A Study of The Book of Romans

Lesson 54 Chapter 8:23 – 27

By Pastor Randy Johnson

1. Verse 23 “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”
1. “And not only they, but ourselves also…” There are two groups of people mentioned here; (1.) “And not only they” being the Gentiles and (2.) “…but ourselves also…” which would be the Jews.

a. Some say the “creature” and the “creation” spoken of last week was speaking of the Gentiles however maybe or maybe not, but this verse does not destroy the idea that it refers to all the elect of God, both Gentiles and Jews.

b. It could be Paul was speaking of the elect ones that had already died and now is referring to them that are alive.

2. “…which have the firstfruits of the Spirit…” I think this is to be understood of them (the present believers) as being the firstfruits of the Spirit.

a. The fruits of the Spirit would start with salvation, and then other fruits are given. We being the firstfruits of the Spirit would be those since Pentecost.

b. We were all saved by the conviction of the Holy Spirit but things changed when the Holy Spirit entered the church in Acts 2 we saw multitudes saved and more being saved and added to the church everyday. It could be here the dividing line is the death and resurrection of Christ until the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. They before Acts 2 and us after Acts 2.

3. “…even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption…” We cry in Ernest waiting for (1.) to get to heaven by death or the return of Christ, and (2.) for the redemption of our bodies which will (a.) complete salvation and (b.) make our adoption complete. As far as it is concerned these are already complete to us and to God however the resurrection will truly complete it.
1. Verse 24 “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
1. “For we are saved by hope…” First of all some abusers of the scripture that have a desire to mislead what the scriptures say, we are not saved by hope, we are saved by Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. Once we are saved we have hope.

a. 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

b. The word “saved” here means - to save, that is, deliver or protect or preserved – therefore it is believed this is better read “We are preserved by hope.” Or this hope keeps us from becoming concerned with worldly things, or from impatiently waiting for our completion.

2. “…but hope that is seen is not hope…”

a. Albert Barns says “Hope is a complex emotion, made up of an earnest desire, and an expectation of obtaining an object. It has reference, therefore, to what is at present unseen. But when the object is seen, and is in our possession, it cannot be said to be an object of hope. The Word hope here means the object of hope, the thing hoped for.”

b. JFB says “for the very meaning of hope is, the expectation that something now future will become present.”

c. The hope here is the object hoped for and that is the completeness of salvation and adoption hood. It is future but will one day be present. If we had it already it would not be hope “…for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”

d. We groin within waiting for it with hope.

3. Verse 25 “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” Yes we do!
2. Verse 26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
1. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities…” Likewise in how He convicted our hearts to salvation, how He gave us the knowledge of hope, how He gave us the other fruits of the Spirit, He also helps us in our weakness.
2. “…for we know not what we should pray for as we ought…” How good of a prayer warrior are you? Even the best are not very good. We pray but truly are weak in our prayers. The Holy Spirit helps our prayers (1.) by bringing things to memory and (2.) Being with us while we pray and causing us to pray properly.

a. We must remember to Whom we are praying to; God the King of kings and God of gods. God accepts no errors therefore our prayers must be perfectly prepared for God the Father.

b. Prayer is not to be taken lightly and must be thought out, because we do not want to pray for the wrong things, for something that is bad for us, or for something that is not in the Fathers will, therefore The Holy Spirit assist us in our prayers because He knows the future, He knows the will and mind of the Father.

3. “…but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Most will say that the Holy Spirit does not pray for us and I agree, however I believe since we are weak on what to pray about that the Holy Spirit takes our prayers and makes the presentable to the Father. I also believe it is Jesus who delivers our prayer to the Father because our prayers must be through Jesus and not the Holy Spirit.

a. We do not know God’s will for our future therefore He intercedes for us.

b. Notice verse 27 “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” He knows what we want and knows what we need and also knows what is God’s will for us, and helps our prayers to fit all of this. We do not have to pray perfect prayers but I believe when they get to the Father they are perfect.

c. Do not be afraid to pray, you have the Holy Spirit helping you, we pray to God not to those around us.

d. We as Christians never walk alone in any part of our life. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are there helping us along, in fact we would not make it through life without either one.

Vessels of His wrath!

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(Samuel Davies, "The Vessels of Mercy and the Vessels of Wrath Delineated")

"What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath--prepared for destruction?" Romans 9:22

Vessels of His wrath! How terribly emphatic is this phrase! Vessels dreadfully capacious of divine wrath! to be filled to the brim--with that burning liquid!

Lost sinner! Consider your present dangerous situation! You hang over the pit of destruction by the slender thread of life, held up only by the hand of an angry God--just as we hold a spider, or some poisonous insect over a fire, ready to throw in it! You are ripe for destruction, and therefore in danger every day, every hour, every moment--of falling into it! You are as fit for destruction--as a murderer is fit for the gallows! Such polluted vessels of wrath must be thrown out of the way into some dark corner in hell--that they may no more encumber or disgrace the more honorable places of the universe. And is this a situation in which it befits you to be merry, and mirthful, and thoughtless, and eager after worldly trifles? Oh does it not befit you rather--to be on your knees at the throne of grace, and vigorously pressing into the kingdom of God?

Alas! I must leave this warning with you, and if you do not remember it now--you will remember it millions of ages hence, when the remembrance of it will torment you with intolerable anguish!

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Morning and Evening

Charles H. Spurgeon
June 1, 2010

Morning Reading

The evening and the morning were the first day.

—Genesis 1:5

Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then little wonder is it if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the blaze of noon even in my soul concerns, I must expect at seasons to mourn the absence of my former joys, and seek my Beloved in the night.. Nor am I alone in this, for all the Lord's beloved ones have had to sing the mingled song of judgment and of mercy, of trial and deliverance, of mourning and of delight. It is one of the arrangements of Divine providence that day and night shall not cease either in the spiritual or natural creation till we reach the land of which it is written, "there is no night there." What our heavenly Father ordains is wise and good.

What, then, my soul, is it best for thee to do? Learn first to be content with this divine order, and be willing, with Job, to receive evil from the hand of the Lord as well as good. Study next, to make the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice. Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when it rises, and for the gloom of evening as it falls. There is beauty both in sunrise and sunset, sing of it, and glorify the Lord. Like the nightingale, pour forth thy notes at all hours. Believe that the night is as useful as the day. The dews of grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise shine forth gloriously amid the darkness of grief. Continue thy service under all changes. If in the day thy watchword be labour, at night exchange it for watch. Every hour has its duty, do thou continue in thy calling as the Lord's servant until He shall suddenly appear in His glory. My soul, thine evening of old age and death is drawing near, dread it not, for it is part of the day; and the Lord has said, "I will cover him all the day long."

Evening Reading

He will make her wilderness like Eden.

—Isaiah 51:3

Methinks, I see in vision a howling wilderness, a great and terrible desert, like to the Sahara. I perceive nothing in it to relieve the eye, all around I am wearied with a vision of hot and arid sand, strewn with ten thousand bleaching skeletons of wretched men who have expired in anguish, having lost their way in the pitiless waste. What an appalling sight! How horrible! a sea of sand without a bound, and without an oasis, a cheerless graveyard for a race forlorn! But behold and wonder! Upon a sudden, upspringing from the scorching sand I see a plant of renown; and as it grows it buds, the bud expands—it is a rose, and at its side a lily bows its modest head; and, miracle of miracles! as the fragrance of those flowers is diffused the wilderness is transformed into a fruitful field, and all around it blossoms exceedingly, the glory of Lebanon is given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. Call it not Sahara, call it Paradise. Speak not of it any longer as the valley of deathshade, for where the skeletons lay bleaching in the sun, behold a resurrection is proclaimed, and up spring the dead, a mighty army, full of life immortal. Jesus is that plant of renown, and His presence makes all things new.. Nor is the wonder less in each individual's salvation. Yonder I behold you, dear reader, cast out, an infant, unswathed, unwashed, defiled with your own blood, left to be food for beasts of prey. But lo, a jewel has been thrown into your bosom by a divine hand, and for its sake you have been pitied and tended by divine providence, you are washed and cleansed from your defilement, you are adopted into heaven's family, the fair seal of love is upon your forehead, and the ring of faithfulness is on your hand—you are now a prince unto God, though once an orphan, cast away. O prize exceedingly the matchless power and grace which changes deserts into gardens, and makes the barren heart to sing for joy.

The New Covenant Promise of a New Heart

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
June 1, 2010

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)

To live in obedience to the will of God, man needs more than his own best efforts and intentions. The history of Israel emphatically demonstrates this. God gave His law. He commanded them, saying, "Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 20:19). Israel had promised to obey. "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient" (Exodus 24:7). Nevertheless, they failed miserably. "Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments" (Ezekiel 20:21).

In order to live obedient lives, people need a new life from God, followed by an understanding in how to develop that new life. Here, we see a promise from God to supply that new life. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you." These promises are related to the new covenant of grace that the prophets proclaimed for Israel some day. "Behold, the days are coming…when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" (Jeremiah 31:31-32). The book of Hebrews elaborates on this new covenant of grace and applies it to the church today: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us" (Hebrews 10:19-20).

When anyone embraces the grace of God offered in Jesus Christ (the mediator, the great High Priest of the new covenant), that person is born again by the Spirit of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). This is a necessity. "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Human "flesh-birth" brings with it a hard spiritual heart (a dead spirit). Spiritual new birth from God replaces this hard heart (this dead, non-responsive spirit). "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you." Think of our desperate need for this work of God that brings us a new heart, a new life. Those not born again are described as living "in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God… because of the hardening of their heart" (Ephesians 4:17-18). Yet, whoever relies upon the grace of God offered in Jesus Christ becomes a new-born child of God. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Dear Lord, giver of new life, I praise You for replacing my old, hard, dead heart with a new, responsive, living heart. Now I long to grow in the newness of Christ, Amen.

The Lord Is Always By My Side

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
June 1, 2010

[Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)

Never are you alone, O Christian, for the Lord of heaven promises His presence in all times. No matter the state of your heart, He is there. His love for His children is forever and He will never forsake the child for whom He has given all! He is longsuffering and His love persistent. Embrace your loving Father and go your way in righteousness.