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The Work of the Holy Spirit 2: Making Us God’s Children
Romans 8:12-17
Mari Ikeda
Today, as we continue to read chapter 8 of the Book of Romans, let’s learn about the work of the Holy Spirit. Let’s read verses 12-13 first.
A. Our consciousness is necessary (12-13)
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
The word “flesh” appears here again, and can be paraphrased as our “sin,” as we read last time. We have learned by last time that it is impossible for our own conscience or moral efforts to free ourselves from the power of sin, and it is possible only by the Holy Spirit.
However, in verses 12-13 we’ve just read, it is said that it is necessary for us to obey the Holy Spirit consciously. Particularly in verse 13, it says, “if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body.” This is not suggesting us to have an ascetic life, but to stop obeying sin. It points out that it is our conscious choice, whether we obey sin or the Holy Spirit, and how we want to live our life. But at the same time, we make that choice “by the Spirit,” rather than by our own power.
In summary, while we cannot free ourselves from sin by our own efforts, the Holy Spirit cannot free us either when we don’t consciously seek His help. When we consciously obey the Holy Spirit, the Spirit is working in us to make the choice to obey Him, and will help us based on our request. It does not mean that the Holy Spirit does not help us until we ask Him to help, but rather, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can make our choice to ask His help. However, our consciousness has to be there as well.
Being freed from sin by the Holy Spirit and living according to His guidance leads us to an abundant life that God desired for us to have in the beginning of the world. Let’s move on and read verses 14-16.
B. What the Holy Spirit teaches us (14-16)
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
1. The love of God, calling us as His children (Hosea 11:1)
I sometimes wonder, if people could just truly believe that they are God’s beloved children, how many of them could be saved from various problems they have. God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is the one who teaches us to believe it and reminds us again and again. It’s not something obscure, like we sometimes feel it but sometimes don’t, but instead, it is based on the unremovable fact with a strong foundation. It is the fact of Jesus’ Cross. The Holy Spirit teaches our heart that a person named Jesus, who lived and died on the cross two thousands year ago, is God Himself, who created this world, and that God loves us so much that He became a man and sacrificed His own life for us.
This love of God did not suddenly appear two thousands year ago, but it has been poured out on us constantly since the beginning of this world when it was created. Although we humans forgot God and His love for us in our sin, God has never changed on His side. The Book of Hosea in the Old Testament says,
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11:1)
The Old Testament is the record of God and people, in which people betrayed and forgot God so many times, while God never gave up on them and rescued them over and over again. God loved people as His own children, so that He rescued them from suffering and guided their way. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that teaches us that God’s love has not changed throughout the ages, was revealed clearly through Jesus, and is now poured out on us also. As verse 15 says, God does not want us to obey Him out of fear, but to trust Him in our confidence of being His beloved children.
2. To trust God and call Him our father (Mark 14:32-36)
However, while God’s love has not changed from the beginning of the world, we can say that we got to see it more clearly by Jesus. Because Jesus showed us by making Himself an example for us, what it means to live as a God’s child and trust God in our life. Let’s read the Gospel of Mark 14:32-36.
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” （Mark 14:32-36）
This is the scene when Jesus prayed to God just before He was caught and crucified. The word “Abba, Father” He uses here is the way of calling one’s father affectionately, like “Dad,” in Aramaic. In the world of the Bible, while God sometimes called people as “my children,” as we read in the Book of Hosea earlier, people never really called God “my father” until Jesus did. By knowing that God loves us so much that Jesus died on the cross for us, we came to understand that we can call to God as affectionately as Jesus did.
However, I think it’s natural for some people to feel uncomfortable to call God as their father. Because there are various forms of family in our society, and accordingly there are various feelings toward human fathers. Moreover, as God has no sex, he is neither a father or mother. Therefore, I don’t think we need to force ourselves to call God as our father.
What is important is not how we call God, but whether we have a feeling of closeness to God and a deep trust in Him, which is shown in the way Jesus called God “Abba.” Jesus’ prayer continued like this. “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” He is saying, “I want to be freed from this suffering, but I still trust that You are good, even if you don’t take away this suffering from me.” It is a confession of trust, saying, “I believe that You never do what is bad for me as You love me as Your own child, and that everything will turn good in Your plan, even though I cannot understand it now.” We are never able to have such a deep trust in God by our own strength. It becomes possible only by the power of the Holy Spirit, when we don’t just receive Jesus’ love on the cross as a knowledge, but our heart receives and is moved by it. Not only once, but many times in our life.
Now, let’s read verse 17, the last verse today.
C. We are co-heirs of this world with Jesus (17)
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
As this verse is a bridge passage to the next paragraph, we can’t understand it unless we read the next part. But the last thing we want to remember today is, as this verse 17 says, that we as God’s children are promised to share in Jesus’ glory. The glory here means the glory of the king and ruler of the world. Of course it’s not like a human king who tries to conquer the world to satisfy his personal greed by abusing his power. Jesus’ rule is the rule of God’s love. It creates the world where all people love each other with their wounds healed, and love and worship God. Everyone lives in peace there, with joy and hope everlasting. Such a world ruled by God’s love will come, when Jesus returns to this world eventually, someday in the future. We are promised to live there eternally with Jesus. This is the hope and glory in the future that is promised for God’s children.
However, as I always say, such a peaceful world is indeed already beginning around us at the same time. When we believe hope in a hopeless situation, love in a loveless world, a small Kingdom of God is springing. Although we cannot do it at all by our own strength, we can do it only because the Holy Spirit guides our minds and actions and enables us to trust in Jesus.
God’s kingdom will remain small and our suffering will continue, until Jesus brings it to completion someday. Just as Jesus came to this world and suffered by carrying our sin, we cannot avoid suffering in our own sin. But this suffering is surely leading us to the Kingdom of God that is to come.
(Prayer)
Dear God, while we live in various sufferings, please help us to trust you and enable us to believe that you never forget us but love us as your own children. When the situation before us remains same, may we keep our trust in you and not lose hope, so that we can continue to carefully seek what you want us to do and continue to love others around us. We cannot live by our own strength alone. We need Your help. Please pour out Your Spirit on us and guide our thoughts and emotions. Dear Lord Jesus, we pray this in Your name. Amen.
Summary
We are God’s children loved so dearly by Him that He sacrificed His own life for us and desired us to live with Him eternally beyond our physical death. However, we easily doubt God and lose sight of Him, without the help of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit, who always reminds us of God’s love and enables us to trust Him intimately.
For Discussion
- What can we do in order to be led by the Holy Spirit?
- What privilege and responsibility do we have as God’s children?
For children (For parents)
Because there are various forms of family in our society, and also there are various feelings toward “fathers,” I don’t think we need to force ourselves to call God our “father.” But everyone knows by one’s own experience of being a child once that a child cannot survive without adults’ supports. Perhaps we can say that God is a “good adult,” who always cares us as His own children, helps us in our troubles, rejoices with us in our happiness, and corrects us when we make mistakes. Talk with your children that both adults and kids need such “good adult”namely God.