Reflection on Rom 8:14-15

Verse 14 reads: “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” The first part is crucial: “All who are led by the Spirit of God…” It is not enough to receive the Spirit of God or to pray to Him. We need to be led by Him, or, in other words, to walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads our mind to the truth and He leads our will to overcome fear, laziness and sin. In verse 13 we read: “…if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” God’s Spirit strengthens our spirit and our will in resisting the process of self-destruction which started with the infection by original sin. The expressions ‘old self’, ‘heart of stone’, ‘original sin’, ‘corrupt nature’, ‘negative core’ or ‘evil root’ can be used as synonyms for this process of self-destruction in us. This bears poisonous fruits – sins. Sin has its power in lies. We easily believe in lies and obey the spirit of lies, just like Eve in the Garden of Eden. On the other hand, our corrupt nature does not want to believe and obey God and His Word. Various pagan philosophies, modern psychologies or theologies distort the truth, the spirit behind them being the spirit of lies and death. To be led by the Spirit of God basically means obedience to the voice of conscience and God’s laws, i.e. obedience to God.

In interior prayer, we surrender our past and our future to the will of God. Let us do so at least for one minute every day. At that moment we realize Christ’s death and our death too. The death of Jesus is the way to the arms of the Heavenly Father (Lk 23:46). It is the narrow way to eternal glory (Mt 7:14). This one minute is our preparation for a happy minute of death, when our spirit is freed from the slavery of our soul, from the prison of our body and from all vanity. We experience the reality of our death united with Jesus’ death. Here in the obedience of faith we commend our spirit into the Father’s arms through the narrow way of Christ’s death. This is encompassed in the mystery of our baptism (Rom 6:3-5). As our spirit is separated from the soul and from the vanities of the world, it is true about us: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3). In this minute we experience loving God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength (Lk 10:27). This is the first and greatest commandment. Question: Have you ever loved God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength? Was it yesterday? Was it today?

If we are led by the Spirit of God, we are sons of God (v. 14) and we have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father” (v. 15). The Spirit of God bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God (v. 16), and heirs of God also, sharing in His glory (v. 17). Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ (v. 39).

Download: Reflection on Rom 8:14-15