Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXVI)

Speaking of being joint-heirs with Christ, Charles Spurgeon follows this same theme by noting that all members of God’s family are not just co-heirs, but equal-heirs. As such, Abraham and all the patriarchs are not heirs of more than those who will be born into God’s kingdom the day before our Lord returns. Then Spurgeon asks: “Heirs of what?” He goes on to say that we are heirs of what God chooses to give and He has promised to give of Himself. If this is true, then nothing more need be said. Spurgeon then makes reference to the troubles and trials that the prophet Jeremiah suffered because of preaching the word God gave him. Yet, in the midst of his sorrows he stated: “I said to myself, the LORD is my inheritance, therefore, I will put my hope in Him.”¹ For Spurgeon, this is a blessed co-partnership – this fellowship: joint-heirs with Christ. What a joy to take part in the whole heritage of grace, as well the heritage of suffering that allows us to be part of God’s glory.²

Frédéric Godet has a lengthy commentary on this verse, but it is worth looking at some of what he says. For Godet, Paul is using an expression chosen specifically to impress us with the grandeur of what has been promised: being co-heirs with Christ. Such loftiness of holding the title as heirs of God could have easily been overlooked had not Paul taken what some would consider an abstract idea and made it tangible by adding concrete facts. Godet explains that being an heir with Christ does not mean that it is first given to Him and then He gives it to us. Rather we will be given possession of the inheritance at the same time as He receives it from the Father so that we receive the divine possession with Him.

Godet goes on to say that in order to get a better view of what it means to be called joint-heirs with Christ, we should consider what the relationship between Christ and the Father really entails. By doing so, we should have a better understanding of what we are hoping for as children of God.³ In order to come into possession of the inheritance, one precondition must be met: only if we suffer with Him. Paul no doubt knew that as ambitious and excited some are to stand in Christ’s glory with Him, they are equally as likely to recoil from any thought of having to go through suffering to get there. But it is precisely in suffering that the cohesive bond between Christ and His followers is strengthened. That’s why, when qualifying as His joint-heirs, we are drawn closer and closer to Him. As Godet sees it, we can only take possession of the glorious heritage by accepting and doing our part in the common inheritance of suffering as He did.⁴

Douglas Moo believes that to better understand what Paul has said here we should combine Romans 8:14-17 with Galatians 4:3b-7. He points out that in both passages, Paul talks convincingly about how believers are transformed from being slaves of sin to sons of God through the sacrificial death of Christ. That was the reason He was sent to be one of us. This elevated status was acquired through the process of adoption. And being adopted is tied to the indwelling of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit who makes us aware that we now belong to God as His dearly loved children. Not what someone else says or claims, but the personal testimony inside our heart and mind as the Spirit agrees with our spirit that this transformation has happened. Being God’s children then leads to our being His joint-heirs.⁵

Jewish scholar David Stern agrees with Dr. Moo on examining this in the context of verses 14-17. He asks the question, “How do we know that the Spirit will empower us to obey the Torah, as promised in verses 1–13?” We get the answer from Paul’s guarantee as a God-appointed Apostle to the Gentiles that the Good News he brought contained an inspired message of hope. That message is clear: We who trust Yeshua will one day share in His glory. So what Paul is saying here is that God put His Spirit inside all believers to give them the assurance and confidence that it is all true. Also, that we will be victorious no matter what sufferings, discouragements, and doubts we meet along the way.

Says Stern, the first part of this blessed assurance is that the Spirit within us is God’s Spirit. This is the identical Spirit that moved over the face of the waters on the first day of creation.⁶ The same Spirit who inspired the prophets.⁷ It is by the same Spirit who is co-equal with God the Father and Yeshua the Son,⁸ that we are being led. The second part of the assurance is certified by our being bonafide adopted children of God. We do not follow Yeshua as slaves which would imply alienation because we would not be serving Him willingly. Also, our relationship with God is one of deep intimacy, the kind that allows children to lovingly call their father “Papa.”⁹ Furthermore, the family relationship we have with the Father is not only personal but legal. This is what makes us heirs of God as joint-heirs with the Messiah, our divine brother.”¹⁰

Stern then goes on to say that this adoption by God to become His children is only for those who are led and follow the leading of God’s Spirit. Another way of saying it is only those who have put their full trust for salvation in Yeshua. He alone is the one who sends the Spirit.¹¹ Also, those who do not have Yeshua in their hearts are not in the Father’s heart either.¹² And for everyone who believes in God the Father and Yeshua the Son, the Spirit of God Himself bears witness with our own spirit that we are children of God. But we must keep believing, hoping, and waiting because the adoption process will not reach its ultimate climax until our whole bodies are redeemed and set free,¹³ so we can become like Him.¹⁴ Adoption is so important because it follows reconciliation; on our being restored to God’s favor from our former condition as His enemies and becoming His family and friends.¹⁵

Stern concludes with by making note that in many Western societies individuals who have been adopted are stigmatized as not being real or genuine members of the family. But in God’s eyes, adoption is a very positive state of being. Those who have been adopted are first-class children of God. Furthermore, they become legitimate joint-heirs with the Messiah. That’s why as babes in Christ we can grow up gratified at having been chosen by God and adopted into the elect family of the redeemed. And the big difference between normal human adoption and God’s divine plan of adoption is that all who are chosen are then born-again into the family of God. Does it get any more real! As such we have been transferred from death to eternal life by God the Father at His own bidding¹⁶.¹⁷

Verse 18: We have pain and sorrow now, but these are nothing compared to the great glory that will be given to us.

Paul also wants the Roman believers to know that this is not what we would call today, “bait and switch.” That means, a person is promised one thing for their compliance, but when they finish they are given something totally different. One serious problem found in current preaching and teaching in the church is that all emphasis is placed on the glory and blessings of the Christian life, while the hardships and persecution are left untouched. Jesus made it clear when He said: “When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers – that’s wonderful! Be happy about it! Be very glad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven.”¹⁸

As Paul neared the end of his missionary journeys, he told those who came out to hear him preach: “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love.”¹⁹ We must keep in mind that part of that ministry involved persecution, beatings, being jailed, fleeing or his life, and eventually being tried and martyred for the sake of the Gospel. Because of this, he was able to tell the Corinthians: “These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”²⁰

The writer of Hebrews uses Moses as an example of such dedication: “It was by faith that Moses when he grew up, refused to be treated as the grandson of Pharaoh, but chose to share ill-treatment with God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Christ than to own all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the great reward that God would give him.”²¹

Even the Apostle Peter, who knew what it was to suffer for the cause of Christ, had this to say: “So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of His return.”²²

So Paul tells the Colossians: “When Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with Him and share in all His glories.”²³ And when he wrote the anxious saints in Thessalonica he encouraged them by saying: “I would say to you who are suffering, God will give you rest along with us when the Lord Jesus appears suddenly from heaven in flaming fire with His mighty angels… When He comes to receive praise and admiration because of all He has done for His people, His saints, you will be among those praising Him because you have believed what we told you about Him… Then everyone will be praising the name of the Lord Jesus Christ because of the results they see in you, and your greatest glory will be that you belong to Him. The tender mercy of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ has made all this possible for you.”²⁴

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXV)

When writing to his friend Titus, Paul made this point: “Because of His great kindness; we can now share in the wealth of the eternal life He gives us, and we are eagerly looking forward to receiving it.”¹ The writer of Hebrews was also convinced of this promise and stated: “God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those He promised to help would be perfectly sure and never need to wonder whether He might change His plans.”² Therefore, whatever we receive from God is not due to any good works we may do, but through the work done by Christ, and Christ alone. Consequently, it is our obedience and faithfulness to God’s word and God’s ways that reap the dividends promised to Abraham and confirmed in Christ. That’s why Paul says that we have become joint-heirs with Christ.

Jesus illustrated this pathway to the promise when He told His followers: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”³ This became the message Jesus sent to His disciples after He died on the cross and rose from death: “Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering His time of glory?”⁴ So when Paul went out on his missionary expeditions, he carried the same message with him: “He encouraged them to continue in the faith in spite of all the persecution, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.”⁵ That’s why the reward is not given to all who participate, but only those who persevere to the finish line.⁶

When speaking of inheritance, both the Jews and Romans had specific laws respecting heirs whether they be natural or adopted. Before the law was given to Moses we read: “Nowhere in the land were women as beautiful as Job’s daughters to be found, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.”⁷ However, after the law was issued we read in the Jewish Mishnah that the order of succession became as follows: If a man dies, and has no son, then you must see that his inheritance is passed on to his daughter.⁸ The writer then goes on to say that from this we can conclude that a son takes precedence over a daughter.”⁹ There is no such provision for servants or slaves.

Receiving an inheritance was not only considered high in financial value but also spiritual value. It is said that when a person receives an inheritance that is given by God, they ascend to greatness. However, if sudden worldly wealth causes them to sink down to becoming a hoodlum, if they repent, the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise them up again.¹⁰ No doubt this understanding was in Paul’s mind when he talked about believers becoming heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. Knowing that the trials, tests, and temptations coming their way may try to discourage believers from keeping on. It’s what awaits the true believer at the end that will make it worth everything.

The early church Bishop of Paul’s hometown of Tarsus says that Christ did not suffer in order to get attention, nor did He go through trials and temptations in order for people to sympathize and feel sorry for Him. To suffer with Christ means to be brave during the same tests, persecutions, and rejections that He endured because He preached the Gospel. If we are willing to suffer with Him, then we will be able to stand with Him in glory as well. Such glory is a golden opportunity and should not be seen as something we earn or attempt to get. It is a free gift from a gracious Savior. And that free gift can only go to those who have received remission of their sins¹¹.¹²

Pelagius notes that Paul is saying that the adopted person who is made worthy to be a child of God is also then considered worthy to become a co-heir with His only Son. But this happens only when we are willing to suffer for Him and with Him even as He suffered for us and suffers with us.¹³ But early church bishop Theodoret takes it a step further and says that in real life, not every son is an heir of the one who procreated him. Paul correctly adds heredity, which means passing on characteristics genetically from one generation to another. God was able to do this to His adopted children. That’s why they are not only known as the adopted children of God but Christians because they are Christlike. It is true that God allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust,¹⁴ but when it comes to being made joint-heirs with Christ, it reveals God’s indescribable love for those He redeemed, called, chose, and made ready to be glorified as His children. Pelagius then poses an important question: Will all those who have been blessed with baptism enjoy these good things, or will only those who gladly accept the fellowship of the Lord’s sufferings as well? That a question the Apostle Paul will attempt to answer.¹⁵

Reformist John Calvin points out that there are various interpretations of what Paul said here. In his own mind, Calvin preferred the following rendering: “We are co-heirs with Christ provided that we enter into our inheritance by following Him down the same path He took going before us.”¹⁶ In other words, there is no need to think of “suffering” as referring to our having to be beaten, carry our own cross, or dying on a cross as martyrs. Paul uses the Greek term sympaschō only once more in 1 Corinthians 12:26. Thayer, in his Greek lexicon, says that as it is employed here, it means to feel what others feel. So when troubles and persecution come our way, we are to respond to them the same way Jesus did. Calvin goes on to say that we should not dread or become fearful when facing such difficulties because Jesus does not let us go through them alone, He is always with us.

Adam Clarke points to the fact that whatever occurs in our lives that may cause anxiety or persecution should be viewed in the light that we are joint-heirs with Christ to God’s promises. Clarke goes on to say that we should not look at it as something we inherit here on earth or in heaven. Our inheritance is God Himself and all that He is and has. Certainly, such an inheritance is far greater and more glorious than heaven itself. Clarke notes that God used His powers so that when He created the soul of man and woman, that nothing less than He Himself would be a satisfactory portion of the mind and soul of His most astonishing creation.¹⁷ This is another way of saying that the true inheritance we receive is not something we enjoy down here on earth and then must leave behind when Christ returns or something we must wait for until the resurrection when we enter the pearly gates of heaven, but something that will be with us both in this world and the world to come.

Robert Haldane gives his view on the Apostle Paul’s teaching that we can clearly prove our adoption as God’s children. He does so with a double confirmation by own spirit and by the Spirit of God. So here he infers that our possession of an eternal inheritance is secure and everlasting. It is easy to see that Paul traces how believers become divine heirs by being God’s children. Even in the everyday world and among most nations, children are the natural heirs of their parents’ possessions. So it follows naturally that believers are heirs because their Father is Almighty God. In Haldane’s view, by declaring us as heirs of the kingdom of God we are thereby reminded that was not something we bought nor something we earned, this inheritance was obtained as something to which we were predestined¹⁸.¹⁹

Albert Barnes notes that this heirship is the result of God treating us like His children along with His Son Christ Jesus. Barnes goes on to say, we all recognize that an heir is one who succeeds to an estate. So the meaning here is that if we are proven to be the children of God, then we are in line to be treated as such and be recipients of His favors. According to some customs, an adopted child receives only part of the inheritance.²⁰ So it is only right that what we receive from God the Father we share with His Son Jesus. The fact that we are united with Christ here on earth contributes to our belief that we will share in His glory up there in heaven. The relationship between Christ and Christians is often referred to in the New Testament. Does Jesus not say: “Because I live, you will live also.”²¹ And did not Paul tell Timothy: “For if we die with Him, we will also live with Him; if we suffer, we will also reign with Him.”²² And did not John hear the words: “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me on My throne.”²³ Barnes is focusing on the unity we have with Christ, God’s Son so that as we suffer together, we will also be glorified together.”²⁴

Charles Hodge gives us additional insight by pointing out that there are three ideas included in these words about our being joint-heirs with Christ. These can be seen as accessories to that which gives character to the main meaning – the right, the certainty, and the unalienable character of the possession. That’s why, when Paul says that believers are the heirs of God, he wants to acknowledge their identity, in, and through, their Redeemer to what is promised, as well as the quality and surety of what they will receive. Does not Paul say: “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”²⁵ Also, we have the same assurance expressed here that Paul assured for the Galatians: “Wherefore you are no longer a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.²⁶”²⁷

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXIV)

Albert Barnes shares His insight concerning the witness of God’s Spirit with the believer’s spirit by noting that it is tied to the believer’s adoption as a child of Adam and being made a child of God. It involves the Holy Spirit furnishing evidence to our hearts and minds that we are truly part of the family of God.¹ If someone were to ask how this is done, Barnes would answer: it is not by any revelation of some new, truth; it is not by inspiration; it is not by visible assurance; it is not being told that we are elected to eternal life; it is only by the appropriate effects of the Spirit’s influence being produced in us. When the heart is renewed, and the soul is sanctified, they blossom with love. Love then is transformed into, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control These are the basic elements of authority that you are a child of the King.²

Barnes goes on to say, if a person has these fruit of the Spirit they provide proof positive that the witness between their spirit and God’s Spirit is genuine. Without such evidence, there is no way of knowing. Some may immediately question: If I repeat the Sinner’s Prayer, go to church every Sunday, participate in the praise and worship, read my Daily Devotions and say grace over my meals, that’s not enough to prove that I’m a child of God? Barnes says that the best way to ascertain whether this witnessing of the Spirit to our spirit, is by going to God’s Word with an honest heart and open mind to inquire whether the fruit we see in our lives is, in fact, the fruit that buds, blossoms, and blooms because the Holy Spirit dwells in us. If we do not do this, says Barnes, then it will become clear that any confidence we have of being in good standing with God will be nothing but a wish. And all the visions, and spiritual ecstasies, and fancied revelations we may claim to have had will turn out to be mere delusions. Barnes also feels that the effect of these fruit of the Spirit on the mind is to produce a calm and heavenly attitude. So, when it becomes obvious this heavenly attitude leads to a holy life, then we may rejoice that this is sufficient evidence that we are God’s children. For some, this is hard to accept because they want to garner some credit for their being saved, when in fact it is totally attributed to the grace and sovereignty of God.³

Charles Hodge agrees that the Holy Spirit is not given to produce a submissive and anxious state of mind such as those who are still under the law. Instead, it produces the feelings of affection, reverence, confidence, and enables us, out of the fullness of our hearts as children, to freely call God our Father.⁴ Hodge goes on to point out that readers of the English text do not get the full impact of what Paul was saying here in his Greek composition. He was writing to the church in Rome that had both Jewish and Gentile members. Therefore, he uses both languages to show how both groups refer the God as “Father.” For the Jew, it would be Abba, and for the Greek, it would be Patēr. Hodge also notes that the repetition of these synonyms may be employed to give fuller utterance to a person’s feelings.⁵

Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), a Dutch jurist and philosopher, whose contributions to Armenian theology provided the seeds for such movements as Methodism and Pentecostalism, pointed out in his writing on this part of Paul’s letter that boys often imitate the voices of their fathers as a form of adulation and flattery to repeat what we read in Mark: “Abba, Patēr.”⁶ This interpretation has given some Bible scholars the opportunity to take these Aramaic and Greek words, put them together to form an endearing way of a child saying in English, “Papa Papa.” But it may also be understood as Grotius said, flattering because it repeats the same word in two ways. Here, it appears that Paul was wanting to emphasize how children call to their fathers when they see them come home after being at work all day.

Preacher Octavius Winslow preached against believers living with a spirit of bondage. Their relationship with God under the new covenant dispensation is not the same as that which a slave has to their master, but of which a child has with their father. Did not Paul tell the Galatians: “Because you are His children, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Patēr.’”⁷ And to the Romans: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God.”⁸ Thus he was able to tell the Galatians: “So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child”⁹ Now, with this new spiritual relationship with God, we must strive for a new spiritual motive. We will find it in that single but comprehensive word – LOVE. That’s how our Lord declared it: “If you love me, keep my commandments.”¹⁰ “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching…Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”¹¹

It is only after this love floods our heart through the Holy Spirit that we may expect to experience willing obedience. As a result of this Divine principle working in us, the believer does not work to get accepted into a new life. They were given a new life; they were not accepted. You don’t “get” new life, you are “given” new life. This will keep them from feeling compelled to live a holy, self-denying, cross-bearing life as some burden they must now carry as a slave. Rather, it is a joy and privilege as a loving, obedient child that springs from love and gratitude in their heart for what Jesus did that blessed them with having been adopted by God into His family.¹²

Also, preacher Charles Spurgeon says that the spirit of bondage is associated with servants, but not with sons. Our servitude to the law ended when we were ransomed and freed by Christ Jesus. So we are not afraid of the head of the house, we have reverence for Him as a family member, the same as a child has for their natural father. Spurgeon feels that we should all rejoice that we have been adopted into the family of God through the new birth and that the sweetest words which no slave would ever be allowed to pronounce can now be articulated by us when we look up to God and say, “Papa!” It is a child’s word, one of the first ones they learn when they begin to speak. and it runs the same both backward and forward. Oh to have a childlike spirit that, in whatever state of heart we may be, to still be able to say, in the excitement of an infant, “Papa, Papa!”¹³

Karl Barth comments on the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit by saying that ecstasies and illuminations, inspirations, and intuitions, are unnecessary in proving that we are the children of God. He is happy for those worthy to receive them! But misery may overtake those who wait anxiously for such things before they feel comfortable calling themselves a child of the King! We will soon be miserable if we fail to recognize that they are individual gifts. Everything that happens to us and in us can be no more and no less than what the Spirit Himself approves and does. Barth contends that the Spirit Himself can speak far beyond what we in our strength can articulate. The things God speaks about are immeasurably superior to the grandest of which our spirits can utter. He declares something to be true that we could never imagine without Him, He calls us His children.¹⁴

F. F. Bruce explains that the term “adoption” may have a somewhat awkward sound when we hear it mentioned as part of our relationship with God. We must remember that in the Roman empire of the first century AD when a man had no son to bequeath his estate to, he would often adopt a son deliberately chosen to perpetuate his reputation and continue the success of his estate. This adopted son was not one scintilla inferior in status to any son born in the ordinary course of reproduction. So he might as well enjoy his adopted father’s affection even more fully and reproduce the father’s character more worthily because he was personally chosen.¹⁵

John Stott adds to this by also pointing out the uncertainty of whether our “Abba, Patēr” should be said because we have received the Spirit of sonship, or that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. He says that if the reasoning is correct, then, “by receiving a Spirit of adoption, it enabled us to cry ‘Abba, Patēr!;”¹⁶ If the second reasoning is true, then the sentence should read: “When we cry ‘Abba, Patēr!’ it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”¹⁷ The difference is not all that great. In the first case of saying “Abba, Patēr,” the expression results from our having received the Spirit of adoption. In the second case, it is the result of the Spirit’s inward witness that allows us to do so. In Stott’s mind, either way, the indwelling of the Spirit, the warm child’s greeting, and the witness belong together.¹⁸

Verse 17: If we are God’s children, we will get the blessings God has for His people. He will give us all that He has given Christ. But first we must suffer like Christ suffered. Only then we will be able to share His glory.

Here the Apostle Paul offers an interesting sequence on how our calling to be God’s children also gives us an opportunity to share in the glory Christ bestowed on His Father by being faithful. One such occasion was that by dying in obedience to God’s will, Jesus was glorified when His Father raised Him from death just as He promised to do. Likewise, says Paul, if we endure suffering and persecution for His sake we will also share in that same glory.

This was not a new thought with Paul, Jesus shared the same when He said: “Don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.”¹⁹ That’s why Paul could use the same reasoning when he testified before King Agrippa about his call to take the good news to the Gentile world.²⁰ In fact, when he wrote to the Galatians he said: “Now that we are Christ’s we are the true descendants of Abraham, and all of God’s promises to Him belong to us.”²¹ Perhaps Paul included this here to remind the Jewish believers in Rome what he told the Ephesians: “This is the secret: that the Gentiles will have their full share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s sons; both are invited to belong to his Church, and all of God’s promises of mighty blessings through Christ apply to them both when they accept the Good News about Christ and what He has done for them.”²²

As a young lad, I was always captivated by the early days in American history. After reading the books by author Zane Grey, I was so good in my high school American History class they kicked me out! Sent me to the library to write an essay. So I wrote one on glass blowing in the USA, got an A+ and didn’t have to go back to that class the rest of the year!

I read what was available back then on an event that became known as Thanksgiving Day. But the more I got into history, I discovered that the whole story had not been told. Then one day I heard on the radio one of the enlightening recollections of the true story of Thanksgiving. It was given by radio host Rush Limbaugh. It is somewhat lengthy to reproduce here, but you can either read or listen to it at the following hyperlink:

https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/11/23/the_true_story_of_thanksgiving-2/

The point that jumps out at me each year on Thanksgiving Day is how so many people only gather as families to give thanks on one day of the year when it should be every day of the year. I like the way Paul explained it to the Thessalonians: “When is all this going to happen? I really don’t need to say anything about that, dear brothers and sisters, for you know perfectly well that no one knows. That day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, ‘All is well; everything is quiet and peaceful’—then, all of a sudden, disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman’s birth pains begin when her child is born. And these people will not be able to get away anywhere—there will be no place to hide…So dear brothers and sisters, warn those who are lazy, comfort those who are frightened, take tender care of those who are weak, and be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to everyone else. Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”¹

In other words, by being thankful at the start of each day, thankful during the day, and thankful at the end of the day. So when your life comes to an end or the end of this dispensation of grace with the coming of the Lord, it will not leave you disappointed that you didn’t take time to give God thanks for saving you, keeping you, protecting you, and coming back to get you. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

GOD IS NOT GOD JUST ON SUNDAY

After David became king of Israel and Judah, there were many who were not impressed with a man who spent so many years in the hills and caves like a fugitive running for his life. He was more like a maverick than of a monarch. Many did not go along with all of David’s decisions. They especially disliked his aggressive and combative ways against the Philistines and his overzealous worship of God as ruler and king of the land. Some wanted a more secular king, one who did not wear his religion on his sleeve and make them look bad because of his dedication, and putting God advice first in all his decisions. But David knew who had stood by him and brought him through again and again. So he devoted himself to pleasing his Master rather than man.

“Why are so many nations experiencing civil unrest; why have their unbelieving leaders lost touch with reality. These leaders have become so arrogant that they are united in their efforts against the LORD Eternal and His Anointed. ‘Let’s get rid of their power over us,’ they say; ‘let’s free ourselves from their influence.’ But the One sitting on His throne on high, our Divine Master, just laughs at their foolishness. ‘Listen, all you leaders, wise up; start disciplining yourselves if you expect to continue governing your people! Submit yourselves to the LORD Eternal with reverence and awe as you kneel trembling before Him. Treat Him with all the respect He deserves; don’t cause Him to be upset with you, even for a moment, thereby running the risk of losing everything. Then count your blessings when you make Him the One you depend on for your life and safety.’” Psalm 2:1-4, 10-12

Reflection: A prairie farmer in a small town café out in the Midwest USA boasted openly in the presence of a local pastor as to why he didn’t need to attend church. “This year I plowed my fields on Sunday, planted my seeds on Sunday, sprayed the weeds on Sunday, and harvested my crops on Sunday. As a matter of fact, this past October I brought in my best harvest ever!” The minister knew the farmer was trying to provoke a response by suggesting that attending church on Sunday was not all that important, so he replied gently to him, “You know, God is not limited to Sunday. His displeasure for not respecting Him involves more than one day a week.”

In other words, the farmer thought God owned only one day of the week. That’s why some people don’t understand how believers can give Him their reverence every day of the week. We must remember, that not everybody is going to applaud and fully support what God has called us to do. Believe it or not, there are some people hate giving God more than one day a week. If they are asked to come to church several times a week, they feel that God is taking time that belongs to them. Following God’s guidelines, even at the expense of some personal wants and wishes cannot be compared to the heavenly reward awaiting those who remain faithful. Keep in mind, whatever goals we may select in life when they have God’s approval they are worth giving Him every day of our life. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

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