THE BLESSED HOPE
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Three)
Recommended reading - Romans 8:14-30.
When a sad situation occurs in our lives, we often ask,
why! Paul tells us that all things work together for good. There is a
great amount of understanding and belief that we must have to properly
understand these scriptures. We often have a hard time believing that all
things work together for good. In the study of these verses we will deal
with one of God's wonderful ways of helping us, during the time which we
are here on this earth. We will have help, while we wait for the glorious
return of Christ. We may not understand why things happen, but we do know
that God has not left us without a helper.
I. We have help.
· A very special
name is given to the Holy Spirit in John 14:16. The name is also
a promise that Jesus gave to us forever. We see in this scripture that
we are given a comforter.
· The Holy Spirit
will help and comfort us. The word comforter comes from a very
interesting Greek word. The word is comprised of two words that mean one
who is by your side to help you. The word helper is all inclusive. When
you need comfort and teaching, the Holy Spirit will be there.
· Jesus brought
out the points that the Holy Spirit is our comforter in John 14:16, our
teacher in Verse 26, and our guide in John 16:13. Christ
came to help us in terms of salvation. He actually did all of the
things, described in these verses, for the disciples while He was with
them in person. Today, the Holy Spirit does for us, as Christ did for
the disciples. Christ was their helper, their guide, and their teacher.
The Holy Spirit is our helper, in terms of Christian living, until the
glorious and blessed hope occurs.
· Paul presents
the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:14-30, as our helper.
II. How we are helped.
· The Holy Spirit
helps us in three important areas.
1.) Romans 8:14-17, the Spirit helps us to
live like children of God.
2.) Verses 18-25, the Spirit helps us to
endure hardships and suffering while we wait for the glorious
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3.) Verses 26 -30, the Spirit helps us in
Christian growth.
III. We will behave as the children of God.
· When we have
the Spirit of God in us and are led by the Spirit, we will behave like a
child of God. God wants us to behave like His children because we are
His children. Paul explains this in Verse 14.
· We need the
Spirit of God to behave as a child of God. Once we accept Christ, God
gives us His Spirit, and it is then that we are able to walk as children
of God.
· In Matthew
5:43-45, Jesus contrasts the walking in the flesh as compared to
walking in the Spirit. Jesus gave a few examples, in these verses, to
show how we are to behave as the very children of God.
· If we are led
by the Spirit, the people around us will know it. We are to be the light
of the world as Jesus describes in Matthew 5:14-16. Only those
led by the Spirit can behave as God's children.
IV. Bondage in legalism.
· All through the
writings of Paul bondage is linked with legalism. Paul addresses bondage
in Romans 8:15. There is no peace, assurance, or hope in
legalism.
· The Apostle
John spoke to those who believe in God in I John 4:16-18.
Christians are to know and believe the unconditional love that God has
for us. God loves us because He is love.
· We have
boldness, not because of ourselves and our performance, but because as
He is, so are we. The perfect love of God casts away all fear. Our love
and obedience to God cannot be based upon fear. A religion based upon
fear, and which produces works out of fear, is worth nothing.
V. Abba Father.
· In Romans
8:15, we see that those led by God's Spirit will cry out,
"Abba, Father." These two words are very interesting, they
mean Father, Father.
· One Father is
for the Gentiles the other for the Jews. Paul did this to stress that
whether we are Jewish or Gentile we may call Him Father.
· Paul is saying
that He is our Father, not our executor. Our Father loves His children
and wants to bestow on us all kinds of blessings.
VI. We are an Heir with Christ.
· Paul then
addresses something awesome in Verses 16 and 17. We are children
of God and an Heir with Christ.
· God is creating
a family. We are given the physical to understand the Spiritual. The
physical seed and the ovum are given to ultimately understand the
Spiritual begettal of children of God. The Spirit of God (the seed)
impregnates the spirit in man (ovum), and a new Spirit life is begotten.
· The Spirit in
man is from God. Animal can only produce animal; man can only produce
man; and God through His Spirit can produce God.
· The life
begotten by the Spirit of God will grow and at the resurrection will be
born as an individual member of the awesome family of God. God is
reproducing after His kind.
VII. The three element of a human being.
· The Human being
is made up of three elements, which Paul points out in I
Thessalonians 5:23.
· We are made up
of spirit, soul, and body. None of these elements are capable of
independent existence.
· Each of the
three elements do have a function.
· Animals only
have body and soul. Humans have all three. One of the aspects of the
spirit is our conscience. We are able to think, reason, and make
decisions.
· The Spirit
convicts us in our conscience that, we are the children of God because
we are in Christ.
· In order for
Christ to save us, He had to identify Himself with us.
· To make
salvation effective, we have to identify ourselves with Christ. When
that occurs, everything that is true of Christ will be true of us.
VII. Suffering because of citizenship.
· Jesus came to
this world from heaven. His citizenship did not belong to this world.
Satan using the world, made life hard for Christ. He suffered, while He
was here, because He was not of the world.
· Jesus's
suffering was only for a season, that we might be saved. We must be
willing to suffer, that His name might be glorified.
· He suffered
that we might be saved; we suffer that he will be glorified. We need to
remind ourselves that we are joint heirs with Christ, as Paul states in Verse
17.
VII. What does that mean to be a joint heir?
· In Daniel 2,
there is a great image, made from different medals, and each medal
represents a kingdom. The kingdom to focus on is the stone Kingdom.
· The stone
Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom. In Daniel 7, we are told
that the saints of the Most High will rein with Christ forever in that
Kingdom, when it's established. We need to keep in mind that glorious
hope.
· John tells in Revelation
20:6, happy is the person who has part in the first resurrection.
The second death has no power over the believers who have part in the
first resurrection.
· In Christ we
have already died the second death; He took the pain and we enjoy the
benefits. Christ did not die in our place, we died in Him.
· We will reign
with Christ. In Revelation 22:5, we see that we will reign with
Him forever and ever. We will reign because we are joint heirs with
Christ. He is the King of Kings of whom we are the Kings.
· Paul tells us
that this will be our privilege which takes place at the glorification.
In the mean time, we will have to suffer because we are living in enemy
territory.
VIII. In times of trouble.
· A scripture
that is very useful in times of trouble is the scripture, " It came
to pass." Whenever we go through a hard time remember, " It
came to pass".
· Nothing we face
in this world is permanent, it is temporary. While we may have to suffer
for a short time, it is only for a season; remember, " It came to
pass".
· Our real and
blessed hope is the coming of Christ. The Bible makes it clear that we
will suffer now, but we will enjoy later.
· We ask, "
Is it worth the suffering "? Let us look at what Paul has to say
about that in Romans 8:18. We need to have the same attitude as
Paul. We need to live in the context of eternity because we have
received eternal life in Jesus Christ.
· While we wait
for the glorious hope, we will groan as Paul explains in Verse 19-22.
When sin entered the world, the world was not destroyed, it was cursed.
God gave us hope, but until that reality, we may have to suffer and wait
patiently.
· The process of
birth is a painful process. However, once the baby is born it is a
wonderful time. The suffering and the pain of this present time is worth
it. We have great anticipation and eagerly await the redemption of our
body as Paul explains in Verse 23.
· The suffering
will not be forever. Our minds must not be focused on the present
situation, but on the future.
IX. We have a glorious future.
· We have a
glorious future that we eagerly wait for with patience, as Verse 24
and 25 details. If we keep that glorious future in mind, then the
present suffering will seem as nothing.
· The word hope
used in these verses is not a word of doubt. Paul is sure of his
salvation, and he is using the word in terms of something that he knows
he will get.
· Paul says in Romans
8:26-27, that God understands when we groan. Jesus redeemed us and
that redemption is unconditional.
· The Bible
teaches that all men are redeemed in Christ and that only those who
deliberately, willfully, and persistently push Him away and say, God we
don't want you or your gift will be lost. God will not force His gift on
anyone.
X. We will not be left helpless.
· The Holy Spirit
will be with us all day, every day. The Spirit dwells in us; this is the
God whom we worship. He does not leave us helpless. We know this, as
Paul states in Romans 8:28.
· Not everything
that happens to us is from God; but, God uses everything for our good,
because all that God has is good. Everything is good and everything
works together for good.
· Remember when
things are bad and collapsing, that the Spirit is by our side to help
us.
· The statement
Paul makes in Verse 29, has caused some confusion. Paul is
discussing those individuals who God knew before hand and who would
accept the gift of the Kingdom of God at this time. God knows those who
will accept Him and His ways. God has predestined that He reproduce in
us the character of His Son. He has predestined all men to be saved, but
He will not force salvation on man.
· God wants to
reproduce in us what He has already accomplished in Christ. We are to
reflect Christ, that is what He has predestined for every believer. He
has predestined for the world salvation; for the believer He has
predestined and foreordained a transformation of character until we
reflect the image of His Son.
· The steps to be
followed are in Verse 30. There is a promise found in I
Thessalonians 5:24; God is faithful and He will accomplish His work.
God will do it.
· Through the
Spirit God will fulfill in us what He has accomplished in Jesus Christ.
Our job is faith and to walk in the Spirit.
We need to learn to daily walk in the Spirit, and to be
led by the Spirit, so that God may produce in us the character of His Son.
We will suffer in this world; but remember that this suffering is not
worth mentioning, when compared to the eternal glory in Christ. We cannot
depend on the organizational church, the Pastor, or on any human being.
When the time of trouble comes the organizational church will disintegrate
and the Pastor may not be there. We must remember that there is one by our
side who won't leave us or forsake us. We will have a guide, a source of
strength, and a comfort. We must never forget who we are, and who it is
that is our helper, our guide and our strength. |
The Blessed Hope 