Romans Chapter 8 "No Condemnation for the New Man; the Reason, the Nature." "Spirit leading us, [5-15]; Works of the Spirit in Us [16-27]." "Secured by God's Purpose, Effecting our Standing [28-32]." "Secured by God's Love, as Affecting our State [33-39]" This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org Paul has written on all three levels in this chapter, and we are going to look on the deeper level. If some of it seems hard to understand, then think on the matter for a while, and take special note to the latter part of this chapter. This chapter takes a look at all three earth ages, to the creation when souls were created in the first earth age, then to the fall of many souls. However some souls took a stand against Satan and his followers. It is because of the position the elect took in that first age that they became judged and predestined, that is to say, overcomers. Paul told us in the prior chapter that while we are in the flesh, many times when we try to do things right, we do just the opposite. Then we wonder why did that happen. The reason is because we are in the flesh body, and the flesh body has a strong force within it that counters that which we would like to do. We act in the flesh nature because our spiritual person is not in charge. That conflict will continue as long as we are alive in the flesh body. Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." When you are of Christ you walk not in the flesh or of the flesh, but follow the Holy Spirit. This is having Christ in you and you in Christ. Remember the difference between the sinner and the habitual sinner from the last chapter? The habitual sinner was the one that doesn't even believe there is a God, and thus he has no respect at all for the things of God. He doesn't care about anything but himself, and he lives only for the moment. His sins are chargeable to Him and He will stand guilty of all his sins, because they are unrepented, because he doesn't even believe there is a God to repent to. The other type of sinner is the one that continually try to do right and not sin, but always fall short in certain things. However, as long as that person continues to try, and repents in Jesus name when he falls, God calls that person perfect. The reason there is no condemnation to this type of sinner, is because you have repented of those sins and they simply do not exist as chargeable in the eyes of God. God blots out repented sin. This is why "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus," because they "walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." They have the Holy Spirit of God within them, and they follow that Spirit's advice and counsel. The word "condemnation" in the Greek text means that there are no charges against you, because the acts that the charge state cease to exist. It doesn't mean you didn't do them, but the charge for doing the act has been dropped. You may suffer the consequence while in the flesh body for the act, but in the Spiritual life where you soul stands before the Father, Christ has taken that charge and through His shed blood on the cross, taken that charge from you through your repentance in Jesus name. Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." This law of eternal life in Christ has made me free from sin and spiritual death. Through Christ, in Christ and by Christ that on repentance you are free from the law of death, because sin has no hold upon your soul upon repentance. In the case of the habitual sinner, he doesn't repent because he doesn't even believe there is a God. Unfortunately that habitual sinner has no defense because all charges of his sin are made against them. Each of us must answer for ourselves. Once you repent and serve God, then in the flesh you will sin because you are in the flesh. Your repentance of all sins when you do sin, makes you free from the past sins, and you no longer have to go through life feeling guilty of things of the past before God. Those sins are all blotted out. As long as you are in the flesh, make sure that the Spirit of Christ is in you and you in He and you do that through repentance. Romans 8:3 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:" It is because of our flesh that you and I are weak, and through our faith in Christ, and the divine law and the commandments that show us that we can not keep, that draws us to repentance, in Jesus name. The price that Jesus paid on the cross with His shed blood is what makes all charges against us for our sins forgiven and gone from us. Upon repentance we have the spiritual death sentence commuted, and we step into eternal life that only the Heavenly Father can give. It was impossible to find forgiveness under the law, and even Abraham could not have have repentance through the law, as we read in chapter four. Abraham's righteousness came through his faith in God, and that faith in God, God counted Abraham worthy. Romans 8:4 "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." "The righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," came through our hope and faith in Christ. The law is fulfilled when we choose to walk in the Spirit of Christ, because Christ became the spirit of the law. Know the difference between the statutes, ordinances and the law. There is a difference. All the blood ordinances and rituals were ended when Christ was nailed to the cross. Jesus Christ fulfilled those blood ordinances. Romans 8:5 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit." Those that are of the flesh can only think of the matters of the flesh, because they do not have the Spirit to guide them in the ways of the Father and His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Those that love serving God have the Holy Spirit continually on their mind, even when they fall short. When the Spirit of God convicts them of their sin, then repentance in Jesus name comes forth from their heart. Remember that even when you are serving God, your mind will revert to the flesh at times, because you are still in your flesh body. While in the flesh, you still have that old flesh nature part of you. It is the flesh that you will not shed until you die. However, at Christ's returns all flesh is changed into their incorruptible bodies [soul bodies of the Millennium age]. Is this your right to sin? God forbid, No, but it help us to understand why we do those things that we do not want to do, when we fall short of the law. Romans 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." The word "carnally minded" means to be in the flesh only. To be spiritually minded is to be in Christ, having repented in Jesus' name, for this is the way that you find peace of mind. This is also why many times people simply cannot forgive themselves. They know that God will forgive them upon repentance, but they just expected more from themselves. They just overlook that fact that they are in the flesh, with all the nature of the flesh which is still at war with their new life in Christ. When you fall to sin and you come to see the sin that has been committed, repent in Jesus name, forgive yourself and set out to do your work for the Lord in whatever endeavor that might be. Romans 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." The word "enmity" in the Greek, "ecthra" means basically to be an "adversary" against God, and that is one of Satan's names. The adversary to God's own thoughts and words can never be subject to the law of God, nor will he ever be. Why? The adversary of God has already been sentenced to death. He is called the "son of perdition", and we commonly call him Satan. Romans 8:8 "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." While we are all in the flesh we come short of the glory of God, and we do many things that displease our Heavenly Father. However because of faith and grace [unmerited favor with God] when we think in the Spirit, the Father considers you in the Spirit, and that does please Him. But we being the children of God, just as the child displeases his earthly father now and then, so also as we live in our flesh body we will also displease our Heavenly Father at times. It is just the way it is. That is not saying that it is just, but when repented we are credited as being just, for Christ did pay the price for all repented sin in Jesus name. Romans 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." If the Holy Spirit of God dwells in you, then you are of His Spirit. It is that simply; if you are of the Spirit of Christ then you are of the Father, and if you do not have the Spirit, then you are not one of God's children. The Spirit of Christ enters our heart and fills our minds when we repent of our sins, in Jesus name, and believe on Jesus Christ. To believe on Jesus means that you believe that Jesus Christ is the only Begotten Son of the Father; that He lived in the flesh body, and was sinless. In His pure sinless state, being born of the virgin Mary, He suffered and died on the cross for the sins of all mankind that will repent of their sins. Then Jesus Christ came out of that tomb and arose from the dead. Jesus then was seen by His disciples, and many others, and ascended into heaven to sit on the right hand of the Father to intercede on each of our behalf. Do you believe this? That is why we must repent in Jesus name, because His blood is our credentials for the forgiveness of our sins at the throne of God. There is a false messiah coming very shortly, and the entire earth is being prepared for his coming. That false messiah is Satan in his role as the Antichrist. Satan is the "enmity", or adversary that was mentioned above, and the entire world will think him to be the true Christ, when in fact Satan is a fake. The Antichrist will come first, and you had better learn to know the difference between the coming of the true Christ and the fake Christ [Antichrist]. There is a difference between the sixth trumpet and the seventh trumpet. You will not see the true Christ in person while you are living on earth in your flesh body. It is far more important that you do not fall short in the Spirit, then falling short in the flesh. This is why we must keep focused on our spiritual life, for it is through it that we please our Heavenly Father. So in baptism our flesh is dead, spiritually speaking, and upon repentance in Christ we have the law of freedom, the same law that we could not succeed under before the Spirit of God entered us. Even though we break one law we are free from the bondage of the law when we are in Christianity, because Christ freed us from sin upon repentance. This is why our repentance is a daily matter to us, for when we repent, the guilt of our sin is no longer with us before the Father. Romans 8:10 "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of the sin brought by Adam. When Adam broke the commandment of God, and sinned, God stated in Genesis 2:17; "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Then when Adam partook of the serpent [the tree of Good and evil] the sentence was placed upon Adam, as well as all mankind. When we repent of our sins, then our sins are placed on Jesus for He paid the price of them, and we take on the righteousness of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ enters into those repenting. If Christ is in you, then you are dead to the flesh, and that is a very high spiritual plain, and it would be wonderful if we could always be on the plain of perfection. But in the flesh body, we do sin and come short, and that is why our repentance must be daily. Romans 8:11 "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." "Quicken" in the Greek text means "to make alive", while you "mortal bodies" are the flesh bodies [liable to die bodies]. Our Heavenly Father by His Spirit that is within us makes us alive. This point comes when we enter baptism, as we discussed in Romans 6:4; "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." That newness of life comes when His Spirit dwelleth in you. Romans 8:12 "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." We are debtors to Christ, because He paid the price with His life in that we could not pay the price for our own sins. Romans 8:13 "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." If you put to death, or "mortify" the deeds of the flesh, then you will have eternal life. You do not put to death the flesh body, but the deeds of the flesh body, then you will live. Romans 8:14 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Those that follow God's leading, follow the instruction which is recorded in His Word. Those things such as baptism in Christ, and repentance when you sin and fall short of God's Word. When you follow Christ are the sons [children] of God. There is no gender in this statement, for upon belief in Christ, and repenting to the Father in Jesus name, you are a son of God. Age has very little to do with this also, except for the fact that those little ones have not reached the age of accountable. Age is different with each soul, because each child matures to accountability at its own rate. Some religious groups have taken this verse, and twisted it to say, "If we be the sons of God then we are gods." They make themselves out to be gods. However when we take that same statement, and show ownership by God of us, to make this statement true according to the Greek text, it should read; "If we be the sons of God then we are God's". This verse has nothing to do with making us gods, but in making us God's children. God owns you when you repent. Romans 8:15 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, "Abba, Father." " "Abba, Father", in the text is "Abba is Father" in the Hebrew, so you would be saying "Father, Father". In the days of Paul, the slave could never use the form of the word "Abba", so strictly speaking, "Abba" could only be used by those who have received the gift of the Divine nature. The church world today uses the bondage of fear to keep their people in line. They like to bring up forgiven sin [such as divorce] to hold individuals in a state of a second class citizen within the congregation. However, Paul taught that when we received Christ by repentance, and the old nature is destroyed, or brought under control, and the sin is blotted out before the Father, and you are free from that sin [then you are free to remarry]. Once you repent God forgives you of those sins, and you are no longer in the bondage of fear. If you are afraid of God, then you just don't understand the love of God, and the freedom we have under the law in Christ. The Heavenly Father has given you power and authority over all our enemies, which is Satan, and his entire spiritual realm, and with that power why would you ever fear? "Adoption" shows your son-ship, it is "huiothesia" in the Greek text. An adopted child may partake of all the privileges of the family, yet the child is not begotten, which means "born in the family" by birth. The subjects [or children] of this verse are begotten of the Spirit, as Jesus said in John 3:6; "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." We are brought into the family of God, regardless of who you are when you are born of the Spirit of God. Romans 8:16 The Spirit Itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:" When you accept Christ and repent of you sin, then your spirit will bear witness of the presence of the Holy Spirit, that you are a child of God. As we love Him and talk to the Father in prayer, and treat Him like your father rather then some force out in outer space, you will feel a continuing presence of His Spirit in you. The word "fear" should be translated "revere", or respect toward our Heavenly Father. God deserves that respect that we give Him, because of the many gifts that He gives us for He made us children of God. Romans 8:17 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." Think about that! If you suffer in any form for being in Christ or being called a Christian, then we will also be glorify with Christ upon His return. Jesus' return is not that far away. Why? The political beast of the end times, [the United Nation] is now over fifty years old and all nations of the world have become charter members of that earthly beast. When the political beast receives its mortal head wound, and falls apart as a political body, a religious beast or form will rise out of the old system and all nations of the earth will be glad to give themselves over to its new messiah, which will be the Antichrist. This is what Revelation 13 is all about. Even though the Antichrist has not arrived yet, don't let the spirit of Satan, the Antichrist that is present today rob you of your heritage in Christ, for many that call themselves Christians will be deceived on that day, as they are being taught to accept the first messiah that comes, and they will be taken by the wrong Christ, the fake Christ. Those that fall for the spirit of Antichrist are part of the children of wickedness, and practice some of the most beautiful church services, yet they miss the mark. Satan will look like one very holy, and speak of spiritual things, just like he spoke to Jesus in the wilderness, following His baptism. Yet Satan, the Antichrist's words will be twisted to be nothing but lies and deceptions. Are you prepared for the deceptions that Satan will bring with him to earth in the last five months of this flesh age. It won't be long before that time is here. Satan know how to play being holy, but there is one problem and that is he is just playing. You became a target of Satan's when you became a child of God, and that is why you must be on guard, and study God's Word to know the truth. Friend, any time you suffer in this flesh life for having been a child of God, don't worry, the rewards for your suffering are far greater for they are eternal. You are an heir to the very throne of God, and "Joint-heirs with Christ" in Christ's Millennium Kingdom, which is not that far away. You are going to inherit jointly what the Heavenly Father has, and gave to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." We are going a little deeper now in this verse. What little we suffer serving God cannot be compared to the inheritance, and glory that awaits us. We are about to go into the creation itself, and picture this world as it was in the first earth age. This can be documented very easily through science and pure observation today, and it is scriptural. There was a earth age before this flesh age, and in that age Satan [the most beautiful of God's created beings] was elevated to the protection of the mercy seat of God. When he was in that role, his pride and vanity overcame him, and he fell. Ezekiel 28:2; "Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus [Satan], `Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, "I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:" It was from Satan's fall in that first earth age that God sentenced Satan to death. Satan had been tried and found gilty, and sentenced to perdition. This is why Satan is known as the "son of perdition" in such verses as in II Thessalonians 2:3; "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition," The first earth age was a beautiful place to live, and in the Millennium age, when Christ returns to earth to set up His kingdom, the earth will be restored to that condition. That time will not come though, until Satan in the role of the Antichrist, who is the "son of perdition" is revealed first. Satan must reign over his one world religious order first, then this earth will be restored to its condition prior to Satan's fall and overthrow. It is going to be a wonderful time there with Christ, and the many friends that have committed themselves to Christ. We will be in our new incorruptible and immortal bodies that never grow old, or get sick. Those times of forgetfulness will be no more for we will all have one hundred percent memory recall. This is a time of learning and discipline, when all idolatry and evil rudiments will be gone and our only focus will be on the things of God. Romans 8:19 "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." Starting with this nineteenth verse, it becomes very difficult to understand the rest of the chapter if you are not familiar with the three world ages. There was a earth age before our present age of the flesh. In that first earth age is when Satan fell. The reason that we find and have many things that will carbon date back thousands of years, is that those things are from the first earth age. All of the earth ages were created by God, for He is the creator. However, many people listen to so-called biblical scholars that say that the earth is only six thousand years old. They are not students of the Hebrew, and they don't understand that the manuscripts [Massorah] declares even between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, that the earth was not created without form and void, but that it became that way after Satan's rebellion and downfall. In that first earth age, as written in Revelation 12:3; "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon His heads." This was after Satan's ["the red dragon's"] fall, and it shows us that Satan's power will also exist in the same form at the end of this second earth age. Revelation 12:4 "And his tail drew the third part of the stars [Hebrew, God's children] of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered. for to devour her child as soon as it was born." One third of God's children were deceived by Satan at that time, and rather then destroy them, God chose to end the first earth age, and move to this earth age of flesh man. So when we know that something happened before this earth age, it lets us understand exactly where predestination, and preordination came from. God doesn't give anything away free. Even in salvation itself there was an awesome price that was paid, that price was the blood of the only begotten Son of the Father. God gives rewards when they are earned. God has certain children that were chosen before the foundation of this earth age, and they were predestinated and preordained, and even judged in that first earth age. We read of the in Ephesians 1:4; "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and with out blame before Him in love:" Ephesians 1:5; "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will," These adopted children that were predestinated were not deceived by Satan then in that first earth age, nor will they be deceived now when the Antichrist rules here shortly. Now in this nineteenth verse we were just told that we were the children of God, the sons of God, from the very beginning of time when God created all souls. This is the same that God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5; "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Something happened then, but what? In the phrase, "earnest expectation of the creature", in the Greek text "creature" is given as "ktisis". It refers to the original creation, or forming from the beginning. It is not just a creation, but the "original creation". So lets go back and reread this verse again. Romans 8:19 again; "For the earnest expectation of the creation in it's original form waiteth [waited] for the manifestation of the sons of God." Why? It wants to return back to it's original form of that first earth age. The earth in it's present off balance form has caused our irregular weather patterns, the jet streams, and all the other problems that climate poses. Isaiah 45:18 "For thus saith the Lord That created the heavens; God Himself That formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain [void], He formed it to be inhabited: "I am the Lord". " When the sons of God are manifested, that is when they make up their minds just who they will worship, God or Satan. Then this earth and all mankind will return back to the time where the entire earth was inhabitable. All souls must pass through this earth age of the flesh just once before the age of the flesh is over. That next earth age is called the Millennium Age. Then we will be in a protected garden of peace and tranquility. Romans 8:20 "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope," "Creature" stated here is the same as in verse nineteen, it means "the creation, or original formation", to be more exact. The "original creation" was made "profitless", or "disrupted" out of its original tranquility, because God made it that way, so that each soul could enter this earth flesh age in innocence, being subjected to the same testing, to chose the hope of their salvation, or reject it. Friend, the choice of the direction and condition of your soul is up to you. God didn't make a mistake in forming this earth, He made it perfect and it will return to that form shortly. It was the fall of Satan, and the third of the all souls that followed Satan, that cause the destruction of the earth that ended that first earth age. Romans 8:21 "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." Because the "original creation" [creature] itself, or earth will be placed back in that original condition that it once was in the first earth age, where by every part of the earth will be like a paradise. There will be no flesh in that Millennium age, simply because no flesh can exist in that age, and we will all be in our incorruptible bodies. Think of how beautiful this new age will be. Romans 8:22 "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." It is translated correctly here. The whole creation is crying out with the birth pains for a new earth age. This will be the third world age, spoken of in II Peter 3. These labor pains are getting closer and closer, as we see one after another prophetic event after another come to pass. The new age is not far away. Though this new age will come upon us instantly, upon the arrival of Jesus Christ's return to earth, it should not be a complete surprise to the elect of God, those that have the seal of God in their hearts and minds. Jesus told us exactly how it would be prior to his coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Then Jesus took John in a vision to "the day of the Lord", the exact day of Jesus return at the second advent, and told John to write down what he saw in that vision. We call John's writing, "the Book of Revelation". Yet with all that instruction, the modern church world still chases after man's traditions, and chooses to turn a blind eye to the events that a true watchman of God must be aware of, or he will be deceived by Satan in his role of Antichrist. Much of the Old Testament is disregarded by them because those "foolish virgins" have chosen to fill their lamps [minds] with only half full with the oil or truth of God's Word. The wise virgins have taken the whole Word of God. The foolish virgins look for a rapture to get a way out of Satan's deception, and seek an easy escape from the great tribulation that will come upon the whole earth. That great falling away or apostasy will come when the Antichrist and his fallen angels come to earth for that last five month period of this earth age of flesh man. A double witness to this five month time frame is in Revelation 9:5, and 10. Revelation 9:5; "And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.." Jesus warned us that this time would be so bad that He shortened the time for the sake of His elect, and here we see the time will be five months. But if you are on the earth at that time, which most of the people living on earth today will see, it would be important to know how and in what manner the "scorpion striketh a man". That is how the Antichrist, his fallen angels and his children the Kenites will strike the people of the whole earth. The things to remember here that you are either prepared prior to the coming of Antichrist, with your spiritual armor of Ephesians 6:10-20 on and part of you, or you will be taken by the Antichrist and deceived into worshipping Him. The battle of the tribulation is a spiritual warfare, and a true time of testing that will test the souls of those living on earth, and there is no sitting on the fence during that five months. To survive this spiritual battle with your soul given to the Father, you must be sealed in your mind first, for all peoples of the earth that are not sealed will worship Satan, even in ignorance. The "seal" is "knowledge in your mind of the events that will happen", and most of them are history already. We get the full understanding from the entire Scripture, including the Minor Prophets. [especially the Minor Prophets] Romans 8:23 "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." We see this in that not only are our forests killed, the rivers becoming polluted, and the sky that is being filled with pollutants, but we see it in ourselves also. Those "That have the first fruits of the Spirit" wait for that day, we know the signs of the times and we look forward to Christ's coming with patience. That day will come at the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet, at the return of Jesus Christ and after the Antichrist has ruled, and been removed into the pit where he will remain until after the Millennium age. If you have "the first fruits of the Spirit", you have Jesus Christ in your heart, and are also waiting for the adoption that will take place at His coming when He comes to redeem our souls. "Waiting" means that we are waiting patiently for that day, and tending to the work that needs to be done, doing God's work. We simply cannot compare the problems that we go through now with the glory of this world when it is returned to its original form of creation. Heaven will be on earth then as written in Revelation 21:1; "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Revelation 21:2 "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." God is going to center the new heaven and earth around His favorite place mount Zion, and Jerusalem, and He is waiting for that moment when every last soul that will be saved, will make their selection. Only the Father knows when that time will be. Romans 8:24 "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope?" We don't see that beautiful world today that it once was, but we must hope for the moment when our Lord shall return. Hope that is seen is not hope. Can you understand what this earth was like in its original beginning? Romans 8:25 "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." This is what our faith in Jesus Christ is based upon. We hope for that which we cannot see, but read of in His Word. As we wait for those promises, it gives us more patience when we see the beauty that is just ahead of us, in that perfect world that will be formed at the coming of Jesus Christ. The perfect ruler [Jesus Christ] will be in charge, and only those that love Him will remain, while Satan and his hoards will be placed into the pit for that thousand years. Romans 8:26 "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." The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit also helps our weaknesses; do you believe that? God helps you in your weakness through the Holy Spirit if you have faith to believe that. If you do not have the faith to believe that, don't worry, He will not help you. To be worthy of the hope you must have the faith in God and in the power of His Holy Spirit. Why would God give a person any authority to act on His behalf, when they don't even believe and respect Him? God give us the authority and power of His Spirit when we have faith in Him, and belief in His Son, Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ is where we get our power, when we repent of our sins. Then when we have our faith in Jesus Christ, and are in His will, the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes on our behalf, even when we do not know what to pray for ourselves. The way that the Holy Spirit of God makes intercessions are in ways that can not even be written here, or understood by us. When we do not know how or what to pray, and approach the Father, God Spirit does it on our behalf. His Spirit knows our thoughts and intents, and He does the intercession for us. Remember in Mark 13:11; "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." When we are delivered up before Satan and his people when the Antichrist reigns upon the earth, we are not to even think ahead of time what we will say. This is because the Holy Spirit will do the speaking for us. He will speak through our mouths, and place the words in our minds that we are to speak. It will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of God speaking through you, for only He will know what exact words should be spoken. The Spirit of God will also work in this manner today when we are trying to serve Him. Many times we want to say something to a friend about our Lord, but we could not find the right words to say. Then the Spirit of God placed the right words in our mouths that a seed of the Word of God could be planted. Even when we are weak in the flesh, the Spirit will bless us. Romans 8:27 "And He That searcheth the hearts because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Our hearts are our minds, and there is no one that can search your mind except the Spirit of God. Even Satan can not know what you are thinking, until you have placed that word in your mouth and spoken it. Satan can tempt you in your mind, but only the Holy Spirit can know what you are thinking, and even when it is still a little jumbled in your mind, intercede for you according to the will of God. God wrote that "Will" down through the prophets, and we call that "Will" our Bible. God's Will is not a secret, because it was given over many centuries, through many prophets of God so that you and I living in this final generation would know exactly what His Will was for each of us. When the "saints" [elect] of God are striving to please Him [there is a condition here], then the Spirit will make the intercession for us exactly as it is stated in His Word, or "Will" that He would do. There is a reason that God will interfere through the Holy Spirit in some lives, and it is given in the next verse. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." We know that all things happen for the good of those that love God, not to just anybody, but especially to those that are "called according to God intended purpose" [His will]. Stop and think for a moment: Do you think that every detail of the Jesus Life and crucifixion could have taken place with out the direct control of Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God? Even to the point of the Kenite chief priest saying words that the Holy Spirit placed there in his mouth which he did not intend to say, but were prophesied by the prophets. God uses people, and nations, and things so that His Word, and Will shall be fulfilled. God will use some people which are called "the elect", as well as others that have "free will", but He will not interfere in any free willed person's right to choose. It doesn't matter whether you are of the elect or given the rights of the free will, for when you seek after God and repent of your sins "in Jesus name", and study to know that Will of God; then the Spirit of God will lead you and direct you in accordance to His purpose. Romans 8:29 "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." He foreknew them in the first earth age, and their success and love for Him. These are "the elect" of God, and in that first earth age God also predestinated them to be similar, or like the image of Jesus Christ [His son]. This is referring to the "only begotten Son of God" who died on the cross and arose again after the third day, and now sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven to be our advocate. Remember back in verse [23], "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." The "first fruits" of the Spirit are those that God will intercede in their lives to make these Scriptures come to pass. Both "the elect" and the "free will" Christians have the first fruits of the Spirit, when they are in the Will of God, and are in obedience to our heavenly Father. God made some of His children similar in their compassion, like Jesus Christ had when He went to the cross. They care about those lost souls, and open themselves up to be used by the Father, and they strive to never be deceived by Satan. Though we might fall short at times, but spiritually we know that Satan is our adversary, and enemy. Romans 8:30 "Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified , them He glorified." God is telling you here why He "predestined" them, and how He could do this and yet still have it all be in fairness to God. When God predestinated a person, He also "called" that person. There is a difference between "called" and "chosen"; for many are called, but few are chosen. When God called one to do His work, He also judged [justified] that person at that time. The time of the judging was in the first earth age, at the time of the overthrow of Satan, before the foundations of this flesh age were formed. It was at that time that the Father made those that were "predestinated", "called and judged" [called the elect] to have a similar compassion for lost souls as Christ had. In that first earth age they became the "Zadok" or "the just", or "Elect" of this earth age. These same souls of the Zadok are of great importance in the Millennium age, as is detailed in Ezekiel 44. Of all the times of centuries past, this generation is probably in the most exciting of all times past. We are witnessing the completion of all of God's Word come to pass, as the end of this age comes to a close. When we are justified it doesn't mean that we don't pay for our sins in the flesh, but when you have been justified the Holy Spirit can interfere in the elect's lives and cause them to make a change in the direction that they are going. Paul's mind was set on killing Christians, and God Will was to make him the teacher and writer for Him of His Holy Word. God interfered with Paul's life on the road to Damascus, and struck him down blind, and when Paul then listened to God's instructions, the Spirit of God changed Paul's direction to glorify God, and Jesus Christ. Romans 8:31 "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? When we are in Christ there is no power on this earth, not even Satan that can come against us spiritually. Romans 8:32 "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Do you think that God had to allow that band of Kenite priests to plan and murder His only begotten Son? Did the Father find joy as they took Jesus and mocked Him, scourged and hung Him on that cross? Had God the Father wanted to protect Jesus Christ He could have sent an army of angels there to protect Him. But friend, because of the love that the Father had for each of his children, and that includes you and I, He freely gave His only Begotten Son to pay the price of blood sacrifice that is required for the covering and remission of your and my sins. If He would not spare His Son, and He made you a promise that He will intercede and take care of all of your weaknesses, how in the world could you ever doubt and question our Heavenly Fathers commitment that He has made to you? On that day when Jesus hung on the cross and the people mocked and spit upon Christ, God watch those events in love for you. He waited patiently for the price to be paid. Then Jesus said with a loud voice, "It is finish." and gave up His Spirit. His flesh body died, and the price for all those sins we commit was paid at that instant. Though the price is paid by the shedding of Jesus blood on the cross, it still requires you to reach out and take it, and you do that by your belief in Jesus, and your repentance of your sins in Jesus name. Jesus blood that was shed is the price and your credentials to approach our heavenly Father, and that is why every prayer that you ever pray to the Father must be in Jesus Christ's name. This also gives all the "free will" souls the right to have that grace, which is the unmerited favor in the eyes and presence of God. The "elect of God" were not given this in the first earth age, but it was given because they earned it when they took a stand against Satan at his rebellion against God. God doesn't play favorites amongst His children. This is not a matter of being better than anyone else, but it is a matter of trust between you and our Heavenly Father. It means that you have been tested and that you spiritually have stood the test. When you get the point of understanding what God has created for us, then you will see that God has withheld nothing from us. God gives us all things freely that we need to accomplish His work, and His purpose that is His plan, that is given for the good of all people. Romans 8:33 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God That Justifieth;" This is saying, Who can bring any charge against you, when God is the judge? For the Elect, if God has already judged you in that first earth age, what are you worried about? Romans 8:34 "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." It is Christ that died and defeated the adversary Satan, and He is sitting at the right hand of the Father, and He is observing you and He knows what you need. Who "also" besides the Holy Spirit can make intercession on our behalf the instant that it is needed. Only a poor faithless individual would worry, but when you come to understand what you have going for you in the powers in Heaven in Jesus Christ, and on Earth in the Holy Spirit, my Friend the joy should burst out all over you. Romans 8:35 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril, or sword?" Friend, there is absolute no one that can separate us for the love of Christ. Though Satan and his demonics come against you, and the trouble on the job, or the neighbors, or even the threat of harm to you can not separate us for the love that Christ has for you. That love paid the very price of you soul. It's time to evaluate you love for Christ, if you let some earthly thing come between you and Him. That is why we repent, to break down all those barriers. Romans 8:36 "As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." This is what David wrote in Psalm 44:22; "Yea, for Thy sake are we killed all the day long; We are counted as sheep for the slaughter." This grumbling of David was before Christ, and yet we today have Christ to champion for us. The hope from David then comes in the rest of that Psalm 44. Romans 8:37 "Nay, in all these things we are more then conquerors through Him That loved us." Paul comes back and strongly commands, No way are we the sheep for slaughter, but we are more then conquerors through Jesus Christ who loved us so much He gave His life for us. Friend, you better understand this, for it is the basis for your Christian life in this flesh age. We are not second class citizens, but are somebody very important where it counts, we are sons and daughters of the living God, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:38 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come," Paul is certain, and this applies to you and I also, that death, nor the things that effect us in this life, nor the angels, nor principalities which includes Satan himself, nor anything that exists around when you live your live, nor even the things that will come when the Antichrist and His locust army of fallen angels, Romans 8:39 "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." "Nor height" means "the powers that are on high", nor any other creature or creation of God, and that includes Satan, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus Christ is sitting at the right hand of God making intercession or us, on our behalf daily as we live our lives. This is our hope for tomorrow, and in that new age that is written in God's word which will come. We can live today as conquerors and champions in Christ, and in the service of God.
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