As we read on, we see in verse 16 that this Spirit is within us and is witnessing with our spirit. This Spirit, who is Christ Himself, is dwelling in us. Eventually, this Spirit is mingled with our spirit as one.
From this point on, the book of Romans begins to show us that today, as those who have received grace, we do not need to do so many other things. It is not necessary for you to love others, to do good deeds, to reform your character, to improve your behavior, or to struggle and strive. None of these are necessary. Now the only thing that is necessary is to walk according to the spirit, as mentioned in 8:4-5. It is sufficient if you would just walk closely according to the spirit. Now you need to care for the spirit and be mindful of the spirit. In other words, you need to set your mind on the spirit. At the point when the book of Romans reaches its peak, it shows us that the Christ who accomplished redemption is this Spirit today, and this Spirit has come into your spirit and has become one with your spirit. This is the highest peak of Romans. The book of Romans does not require you to improve your behavior or to do good deeds. You do not need to do anything else except to be responsible to this Spirit by setting your mind on Him and walking according to Him; this is sufficient.
Then verse 26 of chapter eight mentions another point: The Spirit is doing a particular thing in us, that is, interceding for us. What is intercession? It is the groaning of the Holy Spirit to express God’s desire for us. What is God’s desire concerning us? It is to make us the same as His Son. God’s desire is that we would be conformed to the image of His Son, and it is for this that the Spirit who dwells in our spirit is groaning. We may use an illustration here. A mother may desire that her son go to college; this is the mother’s desire. When this mother sees that her son is not studying diligently, she groans. This groaning expresses the desire of the mother. The Spirit in us has a desire, and this desire is that we would be like the Son of God. However, we do not care for God’s will, nor do we fit into His desire, so this indwelling Spirit groans continually. This groaning is a crying out of God’s desire, and it is also a response to God’s desire. This is Romans 8. As to the outward circumstances, they are the “all things” raised up by the mighty Spirit to help in the fulfillment of God’s desire in us, and the Spirit causes these “all things” to work together for good to us. What is the good? The good refers to our being conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Brothers and sisters, you need to see clearly that Romans is the first book of the Epistles and its kernel, its essence, is the spirit. Therefore, Romans is not a book on redemption, nor is it a book on justification. Instead, Romans is a book on the Spirit of life. It speaks altogether about the Spirit of life. In order to have the Spirit of life come into us, we need redemption and justification. However, redemption and justification are not the central thought of Romans. The central thought of Romans is that this Spirit comes into us to become our life, and we simply live according to this Spirit, walk according to this Spirit, care for this Spirit, and set our mind on this Spirit. This Spirit often groans in us according to the desire of God, expressing from deep within us a response to God’s desire, which is that we would be completely conformed to the image of His Son. This is the essence of the book of Romans.
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