THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORK IN THE BELIEVER
Part 6
Rom. 8:14-16
Morning Meditation 1/10/17
Verse 14-16 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
In our last lesson we learned how the Holy Spirit works with us to mortify the deeds of the body and how as we do that we are living out that eternal life that is within. We have three chief enemies to our new life in Christ, i.e., the world the flesh and the devil. They work in unison, first of all, to keep an unsaved person unsaved. But once you become a believer in Christ, these enemies have lost their ability to affect our destiny. We can thank the Lord and His marvelous grace for that. But the world, the flesh and the devil do not give up. Their next step is to hinder and nullify one’s salvation by making his witness ineffective. If Satan can work on your lust (strong natural desire for whatever), and your love for the things of the world, and draw you back into the realm from which you have been delivered, and soil you so that your testimony is badly damaged, he has effectively kept your influence from being used in reaching the unsaved. We do need a testimony with those outside the family of faith. Paul told Timothy in his First Epistle chapter three and verse seven, “Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” These are words that describe the qualification for the ministry. It is necessary for the leader to be well reported of in any community where he is to minister. It is also necessary for the members of the church to be godly. Our message must be lived out. Christ must be seen in us. Life that cannot be seen as to its essence can be seen mirrored in the life of the believer. This is made possible through the Holy Spirit working with us to put to death the deeds of the body that the life might be seen.
The bold statements that come from some pulpits like, “I don’t care what people think,” are not Scriptural or wise. We do not live right to please men. We allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to manifest the life of Christ that HE MIGHT BE PLEASED WITH US. If He is pleased, we will have a testimony with those who are outside God’s family. There are three areas that I want to look at in this lesson where the Holy Spirit works in us.
HE LEADS. Paul says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The words “as many as” limit what is being said. Not every professing Christian is manifesting his sonship. What does Paul say about the ones who don’t walk AFTER the Spirit. He says, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die . . .” To walk after or according to the flesh is a LIVING DEATH. There are several kinds of death’s spoken of in the Scripture. This death is manifest continually by the unsaved world and in carnal Christians. So Paul says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God . . .” The words “are led” translate “ago” which means “to lead by laying hold of.” It is a present passive indicative verb. This means Paul is addressing their present experience, i.e., those of you who are at present being led by the Spirit of God. The passive voice means that the Spirit of God acts on the believer to lead him. We do not have to cry out in a begging voice, “Oh God please lead me. I need your leadership!” The Holy Spirit indwells us to guide us. When we do not recognize what He is trying to get us to do, He is grieved (Eph. 4:30). Let me repeat. We do not have to beg the Holy Spirit to do His job. He is begging us. It is our decision. It is a choice. Do we want the Holy Spirit’s leadership? Then we have it.
Paul continues, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The words “they are sons” translate the present indicative of the to be verb showing present existence. It is not “they will become.” It is “they are right now.” First John 3:1-2 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” This clearly teaches that we are sons now and that sonship is manifested through being led by the Spirit of God. There is no neutrality in leadership. If we are not being led by the Spirit, we ARE being led by the world, the flesh or the devil.
HE AIDS IN WORSHIP. First, worship is not being entertained and brought to an emotional high in the service of the Church. Worship (are you ready for this) can be experienced by one person in a lifeless church. Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Some questions please. What door is He talking about? He is not talking about the heart’s door. Check it out. He is knocking at the church door. That means He is not in the Laodicean Church. Now I didn’t say that. Jesus says that here. What did He say? Let’s see: “. . . if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.” This means when you are in a dead Laodicean Church, if you have ears to hear, Jesus will be knocking at the door and offering you an opportunity to open the door for Him to come in to you. Then He adds, “I will sup with him, and he with me.” What is supping? I mean when you are sitting across the table from Jesus and sharing a meal with Him, I would call that an experience to talk about! My friend that is worship. That can happen in a cold dead church. So worship is not dependent on the song service or an entertainer in the pulpit. Worship is in spirit.
Paul says, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear . . .” The word “received” translates “lambano” and means “to take with the hand, to lay hold of a person or thing to use it.” It is an aorist active indicative verb. The aorist tense speaks of the point of time of salvation. The active voice means that we made a choice. The word “spirit” is not capitalized which means that the KJV translators believed it was talking about our regenerated human spirit, i.e., the inward man created after God’s image. Our spirit under His control does not manifest “bondage” and “fear.” Sons of God are no longer slaves to the world. We are in the world but not of the world. The world is constantly trying to relieve themselves of the pressures of their slavery. Their happiness is short lived. They go from party to party trying to innoculate themselves against the pain. The sons of God are a delivered people. They are fulfilled in this life and have a sure hope of a future life that is indescribably great.
Paul says, “. . . but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” The words “ye have received” is an aorist active indicative verb. It is the plural you (ye). He is talking to all the professing Christians in the church in Rome. Sonship is not an attainment of the obedient. It is the relationship that every believer has with God. The “Spirit” is capitalized which means that the Holy Spirit is here called “. . . the Spirit of adoption.” We need to note the difference between becoming sons by regeneration which makes us partakers of the divine nature and adoption which refers to our position and privileges on a legal basis. Griffith Thomas says, “One who has been, as it were, taken out of another family and adopted enter thereby into all the rights and privileges of sonship.” —St. Paul’s Epistle to The Romans, p. 215. The verses to follow in this chapter verify this.
The words “. . . whereby we cry, Abba, Father” speak of Spirit aided worship in spirit. Our worship is not after the flesh. Therefore, we do not worship with the aid of idols and images. We worship God in spirit (John 4:24, small s) and in truth. When Jesus was talking to the woman at Jacob’s well, He was contrasting worship in spirit to worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit aids in our worship of God as Father. He is our Father is two ways, i.e., Through regeneration and adoption. Therefore the Holy Spirit enables us to be intimate with God as Father.
The words “we cry” translate “krazo” which means “to croak.” It is used to describe “the cry of a raven.”This word also means “to cry aloud.” The Holy Spirit is enabling this. When we worship we do not have to approach God with fear. We approach Him as a loving Father that welcomes us into His presence. We are invited to come boldly to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). We have by regeneration a nature (divine nature) that matches His and by adoption the legal right (obtained at the cross) to the privileges of a son. Amen. Someone hold my mules!!!
THE SPIRIT TO ASSURE. This truth is brought out in verse 16: “The Spirit itself (Himself) beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” The words “bear witness” translate “summartureo”and means, “to bear witness with, bear joint witness.” We say in spirit “we are the sons of God” and the Holy Spirit says the same. The words “we are” are the first person plural of the to be verb “esmen.” It is present indicative which means that we say we are NOW the children of God and the Spirit bears witness with us that we are. This is not saying He bears witness to others about our salvation. He bears witness to us. That is ASSURANCE. When Bible believing Christians say, “I know I am saved beyond a shadow of a doubt,” it is offensive to the unbelieving professing Christian. The church is filled with people who have absolutely no assurance of salvation. Some of them are saved without assurance and some are unsaved members of the church. This verse definitely teaches that the true believer walking after the Spirit and worshipping in truth and in spirit HAS the ASSURANCE that he is a child of God.
The work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is one of guidance, worship, and assurance. This is His work and He is absolutely obedient to the task He came in our life to fulfill. If we do not have His leadership, we are not listening. If we do not experience true worship, we are not accepting His aid. If we are doubtful of our salvation, we are not listening to the inner witness; Gal. 4:6; 1 John 5:10..
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
