“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for saints according to the will of God.”
“And we know that for those who “agape” love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn of many brothers.”
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those who he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Each time we sit down to consider Romans 8 we are whisked into God’s agape love. The Holy Spirit is revealing God’s own challenge for our Faith to flourish in Him.
The Holy Spirit carries us into the core, where we sense the pith of our Father God reaching down into our created dust to share Himself through the image of His resurrected Son, Jesus … into us! Forming together, both flesh and blood, into which He has beathed, not just life, but His own Life a second time; it is His glory exciting our palate. Taste and see!
God’s agape love inclined Him, with Jesus, to predestine us, His created flesh, to be conformed into His own image, so that, we might grow into the gloriousness of His Holy, righteous person. We are talking about knowing God personally! We are becoming holy as He is Holy. Words are not adequate! This is our calling, to know Him and the power of His resurrection. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought because we are His Spiritual children!
Growing in grace unlocks spiritual knowledge. Growing in grace is our common Spiritual call living in these jars of clay! Faith is our capacity to respond to God’s love call.
This is the holy ground on which we are treading! Paul opened us up with his Spiritual surgery beginning back in Romans 1:16-17, “the righteous shall live by faith.” Man in his natural habitat of flesh became a “sinner.” Adam and Eve choose “self,” breaking fellowship with their creator Father God. Spiritual surgery is required by God to restore His intended righteous fellowship by faith with created mankind.
God’s judgment is absolute; not being holy, pure and righteous is debauchery, this is the nature of sin! Spiritual surgery is required but only if a price is paid for violating what God has made perfect, DEATH! God satisfies this death penalty and then turns around and provides His own eternal life to replace man’s debauchery with His own Holiness and Life everlasting! What can we say!
God’s Son, Jesus, paid our debt with His death on the cross. Jesus also defeated death, so that, He might offer us His own resurrection Life. How can mankind reject such an offer, i.e., He will give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. -Romans 8:11c.
Fellowship with God requires absolute truth and righteousness. God set a standard of righteousness by way of the law and demonstrated man’s self-oriented nature incapable of measuring up to God’s Holy essence. God gave, not only eternal salvation, but eternal life now on earth, so that, we can facilitate His life in our flesh; His light is in our old broken jar of clay.
But what do we do with this holy, heavenly gift? We take His salvation but ignore our calling into His holiness, putting to death in our body what He has already put to death on the cross. He is calling us to do the same, live in the Spirit and not in the flesh! He is calling us to live His life as light for others to see, sharing in His fellowship with others while living in Him.
We do not know what to pray for as we ought because we are Spiritual children. John, in his first letter, addresses us as “little children.” He uses this Greek term (teknia) when addressing not only physical children but also the young men and the fathers. We are all Spiritual children in the Lord, regardless of our maturity. We are all needing our Holy Spirit within us to lead us and guide us and stay close beside us, which He does!
WE KNOW that all things are working together for good because we have experienced justification. Being born-again on our inside is the Spiritual surgery God performed to make us righteous and holy in Christ Jesus. Jesus is now literally in us working, so that, we can see and hear Spiritually. We can now change our outside to reveal Him living in our inside because His resurrection power is available to you and me within us!
You will notice that Paul, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, stipulates that we are justified and glorified (aorist in Greek) meaning it is already completed!
While we have already experienced justification within us, made righteous because we are already in Christ Jesus, we have not experienced being glorified, yet, the scripture says it is already so! A contradiction? No, we mortals, who are in the Body of Jesus Christ, are being changed from finite created people into infinite, glorified members of His Body.
This process of moving from justification into complete glorification is what the scripture calls sanctification. Our calling is to be holy in our outside flesh because He is Holy and we have been joined into Him in our inside through Jesus. Our calling is to make our outside fleshliness in sync with our inside holiness. We do not have two natures as Scofield and others teach; we are one with our Lord Jesus … but we live in an earthly jar that is not Holy!
Living in the flesh, joined to Jesus in His resurrection power, teaches us Spiritual discernment. When we are intentional Spiritually, taking on the flesh and being overcomers, we grow in grace, grow in agape love, know as we are known and be who we are intended to be!
When the Lord Jesus delivers us out from these bodies of flesh, our bodies will be changed into His glorious body. This will complete our redemption and we will be with our Lord of Glory as He prepares His bride (us) to be with Himself when He returns with us to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!