Romans 8 illustrates the fact that the Bible is filled with comments on the relationships between the three members of the God-head. There are more than a dozen verses and references in this chapter alone. Take the other 1,188 chapters in the Bible and you can imagine that we could have a large theological text book on the subject of the Trinity.
And the subject is: “Divine Relationships.” In truth there is nothing more that we should discuss except the relationships between Father, Son and Spirit. But among the fools of the world, there are literally millions of things which they call “gods.” The Greeks and Romans had hundreds of divinities and semi-divinities – gods and demigods. There are other religions with thousands of deities, and in some of the Eastern religions the gods number in the millions. Does Jehovah have any relationship to these false gods? Yes and no. In the sense that the Lord hates the invention of these counterfeits and frauds, yes, there is a relationship – hatred. And in that the Lord will judge and destroy them all, along with judging their worshipers, yes, the Lord has a relationship to them. If I might use the illustration, the Lord’s relationship to these false gods, is somewhat like the contact that a bomber pilot has to the workers in the enemies war factories down below. He knows that they are there, but there is no inter-personal relationship. He doesn’t see or acknowledge them as real entities.
Tonight’s message will be short and simple and perhaps kind of dull to those who have little interest.
Notice verses 16 and 17 – “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” I know that it’s difficult, but let us lay aside the fact that these verses talk about our relationship to the Lord. Verse 17 suggests that to be an heir of GOD is to be a joint-heir with the SON OF GOD.
I can’t explain it, and won’t try, but the FATHER has given all things into the hands of the SON. “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” “For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.” God has “in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things….” Christ is “gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” And Jesus Himself has said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” “All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.” And in prayer He said, “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” As incredible as it is, the saints of God have been declared joint-heirs with Christ in these things.
Verse 39 is just as mysterious as the rest of these verses: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I’m not here to tell you that the FATHER could not love you directly, but the Bible seems to say here that His love to you came through the SAVIOUR. That salvation was ever initiated had something to do with divine love – but whose? The Father? The Son? Since God is so absolutely holy, could it be that love had to flow through the conduit of the Son’s sacrifice before it could reach us?
It’s likely that there are other statements like these, but let’s move on to:
“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the SPIRIT of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, HE that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Usually, we think of the resurrection of Christ as a relatively simple thing by divine standards. Jesus died, my soul to save, and He was buried away for 72 hours. Then on Saturday evening at about 6 p.m. the stone covering the tomb was somehow rolled back and out came the Saviour. Simple. Simple, except for what the Spirit of the Lord was doing for those three days while his body was interred. And then there are the seemingly contradictory statements about who actually accomplished the resurrection of His body. In prayer Christ Jesus said, “For THOU wilt not leave my soul in hell.” And then to His enemies He said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” In Acts Peter said that God raised Christ from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. So Who was it that quickened the body which was formerly known as Jesus of Nazareth? Some verses say that the Son did it, while others say that it was the Father or the Spirit. The fact of the matter is that in the nature of the Trinity, it was each and all Three.
Verse 34 doesn’t say anything about the Holy Spirit. “Who is he that condemneth? It is CHRIST that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also MAKETH INTERCESSION for us.” This verse doesn’t speak about the Spirit, but verses 26 and 27 do. “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. 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.” The Holy Spirit is the “other comforter” whom Jesus promised, and a part of His comfort comes in the form of His intercession on our behalf. Do we have two intercessors or just one? Is it the Son, or the Spirit, or both? And if they are one, and if they are one with the Father, why is intercession before Him even necessary? Such are the mysteries of the God-head.
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” First, there is the obvious statement – “Spirit of GOD” – which needs no further comment. And then, it is impossible for the flesh and people living in the flesh to please God. But when someone is in Christ, they are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. Those who are in the Spirit can and do please God whether we are talking about the Father or the Trinity as a whole. The Holy Spirit makes pleasing God possible. It is impossible to have the second without first having the first.
And that brings us back to that favorite – verse 14. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” When someone is sure that he has the leadership of the Spirit, he has good reason to assume that he is one of the children of God. And furthermore, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God.” There are millions of people going to various “Christian” churches today, who are not Christians. There have been millions of people who have received the elements of the Lord supper, who have not received the Lord of that supper. There have been millions who have heard Christian sermons and read portions of God’s Word. There are millions of people who claim to be Christians. But if they don’t have the witness of the Holy Spirit, then they have no part with God the Father or God the Son. Without the one there isn’t the other.
“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. 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.” Is the reason that the Spirit’s ministry of intercession is so powerful because He knows the mind of the Father? The concept is difficult for me to grasp, until I remember the inter-relationship between them.
And what is the practical benefit of this lesson? There is the assurance that it gives to our soul of God’s eternal salvation. We have all three divine Persons working together in unison for our redemption. And – isn’t it simply good to meditate upon the truth?