If I asked you to think about some passages that help us better understand the Holy Spirit, it wouldn't be surprising if chapters like John 14-16 came to mind ("...the Father... will give you another Helper... even the Spirit of truth") or Galatians 5 ("...walk by the Spirit... but the fruit of the Spirit is..."). But if you're looking for the most 'bang for your buck' when it comes to the Spirit in Scripture, nothing compares with Romans 8. Twenty times in thirty-nine verses the Apostle Paul mentions the critical role of the Spirit, not only in regard to our salvation accomplished and our lives empowered, but also in regard to our future glory secured.
The following list of all twenty places the Spirit is mentioned in Romans 8 is in no way (since it is just a list) a full treatment of each occurrence or how they are linked together in the flow of Paul's argument. But I have tried to group these occurrences under five common themes (between which there is lots of overlap). I pray this list is both helpful in appreciating the incredible work of God's Spirit, but also inspiring in terms of your excitement to go deeper in your own studies of this amazing chapter and amazing topic.
The Spirit of God in Romans 8:
PRESENCE of the Spirit
[8:9] Not only are we "in the Spirit", but...
[8:9] "...the Spirit of God dwells in you." Or we could also say that we...
[8:9] "...have the Spirit of Christ... [and thus] belong to him." Or to put in another way,
[8:11] "...the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you".
LIFE Through the Spirit
[8:2] Introduces us to "the law of the Spirit of life".
[8:10] Reveals that "the Spirit is life because of righteousness"
[8:11] Reassures us that God will "give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit".
[8:23] In terms of future, resurrected life, "we... have the firstfruits of the Spirit".
WALKING by the Spirit
[8:4] Life in/through the Spirit now means we now "walk... according to the Spirit".
[8:5] Or to put in another way, we "live... according to the Spirit".
[8:5] This should mean we also "set [our] minds on the things of the Spirit", for...
[8:5] "...the mind [set] on the Spirit is life and peace". Additionally, as we walk, it is...
[8:13] "...by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body...".
ADOPTION in the Spirit
[8:14] In our walk, we can be assured that "all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God."
[8:15] For we "have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry 'Abba! Father!'"
[8:16] This one way "the Spirit... bears witness... that we are children of God".
PRAYER and the Spirit
[8:26] Amazingly, his presence in us means "the Spirit helps us in our weakness".
[8:26] Specifically, "the Spirit himself intercedes for us...". For...
[8:27] The Father "knows the mind of the Spirit". This means He knows that...
[8:27] "...the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God".
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Jan Fehlhaber Feb 14, 2025 @ 1:21 pm
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