17,18 |
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Do what I hate 7:15,16 |
Kill bodily deeds 8:13 Gal 5:19 |
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Brings into captivity 7:23 |
Led by spirit of God 8:7,14 |
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SIN CONTROLS ME |
SPIRIT CONTROLS ME |
1. There is no reason to overcomplicate Rom 8:14.
a. Christians today who uses the Bible only are just as “led by the Spirit” as those with supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in the first century.
b. Being led by the Holy Spirit indicates an honest, seeking, obedient heart, not some ethereal supernatural idea.
2. Sin or the Holy Spirit controls us.
a. It is a battle of our will with God’s will
b. Jesus said you can only obey one master.
c. Paul said you are a slave to the one you obey!
d. Are you a slave of sin or of the Holy Spirit
3. Are you led by sin or LED BY THE SPIRIT!
B. Old Testament passages that refer to the battle of obeying sin vs. God:
1. Jer 24:7 I will give them a heart to know me
2. Jer 31:31/Heb 8:8ff I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write my law
3. Ezek 11:19 and I will give them one heart and shall put A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN THEM and take their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes
4. Ezek 18:31 remove sin and make yourselves A NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT
5. Ezek 36:26,27 I will give you a new heart and PUT A NEW SPRIT WITHIN YOU, remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh and will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes.
6. Ps 51.-10,11 create in me A NEW HEART, RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHHIN ME, do not take thy Holy Spirit [miraculously] from me.
7. Zech 7:12 they made their HEARTS LIKE FLINT so they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord SENT BY HIS SPIRIT [miraculously] through the prophets
III. Rom 8:15
"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!”" (Romans 8:15)
1. Parallel: Gal 4:6 Sent Spirit of Son into our hearts, Abba Father"
2. The miraculous Holy Spirit provides assurance to the ungifted that they are saved.
a. A personal non-miraculous indwelling does not directly do anything, much less produce the cry “Abba”.
3. What produces the “Abba” cry?
a. The confirmation of miracles would bring assurance to all, both gifted and ungifted.
b. Christians today who have never seen a miracle cry “Abba” as they read the Bible and believe it!
IV. Rom 8:16
"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God," (Romans 8:16)
A. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit:
1. The idea here is a double witness of the same thing:
a. We say we are children of God (stating fact of sonship)
b. The HS says we are too through miracles
2. The testimony or witness of the Holy Spirit must be miraculous.
3. How can personal indwelling bear witness with our Spirit?
B. Passages that are parallel in thought:
1. 1 Jn 5:7-12
a. The witness of the Spirit is Miraculous
b. note the double witness: V9
i. if we receive the witness of men (stating one's salvation)
ii. the witness of God is greater (miracles)
c. What the witness tells us we have life (son-ship): V11
d. One can have the "witness in himself" today, when he believes in Son
2. 1 Jn 3:24; 4:13 We know we are sons because he has given us of HS
a. how can personal indwelling be evidence of sonship?
b. HS bears witness through Miracles we are sons
3. Acts 5:32 A powerful double witness passage:
a. Men’s witness: "We are witness of these things"
b. God's witness: "and so is the HS who God has given to the obedient"
c. The HS given produces a witness of the truthfulness of Gospel
4. Heb 2:2-4; Mk 16:20
a. God bears miraculous witness with the HS
5. Fourfold witness of Jn 5:33-47
a. V33-35 Witness of men: John's (no miracles)
b. V36 Witness of works or miracles through HS
c. V37,38 Direct witness of Father's voice, "You are My Son"
d. V39-47 Witness of OT scripture
C. What is Witness of HS?
1. Certainly not non-miraculous personal indwelling for it cant testify or witness anything!
2. Spiritual gifts of the Holy fit the best for the direct context
3. For us today the Bible is the result of first century miracles.
V. Rom 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." (Romans 8:23)
A. Defining "first fruits":
1. The idea of pre-eminence:
a. Num 18:22
b. Prov 3:9
2. The first portion of a crop that attests to the value of the unharvested portion yet to come
a. Ex 23:16
b. Neh 10:35
3. The two definitions are used together: Ex 23:19 "first of the first fruits"
B. What is first fruits of the spirit in Rom 8:23:
1. Cannot be the non-miraculous indwelling because there is no evidence of it!
2. We do have the fruit of the spirit in Gal 5:22 love, peace, joy, etc.
3. Miraculous gifts is how we experience the first fruits of the Spirit as a promise of much more to come in heaven.
C. Parallel passages of thought to give evidence for miraculous gifts:
1. Eph 1:13,14 HS given as a miraculous pledge
a. Definition of pledge fits perfectly
b. down payment to attest the rest is to come
2. Heb 6:4,5 "Partakers of the HS...tasted powers of age to come"
a. Partaker of HS = powers = spiritual gifts
b. This fits very well with the definition of first fruits.
3. So the first fruits of the spirit are the miraculous powers given by the Holy Spirit as a taste and down payment of greater powers we will possess in heaven!
VI. Rom 8:26-27
"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26–27)
A. How does HS help our weakness in prayer?
1. Does the Holy Spirit interpret our prayers for God? Directly inspires and expands our prayers on our behalf to God?
2. “Rom. 8:26-27 indicates that the blessings of forgiveness and intercession come to us when "He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit". When the Christian prays for help with his infirmities (including sins of ignorance, see Heb. 5:2), God looks in our hearts and if He sees the mind of the Spirit (which is described in Rom. 7:14-25) then intercession is made on our behalf and we are forgiven.” (David B. Willis)
3. Suggesting this verse, whatever it is saying, is the result (in a cause and effect way) of the personal non-miraculous indwelling provides no solutions but direct contradictions.
a. This is a behind the scenes miraculous function that happened in the Old Testament as well.
B. Problems of the idea that the Holy Spirit interprets our prayers for God:
1. Why does Father need HS to interpret our prayers?
a) the Father knows what we want before we ask Mt 6:8
b) If Father knows our needs before we pray, surely He knows the prayers too without the HS
c) If Father needs HS to know our needs & interpret our prayers, what else must Father rely upon the HS to know?
d) If the HS can interpret the meanings of our heart, why can't Father?
2. If, as the personal indwelling folk maintain, this interpreting the prayers of Christians to God, how did God understand prayers in OT times?
3. If the Spirit will take my inner most thoughts to God, why should I work on learning how to pray.
C. The natural reading of the verse is as follows:
"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness (the battle of the flesh in Rom 7:24ff and the sin that result) for we do not know how to pray as we should (this may be for new Christians who learn proper prayer as they get older and grow), but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (the Holy Spirit reads our hearts and relays the true intent of our heart as we fumble for the correct words to express emotions we ourselves don’t fully understand); and He (God) who searches the hearts (of men) (also) knows what the mind of the (Holy) Spirit is (and learns our inner feelings through the Holy Spirit), because He (Holy Spirit) intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27)
Holy Spirit outlines:
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By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
