What Christ has done in the life of a believer is nothing short of revolutionary. When I speak of revolution, I refer to a revolution in a person’s life. I am speaking of a personal revolution brought about by placing genuine faith in Christ, where a profound and transformative change occurs, altering one’s life and eternal destiny. When people place saving faith in Christ, they are gifted with His indwelling Spirit. His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, does the transformative work of making them holy. Through the Spirit, the Christian is made in an ever-increasing measure Christlike.
Paul writes of this remarkable work of the Spirit in Romans 8. The chapter begins with the adverb “Therefore.” Whenever we come across the word “therefore” in the Bible, we need to ask, “What is it there for?” In Romans 8:1, “therefore” indicates that Paul is summing up his teaching on salvation through Christ’s finished work on the cross (He died for our sins and was resurrected for our salvation).
In Romans 8, Paul contrasts the law’s weakness and the Spirit’s power. What is power? Power is the ability to act or produce an effect, the possession of authority over others. Where is the believer’s power found? A believer’s power is not their own, but the Holy Spirit’s power at work in and through them. In fact, in Romans 8, Paul introduces us to the Holy Spirit, specifically as the agent of Christ’s power in our lives. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can experience true freedom and victory in Christ. God’s Word teaches us that the path to justification (salvation) is faith in Jesus Christ. We also learn that the life leading to Christlikeness through sanctification is by faith in Christ. We are to live “by faith from first to last” (Rom 1:17).
In chapter 8, Paul leads us into the teaching about power-filled or Spirit-filled Christian living. Some have called this the Victorious Christian Life. We discover in Romans 8:1-11 an incredible truth. The believer is freed by the Spirit from the power of sin (Rom 8:1-11). If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we will never have to face the prospect of eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1-2). There is no condemnation for the believer because they have been justified (saved). Christians have been declared righteous.
Simply put, the Christian is free from guilt and from the enslaving power of sin. We can live the Christian life, but only through the power of Jesus Christ. Francis Schaeffer rightly notes, “If I am going to walk in this present life according to my high calling as a Christian, I need a strength higher than my own strength.” Paul shares two blessings believers have in Christ. There is no condemnation; the believer has been justified (saved). The believer is free. It is because we have been liberated (set free) that no condemnation can overtake us.
Paul writes about the Spirit’s empowerment of believers in Romans 8:3-4. The law is not bad. It’s just ineffective to save or sanctify us. Why? The law was “weakened by the flesh,” which is our fallen nature. So, what did God do for us? God sent His own Son. His Son’s coming involved Him becoming incarnate; He took upon His divinity humanity while remaining sinless. God sent His Son “to be a sin offering.” God “condemned sin in the flesh.” Lastly, God sent His Son and condemned sin in Him so that “the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us.”
Positionally, we are free, living life in the Spirit, but practically, we are to die daily – submit to the Spirit’s leading. The Spirit convicts a believer of sin so that they will confess and allow God to forgive and deliver them from sin. However, this conviction always promises hope. There is a big difference between condemnation and conviction. We must understand that Paul is writing about life in the real world of real people like you and me. The Spirit sets us free from the power of sin so that we can do what God’s law rightly requires. This is summed up by Jesus. “And He said to Him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).
In Christ, we have been saved so that one day, we will spend eternity with Him in heaven. But God also saved us to bear Him fruit so that the righteous demands of the law might be fulfilled in us. These things are possible, but not through our power, but through Christ and His indwelling Spirit. Making us holy is the work of the Holy Spirit, who indwells us. Paul, in Romans 7 – We cannot keep the law because of our indwelling sinful nature. Paul in Romans 8:4 – We can become like Christ because of the indwelling Spirit.
What a fantastic reality is the Spirit’s indwelling of the believer. This is glorious! However, now the call is to walk according to the Spirit. Paul writes in Romans 8:5-8 about two mindsets. First, the mindset on natural desires leads to death. Second, the mindset set on the Spirit brings life and peace. You see, we are always mindful of something. The minding is produced either by self or by the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as a neutral stance where our relationship with God is concerned. The determining factor as to which mindset you have is who controls you. The crucial question is: “Are you controlled by self or the Spirit?” Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds to think, will, and do the things of the Spirit. The Spirit gives us the power to live a Christlike life. Remember, the Spirit does the work to make us holy (like Christ). We partner with the Spirit, our senior partner, and grow in Christ and His peace and power. Stott rightly notes, “We would more eagerly pursue holiness if we were convinced that it is the way of life and peace.”
Finally, Paul writes in Romans 8:9-11 about the rich reality that all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Christians’ bodies are actually the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The question for we believers is: “Whether or not we will submit to the Spirit’s leading in our lives?” Think of it this way. Sometimes, a yard, garden, or fruit tree needs special care due to pests. Insects, animals, and the sort may be eating at and causing destruction. You need some kind of pest control, such as insecticide or a fence, you know what I mean. When the pest situation is taken care of, you may say the pest situation is under control. However, this does not mean the pests have been trained to not harm your yard or garden. No way. What has occurred is that an outside helper has removed the pest problem. Similarly, when the Spirit controls the life of a believer, He grants us godly qualities that do not come by our own effort but through the Helper—the Holy Spirit coming into our lives, removing the power of the pest (the world, the flesh, and the devil), and He fills us with His power, which produces Christlikeness—Christlike fruit.
The good news for the believer is that our resurrected body will be the perfect vehicle of our glorification (the final act of God in our salvation, completely saved). Our current bodies house the very Spirit of God, who leads us in holiness. What a wonderful truth we discover in Romans 8:1-11. The believer is freed by the Spirit from the power of sin. Consider the Holy Spirit’s transformative work in a believer’s life, which releases revolutionary power to live as one saved by Christ—to be Christlike. This is good news indeed. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!