In Romans 8, Paul taught that those who belong to Christ are not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, which dwells in each of us.
If Christ is therefore in us, our bodies are still dead, subject to the corruption of sin and death, but our spirits are alive, because Christ's righteousness has been imputed to us!
And if we are led by the Spirit of God, we are the sons of God!
The Holy Ghost is in us, animates us, moves us, prompts us, guides us into all truth, convicts us, inspires us, and comforts us! Thereby, we are led by the Spirit of God as His Own sons!
Before, we were in the grip of a spirit of bondage unto fear, a spirit of doom and impending judgment for our sins, and death and hell.
But Christ, by His dying for us, has delivered us, we who through fear of death were all our lifetimes subject to that spirit of bondage.
But having saved us, we have been given the Spirit of Adoption, that is, the Spirit of Christ, the natural perfect Son, that Spirit that now leads us as though we were natural sons, the adopted sons of God our Father.
By that Spirit dwelling in us, we can now cry, Abba, Father!
We are knit to God through Jesus Christ by His Spirit dwelling in us, and leading us, more and more, to behave and think and act like Christ, the well-beloved Son.
This provides us a closer bond then can ever exist between natural sons and their earthly fathers, and thus we partake of Christ as regards our sonship, even though by nature we were not God's children.
Paul next declares that the indwelling Spirit of Adoption bears witness with our own spirit, that we are the children of God!
That Spirit within us convinces us of what God has promised us! |
