Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXIII)

Two early church scholars had some things to say about God’s Spirit awakening and molding our spirit. Bishop Cyril noted that regenerated people have been enriched by God’s Spirit. When His Spirit came to dwell in our hearts, it allowed us to take our place in the family of God. It is a position that we did neither earn, merit or buy. It had been paid for in advance by the blood of the Lamb of God. And even though we are now children of God, we find that our Adamic nature still pesters us. Yet, what a privilege for us to look up and call out: “Abba! Father!”¹ In other words, never forget who you are and where you came from to get to where you are with God. Early church scholar Niceta, focuses on the Holy Spirit as the One who facilitates the adoption. Some called Him inferior to God. But how can He be considered any less than God since only God can approve an adoption?²

Augustine gives his view of how the Old Testament and New Testament periods are so different. Old Testament Law distributes fear; New Testament Grace spreads love. In this case, you may ask, “What is this spirit of slavery that Paul talks about?” After all, if the life principle of our adoption as children of God is the Holy Spirit, He certainly has the power to help us live a free life. But if the spirit of slavery is allowed to nurture fear, then it has the power to hinder the freedom our spirit was given. The reason for such a spirit of fear is because those who live under the law and not under grace are condemned as slaves of sin. So we should not be surprised that those who run after worldly pleasures bound by the spirit of slavery. For Augustine, this is not a case chance or bad luck, it is part of God’s divine program for progression toward holiness. This spirit of slavery can bring no one under its power unless God allows it to happen in order to teach us a lesson. The righteousness of God through Christ was earned by our Lord under similar conditions³.⁴

Then Pelagius tells us that the Jews received a spirit which forced them to do good deeds out of fear. Failure to do those righteous deeds would meet with reprisals from God. It is only natural for slaves to fear their masters, while sons and daughters love to do the bidding of their father. The prophet Malachi told us: “A son honors his father and a servant his master.”⁵ Therefore, instead of working for God out of fear like a slave, let’s us respond to Him willingly so that we behave like children. As Pelagius sees it, if anyone calls another person their father, then they ought to resemble their father in spirit and character. However, if they falsely call Him their Father, then they will incur an even greater penalty for having assumed His name under pretense⁶.⁷

A number of early church scholars have commented on the fact that the Spirit bears witness that we are the called, the justified, and the glorified. For instance, Origen comments on the Spirit of adoption by saying that we have the witness of the Holy Spirit who assures our own spirit that we are children of the Most High God. This comes after we have been regenerated from having the spirit of slavery and have been given the spirit of adoption. Once this happens, then all fear of God should be gone. And because of this we no longer act out of fear of being punished, but out of love for the Father.⁸

Then Bishop Diodore notes that Paul showed we can call our soul “spirit” (with a lower case “s”), but must refer to the indwelling presence of God as “Spirit” (with an upper case “S”).⁹ So when you see spirit and Spirit in the text you’ll know the difference. Then Theodoret confirms his understanding that Paul uses the word “spirit” in two senses. The first is the Spirit of God, the second is our spirit.¹⁰ To this, we add that Ambrosiaster sees any witness the children of God have that He is their heavenly Father is that they have the life of His Spirit dwelling in their spirit.¹¹ This is similar to what Chrysostom preached that the Comforter bears witness with the gift which He has given us. For it is not merely the gift which speaks but the Comforter who gave the gift as well.¹² And then Pelagius notes that the evidence of our adoption is that we have the Spirit, through whom we pray. For only true children of God could receive such a noticeable sign in their spirit.¹³

Reformation leader Martin Luther points out that we are not children of God by nature, nor because of our merits, but alone because of our gracious adoption by God as His children through Christ. This is important to remember because you cannot call yourself a child of God unless you are in Christ and Christ is in you. Paul compares this adoption as God’s children through our new birth in Christ, with the enslavement we had in sin. Luther points to what is said by Jesus: “I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”¹⁴ Rather, we are now free to serve the One who called, redeemed, sanctified, and glorified us as His children. We no longer serve our slave master in fear as we did under sin. In fact, says Luther, when we call God our Father, it is not a cry of the mouth, but one of the heart¹⁵.¹⁶

John Calvin interprets these verses as Paul confirming with certainty the confidence we should have as God’s children. Today we can to say it with the song, “It is well with my soul.” Calvin does this by mentioning the special relationship produced by the Spirit. He has not been given for the purpose of harassing us with with anxiety, but on the contrary. Having calmed every agitation, and restoring our minds to a tranquil state, He stirs up courage to call on God as our Father with confidence and freedom. Calvin goes on to say that this confidence is made certain by God’s adoption through the work of the Holy Spirit as a seal to our pardon. So instead of the spirit of bondage under the law, we now serve God by the spirit of adoption found in the Gospel. Not only that, but the Spirit constantly witnesses to our spirit that this relationship with God as His adopted child continues on a daily basis, not once a year as it was under the law at the Feast of Yom Kippur¹⁷.¹⁸

This same idea is carried forward by Adam Clarke who refers to the spirit of bondage as being the Jews obligation to the rites and rituals they were commanded to perform on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. The sad part was that such ceremonies only enhanced the sense of guilt and corruption but offered no assistance in removing such guilt. Their tendency to transgress the laws of God made it even more necessary that they continue these sacrifices through fear of dying as unforgiven sinners. But Clarke points out that as believers we have been adopted by God through the Holy Spirit as His children. This then gave us the right and privilege of crying out to God as Abba, Father. In his Gospel, Mark points out that the term “Abba” is an endearing Aramaic word for father that children use.¹⁹ It is very much like our English “Papa.”

I like the way Clarke defines this blessed assurance. It should be a matter of serious concern for every Christian that God has been merciful enough not to leave our relationship with Him up to conjecture, assumption, or inductive reasoning. He has authenticated to it by His own Spirit with the spirit of the person He adopted through Christ Jesus. This is one of the finest and most noticeable cases in which communication is established between heaven and earth. A genuine believer in Christ Jesus is not left to be interrogated by doubters who then decide. The proof and testimony of that relationship is immediately confirmed by God Himself through the stamp of His Spirit. As far as Clarke is concerned, if we had not been given the witness from God that we are indeed His children, no one could possibly feel assured of their salvation which is needed to produce confidence and love for the Father.²⁰

Then, on the subject of how the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are related to God as His children through adoption, Clarke feels that every born-again person has been communicated to by the Holy Spirit. This then becomes part of their own understanding. This is done so that they might possess the clearest evidence possible of the work which God has formed in them. By this, believers can have the most concrete and possible evidence of their adoption into the family of God. They then have the word and Spirit of God, and the word sealed on our spirit by the Spirit of God. So for Clarke, this is not a momentary inflow: If we take care to walk with God, and not grieve the Holy Spirit, the witness we have been given will continue to abide in us. Then, as we continue to be faithful to our adopting Father, the Spirit that witnessed that adoption will continue to testify that it is real. This way, we will know that we belong to God by the Spirit which He put in us.²¹

Robert Haldane insists that it is of great importance for believers to be assured that they are indeed the children of God. Without knowing this for sure, it would be difficult for them to serve Him out of love with newness of spirit. The Apostle, therefore, expands on his earlier declaration that as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. To confirm this, he reminds the believers in Rome that when they were chosen for adoption by God, He did not make them feel like they were in bondage again so that they became afraid. No! Instead, they were given the assurance of their adoption by telling them to call on God as their heavenly Father as “Papa” like most children do.²²

Haldane then adds that having said we received the Spirit of adoption, Paul indicates that the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we truly are children of God. Haldane explains that every person God adopts will have their adoption confirmed by His Spirit dwelling in them. That way, the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer joins His testimony with their spirit that their adoption is real. By this they know that they are a child of God. However, it is not only the fruit of the Spirit produced in the lives of believers that further corroborates this testimony, but the confidence it brings inspires the heart to believe it’s true. As far as Haldane is concerned, this is a testimony designed for the assurance of individual believers, not something we need to be affirmed by what others think.²³

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXII)

Presbyterian Bible commentator Albert Barnes sees the Holy Spirit represented here as the influencing, guiding, and motivating factor. The first sign of holiness at work is a willingness to yield to that influence and submit to His guidance and motivation. When such evidence is lacking because there is an unwillingness to submit to that influence, Paul calls that resisting the Holy Spirit and grieving Him.¹ When that happens then holiness has little chance of permeating the believer’s life. The influence of the Spirit, if heeded, leads those who follow toward higher spiritual ground and sets them on the path to heaven. But when the Spirit’s guidance is neglected, rejected, or despised, the road they follow goes toward hell. Therefore, all glory belongs to the work of the Spirit when a person is saved. But when anyone is lost, all fault belongs to them who resisted.²

Charles Hodge summarizes what Paul said here concerning those who allow themselves to be led by the Spirit as true children of God. This is exhibited by their own brotherly love and the inner testimony of the Spirit. That’s because the indwelling Spirit of God raises those in whom He dwells into the status of being easily identified as God’s children. By regeneration, through a new birth, they are already transported into a form of divine living. That’s because they have been made partakers, as the Apostle Peter says, “divine nature.”³ As such, through and in Christ, the source of their new life and the objects of divine love, they become new heirs in His kingdom.⁴ And because of this, says Hodge, believers will enjoy eternal life, not just because they have been made alive by the Spirit, but because they live under the governance of the Spirit.

Charles Spurgeon says that not everyone who claims to be a child of God is one unless it can be seen that they are led, influenced, and guided, by the Spirit of God. Although believers may still have many weaknesses and infirmities to deal with, if they follow the divine leadership of the Spirit of God they are His children and eligible for help and healing. Therefore, no matter how many may refer to God as their Father in heaven, unless they are led by the Spirit they really have no relationship with Him. Furthermore, for those who claim they are led by the Holy Spirit but are still subject to doubt, how can they be sure that the Spirit of God really dwelling within them? It is only when His Spirit is in agreement with our spirit that we can be sure and that only comes by surrendering completely to His will.⁵

Frédéric Godet has an interesting way of explaining the role of the Holy Spirit in proving our credibility as children of God. He writes that the explanation given in this verse may be understood in two ways. First of all, does Paul mean that by living according to the Spirit this is proof that we are in fact a child of God? If so, then it must be attributed to the grace received in justification. Also, the subsequent indwelling of the Spirit would be to seal this glorious status in Christ. In favor of this view we might quote Paul’s words where he said: “Because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!”⁶ But for Godet, we must not forget that Paul is not speaking of the infilling of the Spirit, but of the believer’s surrender to His indwelling influence. The infilling of the Spirit, therefore, must indicate a more advanced stage of the Christian life for service.

Godet says that the second possible meaning could be that you have been given the right to be called the children of God as soon you show it by letting yourselves be led by the Spirit. Though someone becomes a child of God by justification, they do not possess the family relationship through adoption unless they really enjoy being submissive to the operation of the Spirit. The meaning, therefore, is this: If you let yourselves be led by the Spirit, you are in fact children of God.⁷ Look at it this way: a child may be adopted into a family and even be given the family name. But unless and until they fully integrate into that family and submit to the full control of the parents, they will never really be thought of as being part of the family. So it is with the family of God. I find that neither one of these two views can be ruled out completely. The difference between the two is that we become a child of God at the new birth, but as we grow and mature we become an obedient child of God by following the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit.

Charles Ellicott has a long article on this verse, and it is worth looking up in his commentary. At the end, he writes that this life in the Spirit implies a special relationship with God – that of being His children. Ellicott says that he chose the term “child” because when one first receives the indwelling of the Spirit, it is not a spirit of bondage that unleashes a reign of terror on you. Rather, you were brought into a close family relationship with God. This family relationship is attested to by the Divine Spirit who endorses the evidence in your own consciousness that resembles the closeness someone has as a son or daughter. All of which is to the glory of God through Christ who is Himself pre-eminently the only begotten Son of God.⁸ This factor of a family relationship with God is important since it is only the heirs who will inherit their father’s estate.

John Stott accepts this verse as part of Paul’s teaching on sanctification. He writes the kind of leading by the Spirit referred to here is that which is a characteristically experienced only by God’s children. As such, it is much more specific than the way it sounds. It is not just letting someone lead you by the hand, not knowing where you are going and what you are going for. Stott believes it consists of or at least includes as one of its most substantial features, the prompting, and strengthening which enable those being led to disable the body’s sinful tendencies. Stott is certain that the hourly and daily putting to death of the conniving endeavors of the sinful flesh by means of the Spirit is a matter of simply being willingly led, directed, motivated, and controlled by the Spirit⁹.¹⁰

Verses 15-16: The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit, we cry out, “Abba, Father,” because the Spirit Himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children.

We have a beautiful illustration of the difference between the spirit that binds and the Spirit that frees when Jesus went into the region of the Gerasenes¹¹ and was confronted by a man possessed by evil spirits. As soon as these demons saw Jesus, they began to scream, begging Jesus to leave them alone. But as soon as Jesus cast those demons out, that man was seen sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, clothed and of sound mind.¹² Before the demons were exorcised, the man was compelled to do their bidding, but after he was liberated from their control, he voluntarily sat at Jesus’ feet as a sign of obedience and reverence for Him.

Then we have another example of this contrast of binding and freeing when Paul and Silas were jailed because of preaching the Gospel in Philippi by city leaders who opposed them. As they sang and worshiped God, an earthquake freed them. As soon as the jailer, who had chained them to the wall, saw what happened, and it was explained to him, he and his family wanted to become Christians. So here we see where Paul and Silas were forced to serve the lawless actions of their accusers while the jailer and his family freely submitted to the word and authority of Christ.¹³

Then Paul contrasts the two spirits: One that binds and one that frees. It is similar to what he told the Corinthians, “God has actually given us His Spirit (not the world’s spirit) to tell us about the wonderful free gifts of grace and blessing that God wants to give us.”¹⁴ He then told young Timothy: “The Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them.”¹⁵ This should give any believer a sense of confidence knowing that God not only loves them and wants to take care of them but has chosen them through adoption.

Jeremiah got a preview of this when God explained to the children of Israel that He had chosen them for a particular purpose. He said: “I planned to give you part of this beautiful land, the finest in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father.’”¹⁶ Likewise, Paul tells the Galatians: “When the right time came, the time God decided on, He sent His Son, born of a woman, born as a Jew, to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that He could adopt us as His very own sons. And because we are His sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, so now we can rightly speak of God as our dear Father.”¹⁷

Paul uses a term translated here as “Abba, Father.” This was a respectful, endearing phrase that we could also translate as “Papa Father.” But it has more meaning than that. Among the Jews, there was a tradition that neither male nor female slaves were allowed to refer to their parents as “father” or “mother.”¹⁸ This was granted only to children of freemen. So it is that the Apostle Paul sees those who were slaves to sin being freed by the grace of God and adopted into His family and can now openly refer to Him as their heavenly Father as Papa.

However, Paul is quick to remind the Romans that to call God “Father” is only valid when the Holy Spirit confirms it. He explained it to the Ephesians this way: “Because of what Christ did, all you others too, who heard the Good News about how to be saved, and trusted Christ, were marked as belonging to Christ by the Holy Spirit, who long ago had been promised to all of us Christians. His presence within us is God’s guarantee that He really will give us all that He promised, and the Spirit’s seal upon us means that God has already purchased us and that He guarantees to bring us to Himself.”¹⁹ Because of this, Paul warned the Ephesians not to grieve the Holy Spirit by the way they lived. He says, “Remember, He is the one who marks you to be present on that day when salvation from sin will be complete.”²⁰ And the Apostle John agrees by saying: “We will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God’s side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord.”²¹

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXI)

Messianic Jewish teacher David H. Stern says that while the King James Version of the Bible reads, “mortify the deeds of the body,” this is not a mandate for “self-denial of the flesh” in the sense of asceticism, disfiguring, or long-term fasting. Paul would find no spiritual value in such things.¹ Rather, he is only restating what he has been urging since verse 5. The phrase, “practices of the body,” refers to bad habits and addiction which the old-sinful nature has bound the body’s needs and senses to. Paul wrote earlier about physical members of the body which the believer should not use as instruments for sinful deeds.² Stern says that unless the believer works actively with the power of the Holy Spirit to take control of the body’s bad habits to which it has become accustomed, and conditioned by the old sinful nature, these bad habits will surely find expression. This could end up costing you any hope of having a spiritual or eternal life.³

Verse 14: The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them.

The Psalmist learned this lesson a long time ago when he prayed: “Help me to do Your will, for You are my God. Lead me in the right direction, for Your Spirit is good.”⁴ And Solomon showed that he too knew this principle well when he has Wisdom say: “I follow the course of righteousness along the paths of justice, to endow with wealth those who love me and fill their treasuries.”⁵ But Wisdom does not overlook mistakes and errors done while following its words. The Lord had this word of wisdom for the people of Israel: “The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the LORD your God, who disciplines you for your own good and leads you in the direction that you should go.”⁶

We know that many Bible scholars see Wisdom in the Old Testament as a metaphor for Christ in the New Testament. And God’s message to Isaiah was not lost on the Apostle Paul, for he wrote the Galatians: “Because we are His sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, so now we can rightly speak of God as our dear Father.”⁷ He goes on to tell them: “I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to.”⁸ And to the Ephesians, he adds: “Because of this light within you, you should do only what is good and right and true.”⁹ Knowing this, we can certainly say to all believers, including those known as holiness people, that God is more interested in our actions than in our appearance to convince the world that we are His children, whom He freed from the slavery of sin.

Another early church scholar named Constantius clearly sees Paul establishing that it was not our common and natural human death of which he was speaking earlier. The fact is, he was and is speaking about death as a form of everlasting punishment. He is not praising the spirit and condemning the flesh because the spirit is so good and the flesh so bad. Instead, he wants to show that because the flesh is so vulnerable to the lustful passions belonging to human nature, it tends to seek to fulfill those desires, just all animals do. And just as animals produce other animals, so humans produce humans. But it was God who breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life. Therefore, it is our soul which is spiritual, incorporeal, rational, and immortal, something animals do not have.¹⁰

Then Pelagius contends that sinful people find it hard to always do what is right. However, once you are born-again and have replaced the works of the flesh with spiritual deeds, then you will live the life God desires for you. Pelagius makes the point that it is the works of the flesh which are condemned, not the substance of the flesh.¹¹ To this, we add Bishop Theodoret’s thoughts that Paul is not saying that we should mortify the body but “the sinful deeds of the body.” That is, the way sinful people think and the way they so easily give in to their passions. Believers have the grace of the Spirit to help them control those sinful tendencies, with eternal life being the fruit of victory.¹²

Now we have early church scholar Cyprian who states that if we are the children of God, and if we have already begun to serve as His temples,¹³ because the indwelling Holy Spirit helps us live holy and spiritual lives. It’s then that we must lift up our eyes from the earth toward heaven and raise our hearts fully of God and Christ, to embrace heavenly and divine things. Once we do that, then let us do nothing which is not worthy of the Ones we worship.¹⁴

Several other early church scholars have important comments on verse 14. For instance, Pelagius feels that what Paul writes here applies only to those who are worthy to be governed by the Holy Spirit. This is contrasted by those who are moved by the spirit of the devil to sin. After all, he was and is a liar and sinner from the beginning.¹⁵ And then we have an early church monk who writes his commentary about God’s grace and the human will. For him, since the Lord influences the freewill of His children, He also touches their hearts with fatherly inspirations so that they might do what’s right. Consequently, we do not think that our freewill is somehow paralyzed by God’s foreknowledge. However, we do not doubt that in each and every decision of man’s freewill God’s will is the stronger force.¹⁶ And in another place, this same writer notes that some people try in vain to measure the boundaries of God’s grace and find that it is immeasurable. They do this to see if they can go beyond grace and add any human merits that may qualify them to be included among those who are to be chosen.¹⁷ Again, we remind ourselves that it is God who chooses, justifies, and glorifies.

Martin Luther is quite blunt with his interpretation of this verse. For him, to be led by the Spirit of God means to despise and renounce everything that is not God-worthy, even oneself, and to reject the pleasures of this world, especially impure things and those tainted with filth. It means to stop seeking luxury and an easy lifestyle and to openly face and embrace any suffering that comes from being a Christian. Luther recognizes that this is not the work of our weak human nature, but the work of God the Holy Spirit in us.¹⁸ In other words, even if a person knows what kind of dedication is required in order to meet God’s standards of holy living, to do it one’s own way and by one’s own strength still does not qualify them. It must be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit that dwells within. God is not pleased when we come to Him and say, “Look at what I’ve done to please You.” Rather, He is pleased when the Holy Spirit brings us to Him and says, “Look what I’ve been able to do with, and in, this child of Yours.”

John Calvin teaches that only those who are governed by the Holy Spirit are deemed the children of God. It is by His indwelling Spirit that the Father acknowledges that a believer is one of His own. This takes away the empty boasting of hypocrites who by reason of their own works assume the title. Calvin goes on to say that the working of the Holy Spirit takes many forms. There are those efforts that are universal, by which God’s creation is sustained and preserved. Then there are those things that are other-worldly and peculiar to those who are sanctified for God’s service. Calvin points out that the Lord favors none but the ones He has chosen and separated for Himself.¹⁹

Robert Haldane remarks that here is proof, through the Spirit, that if those whom the Apostle addressed would put out of commission all wrongful deeds of the body, they are then free to live for God’s glory and purpose. These are those who are led by the Spirit. Haldane notes that in spiritual matters we are all like little children, who, on account of their weakness, have need to be led by the God’s hand so that in case they fall He is there to pick them up. It is, therefore, necessary that believers be led by the Spirit of God. Also, the manner in which the Spirit leads God’s children is not by violence against their will but by encouraging and motivating them to follow His leading.

Haldane then points out that the Apostle Paul shows what the Spirit is leading God’s children to, and that is to become bearers of the Fruit of the Spirit, which is: “Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.”²⁰ Haldane says that it must be made clear that this leading of the Spirit is not such that it eliminates all imperfections. Notwithstanding the fact that we are being led by the Spirit, there are many times and places when we become less than cooperative.²¹ Since sanctification is a growing process, we still have within us tendencies that make us unwilling to do all we are asked to do. After all, it is said: “What the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.”²² Nevertheless, when we are truly led by the Spirit, it is up to us to reject any enticement by the flesh and go against the tide. In so doing, we take control and disable the sinful tendencies of our sinful nature..²³

Wesleyan theologian Adam Clarke is equally blunt in his analysis by saying that no one can accidentally find their way to heaven, and then just walk in uninvited. Christ, by His sacrificial offering, opened the door to the kingdom of God for all believers. And as a Mediator presents their concerns and needs so that one day they will live in heaven before the throne of the Father. Meanwhile, the Spirit of God is our agent here on earth, to enlighten, quicken, strengthen, and guide the true disciples of Christ. That’s why all who are wanting to be led and guided by the Spirit must be born of the Spirit. Clarke contends that no one can pretend to be a child of God who is not guided by the Spirit.²⁴ This is so different from other world religions where the followers, under their own power, strive to find and identify the path outlined by religious teachings so they can attain Nirvana²⁵ and find peace and contentment of their own making.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XX)

Scottish theologian Robert Haldane now offers his understanding of the doctrine of Sanctification as espoused in verse 13. He says this shows that sanctification of the believer is progressive. Some object to the doctrine of progressive sanctification, however, and say it is a grave error to believe in such a thing. They state that sanctification is no more progressive than is justification. That both are complete at once when a believer accepts the truth. Then there are some who say that it is a second work of grace, and when it occurs, it is complete. However, there are barely enough Scriptures to make a case for such doctrines. We all accept that there is a sense in which believers are initiated into sanctification from the moment they believe. However, that sanctification is not as complete in the believer as it is in Christ in the same way as justification is complete through Christ. So as Christ and His influence grow in the believer after justification, so does the influence and power of sanctification.

So the questions at the moment we believe are this, are we justified in Christ and perfectly righteous in the same moment? Are we perfectly sanctified in Him because He is perfectly holy? Also, when a believer is viewed as being in Christ, are they “complete” because Christ is complete? To get the answers we must first acknowledge that although Christ is completely holy, and the believer’s spirit is holy, yet the believer’s body is not completely sanctified from fleshly desires at the moment of conversion. Many passages of Scripture support this doctrine. The following prayer of the Apostle Paul is explicit and decisive: – “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.”¹ The Greek word holotelēs that Paul uses here means, perfect, complete in every respect. So we must ask, does that happened instantaneously or over time? The Apostle Peter requests that believers desire the pure spiritual milk, so that by it they may grow up in their salvation.² And in his second Epistle Peter prays that they will grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.³ As the writer of Proverbs said: “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.⁴”⁵

Albert Barnes adds his thoughts to this by pointing out that as believers we are not involuntarily bound to indulge in corrupt tendencies and passions. We know that the end of such indulgence is death and ruin. Rather, we willingly commit ourselves to live for God, and to follow the leading of His Spirit. The reason for this is stated when Paul says: You will live a saved life. Either your sins must die, or you must die. If they are allowed to live, you will die. If they are put to death, you will be saved. No person can be saved in their sins. They are saved from their sins. This closes the argument of the Apostle for the superiority of the Gospel to the Law in promoting the purity of man. By this train of reasoning, he has shown that the Gospel has accomplished what the Law could not do – the sanctification of the soul, the destruction of the corrupt passions of our sinful nature, and the recovery of mankind for God.⁶

Charles Hodge feels that not only are we not debtors to the flesh, but the reverse is the case, we are debtors to God. To use an illustration, it is like a Jewish person who became a vegetarian but still lives in a society where pork, blood sausage, shrimp, crabs, mussels, and lobster are a common part of most people’s diet. They may see other people doing it without any visible consequences, and the aroma and advertising may be tantalizing. They may be tempted to go back to what they used to eat, but they know it is against their religion. They must still stay committed to their belief. As Hodge sees it, holiness is absolutely necessary to keep the progress going. In his mind, no matter what professions of faith we may make, or what hopes we may hang on our justification, or the manifestation of the divine through the Spirit, they are separate from sanctification as a process.¹

Preacher Octavius Winslow speaks about the subduing and conquering of the flesh and it’s passions and concludes this great work is not to be undertaken in our own strength. It is above all the result of God the Holy Spirit working in, and blessing the cooperation of the believer. Paul makes it clear here in Romans that if through the help of the Spirit the sinful tendencies of the body are starved to death, we will live. This becomes an example of the believer’s own exertions, powered by the working presence of the Holy Spirit. It is a shared responsibility between the pursuit of the believer and the power of the Spirit of God. Winslow illustrates this way: Take your discovered sin to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit then will bring the crucifying power of the cross of Jesus into your soul. This will help you see your Savior suffering for your sin in ways you may have never seen before. The Spirit will help you nail that sin to the cross so that your slain enemy will end up at your feet.

I like the way Winslow phrased it when he cried out to those distressed souls who were listening, not to yield to despair! Were they longing for a gracious revival of God’s work within them? Were they mourning in secret over their fallen souls? Had they searched and discovered the hidden cause of their failure? And was there a real desire for spiritual healing? They should look up and hear the comforting words of their Lord: “I am the Lord who heals you.”² Yes, the Lord is your healer; His love can restore you; His blood can heal you; His grace can subdue your sin. Do what the Prophet begged Israel to do: “Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all sin, and receive us in kindness, that we may praise You with our lips.’” Then listen to what the Lord will answer, “I will bring My people back to Me. I will not hold back My love from them, for I am no longer angry with them³.”⁴

Another preacher, Charles Spurgeon, makes the point that we owe our immoral flesh nothing that satisfies its passions only for a moment. They can quickly become an every growing addiction that demoralizes us and hampers our walk with the Spirit. As Spurgeon sees it, you can either bury the flesh in baptism so that it can be raised anew so that life in the Spirit can be experienced to the fullest, or you can end up being buried with it in the ground and have no hope for a future life in God’s presence. Spurgeon then exhorts his listeners that if they seek by the Holy Spirit’s power to kill sin; if they try to crush all sinful desires; if they tie a rope around evil’s neck; if they subdue it by putting it to death, then they will live. Holiness is the clothing of Christian living that adorn believers on the road to everlasting life. Sin is the fashion of sinful existence that sinner’s wear on the highway to death.⁵

Frédéric Godet says that life in the Spirit is not realized in the believer without their agreement. It takes more than just the fact that the Spirit has been communicated to them. There is a need on each believer’s part to live up to the agreement by yielding to the guidance of the Spirit. For the guidance of the Spirit always tends rule against the desires of the flesh. Now, if the believer refuses to follow it on this path, they forfeit their life in the Spirit and its glorious privileges.⁶ For Godet, it is not enough to say “yes” to the Spirit to receive Him, it is also necessary to say “yes” to His work, and “yes” to His guidance.

Karl Barth has an extended commentary on these two verses that is too extensive to reproduce here, but he opens with the fact that the Spirit, and its equivalent, the Truth, have made it possible for us to state with certainty that a resurrection already awaits us. This raising to life goes beyond anything that humans are capable of on their own. And yet it is available to all who are living now, and who will live in the coming days. Therefore, it involves all of us to immediately take a more critical attitude towards our bodies and all that it does.⁷ In other words, the transformation of our body into that which becomes a vessel in God’s presence does not wait until the resurrection. It begins the moment that our spirit inside is made alive by Christ through the Spirit. When we are born-again, we are not all we want to be, but that is no excuse for sitting idle until God makes the change at the resurrection. It should give us all the motivation we need to become what God wants us to be while here on earth.

Douglas Moo puts these two verses in context by saying that some commentaries and translations insert a paragraph break at the end of verse 11, and then combine verses 12–13 with verses 14–17 to make the next paragraph.⁸ However, the “brothers and sisters” in verses 12–13 are not the introduction to the “children of God” theme of verses 14–17. Instead, verses 12-13 contain the conclusion to Paul’s teaching about life in Christ through the Spirit in verses 1–11. Paul said that the “Spirit of life” in verse 12 is what sets us free from condemnation so that we can now enjoy new life. And because of “the Spirit is life” in verse 10 we are also assured of eternal life in a resurrected body. We must also recognize that the gift of new life through His Spirit carries with it an obligation. That obligation is not to “the flesh”’ (NIV sinful nature), that old regime from which we have been delivered, but it is now to the spirit. In other words, born-again believers are now under the new divinely inspired management of the Holy Spirit.

Moo goes on to make three points: First, that Paul is serious about the need for everyone to put into effect the new life God has given them. A “No response” is not optional. Immediate action is necessary. Secondly, this response is not possible without the Holy Spirit’s help. No one can stop sinning by their own initiative. This can only be done “by the Spirit.” Thirdly, Paul is not suggesting that the inheritance of eternal life does not depend on our being required to stop immediately. What Paul demands in these verses is that we must be willing to make a certain, long-term, commitment to becoming less like the world and more like Christ.⁹

Evangelical scholar Handley Moule observed that we as children of God must never be satisfied with a mere relationship with God as His creation, nor by a mere exterior sanctification, nor by a mere membership in the Visible Church. We must meet sin with the power of the Spirit because we are led by the Spirit. This is a true sign of God’s children. The term Holiness has been practically banished because the incline of spiritual growth is too difficult to climb and it takes away some of the joy of living as a believer. Then he says: “His mercy brings it home to His children that ‘this is His will, even the sanctification’ – not of some of them, but of all. Far and wide we are striving to see, as the fathers of our faith saw before us, that whatever else holiness is, it is a sacred and binding debt. It is not an ambition, it is a duty.”¹⁰

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XIX)

Verses 12-13: So, my brothers and sisters, we must not be ruled by our sinful nature. We must not live the way our sinful nature wants us to. If you use your lives to do what your sinful nature wants, you will die spiritually. But if you use the Spirit’s help to stop doing the wrong things you do with your body, you will live a saved life.

David of the OT knew what it was for God to protect and free him from the many traps set for him by King Saul, and those who conspired against his becoming king. On one occasion he wondered out loud, “What can I offer my Lord for what He’s done for me?”¹ He goes on to say: “I will worship you and offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Here in the courts of the Temple in Jerusalem, before all the people, I will pay everything I vowed to the Lord. Praise the Lord.”² In David’s mind, this was the least he could do in response to God’s grace, goodness, and generosity.

That’s why Paul points to the believer’s need for the Holy Spirit in staying away from those things that our sinful nature desires because they lead only to ruin and remorse. He clearly pointed this out to the Galatians.³ He also tells them: “Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows!”⁴ Therefore, keeping ourselves pure and sanctified takes more than a passive attitude. That would be like sweeping dirt under the rug then claiming that the house is clean.

Paul tells the Corinthians that it requires training, much like an athlete getting ready for the Olympics.⁵ And the pain of such rigorous exercise can be as life-threatening as it is life-saving.⁶ We might compare it to the need for amputation on the battlefield in order to prevent gangrene and certain death.⁷ Paul told Titus: “The free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone; and along with this gift comes the realization that God wants us to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures and to live good, God-fearing lives day after day.”⁸ When we completely submit to God’s will, it will keep us from grieving His Spirit.⁹ Does it mean giving up certain things we’ve grown fond of? Yes! But what we get in return is so much better, and the loss will quickly be forgotten.

For the Jewish members of the Roman congregation, this idea of submission to a higher will in order to walk the right path was not new. In their own writings, we read: “Who is a victorious man? He who subdues his evil passions… What shall a man do to live? They replied: Let him mortify himself.”¹⁰ In the gloss, scholars liken such mortification to denying oneself to the point of physical death by work and study of God’s Word. But Paul wants them to see this same principal from a different perspective, and that is to deny one’s sinful nature its lusts and desires until it dies for lack of nutrition. There was a time not too long ago when those identified as holiness people were easy to spot because of how wisely and happily they lived without the things of this world in order to lay up treasure for themselves in the world-to-come. But today, they are few and far between and are hard to spot.

Early church scholar Origen said that God did not make us in His image in order for us to be tied up under the control of sinful flesh. Rather, that our soul is free to serve its Creator. This would help us take control of our sinful flesh so that God can use it for His service. Origen then goes on to explain that putting to death the deeds of the body would help us understand this: Love is a fruit of the spirit,¹¹ but hate is a disease of the flesh. Therefore, hate, like cancer, is overcome only by the serum of love. Likewise, joy is a fruit of the Spirit,¹² but remorse is the world’s hangover. It brings an end to our joy and happiness because it is a terrible moral headache caused by our sinful flesh. However, it can be cured if we drink in the joy of the Spirit. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit,¹³ but dissension or discord are attacks on our soul by sin in our flesh. However, it is for sure that discord can only be driven out by peace. In the same way, patience is a fruit of the Spirit, but impatience is an allergy of the flesh. That’s why kindness calms impatience. Also, gentleness, like a blanket, can snuff out fury; restraint (self-control) with unrestraint (out of control), and so on.¹⁴

Then Origen continues to point out that by “death” and “life,” Paul does not mean physical death and life, but sin’s death and eternal life. Those who are mature in the Spirit and who have put to death the works of the flesh will attain this blessing. But we must also realize that this mortification of the deeds of the flesh is brought about through patience – not suddenly, but step by step. At first, we see these wild sinful weeds begin to wilt in those who have been converted. Then, as they progress in their faith and become more dedicated, the weeds of the flesh not only wilt, they start to die out. Origen has no doubt that when we reach spiritual maturity, we will no longer find traces of any sinful thoughts, words or deeds. At that point, we may be close to completely eradicating the deeds of the flesh because we have let go of that which brings death and grabbed onto that which gives us eternal life.¹⁵

Martin Luther has an interesting way of looking at the dynamics here. He sees Paul saying that through the Spirit, that is, the love for God in the inner man created by the Spirit, the deeds of the body are not a person’s evil works, it’s their sinful tendencies.¹⁶ This leaves open the idea that the new spiritual being inside the old natural body must deal with that body’s natural, and sometimes, unnatural desires to please itself. So with the Spirit’s help, he or she can actually treat those desires like cancer and use the power of the Spirit to kill such desires. Therefore, the more such lusts are destroyed, with the Spirit’s help, the more holy the body becomes ready for use by the Spirit for things that glorify God.

Fellow reformer John Calvin takes this a little further by saying that once we renounce all allegiance to fleshly desires, we should never consent to them again. Also, once the Spirit begins reigning in us, it is treason to go against His bidding. This is certainly in line with what Paul said to the Ephesians about not grieving the Spirit,¹⁷ and to the Galatians that they live and walk in the Spirit.¹⁸ Calvin continues by saying that by not grieving the Holy Spirit and by living and walking as He guides and instructs us, it will be easier for us to deal with carnal lusts. This will allow us to devote more of ourselves to do those things God has deemed to be right. Calvin warns that believers should not just sit around and talk idly because they don’t want to make mistakes, or excuse their inactivity because they claim there is no power to do all the things God desires. It all boils down to having complete confidence in God’s calling so that we develop a love for righteous living. Since we have been chosen, we should live worthy of our vocation. So we should learn to embrace the Lord, not only to justify our calling, but also to promote our sanctification.

John Bengel combines what these two verses say in order to point out that when those over whom the flesh once had dominion, and when temptations were rampant, repent, their spiritual nature is now in full control. They have tipped the scale in favor of their spiritual nature. This must never be allowed to become unbalanced again so that the sinful nature regains any advantage. It is all by God’s grace that makes this possible. Bengel also says that beginning with this passage, Paul has put our sinful nature in its place, and we can get on with living a holy life, which is the inheritance of all believers.¹⁹ To put this another way, once a believer has been delivered from the bondage of sin, they are no longer a debtor to their carnal nature. With the help of the Spirit, they now have dominion over the flesh and can delight in their new freedom. So the phrase, “The devil made me do it,” does not qualify as an alibi. It should be, “I let the devil talk me into doing it.” In other words, when the flesh, under the influence of the sinful nature, asked to be satisfied, you decided to give in. Remember the serpent, Adam and Eve? If we were saying “yes” to our sinful tendencies back then, why can’t we now say “yes” to our spiritual tendencies instead?

Adam Clarke makes the point that since we have been brought into a state of pardon by the grace of God through the death of Christ, who now stands at the right hand of the Father as our mediator, there is no reason for us not to continue to love and serve God to the best of our abilities. Clarke believes strongly that if we seek for that grace and spiritual help which the Gospel says is available and furnishes, we can resist, and, by resisting, subdue the deeds of the flesh, against which the law gave us no assistance. Then we can live a temporary life of faith, love, and holy obedience down here, so we can enjoy an eternal life of praise, glory, and honor up there.²⁰

Robert Haldane comments on verse 12 by saying that ruling in every decision on the side of the spiritual nature instead of the sinful nature is a consequence drawn from what the Apostle said earlier about dethroning sin and elevating the spirit to rule which removes hostility against God. It also goes along with what Paul had been saying about the great privileges given to the believer by having the Spirit of God dwelling in them. He not only gives life to their souls but secures the future quickening and raising of their bodies from the grave. That’s why Paul speaks of the believer’s obligation to live a holy life by walking according to the Spirit and developing the character which Paul said they should be their goal. After all, were they not once debtors to the flesh which by nature filled them with corruption, guilt, and weakness? They were hoping thereby to get out of life the best they could by obeying the flesh’s lust and desires. However, while the ways of the flesh promised them happiness, it was misery and sorrow that they got.²¹

In Galatians 5 the Apostle Paul uses the Greek word chrēstotēs to describe kindness. It has synonyms such as “moral goodness” and “integrity” Greek writers in Paul’s day used this word to denote something that was suitable and proper for the occasion, especially when evaluating someone’s moral excellence. To Greek philosophers, this word described an inner greatness shown by an outer goodness. In other words, it had more to do with character than charity.

The Apostle Paul’s knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, along with his concept of kindness being a cultured and graceful act of the will, allows him to express the dynamics of such transformed love in words that make New Testament readers sit up and take notice. Writing to Roman believers, who tended to be critical of each other, Paul admonishes them by asking “Are you about to throw God’s wonderful kindness, tolerance, and patience back in His face? Don’t you realize God’s kindness will give you the ability to change the way you act?”¹

And when writing to the Corinthians Paul told them how he tried not to be a stumbling-block to those he came to minister to. As a servant of God, Paul wanted to be known for having the spirit of purity, understanding, patience, and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love.² And in his letter to the Colossians, Paul encourages them as God’s chosen people to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.³ Also, when writing to Titus, Paul spoke of the change that came to him, Titus, and others when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared and He saved them.⁴ And in his letter to the Romans, Paul told them: “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.”⁵

Paul touches on a critical point in explaining the effect of kindness. Even when those to whom we show unsolicited and often unappreciated kindness do not at first seem grateful, Paul believes that given enough time and under the influence of the Holy Spirit it will have a positive effect. One question we might ask is this: if it takes a large amount of continual kindness to turn some people around, what are their chances of changing course if we show no kindness at all?

One of the finest examples in showing kindness is the story of how David treated the crippled grandson of King Saul, one of Jonathan’s sons, whose name was Mephibosheth. When we consider all the torment and trouble that Saul caused David, even trying to kill him on numerous occasions, why would David want to return such ill-will with such good-will? David reveals that it was a promise he made to God. God did not demand it; neither did God send a prophet or angel to convince David to do it; David did it out of his own heart. What an example of the type of kindness the Holy Spirit wants to produce in every believer’s heart as the fruit of transformed love. And since kindness is Love cultured and graceful, we see that an Old Testament believer set a high bar for New Testament believers to try and do the same. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

O LORD, IS IT HAPPENING TO US

Thanks to my older brother, David, and his wife, Eula, I was gifted with a book I didn’t think I’d ever get to read. It is the latest biography of Reformer Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas. Having stood in the very study in Wittenberg, Germany where Luther wrote his 95 Theses and looked at the Castle Church door where they ended up being posted, Luther’s story is very meaningful. Also, just some 26 km away is the sleepy village of Seyda with a church that has Luther’s signature in the visitors’ book. And with my paternal grandfather, uncle, and cousin having been Lutheran ministers, it brings his story close to home.

In this book, I found an incident that really spoke to me graphically because of how it may apply to us today. Luther was, what we would call today, a stickler for detail. When he decided to become an Augustinian monk, he left no vow unsaid, no sin unconfessed, no waking minute of the day left idol in his effort to fill every second with some prayer, reading, or thought about what a terrible sinner he was in the eyes of a pure and mighty Judge in heaven. For instance, Luther was awakened by a bell at 2:00 a.m. And after making the sign of the cross would quickly put on his white robe and hustled out of his cell to the chapel. There he prayed at the high altar and took his place in a choir stall to sing and pray various hymns and psalms for forty-five minutes, at the end of which they prayed the “Save us, O Queen” to Mary. After this, they would sing the “Ave Maria” and repeat the “Our Father” before leaving seven hours later for breakfast. His superior at the monastery decided to give Luther an opportunity to let the fire of his dedication and commitment to holiness find an outlet. There had arisen a debate about whether or not rules for monks in the Augustinian monastery should be more relaxed or should they remain strictly observant.

This debate was to be held in Rome. So Luther’s superior sent him there to defend keeping the strict rules for all Augustinian monks. So off to Rome he and another monk went on foot. It was an 800 mile trip through the Alps in southern Germany and northern Italy. Unfortunately, the trek began in November 1510. Finally, at the end of a snowy and cold December, Luther’s heart began to beat faster as he neared the spot where he would lay eyes on the Eternal City for the first time in his life. The City on Seven Hills. The city where untold thousands of believers were murdered and martyred for their faith in Christ. The city where the bones of Peter and Paul were supposedly buried. Luther threw himself on the cold ground and cried out, “Greetings, O holy Rome, truly holy because of the holy martyrs, dripping with their blood.”

Luther could hardly wait to walk through the gates of this fabulous city to see the glories of the Caesars displayed in its architecture and monuments. To lay eyes on the magnificent Basilica of St. Peter where his holiness the Pope sat in splendor. He wanted to see a piece of the original burning bush that Moses beheld in the wilderness; one of the thirty pieces of silver that Judas was paid to betray his Lord Jesus, and other various artifacts from the Holy Land. He longed to say Mass at St. John Lateran church because it was stipulated that in doing so he would secure his own mother’s salvation and escape from Purgatory. However, he was not allowed to do so he climbed the famous Scala Santa (Holy Stairs) on his knees, repeating the “Our Father” on each of the 28 steps that were reported to be the stairs our Lord ascended to Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem to stand trial.

But then came the shock of his life. He was astonished by the incompetence and cynicism of many of the priests there. They showed no emotion as they said the Mass as quickly as they could, uttering the words in Latin so unintelligible that no one could understand what they said. Their cavalier attitude toward this holiest of privileges was a horror to behold. It was the perfect picture of a “dead religion” of “dead works” that had lost all meaning. The Mass was to take no less than twelve minutes, but they were through in nine. They even joked about the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. At one meal, Luther heard them laughingly say that at Mass that day they had irreverently said: “Bread thou art and bread thou shalt remain, wine thou art and wine thou shalt remain.” Their jest and disrespect for all that was holy broke his heart. Here was the Holy City that he expected to be a shining light to a dark world, filled with purity and reverence to the Lord God. But it had disintegrated into doing things for God as fast as they could so they could get to the things they wanted to do. No one even understood the doctrine of sanctification and holiness, let alone knew how to practice it. It had become a form of entertainment instead of a sacred moment in the presence of God

What a terrible disaster it would be, if what happened to Luther in Rome, would repeat itself today for those who go to what they have been told is a church that stands for the preaching of God’s Holy Word, the reverence that should proceed any opening worship service in His honor, the power of prayer being displayed with signs and wonders, and the people of God standing and living in holiness to His glory. Oh God may it never happen in those churches that our forefathers struggled with blood, sweat, and tears to build and where souls were transformed by the power of the Spirit. For only those who endure unto the end shall be saved. This was the spark that caused Luther to call for a Reformation. Perhaps it may be time now for God’s children to call for Revival. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XVIII)

Scottish Bible scholar Robert Haldane lays out an explanation of the Trinity’s involvement in the plan of redemption. He says that our Heavenly Father has provided for our salvation, the Son merits praise for securing it, and the Holy Spirit applies it. This has been established by multiple passages in the Holy Scriptures.¹ In our present world, the Father is recognized as the founder of the Church, the Sovereign of the world, the Protector and Enforcer of His laws, and the first Director of the Work of Salvation. The Son now stands as the only Mediator between God and man, and the One who sacrificed everything needed for our redemption as the Lamb of God. The Holy Spirit holds the office of the only source of conviction that draws the sinner to Christ for salvation, the Comforter, the Teacher, and the Sanctifier of the Body of Christ. We should thank no others our salvation or run to someone else in the time of need. It dishonors all that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit did to redeem us from sin. Just think, if God loved us while we were sinners, wouldn’t He love us even more now that we are His?² Who would thank a news reporter for covering their story of being rescued from drowning, but not thank the person who risked their life to save them?

Haldane then goes on to explain that the first effort to save us can be seen in what the Father did in the beginning. Namely, the plan He formed; the election of His people; His giving them to His Son; in the appointment of the one sacrifice, in the transfer of our sins to the Lamb who suffered, and making sure it worked out according to His will. The second step is seen in what the Son qualified for and effected by coming into the world, by His unwavering obedience, His sure death, and sure resurrection. The third appears in what the Holy Spirit did to making everything work as God planned: joining us to the Savior, producing in us belief, faith, and sanctification, spreading in our hearts the persuasion of our peace with God by our justification, motivating us to persist to the end, and ready to raise us up again, as He will do, at the last day.

Haldane concludes by saying that in God’s realm the Son received the authority and was given His mission from the Father to come into the world. That is why He so often referred to His first advent as being sent by the Father to take upon Himself the office of Prophet,³ Priest,⁴ King,⁵ and Head of His Church.⁶ However, we must keep in mind the differences between these offices in such passages as the following: “My Father is greater than I.”⁷ “Then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him.”⁸ Also, “No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”⁹ Christ was sent to become the Mediator who was able to bring about the revelation of the Kingdom of God after being crucified. This is illustrated by the Son of God coming into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. As far as Haldane is concerned, in neither of these texts is any personal inequality spoken of comparing the Father to the Son or the Son to the Holy Spirit. However, it is accepted that the offices the Son and the Spirit are subordinate to that of the Father, but agree on everything He says and does.¹⁰

Albert Barnes follows a similar thought pattern when it comes to Paul’s reference to our natural bodies being given new life. To him, it is apparent that this does not refer to the resurrection of the dead because that is not attributed to the Holy Spirit. As we know, Paul said it is by the “same power” that raised Christ.¹¹ Barnes understands it as referring to the body which is subject to carnal desires and tendencies. It is by nature, namely, Adam’s sin, that sin reigns, and death is the result. This puts the body on the road to the grave. So Paul’s point is that under the power of the Gospel, and by the influence of the Holy Spirit, the entire man will be made alive in the service of God. Barnes notes that even though our mortal bodies became corrupt because it was under the dominion of sin for so long, it can still be recovered and revived for the service of God. This happens when the Spirit of God comes to dwell in us. And because that Spirit has made our souls come alive, He stays with us to exert His purifying influence. Then, because the design and purpose of His indwelling is to sanctify the believer inside and out, their body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit becomes holy ground.¹²

However, Charles Hodge sees it somewhat differently. For him, this clause cannot, with any regard to usage or the context, be understood as a moral resurrection of the body and deliverance from sin, as explained by Calvin, Barnes, and many others. He points to Paul’s own words: “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to Himself together with you.”¹³ Paul is attempting to show that the life which we receive from Christ that wins the victory over sin will ultimately triumph over death. We all know that our present bodies must die, but they will not continue forever under the power of death. The phrase “to quicken” (KJV) is not to awaken, but to make alive, which suggests more than a mere restoration of life. In Hodge’s mind, this concept is used only for believers. It expresses the idea that the new life created within us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, names Christ as the founder and perfecter of our faith. Therefore, this new life which we now live in the old body will assuredly conform to the new body we receive on the day of resurrection.¹⁴

However, the great preacher Charles Spurgeon has a totally different understanding of what Paul is saying here. His interpretation is that the day is coming when our bodies will experience its own adoption. This is called “the redemption of the body.”¹⁵ He does not hear Paul saying that we will be given a new body. As far as Spurgeon was concerned, that is a modern doctrine. He stands by what the Scriptures say about our mortal bodies being revived. So at the resurrection, we will not receive a new body, but a renewed body like the one we had when we died.¹⁶ I was unable to find if Spurgeon considered this view in light of what happened to Elijah in the valley of dry bones.¹⁷

However, Spurgeon gives a further explanation of this belief in one of his sermons. He preached that resurrection of the dead deals not with the soul, but with the body. He said that the doctrine provides that the actual body we live in at this moment is connected with the soul. The soul is the “vital spark of heavenly flame” that will be the fire in heaven, and the body will be the “container in which the incense of our lives will rise unto the Lord,” and it will burn this way forever. He was concerned that so many in his day denied that our actual, physical bodies will rise up from their graves on the great day of resurrection. Since so many believe that they will have a body in heaven, why do they think it will be a spiritual body instead of believing that it will be a body just like they have now – flesh and blood?

But Spurgeon leaves some room to accommodate the other view by saying that it will not be the same kind of flesh we have here on earth. By that, he meant it would not need to be a solid, physical body such as we have here and now. However, a few lines later in his sermon, Spurgeon declares that if we are the Christians we profess to be, we would believe that every mortal man who ever existed will not only live by the permanency of their soul, but their body will live again; to believe that the very flesh in which they now walk the earth is as eternal as the soul, and will exist forever.¹⁸ When we consider that many martyrs were cremated at the stake and their ashes scattered around like dirt and not to be found in one spot, and, those have died in fiery airplane crashes and their ashes were never recovered, will require God to collect all of those in order to regenerate the body as it was before. I’m sure if Spurgeon were alive today he would give us a clear explanation of what he meant to say.

Frédéric Godet weighs in on this debate by saying that once again we see how carefully Paul selects every term that he uses. We see this clearly in the use of the two expressions, “to awaken” (applied to Jesus), and, “to quicken” (applied to believers). Jesus’ death is often referred to as His falling to sleep since there was no decay or disintegration of the body in those three days. Therefore, it is proper to say that He was awakened. In our case, the body is destined for complete destruction. As such, it must be entirely reconstituted. This is well expressed by the word quicken.¹⁹ Although Godet is clearly speaking of the future resurrection of the body, it does not make void the other views expressed on how the natural body can be quickened morally to become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit in this world.²⁰

When it comes to the quickening of those asleep in the Lord, John Stott makes the point that this does not mean that our dead bodies will be reanimated or resuscitated so that it returns to its present material existence, only to die again. We should not see resurrection as a transformation of something old into something new. The raising and issuing of a new body such as the one the women saw on the day of Christ’s resurrection and the disciples observed on the day of ascension. It will be a new and glorious entity for our eternal personality, and its liberation from all frailty, disease, pain, decay and death and fit to survive outside this world. Stott warns that it is “not that the spirit is to be freed from the body” – as many, under the influence of the Greek way of thinking, have held. Rather, that “the Spirit will give life to this new glorious body.”²¹ As we see from the Gospels, Jesus’ resurrected body was able to walk through closed doors and defy gravity to float uninhibited into the sky where it can exist and function in the heavenly stratosphere where the human body would experience instant death.

In my view, we can say that all these great minds were looking at the same event from a different angle. When we are born again and baptized, it is like the old body being buried and coming back to life with a new person inside. This then is repeated in the resurrection. Only this time, the new person gets a new body.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XVII)

Reformed theologian Robert Haldane writes that in this verse he sees a triple opposition. First, body to the soul; second, death to life; and third, sin to righteousness. Paul wanted to do away with any objection to what he was saying, especially since he declared that those who are in Christ Jesus are under no condemnation. So this raises a question: Are we, who are in Christ, still subject to sin and death like sinners? Paul gives a quick answer: If the Spirit of Christ has made you alive, even though your body is subject to die because of sin,¹ yet your spirit will live on because Christ lives on. So in case some believer is afraid of all that might be done to bring them to an early death, Paul declares that the temporary sufferings that may come upon all of us, among which is the death of the body through persecution, disease, or old age, they are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.² Furthermore, everything that may happen to them will be working for their good.³ Haldane also says that the term “body” in this verse is to be taken in its literal sense. And by Paul’s use of the term “spirit,” he is no doubt referring to the soul.⁴ That is where our spirit is distinguished from the Holy Spirit.”⁵

Preacher Charles Spurgeon adds that we must understand that when Paul uses the term “regeneration,” as applied to the body, it is a reference to the resurrection. Even though we are regenerated in spirit, our bodies are still under the old law of death. That’s why we have pain and weaknesses, and eventually, we will die. But the spirit will triumph and never die. That’s because there is a living power within us which will win out over this dying, decaying body. So we rejoice notwithstanding all our afflictions, trials, and depressions because we already know what is going to happen at the end.⁶

Verse 11: God raised Jesus from death. And if God’s Spirit lives in you, He will also give life to your natural bodies. Yes, God, the one who raised Christ from death will make you alive by having His Spirit live in you.

The Unitarian Universalists⁷ and Jesus Only⁸ people may find this verse troubling. Paul’s text and grammar definitely implies the existence of three distinct personalities of divine origin and essence. His reference to the Power which resurrected Jesus as “Him,” unmistakably points to our Father in heaven. His use of “Spirit” of course, is none other than the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter had no misgivings about the involvement of the Trinity in securing our redemption and salvation. He told the crowd on the Day of Pentecost: “Jesus is the one God raised from death. We are all witnesses of this. We saw Him. Jesus was lifted up to heaven. Now He is with God, at God’s right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Him, as He promised. So Jesus has now poured out that Spirit.”⁹

The Apostle Paul also preached the same. He told the Ephesians: “You will know that God’s power is very great for us who believe. It is the same as the mighty power He used to raise Christ from death and put him at His right side in the heavenly places.”¹⁰ Paul goes on to say that being at the Father’s right hand gave Christ all power and authority over everything in this world and the world-to-come. And since Christ is head over the church, and the church is filled with His presence and power, it has become the full expression of the One who gave His life to become both the Lamb of God, the LORD of Lords, and the KING of Kings.¹¹

At this point Paul draws a correlation between the power that raised Christ from death and the power that will also raise believers from death because they are in Christ. By illustration, we could point out that when a woman is pregnant, wherever she goes her baby goes. Therefore, being in Christ we will one day be with Him in our heavenly Father’s presence for eternity. As we see in Isaiah, the Jews put their hope in a resurrection.¹² And Jesus echoed this same hope in His message to the Jewish people.¹³

Paul wrote this to the Corinthians: “God will raise our bodies from death with the same power He used to raise the Lord Jesus. Surely you know that you are part of Christ Himself.”¹⁴ The key to what Paul is teaching about the resurrection of believers is that it is done by God through Christ, with Christ being the first-fruit of such a resurrection.¹⁵ That’s why he goes on to tell the Corinthians: “God raised the Lord Jesus from death, and we know that He will also raise us to join Jesus in His presence.”¹⁶ Yet, Paul makes sure that everyone is aware that it is all because Christ, who was raised first, is living in us so we can be raised to eternal life as He was.¹⁷

Then Paul revealed his understanding of the resurrection to the Corinthians: “For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die, must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live forever.”¹⁸ This was also prefigured by Christ’s resurrection, because when He left the tomb in His risen body, even Mary did not recognize Him at first. But it was in that body that He walked through doors and overcame the power of gravity. Paul calls it a “heavenly body.” He tells the Corinthians: “We look forward eagerly to the day when we will have heavenly bodies that we will put on like new clothes.”¹⁹

We find that the Jews in their writings often distinguished between “the quickening of the dead” for the wicked and “the resurrection of the dead” for the righteous. Rabbi Pinhas ben Yair explained that “Determination leads to clean living, clean living leads to a clear conscience, a clear conscience leads to self-control [even from those things that are permissible], self-control leads to holiness, holiness leads to humility, humility leads to dread of sin, the dread of sin leads to doing what’s right, doing what’s right leads to all being well with the soul, and all being well with the soul leads to the qualification for resurrection of the dead.”²⁰ This sounds a lot like what Paul said to the Romans about such maturation,²¹ and similar to what the Apostle James told the scattered Jewish believers.²²

Polycarp, one of the earliest church scholars, sees this as a spiritual resurrection, not a physical one. He says that the same One who raised Christ up from the dead will raise us up also, as long as we continue doing His will. To do His will we must conduct our lives using the light of His commandments. We must also love the things that He loved. Furthermore, we must guard ourselves against practicing all those things that are wrong, such as: being envious, being greedy, always gossiping, lying under oath, hurting others after being hurt by them, or criticizing when criticized,²³ retaliating after being betrayed, and wishing the worst on others after having the worst wished on us. These must be compensated for by keeping our minds on what the Lord said and did in teaching us how to live.²⁴

Origen sees the term, “If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you,” as absolutely essential in order for any believer to grow and mature. After our bodies become His dwelling place, what He created in the beginning is given back to Him so that He can restore it as His temple. This is a sure way to know if the Spirit of Christ dwells inside or not. Furthermore, Christ is wisdom,²⁵ so if Christ is operating in you, you will have the wisdom to know what is His and how He wants you to utilize it. This is the best evidence that you possess the Spirit of Christ inside. Likewise, Christ is righteousness [doing what’s right];²⁶ therefore, if you have Christ guiding you, everyone will know by your righteous living that the Spirit of Christ is directing your life. Christ also brings peace.²⁷ Therefore, if you have Christ in control of your destiny then you can trace that peace to the Spirit of Christ in you. So it goes with love, with sanctification, and with all that belongs to Christ.²⁸ The one who has these things may be confident of having the Spirit of Christ in them and can hope that their mortal body will be restored to life on account of the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them.²⁹

Reformer Martin Luther agrees with Augustine in that because in the coming day of glorification the body you receive will never die. Augustine did not say that God will quicken our dead mortal bodies, because our new bodies will not only be beyond death, but incapable of death.³⁰ This certainly points to the belief that believers have two bodies, the earthly one that their souls occupy now, and the eternal one their souls will dwell in upon resurrection. Therefore, don’t let this earthly body be the cause for the soul to give up on the hope of the heavenly body being prepared when the day of glorification comes.

John Calvin sees this verse as a confirmation of the previous one in that since by the power of God’s Spirit Christ was raised, and since the Spirit possesses eternal power, He will also exert the same power with regard to us. Calvin also addressed the term “mortal bodies.” He understands Paul meaning that all those things which still remain in us and are subject to death. It was also Paul’s usual practice to give this same term to that which we saw as the vulgar side of us. As Calvin understands it, Paul is not referring to the last resurrection, which will be in a moment and the twinkling of an eye,³¹ but of the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in us by which He assists us in gradually mortifying the relics of the flesh and maintains in us our celestial life.³² In other words, for Paul our birth-bodies house the sinful nature that must be put to death so that the spiritual nature can come to life. As we grow in the Spirit and the Word of God, that old body is transformed into a temple of the Holy Spirit.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XVI)

Anglican Bishop Handley Moule (1841-1920) had something interesting to say on this subject. When we look in the Bishop’s commentary on Romans we find where he explains that the presence of the Spirit of Christ in our lives is such that when He dwells inside it can rightly be declared as, “Christ in you.” This provides the believer both a word of caution, and reveals the truth of the richest positive blessing a believer can enjoy. The warning issued is for us to remember that there is no separate Gospel called the “Gospel of the Spirit.” Not for a moment should we think that we can go beyond our status in the Lord Jesus Christ to a higher or deeper region ruled by the Holy Spirit. Everything the Holy Spirit does or says is eternally and organically connected with the Son of God. After all, it was Christ who asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be an invisible guide to His followers once He physically disappeared from the scene. So the Holy Spirit did not come to do His own will, but the will of Christ.¹ Besides, how could anyone expect to be baptized in the Spirit for special service if the Spirit was not already in them to make those special gifts work in honor to Christ and to the glory of God?²

Douglas Moo also gives us valuable teaching by pointing out that now Paul turns to directly addressing the readers of his letter. He congratulates them on not being controlled by carnality, but by the Spirit. This is part of, what Moo calls, Paul’s “two-regime theology.” That is, people are either ruled in their lives by their flesh or by the Spirit. Flesh and Spirit represent two main powers that operate in concurrence with the old person in Adam or the new person in Christ.³ It is by God’s grace in Christ that the new person has taken over the realm once dominated by the old person. It takes them from the narrow human outlook on life that leads to sin, to the spiritual vista dominated by God’s Holy Spirit. As far as Moo is concerned, it is clear, then, that when speaking of the flesh and the Spirit, Paul’s language is metaphorical. In other words, using figures of speech. It was his way of illustrating that people are dominated by one of two forces that control their behavior. One involves their sinful tendencies to satisfy the passions of their mind and flesh, and the other their spiritual tendencies to fulfill the yearnings of their soul and spirit. These two natures cannot live in harmony. One must surrender to the other.⁴

The author of the Messianic Bible shares something we all must take into consideration. He says that the “Spirit of Messiah” in the New Testament is equivalent to the “Torah of Messiah” in the Old Testament. The two should not be separated. That’s why, if anybody claims to know and love God, but willfully disregards His Torah, they will face judgment. The Apostle John agrees with Paul by saying: “The way we can be sure we know him is if we are obeying His commands. Anyone who says, ‘I know Him,’ but isn’t obeying His commands is a liar — the truth is not in them. But if someone keeps doing what He says, then truly love for God has been brought to its goal in them. This is how we are sure that we are united with Him. A person who claims to be continuing in union with Him ought to conduct their life the way He did.”⁵ When John spoke of “His commands” the only thing he could have meant is God’s Torah. As John says, the same Torah that guided Yeshua is the same Torah that guides us⁶.⁷

Verse 10: One day your body will die because of sins’ curse. But if Christ is in you, then your spirit will live on because Christ made you right with God.

Paul points to a dichotomy that was brought on by the original sin of Adam and Eve. When they were cast out of the Garden of Eden, their natural body and instincts took over while their spiritual nature died because of sin. After that, everything was controlled by man’s sinful nature. But when a person is born-again in Christ, their spirit is resurrected while their sinful nature is crucified and no longer holds sway over their heart, soul, and mind. By using the term “dead,” Paul is not referring to physical death, but death in the sense that our sinful nature should be treated as a dead body. So why should anyone consult a dead person? You don’t go to the graveyard and seek answers and help from those buried there. Paul uses the body here like a vacant house with nothing spiritual living inside.

At His last meal with the disciples, Jesus pointed to the matzo bread and said that it represented His body, then to the wine, and said it was a symbol of His blood. So, just at they ingested these items to be on the inside giving nutrition, by accepting Him as the bread from heaven, the wine of the spirit, He would be in them giving them spiritual nutrition to grow and be fruitful.⁸ So just as the bread and wine promoted life in the body, so Christ as the spiritual bread and wine would promote life in the spirit. Based on this truth, Jesus was able to tell His followers about His return: “On that day you will know that I am in the Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you.”⁹ As a result of this spiritual union, Jesus was able to tell His disciples: “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit.”¹⁰ Then Jesus thanked the Father and promised: “I will be in them, and you will be in me. So they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.”¹¹

This gave Paul a basis for telling the Corinthians: “Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. Don’t you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Of course, if you fail the test, He is not in you.”¹² Then to the Ephesians, he wrote: “I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.”¹³ And to the Colossians, he wrote: “God decided to let His people know just how rich and glorious that truth is. That secret truth, which is for all people, is that Christ lives in you, His people. He is our hope for glory.”¹⁴

In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul points out that there is no need to be anxious and feel deprived because our sinful nature is treated as a dead body. In the end, it will be destroyed to make way for a body to live in a new home Christ has prepared for us on His heavenly Father’s estate.¹⁵ So in effect, by dying to sin and announcing that our sinful nature is deceased, we are freeing ourselves early of the heavy baggage we must carry if the old sinful nature is kept alive. That way, our spiritual nature is then free to move and grow and produce fruit to the glory of God.

Paul explains it this way:  “There is a physical body. There is also a spiritual body. As the Scriptures say, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living person.’¹⁶ But the last Adam is a life-giving spirit. The spiritual man did not come first. It was the physical man that came first; then came the spiritual.”¹⁷ So he encourages the Ephesians: “Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. Your old-self has died, and your new-life is kept with Christ in God. Yes, Christ is now your life, and when He comes again, you will share in His glory.”¹⁸

It is not clear if all of the early church scholars understood Paul’s metaphor of how, like a dead body being raised to life, those who willingly crucify their fleshly nature will be revived and made alive with a vibrant spiritual nature. Some think of the resurrection, while others see it as part of being born-again. For instance, early church scholar Pelagius believes that if you are able to live a Christian life, then the carnal mind should not interfere because it is effectively dead. Your spirit was made alive in order to produce righteousness, for the aim is not just to stop doing carnal things but to do what is spiritual and pleasing to God.¹⁹

Then, early church Bishop of Cyrrhus²⁰ says that he sees Paul making something that may not have been very clear at first glance. That is, he was not attacking the flesh, but sin. After all, the born-again believer is alive in the Spirit but treats sin as a dead thing. So why would any Christian even contemplate sinning? That would be like wanting to kiss a skeleton’s lips or hold the decaying hand of a corpse. The Bishop also believes that when Paul speaks of the spirit, he means the soul since the soul is now spiritually alive. That’s why Paul commands the soul to follow after righteousness, whose fruit is the hope of eternal life.²¹

John Calvin sees a twofold purpose in God’s Spirit abiding in us. He says that God’s children are determined to be spiritual. Not on the basis of having reached full and complete perfection, but only because of the new creation that is now living in them. He also sees Paul anticipating some doubt as to how the Spirit can possess part of us, while another part is still under the power of death. So Paul gives this answer: The power of the quickening Spirit of Christ, which will be effectual in swallowing up our mortality, has taken control. That’s why the Apostle concludes that we wait patiently until all traces of sin are eradicated.²² This would certainly concur with the promise Jesus made to all who believe that they will have an abundant life in this world and eternal life in the world-to-come.

Adam Clarke sees the same thing and assumes that the Apostle Paul is trying to say that although the life of mankind has been forfeited, the sentence: “You were made out of dirt, so you will return to dirt,”²³ must be fulfilled on every human being. Yet, with their souls being made alive by the indwelling Spirit of Christ, it enables them to live a life of righteousness until they are given new body. That’s why they receive full assurance that their bodies, which are now under condemnation, because of sin, won’t matter. Having a spirit that will never die, they will be raised again to a new life of immortal glory.²⁴ How different this is from what the sin has to offer, which is confined to this world with nothing beyond death but being forever separated from God in eternal torment.