Reading 3—Saturday morning
Romans 6: 1-4, 10-11; 7: 1-4; 8: 1-7, 26-27
A.J.G. We are seeking to get help regarding the name of God. We remarked yesterday morning that the Lord, as soon as He rose from among the dead, gave the commandment to make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It is one Name, because God is one, but it embraces three Persons. Then we saw in Revelation, the holy city where the throne of God and the Lamb is. There is no temple in it, but God Himself is its temple and the Lamb, and she has no need of the light of the sun or moon, because the glory of God enlightens it and the lamp is the Lamb. Thus it is the divine thought that God should be fully known and exalted in His assembly. The light of God shines for us in Christ. Then also the thought of the river was mentioned. The Spirit brings in life and freshness to it. Then it says: “his servants shall serve him”, and “his name is on their foreheads”. We noticed yesterday afternoon that it all was dependent on the incarnation. The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and was contemplated. What was seen was the glory of an only-begotten with the Father. God is made known in the only-begotten Son, the One that is in the bosom of the Father. God is thus made known in this wonderful light. He has shone forth in Christ, the One that became man. Then we also spoke of the Spirit who came down as a dove upon Jesus and abode there. This shows that God had gained a Man in Jesus in whom He could fully confide. He is specially marked out by baptising with the Holy Spirit. This means that He will bring in the assembly, which consists of men according to His own order, who have been baptised by the one Spirit into one body, so that God has a dwelling place with man.
I thought we could consider this morning how the whole Godhead is working towards our practical deliverance; because God works out His thoughts in those who were once under the power of sin. I think Romans chapters 6-8 show the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit all having part in view of our deliverance. Chapter 6 presents the Father, because it says that Christ has been raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father, so we should walk in newness of life.
Then chapter 7 presents Christ as the new husband. We have become to another, who has been raised up from among the dead. Chapter 8 brings in the fulness of the power for all this that lies in the Spirit. And its result is that we have come to the joy of deliverance when we cry: “Abba Father”. It is the result from the activities of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in order that God Himself in all His preciousness should be before our souls.
A.G. In Luke 15 we find the three divine Persons active together.
A.J.G. That is most significant. We can see there that God has joy seeing man recovered or saved.
H.H. Is it also important to see that the Lord says: “this parable”, not ‘these three parables’?
A.J.G. It is a complete presentation of this wonderful thought.
R.Z. So grace is prominent in bringing us into deliverance?
A.J.G. Yes, it is all grace. It is most interesting that Jacob at the end of his life, after he had worshipped God, blessing the sons of Joseph, said: “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God that shepherded me all my life long to this day, the Angel that redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads”, Gen 48: 15. He is filled with the mind of God in a threefold way, and I believe, in mentioning this three times there is a touch of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is not that Jacob had any understanding of this, but we can understand it now in the light of Christianity; because “the Angel that redeemed me from all evil”—the third thing he mentioned—is not so much a reference to redemption through the precious blood of Christ, but rather the thought of the intervention of power to make us free from the power of sin. The Spirit is indeed presented in this way to us in Romans 8.
R.Z. The Spirit of God is life in the delivered soul.
A.J.G. Yes, that is the case.
G.S. Is that the same angel as in Exodus 23?
A.J.G. I believe it is. We see the word angel is often used. It sometimes refers to Christ, and sometimes to the Holy Spirit. The word angel means ‘a messenger’ or ‘one that is sent’ and both Christ and the Holy Spirit have been sent.
A.W. Could that refer to the two angels that came to Lot at Sodom?
A.J.G. I believe they were only angels. However, in the scripture our brother referred to in Exodus 23, the angel is mentioned in a most significant way. It says in verse 21: “Be careful in his presence, and hearken unto his voice: do not provoke him, for he will not forgive your transgressions; for my name is in him”. These are remarkable statements, and could only be applied to one in the Godhead.
W.Schu. It says: “to him that speaks injuriously against the Spirit it shall not be forgiven”, Luke 12: 10.
A.J.G. Yes, Romans 6 engages us with the question of deliverance from the dominion of sin. In chapter 6, it is not so much sin in the flesh, but rather sin as a principle, as seen and represented in the world around us. Sin is lawlessness, the principle of the world around us is to do their own will, and each one of us tends to be marked by it may be in a lesser or greater degree. We must be entirely delivered from that. So the Lord has died out of this world, and He was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, in view of our learning from Him, what is the mind of God for us, that we in this world can escape on the principle of death, live for God on a totally new principle, that is in grace in the Name of the Father known in Christ Jesus.
R.D. Is that the realisation of baptism?
A.J.G. Yes, that is the meaning of baptism. That is why the apostle reminds us of our baptism. He says, as ye have been baptised to Christ Jesus, ye have been baptised to His death. That is the way our baptism has acknowledged that we have been delivered up to death. Death is the secret of our deliverance from the power of sin outside of ourselves.
P.Sch. Is this the entrance into the wilderness according to Exodus 15?
A.J.G. Yes, that is the case. It is most interesting that, when God appeared to Moses in Exodus 3, He presented two things. He said to begin with that He was coming down to relieve His people and bring them into the land. But He also said: “when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain”, v 12. On the one hand, the full thought is there, that we should be brought to the land—the purpose of God: but on the other hand, there is also the thought of serving God in the wilderness.
S.C.D. In this connection it is also important what it says in Romans 8: 31: “what shall we then say?” Are divine Persons waiting for an answer?
A.J.G. That is the case. It is remarkable that when the apostle Paul opens up the truth, he makes it in a form of questions. When a question is presented to us, it leads us to ponder it. We tend to be most superficial. But the Spirit would like to set us in exercise, in order to ponder and contemplate the truth, and it is a matter once again of contemplating our baptism.
H.H. The eunuch did not need much time to get to it.
A.J.G. Yes he said: “what hinders my being baptised?”, Acts 8: 36.
P.Sch. Would submission under the leadership of Moses be included in baptism according to 1 Corinthians 10: 2?
A.J.G. Yes, it says: “baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea”. When we are baptised to Christ Jesus, then we become obedient to Christ. The cloud represents the presence of God, and the sea presents more the thought of death.
Ques. God says in Exodus 19: 4: “I have borne you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself”. Do we see this in these chapters?
A.J.G. Yes, we see the eagles’ wings, especially in chapter 8 that has to do with power.
R.Z. Was the Samaritan woman delivered from her sins through the presence of the Lord?
A.J.G. In her case it had to do with sin, not just deliverance from her sins. Sins are a question of our guilt. They are met by the blood of Christ. But sin on the one hand is met by death and on the other by the power of the Spirit.
L.B. Why is the resurrection in this chapter linked with the glory of the Father?
A.J.G. It seems to me that resurrection is linked many times in scripture with the Father. The Lord says: “For even as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, thus the Son also quickens whom he will”, John 5: 21. When He desired to raise Lazarus, He asked the Father, that the people might know that the Father had sent Him. This means that He did the Father’s work when He raised someone from the dead. It is a mark or feature of the glory of the Father that He raises from among the dead what is pleasing to Him, and thus He introduces a world that is beyond death. He has begun in Christ, but what He has begun in Christ, He will also bring us into. Christ has died for our sins once for all, and in that He lives He lives to God. He is a Man that God has fully before Him. That is also the mind of God for us, that we should be walking in newness of life as we have this as a principle in our life.
R.B. Do we have this thought in John 17: 3 where it says: “that they should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent”?
A.J.G. That goes a bit further. But what we have here brings us there, because the last verse in Romans 6 says, “the act of favour of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. I believe the verse in John 17 has also to do with our testimony down here: when we are down here in testimony in the world, then we must rise above the world through which we go as a testimony. That is why the knowledge of the only true God delivers us from idolatry as Mr James Taylor has said2, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, delivers us from lawlessness. These two things are necessary if we are to be effective in testimony down here.
L.B. Could we also apply here what we have in 1 Peter 3: 21: “which figure also now saves you, even baptism, not a putting away of the filth of flesh, but the demand as before God of a good conscience”?
A.J.G. Yes, chapter 6 brings us even further, that we are bondmen of God. Yet the great point in chapter 6 is that our thoughts should be in the right direction. It says in verse 11: “reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”. We must have our thoughts in accordance with the thoughts of God in regard to ourselves. Then we will find the support of Christ on the one hand and on the other hand the support of the Spirit.
C.M.Oe. Does this “reckoning” flow from knowing? It says in verse 6: “knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with him”.
A.J.G. Yes, and it flows from seeing the position in which Christ is now, and the way by which He has reached it. He has died to sin once for all, and He lives to God; and all this has been accomplished in Christ as the expression of the will of God in relation to us. Thus we also keep our mind in the same direction: we “reckon ourselves…”.
W.Sch. How far then does grace go? “Should we continue in sin that grace may abound?” It seems that when grace has not been arrived at, then there is something for us to do.
A.J.G. Paul presents a question here that could come up in a lawless mind. He raises this question and says right away: “Far be the thought” (chap 6: 2), and then further on: “we who have died to sin, how shall we still live in it?”
Th.B. Joseph said: “and how should I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”, Gen 39: 9.
F.Bu. Deliverance must be an individual exercise.
A.J.G. But first of all it is important that our attitude of mind is right, that we in our thoughts are held in the direction of what God has introduced in Christ. There is one Man who has died to sin, and died to the world, and who lives to God. Also we should reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
R.Z. Paul says in Corinthians, “and leading captive every thought into the obedience of the Christ”, 2 Cor 10: 5.
A.J.G. Yes.
A.G. It says in Colossians 3: 5: “Put to death therefore your members”. I believe that is our side.
A.J.G. Yes, it is also said here that we even should yield our members to God. It says in verse 13: “yield yourselves to God as alive from among the dead, and your members instruments of righteousness to God”. That means it is worked out in detail practically.
Now chapter 7 brings in what relieves us from the principle of law, for if we take up the exercises of chapter 6 in a practical way there is the tendency to become legal. That is why the apostle is so concerned about how we are delivered from the principle of law through death. When a man has died, then the law does not apply any more for him.
H.M. Is our responsibility emphasised through this?
A.J.G. Our responsibility is to take on the truth. But now the simple principle of life for the believer is, that he is to be to another, he belongs to Christ: it means we are no longer under a law that I must do something, but rather it is a matter that I belong to Christ. We present ourselves at the disposal of Christ. We learn from Him and move under His influence.
Th.A. Has this already come out in chapter 6: 17 where it says, “But thanks be to God, that ye were bondmen of sin, but have obeyed from the heart the form of teaching into which ye were instructed”?
A.J.G. God has brought in a new husband in Christ. “Ye also have been made dead to the law by the body of the Christ, to be to another”, as it says. When we are maintained under the influence of Christ, then we will also yield fruit unto God. God does not direct our view towards ourselves, but rather directs our view to Christ.
E.O. Do we see this in Bethany, they were under the influence of Christ?
A.J.G. Yes, they were.
H.L. Is the thought of the husband a thought of support over against the law?
A.J.G. Yes, the law raises claims, but the husband gives everything that we need on the way, namely wisdom and support.
K.H. The woman in John 4 understood this very quickly.
A.J.G. Yes, she did. She said: “Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done”, v 29. She had come to this, to appreciate a Man, for whom she wanted to live from now on.
B.S. Is it the new man in Christ that comes to light?
A.J.G. The new man in Christ is character, the character which the saints as being formed according to Christ take on. The new man is a creation. He is created according to God. The Lord Himself is never spoken of as the new man. “The new man” refers to the work of God in the saints.
R.Z. We have a beautiful touch in Romans 4: 13: “For it was not by law that the promise was to Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world, but by righteousness of faith”.
A.J.G. Yes, that is right.
L.B. Could you say something about the expression, “to be to another”? Does this also show that we should be at His disposal?
A.J.G. Yes, this is how you keep yourself in this relationship. That is why Paul in writing to the Corinthians says. “Not as without law to God, but as legitimately subject to Christ”, 1 Cor 9: 21.
H.H. What is the bearing of “dead to the law by the body of the Christ”? Why does the apostle say, “by the body of the Christ”?
A.J.G. I believe the body is linked with how He has served us in love. He has taken up a body in view of giving it up in death for us. I believe it should give us an impression of the love of Christ.
R.D. Do we find this in John 13 as to the feet washing?
A.J.G. Yes, He served there in a wonderful way. He took up a bondman’s attitude in view of serving them. It is not that He always remained in this position: having taken His garments, He sat down again. But it says before this that He laid aside His garments, and having taken a linen towel He girded Himself, and washed their feet. This is the way how love serves.
H.P. The publican in the temple said, “have compassion on me, the sinner” (Luke 18: 13); the Lord Jesus answered and said, “This man went down to his house justified”. He acknowledged that he could only be saved by grace.
A.J.G. But then we also must have power, because the epistle to the Romans has in mind that victory in this world is worked out in such as were once under the power of sin. That is why we have the thought referred to in chapter 8: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”. The believer must come to this and understand that he can only be guided by the Spirit. The Spirit is the spirit of life in another man, so that I do not do things that I used to do according to nature, acting according to what was in my flesh, but rather the Spirit holds me in relation to Christ, and the influence of Christ works to this end. It is life of this character, life in Christ Jesus that works in me through the Spirit.
A.B. Why does Romans 7 start with “brethren”? It says: “Are ye ignorant, brethren?”
A.J.G. The apostle speaks to our feelings. He is striving in order that we should accept the truth, and that is why he specially speaks to our hearts.
Th.Pf. Do we see in Mary of Magdala one that was marked by affection and love to the Lord?
A.J.G. She is referred to in two ways. In Mark’s gospel, it says that the Lord had cast out seven demons; in Luke it says from whom seven demons had gone out. That means that, when the Spirit of God gets room in the believer, then the power of evil will be driven out.
E.B. Can Romans 6 and 7 only be realised if Romans 8 is understood?
A.J.G. We can never get the gain of Romans 6 and 7 if we have not touched Romans 8. These three chapters must be taken together, but of course they also must be understood in a certain order. We must see ourselves alive in Christ, then we must go on and see that Christ is the new husband for us, and then that we are dependent on the power of the Spirit, who loves us to keep us in relation to Christ. He always directs the hearts of the saints towards Christ.
R.B. Is that why it is important that we are completely free from the mind of the flesh?
A.J.G. Yes, that is the case. It says: “the mind of the Spirit life and peace”, chap 8: 6.
F.B. Is it important we should finish the old man in death by the power of God, in view of serving the new man?
A.J.G. Yes, the Spirit always works in that direction, in view of maintaining the appreciation of Christ in glory, and keeping this fact before our eyes, that He has reached that position by way of death. In Christ in glory, we have the Man in whom God has His joy, in whom He has given us life. But it is life out of death, and as you said death must constantly be realised.
P.Sch. Can we link this thought with Numbers 21 with the brazen serpent?
A.J.G. Yes, Numbers 21 is in line with chapter 8 and verse 3: God has condemned sin in the flesh, that is the brazen serpent in type, and whoever looked up to it lived. That means for us that our eyes are now open to see the power which is in the Spirit. At the well, they even sang to the Spirit. This means they happily acknowledged the Spirit as the only power for life and movement.
R.Z. Why does the Lord mention in John 3: 14: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, thus must the Son of man be lifted up”?
A.J.G. The whole thing lies there as a foundation, that sin in the flesh has been condemned, so we do not expect anything from the flesh. We know it is incorrigible, and that causes us to be totally cast on the Spirit: and make us very slow to get away from the Spirit.
L.M. You have indicated the difference between sin that marks the world, and sin that marks the flesh.
A.J.G. It says here that God has condemned sin in the flesh, so we can apply the principle that we have received a totally new life in the Spirit.
E.E.P. Is it important that we have details here in Romans 6, 7, and 8, and still in every chapter the full thought of God is behind it? It says in Romans 6: 11 “reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”, and in chapter 7: 4 it says “in order that we might bear fruit to God”, and I thought in chapter 8: 27 we have the thought that the Spirit “intercedes for saints according to God”.
A.J.G. Yes, God is the great thought in Romans; the word “God” is referred to more than one hundred and fifty times, while the Father is only mentioned four times, chaps 1: 7; 6: 4; 8: 15; 15: 6. Clearly the great thought is God in Romans. This means man is set in right relations with his Creator, and that is morally important.
H.L. Would the reference to the righteous requirement of the law be linked with bearing fruit, fruit to God?
A.J.G. Yes, everything is held under the influence of Christ and in the power of the Spirit, in order that the righteous requirement of the law should be fulfilled in us. It says in chapter 7 that the law indeed is holy, and commandment is holy, and just and good. So the law is not set aside for us, although of course it is not the Christian’s standard. Christ is the standard for the Christian. The law is not set aside for us, but its requirement is fulfilled, and that is the great triumph of Christianity; and the power of this is found in the Spirit of God.
Th.A. In Galatians 5: 18 it says: “but if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under law”.
A.J.G. No, we are not under law. Christ is the end of law for righteousness to every one that believes, and Christ becomes everything for the believer in this way. But it also says that He has magnified the law and made it honourable, and in the power of the Spirit the believer loves God and his neighbour.
F.B. Is the law written in our hearts?
A.J.G. Christ is written in our hearts. The law will be written on Israel's hearts in a coming day.
E.C. Is that the new and living way?
A.J.G. Yes. There is the liberty available in Christianity. It says in verse 9: “But ye are not in flesh but in Spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit dwell in you”. In Romans 8 the apostle brings in the Spirit of God. He is God who dwells in the believer. There is divine power in the Holy Spirit which is much stronger than the power in our flesh.
R.Z. Incidentally, why is the Spirit of Christ referred to here?
A.J.G. It shows here the character of the Spirit of God. It is the spirit of this Man.
H.P. Does “the Spirit of Christ” mean His mind?
A.J.G. Yes, His mind is involved, but it is the Holy Spirit.
E.B. Is it not very important that everybody has a personal sense of verse 9?
A.J.G. Yes, it is so indeed. There is nothing that can go against the power of flesh but the power of God.
L.B. Is it not remarkable how the Spirit speaks of Himself in verse 9: “God’s Spirit”, “the Spirit of Christ”, and in verse 11, “the Spirit of him that has raised up Jesus”, and “his Spirit”; and in verse 14 again “the Spirit of God”?
A.J.G. Yes, then it also says: “a spirit of adoption”, which does not directly refer to Him personally; but is very closely linked to the Spirit personally.
E.B. Why does it say here in verse 9: “but if any one has not the Spirit of Christ he is not of him”? Why is it expressed in such a severe way?
A.J.G. That is a most deeply searching verse, as I see it. When you cannot see any proof for the Spirit of Christ in a person, then you may ask yourself if he is a Christian at all.
E.E.P. Could we refer to Philippians 2 to ascertain the mind of Christ?
A.J.G. Yes, that is a feature of it.
B.S. Is it not the thought in Hebrews 5: 14, to have our senses exercised?
A.J.G. The Spirit of God gives us discernment between good and evil. I believe what was referred to is important. In verse 11 the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from among the dead dwells in us. That is the assurance that our mortal bodies will also be quickened. It is not connected with us falling asleep. This verse views us as living at the coming of the Lord. We are in mortal bodies; not in dead bodies, but rather in mortal bodies. We are in bodies that can die, and it is most affecting to think of how the Holy Spirit remains with us, regardless of what may happen to our bodies. You often see in Christians what deterioration can be caused by an illness, even our ability to think is lost, and yet the Spirit of God does not leave the believer. The Spirit of God remains with us and in us in such circumstances. He is content with such humble conditions. I believe we should be more impressed by the love of the Spirit.
G.S. Does this come out in 2 Corinthians 4 where we have this treasure in earthen vessels?
A.J.G. Yes, they are earthen vessels, and they are mortal.
R.Z. The apostle Paul says in Philippians 3: 21: “transform our body of humiliation into conformity to his body of glory”.
A.J.G, Yes, the Lord will do that. It says in Philippians 3 that the Lord will do this. But here in verse 11 it says that God does it because of His Spirit that dwells in us, because the Spirit is down here and dwells in the believer, and that is why you can understand that the Lord makes use of the Spirit to accomplish this.
E.E.P. Is this the result of the Spirit dwelling in us?
A.J.G. Yes, He is in us. He is very near to us; indeed He is in us. You could suppose that God expects a glorious temple, but the Holy Spirit is entirely satisfied with the body of a believer. It says, “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”, 1 Cor 6: 19.
F.B. It says in verse 10: “but if Christ be in you, the body is dead on account of sin, but the Spirit life on account of righteousness”.
A.J.G. This shows how we should reckon ourselves. We should hold in our thoughts that the body is not allowed to go after its own lusts. The body should now be held as a vessel for the Spirit, because the Spirit is life on account of righteousness. This passage brings us right there where we are brought into full liberty. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For ye have not received a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father”. This shows fully how the believer is brought to full liberty towards God.
H.M. That corresponds with the thought we have in Galatians 4: 6; “But because ye are sons, God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father!”
A.J.G. Yes. In Romans 8 it is to a certain extent our side, it is the Spirit of sonship. God has given us the place of sonship and given us the Spirit, in order that we should be able to fulfil this position.
H.H. Making room for the Spirit in our lives and being led by Him is an evidence that we really are brought to the glory of sonship?
A.J.G. Yes, that is so. It is a great triumph for God that we, that were once bondmen to sin, now are in the liberty of sonship.
P.Sch. Does the Lord present this in perfection in Luke 4? He returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness forty days.
A.J.G. Yes, He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. That was His characteristic power in His movements as Man.
E.E.P. The thought of the Spirit dwelling in us is a very intimate thought, which we must reach according to the mind of God. The Spirit dwells in us, and we are led by the Spirit; everything else is eliminated.
A.J.G. Yes, that is most intimate. In recent years, the Lord has made the Spirit prominent, in order for us to realise that we are intimately connected with Him. That leads to a holy state with us.
Th.A. What does this verse in Galatians 6: 8 mean: “he that sows to the Spirit, from the Spirit shall reap eternal life”?
A.J.G. It has to do with what our minds are occupied with. It says in Genesis 26: 12, “And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold”. It has much to do with the direction of our thoughts, if we think of the Spirit and divine things, or if we are engaged with other things. Of course, sowing to the Spirit includes that things are not allowed that would hinder the activities of the Spirit. When anyone wants to sow and reap, then obviously you must also remove the weeds.
E.B. What does “suffer with him” and “glorified with him” mean in verse 17?
A.J.G. It is right according to the ways of God that the believer should suffer now, in the present time. He also desires to glorify us with Christ. Christ has suffered outstandingly, and it is important, as we are to be glorified with Him, that we have to suffer with Him in the present time. When we are faithful to the truth, that involves suffering. It may involve me having to separate from friends and relatives. It might also involve that we may need to withdraw from such whom we walked happily together with earlier. But if the truth requires it, then we must take up the suffering that is linked with it.
A.T.E. That is why it speaks of the assembly as the Lamb’s wife. The Lamb is the one that has suffered here.
A.J.G. Yes, the Lamb’s wife is connected with the Lamb that has suffered.
S.C.D. And Christ is our standard down here and above.
H.M. Can we link this with verse 28?
A.J.G. We have read verses 26 and 27 to show how touchingly the Spirit links on with us. He intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. He comes in in a feeling way into our circumstances that are marked by weakness.
A.W. Why does it say “the Spirit itself” in verses 16 and 26? Is that the Spirit personally?
A.J.G. Yes.
Th.Pf. Does my intimate relation with the Spirit of life bring my heart to worship Him?
A.J.G. I believe that. The more we see how completely the Spirit identifies Himself with us, the more we would be brought to worship Him: because He is God on the same level as the Father and the Son. It is the Son that has died for us, and it is the Spirit that has taken His abode in us, and in spite of all conditions, remains with us the whole time.
H.L. The Spirit has full knowledge of our desires.
A.J.G. Yes, that is the case, we often do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit itself makes intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered. He intercedes for saints according to God.
L.M. Does this link with the second parable in Luke 15, the Spirit knows the hearts through and through?
A.J.G. Yes, the woman swept the house carefully till she found the drachma. It is similar to Romans 8: 26-27. The woman lit her light and swept. She brings every thought and everything hidden to light; this often comes out when the Spirit searches our hearts. But it means great salvation for us, when we allow the Spirit to search us at all times, because God will have truth in the inward parts.
E.E.P. So “according to God” is the great standard that Paul has in his thoughts.
A.J.G. Yes, according to God. We ourselves have been brought into accordance with God.
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