Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons


Romans

Life through the Spirit. 8:12-17

[Seed logo] Introduction
      In dealing with the blessing of the indwelling Spirit of Christ in chapter 8, Paul sets out to show that the doing of righteousness is a work of the Holy Spirit. God's law is realized in the life of a believer through the direct and personal intervention of the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

The passage
      v12. Although our "mortal bodies" are "dead because of sin", yet because "the Spirit of God lives in" us, he will "give life" (enliven - prompt righteous behavior) to the mortal self, cf. 8:9-11. Therefore, we have an obligation to cooperate with the indwelling Spirit of Christ. We are certainly not to subject ourselves to the drives of the old nature - the "old Adam." To be subject to the old nature brings death. To be subject to the Spirit, and cooperate with his leading, is to live to God both now and for eternity.
      v13a. Paul gives us a warning, namely that to cooperate with the leading of the sinful nature is to die eternally. Paul has already established that a believer can end up in such bondage if they place themselves again under the law. The law only prompts our sinful nature, 5:20; it makes us a slave again to sin.
      v13b. Paul now tells us that we must "put to death" (be victorious over) the outworkings of the sinful nature. Only then can we ultimately possess eternal life. We can't help but cry, how?
      v14. In answer, Paul again repeats his thesis. Putting to death the misdeeds of the body is achieved by being "led by the Spirit." It is not a matter of effort applied to the law, but a willing submission to the indwelling Spirit of Christ who, as a work of grace appropriated through faith, will carry out his work of renewal in our lives. Only those led by the Spirit (in whom the Spirit's work is fulfilled) are children of God. Our responsibility is to let the Spirit work. Only then can righteousness be exhibited in our lives.
      v15. In receiving the Spirit, we certainly don't receive a motivating force toward disobedience and rebellion. To live such a life is to live a life of fear before a Holy God. Such fear we once lived in, for then we were slaves to sin - sin prompted and exposed by the law. Yet, now we are adopted, that is, we are united with Christ, become one with him, become his brother. This is a ministry of the Spirit. He is the one who expedites our union with Christ. By resting on the Spirit, we rest on Christ. Therefore, we stand as sons of the living God. It is in and through this self same Spirit of Christ that we can cry out to our loving Father for the strength to defy our sinful nature. It is in a believer's prayer, silently or in spoken voice, privately or publicly, that the Holy Spirit enables us to live for God (live a Christ-like life).
      v16. It is the Spirit who testifies to us that we are God's adopted children. The Spirit assures our psyche that we are children of God. Our adoption into sonship, expedited by the Spirit, produces an assurance of sonship, as it does a sense of the fatherhood of God and a Christ-like life.
      v17. Paul now concludes his argument and begins to move onto the next point, namely, the indwelling Spirit and his gift of hope. The life we live in Christ is maintained and progressed by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. Such a life produces hope. If we are God's children then we are heirs with Christ. That is, we have great expectations - an imperishable glory. "The fact that we are now suffering with him, so far from calling into question the reality of our heirship, is a sure pledge of our being glorified with him hereafter", Cranfield.

The Spirit of the living God
      The indwelling Spirit of Christ, active in the life of a believer, produces the ethical renewal that the law fails to achieve. The great German theologian Carl Barth said of our passage for study, that it provides the key to ethics, it says "in principle", particularly v15b, all that we need to know about ethics. Just as our salvation is all about receiving rather than doing, so our growth in Christ-likeness is similarly all about receiving rather than doing.
        i] Through the Spirit we can start to become the person we are already in Christ, v12-14. Paul encourages his readers to recognize and cooperate with the indwelling Spirit for renewal. Such renewal will bring about an orientation toward righteous living, rather than an orientation toward rebellion. It is not a formula for perfection, but it is the means of progressing toward a Christ-like life. Submission to the law prompts rebellion, while giving ourselves to the leading of the Spirit of Christ brings renewal.
        ii] The Spirit unlocks the power of putting "to death the misdeeds of the body" through the prayer of faith, v15. The theory of the Spirit's leading is one thing, the practice another. The prayer "Abba, Father" is the practical means of allowing the Spirit to lead us in the business of putting "to death the misdeeds of the body." A prayer to the Father for his aid in the journey of life, empowers us for the journey. A prayer to the Father for renewal, renews us, such that we are renewed in the receiving rather than in the doing. We overcome, by grace through faith.

Discussion
      1. How do we put to death the misdeeds of the body?
      2. We know that we are sons of God if we are led by the Spirit, but how do we know that we are led by the Spirit?
      3. What does Paul mean by sharing the sufferings of Christ.


Notes

Textual notes   Abbreviations,   Bibliography
 
      Paul, having stated his thesis in 1:16-17, that the covenant faithfulness of God is appropriated through faith, proceeds in 1:18-2:11 to establish the universality of sin, reminding self-righteous Jewish believers ("the weak", 15:1) that they too are infected by the stain of sin, 2:1-5, the consequence of which is divine condemnation, 2:6-11. Then, in 2:12-29, Paul examines the place of the law in the righteous judgment of God, making the point that those Jewish believers who have retained their standing under the law, even though circumcised, actually break the law and thus face the curse of the law and the "wrath and fury" of God's condemnation. In 3:1-8 Paul answers two objections to his rather negative view of the standing of Jewish believers under the law, namely, that he devalues the covenant/law and that he promotes libertarianism. Then, in 3:9-20, Paul drives home his conclusion, namely that the human condition of universal sin and its consequence is not avoided by submission to the law, for the law only serves to make sin more sinful. In 3:21-30 Paul draws a conclusion from his argument so far. When it comes to the covenant faithfulness of God, whether in judgment or vindication, there is no "distinction" between a person under the law, or a person outside the law. All have sinned and stand condemned, and all who believe are justified, and this because they rest, not on their own faithfulness, but the faithfulness of Christ - his "sacrifice of atonement." So, for believing Jews, like Paul, there is no ground for "boasting" about their faithfulness under the law, for a person is judged in the right with God ("justified") by faith and not by obedience. From 3:31 to 4:25, Paul explains, with reference to the life of Abraham, how his gospel of right-standing in the sight of God by faith does not "nullify" the law, rather, it "fulfills" the law; faith "fulfills / completes" the justification to which the law of Moses pointed. Then in 5:1-11 Paul draws together the consequence of his argument so far, namely, a believer's "reconciliation with God."
      Having dealt with the business of justification, of right-standing before God, Paul, in 5:12-8:39 examines the business of living right before God, of possessing the fullness of life which belongs to those who are in Christ. In 5:12-21 Paul explains how Christ's saving death has brought eternal life to all humanity by overcoming the curse of Adam's sin and then in 6:1-23 he explains how "newness of life", right-living before God, apart from the law, is expressed in the life of a believer as a natural consequence of their right-standing before God. In 7:1-25, Paul examines the place of the law in the Christian life. First, in v1-6, he explains that a Christian is no longer "under the law", is "discharged from the law", has "died to the law." Then in v7-12 he "deals with a possible misunderstanding by repudiating the suggestion that the law is sin, asserting that, far from being sin, it is that which makes him recognize sin", Cranfield. In v13-25 he goes on to answer the question, "did that which is good (the law) become death to me?" That is, is the law responsible for our death? The answer is, sin is responsible for our death; the law serves only to highlight our sinful state. Paul then illustrates this condition in v14ff.
      In chapter 8 Paul now explains that the justified believer, apart from the law, is being shaped into the perfection of Christ through the indwelling compelling of the Spirit. Paul begins, in v1-4, by restating the truth that in Christ Jesus, through his death on our behalf, we are free from the condemnation of sin and free from the oppression of the law and thus are free to live for God. Therefore, v5-11, the believer is faced with two alternatives in the Christian life, a natural alternative and a spiritual alternative. We may strive to fulfill the law and find ourselves controlled by sin, or we may rest in faith on the renewal of the Spirit and find ourselves beginning to live out the righteousness we posses in Christ. In v12-17, our passage for study, Paul explains what it means to be led by the Spirit in the Christian life.

v12
      afeiletai (hV ou) "an obligation" - [we are] debtors, someone who owes something to someone. Followed by the dative "[not] to the flesh." The obligation here is toward God, to orientate our lives toward the Spirit's leading, not the leading of the selfish self, cf. 1:14, Gal.5:3. "We have a duty", Moffatt.
      zhn (zaw) pres. inf. "to live [according to it]" - to live [according to the flesh]. To set the direction of our life, to orientate our life toward self rather than the Spirit. Note the grammatical form of the Infinitive with tou, probably used here to form an explicative (epexegetic) clause, ie. a clause that serves to explain the meaning of the main verb, here the verbal phrase "we have an obligation." Cranfield suggests it could also form a consecutive clause, noting the consequence of having no obligation to the flesh, namely, not living according to it. "We must not live to satisfy our desires", CEV.

v13
      ei + ind. "if" - Conditional sentence 1st class where the stated condition is assumed true for argument's sake.
      apoqnhskein (apoqnhskw) inf. "[you will] die" - [you are about] to die. Complementary infinitive.
      pneumati (a atoV) "by the Spirit" - by spirit. Instrumental dative. The Spirit is the instrument by which God overcomes the flesh through the faith of the believer.
      qanatoute (qanatow) pres. "put to death" - put to death. The idea is of subduing selfish desire, certainly not by pious rigors, but by resting on the Spirit through faith. A continuous sense of this "resting" is intended by the use of the present tense, rather than a single spiritual assault on the sinful self. "You (continue to) cut the nerve of your instinctive actions", Phillips.
      praxeiV (iV ewV) "misdeeds" - practices... possibly: intrigues, treacheries. "If by the help of the Spirit you put to death the life your animal instincts make you want to live", Barclay.
      swmatoV (a atoV) "body" - body. Here with the same meaning as "flesh", the selfish self. Of course, the word does not always have a negative connotation. The context dictates.
      zhsesqe (zaw) fut. "you will live" - you will live. If Paul has in mind spiritual death in the first part of the verse, has he in mind spiritual life in the second part of the verse, ie. a life lived for God? Cranfield opts here for "eternal life."

v14
      oJsoV gar "Those who" - for as many as. The "for" indicates that this verse serves to explain 13b. The "as many as" are those who put to death the misdeeds of the body, and this because they are "led by the Spirit."
      agontai (agw) pres. pas. "led" - are driven, led, brought. Here the passive underlines the controlling influence of the Spirit over the selfish self, by grace through faith. "The sons of God are those who are led by God's Spirit", Bruce.
      uiJoi qeou "sons of God" - Possibly explaining "will live", v13b. Eternal life involves divine sonship.

v15
      Barth says that v15b says "in principle" all that is necessary about ethics. The business of avoiding what is contrary to God's will and striving toward behavior that is pleasing to him, is accomplished in the child of God by the indwelling Spirit as a work of grace appropriated through faith, a faith that approaches God in prayer, that cries out "my Father" and looks to the Father to complete his work of renewal.
      gar "for" - Indicating that v15 and16 are a clarification of v14.
      elabete (lambanw) aor. "receive" - you took, received. "The Holy Spirit whom they have received is not a Spirit of bondage but a Spirit of adoption", Cranfield.
      douleiaV (a) "slave" - slavery, servitude. Most likely a bondage to the law.
      fobon (oV) "fear" - fear, terror. Here probably "anxiety." Servitude to the law promotes "anxiety".
      uiJoqesiaV (a) "who makes you sons" - of sonship, adoption. "You have received a Spirit of adoption, a Spirit who gives you the freedom of sonship." The word has its origin in the secular world where adoption was a legal practice, but the notion of an outsider being included in the family was not foreign to Jews. "The Spirit of adoption", NJB.
      en wJ krazomen (krazw) "by him we cry" - in which we cry out aloud, shriek. The crying out may be the cry of spiritual ecstasy, but more likely it is the cry of prayer. The thought here is either linked to v15 or v16 and this will be indicated by the position of the full stop - either after "adoption" ("makes you sons") or after "Father." The NIV has it both ways. Cranfield argues that crying "Abba Father" is likely to be the consequence of the gift of the Spirit and therefore the phrase is linked to what precedes rather than what follows.
      Abba "Abba" - my father. A use, other than the vocative, is rare. Originally "daddy", but by the first century the term was no longer childlike. Jesus uses the term to emphasize the filial relationship he possesses with God the Father, while simultaneously including believers in this relationship through identification with him.
      oJ pathr "Father" - The word is added to either emphasize "abba" or to translate it.

v16
      summarturei (summarturew) pres. "testifies [with our spirit]" - joins in giving evidence, bears witness [with / to our spirit]. "The spirit" is dative and therefore it is more natural to translate the phrase "testifies to our spirit", rather than "with", as if our spiritual abilities share in the task of knowing the unknowable, ie. the knowledge of sonship is revealed, not deducted. Barrett links the Spirit's testifying with "cry 'Abba Father'" - "The Spirit himself in this way bears witness..." Cranfield links the testimony with "adoption" ("makes you sons"). Only as a work of grace is it possible to know that we are God's sons and it is the Spirit who reveals this knowledge to us, who "testifies to us."

v17
      klhronomoi (oV) "heirs" - heirs. Cranfield makes the point that "heirs of God" here should not be confused with heirship in Romans 4 and Galatians 3-4. For example, in Romans 4 believers are heirs of the promise to Abraham. Since God does not die, a believer is not an heir in the sense of inheriting the property of a dead parent, but because of our adoption as sons we do inherit, certainly God's blessings, but even in a sense his own being, his glory, his divinity. "If we are children of God then we are heirs of all the promises of God", Barclay; or possibly the stronger, "if we are his (God's) children we share his treasures", Phillips.
      sugklhronomoi (oV) "co-heirs" - fellow heirs, co-heirs. Our sonship and therefore, our heirship depends on our identification with Christ. "All that Christ claims as his will belong to all of us as well", Phillips.
      eiper "if indeed" - seeing that. An emphatic "if". The English implies a condition, ie. if we suffer we will share glory, but the verse is only restating a fact. "The fact that we are now suffering with Him, so far from calling the reality of our heirship in question, is a pledge of our being glorified with Him hereafter", Cranfield.
      sumpascomen (sunpascw) pres. "we share in his suffering" - we suffer together with. The suffering is normally understood as sharing the daily troubles of a child of God as evidenced in the life of Christ (although without any redemptive effect), yet it is hard to see how such suffering has any bearing on sharing glory, or in any way serves as "a pledge of our being glorified ...." It is more likely that identification with Christ's suffering is intended, which identification guarantees our glory. This being the case, the present tense is durative where the identification began in the past and continues into the present; "we share his sufferings", Moffatt.
      iJna + subj. "in order that" - that. Possibly expressing purpose, "we share in Christ's sufferings in order that we may share in his glory, although a consecutive (consequence / result) sense is more likely. Our identification with Christ's suffering guarantees our place with him in glory. "We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him", CEV.
      sundoxasqwmen (sundoxazw) aor. pas. subj. "we may share in his glory" - we may be glorified together with. The glory is the glory of the final consummation of all things, Gaugler. "So that we may also be glorified with him", NAB.


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