BOOK OF ROMANS CHAPTER 8:1-17
Lesson No. 24 THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE SURETY OF THE BELIEVERS

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:16-17

The Holy Spirit indwells the believer the moment he trusts Christ as his personal Savior. That indwelling is permanent. We have been sealed [for security from Satan and his demons] (Eph. 1:13) and we are given the earnest of the Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22). Earnest is like a down payment of money as a pledge that the full purchase price will eventually be paid—that is within the ambit of the law of obligations and contracts and it is universal. The Apostle Paul made that example as a lawyer. The Spirit therefore is the surety of every believer of the Lord Jesus Christ.

MESSAGE

A. Since we got saved, we were placed under the law of the Spirit of life and were given these benefits (Rom. 8:1-4):

1. No more condemnation for us (v.1).
2. We were set free from the law of sin and death (v.2).
3. The death of Christ has condemned sin in His own flesh (v.3).
4. Our Savior fulfilled the law for us that we can have His righteousness (v.4). He died a perfect man and placed our sin upon Himself (2 Cor. 5:21).

B. The Spirit is the enemy of our carnal mind [the flesh] (Rom. 8:5-6; Gal. 5:17).

1. The flesh mind the earthly things while the Spirit, the heavenly things [the things of God] (v.5; John 3:12; Phil. 3:19).
2. The carnal mind leads to destruction, the spiritual life leads to life and peace (v.6).
3. The carnal mind is the constant enemy of the Spirit (v.7).
4. Living in the flesh is not pleasing to God (v.8). It is also good to remember that living in the flesh is not living by faith (Heb. 11:6). The flesh or the carnal mind is nothing but selfishness, self-centeredness, self-liftedness (my own word for pride), the results of which are rebellion, stubbornness and covetousness.

C. The Spirit assures us that we are His (vv.9-13).

1. The new nature is the dwelling place of the Spirit (v.9, compare with 2 Cor. 5:17).
2. The main difference of a Child of God to an unsaved man:

2.1. He has the righteousness of Christ (v.10).
2.2. He has been made alive by the Spirit of God so He can perform the will of God in his life (v.11; John 6:63).
2.3. He has a debt to pay to God for His goodness and grace (v.12).
2.4. He has the responsibility to put to death [mortify] the deeds of the flesh (v.13).

D. The divine rights of those who have the Spirit of God (vv.14-17; Gal. 4:5-7).

1. He now has the right to be called a son (v.14). Paul in the book of Galatians emphasized, “no more a servant, but a son” (Gal. 4:5).
2. He now has the right to call God Abba, Father having been adopted into the family of God (v.15).
3. He has the witness of the Spirit assuring him that he is a son (v.16; Gal. 4:6).
4. He has become an heir of God through Christ being adopted as a son (v.17); Gal. 4:7; 1 Peter 1:4).

CONCLUSION

Praise God for the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God, who has become our Comforter in the absence of Christ, the second person of the triune God who is in heaven at the right hand of the Father interceding for us being our High Priest (John 14:16-18). The Holy Spirit, our Comforter, our Testimony, our Guide and our Surety (John 15:26; 16:13).

—BMA’s Messages 06.19.16