Chapter 8:9-17 

The Family of God 

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. ¹⁰ And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. ¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

“¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

On Facebook this week, one of my dear friends reminded me that if it’s not done by, for and through the Holy Spirit living in us, then all that we are doing is no good. It certainly looks good but, in truth, it is not. Of course, we can take a look at John’s letter in Revelation to the church at Laodicea. This church was busy, rich and did many things that looked religious. But, in truth, they did them in their own power and for their own glory. Jesus, we are told, was actually on the outside of this local church begging to get into the door, yet they went on without Him day in and day out. They were doing acts of religion, but not the acts of one in a deep and loving relationship with the Saviour.

Let me paint another picture. I am married to this amazing woman; she is of British descent; both of her parents and her were born in England. I, on the other hand, was born in Barbados, a little island on the Caribbean. Our upbringing could not have been more different. Her father is a millwright, a man who can fix anything. My father, though handy, was an accountant, really, and spent most of his adult life building a large furniture company in Barbados. My in-laws attend church, my mother-in-law is saved, and we are not sure about Dad. Both of my parents are open confessors of Jesus; they served in various capacities and ministries in our local church in Barbados. Marny and I met when we were older, I in my mid-40s, and was younger. She had to learn about a man who was more intellectual than one to fix things.

But, over the years, I have learned to fix things and now try to enjoy working with my hands. I love hot foods, Marny not so much, so I don’t cook with a lot of hot spices. As a husband, and like many husbands, I can religiously bring home flowers for my wife; but as one in an intimate relationship, I know she likes a certain type of flower, so I get those. I know she likes tea, but I know how to make her tea the way she likes it. Trust me, each person drinks tea differently. Maybe your wife loves coffee, but because of the relationship, you know how she likes her coffee. These are simple things, but I hope that they illustrate some of the intimacy that one has with a wife. The Bible tells us that the local church is the Bride of Jesus. There is to be an intimacy there that is bigger than religion.

1. The Holy Spirit Lives in Us, verses 9-11 

This may sound like we are going over some old stuff. But it is important to be reminded of things that are important. If you are a child of God, if you are saved and have placed your faith in Jesus as Saviour, the Holy Spirit lives in you. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, 

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”

In the OT, the Lord entered the Tabernacle and then the Temple once they were built and cleansed. Once a year, the High Priest would go into the Holiest Place in the Temple to carry the blood offering before the Lord for the sins of the whole nation of Israel. If one were to take a cursive read through the OT, you would see that the people, even men like Abraham and others, did not see God for years; they lived on promises that were made to them from God, but they did not interact with Him often. But in the NT, we have this wonderful blessing that Jesus did for us on the cross. He opened the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to live in us and for us to have a moment-by-moment relationship with God our Father. Between the written Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have a level of intimacy that OT saints did not know.

The Holy Spirit in us wants to and tries to help us to live more like Jesus. He constantly reminds of truth and of the way that Jesus wants us to take. He shows us and reveals to us the importance of the intimacy that we have as a child of God. One of the most important things to learn is that each relationship is unique. Yes, there is a ‘baseline’ of things that are expected; we are to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, body and soul. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we are to live so that we can glorify God. But how that works is as individuals, as we each are. In John 21:20-22, Jesus and Peter have an interaction following Jesus calling Peter back to the ministry. Peter returns, and at the end of the talk, he asks Jesus about John, and Jesus replies this way,

“Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’) When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.'”

Who cares what I do with John? YOU follow me. I will do with John what I please; he is mine. I have heard countless testimonies over the almost 40 years that I have been saved, and none are the same. From how they got saved, to when God called them to the ministry or to the mission field or put a person in their life, each is unique, because we are not in a religion; we are in a relationship with Jesus.

If you had told me that I would marry Marny, I would laugh at you. But I can tell you that God had this amazing woman for me that makes and continues to help me be a better man than I could ever have been without her. By the leadership and the help of the Holy Spirit, we have become one; and by His grace, He has helped me to be a dad, a father, a husband, a better brother, a better pastor and preacher. Our meeting was not a fairytale; it was a moving of the Holy Spirit. We continue to depend on the Holy Spirit to help, heal and hold us. Stop trying to be someone else; God already has them. If He did not want you, He would not have created you.

2. The Religion of Relationships, verse 12-14 

Hey Sean, did you get hit over the head? You just spent an entire section telling us that we are not in a religion but in a relationship with Jesus. Yes, we are. But every relationship has religious actions attached to it. The idea of religion means doing some things repeatedly, religiously. Most people eat breakfast religiously, most people take showers religiously, brush their teeth religiously, and on we can go; you get the picture.

Christianity has its religious activities as well. In Hebrews 10:25, we are told that we should assemble together often; this is a religious activity. We are commanded to give regularly to the work of the ministry; we are to observe the Lord’s Supper religiously; we are to love each other religiously, forgive each other religiously, and on and on. Any relationship will have its religiosity. A good pastor must be a religious student of the scriptures and a religious servant of those entrusted to his care as an under-shepherd. A good husband must religiously put his needs second to those of his wife and be prepared to serve her and his children, religiously. Good friends will talk often, talk religiously. We attend work religiously, grocery shop religiously, and on and on. Life is a series of religious activities. The Christian walk is no different. We pray religiously, worship (not just in church) religiously, confess our sins religiously, and on we can go.

If your relationship does not have a series of religious activities, then you may need to check if you actually have a relationship. For instance, if your girlfriend stops talking to you and no longer takes your calls religiously, you may not have a girlfriend. The same can be said for Christianity; if your Christianity does not have a series of religious actions involved with it, then maybe you should check your Christianity.

3. The Intimacy of Relationships, verse 15-17 

The term ‘Abba Father’ is an intimate term. As I was working on this lesson, I was watching a movie with my little daughter Saturn. She had been asking me to watch it with her, and we came to a compromise; I would watch and work at the same time. She sat next to me, and we enjoyed the time.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve became one flesh. They were naked and not ashamed. There was and is a level of intimacy between a man and wife, not the sexual part, but the idea of knowing someone so well that we know the idiosyncrasies of their lives. We, in the same way, have to allow others in and allow our flaws to be seen. God, of course, has no flaws that He would ever have to be ashamed. But in the intimacy that comes as we enter and then grow into the family of God, we allow God into every aspect of our lives, every crevice of our brains. He retools our dreams, refocuses our desires and redirects our lives.

You and I will never be perfect on this side of eternity. But our relationship with the Lord can be perfect in Jesus. Our relationship can be covered in the mercy, grace and love of Jesus, and we can have a level of intimacy with Jesus that lets Him see us as we are. Now, He sees us as we are anyway, but we often pretend he does not. God knows you as you are, and He loves you. He loves me as I am, and he knows me. He knows there are some things that I will struggle with until I get a new body; He knows that I want to serve Him in spite of my failures. I get up every day and give Him the day; I begin every day thankful for Him. I want today to be lived for His glory so that others can get to know my Abba, my Father, my God.

Oh, that all had an Abba like mine, they would have an awesome life! More importantly, they will have a fabulous death. Then they too can be joint heirs with Jesus. What does that mean? We are joint heirs with Jesus. Some may think of riches and power, and truthfully that may happen. But what I hold onto is the promise of John 14: 1-3, 

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Jesus wants to be with me, with us, and we should want to be with Him. This is the promise of being a joint heir; soon I will get to see Him in His glory face to face. I will get to live with Him and serve and please Him forever. Where will you spend your forever, and with whom will you spend your forever?

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

Mississionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

 

Chapter 8:1-8 

Gods’ Work in You and I

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

“⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.“

Wow, what awesome responses from last week. To God be the glory; it is His promises and His finished work that should give us comfort and rejoicing. Jesus is the Way, the only Way. He is the Way, has always been the Way and will always be the only Way. If you have Jesus, rather if Jesus has you, then you are secure forever. This alone should bring peace to any situation in this life. This life is short at best and fraught with trouble, but if Jesus has you, then the trials of this life are for a short season compared to the glory we have coming. Does Jesus, have you? The choice is yours.

Today I want to talk about something that plagues most of us, if not all of us. Spiritual growth is something that most Christians want. Not all want it; there are some saved persons whom the Bible tells us have forgotten that they are children of God. In 2 Peter 1: 3-9, we see this warning:

“As his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ⁴ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. ⁵ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; ⁶ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; ⁷ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. ⁸ For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.“

Jesus, by His divine power, desires to grow in us the fruit of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. These fruits are outlined in several scriptures; and here Peter gives us a look at them. We are to have faith, add virtue, add knowledge and temperance, patience and godliness. But there is a warning; there are some saved persons who do not exhibit these things. They are forgetting the salvation that they have in Jesus. They have forgotten they were saved. These persons, we are told by Paul in Romans 8, walk after the flesh. They are saved, but like a baby that is born but never develops, they are in the same spiritual ways. In most cases, the lack of development can be intentional.

They rebel against God’s leadership and the urging of the Holy Spirit, and they become calloused to the moving of the Holy Spirit in them. Some may lack growth because of starvation; it may be that they are in a church that does not feed them spiritually. I am sure there are many in the Roman Catholic churches that are saved, they have put their full trust and faith in Jesus for the remission of their sins, but they do not receive the spiritual food necessary to grow. As is the case with many who have grown up in the Lord’s churches, many are saved as children and then fall away as they age and they defy God. Either way, we are clearly told that there are some who, though saved, will never grow into the spiritual gifts that God has for them.

1. A fleshly distinction, Romans 8:8, 2 Peter 1:9 

There is a difference between those who cannot please God because they are not saved (Romans 8:8) and those that are blind (2 Peter 1:9). They may sound the same but they are not. One, in Romans, is in the flesh, not saved, lost and outside of the family of God. The other is in the family of God but not living like it. The one in Romans may look and act like the family of God, BUT without Jesus and His salvation they are incapable of pleasing God in any way, shape or form. In fact, they are under the wrath of God.

In contrast, the person in 1 Peter is living not necessarily like the Devil’s kid, but maybe indifferent to the conviction of the Holy Spirit; but at some point in their lives they placed their faith in Jesus as Savior and are born into the family of God. This can never change!  The rest of chapter 8 deals with the security of the one born into the family of God. But that is not the topic today. However, the person in 1 Peter has the potential to be pleasing to God because they have the Holy Spirit living in them; and if they begin to listen, look for some good spiritual food in the Bible and begin to obey the call of God, they can be pleasing to God.

Let me be clear, and it is important that we be – a saved person is saved no matter what their lives look like at one time or another. Samson may not have been counted as a child of God had we seen and known him, but he was and is. David committed murder and adultery, yet he was and is a child of God. There are many good people like Mother Teresa and Ghandi who did good things; but as far as we know, they were not children of God. ALL of those good things they did, did not please God one bit. They could not please God because they did not believe in the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16-18). One is fleshly by nature, unsaved; the other fleshy by actions, called carnally minded, but saved.

2. A Work of God, both Romans and 1 Peter 

When I was a kid, my father was a bodybuilder. Sadly, his physique did not rub off on me. But he loved to work out; and one of the first ever movies I saw as a kid on VHS was Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It depicted the story of a bodybuilding career. Spiritual growth intertwines both discipline and grace. Many professional athletes are very disciplined with their bodies for a period of time, and many of them peak in mid-life, say, by about 35; and then, no matter how disciplined they are, the physical body begins to fail them and they lose speed, stamina, strength and, eventually, skills.

The opposite is true in the Christian walk. We need discipline and we need the Holy Spirit working in us. God will not make you grow or grow up, but if you want to, He will put you where you need to be to grow. If you are surrendered to Jesus, He will take you and make you. Unlike human athletes, we should and will grow better as we age. No, we will not get faster at running, or stronger at weights or have more stamina. Like the athletes, our bodies will begin to fail us, but the Holy Spirit in us will become more ‘fit’ as we get older.

Peter helps us to see what things will make us more spiritually fit. We must first have faith; all things in the Lord begin here. Saving faith, yes, but beyond that, the faith to once we are saved to trust God with our daily lives. The faith to put God first, to trust that God’s way is right even when it seems weird. The faith to trust that God has not failed His children and He will not start with you, even when it feels like He has failed you. In Genesis 50:19-21, we find some of the most powerful words ever spoken by a man in defense of the journey his life took:

“But Joseph replied, ‘Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this— to preserve the lives of many people. Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.’ So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.”

God allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery by his own brothers, he allowed him to be wrongly accused and imprisoned by Potiphar, and God allowed him to be forgotten in prison by the man he helped until the right time for God to gloriously put Joseph in the right place to save the men who sold him into slavery. They were afraid of him, but he calmed them and reassured them. There was no animosity here, no hatred. His love for them had covered their sins, and he understood that it was God who took him and allowed him to be sold into slavery, it was God who allowed the false accusations, and God who allowed him to languish in prison, so he, God, could use Joseph to rescue the people who hated him. He never stopped having the faith that God had him, God carried him, and God had him where He wanted him.

We live in a ‘feel good church world.’ Churches are filled with entertainment and shallow Biblical affirmations that do not call us to deny ourselves and take up our crosses.

We are to add, according to Peter, virtue, godly choices to our faith; and to do so, we need knowledge. One may seek knowledge and not follow it, BUT if one desires to truly live a virtuous life, then one will seek Biblical knowledge. To knowledge, we add temperance. In our days, we call it self-control. We know how to say “no,” we know how to choose our friends, we are careful where we invest our time, our priorities change, and on we can go. To temperance we add patience; we learn to wait on the Lord. Do you know it was 13 years from the time Joseph was sold into slavery until he became the Pharaoh? Do you know that it was 25 years from the time Abraham and Sarah received the promise of a son until Isaac was born? Do you realize it was 483 years from the time Israel left Persia to go home until Jesus was crucified?

God works on His schedule and in His ways, and we simply need to let Him do all He does. He will anyway.

Do you realize that we have been living in the ‘last days’ since the resurrection of Jesus, about 2,000 years we have been waiting since then? Patience is a work of God in the believer’s life; man is not patient. And then, to patience, godliness. This is what we begin to live, even privately, when no one is looking, righteously. You see, God is Holy no matter where He is, and so should we be. We should not be two persons. Too many of us are. Sadly, I am a sinner and I fail the Lord all the time. I need to ask forgiveness daily. Oh, how gracious He is to forgive me. And, to godliness, brotherly love. Impatient and ungodly people do not love others. God is patient with us, His children. He remembers that we are just dust. God offers us new mercies each day; He does not keep a record of our sins according to 1 Corinthians 13:5.

This is living by the Spirit that Paul speaks of in Romans 8:1-8. We need to walk in and by the Holy Spirit. We need to let God make us and change us, and then we can please Him. We cannot do it in and of our own. We cannot please God either in the flesh as lost people or as living fleshly as saved people. But no amount of physical discipline will change us, even when we are saved. We must daily put our faith in God, then He will lead us into virtue, provide us with knowledge in His Holy Word, help us to be disciplined in the way we live, develop patience and then love people, even our enemies and those that hate us, with Godly love.

Unlike human athletes, spiritual athletes get better with age, our bodies break down, slow down, hurt more and eventually die, BUT spiritual man learns to be tougher. We can be offended less, we learn to endure more, and as such, are more patient and we learn to love more, longer, better and graciously because our Trainer, Jesus, is relentless with those that want to be lights like Him, those that want to be clouds filled with water, unlike the people in Jude. We want to be healing and balm to those in a hard world. Jesus will take these desires and mold us in His image; and you and I, mere dust, mere clay, mere flesh, can be pleasing to God.

Come, let us walk in the Spirit together and see the wonders of our great Saviour. May we never waste even a moment of the great salvation that has been purchased for us at a great price, the death of our Saviour, Jesus.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

Mississionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca