Village Schools of the Bible

ROMANS: Heart & Soul of the Gospel
A Devotional Study of Romans
by Max Frazier, Jr.

ROMANS 8:1-4 : CHRIST IS IN US

We could title Romans 8 - Preservation: Kept Securely in Christ Jesus. This chapter is the conclusion of the treatise on salvation:

Romans 1-3 - World shown condemned and lost in sin
Romans 4-5 - Condemned sinners were seen as justified and declared righteous
Romans 6-7 - Those declared righteous were now sanctified
Romans 8 - Those sanctified are found to be secure

Roots of Romans 8 are found in Christ's teachings:

John 5:24 - No condemnation in Christ Jesus; passed from death to life
John 17:22 - Christ's glory
John 10:28 - They shall never perish

Security - Relation of the Triune God to the believer

Romans 8:1-4 - Christ is in us
Romans 8:5-27 - Holy Spirit is in us
Romans 8:28-39 - God is for us
Ministry of the Holy Spirit:
Romans 8:1-13 - Spirit of life
Romans 8:14-17 - Spirit of adoption
Romans 8:18-25 - Spirit of glory
Romans 8:26-27 - Spirit of intercession

Series of contrasts in this chapter:
Romans 8:2 - "law of the Spirit of life" versus "law of sin and death"
Romans 8:5-13 - "in the flesh" versus "in the Spirit"
Romans 8:14-17 - "spirit of bondage" versus "spirit of adoption"
Romans 8:18-25 - "present sufferings" versus "future glory"
Romans 8:26-30 - "what we do not know" versus "what we do know"
Romans 8:31-39 - "God is for us" versus "no one against us"

Blessings we have "in Christ":

1. No Condemnation - Christ died for us (verse 1)
2. No Defeat - Spirit of God indwells us (verses 8 and 9)
3. No Fear - God has become a Father to us (verse 15)
4. No Despair - We know that our very sufferings reap the glory (verses 17-18)
5. No Calamity - We know all things work together for good (verse 28)
6. No Adversity - God is for us (verse 31)
7. No Separation in Christ - God has set His love upon us (verses 35-39)

ROMANS 8:1-4 - CHRIST IS IN US

Notes on Verse 1:
"Therefore" looks back to the struggle of Romans 7 and the thankful shout of verse 25. "There is no condemnation" - It is on account of the Spirit's acting as a law of life, delivering the believer from the contrary law of sin and death in his yet unredeemed members. The subject here is no longer Christ's work for us, but the Spirit's work within us. Without the Spirit within as a law of life, there would be nothing but condemnation, for the new creature has no power within himself apart from the blessed Spirit."In Christ Jesus" - expresses that glorious place God has given the believer. The question is not at all now one of justification, but one of position. There cannot be degrees here; men either are in Christ or not in Him.

Notes on Verse 2:
"Law of sin and death" - The power of sin working in our unredeemed bodies against which even man's renewed will was powerless. "Law of the Spirit of life" - The Holy Spirit makes the deliverance through Christ an experience (read Romans 7:24-25)

Notes on Verses 3 and 4: - Several things appear from this passage

1.God did a thing that the Law could not do.

2.The thing that God did was to make possible a holy life for those walking by His indwelling Spirit

3.The reason that the Law was unable to bring about this holy life lay in the flesh, the "mind" that is enmity against God and not subject to His Law or will. Thus, though the Law was holy, just and good, in itself, it only irritated by its commands a sinful flesh that was not subject to it.

4.God's plan was to send His own Son, who had a body prepared for Him and was born according to the angel's words to Mary in Luke 1:35.

5.God's purpose, as revealed in this passage, was to get at sin as connected with human flesh and deal with it at the cross in the way of righteous condemnation, so that sin would no longer have rights in human bodies.

Two things happened at the cross:

1) His blood was shed for us in expiation of our guilt; and

2) We died with Christ. When we believed upon Christ, He became our Adam and God dated our history back to Calvary, and commanded us to reckon ourselves dead to sin because we died with Him (read Romans 8:9; Romans 7:5; Ephesians 2:1-3)

"Condemn sin in the flesh" - Dealt with sin, judicially. In Adam all sinned (read Romans 5:18-19). All, since Adam, have participated in the fallen nature of Adam. In Romans 8:3, God tells us that sin, as connected with flesh, has been condemned, dealt with, although it has not yet been removed. Not only did Christ, at Calvary, put away our guilt before God by His blood, but there our old man was crucified with Him; sin was condemned as having any connection with human flesh."

Notes on Verse 4:
The Law commanded a wholly righteous walk toward God and toward our neighbor. However the Law furnished no power to live such a life. But we have this righteous state now. It is not fulfilled by us, but it is fulfilled in us. It is fulfilled in us as we consent to reject the flesh and choose to walk according to the Spirit. In the Spirit lies all the power.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In my estimation, Romans 8 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. I certainly consider it to be the greatest chapter penned by the Apostle Paul. I truly believe a student could spend hours mining the great truths that are found within these mere thirty-nine verses. It will be our joy in the coming weeks to spend some time gleaning some truths.

Perhaps you might have heard me say that Romans 8 begins and ends with two towers of strength for the Christian life. Today, let us focus upon that first tower. It is found in the very first verse. That verse reads, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." That first tower I call - the Tower of No Condemnation. One can almost hear the joys erupting from the heart of Paul as he wrote those words. What a contrast to the earlier portions of Romans where there was a struggle whether anyone could ever be right with God, to be at peace with Him. Yet, because of what Christ did for us upon the cross, we now have the peace with God (we looked at this in chapter 5) and we now no longer stand condemned before God. I am not condemned; I am adopted in God's family. I am no longer under the sentence of death; I have received the entitlement of eternal life.

Friend, I invite you to take a few moments right now, and praise God for this freedom from condemnation. Rejoice in the fact that you have been set free. Celebrate that because you are in Christ Jesus, therefore, there is now no condemnation for you!

QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS ONE READS THESE VERSES:

1. If there is no condemnation for us as believers, and if Christ's death condemned sin in the flesh, then why do I still sin?

2. Why does God permit us to struggle with sin like we do?

Romans 7 Return to the Table of Contents Romans 8:5-17