Romans 8.14-The Sons Of God Are Led By The Spirit Of God
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday November 13, 2008
Romans: Romans 8:14-The Sons Of God Are Led By The Spirit Of God
Lesson # 258
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 8:1.
This evening we will study Romans 8:14, and in this passage, Paul teaches that the Sons of God are led by the Spirit of God.
Romans 8:1-14 “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. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh -- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
“For” is the “causal” use of the conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces a statement that presents the “basis” or the “reason” for Paul’s statement in Romans 8:13b.
Therefore, he is saying that the Christian can experience fellowship with God by putting to death the deeds produced by the body by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit “because” or “based upon the fact” that the sons of God, i.e. Christians are led by the Spirit of God.
In contrast, the unbeliever has no capacity whatsoever to experience eternal life and fellowship with God because he does not possess the Spirit and consequently, he cannot be led by the Spirit.
Paul is not saying that a Christian is a son of God because he is led by the Spirit of God since faith alone in Christ is the basis for being a son of God as indicated by the teaching of Galatians 3:26.
Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Rather, in Romans 8:14, he is teaching that when the Christian puts to death the deeds of the body and experiences fellowship with God by exercising faith in the Spirit’s teaching that he is identified with Christ in His death and resurrection, then the Christian will manifest the fact that he is led by the Spirit and a son of God.
Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
“All who” is the relative pronoun hosos (o%so$), which refers to Christians who are being led by the Spirit.
“Are being led” is the verb ago (a&gw) (ag-o), which refers to the Holy Spirit leading the Christian by influencing the Christian so as to cause them to follow the will of God, which is revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.
Paul describes this in Romans 8:5-6, which is in effect, describing how to be filled with the Spirit, which is commanded of the believer in Ephesians 5:18.
Romans 8:5-6, “For you see those who at any time exist in the state of being in submission to the flesh are, as an eternal spiritual truth, preoccupied with the things produced by the flesh. However, those in submission to the Spirit, the things produced by the Spirit. In fact, the mind-set produced by the flesh is, as an eternal spiritual truth temporal spiritual death. However, the mind-set produced by the Spirit is, as an eternal spiritual truth life as well as peace.”
In these verses, Paul describes the filling of the Spirit as the Christian submitting to the Spirit by being preoccupied with the desires of the Spirit, which in turn results in a mind-set or mental attitude produced by the Spirit.
The Christian is commanded to be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18, “And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit.”
Now, in Romans 8:13, Paul taught that by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit, the believer receives the capacity to put to death the deeds of the body.
Romans 8:13, “Because, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument, you, at any time, live in submission to the flesh, then, you will certainly die. However, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit, you, at any time, put to death the actions produced by the body, then, you will certainly cause yourself to live.”
The Spirit empowers and influences the believer through the Word of God to put to death the deeds of the body and specifically, through His teaching in Romans 6:11.
Romans 6:11, “In the same way, also, on the one hand, all of you without exception make it your habit to regard yourselves as dead ones with respect to the sin nature while on the other hand those who are, as an eternal spiritual truth, alive with respect to God the Father, in union with Christ, who is Jesus.”
The Christian who considers himself or herself dead to the sin nature but alive to God will be able to put to death the deeds of the body and manifests that he is being influenced and led by the Spirit.
Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
“By the Spirit of God” is composed of the noun pneuma (pneuma), “the Spirit” and the noun theos (qeov$), “of God.”
The word pneuma functions as a “dative instrumental of means” indicating that the Christian is led “by means of” the Spirit.
Although, an instrumental of means is not conceived as personal but “impersonal” the personality of the Spirit is not being emphasized here but rather He is presented as the instrument that God the Father uses to lead the Christian.
“Sons” is the noun huios (ui(ov$) (hwee-os), which emphasizes the legal aspect of the Christian’s relationship with God and is thus directly related to justification and adoption.
“Of God” is the genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (qeov$), which refers to the Father since the word is used in relation to the huios, “sons.”
The word functions a “genitive of possession” indicating the Father “owns” the Christian in the sense that legally the Christian has been adopted Roman style into the family of God by the Father.
In Romans 8:16, Paul uses the noun teknon, “children,” which emphasizes the Christian’s relationship from the perspective of the spiritual birth.
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.”
Here in Romans 8:14, Paul uses huios since he wants to emphasize with the Christians in Rome that they have been accepted into the family of God in a legal sense through justification and adoption, Roman style.
This is how Paul uses the word in Galatians 3:26.
Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
In Romans 8:15, Paul uses a word related to huios to denote the Christian’s adoption, namely, huiothesia, “adoption as sons.”
Romans 8:15, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Ephesians 1:5, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”
The moment the Christian was declared justified through faith alone in Christ alone, he was adopted Roman style into the royal family of God through the Baptism of the Spirit thus making him an heir of God and spiritual aristocracy.
Roman adoption was the process by which a person was transferred from his natural father’s power into that of his adoptive father.
Under Roman law the adopted son had the same status and privileges as the real son and the real Son is our Lord Jesus Christ.
The New Testament Scriptures teach that the church has been adopted into the royal family of God as adult sons thus conferring upon them all the privileges and responsibilities that go along with this new relationship with God.
The apostle Paul used the Roman style adoption analogy in his epistles to communicate to members of the churches throughout the Roman Empire their new relationship with God the Father that was acquired at the moment of faith in Christ.
Adoption means that the church age believer is spiritual aristocracy now and is intimately related to all three Members of the Trinity.
The adoption of the church age believer means: (1) Privileges as an adult son of God (2) Responsibility to grow to spiritual maturity.