Lesson 18 – Romans Chapter 8:14-23
We started this chapter with a declaration and an announcement. All believers in Jesus Christ will not face any kind of punishment in their eternal state… this should give us cause to celebrate. Our journey in Romans 8 is giving us insights into the truth of God’s Word, little jewels of truth that will bring encouragement into our lives.
Rom. 8:14
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Or, children of God)
In the previous verses we saw that a person can allow God’s Holy Spirit to direct their path in life, or the flesh can rule over a person’s life, pushing them very far from living a righteous life in Christ.
Verse 14 identifies the Christian as being one of God’s children if His Spirit is the one calling the shots in their life. So being led by the Spirit is synonymous with walking according to the Spirit or walking in the Spirit. Being “led” or “walking” are terms that indicate an action on the part of the Christian, believers are not to become dormant, but be active and growing in their faith.
Heb. 11:6
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (NLT)
Those led by the Spirit are children of God.
II Cor. 6:18
“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.”
The believer can take comfort in knowing that he’s not only saved from God’s judgment, but he’s considered one of His children. There are all kinds of fathers in this world, some good, some not so good, but for the believer, they can lay claim to the God of this universe as being their very own Father. The truth of God’s word just gets better and better for us doesn’t it?
Rom. 8:15
“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
As believers we’re nothing like we used to be, we are no longer slaves to sin. We have received God’s Spirit within us, and now we have been adopted into the family of God.
Warren Wiersbe; “The word adoption in the New Testament means “being placed as an adult son.” We come into God’s family by birth. But the instant we are born into the family, God adopts us and gives us the position of an adult son. A baby cannot walk, speak, make decisions, or draw on the family wealth. But the believer can do all these things the instant he is born again.”
Roman customs in Paul’s day exercised a great deal of influence on Jewish family life. One custom is particularly significant in the relation to adoption. Roman law required that the adopter be a male and childless; and the one to be adopted had to be an independent adult, able to agree to being adopted. In the eyes of the law, the adopted one became a new creature; he was regarded as being born again into the new family… this is an illustration of what happens to the believer at their conversion.
The full scope of God’s work of salvation, His free gift that saves us, is seen in our very own adoption.
Salvation is much more than forgiveness of sins and deliverance from condemnation, it is also a position of great blessing. Believers are children of God.
Eph. 1:5
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.”
By God adopting us into His family, this becomes much more significant than any Roman law. Civilian laws can always be contested, but for the adopted child of God, the adoption is everlasting. Today people pay a substantial amount to adopt a child, a child of God was bought with the highest price… the blood of His Son Jesus.
“As sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
Mark 14:36
“And Jesus was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”
As children of God, we have a very intimate relationship with Him. As a young child you may have called your earthly father “Daddy” which is also the translation here of “Abba! Father!” Seeing this in God’s Word shows us that God wants us to be so comfortable with Him that we can call Him “Daddy.” Remember, God loves us even with the sin in our life.
Rom. 8:16-17
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 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.”
John MacArthur; “When believers are compelled by love for God, feel deep hatred for sin, reject the world, long for Christ’s return, love other Christians, experience answered prayer, discern between truth and error, long for and move toward Christlikeness, the work of the Holy Spirit is evidenced and those believers have witness that they are children of God.”
Because of our trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God has graciously adopted us as His own children, and one day we shall be like Him, like the perfect, sinless Son of God who took our sin upon Himself in order that we might share not only in His righteousness, but also His glory.
“And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”
I Peter 1:4
“To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,”
Just when you think it can’t get any better, we find out that we are not only a child of God, but we will also gain an inheritance from God. All of God’s children have an inheritance based on their relationship with God, which is incorruptible, undefiled, and reserved in heaven for us.
“And fellow heirs with Christ.”
Since God is all-powerful, He has no limitations, especially when it comes to His resources. This translates into our spiritual inheritance, and because we are fellow heirs with Christ, we will share in everything that the Son of God, Jesus Christ inherits as well. Not too shabby when you think about it.
Heb. 1:2
“In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
As Jesus is heir of all things, we will be heir of all things.
Col. 3:23-24
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
When a person receives an inheritance, that inheritance is only as good as the worth of the person that gives it. Our inheritance is given to us by God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth… the One who holds all things together. I think we don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to our inheritance.
James 1:17
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
John MacArthur; “In the arithmetic of earth, if each heir receives an equal share of an inheritance, each one gets only a certain fraction of the whole amount. But heaven is not under such limits, and every adopted child of God will receive the full inheritance with the Son. Everything that Christ receives by divine right, we will receive by divine grace.”
“If indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
Jesus paid a price to save us… He suffered for us. So, just as we inherit all that Jesus has, we will also share in His suffering.
Phil. 3:10
“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;”
The word “if” in our verse does not point out a possibility, but an actuality, and it is better rendered “because” we suffer with Him.
We live in a world that is under the rule of satan and his cronies, and with that, the world basically hates God and the children of God. If we live our lives unashamedly for Christ, we are going to experience some sort of persecution, whether it’s being mocked or ridiculed for your belief, denied certain things, or perhaps even rejected by your own family… these are all sufferings for Christ.
It’s important the we live out our lives in a boldness for God.
Luke 9:26
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
Be strong in the Lord…
Eph. 6:12
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
The powers of darkness are what rule this world, this is why the believer will face persecutions and intimidations, resulting in suffering for Christ.
Eph. 6:10
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
Think about all that God has done for you and the inheritance that awaits you. True Christian strength comes from recognizing our utter dependence on God. This is what Paul meant when he wrote, “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Rom. 8:18
“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.”
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later.” (NLT)
Paul, if anyone, is most qualified to make a statement like this because he truly suffered for Christ personally.
II Cor. 11:23-28
“Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.” (NLT)
I don’t think any of us will ever suffer the things Paul went through, but in our own smaller ways, we will suffer things in this life for Christ’s sake.
But when it’s all said and done… “compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
When we go through physical pain it seems unbearable at the time, then when the pain has passed, the pain is but a memory for us. Will we remember the pains and sorrows we experienced in this life? I don’t know. What I do know is there is a great glory coming to all who believe in Jesus Christ!
Phil 3:12-14
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
The day is coming when we will all receive our glorified bodies, this will come at the resurrection. God will call His children home to be with Him.
The greatest glory we will ever see is God’s glory. God’s plan of the resurrection will be the culmination of His “Good News.” God’s plan of redemption will finally be fulfilled, His Son will be glorified, and His children will be home with Him for all to see.
Col. 1:27
“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory.” (NLT)
Feel free to share this secret with anyone.
Rom. 8:19
“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.”
“For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.” (NLT)
All creation is eagerly waiting or has anxious longings. Why is this happening? Because all of creation has always been experiencing God’s curse on this earth, and creation is waiting for better days.
Jon Courson; “There are groups who teach that in the end times the “manifested sons of God” will be super-saints who will not have struggles or problems like others, but will exist on a different level than the rest of us. “Join us,” say these groups, “and you, too, can be one of the manifested sons of God.” I have a real problem with this interpretation because the Bible never even hints at such heresy. Who, then, who are the manifested sons of God? We are. (I Jn. 3:1 “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”) The manifestation of the sons of God will take place when Jesus comes back, when we see Him, when we are made like Him, and when, at last we will be the kind of people we’ve longed to be.”
Rom. 8:20
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope.”
“Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope,” (NLT)
“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope.” (NIV)
All of creation was subjected to futility, emptiness, frustration, or God’s curse. Religious philosopher Blaise Pascal was right when he said, there is a “God-shaped vacuum” in the heart of every man. Man knows deep down in his soul, that he will be lost forever without having God in him to fill that emptiness. Although man tries to fill that hole in his heart with everything that the world has to offer, things like materialism, sex, or drugs, nothing can fill that hole except God.
Rom. 8:21
“In hope, that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
All of creation was cursed when man sinned in the garden. If we study nature we will see contrasting images, we have gentle flowing streams, mountain wild flowers, birds singing… then on the other hand we experience hurricanes, floods, tornados, wild-fires, disease, and human suffering, the list is long. Creation hopes for the day when God will change everything.
Creation wants to “Be set free from its slavery to corruption.” It longs to see “the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
Rom. 8:22
“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
This is the first of three “groans” that Paul talks about. “The whole creation groans,” what creation is going through is the fault of man, and not the fault of creation. No wonder nature attacks us.
Creation is waiting for our redemption, a redemption that it will share with us in its own way. But until this happens, it groans.
Groans (Stenazō) refers to the utterances of a person who is caught in a dreadful situation and has no immediate prospect of deliverance.
The groaning and suffering of creation will one day come to a stop. In the meantime, it endures the pains of childbirth.
Gen. 3:16
“To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Ladies, all that pain and suffering you experienced while giving birth to your children, well you can blame that one on Eve. But also like Eve and her descendants, nature’s pains of childbirth signal new life is coming.
A mother shared her funny childbirth story… As a custom, doctors encourage women in labor to keep pushing harder and harder until the baby comes out. Even when there is an objection that what is being felt is something different, the urge to keep pushing is always encouraged. In this case, the woman told the doctor she had gas, but it was brushed off as nothing more than pressure from the baby. They soon knew who was right in this case, with a hard push she passed gas and it was extremely loud.
Rom. 8:23
“And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”
“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.” (NLT)
“And not only this,” this is like Paul saying to us, “Hold on to your hats because there’s more coming… pay attention.
“But also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit,”
Because the Holy Spirit now lives in us, He is working all the time, and as He works in us, and through us, this is a type or picture of spiritual first fruits.
Gal. 5:22-23
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
The more these fruits of the Spirit become a part of our life, we begin to see the world in a whole new light, and a change begins to take place, and with this change the things of this world will lose their attractiveness.
“Even we ourselves groan within ourselves,”
We see the world for what it is, and when that reality sinks in, our spirit and soul begin to groan within… causing us to hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.”
It’s only natural that believers would look forward to the day when the struggles of this earthly life will come to an end.
We have been promised an inheritance (our full rights as His adopted children) which is beyond our thoughts and imagination, and with that, we will also receive our glorified bodies. We’ve talked about this before, we will have new bodies like Jesus… we won’t become a god like some religions teach, but we will have a body like God, perfect in every way, ready for eternity.
Does anyone feel discouraged at this point? Even though our soul’s groan with anticipation, we should be encouraged because we know that we serve a God who keeps His promises. God has us in His hand, He will be with us through all the trials and tribulations… and whatever persecutions we may face.
Remember…
Heb. 13:8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”