Romans 8:27: no contingency in Christ
Sept 9, 2017 10:54:33 GMT
Post by Colossians on Sept 9, 2017 10:54:33 GMT
This material is for the teaching of the Body of Christ, however the author reserves copyright over it.
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ROMANS 8:27: NO CONTINGENCY IN CHRIST
The apostle John tells us:
“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” 1 John 5:14,15.
There is of course a problem with this: how do we know when we are asking according to God’s will?
“Well”, you might say, “if it is biblical …”.
Hmmm … interesting. So if you ask God to cause all believers in the world to live a life pleasing to Him, your petition will be granted. Right?
“Er …”
You seem a little hesitant.
But let’s go a little farther: what if you were living prior to the 15th century when there were no bibles … how would you know what was biblical?
And what about person-specific things such as whether God wants you to take job A, job B, become a chess master, or become a missionary?
Let’s face it: we really have no idea what we’re doing do we! You see … we’re not the Head: we’re the Body!
Paul describes the situation:
“we know not what we should pray for as we ought” Rom 8:26.
It’s not looking good.
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But wait … Paul has something more to say:
“but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” .
Things are looking up: we’ve apparently got a pretty sharp intercessor on our side: we seem to be being told here that although we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit makes up for this on our behalf!
We’re almost there: we’d still like to know that the Spirit’s intercession will be all hit and no miss – that God hears Him 100% of the time. After all, we’re the ‘woman’ of Christ, and a woman needs assurance!
Enter our verse in focus:
“And [God] that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because [the Spirit] maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God”.
That did it! The Spirit petitions God on our behalf according to God’s will, which means God always hears such petitions (which is why Paul says here that God knows the mind of the Spirit), which in turn means that – in accord with what John says in his epistle – the Spirit always receives what He asks for!
But if the Spirit always receives what He asks for, then given that He asks for us, it is necessarily the case that the Spirit fulfils 1 John 5:14,15 on our behalf!
No wonder then that we are told:
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into [God’s] rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His” Heb 4:9,10.
Epilogue
In days of yesteryear, a young unmarried woman would store up precious things given her by her family and friends, which would be of use and comfort to her in her (hoped-for) future marriage: linen, glassware, cutlery, jewellery, etc.
It was called a Glory Box.
It was also called a Hope Chest.
“I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever” John 14:16.
Amen.
_______________________________________
ROMANS 8:27: NO CONTINGENCY IN CHRIST
The apostle John tells us:
“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” 1 John 5:14,15.
There is of course a problem with this: how do we know when we are asking according to God’s will?
“Well”, you might say, “if it is biblical …”.
Hmmm … interesting. So if you ask God to cause all believers in the world to live a life pleasing to Him, your petition will be granted. Right?
“Er …”
You seem a little hesitant.
But let’s go a little farther: what if you were living prior to the 15th century when there were no bibles … how would you know what was biblical?
And what about person-specific things such as whether God wants you to take job A, job B, become a chess master, or become a missionary?
Let’s face it: we really have no idea what we’re doing do we! You see … we’re not the Head: we’re the Body!
Paul describes the situation:
“we know not what we should pray for as we ought” Rom 8:26.
It’s not looking good.
___
But wait … Paul has something more to say:
“but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” .
Things are looking up: we’ve apparently got a pretty sharp intercessor on our side: we seem to be being told here that although we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit makes up for this on our behalf!
We’re almost there: we’d still like to know that the Spirit’s intercession will be all hit and no miss – that God hears Him 100% of the time. After all, we’re the ‘woman’ of Christ, and a woman needs assurance!
Enter our verse in focus:
“And [God] that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because [the Spirit] maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God”.
That did it! The Spirit petitions God on our behalf according to God’s will, which means God always hears such petitions (which is why Paul says here that God knows the mind of the Spirit), which in turn means that – in accord with what John says in his epistle – the Spirit always receives what He asks for!
But if the Spirit always receives what He asks for, then given that He asks for us, it is necessarily the case that the Spirit fulfils 1 John 5:14,15 on our behalf!
No wonder then that we are told:
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into [God’s] rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His” Heb 4:9,10.
Epilogue
In days of yesteryear, a young unmarried woman would store up precious things given her by her family and friends, which would be of use and comfort to her in her (hoped-for) future marriage: linen, glassware, cutlery, jewellery, etc.
It was called a Glory Box.
It was also called a Hope Chest.
“I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever” John 14:16.
Amen.