The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Let us realize that the Spirit of God is in us. But let us also realize that the deepest part of our being is our spirit. What is the difference between our soul and our spirit? Both are spiritual and it is hard to distinguish between them. The soul has God-given powers, but the spirit is the pure “self”, the deepest essence of our being. At the same time, it is the opposite of the negative self, the so-called old self, ego, which binds and substitutes for the spirit. Our spirit longs for God as the magnetic needle always points to the North, because God is our beginning, and we are created in His image having an immortal spirit.

Let us notice some terms in the Greek original, such as “pneuma douleia” and “pneuma hiuothesia”. Pneuma means spirit, doulos means slave. So it is said that we did not receive the spirit of bondage (slavery). Huios means son, hiuothesia means adoption as sons. It is said that we did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear. The term “to fear” is expressed with the words “eis (unto, towards) phobos”. The Greek word “phobos” is used internationally to denote fear – phobia. We received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out – Greek “krazomen”. Krazo literally means cry aloud. In the Gospel of St Matthew we read that as Jesus was dying He cried out with a loud voice – “krazomen” (Mt 27:50). The word “Abba” is Hebrew for a diminutive form of ‘Father’, like “Daddy!” The Greek original uses the word “elabete” twice. Lambano (elabon) – to take, receive. It is written here: “you did not receive the spirit of bondage, but you received (elabete) the Spirit of adoption”. So much, briefly, for the explanation of terms.

Now let us realize the spiritual content, and this is the main thing to reveal the depth of certain truths. The word ‘receive’ (labein) is very important. The Scripture says that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God (Jn 1:12).

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

The majority of people are led by the spirit of the world and ignore the Spirit of God. The spirit of the world, however, does not make people sons of God but rather sons of rebellion and wrath. Be aware of the dignity of being a son of God.

Question: What does verse 15 say about the Spirit of adoption (sonship)?

Answer: ……………………

Question: And what does the Spirit of God together with our spirit bear witness about in verse 16?

Answer: ……………………

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors – not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Question: According to Rom 8:12, what are we not debtors to?

Answer: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Question: What follows from this according to Rom 8:12?

Answer: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Let us notice in this verse 11 and in the previous verses the connection with the mystery of the Holy Trinity. It is written here: “The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead…” We know from other Scripture verses that the whole Trinity – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – participates in the resurrection of Christ. Being man, Jesus was raised by God, by the power of God, but from another point of view, being true God, He rose by His own power. Jesus is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, as we confess in the Creed.

This verse 11 emphasizes that the Spirit of Him – i.e. the Father – raised Jesus from the dead. But it also says that this Spirit, the Spirit of the Father, dwells in us, and He, the Spirit of the Father who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies. Once again, it emphasizes: “…through His Spirit who dwells in us.” So let us be aware that the Spirit of God who dwells in the Father also dwells in us through the saving faith. And what will this Spirit do? He will give life to our mortal bodies.

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

This verse repeats and emphasizes what the essence is of our victory over sin. The preceding verse states a condition: “…if the Spirit of God dwells in you.” And this condition is confirmed at the end of the verse with the words: “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” So if the Spirit of God dwells in us, we belong to Christ because we have His Spirit. The Scripture says: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” And then: “Do you not know that the Spirit of God dwells in you? You are the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit.” In another place, it says: “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Jesus said: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” So the Spirit of God makes Jesus and the Father present in us. The whole Trinity dwells in us, as Jesus Himself says. And verse 10, which we are going to recite for two weeks, highlights the following: “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

Let me ask the essential question: Are these words, saying that I am not in the flesh, really true about me? Does the Spirit of God dwell in me? Is it not the mind and spirit of the world that rules in me? The sign of the Spirit of God really dwelling in me is that I allow Him to work in prayer as well as in decision-making; in other words, I live according to the Spirit. And here is a very important truth related to the previous one: “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” Do I have the Spirit of Christ? The Scripture says: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” And it is the Spirit of God who guides us into the mind of Christ, which is founded on the doing of God’s will. But in order to do God’s will we must seek it first.

How shall we obtain the Spirit of Christ? The Word of God says: “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” When we strive for spiritual union with the Lord in interior prayer, we receive His Spirit. His Spirit then guides us into divine truths and into union with Him.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The preceding verse reads, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

The Spirit of God through the Apostle Paul once again repeats and categorically emphasizes the basic contradictions: to be carnally minded and to be spiritually minded. We need to be aware that our mind reflects our life. If we live according to the flesh, we set our minds on the things of the flesh. And if we live according to the Spirit, we set our minds on the things of the Spirit.

What does it mean to live according to the flesh? It means to ignore God in our personal life and to occupy our minds with mere material interests, with no respect for God’s commandments, without seeking God’s truth, giving no thought to God’s judgment or eternity.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Verses 5-6 are a continuation of the preceding verses and explain again that those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh and those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Next it is said that to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. This concerns both time and eternity. The fruit of the former is death and the fruit of the latter is not only temporal but also eternal life.

We need to realize again that setting our minds on the things of the Spirit and living according to the Spirit is connected with the law of the Spirit. And the law of the Spirit is essentially connected with Jesus, it is in Him. Those who are in Christ are spiritually rather than carnally minded – that means, they do not set their minds on themselves but on Jesus.

“…that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us

who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Verse 4 of the Epistle to the Romans says that the condition for the righteousness of the law to be fulfilled in us is that we should not live according to the flesh, i.e. according to the law of sin which is in us but according to the Spirit of God. This chapter eight often repeats the Greek word “sarkos”, which is translated as ‘flesh’. In this sense, it means the lower physical aspect of the human being. It is exposed to a very strong influence of the law of sin and negative lusts that enslave man. The Greek word “soma” is used for ‘body’, which also includes the mental aspect. On the other hand, the related verses speak about the Spirit, meaning the Holy Spirit. Verse 16 says that deep within us, in our soul, is our human spirit, and it is written: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Taking note of the previous three verses, verse 1 emphasizes that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Again, it is emphasized that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.

This verse of Scripture is a continuation of the preceding one which says that the law of the Spirit has made me (you) free from the law of sin and death. Verse 3 speaks about the law, which means the Law of Moses, i.e. the Law of God, which contains certain ordinances which are good and true, but the law does not give us the strength to wholly obey them. The law, as Scripture says, above all convicts us of sin. That is why God sent His Son to die for us. He took human flesh, in other words came in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, to overcome sin, this spiritual poison, in His flesh.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows … and by His stripes we are healed. … All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. … He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (cf. Isa 53:4-12) This was foretold by the prophet Isaiah several centuries before the coming of Jesus – the Saviour.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

These Scripture verses from the Epistle to the Romans are a continuation of the preceding verses where the Apostle cries out: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” In chapter eight we read that those are free who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes us free from the law of sin and death. The process of our deliverance in every new situation is accomplished again and again only in Christ Jesus.

The law of sin is a machine against which we are powerless relying on our human efforts. The law of the Spirit of life works in those who “walk according to the Spirit of God rather than according to the flesh” (Rom 8:1).

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God (for doing so) through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

At the end of chapter seven, the Apostle cries out: “O wretched man that I am!” He says it in the light of God, aware of the law of sin which is at work in us as well as of human powerlessness when we want to do good by our own efforts. Saying this, the Apostle also asks: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” And he gives the answer at once: “Thanks be to God (for doing so) through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” cried the Apostle Paul. There is nothing more musical in the ears of the Lord. This cry is the most spiritual cry a man can utter.

“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

In verse 20, we read: “Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” It speaks about original sin, or the “old self”, which is in every one of us. The old self manipulates us and causes us to become slaves. It is a sad inheritance from our first parents. This spiritual poison, the devil’s seed, is programmed to keep us independent of God. From God’s Word we learn that its strength lies in the law of sin. Verse 23 says: “But I see another law in my members … bringing me into captivity to the law of sin…”

The verses also speak about the law of our mind, i.e. about conscience – God’s voice in us. This law is at war with the law of sin. When a certain phenomenon occurs repeatedly, we can speak about a law. Thus, sin becomes an enslaving force. This is the objective reality in all people whether they are aware of it or not, or do not want to be aware of it. The verses reveal an inward fight between the higher and the lower – the spiritual and the natural.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practise. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

The Word of God indicates that evil dwells in me. This evil overcomes the good that I will to do and manipulates me into doing the evil that I will not to do. Evil is the fruit of original sin, spiritual poison, which caused disharmony and death. It works in us, and if we yield to evil it will prepare the worst for us – eternal death. It is a kind of injustice, violence, manipulation and slavery, although we refuse to admit it. We can see that the fruits of this evil are all crimes, murders, perversions, wars and genocides of nations. Evil and sin in us is really a mystery which we cannot fully understand by reason and only the light of God can reveal to us this mystery of iniquity. Our task, however, is not to meddle with sin but rather to avoid it! The most important thing is to know what to do with it – this is true wisdom. We need to bring our sins into God’s light to the foot of the cross. And concerning the root of evil, or the old self, it was crucified with Christ. This truth must be actualized by faith ever anew. Verse 24 says: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Deliverance is in Christ Jesus! It only remains for us to give thanks to God.

Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

In chapter three of the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle says that all are guilty before God. The Apostle asks: “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because they have been entrusted with the very words of God.” In verse 9, he asks: “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practised deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.’” And these verses are followed by verses 14-19, which we are going to remember during the following two weeks. “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”