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 chapter one 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, though, 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 and 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 one through three, 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, while sonship is by the life of Christ. Romans 5:10 says, “For 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 which 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 five speaks of “His life,” and chapter eight speaks of “the Spirit of life” (v. 2). His life saves us, and the Spirit of life set 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, 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 twelve 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.