12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:9-25
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Paul has been talking about there being "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus", and explaining that Christians are not to live according to the sin nature, because those who do are hostile to God and cannot please God (Romans 8:1-8).
He begins this next section (vs. 9-25) with, "You, however are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you."
It sounds as if he is telling the church matter of factly, that because they are in the church, they are "not in the flesh but in the Spirit." However, he continues with, "If in fact the Spirit of God lives in you", making it clear that the Spirit does not live within all of them.
So, who does the Spirit live in then? To answer that, we have to go back to 8:1-2, where he says "those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit set me free from the law of sin and death." In other words, only those who are in Christ Jesus have God's Spirit living in them. Being "in Christ Jesus" means having faith in Him, and "putting on Christ". Paul wrote to the church in Galatia,
[26] for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. [27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." - Galatians 3:26-27
So then, what does it mean to have faith in Christ Jesus? The word faith in the Bible is often translated from the Greek word, pistis, which can mean more than simply believing. Besides belief, pistis can mean, faithfulness, trustworthiness, or persuasiveness. If one must have faith in order to be a son of God as Paul said, then one must be faithful, and trustworthy to Him, just as He is to us. That is what a covenant is, right? A relationship where both parties are faithful to one another and trustworthy?
Let's use marriage as an example. In a marriage, a man and a woman each vow before God to love and remain faithful to one another until death. This is a marriage covenant. Within a marriage covenant, both parties agree to the terms, and vow before God that they will love, remain faithful, be trustworthy, remain loyal and committed, and persevere, throughout the marriage, "'til death do us part". These elements are required in any relationship. Without them, a relationship is unhealthy at best.
A marriage covenant is not one sided, but both parties must work to maintain it. If one quits and stops loving, or being faithful, or being trustworthy, or being loyal, or persevering, then they have broken their vow before God and their end of the covenant. They can either repent and choose to keep their vow before God and remain in the marriage covenant, or they can leave the marriage. If they leave the marriage due to sexual immorality, they have Biblical grounds for divorce, which is a separation of the thing which was once joined together. (Note however, unfaithfulness due to sexual immorality is the only acceptable reason Jesus gave for divorce. Paul said that an unbelieving spouse is permitted to divorce a believing spouse if they choose to do so. A husband and wife are not divorced in God's sight, unless it is due to at least one of these two acts of unfaithfulness.)
God intended marriage between a man and a woman to be symbolic of the relationship between Jesus and His people. Jesus is the Bridegroom and His people are His bride.
According to Jesus, a person should only become a Christian after he has counted the cost of following Jesus. This is so he will know the love, commitment, loyalty, faithfulness, and perseverance that is required of him. We do the same thing before marriage. It would be foolish not to.
After he has weighed the pros and cons, and has decided that Jesus is worth it and that he will remain faithful to Him until death, he agrees to the terms and enters into an everlasting covenant with God. He gets baptized as a symbol of entering into the covenant. This is the reason baptism is commanded by Jesus of His followers. The man is in a covenant relationship with God, and is included in His bride.
If he is unfaithful to God, then God has grounds to separate from (divorce) him. Jesus says so when He answers the Jews' question about divorce. He said that God has joined the two together as one flesh, and therefore man has no right to separate the two (nor does he have the ability to) except for reasons of death and sexual immorality. If either spouse divorces for any other reason and then remarries, they are committing adultery.
The reason that God allows for divorce caused by sexual immorality is because it is unfaithfulness to the spouse, just as adultery is. God equates sexual immorality with idolatry. It was because of the northern kingdom of Israel's idolatry and unfaithfulness that God divorced her (Jeremiah 3:8). Furthermore, throughout the Old Testament, God described His people Israel as " harlot, adulterer", etc., due to their idolatry and unfaithfulness to Him. The Bible provides examples of God leaving Israel due to their unfaithfulness to Him:
- When He divorced the northern kingdom of Israel and gave her over to Assyria because of her harlotry:
[8] She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore - Jeremiah 3:8 ESV
- When He left the Jewish temple because He was giving the southern kingdom of Judah over to Babylon because her harlotry was worse than that of the northern kingdom's:
[18] Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. - Ezekiel 10:18 NKJV
- When Jesus said that He wanted to gather the children of Israel together, yet they were unwilling, and therefore He left their house desolate, meaning His presence left the temple. Shortly afterwards, it was destroyed by Roman armies:
[34] “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! [35] See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” - Luke 13:34-35 NKJV
- When Jesus said that the kingdom of God would be taken from Israel and given to another nation because she was not faithful to bear the fruits of it. This other nation is comprised of all ethné who have faith/faithfulness:
[43] “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. - Matthew 21:43 NKJV
God allows for men and women to divorce if there is unfaithfulness in their marriage, and He follows the same rule, as He has demonstrated with Israel. It seems strange to me that people think that God would give His people a rule to live by, which He Himself does not live by; that He expects human beings to remain faithful to one another for a lifetime, but He does not expect us to even be faithful to Him at all, let alone for our lifetime. And that God does not expect His people to be faithful to Him, yet we expect Him to be faithful to us. This is a strange but common belief that removes any responsibility on our part and makes God's covenant one sided. It does not work in any human relationship, and it does not work in our relationship with God either.
Some people believe that faith and faithfulness is a work, and therefore it is not required for salvation. But how does a healthy relationship function without those things? It doesn't. Love and faithfulness 'til death is required in an earthly marriage, and it is required in the marriage between God and His people.
Many of the same people who say that faithfulness to God is not required, also say that they are anticipating hearing Jesus say to them, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." How can He say that to you if you have not been faithful to Him, or if you have not been a faithful servant to Him? It doesn't square, and it shows that many people simply have not thought through these things. Faithfulness and trustworthiness is required within any marriage covenant, how much more then, the one between God and His people.
To be in Christ Jesus, one must have faith in Him, which includes faithfulness and trustworthiness. It is within these, whom the Spirit of God lives. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him as Paul said to the Roman church.
God will give life to the mortal bodies of those who belong to Him. Because of this, we are indebted to Him, and are obligated to live according to the Spirit. We are His slave. Otherwise, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. Paul said this to the "brethren", indicating that if a Christian were to live according to sin, rather than the Spirit, they would die. James said the same thing in his letter to the churches. It is only by the Spirit that one has life.
All who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. God is the Father of those who are led by the Spirit, and not by the sin nature. He has adopted them as His children. And if we are His children, then we are His heirs - heirs with God and fellow heirs with Christ - as long as we suffer with Him so that we can be glorified with Him (suffering for Christ makes us more like Christ).
Paul did not consider our suffering in the present time to compare with the glory that will be revealed to us. The creation longs for the sons of God to be revealed so that it can be restored and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. I think this means that once Satan is removed, and Jesus and the sons of God reign over the earth, creation will be restored - the new heaven and the new earth. It is exciting to think that as disciples are made, that the children of God are being revealed, thereby discipling the nations, and restoring the earth.
In hope, we eagerly await this time, being adopted as His sons, our bodies being redeemed - new life in Christ and new bodies that are free from the curse of sin. For this hope, those who have the Firstfruits of the Spirit were saved.
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