Romans 8.11-The Spirit Who Raised Jesus Will Give Life To The Christian's Body
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday November 6, 2008
Romans: Romans 8:11-The Spirit Who Raised Jesus Will Give Life To The Christian’s Body
Lesson # 254
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 8:1.
This evening we will study Romans 8:11 and in this passage, Paul teaches that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to the Christian’s mortal body.
Romans 8:1-11, “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. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But 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.”
“But” is the “adversative” use of the conjunction de (deV) (deh), which introduces a statement that is in contrast with the apodasis of Romans 8:10, which teaches that on one hand, the Christian’s body is dead due to the sin nature but on the other hand, the Spirit is life in the Christian because of imputed righteousness.
The conjunction de in Romans 8:11 is presenting a statement that is specifically in contrast with the affirmative statement in the correlative clause that the Christian’s body is subject to physical death because of the indwelling sin nature.
This is indicated in that Paul’s statement in Romans 8:11 teaches that the Christian will receive a resurrection through the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit just as Jesus Christ did.
“If” is the conditional particle ei (ei)) (i), which introduces a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
As we noted many times in our study of the book of Romans, the idea behind the first class condition is not “since” but rather, “if-and let us assume for the sake of argument, then...”
This would encourage Paul’s audience to respond and come to the conclusion of the apodosis since they already agreed with him on the protasis.
Therefore, Paul is employing the first class condition as a tool of persuasion with his audience.
Here, in Romans 8:11, the protasis is “if and let assume that it is true for the sake argument the Spirit who proceeded from the Father and who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (Christians in Rome).”
The apodasis is “(then) the Father who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to the Christian’s mortal body through His Spirit who permanently indwells the Christian.”
The basic relation that the protasis has to the apodasis is “evidence-inference.”
The “evidence” is that the Spirit who proceeded from the Father and who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in Paul’s Christian audience.”
The “inference” is that the Father who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to the Christian’s mortal body through His Spirit who indwells the Christian.
He is not attempting to prove that his protasis is true rather he is saying with the first class condition that we agree that this doctrine is true that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in them!
The first class condition would then persuade them to respond to the conclusion found in the apodasis that the Father who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to the Christian’s mortal body through His Spirit who indwells the Christian.
Therefore, Paul’s audience would have to come to his conclusion if they submit to this line of argumentation.
He wants them to come to his line of argumentation because he is teaching them about experiencing sanctification.
Therefore, it is essential that they agree with him on this point since it will help to motivate them to experience sanctification through the power of the Spirit and give them assurance that they will be permanently delivered from the old Adamic sin nature.
Romans 8:11, “But 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.”
“Who raised” is the verb egeiro (e)geivrw) (eg-i-ro), which means, “to raise from physical death” and is used of the Father raising His Son from the dead.
The omnipotence of God the Father raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21).
In Romans 8:11, this articular participle form of the verb egeiro functions, as a “genitive of source” indicating that the Spirit “originates” or “proceeds from” the Father, which is supported by several other passages.
In Romans 8:9 we noted several passages, which teach that the Spirit proceeds from the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, in Romans 8:11, Paul is emphasizing that the Spirit proceeds from the Father (John 14:17-17, 26; 15:26-27).
Romans 8:11, “But 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.”
“Dwells” is the verb oikeo (oi)kevw) (oy-keh-o), which is used of the “indwelling” of the Holy Spirit in the soul of the Christian.
All three members of the Trinity dwell in the Christian and specifically in their souls and so in a sense because the soul is in the body, the Trinity indwells the body of every Christian.
However, when the Christian dies physically, the Trinity still indwells the Christian because the Trinity actually dwells in the soul of every Christian and not the Christian’s physical body.
“Will give life to” is the verb zoopoieo (zw|opoievw) (dzo-op-oy-eh-o), which is used with reference to the Father “giving life” to the believer’s body through the exercise of the omnipotence of the Spirit, which will take place at the resurrection of the church.
John 5:21, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.”
The same power that raised the humanity of Christ from the dead will raise every Church Age believer from the dead at the Rapture (Rom. 8:11).
This statement by Paul in Romans 8:11 is connected to his rhetorical statement in Romans 7:24, which he answers in Romans 7:25.
Romans 7:24-25a, “A wretched person, I myself always am! Who will deliver me from this body, which produces temporal spiritual death? Thank God (the Father) through Jesus who is the Christ, who is our Lord!”
Now, here in Romans 8:11, Paul teaches that the Father will give life to the Christian’s body through the omnipotence of the Spirit.
Paul teaches in Romans 6 that this permanent deliverance of the Christian from his sin nature at the rapture of the church is the result of the Christian being identified with Christ in His resurrection.
This was accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit the moment the Christian trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
This will complete the Christian’s deliverance from the sin nature, which is spoken of by Paul in Romans chapter six (Romans 6:5, 8-10).
Romans 8:11, “But 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.”
“Through His Spirit” indicates that the Spirit is the personal intermediate agency, which the Father will employ to give life to the mortal body of the Christian at the resurrection of the church.
“Who dwells” is the verb enoikeo (e)noikevw) (en-oy-keh-o), which is slightly different in meaning than the verb oikeo in that it not only denotes dwelling in a particular place but also possessing that place and being permanently settled in it.
In Romans 8:11, the verb is used of the “permanent indwelling” of the Holy Spirit in the body of the Christian or His “permanent residence” and as a result “possesses” the soul of the Christian.
In Romans 8:11, Paul is teaching his Christian readers in Rome that they will be the recipients of the Spirit’s omnipotence at the rapture of the church when they will receive their resurrection bodies.