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 eight. 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 that I am.” He is the One that 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, though, 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 to 30 of chapter eight say, “Moreover, 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 eight say, “For 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.