Romans - Week 17

Adopted

READ

Romans 8:15

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

The one who believes in Jesus for salvation is not brought into God’s family as a fearful slave. Instead, believers become full-fledged sons. The word “children” in this translation literally means “son placing.” This is the time when a son becomes qualified for all the privileges of being an adult. In this context, adoption does not refer to taking another person’s child; it is making a child the full-fledged member of the family. “Abba” is the intimate Aramaic word for “Father” such as “Daddy.”

REFLECT

As a believer in Jesus, do you realize you are a full-fledged member of the family of God? Do you have an intimate relationship with the heavenly Father?

RESPOND

Read Ephesians 1:3-8 to see the rich spiritual blessings God has bestowed on believers in Jesus. Talk about these blessings with your disciple.

Heirs of God's Glory

READ

Romans 8:16-17

16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Sometimes in the midst of being discouraged, even believers may wonder, “Am I really born again?” This verse indicates the Holy Spirit in some way communicates with the spirit of the believer assuring him of the security for those in Christ. As an unbeliever, you were not bothered by sinful activity; now you are convicted about it. That’s an indication the indwelling Holy Spirit is doing His work in your life. The passage ends with the sobering statement that those who share in Christ’s glory must also share in His suffering.

REFLECT

What indications in your life have you noticed that confirm to you that your faith is solidly in the Lord Jesus?

RESPOND

Even though you may “feel” you are a believer in Christ, remember to trust in the facts mentioned in the Bible. For some of these facts, see John 3:16; 14:6; Acts 4:12.

Glory Revealed

READ

Romans 8:18-19

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

Some suffer shame; others suffer physically; even some are put to death for their faith. But, Paul says, this will be “nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” Even creation is waiting with anticipation to see the children of God displayed for all to see. This does not mean that people will have to wait for a future time to learn whether they are children of God. That decision is made in this life, after which there is no opportunity to trust in Jesus as Savior.

REFLECT

Are you now suffering for your faith in Jesus? You can be assured that God knows what you are going through.

RESPOND

Do you wonder why you are suffering? Read 2 Corinthians 1:4-6 for some encouraging reasons.

Freedom from Death

READ

Romans 8:20-22

20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

God’s curse is mentioned in Genesis 3. In Genesis 2:16-17, Adam and Eve were told they could eat of every tree in the Garden except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And if they ate of that one they would die. Genesis 3 tells of them eating from this forbidden tree. As a result, various curses were pronounced by God. Among His curses, the ground was cursed because of Adam’s sin. God promises that someday the curse of all creation will be lifted.

REFLECT

Think about the fact that an individual’s actions affects others. Pray for those who think their wrongdoing only affects themselves.

RESPOND

Take the time with your disciple to read Genesis 2 and 3. This gives an understanding of sin and the results of it. Notice that the sin of Adam was that he chose to go his way and his wife’s way rather than the way God wanted them to go.

Released from Sin

READ

Romans 8:23-25

23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

Just as the curse for the earth will be lifted someday, it also will be lifted for the bodies of believers in Christ. When a believer dies now, the real person goes to be with Jesus even though the body goes to the grave. The day will come, however, when Jesus will return in the air bringing these believers with Him to receive their bodies from the grave. Those bodies will be glorified ones; being “released from sin and suffering.”

REFLECT

Consider how wonderful it will be for believers who have suffered and then gone home to be with Jesus that someday they will receive a glorified body, free from pain and limitations.

RESPOND

You need to be knowledgeable of what the Bible says about believers going to be with Jesus. Passages you should be aware of are John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:50-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.