Romans 8.4b-Christians Experience The Righteous Requirement Of The Law By Submitting To The Spirit
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 21, 2008
Romans: Romans 8:4b-Christians Experience The Righteous Requirement Of The Law By Submitting To The Spirit
Lesson # 245
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 8:1.
Sunday morning we studied Romans 8:4a, which teaches that the Father’s purpose for sacrificing His Son on the Cross was so that the righteous requirement of the Law would be fulfilled in an “experiential” sense in the Christian.
This evening, we will note Romans 8:4b, which teaches that this is fulfilled specifically in those Christians who are not conducting their lives in submission to the sin nature but are conducting their lives in submission to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
“The requirement” is the noun dikaioma (dikaivwma) (dik-ah-yo-mah), which means, “righteous requirement” and refers to perfect obedience, which the Law requires (See Galatians 3:10-12).
“Who do not walk” is composed of the negative particle me (mhv) (may), “not” and the verb peripateo (peripatevw) (per-ee-pat-eh-o), “who do walk.”
The verb peripateo is used in a figurative sense for the believer’s conduct or the manner in which he or she lives their life.
It is used in relation to both the sin nature and the Spirit in order to contrast the Christian conducting his life according to the sin nature with that of the Spirit.
The negative particle me is used to negate the idea of the verb peripateo and denies the idea that the righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled in an experiential sense in those Christians who conduct their lives according to the sin nature.
“According to the flesh” is composed of the preposition kata (katav) (kat-ah), “according to” and the noun sarx (savrc) (sarx), “the flesh.”
In Romans 8:4, the noun sarx refers to the sin nature from the perspective of its location in the Christian, which is how the word was used in Romans 6:19, 7:5, 18, 25 and 8:3.
“According to the Spirit” is composed of the preposition kata (katav) (kat-ah), “according to” and the noun pneuma (pneuma), “the Spirit.”
The noun pneuma refers to the Holy Spirit.
The root meaning of kata is “down,” which in our present context suggests submission to authority.
The preposition kata is employed with the accusative form of the noun sarx, “flesh” and the noun pneuma, “Spirit” denoting conformity or submission to a particular authority.
Therefore, Paul is saying with this preposition that the righteous requirement of the Law is being fulfilled experientially in those Christians who are not conducting their lives “in submission to” the sin nature but “in submission to” the Spirit.
Now, again it is important to understand that it is possible for a Christian to have his life governed by his sin nature in an “experiential” sense.
Evidence that a Christian’s life is being governed by the old sin nature in an experiential sense is that he is out of fellowship with God.
He is grieving, quenching or lying to the Spirit, which is why there are commands in the Word of God prohibiting such sins.
Ephesians 4:30, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit.”
Acts 5:3, “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?’”
The Christian who is not walking by the Spirit is not obeying the voice of the Spirit, which is heard through the communication of the Word of God.
Hebrew 3:7-11, “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS; S I SWORE IN MY WRATH, 'THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’
In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul lists the different manifestations of a Christian being governed by the old sin nature, which indicate he is not walking in submission to the Spirit.
Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The unbeliever perpetually is governed by the Spirit whereas a Christian can immediately stop being governed by the sin nature by confessing his sins to the Father according to 1 John 1:9 and then maintaining that fellowship through obedience to the voice of the Spirit, which is heard in the Word of God.
1 John 1:9, “If any of us does confess our sins, then, He [God the Father] is faithful and just with the result that He forgives us our sins and He purifies us from each and every wrongdoing.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Ephesians 5:18, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
The only way an unbeliever can stop being governed by the sin nature is to accept by faith Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Therefore, Paul is saying in Romans 8:4 to the Christians in Rome that the Father’s purpose for sacrificing His Son on the Cross was so that the righteous requirement of the Law would be fulfilled in Christians experientially.
Specifically, it would be fulfilled in those Christians who are not conducting their lives in submission to the sin nature but rather in submission to the Spirit.
The Scriptures teach that the believer is to walk or live his life on earth by faith in the Word of God and not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Just as the Christian received the Lord Jesus as his Savior by exercising faith in Him for eternal salvation, so after salvation he is to live by the same principle of faith (Compare Ephesians 2:8-9 with Colossians 2:5-7).
In the book of Ephesians, Paul discusses the believer’s conduct quite a bit (Ephesians 4:1-3; 17-5:2).
Like, the apostle Paul, the apostle John also addresses the conduct of believers (1 John 1:5:2-2).
Conducting one’s life in submission to the Spirit not only demands the confession of sin when necessary to be restored to fellowship and maintaining that fellowship by bringing one’s thoughts into obedience to the Spirit but it also demands being sensitive to the voice of the Spirit.
How does one identify the voice of the Spirit?
How can we be sure what we hear is from God?
First, God would never tell you to get involved in any activity or relationship that is inconsistent with the teaching of His Word.
Second, if it conflicts with human viewpoint, it is probably from God.
Third, it would be against God’s divine character and nature to tell you to do anything that gratifies the old Adamic sin nature.
Fourth, if it challenges your faith, it may be designed to build a stronger relationship with Him.
Lastly, if it involves risk, God often times call us to be courageous.
Our fellowship with God is comprised of four-steps: (1) communication, which requires that we listen to God the Holy Spirit, (2) comprehension, which requires that we understand what the Spirit communicates, (3) confidence, which requires that we trust in what the Spirit communicates, and (4) change, which requires that we be transformed by what the Spirit communicates.
Without this process of communication, there simply cannot be any real spiritual change in the life of man.
As a result, God is deeply concerned with how well we listen, when we do listen.