This short study addresses the work of the Holy Spirit according to Romans 8, a passage outstanding in Scripture for its frequent use of the word pneuma (22 occasions), which means Spirit, and where we find characteristics and effects of his presence in the life of the believer.
A simple analysis of the context, the structure, and the original languages will allow us to better understand the facets of the work of the Spirit, which will enrich our knowledge to be more aware of his presence in us.
The Spirit delivers us from condemnation (8:1, 2)
Chapter eight of Romans represents a new segment of the letter, which builds on the previous chapter: those who are in Christ Jesus are free from divine condemnation pronounced by God’s law.
Just as death entered the world through one man, Adam, so also the grace and gift of God abound to many through Jesus Christ (5:12, 15). That is why the previous chapter concludes with thanksgiving for Jesus Christ and his redemptive work (7:25). And chapter eight begins like this: “Therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (v. 1).
The Greek phrase, Οὐδὲν ἄρα νῦν κατάκριμα, presents an emphatic statement: “no condemnation.” This truth completes the preamble to the work of the Spirit exposed in the following verse: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (8:2).
Some commentators are of the opinion that the “law of sin” to which Paul refers is the Mosaic Law. However, earlier Paul uses the same expression, “law of sin” (7:23), in reference to the authority or power of sin and it probably has the same meaning here.
On the other hand, the expression “law of the Spirit” has presented an important interpretation challenge for scholars. According to Moo, the “law of the Spirit” denotes the authority or power exercised by the Holy Spirit, an interpretation recognized by other commentators. If we accept this position, then we understand that the liberating work of the Spirit is carried out through Christ, thus achieving what the law could not achieve because the people to whom the law was imparted were in the realm of the flesh.
Believers enjoy a secure inheritance in heaven and a new life characterized by the presence of the Holy Spirit
Moo again makes an interesting exegetical point about the pun on the term meat, obscured in translations: “The power of the law was weakened ‘by the flesh,’ and yet God also ‘condemned sin in the flesh.’ He got his victory over sin in the very sphere in which he seemed to rule unquestioningly, namely, in the ‘flesh.’
Freedom from sin and condemnation has far-reaching implications for the believer. We no longer live under the yoke of oppression that kept us apart from God in this life and the next. We now enjoy a secure inheritance in heaven and a new life characterized by the presence of the Holy Spirit, who helps us on our path to holiness. And this is the subject of our next point.
The Holy Spirit helps us in the Christian life (8:4, 26-27)
According to the text, the Holy Spirit helps us in two ways. First, he helps us to fulfill God’s law (v. 4). In chapter three of the letter, Paul devotes a segment to exposing justification by faith, not by law: “For by works of the law no human being shall be justified before Him… All are justified freely by His grace through of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (3:20, 24). However, the fact that the law is not the means of justification does not mean that we must nullify it either (3:31).
Christ freed us from the condemnation of the law, making it no longer an instrument for death, but fulfilling its initial divine purpose: that we walk in it, since its commandments are for life (7:10). This walking in the statutes of God is only possible if we live according to the Spirit, since those who are in the flesh cannot please God (8:8). As the Biblical commentator Cranfield puts it:
“The requirement of the law will be fulfilled by the determination of the direction, the course of our life by the Spirit, and by our possibility of deciding in favor of the Spirit and against the flesh time after time, of turning our backs more and more more to our own insatiable egoism, and to turn our face more and more towards the freedom that the Spirit of God has granted us.
Second, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness: “In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspeakable groans” (8:26).
Just as hope sustains us in the midst of suffering, the Spirit sustains us in our weakness.
Some commentators observe a close relationship between the expression “In the same way”, with the groans of creation (8:22) and of the believers (8:23) mentioned verses above. However, it seems to make more sense if we look at it in light of the previous verse: “For in hope we have been saved, but the hope that is seen is not hope, so why hope for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait patiently” (8:24-25). Just as hope sustains us in the midst of suffering, the Spirit sustains us in our weakness. And this is precisely one of his titles: one who helps, who comforts, who encourages and mediates for us (παράκλητος, Jn. 14:26).
When Paul speaks of “our weakness” he refers to the human limitation due to our condition in the flesh, which is evidenced in some way in that we do not know (including the apostle himself) if we are asking as it should, that is, according to the God’s will. Now, that does not mean that the believer does not know how to pray, because in the Scriptures we have specific teachings on the matter. In fact, that was the request of the disciples to Jesus: “Teach us to pray” (Lk. 11:1); and he responded with the renowned prayer: “Our Father…” (Lk. 11:2-4). Given this matter, an interesting question arises: what sense does it make then for the Christian to pray? Hendriksen answers succinctly and correctly:
“If someone would object: ‘Then why not let the Spirit take over the prayer completely? Why should we pray?’, The answer would be: (a) God’s child needs and desires to pour out his heart before God in prayer and thanksgiving; (b) the Holy Spirit prays only in the hearts of those who pray; (c) God has commanded his people to pray and has promised to grant all those requests that are in accordance with his will; and (d) there must be many prayers that do not need to be counteracted by the Spirit.
The Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding for us with unspeakable groans. It is interesting to note that the verb used by the apostle is one to which an intensity prefix is added (ὑπερεντυχάνω), which would allow it to be translated as “super-intercede”, or “intercede with authority” on behalf of another.
It has been suggested that the groaning referred to here alludes to speaking in tongues. However, this interpretation would be out of context. Some understand that it refers to the transcendental of the groans; they cannot be expressed in the language of man. Others understand that it refers to moans “that cannot be expressed in words” (DHH). In any case, the love of God for his children becomes evident in this expression through this wonderful work of the Holy Spirit to help us in our Christian walk.
The Holy Spirit identifies us as children of God (8:9, 16)
In verses 5-8, the apostle makes a contrast between those who live according to the flesh and those who live according to the Spirit, describing the way in which each conducts himself. The Greek “set the mind” (φρονοῦσιν) implies thinking, valuing, and following the desires of the flesh; while those in the second group seek to please God by living according to his statutes.
Paul also describes the current state of these people: “For the mind set on the flesh is death… The mind set on the flesh is the enemy of God” (8:6-7). When a person lives in the flesh, that is, controlled by the impulses of his fallen nature, evidence of spiritual death and separation from God. This quality of life is characteristic of someone who has not known the God of life and peace; it has not been regenerated or renewed by the Spirit. And this tells us not only about his current state, but also about his future state: eternal death.
Only those who are children of God can please God; not in their own strength, but by the presence and power of the Spirit
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, after listing some works of the flesh, concludes “that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). The apostle describes those who live according to the flesh as enemies of God, in line with what he exposes in Romans 5: “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by His life” (v. 19). However, it is necessary to clarify that, even being reconciled by the work of Christ, believers will continue to fight with the flesh (Rom. 8:13).
“Yet you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (8:9). After describing the two groups (those who live according to the flesh and those who live according to the Spirit), Paul addresses his recipients to assert that they are no longer under the flesh (“οὐκ… ἐν σαρκὶ”), since they are not sold to the power of sin (7:14), but live according to the Spirit (“ἀλλὰ ἐν πνεύματι”, a probable translation may also be “in the Holy Spirit”). The reason for his affirmation is the presence of the Spirit in their lives, who gives the believer the power to live according to God’s will. For Paul, the issue is clear: if someone does not have the Spirit, then he does not belong to Christ.
In light of biblical evidence, we can affirm that the reception of the Spirit occurs at the moment of conversion (Eph. 1:13). If someone does not have the Spirit, then he is not saved. Paul has said it before, in other words: “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (8:8). It is impossible to be saved without being regenerated, and it is impossible to be regenerated without the work of the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5). Only those who are children of God can please God; not in their own strength, but by the presence and power of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit gives us life (8:11, 13)
Even when Christ dwells in the believer, through the Holy Spirit, the body is dead because of sin. All human beings have inherited from Adam the consequence of his sin, death (cf. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22), which involves decay and decay, “for…