Romans 8The eighth chapter of Romans is one of the most critical, or important, parts of the Bible. It tells us who we are, while it also explains the Trinity. The word trinity does not appear in the Bible; however, God’s existence in three persons, or three personalities, is clearly demonstrated by The Word of God. Each part of God is equal to, is as powerful as, and is as much God as the other parts. But, as in all organizational plans, by necessity, there is a hierarchy. God the Father is the ultimate authority. Jesus the Son is the Head of the Church. That word church has two biblical meanings: “the individual who belongs to (has surrendered to) Jesus Christ.” The second meaning is “an assembly of such persons, whether it be two or thousands.” In other words, the word church means “people.” In the Bible, it never means buildings or hierarchies. The Holy Spirit acts by living inside each believer as teacher, guide, counselor, and comforter. He is the one out of the three that operates on the earth, and He is in contact with every human being. Jesus meets with His five-fold ministry teammates, and God the Father oversees it all and has the final decision. Just as we live for God, God—through all three personalities—lives for us. As we surrender more and more of ourselves to Him, we discover access to more and more of Him. What do we have to surrender? Our souls—our minds, our emotions, and our wills. Read Romans 8 with the viewpoint of complete surrender.
The most important part of us, however, is not our soul, nor our body, but our spirit. We do not surrender our spirit when we are born again, we surrender our souls. We receive from God through the Holy Spirit in our spirits: first comes our new spirit, which is made in the image of God, and in our new spirit we receive the Holy Spirit who comes to stay forever. All communication with God is received in our spirit. Verse 14 is a crucial verse to know and understand. We are led by the Spirit of God through our spirit. Then our spirit instructs our souls. Depending on how much of our souls we have surrendered, we physically obey or disobey. Verse 28 is a key verse in understanding God’s ways with us. In the Orthodox Jewish Bible, it reads like this: He makes all things co-operate together to bring everything to a good end, those who love Him. These He purposefully calls to His service for His plan, His goal. Then Paul finishes chapter eight with all the affirmations of triumphant success. We conquer! That’s who we are! We are conquerors! Sixth Month
Each week follow this format:
Each day of this month, ask the Lord what it is that He wants you to do for someone else. Then do it for Him. Keep a journal of what you’ve done in obedience and record the results.
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Marty DelmonWriter
Evangelist Teacher
Writing has been in my blood, so to speak, but when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and He told me to write, all my trepidations rolled away and I began in earnest! After all, if God Almighty says it was His idea that I be a writer, who am I to stand in His way? My hope is that you not only like what I write, but that your life is moved by it, and that your party to Jesus and with Jesus turns your life into days of Heaven on Earth. Archives
June 2016
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