Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20080127.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Romans: Charter Of God's Salvation Grace
Part IV: The Sanctification Of The Justified By Faith Through Grace, Romans 6:1-8:39
E. Utilizing The Believer's Relationship To The Indwelling Holy Spirit, Romans 8:1-39
3. Utilizing The Holy Spirit's Power To Face The Future
(Romans 8:18-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. Many people live in great anxiety about the future, and spend a lot of money to gain insight about it.
    2. However, the believer need not dread anything in his future IF he lives by the Holy Spirit's power :
  2. Utilizing The Holy Spirit's Power To Face The Future, Romans 8:18-30.
    1. After introducing the idea of the believer's future glorification with Christ following his spiritual suffering together with Christ in this life in Romans 8:17b, Paul claimed in Romans 8:18 that the present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory of God to be revealed IN the believer in his glorified state!
    2. Besides all this, God has tied the glorification of the believer's body together with the release of the entire universe's bondage to the Adamic curse, Romans 8:19-25 (as follows):
      1. Having mentioned the believer's glorification in Romans 8:18, Paul expanded the glorification theme in Romans 8:19 to reveal the universe's future glorification is dependent on the Christian's glorification:
        1. The KJV's term, "the creature" in Romans 8:19 is better translated "the creation" as the NIV and ESV have it, cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to Romans 8:19.
        2. The same expression occurs in verses 20-21, so Paul has the entire universe in view there (Ibid.).
      2. Accordingly, the Adamic curse of decay and death placed upon the whole universe due to man's fall into sin in Genesis 3:1-6, 7-19 will be removed when Christians receive their glorified bodies and return to live on earth at Christ's Millennial reign, cf. Romans 8:19-25 with Revelation 20:4; Jude 14.
      3. For this reason, the entire universe along with the Christian himself expectantly awaits for his glorification, waiting for the redemption of his body at the rapture, Romans 8:19-23; 1 Cor. 15:51-57! [Note: Christ's atonement is not applied to the believer's body until the rapture, meaning the Charismatic belief that physical healing is automatic for faithful believers today errs (See 2 Timothy 4:20b where Paul who raised a man from the dead in Acts 20:7-11 did not heal Trophimus)!]
    3. Meanwhile, as for the immediate future, even as the believer petitions God's help in prayer to handle his sufferings (Romans 8:26a with 8:18), since no unglorified believer knows how to pray as he ought, the indwelling Holy Spirit effectively intercedes for him with groanings too great to be uttered, Romans 8:26.
    4. This intercession is effective since God the Father Who searches the hearts of all beings knows what is the Holy Spirit's mind, and since the Spirit makes intercession in accord with the Father's will, Romans 8:27.
    5. Also, all the believer experiences IF he loves God and is in fellowship with Him works for good, 8:28; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Romans 8:28. A lack of fellowship with God lessens the blessings but not the final goal, for God's goal of glorification of the believer is an unconditional one, cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-9, 10.
    6. This good is based on God's unconditional plan to take believers from justification to glorification, 8:29f:
      1. Those God foreknew would trust in Christ (Rom. 8:29a; 1 Peter 1:2), He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that Jesus Christ might be the Firstborn among many brothers, Rom. 8:29b,c.
      2. By alluding to Christ being the Firstborn, we know from Paul's similar description in Colossians 1:18 that the conformity to Christ's image means the believer's glorification at the rapture, 1 Cor. 15:49. So, Romans 8:29 claims every Christian whom God from eternity past also foreknew would trust in Christ, God also predestined to move from the justified state to glorification at the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18)!
      3. Then, Romans 8:30 notes that those God thus predestined, he also has determined to bring from the point of His foreknowing them in eternity past to their glorified status, and that by calling them through the Gospel, justifying them when they trust in Ch rist and finally glorifying them at the rapture.
Lesson: If a believer relies on the Holy Spirit, he can confidently face all that the future brings, even if it involves trials, for then everything works together for good in God's plan to get him from God's knowing in eternity past of his faith in Christ to glorifying him in victory over sin and death.

Application: May we thus rely upon the Holy Spirit to enjoy BLESSING in ALL we face in the future!