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Life in the Spirit
INTRODUCTION
Today’s lesson looks at how the ‘life of Christ’ is made available to us, so that we can live in the real world, overcoming in the constant struggles that ensue, when a converted person tries to live a life that is pleasing to God.
There is an extensive lead-in to our lesson in the intro of the supplement where Paul makes some arguments and sets out the premises for today’s lesson from chapter 8.
When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, there is a radical change, a new behavior, manifested righteousness, or that it is how it should be. The person has been justified, is declared righteous and introduced into the unimaginable privileges of true believers, with joy and peace
Some would like to minimize the changes that come with true faith in Jesus, wanting to play down the requirement of righteousness or obedience to the commands of God, wanting to continue sinning as they did when they were unbelievers, preferring only to talk about Grace.
Others do speak of righteousness and holiness, emphasizing what human effort can do, multiplying rules and regulations, preferring to avoid dependence on, or recognition of divine enabling.
The Apostle Paul however, makes it abundantly clear that God requires righteousness from all those who have been justified by faith. He tells us that it is a fact that those who have faith in Christ had died to sin, and it is impossible for them to continue to live in sin. They must present their bodies to God as instruments of righteousness, and can no longer present their bodies to sin, using the body as instruments to sin.
Those who have been justified must realize that there can be no secret love for our sins. Those who come to Christ must accept God's verdict on the things of the flesh, calling them by the right names that he has designated, namely, lying, hate, selfishness, lost, greed, immorality, disobedience, and so on.
God wants those who come to him to be honest with themselves, to understand the sinful nature that we have in Adam, looking behind the acts that we do as carnal people, to the corrupt fountain that keeps on pouring out sin. This corrupted spring, namely, our sinful nature, must be recognized and dealt with. If that is not done there will only be a false consecration to the things of God.
It is widely known that the only way to become different is for a cure to be applied to the very basis of our being, and that is what faith in Christ brings about, for we are then made into something different. Paul insists that we must know and believe that we are no different, and we accordingly must begin to act in a different way.
The Apostle recognizes that we are in the midst of a battle, and that we face struggles continually. Though we know we have been forgiven, we often find ourselves continuing in sin and failure, with sin deceiving us and frustrating us, even though we are sure that we are true believers.
Paul tells us that when he tries to keep the law, he finds himself in the midst of an intense struggle, where he does things that he should not do.
He finds that not only has he inherited a human body from Adam, but he has also inherited a principle of sin from Adam. Satan sends ‘fiery darts’, immoral unworthy thoughts, hostile and bitter attitudes that come into mind when they are not welcome or expected. Paul knows that the Law of God is good, valuable, holy and righteous. He agrees with the Law of God, but the sin that is in his flesh takes hold of him, and continues making him a slave to sin, even though he does not want to be a slave of sin.
This is agonizing and frustrating, for he served God with his mind, but at the same time he served the Law of sin with his flesh. He considers the sins he commits while he is a Christian, and then he examines who would enable him to be righteous, delivering him from his sins.
Paul warns us that the struggle goes on, but now tells us that we should reject any false idea of Christianity, ideas that suggests this struggle is not going to be there in the life of the believer. Accordingly believers should not get resentful or angry with God, or feel that they are any less valuable to God.
He teaches that what we need is a new self-image, a new conception of what we really are in Christ.
We must face up to reality and toss out misconceptions such as trying to live like Christ, trying to be Christ- like, praying for Christ to give us the power to live a life like his, but instead to realize that success and victory only comes when Christ indwells us, living his life again through us.
We will now learn that there is an active agent, a motivating force, which takes this ‘life of Christ’ and makes it available to us. This is the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is He who faces the sinful nature, the flesh, the motivating force, which makes the life of Adam available to us.
We are therefore taught that if we are in Christ, we are also in the Spirit. Care should be taken not to misunderstand the teaching of Scripture. Let us never trivialize the Holy Spirit, and his incredible work. The Spirit and Jesus Christ belong together. The Holy Spirit has the job of making Jesus real. So the Apostle teaches that when we say we are in Christ, it means that we are also in the Spirit.
Today we will also look at what Christian maturity means, and what being in Christ and in the Spirit actually means. We will then more fully understand what our new identity in Christ really involves.
As our lesson opens we move from the reality of this struggle, the storms and pressures that are dangerous for us, that make us well aware of our inadequacies and our failures
Now that we are justified and reconciled, why would he not want to do whatever was necessary to assure us that he would save us, and give us life, to finish the great work that he has started in us?
Romans eight takes us along the path which teaches us that God wants us to live a life of confidence and certainty. We are told about the provisions that God the Father has made to guarantee the deliverance and sanctification of all true believers.
We will see that the Holy Spirit has been provided by the Father to enable us to escape from condemnation, and to fulfill the Law.
He stresses that it is absolutely necessary to walk in the Spirit, for only by walking in the Spirit will we please God.
There can be no walking in the flesh, and he explains why this walking in the flesh cannot please God.
He then gives us some practical applications of his teachings.
THE TEXTVerse 1. One writer calls this verse as taking the believer from Agony to Ecstasy. Certainly, Paul is extremely grateful that God not only saves, but sanctifies. This verse consoles the people of God and gives them strong confidence and peace.
The privilege of a true Christian is now laid out.
Note that the Apostle does not say that there is no accusation against the believer that is not absolutely true. Neither does he say that the believer does not deserve condemnation. He definitely does not say that there is no chastening or affliction that might reach them when God is displeased with their behavior.
He does insist clearly that there is no condemnation to them. They are not condemned with the world, but as they are in union with Christ, they are secure. Christ is their refuge, their high tower, and the ‘avenger of blood’ will never come near to them.
‘No condemnation’ means that God does not reject those who he has justified, he will not turn aside from them, nor keep them out of his family. The late Vernon McGee stated why: “Do you know the difference between the son in that pigpen and the pig? The difference is that no pig has ever said to himself, “I will arise and go to my father.”
No condemnation means God is not angry with us when we are tempted and through our weakness, we give way. It means that God will never punish us except to get us out and keep us out of the traps that the believer has gotten into because sin has deceived and overpowered him.
Disobedient sons are indeed punished, but they are still not condemned.
What God condemn is sin, not his people. So God condemned sin in the flesh, for that was the stronghold of sin. God is well pleased with his people, we are told.
Note that the reason for ‘no condemnation’ is only because the person is in, or is positioned in Christ. Jesus was condemned and bore the condemnation we justly deserved. But now he is no longer condemned. Since we are in him, neither are we condemned.
It is our privilege as well as our duty, in view of the fact that all our past, present, and future sins have been forgiven because of Calvary, to come to grips with the fact that we have been delivered from the penalty of sin, as well as been delivered from its power. One writer states: “ What was impossible for the Law in the face of the power of sin and death and the weakness of human flesh, God has accomplished in Christ. Those who have received the Spirit of Christ have received a completely other ‘ base of operations’ than simply the flesh. It is from this base that they must live and act.”
Verse 2. There is a Law of sin and death. Men have always been told that once sin came into the world there would be death. There is no escaping. Sin brings defilement to body and spirit and its power brings destruction. Sin is a ruthless tyrant that because of Adam's transgression put everyone in bondage. It subjugates the entire person and brings about a long catalog of the works of the flesh, such as sexual immorality, drunkenness, hatred, jealously, anger, quarrels, envy, rebellion against God, and many vices.
Both the flesh and the spirit of man have been captured in sin’s clutches. Those who sow in the flesh will reap corruption. Those in sin accelerate their descent into error and futility and are given over to a foolish and depraved mind.
The Law of sin makes the self move away from God, and they are in every respect slaves to sin.
In opposition to this irreversible and unchangeable relationship between sin and death, is what Paul calls the Law of the Spirit of life, which really is what God applies to a person who has faith in Christ. Now there comes an irreversible and unchangeable change that God does with this person, cutting them off from sin, making that person a new creature, baptizing them into Christ in every single respect , marrying that person to Christ, so that they are now a completely different person. This person is no longer deceived and overpowered by sin.
Note herein lies the problem for believers, for often they have a wrong view of themselves, and as it were, they are under a delusion.
Believers often do not realize this truth, that they have been set free, married to Christ, their human spirit indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and now it cannot sin and does not sin (1John3:9). Of course the Holy Spirit indwells the entire person and the now quickened spirit of man and the Holy Spirit struggles with the flesh, where sin is still resident. The individual acts of sin in the flesh do not mean that the Law of sin and death is still in control. It is still there but it does not control the believer, for this new law is stronger than the Law of sin and death.
Believers should stop believing that they are the same as they were in Adam. They must realize that they are in Christ. Sin has no dominion over the believer, and even though inevitably he does sin, the believer is in fact freed from the dominion of sin. Accordingly, the forgiveness of God and the righteousness of Christ is always and forever right there for us.
We must begin to live in this new image of ourselves.
Verse 3. Paul continues to explain that the Law was never intended to produce righteousness, for it had no power to do that. The law of God was given to reveal God's character, and was aimed at sinful flesh. Men of flesh would have to be transformed by the work of the cross and the work of the Spirit.
The Law could guide these men along the path away from evil, teach, present ‘fleshly’ men with the standard that God wanted them to observe but it could not defeat sin in the flesh. What it did do was to stir up the power of sin, showing men that they were wrong and that they were weak and no matter what they did under their own power they would only keep on failing. That was why blood sacrifices had to be constantly offered to atone for sins.
Jesus, in order to defeat sin, had to come in the likeness of the flesh that was sinful, thus identifying himself with sinful humanity who were bound by sin. He was perfectly holy, not sinful, undefiled but he had to go through the rituals of circumcisions, baptism and other elements in the covenant, though he was not sinful, for in each he had to recognize the existence of sinful flesh around him and be like them.
Paul makes it clear that though Jesus' body was subject to infirmities, there was no sin in him. He came in the ‘likeness’ of sinful flesh.
Paul could not say that Jesus came in ‘sinful flesh’, because he was sinless. Neither did Paul say that he came in the ‘likeness of flesh’, for Jesus was very human, not just ‘like’ a human.
He had a body of flesh without sin and he could therefore become sin, being offered as an offering for sin. Jesus bore the condemnation we deserved and sin was condemned in the flesh.
Verse 4. When we have faith in Jesus, we are involved in the death of Jesus. The Law that was breached by our sins has been met and satisfied by the perfect and complete righteousness of Christ. He thereby answered all the demands of the Law. His righteous obedience to all that the Law commanded was demonstrated.
Though true believers are in Christ, Paul is careful to say not that they fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law, but that since Jesus took on our sins, they can be treated as righteous, and Paul could observe that the righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled in us.
But he quickly adds that this applies obviously and logically only to those whose life is marked by obedience to the Holy Spirit, and not by obedience to the flesh. In believers, the Spirit must rule over the flesh.
Obviously then the meeting of the righteous standard of the Law can be achieved in the power of the Spirit, not in the power of the flesh. Only by divine enabling will the work of God be done.
The prophet Zechariah had stated this long before in chapter 4 of his book. God had told him: “ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” saith the Lord of Hosts”.
Verse 5. Now the Apostle shows us how we can meet the test of character and he explains this truth that the work of God cannot be done by means of the flesh but by his Spirit. So we can see how to please God.
Paul begins to focus on our mindset, for this is how we can determine, if we are walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh. So we can start by asking ourselves the question, Where is our mind? The importance of not minding the things of the flesh, but instead minding the things of the Spirit is illustrated over and over again in Scripture.
When there is this intrusion of the old life, the surfacing of hidden perversities inside us for which we often make clever excuses, there is a risk we might stumble from crisis to crisis, going from one consecration meeting to another, experiencing the cycle of confession, release and victory, and then baffling failures. This is a surfacing of carnality, and we must understand that there is this Law of sin and death which Satan uses through the flesh to tempt us and to trap us. This is always there, but that is not really the problem for us.
God uses temptation to teach us how to refuse evil and to choose the good. We learn through this experience that our best efforts cannot please God, for the flesh is not only sinful but also helpless, incapable of pleasing God, no matter how much we want to please Him.
Peter had this problem in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus acknowledged that his spirit was willing but his flesh was weak. The flesh showed up when it was not wanted.
Abraham also couldn't wait for God to fulfill his promise of a son that would be his heir, but with the best of motives, undeniably desiring to do the will of God, he tried to help God to fulfill his will, taking Hagar for his wife and almost destroying his house. This set in motion a chain of events from which we are still suffering.
Moses also tried to deliver Israel after he was trained by the Egyptians, because he felt qualified to be the deliverer of Israel without the help of God. But he had to run away from Pharaoh as a murderer instead of a deliverer.
The deliverance is in Christ. When we exchange the life of Adam for the life of Christ, we understand that it is the indwelling life of Christ that is to control us and that we should live in the fullness of the Spirit. When we allow the things of the flesh to intrude, and when our minds are set on them, we bring death into our lives.
Setting our minds on the things of the Spirit does not mean that we that we are heavenly minded and no earthly good. One writer explains what this phrase means as follows: “ I think that many people get a very false idea of what this means. They think that when it says to “set your mind on the things of the Spirit”, it must mean that you go around thinking holy thoughts about God, and meditating on Bible verses all day long, or thinking of heaven all the time. And they think ‘ they things of the flesh’ are your business life, the dirty dishes in the sink that need to be washed, the routine of life, the pleasure in which you are engaged, and so on. We seem to think that Christians who “walk in the Spirit” are those holy men and women, remote from life, who are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use, but this is entirely wrong --nothing could be further from the truth. If you’ve got the idea that, when you become a Christian, you must put your mind on the shelf, and your social life in closet, and become a “Holy Joe” or a “Pious Peter”, you have missed the point completely because that is not what it is. No, “the things of the Spirit” include the whole range of life, the entire spectrum, with all its changing color, and the fascinating mystery of life: These are the things of the Spirit. Thus, it involves food and drink, clothing and music, life and art, politics and science, --all of life! As Paul says to the Corinthians, “ All things are yours” (1 Corinthians 3:21 KJV), “ and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's,” (1 Corinthians 3:23 KJV). So all of life is involved in this-- in the things of the Spirit-- and Christians make a great mistake in thinking that it is a limited, narrow, rigidly defined area that we are concerned with in the Spirit. Now, “the things of the flesh” cover the same range; it covers all of life. If you are concerned about living today, you are involved in all of these things-- food, music, clothing, literature, art, politics, business, marriage-- all of it. And these are included in “ the things of the flesh”, but from a different approach. In other words, the difference between the “things of the flesh” and “ things of the Spirit” is not a different kind of thing, but it is the different attitude with which you come to them. It is a different approach, a different sense of values.”
It is important to realize that our obedience to Scripture in total, how we relate to things as instructed by the Bible, how we treat people and how we view them, in other words how we walk, shows whether we're walking according to the flesh or according to the Spirit.
Verse 6. There is a massive difference between the two kinds of mental positions. There are two possibilities and a person can expect completely different results from the two different positions.
When people bows their knee to God and has faith in his Son, they are united with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection and then the Spirit of God resides in them and gives life to their spirit.
Life comes and brings with it, assurance, security, acceptance, a sense of fulfillment, vitality, well-being, peace and the knowledge that one has the ability to cope with life. One writer states that there is: “ unspeakable excellency and comfort of Spirit mindedness” and “ Spirit mindedness is eternal life and peace begun, and an assuring earnest of the perfection of it.”
On the other hand choosing the way of the flesh means death. Death brings fear, guilt, hostility, and emptiness. Fear shows up as worry, anxiety, dread, or timidity while guilt makes one feel ashamed, self-hate, and pretending that one is what they're not before people. The hostility in one creates hate for others, resentment, cruelty, vengefulness, and bitterness toward people. With the emptiness comes depression, despair, meaninglessness to life and loneliness. One writer describes death: “ It is spiritual death, the certain way to eternal death. It is death of the soul; for it is alienation from God, in union and communion with whom the life of the soul consists. A carnal soul is a dead soul, dead as a soul can die. She that liveth in pleasure is dead (1 Timothy 5:6), not only dead in the law as guilty, but dead in state as carnal. Death includes all misery; carnal soul is our miserably souls. But to be spiritually minded-- a spiritual savour (the wisdom that is from above, a principle of grace) is life and peace; it is the felicity and happiness of the soul. The life of the soul consists in its union with spiritual things by the mind. A sanctified soul is a living soul, and that life is peace; it is a very comfortable life. All the paths of spiritually wisdom are paths of peace. It is life and peace in the other world, as well as in this.”
Verse 7. This verse tells us what is wrong, and it tells us that the mind set on the flesh brings death to that person, because that mind and person is always hostile to God and therefore cannot obey the law of God, but will always oppose God and his law.
Those in the flesh are not just ignorant of God and unaware that he exists. The Apostle tells us that they are actively hostile toward God and toward His Law. The do not want to accept the authority of God and his Scripture, for they really hate God, and they resist His Word.
We can look around us and see the effects of this in the world, as well as in false spirituality, and false consecration in the church. Men are continually trying to change the laws of God and to create traditions of their own which are always contrary to Scripture.
They always seek to minimize the change that God requires of them, and they want to avoid any rules or commands, speaking always about the grace of God, with no mention of his righteousness or His Law.
Some may not consciously serve Satan but they certainly consciously always look around to indulge the lusts of the flesh, doing things that are not acceptable to God, seeking money and glorifying its possession, power, authority over others, having fun, and rejecting any suggestion that they should be servants of the people, and not behaving as if they were Lords.
Verse 8. Those in the flesh, or following the flesh cannot please God for several reasons. First, the flesh is hostile toward God. Second, the flesh is incapable of producing righteousness. Third, the flesh can only produce death. Fourth, those in the flesh are under the reigning power of Satan and cannot do things that please God. We are told in Proverbs 15:8 “ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination.” When men are under the control of carnality, they hope that by their good works they will put God in their debt and make him be under obligation to them but this is foolish.
Verse 9. It cannot be said any plainer than this. If a person does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if someone is really a Christian, for there are non-Christians who are more gracious, more thoughtful, and kinder than Christians. This is an immense shame and the disobedient ones of us will without doubt eventually suffer and be chastened for it.
Nevertheless, even if a person is pleasant and nice, once they do not have the Spirit of Christ, they are lost, for they do not belong to Christ. Believers must note that the Spirit is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, for the Spirit is the means by which Christ Jesus himself lives in us. All of this is the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us life. His indwelling is the common characteristic of all true Christians.
All the Saints have the Spirit of God, for he dwells in everyone that he has sanctified and is sanctifying. He might visit the unregenerate, where he will find resistance and quenching but among the Saints, he must reside and have dominion and rule, and be welcomed.
The Holy Spirit is given to each and every believer when they are born-again. They thus have in them One that is more powerful than the flesh. One writer points to a grave mistake that many make when they look at the Saints. “ It is a misnomer to divide Christians among the “ Spirit filled” and the “ non-Spirit filled”; if a person is not filled with the Holy Spirit, they are not a Christian at all. However, many do miss out on living their Christian lives in the constant fullness of the Spirit, because they are not constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit as Paul commanded in Ephesians 5:18.”
Still there are many who try to separate themselves out as better than other saints, in order that they can manipulate those who accept their argument that they are among the ‘exalted ones’. One must beware of those arguments. All a person has to do is to look at the lives of those making great claims with open and honest eyes, and they will run from them.
Verse 10. The true believer has the great benefit of being given a life that brings with it unspeakable happiness. When Christ is in a person, they are alive for the first time, even though sin still exists in the body, and the lusts of the body will be present. Because sin is present, that is why the body keeps growing old and will eventually die.
Whether or not the body is strong or weak before that time of death finally comes, we must be aware that sin is an enemy to our body, and therefore logically we should hate sin.
Verse 11. But in Christ this Spirit is a life living within us and so righteousness will result. The Spirit of God within us is stronger than the sin in our bodies, and so we have no excuse, because we have the strength to control the body. The old man is indeed dead, and we must live in the knowledge of that fact.
The Spirit is doing something in us now, showing us what we know to be wrong and giving us the strength to say no to the manifestations of evil. The Spirit enables us to refuse to let our members, or bodies, become instruments of sin. We can say “no” to our tongues, not allowing it to be vicious or to tell lies, and we can stop our hands from doing wrong things, and stop our feet from taking us into places where we should not be.
The quickening of our mortal bodies will eventually be completed through the resurrection, for then our ‘vile’ bodies will be reunited to the soul after being totally refashioned. The temple, our bodies will die, but life and vitality is guaranteed. The Holy Spirit can produce the righteousness God requires of the Saints, and our possession of the Spirit is a token of our new life in the eternal state.
Verse 12. In view of all this, it should be quite clear that we are under no obligation to pamper the flesh, to pay attention to its urges, to be kind to the flesh and listen to it, or treat it with fear or respect. We are free and we can put to death the misdeeds of the body.
We must not listen to the flesh for it is always willing to deceive us. We have no obligation to the flesh. We now have the power to resist it.
Verse 13. We must through the Spirit, force the sinful flesh to submit to the Spirit. Through the Spirit we can deny ourselves and stop pleasing the body.
We are now indebted to the Spirit and to Christ, and anything we owe, and any obligation we are under, is owed only to them.
We must subdue all fleshly lusts and affections, which we can do through the power of the Spirit who lives in us. We do not have to be depressed, started drinking again, react with anger toward our neighbors and co-workers or relatives, who are always driving us crazy, or to strike back at other people.
A life of holiness is to be followed, and continued toward the day of perfection. There is to be constantly subjugation of the flesh through the Spirit.
Verse 14-15. Those who are fitted to be called sons of God, must of necessity be led by the Spirit of God. If one is a son of God, one is led by the Spirit of God.
The Spirit therefore has the critical ministry of teaching us that we are children of God, and He is clearly telling us that we are not slaves to sin, living in fear.
This doctrine of the adoption of the Christian is a very neglected doctrine. It is very important to understand, for this teaches us our new identity in Jesus Christ.
First let us point out that the word “son” refers to both male and female, for both have received the gift of righteousness by faith and are therefore “sons of God” regardless of sex.
Remember also that though all men are creatures of God by natural birth and are thus the offspring of God, not all men are sons of God. The only sons of God are those with faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul chose his words carefully. He has first told us that we have been justified, declared innocent of sin and righteous through the work of Christ. Now we have the blessing of ‘adoption’ which makes us ‘sons of God’. Clearly then our obligation is to walk in the Spirit. The Spirit joins us to the family of God and constantly reminds us of this relationship and calls on us to act as befitting the sons of God.
Note the significance of being adopted as sons, for this term now introduces an important aspect of our belonging to God, for we are both born again, and are now adopted into the family of God. God has chosen terms to remind us that we are not naturally part of the family of God, for we were first born into the family of Adam and inherited Adam's nature with all its sin, problems, disobedience and other defects.
God has chosen us, taking us out of that family, and his Spirit has made us legally sons of God and part of his family.
We should never take everything for granted in our pride, forgetting that it was God who took us out of our natural state and graciously made us part of his family by adoption, making us partake of his divine nature.
This is what we are as Christians, we are the sons of living God, adopted and born in his family. The Spirit makes this real to us, making us increasingly aware that we are His sons, that God has given us great and precious promises, claims us, loves us, that God protects us, provides for us, plans for us, hears us, openly acknowledges us, chastens and corrects us.
Led and under the control of the all-powerful Spirit, He will control our reactions and the events all around us. One writer describes what adoption meant to the Roman of that day: “ To the Roman world of the first century A.D. an adopted son was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate; he was no whit inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature. Under Roman adoption, several things happened to the one being adopted: the adopted son lost all rights in his old family and gained all new rights in his new family: the old life of the adopted son was completely wiped out, with all debts being canceled, with nothing from his past counting against him anymore.”
There should be no more fear and terror about anything, for now we have an intimate family relationship with the Father, and we have a right to use the intimate family term “Abba” when we cry to Him.
Verse 16. We are now given a deep level of assurance, beyond feeling, the deep conviction that we are part of God's family. The Spirit gives a witness to that, and it is an unshakable witness that we are the children of God.
There might be those who think or assume that they are God's children apart from the testimony of the Spirit. Many think that they have peace when God does not testify to them of peace. There are also those who have been so attacked spiritually, that they are half convinced that they are not God's children at all. This verse stresses the truth that will always remain, namely, God's children know who they are.
Those that are sanctified will have God's Spirit witnessing with their Spirit, comforting and speaking peace to their soul.
Just remember that this testimony of the Spirit always agrees with the written Word of Scripture, for the Spirit cannot contradict the same Spirit that has written the word of God.
Note also that the Apostle Paul uses two different words, the first is ‘sons’, and the second is ‘children’. A child knows his Father that is always a sign that they belong to the family. The child then cries ‘Abba Father’.
A son is a little different, for the sign of a son is that he or she is an heir of God, and he can now possess and enjoy his inheritance. When a person begins to live in the fullness of the Spirit, they will become in every respect the sons of God, entering into their inheritance, and displaying the assurance of sons.
CONCLUSIONWe must get serious about obeying to voice of the Spirit of God. We must take the Word of God seriously. We must begin to believe everything he says.
We are called on to be victorious Christians, learning more and more of the glory that awaits us, and joyfully going along with everything, including suffering, that is thrown at us.
We are sons, heirs of God, and everything that God owns is committed to us. We must consider carefully what God has waiting for us in Jesus Christ and behave accordingly.
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