Intercession—Connecting Redeemed "Earthlings" to Heaven's
Glories by Christ Jesus.
Romans 8
Review Questions:
1. Why do we need a High Priest?
2. What kind of High Priest do we have?
3. Where is our High Priest "located"?
4. What is He doing there?
5. What is our relationship to Him in His ministry?
I. Romans 8--The "down here" side of our Great High Priest's ministry. Here is how our
Father mediates the benefit of our Lord's Priestly ministry at His Right Hand into the here and now of
His redeemed children! We will note the similarities of Romans 8 and Hebrews 4-7 as we go.
A. Romans 7:24-25 sets the context for Romans 8. "Who shall deliver me from this body of death. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
1. Romans 8 introduces the work of the Holy Spirit in renovating our mortal bodies in the here and now, and praise God, in the Glorious Hereafter. VS 3-4, 10-11, 23ff
2. But notice Who this Holy Spirit is—"the Spirit of Christ" (vs 9), and "Christ in you" (vs 10/John 14:15-18). He is also the Spirit of the Father in vs 11. The Triunity at work!
Note: Hebrews focuses upon our Lord's High Priestly ministry for those who are IN Christ. This passage focuses on the "Christ IN you" intercession of the Spirit of Christ!
3. Vs 11 ties us to the "endless life" theme of Hebrews 7. Here the Spirit is the Spirit of Him (the Father) Who raised Jesus from the dead. He will also give (eternal) life to our mortal bodies "through His Spirit who dwells in you".
B. How does He do that? By answering Paul's prayer for us in Ephesians 3:14-21!
1. The Father grants us His Gracious strengthening through His Spirit in the inner man (the heart of our being).
2. He does this so that Christ, His Beloved Son, His answer to all things, might dwell in our hearts by faith—and that leads to being rooted and grounded in love, and that love soil leads to an increasing depth of comprehension of the Love of Christ, and in that heart comprehension, we will be filled with all the fullness God because our Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Godhead bodily! (Colossians 2:9)
C. Romans 8:12-17 reveals a glorious truth—The Spirit is within us, working to assure us that we are children of God. But we immediately go from "Abba Father" to suffering and groaning (Vs 18-23). Lest we forget the glorious truth of vs1-17, Paul hastens to remind us that we are to live in anticipation of better things to come. Our adoption is incomplete until our bodies are redeemed. (vs 22) Compare II Corinthians 5:1-8.
1. And here we have another intercessory link between Romans 8 and Hebrews. We are saved in this hope (vs24-25) of the redemption of our bodies and the total renewal of all creation—the world to come of Hebrew 2:5. Remember the hope in Heb 6:18-20? This saving hope of Romans 8 is the anchor of the soul in Hebrews 6!
2. Rom 8:26 is another link to Hebrews. The Spirit helps our weaknesses. Our Great High Priest of Hebrews 4:14-16 majors in our infirmities! Notice that it is intercession in both cases that is called forth. It is our infirmity, weakness, ignorance, and proneness to go astray that requires the ongoing intercession of the Christ in us Spirit, and our High Priest Jesus at the Right Hand of the Father. We couldn't save our selves, and we cannot keep ourselves. Our persevering in salvation, our holding fast our confession, requires the continual communion of the Christ in you Spirit, and the Christ in the Heavenlies. The One is our Guarantee, and the Other is our Anchor! But it is all the Triune God assuring our Eternal Salvation! (John 6:37-40)
D. So what is the Spirit of Christ's intercession?
1. He is "translating" the babblings of ignorant people into the language of the will of God! Vs 26-18 "We do not know how to pray as we ought." Not just sometimes, but always. So much for great "prayer warriors"! Our greatest prevailing at the Throne of Grace is in the realization of our human impotence! We cannot pray as we ought apart from the intercession of the Holy Spirit any more that we can do anything without Christ! (John 15:5)
a. Vs 23 Our groanings are because of the fallen deadness of this world. But as new believers, our prayers are a lot like the continual cry of babies—we want our food and we want our messes cleaned up!! We are self centered. Our prayers are all about us! But with the consistent nourishment of Word by the Spirit and the Father's chastening providence, we grow up—increasingly seeing this world from the Father's view. Vs 27, I John 2:15-17
b. Vs 28-29 It is only as we grasp the Spirits' intercession for us, bringing us into conformity with the Father's will, that we can understand and rejoice in vs 28. Unfortunately, It is usually just a sad resignation, or a statement of wishful thinking, not the delight and confidence of our hearts. But Vs 29-30 is the Father's purpose in all of this—the outworking of His Eternal Will, which is the Glorification of His Son by bringing many children to glory, that is, bringing us to bask in His Goodness by the precious work of His Beloved Son!
E. Vs 31-39 unites us again to the intercessory work of our Lovely Lord at the Right Hand of God for us.
1. Note that Vs 31-34 states that The Father is irrevocably "for us", as our defender and Champion. Why? Because He gave His Son to die, to rise, and to live at His Right Hand making intercession for us. We are the gift of the Father to the Son, (John 6:37) and the enemy would have to "un-father" the Eternal Father in order to get at us.
2 In Vs 20, and again in Vs 37 and Vs 39, it all boils down to the Incredible Love that the Father has for us in His Son, Christ Jesus our Lord. John 3:16
The Father has "thought of everything"! He saved us by the blood and Righteousness of His Son, the Perfect God/Man. To assure that He lose none of His purchased people, (John 6:39) He has placed this Glorious God/Man at His Right Hand as their Eternal Sufficiency, as the Anchor of their Eternal Hope. But an anchor without a connecting cable will not keep the vessel from drifting away! So He sent His Sprit, the Spirit of Christ, to dwell in His purchased people. The Spirit and His groaning intercession is the Divine Anticipation in our hearts of that glorious day when we shall be complete, when we will be like the Perfect God/Man for we shall see Him as He Is. The Spirit is the connecting cable, encouraging our hope unto that coming day, guaranteeing that we will receive the full Inheritance that is ours in our Elder Brother, Christ Jesus!
That , beloved, is the Inseparable, Insurmountable Love of our Heavenly Father! Bask in His Goodness! Glory to His Grace and Mercy!
Romans 8
Review Questions:
1. Why do we need a High Priest?
2. What kind of High Priest do we have?
3. Where is our High Priest "located"?
4. What is He doing there?
5. What is our relationship to Him in His ministry?
I. Romans 8--The "down here" side of our Great High Priest's ministry. Here is how our
Father mediates the benefit of our Lord's Priestly ministry at His Right Hand into the here and now of
His redeemed children! We will note the similarities of Romans 8 and Hebrews 4-7 as we go.
A. Romans 7:24-25 sets the context for Romans 8. "Who shall deliver me from this body of death. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
1. Romans 8 introduces the work of the Holy Spirit in renovating our mortal bodies in the here and now, and praise God, in the Glorious Hereafter. VS 3-4, 10-11, 23ff
2. But notice Who this Holy Spirit is—"the Spirit of Christ" (vs 9), and "Christ in you" (vs 10/John 14:15-18). He is also the Spirit of the Father in vs 11. The Triunity at work!
Note: Hebrews focuses upon our Lord's High Priestly ministry for those who are IN Christ. This passage focuses on the "Christ IN you" intercession of the Spirit of Christ!
3. Vs 11 ties us to the "endless life" theme of Hebrews 7. Here the Spirit is the Spirit of Him (the Father) Who raised Jesus from the dead. He will also give (eternal) life to our mortal bodies "through His Spirit who dwells in you".
B. How does He do that? By answering Paul's prayer for us in Ephesians 3:14-21!
1. The Father grants us His Gracious strengthening through His Spirit in the inner man (the heart of our being).
2. He does this so that Christ, His Beloved Son, His answer to all things, might dwell in our hearts by faith—and that leads to being rooted and grounded in love, and that love soil leads to an increasing depth of comprehension of the Love of Christ, and in that heart comprehension, we will be filled with all the fullness God because our Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Godhead bodily! (Colossians 2:9)
C. Romans 8:12-17 reveals a glorious truth—The Spirit is within us, working to assure us that we are children of God. But we immediately go from "Abba Father" to suffering and groaning (Vs 18-23). Lest we forget the glorious truth of vs1-17, Paul hastens to remind us that we are to live in anticipation of better things to come. Our adoption is incomplete until our bodies are redeemed. (vs 22) Compare II Corinthians 5:1-8.
1. And here we have another intercessory link between Romans 8 and Hebrews. We are saved in this hope (vs24-25) of the redemption of our bodies and the total renewal of all creation—the world to come of Hebrew 2:5. Remember the hope in Heb 6:18-20? This saving hope of Romans 8 is the anchor of the soul in Hebrews 6!
2. Rom 8:26 is another link to Hebrews. The Spirit helps our weaknesses. Our Great High Priest of Hebrews 4:14-16 majors in our infirmities! Notice that it is intercession in both cases that is called forth. It is our infirmity, weakness, ignorance, and proneness to go astray that requires the ongoing intercession of the Christ in us Spirit, and our High Priest Jesus at the Right Hand of the Father. We couldn't save our selves, and we cannot keep ourselves. Our persevering in salvation, our holding fast our confession, requires the continual communion of the Christ in you Spirit, and the Christ in the Heavenlies. The One is our Guarantee, and the Other is our Anchor! But it is all the Triune God assuring our Eternal Salvation! (John 6:37-40)
D. So what is the Spirit of Christ's intercession?
1. He is "translating" the babblings of ignorant people into the language of the will of God! Vs 26-18 "We do not know how to pray as we ought." Not just sometimes, but always. So much for great "prayer warriors"! Our greatest prevailing at the Throne of Grace is in the realization of our human impotence! We cannot pray as we ought apart from the intercession of the Holy Spirit any more that we can do anything without Christ! (John 15:5)
a. Vs 23 Our groanings are because of the fallen deadness of this world. But as new believers, our prayers are a lot like the continual cry of babies—we want our food and we want our messes cleaned up!! We are self centered. Our prayers are all about us! But with the consistent nourishment of Word by the Spirit and the Father's chastening providence, we grow up—increasingly seeing this world from the Father's view. Vs 27, I John 2:15-17
b. Vs 28-29 It is only as we grasp the Spirits' intercession for us, bringing us into conformity with the Father's will, that we can understand and rejoice in vs 28. Unfortunately, It is usually just a sad resignation, or a statement of wishful thinking, not the delight and confidence of our hearts. But Vs 29-30 is the Father's purpose in all of this—the outworking of His Eternal Will, which is the Glorification of His Son by bringing many children to glory, that is, bringing us to bask in His Goodness by the precious work of His Beloved Son!
E. Vs 31-39 unites us again to the intercessory work of our Lovely Lord at the Right Hand of God for us.
1. Note that Vs 31-34 states that The Father is irrevocably "for us", as our defender and Champion. Why? Because He gave His Son to die, to rise, and to live at His Right Hand making intercession for us. We are the gift of the Father to the Son, (John 6:37) and the enemy would have to "un-father" the Eternal Father in order to get at us.
2 In Vs 20, and again in Vs 37 and Vs 39, it all boils down to the Incredible Love that the Father has for us in His Son, Christ Jesus our Lord. John 3:16
The Father has "thought of everything"! He saved us by the blood and Righteousness of His Son, the Perfect God/Man. To assure that He lose none of His purchased people, (John 6:39) He has placed this Glorious God/Man at His Right Hand as their Eternal Sufficiency, as the Anchor of their Eternal Hope. But an anchor without a connecting cable will not keep the vessel from drifting away! So He sent His Sprit, the Spirit of Christ, to dwell in His purchased people. The Spirit and His groaning intercession is the Divine Anticipation in our hearts of that glorious day when we shall be complete, when we will be like the Perfect God/Man for we shall see Him as He Is. The Spirit is the connecting cable, encouraging our hope unto that coming day, guaranteeing that we will receive the full Inheritance that is ours in our Elder Brother, Christ Jesus!
That , beloved, is the Inseparable, Insurmountable Love of our Heavenly Father! Bask in His Goodness! Glory to His Grace and Mercy!