Romans 7.25a-Paul Thanks The Father For His Deliverance Through The Lord Jesus Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 7, 2008
Romans: Romans 7:25a-Paul Thanks The Father For His Deliverance Through The Lord Jesus Christ
Lesson # 237
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 7:14.
This evening we will study Romans 7:25a and in this passage Paul expresses his thanks to the Father for his deliverance from the power of his sin nature through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 7:14-25, “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
In Romans 7:25, Paul expresses his gratitude or thanksgiving to the Father for delivering him from his sin nature in a positional sense through the death and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This in turn sets up the potential for him to experience this deliverance and also provides him a guarantee that he will permanently experience this deliverance at the resurrection of the church.
One of the most important aspects of our spiritual lives as believers is that of expressing thanksgiving to God.
Thanksgiving to God is the response in the believer’s soul, which expresses itself in love and appreciation for who and what God is and what He has done for the believer through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”
The believer should give thanks to the Father’s gift of salvation, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man Savior.
2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
Romans 7:25, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
“Through Jesus Christ, our Lord” indicates Paul’s deliverance was accomplished by the Father through the personal intermediate agency of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This statement by Paul at the beginning of Romans 7:25 expresses Paul’s gratitude to the Father for delivering him from his sin nature in a positional sense through the death and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This in turn sets up the potential for him to experience this deliverance and also provides him a guarantee that he will permanently experience this deliverance at the resurrection of the church.
Romans chapter six teaches that in a “positional” sense all Christians have been delivered from the sin nature through their identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, which was accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit.
However, in Romans 7:24, Paul is speaking of himself in an “experiential” sense rather than a “positional” sense meaning that he is describing himself as not “experiencing” the deliverance, which is his through his union and identification with Christ.
Now, in Romans 7:25, he speaks of his deliverance in a “positional” sense.
By “positional,” I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ since at the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit placed the believer in union with Christ.
When I say “positionally” I am referring to what God has done for the church age believer and His viewpoint of the church age believer meaning He views the believer as He views His Son and does “not” view the believer according to his sins and transgressions and former manner of life prior to salvation.
The Spirit identified him with Christ’s crucifixion (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), His death (Romans 6:2, 7-8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3), His burial (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), His resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12; 3:1) and His session (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1).
When I say that the Spirit “identifies” us with Christ, I mean that at the moment of salvation, the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit causes the believer to become identical and united with Christ and also ascribes to the believer the qualities and characteristics of Christ.
The believer can experience this victory and deliverance by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ (Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17).
As we noted in Romans 7:24, this deliverance from the sin nature is accomplished in three stages.
(1) Positional: At the moment the believer exercised faith alone in Christ alone, he was delivered “positionally” from the sin nature through the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This was accomplished at the moment of salvation through the Baptism of the Spirit when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit placed the believer in an eternal union with Christ.
In other words, the “positional” aspect of the believer’s salvation refers to the past action of God saving us from sin when we trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The believer’s deliverance positionally sets up the “potential” for him to experience this deliverance in time since this deliverance can only be experienced after salvation through obedience to the teaching of the Word of God.
It also guarantees the believer’s ultimate deliverance at the rapture, which is based upon the sovereign decision of God rather than the volition of the believer.
(2) Experiential: After salvation, the believer can “experience” deliverance from the sin nature by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
This constitutes the believer’s spiritual life after being delivered from real spiritual death (2 Cor. 1:6; 7:10; Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Phlp. 2:12; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17; 2 Tim. 2:10; 3:15; Heb. 2:3, 10; 1 Pet. 2:2).
In other words, the “experiential” aspect of salvation is used of the believer’s deliverance from sin in the present moment.
1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
(3) Ultimate: At the resurrection the believer will be delivered “ultimately” and permanently from the sin nature when he receives his resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which is imminent (Rom. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:8-9).
In other words, the “ultimate” aspect of salvation is used of the believer’s future deliverance from sin.
2 Timothy 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Therefore, Paul thanks the Father that the victory over his sin nature has already been accomplished for him through the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and his permanent possession the moment he was declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior (See 1 Corinthians 15:50-58).
Paul also thanks the Father that this deliverance can be experienced in time and that he has been guaranteed this deliverance as well.
Therefore, in a sense Paul is looking forward to the future when he will experience permanently this deliverance when he receives a resurrection body.
In Romans 8:18-25, Paul speaks of suffering with respect to his struggle with the sin nature and also speaks of his ultimate deliverance, which he calls the “redemption of our body.”
Romans 8:18-25, “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. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 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. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”