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Romans 8:14-17
When Paul began to write about sanctification in this letter, he first addressed the believers part in the
process. In his mind, the believer must count on the fact that he has died to the Sin, and is now alive to God
in Christ Jesus, his Lord. And the believer must recognize that, having obeyed the truth of the gospel, he is
no longer a slave of the Sin, but of righteousness. The believer now has a new master God a master he
freely chooses to serve, out of love love for his Lord.
But Paul knew that the devotion of believers for their Lord could be challenged. Believers can still choose
to put their will over Gods will, which they might at times do, out of their ongoing love for themselves.
This will cause believers to struggle with sin; a struggle in which they, in their own power, cannot have the
victory.
But Paul shows that God has given believers a powerful Helper, to enable them to overcome sin in their
lives the Holy Spirit. And as believers walk according to the spirit (of life in Christ Jesus), they will not
fulfill the lusts of their flesh; they will indeed be free, from the power of the Sin, in their lives.
Last week, we saw that Paul laid out the choice that believers have; to continue to follow after the flesh,
even though they are no longer in it, or to follow after the Spirit. Its a matter of where the believer sets his
mind on the things of the flesh, thinking according to his former manner of life, as a son of Adam or on
the things of the Spirit, choosing to have his thinking transformed with the Spirits mind.
If a Christ One decides to follow after the flesh, and set his mind there, it will be like death to him, for the
flesh has a corrupting influence. But if instead he takes the Spirits thinking to be his own, and he conducts
himself accordingly, he will live. The Christ One will actually be living the Life that Christ died to give
him Life everlasting. He will be living his righteousness.
Paul now goes on to show that following the Spirit, in sanctification, is the mark of one who belongs to
God; and it marks him out for a glorious destiny.
[Read Romans 8:14-17]
We can see that Paul is introducing certain imagery here to describe believers in their relation to God; we
have the term sons; children; heirs; also the concept of adoption. These pictures are interwoven with the
role of the Holy Spirit, in the life of the believer, and as we consider carefully what Paul is saying, we will
better understand just what that role is.
Lets return to verse 14.
v. 14 Paul is making this statement as an explanation (For) of what he said in verse 13, and even before
that. Those who are led by the Spirit of God who have the Spirits mind on things, and walk according to
the Spirit, living their lives according to the Spirit, these are the sons of God.
First, lets rule out what this does not mean. It does not mean that the believer who makes the occasional
choice to live according to the flesh is not a son of God. But what Paul is saying here is that the
distinguishing mark of a son of God is that he is led by the Spirit of God; thats the proof that he is a son of
God.

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Lets consider Pauls words more closely, here. Remember Paul uses both the term children and sons
in this passage. Does he intend to make a distinction? Yes; but its not that they are entirely different
things; the distinction in Pauls imagery here is one of emphasis; two different aspects of one who is a
believer.
The word for children, teckna, is related to the word tikto, which means beget, or bear. So teckna gives
prominence to the fact of birth; in this passage, being born of God. It is important to understand that this
word for children does not carry any idea of immaturity in it; completely different words in the Greek are
used to describe babies, infants, and little children who cannot yet speak. Again, teckna speaks of a being a
born one; and therefore, emphasizes the relationship to ones parent.
The word for son, huios, stresses the status, as well as the character of the relationship. This word is
particularly used of those who manifest a certain character; their likeness to the one to whom they are
related. A son of God, then, has an exalted position because of his relationship to the Father, and his
character manifests the Fathers likeness.
The fact that the believer HAS the Holy Spirit, to lead him into all truth, shows that he is a child of God.
Everyone born of God receives the Holy Spirit.
But the fact that the believer is actually LED by the Spirit of God; the fact that he chooses to walk in that
exalted position, according to the Spirit listening to the Spirit, and obeying Him this shows that he is a
son of God.
Sons of God are those who reflect the likeness of their Father, God. What is the likeness of God? What is
His character? Absolute righteousness. And as we follow the Spirits leading, he is working that very
character into us, enabling us to live out our righteousness, in sanctification.
Now Paul goes on to remind the believers as to just what it is that they received from God, when they
believed.
v. 15 First, Paul points out to believers what it is they did not receive; they did not receive the spirit of
bondage again to fear. The word again tells us that believers did, at one time, receive this. What is this
spirit of bondage to fear?
Well, Paul has discussed two kinds of bondage in this letter. All unregenerate men serve the Sin and Death;
they are in bondage to them. In addition, Paul describes the Law of Moses as a kind of bondage in his
letter to the Galatians, in that the Jews, under the Law, tried unsuccessfully to keep it as a means of
justification.
The clue as to what kind of bondage Paul is referring to here lies in a comment he makes, just a little
further along in this letter. Look down at verse 21. Paul speaks about being delivered from the bondage
of corruption. Corruption speaks of a spoiling, decaying thing. So what bondage is this speaking of? The
bondage of Death.
And that is the bondage of which Paul is speaking, in verse 15, as well. But notice that Paul doesnt just
say bondage, he says, spirit of bondage to fear. What does he mean? I think the writer to the
Hebrews makes this very clear. Turn to Hebrews chapter 2.

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The author has been writing of Jesus, who in His humanity suffered death in order to bring many sons to
glory that is, in order for men to become sons of God.
[Hebrews 2:14-15] Although the author is writing specifically to Jews, his words in this case have a
general significance. The children here are the Jews, as sons of Adam; they have partaken of flesh and
blood, simply through their birth into this world, as men.
The author indicates that Jesus did the same; He took on a flesh and blood body; a mortal body, capable of
dying; He came to the earth in the likeness of men (Phil 2:7). Jesus shared in the same; He identified
Himself with humanity, in their frailty, in their weakness, willingly subjecting Himself through that body to
the dominion of Death.
Then Jesus delivered up His body to death. He was obedient to His Father to die the death of the cross
(Phil 2:8). But on the third day, Jesus rose victorious from the grave, overruling Death with resurrection
Life; Death no longer has dominion over Him (Rm 6:9); He is alive forevermore (Rev 1:18).
It was through His resurrection that Jesus defeated the enemy of mankind, the devil. In verse 14, the word
destroy in the NKJV actually means to render inoperative; to cause to cease. The devil operated through
the power of Death to hold men in bondage.
Now, the devil does not have the power over life and death; that is Gods power, alone (Job 2:4-6, eg). So
what is this power of death that the devil can operate through? We find the answer in verse 15; the power
of Death that the devil can operate through is mens fear of Death.
What do men fear about death? That it is the end of life this life. Its the only life most men know.
So the devil operated through that fear, to hold men in bondage. He brought religion into the world so
that men could have a false sense of security about another life after death. And the devil brought into this
world the illusion of extending this life the right foods, the right diet, the right supplements, the right
exercise regimen; plastic surgery, cryopreservation, wellness check ups! Man, saving the earth; man,
saving himself.
But man still fears death; because deep inside, in the very spirit of his being, he has no certainty that ANY
of the things he is doing will extend his life. And man has no assurance that the religion that he so
zealously adheres to can really give him a life after he dies.
But through His death, Jesus rendered the devil powerless to hold men in bondage, through their fear of
death. How? Jesus demonstrated though His resurrection that, for Him, death was not the end; He was
stronger than death.
Jesus had the victory; He conquered Death with Life everlasting. And the good news is that Jesus extends
His victory over Death to whomever will come to Him, by faith. And that takes away their fear of death, as
they come to understand that Death no longer has a hold on them, either.
[Return to Romans 8]

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So in verse 15, when Paul says you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, he is talking about
that spirit of fear that men have, concerning their bondage to death. What men have that fear? Every man
that is born, in Adam. And when do they receive that spirit of fear? The moment they understand that they
are going to die.
But, Paul says, you did not receive THAT spirit of bondage, again to fear death. What did you, the
believer receive instead? You received the Spirit of adoption.
Of course, Paul is saying this as a contrast to the first spirit mentioned the spirit of bondage, to fear death.
So in contrast to that, this Spirit, the Spirit of adoption, is the Spirit of freedom; of deliverance from that
bondage. In what respect? Because in place of that fear of death, this Spirit gives us the assurance, the
certainty, of Life Everlasting; that our bodies will be redeemed from Death.
Here Paul is calling the Holy Spirit the Spirit of adoption. The word adoption is from two Greek words
that mean son and to place; so adoption would literally mean, to be placed as a son.
Now, Paul will use the imagery of adoption again in this letter, very shortly in fact, down in verse 23, and
there he will actually define what he means with this imagery for believers, the adoption is the
redemption of our bodies; that is, when our bodies are loosed from death. And when is that? When they
are changed into our bodies of glory.
But here, in verse 15, Paul does not speak precisely of the adoption itself, but of the Spirit of adoption. So
what exactly does Paul mean in using that term, for the Holy Spirit? For that, we need to understand a little
about adoption, in Pauls day.
In that Paul was writing to mixed assemblies of Jewish and Gentile believers, and particularly in that these
assemblies were at the heart of the Roman Empire, we can be sure that Paul was drawing upon the tradition
of adoption as observed by the Roman culture.
Adoption was a technical term, according to Roman law. It was a legal action which put a man in every
respect in the position of a son by birth to the one who adopted him.
As an adopted son, the man now bore the family name. He possessed the same rights and privileges as a
born son, including the privilege of inheritance. The adopted son also had the same responsibilities, and
owed the same obligations as a born son. Adoption cancelled all previous debts and relationships, and
defined the new son entirely in terms of his new relationship to his father.
Here Paul uses the concept of adoption to distinguish believers from Christ as the Son of God. Jesus is the
only begotten Son of the Father, sharing His essence as Spirit being of Deity; uncreated God. Men become
sons of God when they are united to Christ by faith, to be born again, born of the Spirit, children of God.
The concept of adoption brings out that their previous relationship, as sons of Adam, has been cancelled;
they are now in the position of adopted sons of God, and are defined by that new relationship, to their
Father, God. All of their debts have been cancelled; their sins have been nailed to the cross (Col 2:14). And
now, they bear the family name: they are Christ Ones.
But when a person becomes a believer, does he understand all of these things? No. And so the Father has
given His adopted sons a Helper the Spirit of adoption. It is the Spirit that enlightens the eyes of the
understanding to these deep things of God to the reality of the believers relationship with God.

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Through the Spirit, the adopted son comes to know His Father; not just the Fathers will, but the Fathers
ways. And the Spirit sanctifies the believer, training him in righteousness, so that when the fullness of his
adoption is to be realized in his glorification the believer will have been made ready.
Turn to Second Corinthians chapter 3. Paul was writing to the church in Corinth of the ministry of the new
covenant the covenant for Life Everlasting, through the blood of Christ the ministry of the Spirit; a
ministry of far greater glory than that of the Law, which only pictured Christ. Well just be looking at what
Paul says of the ministry, the work, of the Spirit here.
[Second Corinthians 3:17-18]
v. 17 Paul had spoken previously of the Law, which was a ministry of condemnation to the Jews, because
they sought to be justified by it, and instead were judged on the basis of it. But the Spirits ministry in
believers brings freedom; there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus; the Spirit
enlightens us to our deliverance from sin and death (Rm 8:1-2).
v. 18 The statement about an unveiled face refers back to Moses and the children of Israel. When Moses
received the tablets of stone the second time, the skin of his face shone, so that the people were afraid to
come near him. So Moses had to veil his face whenever he talked to the people; but whenever he went in
before the LORD, and the LORD spoke to him, Moses would take off the veil (Ex 34:29-35).
Paul drew upon this piece of history, recognizing in it a powerful metaphor for the continued unbelief of the
nation; their Scriptures are filled with the glorious portrait of Jesus as their Messiah, but their hearts are
blind to it, because they are veiled in unbelief.
We who have believed into Jesus have had the veil removed; like Moses, our faces are unveiled. We are
taking in the Lords radiant glory, as the Spirit enlightens us to it; and the more we look; the more we mind
the things of the Spirit; the more glory we take in. And as we take it in, that glory is changing us.
There is a transformation going on; more and more, our thinking is being changed into the Lords glorious
thinking, so that we have His righteous character; thats our sanctification, through the Spirit the Spirit of
adoption.
And the Spirits work of sanctification is leading to our completion the adoption, the redemption of our
bodies when our lowly, earthly bodies are transformed; conformed to our Lords glorious body (Phil 3:21)
from glory in our being to glory in our body by the Lords Spirit.
[Return to Romans 8]
This is the work that the Father is doing in us, to prepare us for the time when we will live with Him,
forever. It is training in righteousness but it is a loving process reflecting the love of a Father, to train
up his son.
It is through the Spirit that the son experiences this love of the Father. Paul says it is through the Spirit of
adoption that we as believers cry out, Abba, Father. Through the Spirit, we can call on the Father as our
Father, without any hesitation or fear; with the assurance of a true son.

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Abba is an Aramaic term for Father. Do you remember who else used that term? Jesus did, as He
prayed to His Father out of His deep distress, before His hour had fully come (Mk 14:36). It is an
affectionate term for a father; an intimate term; intensely personal.
This is not some cold, formal Father, who sends you off to military school for training in righteousness, to
whip you into shape. This is a Daddy one who is always available, and so near, that you carry Him right
inside you through His Spirit.
He is there to help you: to understand the good of the purposes that He is choosing for you; to discern the
evil of what the world has to offer, and even of your own selfish desires; to recognize His voice amidst all
the other voices, and to heed His voice alone, knowing that every word that He utters to your heart is an
expression of His love for you; to know, in the very spirit of your being, that where youre concerned,
Father knows best.
Paul continues to relate the Spirits role, with the believer.
v. 16-17 First, lets consider the witness. In the Roman culture, for an adoption to be legally binding, it
had to be attested to by seven witnesses, to confirm its validity. They provided the necessary testimony that
the adoption was legitimate.
The Father provides us with the most reputable witness possible His very own Spirit (the seven-fold
Spirit, Rev 4:5, Is 11:2) who, right within us, bears witness to the spirit of our being that we truly are Gods
children He is indeed our Father. We recognize that we have genuinely become a child of God, because
we begin to bear a resemblance to our Father, and the Spirit confirms this to us.
But there is another way that we know we are children of God. The Father chastens us; this is a scourging
of correction designed encourage the child in the way of the Father, so that his life will yield the peaceable
fruit of righteousness. Chastening proves that one is not a bastard, but a legitimate son (Heb 12:5-11); and
through this loving correction in the way of righteousness, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the fact that we
are genuinely Gods children.
With the certainty that we are Gods children, we have the assurance that we are Gods heirs. Now, what is
an heir? Someone who will receive an inheritance. And Paul says that we are joint heirs with Christ we
will inherit together, with Him.
By divine right, Christ is the heir of His Father. The author to the Hebrews says that God appointed His
Son heir of all things (Heb 1:2); and with His ascension back into heaven in glory, the Son obtained His
inheritance and was anointed as King (Ps 2:6-8, Heb 1:4, 8-9). Now the Lord Jesus sits at the right hand of
the Father, waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool (Ps 110:1), His rule over the heavens and the
earth already secured in eternity by His work on the cross.
We are not that Son. Yet Paul says we are joint heirs with Christ. He received His inheritance based on His
divine right, as the Son of God. And we will be heirs with Him partaking of His inheritance based on
divine grace the great favor, of God placing us into His family.
In the Roman household, all the children were the heirs of the father; not just the firstborn son. Likewise,
based on no right or merit of our own, but on Gods grace, we will be privileged to partake of Christs
inheritance He will graciously share it with us.

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What exactly is it that well inherit? Well, what kinds of things can people usually inherit? Sometimes a
person might inherit a house a home a dwelling. And a person can inherit money, right? Riches? We
could say, treasure? And land can be inherited, as well a place where a person can live.
In a sense, we inherit all of those. As children of God, we will be heirs of salvation (Heb 1:14), according
to the hope of eternal Life (Titus 3:7) we will receive bodies of glory. These are the dwellings, which
Jesus told His disciples are already in His Fathers house (Jn 14:2).
Paul called them houses not made with hands (2 Cor 5:1). And Peter wrote that they are reserved in
heaven for us (1 Pet 1:4); because from the eternal perspective, they are already there, and were in them;
we have received our inheritance; a dwelling.
Theres more glory, to our inheritance. Theres the treasure that weve laid up for ourselves in heaven (Mt
6:20-21); treasure we discovered as we were seeking first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness (Mt
6:33). What is that treasure? Its the glory of our Lord, that weve been taking in, while here on earth.
We see this glory as we consider the life that weve been building on our foundation of Jesus Christ gold,
silver, precious stones a life built up in Gods thinking, which alone can endure the fire of Gods holiness
(1 Cor 3:11-15); thats glory that the believer will possess, forever.
And we see this glory in the righteous character which the Spirit is working into us; the character of Christ,
which has been proven in the fires of trial and tribulation (Rm 5:3-4). So were also heirs of the
righteousness righteousness which is according to faith (Heb 11:7). This becomes part of our inheritance;
glory the will shine out from the very spirit of our being, for all eternity (1 Cor 15:40-44).
But there is still more glory, with our inheritance. When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His return to
heaven, and told them of the many dwellings that were already in His Fathers house, He also let them
know that He was going there to prepare a place for them (Jn 14:2) and for all who believed into Him a
place for His body of believers the true church.
What is that place, in the Fathers house in heaven? What is it called? The New Jerusalem. Thats the
place where we will forever be with our Lord; you could say its our heavenly land.
The author to the Hebrews gave a beautiful description of what that place will be like, in glory. Turn to
Hebrews chapter 12.
Remember that the author is writing to Jews particularly Jews who are being enlightened to the truth, but
who are considering turning back to Judaism; they have a decision to make, between their religion of
works, and the Good News of the gospel of Christ. This is a decision between death and life.
So the author shows them their choice through a powerful illustration. First he speaks of Mount Sinai, the
place where the Law was given, and he describes it as a terrifying place of Gods holy judgment. Then he
contrasts this with Mount Zion the poetical name for the city of Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God.
[Hebrews 12:22-24]
v. 22 This is the place they have come to, in their decision; they are standing on the edge. They have heard
the gospel, have been enlightened to the truth of it; but now, they have to choose it for their own.

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The description that the author gives is a picture of where God lives; the city of the living God. It is not
heaven in general, but the new Jerusalem; the home of the Bride of Christ, the true church the place that
Jesus is preparing for us.
And who is in this place? Angels; myriads of angels, those ministering spirits of God, who carry out His
purposes, and reflect His glory.
The first words of verse 23 are actually connected in the Greek with the angels. General assembly means
a festal gathering. Its a myriad of angels in a festal gathering a joyful celebration, around the throne of
God; a celebration of worship. And as we continue in verse 23, we see who is celebrating with them.
v. 23 So who does the author envision with the angels? The church of the firstborn. The firstborn refers to
Jesus, as the firstborn from the dead; the preeminent Son (Col 1:18). The church is His body of believers,
who are registered in heaven; thats where their citizenship is; their names are in the Lambs book of Life.
And the author sees God there, as the Judge of all; but the church is not subject to His judgment, for God
has already pronounced them to be free of all charges of sin and guilt based on their faith in Christ. They
have been declared just men, and have now been made perfect complete, in their bodies of glory.
v. 24 The authors illustration culminates in a vision of Jesus the One who mediated the new covenant.
That covenant was ratified in His blood thats the blood of sprinkling, which seals the covenanting parties
to the terms of the covenant. And what were those terms? Life everlasting accomplished by God alone, in
Christ and we simply believing God, for what He has done.
And that blood speaks better things that Abel the author referring to the very first sacrifice made which
was just a picture of the true Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world.
For ultimately, our inheritance is Jesus Himself.
[Return to Romans 8]
Did you remember there was a little bit more to verse 17, which we havent discussed yet? Lets read it
again.
v. 17 Oh, thats right suffering. We cant forget that, because it leads to glory. Now, is this verse saying
that unless we suffer with Christ, we wont be glorified? Not exactly. The Greek for if indeed carries the
meaning of since. The idea is we do suffer with Christ; but that will lead to our being glorified with
Him.
Because the word suffer is in the present tense, we can know that this does not refer to the eternal
perspective, when we became believers we died, were buried and were raised with Christ, through
baptism into death. That happened at one point in the past at the cross from the eternal perspective, but
it is not what Paul is talking about here.
The key is that Paul is saying we suffer with Christ.

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Turn to Philippians chapter 1. Paul was writing this letter from prison in Rome, where he had been
incarcerated for about two years, after having been imprisoned in Caesarea for two previous years. And
why was Paul in prison? For the gospel; for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. And Paul is
encouraging this assembly to stand fast in their testimony to Christ, as well.
[Philippians 1:27-30]
v. 27-28 A proof of salvation. Their suffering was the proof that they were Christ Ones; their assurance
that they would be glorified; their complete salvation.
v. 29-30 It is an absolute certainty that those who believe into Christ will suffer persecution. Why?
Because like Jesus, we are in the world, but not of it. The world did not know Jesus; it rejected Him, and
hated Him. And we are His; we also will be rejected, and hated by the world. They persecuted Christ; they
will persecute us (Jn 15:18-27).
We bear the reproach of Christ (Heb 11:26). Sometimes the persecution is to the body; sometimes it is
more subtle, afflicting the inner man. But the persecution is there. And God has granted it to us to suffer
persecution, on behalf of Christ. The adopted son has the same privileges as the born son; and he also has
the same responsibilities.
Now look in chapter 3, down in verse 10. Paul has been speaking about the great gain, of coming to know
Christ, for whom he counts all things as loss.
[Philippians 3:10] We come to know of Christ, through the gospel. But after we believe into Him, we
really come to know Christ, Himself, through the Holy Spirit within us. And then the Spirit shows us the
power of Christs resurrection; to deliver us from sin and death; to enable us to live the righteousness He
has given to us.
But as we live that righteousness, and are being sanctified, what is happening? We are being set apart more
and more from the world and the world doesnt like that. Light exposes darkness, so the darkness hates
the light and tries to put it out. This is the fellowship of Christs sufferings. He suffered persecution, and
we suffer His reproach.
But all of this simply hastens the process of being conformed to His death; the suffering of persecution is
working in righteous character that fits us for those heavenly bodies in which well live with our Lord,
forever. Its suffering with a purpose, and knowing that helps us to endure.
Jesus said, To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat
down with My Father on His throne (Rev 3:21). Sit with Him, on His throne! We will rule and reign with
Christ in the heavenlies and thats our exceedingly great reward.
Next week: continue chapter 8; read 1 Cor 15:20-58.