20251123 Romans 8:25-28 The Good Work of the Interceding Spirit
The Book of Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome to Vertical Church
Good morning.
Let Us Continue to Worship God
A Psalm of Praise
1 Oh come, let us sing for joy to Yahweh, Let us make a loud shout to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us make a loud shout to Him with songs of praise. 3 For Yahweh is a great God And a great King above all gods, 4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. 5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker. 7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you hear His voice,
Scripture Reading
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it. 26 And 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; 27 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. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
Introduction: Romans 8:25-28 The Good Work f the Interceding Spirit
If you google “things you cannot do alone” you get some interesting answers:
You cannot have a conversation, play a team sport, sing a duet
You should not go swimming or snorkeling, you should not go hiking or climbing
You cannot get a hug or get tickled
Some are funny: you cannot go water skiing, or play Marco Polo, Marco!
You cannot move a large sofa up several flights of stairs (maybe down!)
In a spiritual sense, you cannot perform heart transplant surgery
You cannot go to war against a powerful enemy
This morning we will look at some of the best verses in Scripture, verses that point to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
But to fully grasp the power of these verses we need to understand the context of these verses, the words in these verses, and the appropriate application of these verses
(1) The context of these verses
26 And 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;
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
These verses are well known and well loved
But notice the context of these verses
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
The context is one of suffering, of trials, of discouragements, frustrations, and especially groaning
The Israelites in Exodus 2:23
23 Now it happened in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the slavery, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their slavery rose up to God.
8 I am faint and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart.
2 When the righteous increase, the people are glad, But when a wicked man rules, people groan.
Jeremiah is the weeping prophet but Ezekiel is the groaning prophet - 7 times
4 Yahweh said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being done in its midst.”
26 And 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;
The word weakness
this word “weak” means “helpless,” “infirmity,” it means “a disability.” I mean, you and I have a significant spiritual disability in and of ourselves to live the Christian life. It is God the Holy Spirit who must do this in us.
And please note the word, “our” refers to all believers, every believer. And Paul includes himself in this. Now just think about this, arguably Paul was the greatest Christian who ever lived. If anybody could have lived their Christian life with autopilot on, it would have been the Apostle Paul, and even Paul includes himself in this, with his weakness.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 74.23 ἀσθένεια, ας
a state of incapacity to do or experience something—‘incapacity, weakness, limitation.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 74.24 ἀσθένημα, τος
we who are capable ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are not capable’ Ro 15:1.
Only Jesus was able to endure all that sin and evil does to a person.
15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.
Jesus lived in the strength of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who dwells in all who have come to Christ by faith and have been born again
And so, Paul says we are weak
And so the context of these verses is, in the midst of suffering and struggle and discouragement and persecution - you need help, and you need help, I need help, we all need help, because we are weak, we are incapable, we are limited in our ability to overcome these circumstance and situations.
As Jesus would say, your spirit is willing but your flesh is weak.
And the Holy Spirit has been given to be the Helper of those who are weak
(2) The word “help” and the word “intercedes”
What does the Holy Spirit do for those who are weak
First, we are told that he “helps”
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains (35.5 συλλαμβάνομαι; συναντιλαμβάνομαι; συνυπουργέω)
συναντιλαμβάνομαι: to help by joining in an activity or effort—‘to join in helping.’
συλλαμβάνομαι: κατένευσαν τοῖς μετόχοις ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ πλοίῳ τοῦ ἐλθόντας συλλαβέσθαι αὐτοῖς ‘they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them’ Lk 5:7.
συναντιλαμβάνομαι: ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα συναντιλαμβάνεται τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ ἡμῶν ‘in the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are’ (literally ‘… help our weakness’) Ro 8:26.
συνυπουργέω: συνυπουργούντων καὶ ὑμῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τῇ δεήσει ‘as you help us by joining us in our prayers’ 2 Cor 1:11.
7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.
11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers on our behalf, so that thanks may be given on our behalf by many persons for the gracious gift bestowed on us through the prayers of many.
three words combined together to make a compound word.
sun - along with, anti - opposite to
to take hold of opposite together
Second, he intercedes
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 33.169 ἐντυγχάνω
ἐντυγχάνωa: to ask for something with urgency and intensity—‘to plead, to beg, to appeal to, to petition.’ ὅτι κατὰ θεὸν ἐντυγχάνει ὑπὲρ ἁγίων ‘for (the Spirit) pleads with God on behalf of his people’ Ro 8:27; περὶ οὗ ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος ἐνέτυχον μοι ‘about whom all the people appealed to me’ Ac 25:24. In translating expressions such as ‘to plead’ or ‘to beg’ or ‘to appeal to,’ the implications of urgency or intensity are often expressed in figurative ways, for example, ‘to ask for with the heart exposed’ or ‘to ask for with crying words’ or ‘to beg with one’s hands outstretched.’
What we see is a divine person, God the Holy Spirit, asking on our behalf
What we do not see is some time of emotional experience that causes us to speak in an unknown language
The person of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who dwells in you, the Spirit who gave you spiritual life, is now continuously pleading with urgency and intensity for you
(3) The appropriate application
27 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.
Prayer is a trinitarian conversation. We pray to the Father as Jesus our high priest has given us access and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God
If you want to pray the will of God, you need to pray the word of God -
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
All things must be seen in the context of Paul’s reference to suffering
But each thing we encounter may not carry the same weight. We will encounter some experiences that are soul crushing
The Holy Spirit comes alongside of us in our weakness, in our times of struggle and persecution, and intercedes with us.In your most dificult times, God has not forgotten you. You are constantly in His prayers. And He is praying that you would not only be strengthend but that you would understand that His will is perfect and you come through and bring glory to Him
Now may the God for whom you wait, lift you up out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire and set your feet upon a rock, and may He place you in the shadow of His wings until the storms of destruction pass by. Amen.
