Friendship With God - The Spirit’s Help

Friendship With God: The Spirit’s Help 

Hebron Church of Hope

Romans 8

September 28th, 2025

Initial Outline - Structure

Freedom from sin and death by the Spirit vv.1-11. 

Adoption by the Spirit vv.12-17. 

The Spirit’s intercession vv.18-30. 

Context 

Literary Context

Romans 7 - Paul displays in the image of marriage how we are dead to sin so that we may belong to another. We belong to Jesus to bear fruit from God. To make it clear he says that the law is not sin, but that there is a problem within us in our sinful nature. A battle that is taking place in which we pursue sin at the expense of pursuing Christ. 

Romans 9 - Paul now turns his attention to Israel and how God shows his power in saving. He shows that salvation is a gracious work of God in which he chooses whom he will save. This isn’t based off our merit or anything that we can bring to God. While Israel rejected God, by that rejection the door of the gospel was to the benefit of the Gentiles. This was God’s all along plan. There is a warning in pursuing the law without faith in the story of Israel. 

Historical and Cultural Context

What is significant culturally historically? 

Biblical Context 

Are there any biblical quotations? 

Check out the NT Commentary on the OT usage. 

Author’s Aim 

The Spirit helps us believers. 

Notes and Research 

The following notes are from the … ESV Expository Commentary on Romans.. 

Section Overview 

Chapters 6-7 present the problematic aspects of the gospel message, that is what is subject to misconstruals. Chapter 8 is fixed on the glory of the redeemed life. The life that we have been given from slavery to sin to be made as heirs with Christ. There are two parts essentially - verses 1-17 and verses 18-39. Within this one chapter the Holy Spirit is mentioned twenty times. The main message of this section is that the Spirit is life. The section ends with a call to enjoy this life, as we suffer with Christ. Section two focuses on the cosmic implications of the redeemed life. 

Comments 

8:1, Paul is picking up from the previous section thanking God that he has life in Christ. “For those who are in Christ” is significant. Faith in Christ is required for the benefits of Christ. Christ undoes the condemnation that Adam ushered in (5:16, 18). 

8:2, the connection to the context of 7:7-25 makes it clear that this is “law” not viewed as a means of self-justification but of grace. Those who are free in Christ are those who are free from the law’s death sentence by acknowledging their sin and seeking their righteousness not in the law but the one who fulfilled it’s requirement on their behalf. 

Paul makes the argument that the law of sin and death results in more sin and condemnation. God’s law is something that was meant for good. Israel had it, but why did it wreak havoc? Because they didn’t pursue it by faith. There are two ways to relate to it: human compliance or looking to Christ as the fulfillment. 

8:3-4, when we approach the law outside of Christ the result is negative. Jesus set believers free and condemned sin in the flesh. “His own” underscores the relationship of the Father and Son. Union with Christ is union with the Father. Verse 4 affirms a major positive outcome - by faith we uphold the law. That does not mean that one must have faith in Christ and live up to the law’s demands. The requirement of the law was meant to point to the intent of the law’s light and guidance for those in fellowship with him through faith. That is for them to walk iaccording to the Spirit. Their lives are characterized by obedience of faith. 

8:5, there is contrast between two groups - those who live according to the flesh and those who live according to the Spirit. The first is about those who exist according to the flesh — that is that they have a tendency to live in a fallen way. The second others exist in the Spirit. They are not ruled by the flesh but by the guidance of the Spirit. It’s not a mere belief but a living and deeply informed presence. 

8:6, disposition is shown in life’s ultimate destination. For some that is death. Which is mentioned 22 times through the first 8 chapters. Those in Christ have a mindset focused on the Spirit. The regenerating work of the Spirit is on the mind here. In Romans “peace” is the major goal of Christian and ecclesial existence. There are two stark alternatives: one enslaving and the other full of promise. 

8:7-8, why is the mind governed by the flesh such an issue? 

First, it is hostile to God. This is a word that goes back to Genesis 3:15 — enmity. Due to Adam and Eve’s transgression and people’s own complicity were are at odds with God. Peace with God and reconciliation come by faith in God. 

Second, it does not submit to God. Chapter 7 described the mortal struggle of people. This is a present tense description of the fleshly person. This doesn’t mean that they can never render obedience to any of God’s commands. But overall they fall short. 

Third, it cannot submit to God’s law. The mind set on sin is a scary reality. It requires the intervention of Christ through the gospel for reorientation. Paul describes this in a number of ways. Two examples that are helpful: he longs to see Christ formed in believers - Galatians 4:19. He urges readers to put on Christ and make no provision for the flesh — Romans 13:14. 

Fourth, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. There is a relational nature here. It’s not just about keeping the commands or avoiding transgression, it’s about a right relationship with God. 

8:9, Now Paul addresses his readers as gospel recipients. “Dwells in” can be translated “dwells among.” God’s presence by the Spirit is not limited to the personal dimension but extends to the whole body of Christ. 

He adds another either or statement too. Not to have the Spirit of Christ means not to have Christ either. It could be that there was some influence within the church that was teaching something different about the Spirit, Christ, and the shape of the Christian’s life. Or it could be a combination of all those things. 

8:10, What form does life in the Spirit take? It means the readers have faith in Christ like Abraham had in God. Christ is real in their lives and unites them with others in the church. Christian fellowship is not just shared religious individuality it is a common gerneated by Christ’ lordship and headship. 

Paul describes a condition. First, the body is dead because of sin. Unbleievers are in bondage to sin and even believers wrestle with it’s temptations. Yet the Spirit is life because of righteousness. This is announced in the gospel through Christ’s death. 

8:11, verse 9 speaks of the indwelling of the Spirit, verse 10 about Christ in you, now verse 11 the Father is dwelling in and among them. The triune God is working to save us. In order for us to live according to the Spirit we need the resurrecting work of Christ. The Father applies to the church the resurrection life of the Son. Because of the renewing force of Christ’s resurrection believers have no excuse for succumbing to sin. 

8:12, “So then” summarizes the previous section. Now he speaks to them as brothers. Because of Christ’s resurrection we are not stuck in the mire of a hopeless predicament. 

8:13, Paul has described living according to the flesh like this: not knowing Christ, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. Nothing good dwells in that impulse arising form the inner man,. Paul now points to the fatal consequence of flesh-dominated living: it separates a person from God unless grace intervenes. If it does a new capacity enters the picture. By the Spirit those with faith in Christ can put to death the deeds of the body. 

8:14, There are two sides to what we need to put to death the deeds of the body. First, activity and second, identity. People who live led by the Spirit do so because they are sons of God. This is related to Jesus being the “Son of God’ but its not the same. 

8:15, The lack of leading of God’s Spirit is to be subject to a different spirit — one that ensalves and leads to fear. They are in slavery. To be sons of God means to have received the Spirit of adoption as sons. Professing faith means receiving the Holy Spirit. By this we can cry out Abba Father! We won’t be rejected any more. 

8:16, This cry results from the Spirit’s inner working among those who have believed the gospel. With our spirit doesn’t mean something else, but the inner faculties and awareness and our corporate consciousness of being members of the body of Christ. Those who have received the Spirit of adoption know they are children of God. God is not distant or aloof, but near and engaged. 

8:17, Paul cites the consequences of being children of God. One is that believers are heirs. There are six other references that Paul uses this word. Five of these have theological significance. God grants an inheritance to Christ’s followers. The second one is ominous. This is contingent on their suffering with Christ. To suffer is to bear the discomfort that comes with faithfulness to him. Final glorification will meet those whose dedication to Christ in this life marks them as true worshippers in the age to come. 

8:18, Paul is affirming what he wants the Romans to see — the grandeur of the glory that aways them. There are sufferings presently with which to contend. Currently there are over two hundred Christians who lose their lives daily due to persecution. There is a steep price to pay in following Christ. Yet, there is also a glory to be revealed. Elsewhere Paul highlights this in the glory of future vindication, bodily resurrection, and renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions. The present trials will not compare with the heavenly rewards that God promises. 

8:19, From here to the end Paul seeks to describe incomplete, flawed, and painful dimensions of life in this age against the backdrop of the future glory in Christ. Christians are not the only ones facing this groaning. All of creation groans. There is a cosmic element to the eager longing. This longing is attributed to the created order. This is God’s plan. 

8:20, the personification of creation continues. The subjection here is the curse of Eden. Futility includes the baleful aspects of life — sickness and death. God attached pain to childbirth. There is tilling the soil. “Not willingly” indicates that humans and the world dint’ volunteer for the terms of God’s verdict, God dictated those. The condition of sin leads to hopelessness. But, because God acted, there would be hope. 

8:21, hope at the end of verse 20 is not optimism but certain expectation. The corruption of sin will be set free by those who hope in the gospel. The goal of Christ’s redemptive mission is to help believers stand firm and not submit gain to the yoke of slavery. Our freedom is a call to serve one another. 

8:22, “we know” denotes a collective lamentation. While scripture can picture the created order as rollicking in praise it can also languish under a pall of transgression and judgment. The groaning together is a joint agony.  

8:23, this verse transitions from created order to the very lives of humans. The Spirit’s benefits are called the first fruits. This is a foretaste of what is to come. God’s redemption in Christ is already present, powerful, and pleasant. Yet we’re eagerly awaiting our adoption as sons. We also are waiting for the redemption of our bodies. 

8:24, Paul describes hope as the sure expectation of what God purposes to accomplish. Clarification is needed. There seems to be a contradiction - we have the first fruits of the Spirit yet we inwardly groan? Why does the former not swallow up the latter? It will in the age to come. For now it is the very nature of gospel hope that remains unconsummated. Paul uses rhetoric to show that if the fulfillment of God’s future promises were complete the effects would be fully visible. Hope would not be needed, the future would have arrived. Hope is very much in order. 

8:25, We are called to waiting with patience. This word “wait” is the same word used in verses 19 and 23 to denote eager, joyful, longing and anticipation. Christian hope is not fatalistic. This points to a proactive faithfulness that leverages God’s coming arrival and transformation into a confident urgency that everything we do in his name will bring him honor and glory in due course, even if we don’t see it in our lifetime. This hope makes you bold, not timid. 

8:26, Now there is a crucial aspect of the Spirit’s first fruits: help in our weakness. When believers hurt, the Spirit feels it. To make this clear Paul takes the activity of prayer and illustrates it. Jesus teaches the disciple they ought to pray and not lose heart. Paul models and prescribes ceaseless praying. Yet the greatest challenge in prayer is human indecision and ignorance. “We do not know what to pray for as we ought.” We’re tempted to prayerlessness. For that reason Paul underscores that eh Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. God does not survey at an impersonal and insular distance but takes up into himself human sentiments too deep for words. Even if our prayers are marked by finitude, ignorance, imperfection we can know that the Spirit amplifies, purifies, and intensifies our words to a place where he meets our greatest needs in prayer. 

8:27, “He who searches hearts” refer to God the Father. A great theme in the OT is that God knows every heart intimately. The all-knowing God naturally knows what the mind of the spirit is because of their essential and perfect unity. The effect of this is that the Spirit intercede for us according to the will of God. We may not know what to pray or how to pray for it. But God’s saints can be assured that their prayers will be according to the will of God because the efficacy of their prayers is not tied to eloquence, precision, or verbiage. Believers prayers are perfected and brought into conformity to God’s will by the ministry of the Spirit. 

8:28, Trust in Christ makes love for and from God possible. Paul is not saying that all things that happen are good. Rather he is saying God uses situations and circumstances in ways that prove favorable for his devotees. Paul mentions “God’s purpose” in four other passages. First, his purpose informs his election of individuals to salvation not because of works but because of him who calls (Romans 9:11). Second, believers have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11). Third, God’s wisdom is made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:10-11). Fourth, God saved us and called us to a holy calling not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ before the ages began (2 Timothy 1:9). The doctrine of God’s purpose illumines and supports the profound affirmations that will follow in the next verses. 

8:29, “foreknew” points to God’s knowledge and purpose precede and are the ultimate cause of salvation for those who love him. This doesn’t eliminate the need for faith, it assures that faith will achieve its goal. 

“Predestined them to be conformed to the image of his Son.” God predestined believers for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus according to Ephesians 1:5. This impresses a comforting aim and nurturing assistance. Paul conclude there will be many brothers, not a few who share as the firstborn as a result of God’s work. Firstborn is metaphorical here and points to Christ’s unique and exalted status as the son. 

8:30, God’s intention to save sinners impels him to move from predestining to calling, to justifying, and to glorifying. “Calling” is shorthand for the mysterious and undeserved application of Christ’ merit to sinners who become God’s servant and worshippers. It describes the effect of GOd’s saving grace and comes through the gospel. “Justified” is about status before God. “Glorified” points to the future perception of believers at Christ’s return and in the age to come. He uses this in the past term to show that it is already settled and secured by God. 

The following notes are from the Message of Romans by John Stott… 

In handling the topic of the Holy Spirit, however, the apostle relates it to his other overarching theme in this chapter, namely the absolute security of the children of God. According to Charles Hodge, ‘the whole chapter is a series of arguments, most beautifully arranged, in support of this one point’. And Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones agrees with him. ‘I make bold to assert that the great theme of chapter 8 is not sanctification … The great theme is the security of the Christian.’ At the same time, the two topics are intimately related. For possession of the Spirit is the hallmark of those who truly belong to Christ (9); his inner witness assures us that we are God’s children and therefore his heirs (15–17); and his presence in us is the firstfruits of our inheritance, pledging the final harvest (23)

The chapter divides itself naturally into three sections. The first depicts the varied ministry of God’s Spirit in liberating, indwelling, sanctifying, leading, witnessing to and finally resurrecting the children of God (1–17). The second treats the future glory of God’s children, portrayed as a final freedom in which the whole creation will share (18–27). And thirdly Paul emphasizes the steadfastness of God’s love, as he works in all things for the good of those who love him and promises that nothing will ever be allowed to separate us from his love (28–39). The apostle’s perspective stretches our mind, as he ranges from eternity to eternity. He begins with ‘no condemnation’ (1) and ends with ‘no separation’ (39), in both cases for those who are ‘in Christ Jesus’

The following notes are from Mike McKinley’s book “Friendship with God”… 

Conclusion - Draft Argument: 

The Holy Spirit is our helper.

Connecting to the Gospel 

Insert Here 

“The Spirit’s Help”

Argument: The Holy Spirit is our helper. 

Sermon Outline: 

Introduction 

Hook

Argument: the Holy Spirit is our helper.

The Spirit helps us experience freedom in Christ vv.1-11. 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus v.1.

There is a inhibiting challenge — the law vv.2-4.

The law condemns us.

God intervenes for us.

In order to fulfill the righteous requirement needed for us.

Those in the flesh cannot experience freedom vv.5-8.

Minds set on the things of the flesh.

Experience death.

Those in the flesh cannot please God.

The indwelling Spirit gives you life and freedom vv.9-11.

The Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

The body is dead because of sin. The Spirit is life beause of righteousness.

He who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies.

Applications

The Spirit helps us know our identity as those who belong to God vv.12-17. 

We are debtors vv.12-13.

We are sons of God vv.14-15.

We are assured v.16.

We are heirs with Christ v.17.  

Provided we suffer with him in order to be glorified with him.

Applications

The Spirit helps us bear fruit through hope vv.18-25. 

Present suffering not comparable to the glory to come v.18.

Creations longing vv.19-22.

Our longing as the firstfruits of the work vv.23-25.

Applications

The Spirit helps us in our weakness vv.26-30. 

He intercedes for us in prayer when we don’t know what to do v.26.

He searches our hearts and intercedes for us according to God’s will v.27.

He works all things together for our good vv.28-30.

Applications

 Don’t give up on prayer. Lean in, make a rhythm,

Conclusion 

What do I want them to take away? 

Drive home the argument. 

Discussion Questions

What is the primary argument from the sermon?

How does Paul describe the condition of those who live according to the flesh in Romans 8?

What does Paul mean by stating that those who have the Spirit of Christ belong to Him?

In what ways does the Holy Spirit help believers according to Romans 8?

What significance does Paul put on the concept of adoption by the Spirit in relation to Christian identity?

How does the Holy Spirit help us experience freedom from death and sin?

Why is suffering so important?

Why is prayer highlighted as an important aspect of the believer's relationship with the Holy Spirit?

What does it mean to bear fruit through hope?

How can understanding our identity as children of God impact the way we live our lives?