Lesson for November 24, 2024
The Law of the Spirit of Life
Lesson 3
Romans 8:14-18
Verse 14
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons and daughters of God.”
Being led by the Holy Spirit refers to divine guidance. Divine guidance is the communication of God’s will through His revelation, the Bible. Divine revelation is found only in the Word of God. Therefore, you can know the will of God only by knowing the Word of God. (Romans 12:1-3) The worst thing any believer can do for their guidance in life is to depend on unbelievers or spiritually immature believers, since they have just human viewpoint to guide them.
Verse 15
“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba Father.”
The spirit of slavery refers to the obligation of the Law of Moses to produce perfect righteousness. It is a fearful thing when a person realizes they are unable to keep the Law perfectly. The false teaching of the religious leaders in the Age of Israel taught that a person had to keep the Law for salvation, which was impossible and led to fear of eternal damnation. The purpose of the Law of Moses was to teach the Jews about spiritual death, their need for a Savior, and God’s plan to send a sin-bearer (Messiah) to pay for sin. (Isaiah 53:6)
Positionally we are freed from a life of slavery to our sin natures, but experientially we still retain our sin natures and must learn how to control them by using our two power options – the filling of the Holy Spirit and accurate Bible doctrine. Fear indicates the lack of the filling of the Spirit and failure to apply Bible doctrine on a consistent basis.
A spirit of adoption is a reference to our human spirit received at salvation, which makes us children of God. Those who do not know God through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior are not children of God. As children of God, the purpose of our life should always be to glorify God, Who is our Father (Abba – Daddy).
Galatians 4:1-7, “Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he/she does not differ at all from a slave, although he/she is owner of everything, but he/she is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So, we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.Because you are sons and daughters, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!” Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son or a daughter; and if a son or a daughter, then an heir through God.”
The Greek verb for crying out is “krazo,” which means a shout of appeal to God as our Daddy. This is the expression of great happiness when believers realize what they have as a result of their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Verse 16 (Romans 8)
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.”
The assurance of being children of God comes from the Holy Spirit teaching our human spirit Bible doctrine. (John 14:26; 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16; 1 John 2:27) The reality of our relationship with God, our purpose in His plan, the mechanics of His plan, and our objectives for life come from our knowledge of God’s Word. The basis for confidence and security in our relationship with God is our knowledge of accurate Bible doctrine.
The Bible is the only source of absolute truth regarding God. Doctrine stored in our soul is the reality of our eternal relationship with God, which begins at the moment of salvation. In eternity, greater blessings from God await believers who fulfill His plan for their lives while here on earth. Therefore, in the plan of God, there is no substitute for learning and applying accurate Bible doctrine.
Verse 17
“And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
Since we are children of God, we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. This means we will share in Christ’s eternal inheritance. The Bible declares that it has not even entered into the mind of mankind what God has prepared for us. Our inheritance is going to be above and beyond anything we can imagine! (Galatians 3:26; 4:26; Romans 8:17)
In eternity past, when God was designing a plan for your life, He included an inheritance as part of His plan. God was thinking of you in eternity past and predesigned a magnificent plan for your life on earth. He also designed a plan for you for living in the eternal state. (Ephesians 1:11)
If indeed we suffer with Him. Suffering with Christ as a believer is a potential way to develop capacity for greater blessing. As believers in Jesus Christ, we identify with the suffering of Christ on the Cross. The Greek word for suffer is “sumpascho,” which means to suffer with. The sufferings of Christ on the Cross were absolutely unique. Paul is not saying that we will suffer to the same degree as Christ. Paul is saying that believers can identify with Christ’s suffering when they are suffering. (John 16:33; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; I Peter 4:12-13)
So that we may also be glorified with Him. The Greek word for glorified is “sundoxazo,” which means to be glorified with someone, to be fellow-glorified, or to share in someone else’s glory. The fact that Christ is glorified means that the potential exists for any member of the Royal Family of God to share in His glory. (I Peter 4:14)
Verse 18
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
The suffering of believers in this life cannot compare to what God has planned for us in eternity. For those of us who fulfill His plan for our lives, the rewards are going to be fantastic. For those believers who fail to live God’s plan for their lives, there will be loss of eternal rewards.
I Peter 5:10, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Living in Satan’s world system comes with suffering. Our daily lives are being impacted by the evil systems of the world system in which we live. However, God has supplied the necessary resources for believers to handle the suffering and glorify God in the midst of it. Suffering for believers is a test of faith, which if passed by relying on God and His Word, will result in a maturing faith in God, a confirmation of the reliability of His Word, supernatural power to live within God’s power system, and a stability that exceeds anything that the world has to offer.
I Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted (tested) beyond what you are able, but with the temptation (testing) will provide a way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
For a believer in Christ, there are two categories of suffering that involve punishment. The first is self-induced misery and the second is divine discipline. These two categories of suffering occur when a believer fails to develop their spiritual life by the consistent study and application of Bible doctrine.
Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Self-induced misery is a result of the violation of the Law of Volitional Responsibility. The Law of Volitional Responsibility states that all decisions in life have a consequence, either good or bad. When a believer makes a bad decision from a position of weakness, the inevitable result is always self-induced misery, if only for a minute. (Galatians 6:7)
Every human being (even unbelievers) operates under this law and since God gave us free will, it is our choice as to what our decisions will be, good or bad. These decisions determine the course of a person’s life. For a believer in Christ, their decisions from their free will determine whether they will have a spiritual life that will glorify God.
The Law of Volitional Responsibility means that a believer is responsible for their own decisions and actions. Under this law, a believer cannot blame another person for their unhappiness or misery. Even suffering from outside sources is never an excuse for unhappiness or misery for a believer. If your happiness depends on others or circumstances, then you are not relying on the problem-solving device of sharing the happiness of God. There is never an excuse for a believer in Jesus Christ to be unhappy!