Verse 4 says that this designation was according to the Spirit of holiness. The illustration of a carnation seed will help us understand the meaning of this. When a carnation seed is put into the soil, the seed dies. But this death prepares the way for resurrection. Eventually, the seed sprouts and grows into a mature plant that produces carnation flowers. When the carnation plant blossoms, it is designated. The carnation flower is the designation of the carnation seed. A carnation seed is designated, not by being labeled, but by being buried into the ground and by growing into a blossoming carnation plant. This indicates that the carnation seed is designated according to the life which is within it; that is, it is designated according to life. If I put a stone into some soil, nothing will happen because there is no life in the stone. But after a carnation seed is placed in the earth, it will be designated according to the life within it.
In the same principle, when Christ was resurrected from among the dead, He was designated in power by resurrection according to the Spirit of holiness that was in Him. Now He is the Son of God in a way that is more wonderful than before, for now He has both the divine nature and the resurrected, transformed, uplifted, glorified, and designated human nature.
As the Son of God with both divinity and humanity, Christ is now the pattern and model for the mass production of the many sons of God. We have seen that God does not want just one Son, the only begotten Son; He desires many sons, all of whom are the mass production of the Firstborn. In chapter one we have the pattern, but in chapter eight we have the mass production. Chapter eight clearly reveals that the only begotten Son has become the Firstborn among many brothers.
Now we need to consider how these many sons are brought into being. The key to understanding this is in 1:3 and 4. In these verses there are a number of crucial terms: according to flesh, according to the Spirit, the Spirit of holiness, power, resurrection, and Son of God. In a sense, the entire book of Romans is structured around these phrases. Verses 3 and 4 of chapter one actually summarize the whole book. The book of Romans is a record of sinners in the flesh becoming sons of God in power and by resurrection. In 3:20 we read that “by the works of law no flesh shall be justified before Him.” This indicates that the flesh, the fallen man, is hopeless. Chapter seven reveals how ugly and troublesome the flesh is. Chapter eight then describes the utter inability of the flesh to keep the law of God. Before we were saved, we were just flesh; we were hopeless, troublesome, and weak. But Christ was made in the likeness of the flesh of sin, and in His crucifixion He brought this flesh to the cross and terminated it.
According to the flesh, we cannot be designated sons of God. We can only become sons of God according to the Spirit of holiness. As believers in Christ, we have both the flesh, which we received of our natural parents, and the Spirit of holiness, who has been given to us by God. Like the Lord Jesus, we also have two natures, the human nature and the divine nature. Now we can boldly say, “Lord Jesus, You have two natures, and we have two natures also. You were made flesh, and we also are flesh. Within You there was the Spirit of holiness, and within us there is the Spirit of holiness.” Oh, within us we have the Spirit of holiness, who is actually the wonderful Person of Christ Himself! Holiness is the substance, the essence, the element, the nature, of God. This holy nature of God is absolutely different from all other things and separate from them. The Spirit of holiness refers to God’s very essence. Thus, by having the Spirit of holiness, we have God’s substance within us. According to this Spirit, we are being designated the sons of God.
As believers, we have been grafted into Christ. Suppose a branch from a poor tree is grafted into a better tree. Through this process of grafting, the poor branch becomes a good branch, part of a good tree. Having been grafted into Christ and into the likeness of His death, we are now undergoing the process of resurrection. According to 1 Peter 1:3, we were regenerated by the resurrection of Christ. This means that we were born again when Christ was resurrected. In a very real sense, we were born again before we were born. Now we are experiencing the resurrection of what has already been resurrected and the release of what has already been released. For this reason, we can say that we are in the process of being resurrected.
This concept is found in Romans 8. He who raised Christ from among the dead gives us life through His Spirit who dwells in us (v. 11). This indicates that we are presently undergoing the process of resurrection.