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Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:3-4; 8:2, 9-10, 14-17, 8:26-30; 5:10
From Romans to the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3, the New Testament Epistles reveal that Christ is the life-giving Spirit. Christianity has made a mistake in saying that Christ is Christ, the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and They are separate. Instead, in the New Testament, especially in the Epistles, it is hard to divide and separate Christ from the Spirit.
Christ as the Spirit is revealed to us in many aspects in the Epistles. The all-inclusive Spirit is nothing less than Christ or more than Christ; He is simply Christ Himself. Romans is the entrance to this field of Christ as the Spirit in an all-inclusive way to us.
Romans 1:3 and 4 says, “Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” In reading Romans, many people neglect these verses and do not see their connection with chapter 8. As the seed of David, Christ is a man in the flesh, a descendant of man, the Son of Man. Through resurrection, this Christ was designated to be the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness.
The title the Spirit of holiness is different from the Holy Spirit. In the Greek text of a number of verses in the New Testament, the term the Holy Spirit is literally “the Spirit the holy.” Hebrews 3:7 and 10:15, for example, say in Greek to pneuma to hagion, “the Spirit the holy.” The Spirit Himself is the holy. Holiness is nothing other than the Spirit Himself. To speak of the Spirit as “the holy” is like calling Jehovah “the Eternal.” Jehovah means “I am who I am.” He is the One who was, is, and will be, the One without beginning or ending. As such, Jehovah Himself is the Eternal. In the same way, the Greek term for the Holy Spirit indicates that the Spirit Himself is the holy.
Romans 1:4 speaks of the Spirit of holiness. This refers to a condition or situation of holiness. Holiness here is a situation, condition, realm, or sphere. The condition, situation, and appearance of Christ before His resurrection was that He was the Son of Man, the seed of David. Through His resurrection, however, He was designated to be the Son of God according to a different situation, condition, realm, and sphere, that is, according to the Spirit of holiness.
When Christ was in the flesh, He appeared to be only the seed of man, but through His resurrection He was designated the Son of God according to another condition, situation, realm, and sphere, which is the Spirit of holiness. That was Christ’s transformation from one condition into another. In contrast to “the Spirit of holiness” we may speak of “the flesh of common man.” As the seed of David according to the flesh, He appeared to be in a common condition. As Christ was being transfigured on the mount, He was according to the Spirit of holiness, but as a carpenter in Nazareth, He was among ordinary men according to the flesh of common man. If we had seen Him at that time, it would have been very hard to recognize that He was different from others. After His resurrection, however, He was designated the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness. Every bit of His being had been transformed from one form and condition into another to designate Him as the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness.
The Spirit of holiness in verse 4 is in contrast to the flesh in verse 3. As the flesh in verse 3 refers to the human nature of Christ in the flesh, so the Spirit in verse 4 does not refer to the person of the Holy Spirit of God but to the divine essence of Christ. This divine essence of Christ, being God the Spirit Himself (John 4:24), the divinity of Christ, is of holiness, full of the nature and quality of being holy.
Among the Epistles, it is Romans in particular that says that Christ as the seed of David was designated the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness. There is a connection between Romans 1:4 and Romans 8. Verses 26 through 30 of chapter 8 say, “In like manner the Spirit also joins in to help us in our weakness, for we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. But He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
Here we have the work of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of conforming us to the image of the Son of God, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers. As the Son of Man designated to be the Son of God, He is the Firstborn. Now we, the many sons of men, are being transformed and conformed to His image to be the many sons of God. Christ’s transformation from the flesh of common man according to the Spirit of holiness is being worked out in us by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life (v. 2; 15:16).
Verses 14 through 17 of chapter 8 say, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father! The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, heirs also; on the one hand, heirs of God; on the other, joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him.” The Spirit mentioned in this chapter is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life, who works to transform the sons of men into the sons of God. We all are sons of men, but we will be designated the sons of God according to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life.
Jesus was the seed of David who was designated the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness. Now we are the sons of Adam who will be designated the sons of God according to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life. Eventually God will have many sons, and Jesus Christ, who is the seed of David designated to be the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness, will be the Firstborn among many brothers.
However, there is a difference between Christ and us. With Jesus Christ there was no need of redemption, because He was sinless; He knew no sin. We, on the other hand, are sinful, so there is the need of redemption. That is why the first part of the book of Romans, from 1:1 to 5:11, speaks of redemption. Only after the portion on redemption is there the main part of the book, from 5:12 onward, which speaks of sonship, that is, of the sons of men being designated the sons of God by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life.
The book of Romans is a general sketch of the Christian life. In another sense, however, Romans is a book of sonship. Martin Luther said that Romans is a book on justification by faith, but that comes mostly from the portion up to 5:11. Justification by faith does not take up the entire book, and it is not the main point of the book. It is only the first and preparatory point of the book. Justification by faith is for redemption, and redemption is for sonship.
God’s goal and intention is to have the sonship. Sonship means that God will have many sons. For His expression, God needs not only one Son but many sons, who are the same as the firstborn Son of God. These many sons are His corporate expression. In the Bible God’s goal, His intention, to have many sons is referred to as the sonship. God’s original and eternal intention is to have this sonship to beget many sons to be a corporate expression of Himself. However, Satan came in and caused trouble. Therefore, we need redemption, which is for sonship. The first part of Romans, especially chapters 1 through 3, is a record of how fallen and sinful we were. Christ came to die for us, and by His death He accomplished redemption. However, that is not all. Redemption is for sonship.
Redemption is by the death of Christ, whereas sonship is by the life of Christ. Romans 5:10 says, “If we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled.” The death of Christ in the first part of Romans is for redemption, and His life in the second part is for sonship. By His death we have redemption, and now by His life we have the sonship. We have been redeemed and reconciled by His death, but now much more we will be saved in His life. To be saved in His life is to be saved from all things that are against the sonship. Sin, self, the world, the flesh, and all negative things are against the sonship, but the life of Christ saves us from all of these.
Chapter 5 speaks of “His life,” and chapter 8 speaks of “the Spirit of life” (v. 2). His life saves us, and the Spirit of life sets us free. This life of Christ is simply Christ Himself, and the Spirit of life is also Christ Himself. Christ Himself is the life, and Christ Himself is the Spirit of life. It is by this Spirit of life, that is, by Christ Himself as life to us, that we are being saved more and more from all the things that are against the sonship.
Romans reveals the Holy Spirit in three very special ways: the Spirit of holiness (1:4), the Spirit of life (8:2), and the Spirit of the Son of God who is mingled with our regenerated human spirit (vv. 14-15, cf. Gal. 4:6). The Spirit of life is the Spirit of the divine sonship. Christ is in us as the Spirit of life for the purpose of sonship. The more He works within us, the more He designates us according to the situation and condition of holiness. By His work He makes us not common, that is, He makes us sanctified not only positionally but dispositionally. This means that the more He works within us, the more He changes and transforms us. We are being changed not only in position but also in form, disposition, and nature.
This Spirit works out holiness in us. This means that He works out transformation. We were originally sons of men, but eventually we will be transformed to be sons of God by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life, who is the Spirit of the divine sonship. This takes place through the process of death and resurrection. The Spirit of life brings us into death and through death to get rid of all the negative things, and He brings us into resurrection to enter into holiness. In this way we are fully sanctified, transformed, and conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God. Then we will be the sons of God in full as a company of sons to be the corporate expression of God. Therefore, the book of Romans is a book of sonship by the Spirit of life and the Spirit of the divine sonship.
Moreover, this Spirit is nothing less or more than Christ Himself. Romans 8:9 and 10 speak of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ interchangeably. Verse 9 says, “The Spirit of God dwells in you” and “have the Spirit of Christ,” and verse 10 says, “Christ is in you.” Anyone who reads these two verses will have the realization that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is Christ. It is so clear in the book of Romans that Christ is the Spirit. Moreover, the Spirit in this book is revealed as the Spirit of life, the Spirit of the divine sonship. The Spirit of life comes into us to impart Christ within, and because Christ is the very Son of God, this Spirit is the Spirit of the divine sonship. Then this Spirit of the divine sonship works within us according to holiness to sanctify, transform, and change us, not only in position but also in form and nature so that we may have the full image of the Son of God. Eventually, we will be conformed to the image of God, wholly sanctified and transformed to be the sons of God in full.
When Christ becomes the first Son among many sons in full, He and all the sons will be a corporate expression of God. That is why in chapter 12 the Body begins to be spoken of. The Body is the corporate expression of God, the totality of the sonship, worked out by Christ as the Spirit of life and the Spirit of the divine sonship. I hope that by this fellowship the “old” book of Romans has become a new book to us.
