Series on Romans
X The Gospel and Insight
Text: 8:1-11
Introduction
Thus far in Romans we have seen the desperate need of a world broken by sin and the dreadful condition of mankind. We have seen the glorious provision of salvation through the free gift of the righteousness of God displayed in Jesus Christ, and we have seen that those who receive this glorious salvation cannot receive it lightly or carelessly, but must follow Jesus in His death and resurrection and join in the battle against sin. Now in Romans 8 the Apostle gives us the certainty of victory. This is one of the best known passages of Scripture because it is a celebration of the height, breadth and permanence of our common salvation. In these opening verses 1-11, we see Paul’s emphasis on the trinitarian nature of our salvation. As in all his letters he is giving glory to the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In spite of all the attention given by Paul to the historic work of Jesus,he never lets us forget that the fullness of the Triune God’s glory, power, and blessing has been revealed in the gospel and is applied to us who believe. Thus we see here our salvation accomplished by the Son, applied by the Spirit, and consummated by the Father. So we are redeemed by the Son, rescued by the Spirit, and restored by the Father.
I Redeemed by the Son
The work of God, the Son, is laid out for us in verses 1-4, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. God’s plan for saving us was formulated in eternity past, and it was the plan that the second person of the Trinity should carry it out in history. He is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world and he was designated the Savior before time began. And long before he came David wrote the prophetic words of Psalm 110:1 and 2, The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies. Here the Father speaks to the Son and promises His resurrection victory over sin and death as we are clearly told in Acts 2:34 in Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost. These words are also so quoted and interpreted for us in Hebrews 1:13. He came as He said to seek and save that which was lost. He brought the law of the Spirit of life which is the law of deliverance from the guilt, the penalty, and the power of sin. He freed us from the law of sin and death and as Paul says in verse 3, For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. As a result the righteous requirements of the law which we had no hope of fulfilling are fully met for us who believe and in us by Jesus Christ.
II Rescued by the Spirit
We are introduced to the role of the Spirit of God in our salvation in verses 5-9, Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Paul has already introduced the Spirit at the end of verse 4 in words stating that believers, do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Your mind is another way of referring to the inner you which may also be called your spirit or your heart in other contexts. One conventional way of referring to the state of saving faith in an individual is to say that Christ is in their heart. What we mean is that the triune God has come to dwell with them. Jesus told his disciples in John 14:15-17, If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth, and in 15:4 He said, Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Furthermore we read in I John 4:15, If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. It is the Spirit of God by way of eminence who is chiefly referred to as abiding in us but this means the Triune God is with us and in us. It is the work especially of the Holy Spirit to change us and inhabit us. The change that he brings is change of heart whereby we love God and love His law, but we are not thereby delivered from the insidious corrupted nature with which we were born. Thus we are potentially of two minds. The Apostle leaves no doubt as to which is the controlling one in true believers because as John Murray says, “To mind the things of the Spirit is to have the things of the Holy Spirit as the absorbing objects of thought, interest, affection, and purpose.” Thus, Paul is speaking of our orientation in life. Yes we struggle, and yes we an say as Paul did in 7:15, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do, but though we struggle, our basic orientation as Christians is the mind of the Spirit while the basic orientation of unbelief is the mind of the flesh. The Spirit has rescued us, Christ has redeemed us, and now we see also that God the Father will restore us.
III Restored by the Father
The work of the Father in this Trinitarian plan of salvation is set forth in verses 10 and 11, But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. “He who raised Christ from the dead” is obviously an allusion to God the Father. Here Paul is hearkening back to his reference near the end of chapter 7 in verses 24 and 25, What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! There he is pointing to our resurrection and glorification when we shall be raised as Jesus was raised, and we shall be forever confirmed in holiness and delivered from all sin and all the effects of sin. Paul returns to this truth again in chapter 8:30 where he is talking about the order of God’s saving acts in our lives and he takes us from the beginning to the end, And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. We are now prepared to face the obligations of gratitude that Paul lays before us rejoicing in the fact that the Triune God has prepared, facilitated, and guaranteed our ultimate success.
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