October 19: The Spirit empowers believers

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

The Holy Spirit gives us a new birth when we confess our sins and trust Christ to forgive our sins. The indwelling Spirit empowers us as we submit ourselves to His control (Eph. 5:18). We claim the promise by faith that any request we make in accord with God’s will, Jesus hears and answers (1 John 5:14-15). Because it is God’s will for us to be Spirit-filled, we experience His control through faith. Four grand benefits flow from God as a result.

• First, the Holy Spirit grants freedom from legalism through adoption (vv. 12-16). Whereas we become members of God’s family through the new birth, we obtain standing as adults in His family through adoption. We come to the point in our Christian walk in which we have to claim by faith the privilege inherent in the relationship with Jesus. As the Bible says, we have no obligation to the sinful nature of the flesh to abide by its dictates. On the contrary, we put to death those destructive urges by submitting to the Spirit’s control (v. 13).

Living by the law of the Spirit, that is, experiencing life in Christ Jesus (v. 2), we need not live in fear of offending God, nor of losing our new standing when we are weak. In those moments, we issue an emotional plea to the heavenly Father, "Dear Daddy in heaven, help me!" From deep within us, the Holy Spirit confirms our adopted place in the family of God (v. 16).

• Second, the Holy Spirit revitalizes our lives through intercession (vv. 26-27). We know what we want, but what we want is not necessarily what we need. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit understands us better than we know ourselves, whether the problem be arthritis, an inability to understand what’s happening to us, a lack of skill in speaking, or failure to suppress physical desires. How intensely the Spirit prays for us while in us can be seen in the phrase "unspeakable groanings."

Jesus, on the right hand of the Father praying for us (v. 34), joins His intercession to that of the Spirit in a kind of "hot line" between heaven and earth. The heavenly Father perfectly understands the intention of the Holy spirit as He pleads for us "in harmony with God’s own will" (Living Bible).

• The Holy Spirit then goes beyond human weakness as He directs the life through His control of events (vv. 28-30). The Bible assures us that all things are being worked together for good to those loving God, to those who have been called to fulfill His purpose. Our God has not abandoned us no matter how dismal the prospects for relief may seem.

The Bible bases this promise on God’s redemptive purpose, His design for the universe and its inhabitants. He overrules external circumstances, knowing in advance they would come. Foreseeing (v. 29) the success of the Gospel, He brought about (predestinated) the circumstances to be used to bring believers into full spiritual maturity in Christ. After the Holy Spirit regenerates, God makes the sinners holy through the righteousness of God and seals them as His until the time when they shall be glorified in the resurrection. We can see the unbroken chain of redemption which began in eternity before time in God’s foreknowledge, continues through time in saving us, and issues into eternity beyond time in the resurrection.

• This magnificent passage climaxes in a hymn of praise to the love of God which protects the believers against any and all possible adversities (vv. 35-39). In view of the sacrifice of Christ for us, we certainly need not fear Him (v. 34). In His intercession for us, no circumstances of life can overcome His love for us (v. 35).