Romans 1:4 speaks of the Spirit of holiness. The title the Spirit of holiness is different from the Holy Spirit. In many passages, the Holy Spirit in Greek is literally “the Spirit the Holy.” First Thessalonians 4:8 says, for example, “Who also gives His Holy Spirit to you.” His Holy Spirit in Greek is literally, “the Spirit of Him the Holy.” This indicates that the Holy Spirit Himself is “the Holy,” that is, holiness itself. Holiness is simply the Spirit of God. In Romans 1:4, however, Paul used the term the Spirit of holiness. Holiness here indicates a state, condition, or situation. Before His resurrection, Christ was in the state of the flesh. Because of this, people were able to recognize Christ’s flesh more easily than His holiness. After His resurrection, however, Christ was transfigured into another state. In this second state, condition, and situation it is easy to realize His holiness.
Christ, the Son of God, was in the beginning (John 1:1, 18). Then in time, the only begotten Son of God was incarnated to be flesh (v. 14). When people came to Him, they met Him in the state of the flesh. Although He was the Son of God within, it was hard for people to see through the flesh to realize what He was. According to outward appearance, He was only the son of a carpenter. However, one day on the Mount of Transfiguration Christ was transfigured from the state of the flesh into another state, the state of glory (Matt. 17:1-2). We may compare glory to electricity. When it is hidden, it is simply electricity, but when it is expressed, it becomes light. Just as light is electricity expressed, glory is God expressed. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, John, and James beheld Christ in His state of glory.
Glory is God expressed, and God is “the Holy.” When God is expressed, therefore, He is also holiness. Christ’s transfiguration on the mount brought Him into a state of glory, that is, of holiness. Moreover, on the Mount of Transfiguration God declared, “This is My Son, the Beloved” (v. 5). By Christ’s transfiguration He was declared to be the Son of God.
The transfiguration on the mount was a foretaste of Christ’s resurrection. When Christ was resurrected from the dead, He was fully transfigured into a state of glory. In the same principle of His transfiguration on the mount, through His resurrection Christ was designated the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness. This is the proper understanding of Romans 1:4.
Christ is the Son of God who was incarnated to be a man in the flesh. When He was in the flesh, the glory of His divinity was concealed, hidden, and covered by the flesh. However, at the time of His transfiguration and resurrection, His inner glory was released, permeating and saturating His humanity. Originally He was in the state of the flesh, but after His resurrection, He was transfigured into another state, the state of glory, that is, the state of holiness. In this state of holiness, Christ was designated the Son of God.
As the sons of Adam, we were in the state of the sinful flesh. After we are transformed to be the sons of God and conformed to the image of the Son of God, there is holiness in our new state, condition, and situation. This holiness is the real divine sonship. The genuine sonship is our full sanctification. When we are fully sanctified, we are in a state of holiness. Holiness is wrought into us and becomes our sanctification, and full sanctification is equal to sonship. Sonship is different from adoption. In human society, to adopt someone is to give only the position of sonship to one who was not born of us. In contrast to this, the divine sonship means that God has imparted the life of His Son into us. Originally, we were not sons of God, but one day God imparted the Spirit of His Son (Gal. 4:6) into us to make us the sons of God. Therefore, the Spirit of His Son is the Spirit of the divine sonship.
When the Spirit of the Son comes into us, He is the Spirit of life to impart the divine life, the very life of God, into us (Rom. 8:2). This is to impart Christ Himself into us as life. By this imparting of life we are regenerated, that is, we are born of God. Then from the time of our regeneration, the Spirit of life is the Spirit of the divine sonship to us, working within us to transform us and conform us to the image of Christ. As a result, we will be wholly and thoroughly sanctified; that is, we will be in a state of holiness.
Because Christ has become the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), the entire “story” of His resurrection and transfiguration is now in the Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9). Now this Spirit as the all-inclusive dose has come into us to be the Spirit of life for the divine sonship, causing us to become the sons of God. Therefore, this Spirit of life becomes the Spirit of the divine sonship to us. The way He accomplishes His work of sonship is to transform us day by day.
Before we were saved, we were in the state of the sinful flesh, the flesh of sin (v. 3). One day we heard the gospel, and this wonderful Spirit of Christ came into us as the Spirit of life to regenerate us. Now this Spirit is working, moving, and regulating within us (v. 2) for the purpose of sonship, that is, to make sinners the divine sons of God. This Spirit of the divine sonship moves, works, saturates, permeates, and transforms us until eventually we will be thoroughly transformed into the image of Christ. This will bring us into a state of holiness. This is the fulfillment of the divine sonship.
When the Spirit of Christ came into us, the work of sonship began, but it was not yet accomplished. From that time on, the Spirit of Christ as the Spirit of life works within us as the Spirit of the divine sonship to accomplish the sonship. Then when we are permeated, saturated, and thoroughly transformed, we will be wholly sanctified, that is, wholly brought into a state of holiness as the accomplishment of the divine sonship.
All of the above is revealed by the main titles of the Spirit in Romans—the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of life, and the Spirit of the divine sonship. This Spirit is also the Spirit of God, who is none other than Christ Himself (vv. 9-10).