Living a Life without Limits.

Living a Life without Limits.

  

I’m going to ask you to think about this question and I would like you to pray about your answer and see what God will speak to you about? The question is what is limiting and/or restricting your life reaching its full God ordained and significant potential?

Seriously what is holding you back?, is it circumstances, disappointment, previous or existing rejection, the fear of rejection, fear of failure, or are you just scared etc., etc., this list could be almost endless but hey I can’t ask you what is holding your back only you can ask yourself that question?, I would like to clarify that God’s morals and ethics aren’t what is holding you back they’re non-negotiable.

In some ways it’s the easiest thing to do, sitting either reminiscing about what has happened in the past or even day dreaming of what could happen in the future, but in both cases we’re letting life was all it’s fulfilment pass us by because we’re too busy reminiscing about the past or day dreaming about the future,  yesterday isn’t today and today isn’t tomorrow!

Earlier today, I had an email but unlike every email I’ve had today, this was prophetic, yet it wasn’t from a prophet or any other church leader, it was a job advert, to look at the email initially it looked boring and I didn’t pay it much attention, however when I took another look at, and thought’s it’s only an advert from the Royal Navy but the title caught my attention, “ Live a Life without Limits”, this title caught my attention and lead to chain of thought and I asked myself this question if serving in the Royal Navy is  Living a Life without Limits, how much more then should the Christian Life be Living a Life without Limits ?

In some ways we’ve contained ourselves by our present circumstances and situations we hold onto things than aren’t relevant or helpful or indeed beneficial  for us to do any longer, whatever that may be, instead of life in glorious hd we’ve settled for a monochrome lifestyle, a life devolved of power, passion, praise and purpose because of what happened in our past we try to find fulfilment in our yesterday when we need to find that fulfilment in today and we hope and pray for our better tomorrow however that tomorrow is actually today.  We become seemingly paralysed by the fear of failure and indecision, too afraid to make a move in case we make a mistake ! If this sounds familiar stop for moment, pray and ask the Lord to show you what you need to do?, however I’m going to give you a clue in  involves movement on your part !

Life was never meant to be dull and dusty, predictable and  pain free, however we like the safety net  of predictably, comfort and familiarity!  It’s time to Live our Lives without our self imposed Limitations.

It says in Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what does it mean to be a Christian Believer or Disciple in 2016, and for an example is it any different from being a Believer in 1916?, The world and society have changed a great deal in the last 100 years, the World has seen two World Wars, we have seen the rise and fall of political, economic & social systems,  we've seen an increase of the advance of technology and we’re reaping in many ways both the benefits and disadvantages of that technology!

We face both challenges and opportunities, persecution and praises, but then did the Church of the 1st Century AD, the Christian Life was never meant to be boring, predictable and dull.  Our Lord Jesus says in John 10:10b “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”

I give my life to Jesus in 1981, and have been a Jesus Follower or Disciple since then, my background is Welsh Pentecostal, and I  was part of a great Christian Fellowship called The Apostolic Church (Apostolic not as in Oneness Gospel, They’re Trinitarian) for the early part of my Christian Walk, and in many ways Welsh Pentecostalism is closely related to the Welsh Chapel or Non-Conformist Culture, although in some ways has strong Evangelical roots.  I’m not criticising or condemning that Culture, I grew up in it and it’s my history. However for most of the last 20 years I've been part of the Evangelical stream or movement , and have found myself drawn back to the Pentecostal movement which is very much my present and indeed my future, these are the people God has called me to share my life with and be part of.

In many ways, history can be positive, negative or neutral. All of us have a history that includes a combination of various factors including good, bad and neither good or bad, we’ve all made mistakes and errors, but there have been times when we’ve done things well and are proud of what we’ve done and there times we regret, or are ashamed or embarrassed/disappointed about, we’ve all disappointed and hurt others and we’ve all been disappointed and hurt by others, sometimes unintentionally and if we’re honest intentionally too! It’s time to forgive ourselves and forgive others, for many of us unforgiveness is holding us back!

Matthew 6:14-15

 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Colossians 3:12-17

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Many of us need to break free of our history, or the version of our history we believe or the version of our History that others have told us,  our history has little bearing or relevance to our present or a future,  our present and future isn't a  or no longer a case  of history repeating itself and its time to realise that for ourselves both on an individual or collective basis, our history isn’t our present or indeed our future, for too long we’ve lived in the present and looked to our  future and they for various reasons have become a continuation of our history,  today it’s time to stop and break that cycle.

We can no longer live in our history, wishing tomorrow, tomorrow I love you tomorrow, which is our present and future, then continue to live today as if was yesterday or indeed expect tomorrow to be like our yesterday,  we can't travel back in time to change our yesterday, we can only live for today and pray, plan and prepare for tomorrow!

Can you imagine that  you live in a rickety old house that is falling down all around you, and there cobwebs and dust everywhere, there are no modern conveniences like running water or electricity, but you like it because it’s familiar and in way it feels safe and comfortable, suddenly there is knock on your front door and Jesus is standing there, and he asks you why are you living in your old house that doesn’t suit you when he has a better house for you, and just behind Jesus, you see a fantastic house,  your heart says wow, but your head says no, and you say thank you, Lord but I like my house and you close the door on Jesus,  you go and sit on your broken chair, and think I like my house it’s familiar then there is another knock on your door, and Jesus is standing there again, and again he shows the new house, and you think to yourself, I will visit this new house, and you walk inside and it just blows you away,  it’s your dream house, but you keep looking back at your old house,  and say you to yourself,  this new house is fantastic but my old house is familiar and go thank you Lord for showing me this new house but I still rather live in my old house, and close the door of the new house behind you, thinking this new house is too good for me and I don’t deserve it, you go back to your old house and you sit there and the rain comes and wind blows, and you think to yourself I can patch up this old house it wouldn’t be as nice as the new house, but it would be better than before, then there is another knock on your door and your answer it and it’s Jesus again, and you tell him your plans for your old house and he smiles and says to you, why continue to live in this old house when I’ve given this new house which is better for you and you do deserve it because I’ve forgiven you and because you’re in me and I’m in you. Then  you  suddenly find yourself   walking towards the new house, you start to get excited and start running towards it, and you say to yourself, it’s mine.  You sit in your new house on a comfortable sofa and Jesus is there with you, and you get up and to say thank you, you make Jesus a cup of tea, and through the kitchen window you see your old house and think to yourself why did I live there so long! When I could have lived here instead.

The old house is your history, and when Jesus shows us our new house which is our present and future, but because of we’re familiar with our history and because of our history we feel we don’t deserve our possible present and future, so we decide to patch up our history, but Jesus has better plans for us than to patch up our past he has a far better present and future that we think we deserve because of our history!

It says in Isaiah 43:18-19

“Remember not the former things,

    nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

It also says in Jeremiah 29:11-14a

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord

Yours because of His Grace and Mercy

Easter, Some thoughts

I love Easter,  It was at Children’s Service in 1981 at Neath,  that an 11 year old boy although raised in a Christian Family and to be honest had never known a life outside Church,  give his life to Jesus,  that 11 year old was me, that day was over 30 years ago and I remember as if it was yesterday.

A lot of things have happened in the meanwhile, and a lot of water has passed underneath the Bridge, times have been enjoyable and times have been  less than enjoyable, yet that 11 year boy has grown up and hopefully matured and has become a 46 year old man.  When I look back with hindsight and I see the highs and the many lows, the times that yes it’s been difficult.

Lamentations 3:22-23

English Standard Version (ESV)

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;^[a]
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

Some 2,000 years ago, a man was lead to his death by an occupying army to die a death that was both humiliating and agonizing  both the political and religious authorities had conspired to end the live of this one man because they felt threatened by his message and popularity his friends had run away from him and where now in hiding.

 One of his friends had betrayed him and one of his closest friends had denied him, he was beaten and bloodied, and was led to certain death by public execution, of all the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands who shared his fate or will share his fate including some of his latter disciples, this one death out of thousands of similar deaths of those who had been crucified on a cross of wood,

 This one death was and is of eternal significance, this death bought God’s Gift of Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, The Redemption of Mankind.

When our Lord Jesus came, He had one mission in mind, he voluntary laid aside his divine attributes and was born by a woman, he lived a normal life in seeming obscurity, he launched his mission by these words The Spirit of the Lord is upon me see Luke 4:18-19, he had been tempted to sin by the deceiver and accuser Satan, yet had not sinned, indeed there was no sin found in Him, his mission then and now is to save sinners. John the Baptist said these words when Jesus came to him to be baptised in Water, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and see John 1:28-30

In 1904, The Lord moved mightily in the land of Wales and tens if not hundreds of thousands give their live to the Lord and became followers of Jesus, one of the most famous hymns to come out of that time was Here is Love vast as the Ocean or Dyma Gariad Fel Y Moroedd

Dyma gariad fel y moroedd,

Tosturiaethau fel y lli:

Twysog Bywyd pur yn marw—

Marw i brynu’n bywyd ni.

Pwy all beidio â chofio amdano?

Pwy all beidio â thraethu’I glod?

Dyma gariad nad â’n angof

Tra fo nefoedd wen yn bod.

Ar Galfaria yr ymrwygodd

Holl ffynhonnau’r dyfnder mawr;

Torrodd holl argaeau’r nefoedd

Oedd yn gyfain hyd yn awr:

Gras â chariad megis dilyw

Yn ymdywallt ymâ ’nghyd,

A chyfiawnder pur â heddwch

Yn cusanu euog fyd.

Here is love, vast as the ocean,

Lovingkindness as the flood,

When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,

Shed for us His precious blood.

Who His love will not remember?

Who can cease to sing His praise?

He can never be forgotten,

Throughout heav'n's eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,

Fountains opened deep and wide;

Through the floodgates of God's mercy

Flowed a vast and gracious tide.

Grace and love, like mighty rivers,

Poured incessant from above,

And heav'n's peace and perfect justice

Kissed a guilty world in love.

Let me all Thy love accepting,

Love Thee, ever all my days;

Let me seek Thy kingdom only

And my life be to Thy praise;

Thou alone shalt be my glory,

Nothing in the world I see.

Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,

Thou Thyself hast set me free.

In Thy truth Thou dost direct me

By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;

And Thy grace my need is meeting,

As I trust in Thee, my Lord.

Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring

Thy great love and power on me,

Without measure, full and boundless,

Drawing out my heart to Thee.

It's now  Easter,  a time of renewal and restoration, hope and transformation because Jesus paid the ultimate price and died for our sins and rose victorious from the grave and now is in Heaven.  I would ask you to think about the real reason for Easter which hasn’t nothing to do with Easter Eggs, Hot Cross Buns or indeed the Easter Bunny, but it’s because of Our Lord, Our Saviour, Our Redeemer Jesus Christ. I could continue but I will close with this video.

Yours because of his Salvation

Walking the Walk, Part 1 Built up in Christ

Colossians 2

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You Are Built Up in Christ

2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.

6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

IVP New Testament Commentary Series

Colossians 2:3ff

Simply put, spiritual maturity results from knowing Christ. The distinctive emphasis in this letter on wisdom (1:9, 28; 2:3, 23; 3:16; 4:5), knowledge (1:9-10, 27; 2:2-3; 3:10; 4:7-9) and knowing (1:6; 2:1; 3:24; 4:1, 6, 8), especially linked to Paul's proclamation of Christ, is no doubt made with Paul's Colossian opponents in mind. They too are concerned with ideas, but their "philosophy" is not centered by the teaching of and about Christ (2:8) and therefore is "hollow and deceptive," incapable of forming the spiritual life of the Christian congregation (2:6-7).

The Greek word for live (peripateo) literally means to "walk about." According to Paul, our trust in the received gospel of God's grace through Christ results in a "walk about" in him; we become familiar with him and a part of him. The apostle often sets indicative statements about God's salvation next to imperative statements about our response to God in order to show their close, even logical relationship. To embrace the truth about God's Christ is to live in him.

Our passage into Christ transforms the way we live. The four participles that follow in verse 7 express four characteristics of the Christian's "walk about." Each is stated in the passive voice because each is given by God's grace rather than acquired by human effort. The first two, rooted and built, are metaphors of growth, envisaging the dynamic character of Christian nurture, while the second two, strengthened . . . and overflowing, are metaphors of worship, envisaging the spiritual results of devotion to God. The two couplets are naturally related, since the nurture of Christ's community is facilitated by corporate acts of worship, when it is taught the faith it has received and offers its thanksgiving to God.

The verb take captive (sylagogeo) is found only here in the New Testament and suggests an illegal kidnapping. The word sounds very much like synagogue, and Wright suggests that Paul intentionally chose this rare word as a "contemptuous pun" to warn believers not to be taken in by a philosophy with roots in the esoterica of Colossian Judaism (1987:100). In addition, Paul may use this verb to recall the conversion motif of 1:13, where he spoke of salvation as God's rescue operation. The peril of the Colossian error is thereby highlighted: believers, who are rescued by God's saving grace from darkness and brought into the light, are now threatened by an enemy that seeks to recapture them and enslave them once again to the darkness of false teaching. In fact, the word darkness is used elsewhere as a metaphor of false teaching that closes the mind to the gospel truth (see Jn 1:5).

To be taken captive by a philosophy need not mean to accept a form of truth (that is, "philosophy") that is inherently flawed. Rabbis, for example, spoke of biblical teaching as "philosophy," because philosophy helped them organize biblical teaching into coherent and meaningful systems of truth. Paul himself has nothing against "love of wisdom," which is what philosophy literally means (compare 1 Cor 1:30). In this letter's opening thanksgiving, Paul agreed with other ancient philosophers in contending that "the word of truth" will produce good fruit (1:5-6). Yet now he uses the word more precisely to denote a system of integrated ideas that is promoted as gospel truth but whose result is hollow and deceptive—that is, spiritually useless

Whenever Christ's lordship over all things pertaining to life and faith is diminished, the result is stunted spiritual growth that can even imperil one's salvation (see 1:23). In fact, the practical results of a religious philosophy like that found at Colosse are a moral asceticism (2:20-23) that actually rejects God's creation as bad, and a visionary mysticism that replaces life in Christ with visionary experiences of angel worship (2:18). Such a spirituality makes the experience of God's liberating grace a real impossibility.

IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press.

Waiting

Waiting.

I wonder how many of us enjoy waiting ? I know that I rather do something else, well I’m a man, and most men, and if not a lot of women will hopefully agree with me that men aren’t particularly good at waiting!

We seem to spend so much time in the day, waiting, perhaps it’s waiting for the Bus or Train, which always seem to be running late, if you’re anything like me, you keep checking your watch and the timetable, or if you’re desperate, sending a text message to the local Bus company timetable service, who then sent you a text message for the time of the next bus!

Several Supermarkets, here in the UK, now have  a self checkout service rather than a check out operator scaning  your goods, customers can now self-scan, it’s suppose to make things easier for customers but if you like me, you spend at least twice as long self-scanning than you would do at a more conventional check-out ! Maybe it’s a man thing !.

In the so-called Western or developed world, we seem constantly rushing or hurrying, trying to get places quicker or faster, we have Instant Coffee, Express Checkouts, Online Banking, Online Shopping, which is really cool, because you don’t have to queue and it’s delivered, sometimes even the next day.

I’ve had many moments where God has either spoken into or touched my life, I remember when God moved in my life as a somewhat angry, self centred and annoying teenager, a few of you  will remember me like that! Of all the years, I’ve prayed and sought God’s face, wept, read my Bible, keep going, nearly give up dozens of times, been disappointed, hurt, felt rejection.

Throughout the years despite all that has happened, I’m still here, still have questions that I can’t answer, been confused over so many things, and at least several times lost for words, failed, Yet Jesus still loves me, still cares for me, and is still by my side.

Some time ago, I went through a time of hurt and rejection, and although I didn't give up on my relationship with the Lord.  I had stopped going to Church. I was angry and confused both with myself, others and the Lord.  During this time, I had two significant dreams, in one dream one of the elders from a church I used to attend, and had left some years was praying with me in  his office, and the second dream was coming here to Southport, and both happened as in the dreams.

It has and will involve change on my part, but the only true option I have is to move forward, it means moving on and standing strong, It means giving my full attention to all the things God has spoken into my life and done in my life, it involves letting go of some things so that I can lay hold of other things, it’s means pain and sorrow, but also means joy and fulfilment. It means moving on from where I am to where God wants me to be.

Change is coming.

It’s taking longer than I expected, and although there seems to be a delay, these things come in God’s Timing and not ours. Yes I’m moving forward and staying focused, and when God will fulfill His promise, I’ve nearly given up a few times, even in the last few weeks, I don’t know how and when, or how long the journey will be, but I’m taking it one day, and one step at a time, and know in God’s timing I will arrive.

There are two scriptures that God has spoken into my life this last week. These are Habakkuk 2:3 and Hebrews 10:35-36

Habakkuk 2:3 Niv

3 For the revelation waits an appointed time;

it speaks of the end

and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait for it;

it [c] will certainly come and will not delay.

Hebrews 10:35-36 TNiv

35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Yours in Him

Blair Humphreys

Words for the Wise, No Condemnation for Christians, Romans 8

Romans 8

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Deliverance from Bondage

8 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [a]in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, [b]weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of [c]sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is [d]alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [e]through His Spirit who dwells in you.

12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you [f]must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery [g]leading to fear again, but you have received [h]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly 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, [i]in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Our Victory in Christ

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the [j]saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that [k]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was [l]raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of [m]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;

We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NIV Application Commentary

In this time of expectant suffering, the Spirit’s intercession is one great support. Another is the providence of God. “Providence” is the word we use to describe God’s beneficial rule over all the events of life. The famous promise of 8:28 is one of the great biblical descriptions of providence. Translations, affected by a textual variant, differ considerably. Three questions must be answered. (1) What is the subject of “work”? The Spirit (the subject in vv. 26–27; see reb)? God (the subject of the last clause of v. 27; see niv; nasb)? Or “all things” (nrsv)? The most natural way to read the verse is with “all things” as the subject. In the last analysis, however, the identity of the grammatical subject does not make much difference, for it is only God, through his Spirit, who can cause “all things” to work for our good.

(2) Another question is whether the verb (synergeo) should be translated “works together” (most translations) or simply “works” (niv). The niv is probably correct here. So we would translate, “We know that all things work toward the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” In this context, the “good” is especially the final glory to which God has destined us. But it also includes the benefits of being a child of God in this life (see Contemporary Significance section).

(3) Finally, for whom is this promise valid? All believers. Paul defines Christians from a human direction (“those who love [God]”) and from the divine direction (“who have been called according to his purpose”). “Those who love God” is simply a way of describing God’s people (see 1 Cor. 2:9; 8:3; Eph. 6:24); it is not a qualification of the promise, as if Paul means that God only works good if believers love God enough.

Paul concludes his celebration of God’s love for us in Christ with his own personal testimony: “I am persuaded.…” The list following is arranged in four pairs, with “powers” thrown in between the third and fourth pair. We can easily “overinterpret” such a list, insisting on a precision of definitions that misses the point of Paul’s rhetoric. In general, however, “death” and “life” refer to the two basic states of human existence. “Angels” and “demons” (archai, i.e., “rulers,” which Paul uses to denote evil spiritual beings [see Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15]) summarize the entirety of the spiritual world.

A few interpreters take “present things” and “coming things” (lit. trans.) as spiritual beings too, but evidence is lacking for these as such titles. Probably Paul chooses to summarize all of history, along with the people and events it contains, in a temporal perspective. It is not clear why Paul disrupts his neat parallelism with the word “powers” at this point, but the word refers again to spiritual beings (1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21).

“Height” and “depth” are the most difficult of the pairs of terms to identify. Since these words were applied to the space above and below the horizon, and since ancient people often invested celestial phenomena with spiritual significance, Paul may be referring to spiritual beings again. Yet Paul uses similar language in Ephesians 3:18 in a simple spatial sense. Thus, perhaps, he chooses yet another way of trying to help us understand that there is nothing in all the world—whether we are dead or alive, whether they are things we now face or things we will face in the future, whether they are above us or below us—that can separate us from the “love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As the chapter began with “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1), so it ends with the bookends of “no separation” (8:35, 39).

From NIVAC: Romans by Douglas J. Moo. Published by Zondervan Academic.

The Bible Panorama

Romans 8

V 1–8: CONDEMNATION Although every sinner deserves condemnation for his sin, there is ‘therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’. The evidence of being in Christ is a new walk according to the Spirit, which also produces liberty and freedom from the law. This means that spiritual-mindedness replaces a carnal following of ‘the things of the flesh’. Such a carnal mindset reveals enmity with God, whereas a spiritually renewed mind shows reconciliation with and justification by God. Without this mindset we cannot please God.

V 9–11: CHRIST Because Christ lives within the believer, he is possessed by Christ and possesses the ‘Spirit of Christ’, also identified as the ‘Spirit of God’. No person can rightly claim to belong to Christ unless He has the Spirit of Christ. The benefits springing from this relationship are spiritual righteousness through Christ, and sharing His resurrection life. The wonderful and indivisible union in the Trinity is seen here as the Holy Spirit is interchangeably described as the ‘Spirit of God’, the ‘Spirit of Christ’, the ‘Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead’, and ‘His Spirit who dwells in you’.

V 12–17: CO-HEIRS Because of this new relationship, liberty, and indwelling Spirit, we are the Spirit-led children of God and therefore His heirs, and co-heirs with Christ. If we suffer with Him here below, we need to remember that we will be glorified with Him one day!

V 18–25: CREATED Until that final state of affairs in glory, we are not the only ones who groan because of our sufferings, which are light in comparison with the glory to come. The whole creation groans to be delivered from the ‘bondage of corruption’. One day there will be a new heaven and a new earth, as well as completely renewed believers to enjoy them, in worshipping and having fellowship with their justifying God. Believers eagerly and patiently wait for that.

V 26–27: COMFORT In our groanings and problems within, we have the help of God’s Spirit in our weakness, who intercedes for us ‘according to the will of God’.

 V 28–30: CALLED Those whom God has called can be absolutely certain that, in God’s sovereign purpose, everything will work together for their good. Their salvation is not an accident. God planned it in eternity, performed it in time, works it out in time, and will eventually perfect it in eternity. Our standing in Christ is absolutely watertight because of who He is and because He has chosen us and planned our way.

V 31–39: CONQUERORS A whole range of problems, trials, disappointments, and suffering will come against the child of God. In all this he is to remember that God ‘did not spare His own Son’ but freely gave Him for us, and freely gives us all other things that we need. With God on our side as our Justifier, our Intercessor, our Lover, and our Keeper, we are more than conquerors ‘through Him who loved us’. Once saved by Christ, nothing at all in the past, present or future, and nothing on this earth or anywhere else is able to ‘separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord’. We conquer because we have the Conqueror living within and working for us.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.