The Evident Presence of the Holy Spirit

Context

It is difficult to identify words more comforting and assuring but sobering and humbling at the same time than the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:

Romans 8:1 ESV

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

God is holy and righteous, and because He is just, He does not excuse sin, and has pronounced judgement upon it, and when we are able to see that we are sinners the only response to this truth that makes sense is to be pricked in our hearts. But the desperation of sinners for mercy is not futile. The words of Romans 8:1 are full of hope. Sinners can escape their due condemnation. The work of Jesus on the cross is the basis for our deliverance from judgement.

Romans 8:3–4 ESV

3 … By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

So, the cross of Christ has secured the way of salvation for the children of God, but what verse four makes clear is that the Spirit of God, that is, the Holy Spirit supplies the power people need to conquer sin. So if you are weary from the battle with sin, both within and without, do not loose sight of your hope in Christ, there is now no condemnation!

But for anyone who carefully considers the issues that Paul raises in Romans 8, will have questions. One might be, while I am grateful God has shown me mercy, I continue to struggle with sin. I continue to break His law. How can I expect to live like I am an object of the mercy of God and not His wrath? On what basis can I obey Him? Verses 5-11 address these questions. As has already been declared today, those who are in Christ are not in the flesh but in the Spirit (v. 9). The natural practice of the flesh is to carry out the desires of the flesh, and when we do this, we disobey God. But those who have the Spirit do what the Spirit desires. Experience tells us that the desires of the Spirit do not always prevail, but more importantly, Paul acknowledges that as well, and offers hope:

Romans 8:11 ESV

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead has been given to dwell in those who are in Christ, so they have that same power working in them, and one day that power will finally prevail over the desires of the flesh in our future resurrection.

But, we continue to struggle with the desires of the flesh. The people of God experience the joy of turning away from the desires of the flesh to the desires of the Spirit, but we also know the sorrow it is to not do the good I we want, but to keep doing the evil we do not want to do (7:18-19). The text we will consider today provides further hope for those who have been given the Spirit. We look there now in

Romans 8:12–17 ESV

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Introduction

Romans chapter 8 begins with these words:

Romans 8:1 ESV

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

This is good news! Wonderful, joy-giving, assuring, humbling, expectation-confounding, glorious news.

You know the phrase: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

Whether or not one can be certain that what Romans 8:1 declares is true of them has been a topic of confusion and debate for centuries. In our experience, when certainty or confirmation is desired, some kind of litmus test is sought after. Some way to confirm that what is claimed to be true is actually true. We want evidence because we want to know for sure.

And when it comes to the good news of Romans 8:1, what often casts doubt upon our minds and hearts is our own sin. We sin, we confess our sin, we strive to repent of our sin, and we sin in the same way again. The cycle repeats itself. So, we might believe that Romans 8:1 is true, but we wonder if Romans 8:1 is true of us. Has it in fact been applied to us. Somebody give me a litmus test, we might say.

FCF

Our struggle with and against sin can lead to uncertainty that we are children of God.

I do want to say that one’s posture towards sin and practice of sin helps to clarify if we are in fact children of God. If we have an indifferent posture towards sin and we have no sorrow or remorse over our sin, then we may not be children of God. But, what our text makes clear is that while obedience to God is the Hallmark of the Spirit, the battle is real and is fierce.

Main Idea

The liberation the Holy Spirit provides the children of God is the proof that He resides in them.

*The freedom the Spirit provides is the proof that He resides.*

Main Question

What comprises this liberation?

Conflict with our flesh (sin) (12-13)

What must we know about this battle as we fight in it?

Our victory has been secured (12)

Notice that verse 12 begins with therefore or so then. This highlights the relationship between verses 5-11 and verse 12. Because believers are in the Spirit, which is what verses 5-11 make clear, they are not debtors to live according to the flesh.

What does Paul mean by debtor? Other translations use the word obligation to describe state. Believers are under no obligation to the flesh or to live according to the flesh.

This same word is used to describe the relationship people have to the law if they think that keeping even just one part of it will secure their salvation:

Galatians 5:3 ESV

3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

This is what the Judaizers were teaching the Galatian churches: be circumcised to be be saved. And Paul responds by saying you can’t pick and choose which part of the law you think must be obeyed to secure the forgiveness of your sins. If you’re obligated to circumcision you are obligated to the entire law.

Here in Rom. 8, Paul declares, on the basis of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that we no longer have that kind of relationship to the our flesh.

But what is meant by flesh? Our flesh is that part of us that desires what is sinful… what displeases God. It refers to that part of us that depends not upon the Holy Spirit which has been given to us and dwells within us, but upon ambition that is driven by sinful desires.

Paul is encouraging believers that they are no longer obligated, that is, debtors to their flesh. And in what sense do we possess this freedom? The rest of verse 12:

to live according to the flesh

This is Paul’s explanation. This is the sense in which Christians are not debtors to their flesh. We are no longer subject to the tyranny or mastery of our flesh.

But does this new relationship to our flesh mean that we do not struggle with sin? Our experience tells us the answer to that question is, no. But what does Paul teach here? The Christian’s victory over that part of us that desires the desires of the Spirit has been secured but

What else we must also know about this battle? Victory has been secured and

Our fighting is supernatural (13)

In the course of my preparation for this message, I read my than one commentator say that verse 12 is the indicative. Verse 12 states the fact that believers are under no obligation to the flesh. Verse 13 contains the imperative. It doesn’t actually state a command, but it does issue an exhortation which is by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body.

The flow of what Paul says in verse 13 may have been unexpected. What do we expect Paul to say after saying, if you live according to the flesh you will die? If you live according to the Spirit you will live, right? But that is not what Paul says. That is not Paul’s argument.

The freedom from the flesh described in verse 12 does not preclude warning against indulging or succumbing to the flesh.

John Murray said this:

The believer’s one-for-all death to the law and to sin does not free him from the necessity of mortifying sin in his members; it makes it necessary and possible for him to do so.

Our ongoing battle with our flesh is stated in verse 10:

Romans 8:10 ESV

10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

We continue to struggle with sin, and because this is the case, we are exhorted, but the power of the Spirit that dwells within us to put to death the deeds of the body. To clarify, our flesh is that part of us that desires what is sinful and the deeds of the body mentioned in verse 13 are the manifestations or actions of these desires. The body itself is not sinful, but can show sinful practices.

So, the death threatened in verse 13 is not physical death. Again, physical death has been referenced in verse 10. But the death referenced in verse 13 is the death that is the wages of our sin (Rom. 6:23).

The verb, put to death highlights how intense the desires to carry out the deeds of the body can be. They are so intense that the only effective response to them is to put them to death.

But this is a spiritual battle. By the Spirit we fight. This is a supernatural fighting. We are to mortify the deeds of the body. We have a responsibility to do this, but we dare not do it in our own strength. The Sprit gives us the desire to reject evil. The Spirit grants us a hatred for what displeases God and a desire for what honors Him. Christians are called to set their minds on the things of the Spirt (v. 5), and the Spirit’s indwelling power grants us the mind to do that.

But the supernatural character of our fighting is brought to the forefront by the promise at the end of verse 13: you will live. This is the then statement of the if/then proposition in verse 13. If by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body then we will live. We noted before that the death threatened in verse thirteen the eternal, eschatological death. The life promised in this verse is the same. It is eternal life. It is life everlasting.

Le this promise comfort you. Yes, the desires of our flesh are strong, and the battle against them is grueling, but as we fight and move forward on the battlefield, we head towards a victory that has already been secured for us by Jesus. We have been saved and we are being saved. As saved people, we fight by the power of the Holy Spirit until life extinguishes our struggle against the ways of death.

Paul continues his exhortation and encouragement with further clarification. Pastor Josh told me this past week that he counted 17 “for’s” in Rom 8. This is a long and substantive argument of what it means to possess the Holy Spirit. But we come to one of those “for’s” in verse 14. We are to put to death the deeds of the body by the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s what people who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit do.And the promise is that we will live.

But the battle is grueling, unrelenting and long. This leads to an uncertainty for many. The fact that we fight the same fight, and receive the wounds and scars of fighting this fight can lead to discouragement and doubt. Am I really a child of God? Do I really possess the Spirit?

In addition to the conflict with our flesh, confirmation of our salvation is another piece of evidence that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God provides us with:

Confirmation of our salvation (14-16)

How does the Spirit confirm we are saved?

We are led by the Spirit (14)

I want to focus on the word led. Understanding the meaning of this word and how it is used here in verse 14 prevents us from thinking of being led by the Spirit as a reference to daily guidance in everyday life.

The word led means to take someone or something somewhere with one self. It carries the idea of being controlled by or governed by.

In addition to the word’s meaning, we also know that it shows here in Rom. 8 as a passive verb. In other words, the Spirit is doing the leading and is therefore responsible for or credited with the following. The passive nature of the verb should not lead anyone to conclude that Paul is teaching believers have no responsibility to follow the Spirit, but he is emphasizing that our obedience is the result of the Spirit’s work in us.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

12 … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling [Paul says in Phil 2), 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We don’t work in our salvation so that God will work in His people. It is because God has worked in His people, that His people can and desire to work in their salvation.

And we are told that being led by the Spirit is proof-positive that we are children of God.

An illustration of what it means to be led by the Spirit can be seen in the experience of the people of Israel.

Exodus 13:21–22 ESV

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

The Holy Spirit leads His people, and His leading will not cease. We stumble in our following, and the following can be grueling, but the Spirit is steadfast in His leading.

And the theme of being sons of God, as we see at the end of verse 14 also evokes Israel. Israel is identified as God’s son in the Old Testament:

Exodus 4:22 ESV

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,

Deuteronomy 14:1 ESV

1 “You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.

Isaiah 43:6 ESV

6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,

What we need to see, and what will confirm our salvation is that those who have the Spirit are led by the Spirit. And those whom the Spirit leads are sons, that is, are children of God.

Another way the Spirit confirms our salvation is that:

We have been provided freedom (15)

We see a close connection between verse 15 and 14, not only because of the word for again that begins verse 15, but because of the ideas in both verses. Believers have not received a spirit of slavery again, resulting in fear. Instead believers have received the Spirit of adoption as sons of God. The Spirit in believer’s membership in the family of God as son is present in verses 14 & 15.

What is a spirit of slavery? Much debate exists around the word spirit here. Is this a reference to the human spirit. Is this a reference to the Old Covenant? I want to note how Paul uses the word Spirit elsewhere:

1 Corinthians 2:12 ESV

12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

Many commentators describe this as a rhetorical use of the word spirit. It is meant to capture the idea that those who did not have the Spirit of Christ are subject to slavery of sin. We see that in the previous section of Romans (Rom 6-8). Those who do not have the Holy Spirit are not able to keep God’s law and were under the tyranny of sin.

Not so with the people of God, Paul says. If you are a child of God, what you received is not slavery to sin. As we have already acknowledged, the desires of the flesh are often strong, but we must remember in the midst of our battle with those desires, that what we have received in our salvation is stronger.

And Paul’s encouragement that we do not need to fear is based upon the promise of the victory we already considered. Christians have no reason to fear punishment that results from sin. We experience the unpleasant consequences of our sin, but what we have received grants us the assurance that sustains us in the fight.

So, Christians are not slaves but sons who have been adopted by God.

Many of us here at Grace know the joy there is in adoption. Several families have adopted children, and when long and arduous process of adopting a child comes to an end, the place of our celebration is in a courtroom. There we are, along with the family who is adopting are 50+ other people from the church there to support and to witness the culmination a child (or children) officially becoming members of a family. Despite what difficulties these children may have experienced and the burdens they endured, they now have a family.

Christian, you have been saved from the power of sin. You are indwelt by the Spirit of God, and with that comes your placement in the family of God. As protective as I am of my children and grandchildren and all parents in the room are of their children, be comforted Christian. You belong to God, who is your Father.

But know this about our adoption. No one is adopted because of something God found appealing about them. In fact, we know that people are part of the family of God despite how unappealing they are. We will get to verse 17, but children of God are described as fellow heirs with Christ. It is on the basis of our union with our brother Messiah, our Lord and Savior that we are adopted into the family of God.

The church is a privileged people. We have been placed into the family of our King. And because of this we can confidently cry out to God as our Father. This crying out is not meant to be understood as the declaration of God’s children that He is their Abba Father, but it is a prayer and even an expression of desperation. In this prayer, we acknowledge the fact that we have been adopted into the family of God, and also acknowledge that as we live our Spirit-led lives, and wage war against our flesh, we need the protective and loving care of our Father. This is a cry of desperate joy (if that can be a thing). We cry out to God as Abba, not because we wonder if He will be there for us, but because we know He will be and we need Him.

The other night I told my son, in an effort to provide some comfort and assurance, that no matter what happens you will always be our son. So much more so church, no matter what may transpire in our lives. The victories and defeats. For those who are in Christ Jesus, there is now no condemnation.

God provides us confirmation of our salvation through the Holy Spirit in the we are led by the Spirit, we are granted freedom from sin by the Holy Spirit and by the fact that He

Nurtures assurance (16)

The Holy Spirit confirms that we are children of God by bearing witness with our spirit. This is not only assurance, but a nurturing of assurance. What’s the difference?

The witness or testimony that we are children of God is derived from the Holy Spirit and from our own spirit. The phrase our spirit in verse 16 is meant to be understood as distinct from the Holy Spirit who is also referenced in the same verse.

This is difficult for many because of the mystical nature of this testimony. How do we know we are children of God. The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. This is difficult to describe or define apart from experience, but it seems best to understand that this assurance is given to all believers.

The Holy Spirit nurtures this assurance in our sprits. He strengthens it and causes it to grow and mature. This assurance is a powerful weapon in our struggle against temptation. We belong to our Father. The Holy Spirit testifies with out spirit that this is so.

So the evidence the people of God possess that the Holy Spirit dwells within them is

Our conflict with our flesh

Our confirmation of our salvation and our

Commitment to our privileged lives (17)

What verses 15 & 16 make clear is that those who are in Christ are children of God. In verse 17, Paul expands on the identity of children of God to also being heirs.

Of what do the privileged lives of God’s children consist?

An inheritance

The concept of inheritance is seen in the Old Testament which initially referenced possession of land or the Holy Land. We see this in God’s promise to Abraham:

Genesis 12:7 ESV

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

But the New Testament expands this and connects it to the Messiah. The land is a symbol of Messianic blessing:

Matthew 5:5 ESV

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 19:29 ESV

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

And as encouraging and humbling as this is to consider, Paul moves from what God has promised to something more striking. He says in verse 17 that children of God are heirs with God Himself.

If we were to trace the inheritance that God promised Abraham in Gen. throughout the Old and New Testaments, what we would discover is that more than the land, the supreme blessing of this covenant is having God as our God. This was stated to Abraham in Gen. 17:

Genesis 17:7 ESV

7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

This is a description of our privileged position, but it’s not the full picture. There’s more. Yes, those who possess the Spirit, have God as their God but in addition to an inheritance we have

A brother

We are heirs with God and this by means of the fact that we are fellow-heirs with Christ. In other words, the inheritance we possess as Christians through our union with Christ. Paul articulates this in Gal.

Galatians 3:16 ESV

16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

Christ has gained an inheritance for His people and therefore, we are able to share in it. In this sense, Christ is our brother. We are not His equal, but we do share in what He has secured. We are family.

But this life of privilege consists of something else

A condition

Notice the flow of verse 17: children of God are heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ if or provided…

We don’t usually do not consider provisos or conditions to be associated with privilege. But Paul tells us that the reception of the covenant blessings is suffering with our Savior. We know that suffering was the pathway to securing the promises He provides His people. Suffering was the pathway to His glorification in HIs resurrection, ascension and session. We suffer with Christ. We endure the hardships of following and obeying Him in this world. We take up our crosses daily and follow Him. We commit our way to this way knowing that this present suffering will give way to glory with Him which is another way of describing the future inheritance of believers.

Paul connected suffering and glory in his letter to the Philippians:

Philippians 3:10–11 ESV

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Paul understood that our identification with the risen Lord means that we must walk in newness of life, and walking in newness of life includes sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

In our passage in Rom. 8, Paul emphasizes our breach with sin. We are no longer debtors to our flesh, and while this is good news, it is also a call to a way of life that includes suffering. We must also remember however, that this way of life has the assurance of a resurrection like the resurrection of our Lord.

I will only briefly reference verse 18, but it does provide comfort to us as we commit our way to suffering with our Savior:

Romans 8:18 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Yes, our suffering is difficult and taxing, but not comparable to the glory that will be revealed to us in Christ.

Conclusion

So, our liberation to fight against the desires of our flesh, the ongoing confirmation of our salvation that the Spirit provides us and our commitment we have to live our life of privilege is the evidence we have the Spirit. May the indwelling ministry of the Spirit be our assurance.