Those who are being led by the Holy Spirit (3)
[Romans 8:14-17]
Third, let us think about the Holy Spirit who Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
Look at Romans 8:16 – “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” The Apostle Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit (v. 16). Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God. And the Holy Spirit has attributes/dispositions that only God has. Those attributes/dispositions can be thought of in three ways: (1) God the Holy Spirit is eternal. Look at Hebrews 9:14 – “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the “eternal Spirit.” (2) God the Holy Spirit is everywhere. Look at Psalms 139:7-8: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.” Because the Holy Spirit is God, He is everywhere. He dwells in us, the children of God. But Satan is not everywhere because he is a creature. Satan is not in us who believe in Jesus. Satan's minions are trying to infiltrate us. (3) The Holy Spirit does what only God can do. What can only God do? (a) Creation. Look at Genesis 1:1-2: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” Here, “the Spirit of God” refers to the Holy Spirit. (b) The Holy Spirit gives life. Look at Romans 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” The Holy Spirit is the God of life. The Holy Spirit is the God who creates life. The Holy Spirit is the God who gives us life. Look at Romans 8:11 – “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” When Jesus comes again, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us will also give life to our dead bodies. We will be resurrected. We will live again.
The Apostle Paul speaks of “children of God” in Romans 8:16, where we can think of “God” in four ways: (1) God is our “Abba! Father!” (v. 15). (2) God is “I AM WHO I AM.” Look at Exodus 3:14-15: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you’. God, furthermore, said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” Exodus 3 is the chapter of God calling Moses. In this chapter, Moses asks God the following question: “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?” (v. 13) Look at God’s answer: “I AM WHO I AM; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you’” (v. 14). God is “I AM”. The existence of God exists by Himself. (3) God gives all things that they need. How does God live? We live with help from others, but God lives on His own. Look at Acts 17:25 – “nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” God exists in Himself and provides everything that He needs. God gives life and breath. (4) God is the God of covenant. God is the God who makes covenants. He is a God who promises and makes an oath. Look at Exodus 3:15 – “God, furthermore, said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” Here, “The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” means that God is the God of the covenant. And He promised this: “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him” (Gen. 12:7). Also, God made a promise to Isaac, the son of Abraham: “Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham” (26:3). Also, God made a promise to Abraham's grandson Jacob: “And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants’” (28:13).
God is a God who makes covenants and faithfully fulfills His promises. Look at Exodus 3:16 – “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.’” God sent Moses to Egypt and led about 2 million Israelites from slavery in Egypt for about 430 years to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, which is Canaan (v. 8). After Moses went as far as the Jordan River, God called him and appointed Joshua to eventually lead the Israelites to the promised land of Canaan. Look at Joshua 21:43, 45: “So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. … Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.”
God made a covenant with Adam. Look at Genesis 2:17 – “but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” However, Adam broke the covenant of works of God (disobeyed and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). Therefore, God made the covenant of grace with Adam. Look at Genesis 3:15 – “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” This Genesis 3:15 covenant was fulfilled [“already” fulfilled] by God on the cross of Jesus Christ. Look at John 19:30 – “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” Look at Revelation 21:6 – “Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost” [“Not-yet” fulfilled]. Here, “It is done” is translated as “Tt is finished” in the joint Korean translation, King James translation, and Chinese Bible translation. What God has promised has already been fulfilled on the cross of Jesus Christ (“already”), and will be fulfilled at the second coming of Jesus Christ (“Not-yet”). What is the covenant that God will fulfill at the second coming of Jesus? Look at John 14:3 – “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.” Also, look at 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” Look at Revelation 19:6-8: “Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Therefore, by believing in the God of the covenant, we can praise God with the hymn “The Trusting Heart to Jesus Clings” verse 4 and the refrain lyrics: “When to the throne of grace I flee, I find the promise true; The mighty arms upholding me Will bear my burdens too. Singing I go along life's road, Praising the Lord, praising the Lord; Singing I go along life's road, For Jesus has lifted my load.”
The true covenant of God does not change. God has fulfilled the covenant, is fulfilling it, and will eventually fulfill it. Therefore, we only need to live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit with faith in the God of the covenant. Abba Father, God who is “I AM” will surely fulfill the covenant He made with us. With this faith, we live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in the end, we will enter the kingdom under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and enjoy eternal life while participating in the wedding of the Lamb.