Victory Through the Spirit

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This is a sermon based on Romans 8:26-39. It is a part of a series of messages on the Epistle to the Romans. This messages refers to the Spirit's work in believers to bring them to the completion of redemption provided by Christ.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

Romans chapter 8 has been a passage of hope and inspiration for the person who wonders how can a human being ever live a life that is pleasing to God and not be overcome by sin and guilt.

Living each day with the Spirit of God dwelling within our hearts is the blessed privilege of each person that is truly born again.

For the person that is frustrated by Romans 6 and its emphasis on victory over sin and Romans 7 emphasizing the weakness of the law to conquer sin, it is good news indeed to know that God has fulfilled the promise of the prophets by sending the Holy Spirit and making His presence available to every believer.

When the Spirit moves in, there is no room for sin and the accompanying works of the flesh.

Last week we talked about one of the privileges that the Spirit makes possible and that is confirmation of our adoption into the family of God. We are no longer foreigners and strangers, but we are the children of God and we enjoy all the privileges of being family.

We also talked about the fact that the Spirit assures us of the future glory we will experience when God finally consummates the entire plan of redemption and we enjoy the glory that awaits every child of God. Hallelujah!

Today we plan to finish up the chapter by looking at two more operations of the Holy Spirit in our behalf.

1. The Spirit achieves God’s purposes in us.

2. The Spirit enables us to experience complete victory.

Let us examine verses 26-39 to see how these two points are portrayed by the Apostle Paul.

If you are following the outline on this chapter that I made available, you will see… 

ii. The Spirit achieves God’s purposes: (26-30)

Before Jesus left this earth and ascended into heaven, he spoke to His disciples about the “promise of the Father” which would be the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit would come to glorify Jesus, and to assist us in living out the gospel. (Jn. 14:16-26; 15:26; 16:7-15)

Since the Spirit is a member of the Holy Trinity, it is no surprise that He achieves the purposes of God.  But How?

a. By aiding us in prayer. (26-27)

The Spirit achieves God’s purposes first of all by aiding us in prayer.

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

We have a problem: mental and physical limitations make it impossible for us to “pray as we ought” to pray. More specifically, we do not always know what the “will of God is.”

“helps” – (Wuest's Word Studies) The word speaks of the action of a person coming to another's aid by taking hold over against that person, of the load he is carrying. The person helping does not take the entire load, but helps the other person in his endeavor.

“makes intercession” – (Reasoner) to intercede in behalf of. (Wuest) …picturesque word of rescue of one who happens on someone in trouble and pleads in behalf of…

“groanings…” – The Spirit pleads in our behalf in groans and sighs that can’t be expressed in words.

“He who searches the hearts” – God.

God gets the message because He knows the mind of the Spirit, Who is pleading for the saints in harmony with the will of God.

Sometimes we just do not know how to verbally express our prayers. We’re not sure how to pray and what we should pray for, but God understands the sighing and groaning that stems from His Spirit within us.

We just need to be committed to His will. That’s what the Spirit is praying for.

b. By orchestrating our circumstances. (28)

The Spirit achieves the purposes of God secondly by orchestrating our circumstances.

(I am convinced that the context of this chapter implies that the Spirit is involved in this operation even though He is not specifically mentioned in this verse.)

²⁸  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

When we have the confidence that the Spirit is praying and interceding for us,

“we know” – we can have confidence that God is at work.

The verbs “work together,” and “love” are in the present tense indicating present and continuous condition.

Notice, it doesn’t say “all things are good.” But, all things work together for good.

The good is not necessarily temporal or material in nature. The good is probably more often spiritual in nature.

A total financial collapse may never be fully recovered in monetary gain, but sometimes it can be the one thing that brings a person to true faith in Jesus Christ and rely completely on God.

c. By fulfilling God’s scheme of salvation. (29-30)

Thirdly, the Spirit achieves God’s purposes by carrying out God’s scheme of salvation from beginning to end.

²⁹  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The conjunction “for” shows that this applies to the previous verse. In other words, it seems like Paul is saying, “All things work together for good…” and the “good” is the salvation / redemption that God has planned out for those who are loving God.

“whom” – in the plural form, indicating NOT individual selection by foreknowledge, but a collective group, i.e. all of those who He knew beforehand would believe the gospel and be saved.

“foreknew” – His knowledge is infinite and eternal, but NOT causal. That is, because his knowledge is eternal, He can see even the future as though it is present. Presently knowing something doesn’t cause it to happen.

 “predestined,” “called,” “justified,” and “glorified” – all verbs are in tense that denotes completed action.

The same group that God predestined (ordained beforehand) to be conformed to the image of Christ has also been called and has also been justified and has also been glorified.

This “chain” is obviously for the purpose of showing God’s design and plan in the whole scheme as being complete and final, even though the “glorifying” hasn’t taken place yet.

(Reasoner) The plan of salvation is certain [including all “links of this chain”], but the security of the believer is conditional. It cannot be inferred that all who start will finish, but those who do finish will [have gone] through this sequence.

(Again, the fact that this appears in this chapter in this context implies that the Spirit of God is involved in the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption. He is achieving God’s purposes by His work in our hearts and lives.)

iii. The Spirit brings ultimate and final victory. (31-39)

The last 9 verses of this chapter are all about God seeing to it that every believer is ultimately victorious.

a. Victory is tied to the gifts of God. (31-34)

³¹  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³  Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

The writer begins this section with a “loaded question.”

“What shall we say to these things?” – What is the final conclusion?

“these things” – probably a reference back to vv. 29-30; the “links” in the chain of redemption.

He then begins to provide the answer to that question by a series of additional “rhetorical questions.” Rhetorical in the sense that the simple, basic answer is very obvious, thus unsaid, but followed by another answer that is more thorough.

“If God be for us, who can be against us?” – No one.

“He who did not spare… how shall He NOT … give us all things?” – He will give us all things necessary because He already has!

“Who shall bring a charge (accusation)…?” – It doesn’t matter. God is the one who has cleared our record (justified).

“Who condemns?” – Again, it doesn’t matter who wants to judge us and condemn us. Remember what Paul said at the beginning of the chapter? “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The devil can’t intimidate us by threatening to reveal our past, because God already knows it and Christ has already forgiven it and it is covered by the atoning blood of the Lamb.

b. Victory is assured despite great opposition. (35-39)

The last section is introduced by another rhetorical question, “Who (what) shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

The assumed answer is “no one / nothing.”

³⁵  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶  As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." ³⁷  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“love of Christ” – probably talking about Christ’s love for us, not our love for Him.

After the initial question, Paul elaborates… tribulation? Distress? Persecution? Famine? Nakedness? Peril? Sword?

He pretty well covers everything… except – our own willful choice to abandon faith. In other words, this is not intended to be a proof text for unconditional eternal security. (Even then, if one chooses to abandon the faith, he/she will still be loved by Christ.)

“as it is written…” – (Matthew Poole's Commentary) The argument seems to be this: The saints of old have endured all manner of sufferings, and yet were not separated from the love of God; therefore such sufferings cannot separate them now.

“in all these things” – all of the examples he has just mentioned.

“we are more than conquerors” – this is a compound word (root word with a prefix) meaning "to conquer…. and "above," thus, "to come off more than victorious, to gain a surpassing victory."
(Wuest's Word Studies)

“through Him” – Victory is never gained by our own strength or our own strategy. It is always and only “through Him.”

Conclusion:

Wow, what a way to end up this chapter. After starting out by explaining how the Spirit is fully capable of helping us live above sin and set our minds on the things of the Spirit instead of things of the flesh, Paul waxes eloquent about the ultimate and final victory of the Spirit in bringing us through to the desired goal of redemption.

For any child of God that is committed to live for Jesus and allow His Spirit to move in and take control of his / her life, there is no one or no thing that can destroy the work of God and interrupt the completion of His salvation in them.

“We are MORE than CONQUERORS!”

Please stand for the closing hymn.

I want you to pay attention to the words of this hymn, “Be Still My Soul.” #712