Scripture: Romans 8:14-17
Video Link: https://youtu.be/0MS9jZG8uqw
Structure:
- Introduction
- Affection
- Adoption
- Assurance
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Good morning everyone.
What makes you feel secure? Perhaps when you were young, your teddy bear made you feel safe and secure. Then, as you grew older, being accepted by your friends gave you a sense of security.
Some people find security in their job; they are always at work, never able to rest, always feeling like they have to achieve more. Other people seek security by accumulating money, houses and stuff. Or by projecting a certain image of themselves which may not be entirely true.
There is nothing wrong with earning money to buy a house, just as there is nothing wrong with wanting people to think well of you. We need these things to survive in this world. But as necessary as a house and a job and a good reputation are, they don’t last. The security they provide is only ever temporary at best.
Ironically, the pursuit of security can cause quite a bit of anxiety. Ultimately, our security needs to be based on something that cannot be lost or stolen or die.
Today is Pentecost, 50 days since Easter. After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to his disciples over a period of 40 days before ascending to heaven. Ten days after his ascension, Jesus’ disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is God’s divine Spirit. The Holy Spirit connects us to the ultimate source of security, the risen Jesus Christ.
Our sermon this morning is based on Romans 8, one of the traditional readings for Pentecost. Romans 8 talks about the Holy Spirit quite a bit. We won’t be covering all of Romans 8 today, just four verses. From verse 14 we read…
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; but you have received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
These verses are talking about the security the Holy Spirit gives believers.
Three words to hang today’s message on, all of them closely related to security: affection, adoption and assurance.
The Holy Spirit shows us God’s affection, He is involved in our adoption by God and He assures us we are God’s children. Let us begin with the Spirit and our affections…
Affection:
Affection is a positive feeling. You can show affection in all sorts of ways.
When you rub a dog’s belly, you are creating a positive feeling both for you and the dog. When you give someone a word of encouragement or a hug (and it is welcome) this also creates a positive feeling of affection.
Feelings, of course, move us. They are a source of energy. Feelings motivate us. If we feel affection for someone or someone shows us affection, then we will feel good about that person and be motivated to give them our best.
The Bible uses a variety of images to describe the Holy Spirit including wind, breath, fire, water and a dove. While these are all helpful, none is adequate on its own to describe the work of God’s Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an unconscious force. The Holy Spirit is a divine person, capable of giving and receiving affection.
The gospel of John talks about the Holy Spirit being a comforter or an advocate. One who comes alongside and guides us in the love and truth of Jesus.
In contemporary terms we might think of the Holy Spirit as a sports coach. If the church is a team, then God is the owner and manager, Jesus is the captain, the Holy Spirit is the coach and we are the players. It is the job of the coach to come alongside the players to guide, train, correct and encourage them.
The best coaches know how to rub the belly of their players, metaphorically speaking. Their presence affects the players at a heart level. The players know the coach cares about them and that brings out the best in the team.
Or to put it another way, the players feel affection for a good coach. They will do anything for a coach they love and respect.
In verse 14 of Romans 8, the apostle Paul writes: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
The Spirit here reminds us of a sports coach leading, guiding and encouraging his players. To be led by God’s Spirit is to have a mind-set of learning to do God’s will. Those who are led by God’s Spirit are thinking, how do I love God and my neighbour in this situation?
Like a good coach the Holy Spirit doesn’t drive us by fear. Rather, the Spirit inspires belief and builds trust. He rubs our belly when we need it and gives us the feeling of genuine security, bringing out the best in the team.
Of course, for the players to benefit from the coach’s influence, we must listen to the coach and do what he says. If we love God, if Jesus holds sway over our affections, then we will trust and obey the promptings and pushings of the Holy Spirit.
Who holds sway over your affections?
We are talking about the security the Holy Spirit gives believers. The Holy Spirit shows us God’s affection and He is involved in our adoption by God.
Adoption:
Psychologists say that a deep and lasting sense of security comes from the way parents interact with their infant children. If a baby gets lots of face-to-face time, lots of affection and connection from at least one consistent adult, they will learn basic trust and feel secure throughout life. They call this attachment.
The thing about attachment is that the baby needs the relationship with the one consistent adult to be reinforced regularly. You don’t create a sense of security in a child by occasional, infrequent episodes of attachment.
The kind of attachment in view here is not like attaching a trailer to your car every once and a while. It’s more like the seats in a car, which are permanently attached. Wherever the car goes the seats go.
The sort of attachment that leads to deep and lasting security in the child requires an intentional and lasting commitment by the adult.
God (our maker) understands our human need for attachment and meets this need by adopting us into his family. Verse 15 reads: The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; but you have received the Spirit of adoption.
In the Greco-Roman world of the first century, in which Paul lived, adoption was a serious business. There was a thorough legal process to follow which resulted in a lasting and binding commitment between the parent and child.
In his commentary on Romans, F.F. Bruce writes (and I paraphrase here)…
The term ‘adoption’ may sound a bit artificial to our ears; but in the first century an adopted son was deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate; he was in no way inferior in status to a natural born son and might well enjoy the father’s affection more fully and reproduce the father’s character more worthily. [1]
To be adopted by God, therefore, is a big deal. We sometimes talk about making a commitment to God. But really, God’s commitment in adopting us comes first and is greater and more reliable than any commitment we might make.
The one being adopted does nothing to deserve this grace. All we can do is accept the father’s love with gratitude and seek to reproduce the father’s character in our own relationships.
The Spirit of God changes our status and gives us a new kind of relationship with God the Father, a more personal, intimate relationship. One where we can approach God with confidence and affection so that we cry ‘Abba, Father’.
‘Abba’ was the Aramaic word for father, used by Jewish families in antiquity.
It was an everyday term like dad or daddy or da (as the Irish say).
Children in the first century never addressed God as Abba, that would have been considered incredibly disrespectful and yet Jesus almost always addressed God as his ‘Abba’.
Most famously Jesus addresses God in this intimate way in his prayer of anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Abba, Father”, he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
This is interesting. Jesus is secure enough in his relationship with God to be honest about what he is feeling and what he wants. In the end though, Jesus is willing to put aside his own desires to obey God. Jesus does this, not out of fear of reprisal, but out of love and affection for his Dad.
The Holy Spirit gives us security. He shows us God’s affection, He is involved in our adoption by God and He assures us we are God’s children.
Assurance:
John Wesley (born in England in 1703) was one of nineteen children. I’m not sure how much attachment time John got with his parents, given how large the family was, but his mother, Susanna Wesley, gave her children a thorough education and raised them with strict discipline.
John attended Oxford University, where his brother Charles Wesley (of hymn writing fame) founded the “Holy Club”, a group committed to prayer, Bible reading, weekly communion, and helping the poor.
In 1735 John Wesley and his brother Charles travelled to America by sea.
At that stage both brothers were ordained ministers in the church of England.
On the voyage there, John and Charles met a group of Moravian Brethren. (Protestant Christians.) Their calm assurance of salvation deeply impressed John Wesley, as did the warmth of their fellowship and singing. When a storm enveloped their ship, the Moravians were not anxious. They had a peace which passes understanding.
Once he arrived in America, John undertook a short-term mission trip to Georgia. It was not very successful, and he returned to England in 1737 a bit dejected.
A year later while in London, on 24 May 1738, John went very unwillingly to a meeting in Aldersgate Street. Someone was reading Martin Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans.
John Wesley wrote in his journal what he experienced that night…
About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.
John is describing his experience of divine assurance given by the Holy Spirit.
In verse 16 of Romans 8, Paul writes: The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Paul is talking here about the inner witness of God’s Spirit, who assures us we are loved and accepted as children adopted by God.
You might be wondering, what exactly is meant by our spirit, (spirit with a lower case ‘s’). Because the word spirit is a bit vague, a bit ambiguous. It can mean different things to different people depending on the context.
Well, in the context of Romans 8 verse 16, our spirit refers to the human spirit, which is our capacity to relate with others. Our eyes enable us to see. Our ears enable us to hear. Our feet enable us to stand. Our lungs enable us to breathe and our spirit enables us to relate with others, to connect with them and form trust.
Someone may have a cold, hard or mean spirit in the way we relate with others. Or they may have a warm, gentle and generous spirit in how we relate.
Our spirit (our ability to relate) can be damaged when trust is broken.
While our human spirit is different from God’s Holy Spirit the two are compatible. But our spirit needs to be open to receive God’s Spirit.
Now it is important to note that the assurance given by God’s Spirit is not the same for everyone. We don’t all feel our heart strangely warmed like John Wesley did. Spiritual experiences like that are relatively rare. Not everyone receives them.
More often the assurance given by God’s Spirit is felt in more ordinary ways, through other people, especially other believers.
Earlier in the service I told you about Mary, who passed away last Monday. Mary and Joyce were life-long friends. They were mates for over 60 years.
Their mutual friendship (I believe) was a means of divine assurance.
Mary loved to walk places but as her sight and hearing faded, crossing the road became more dangerous. Joyce was Mary’s eyes. And if Joyce misplaced someone’s name, Mary was Joyce’s memory.
Friendship; the Spirit working between people to support one another in ordinary ways. Through friendship the Holy Spirit reassures us of God’s presence, his Fatherly love and care.
So, if you have never felt your heart strangely warmed, as John Wesley did, then don’t panic. It doesn’t mean you are missing God’s Spirit or that you are not a child of God. The assurance of the Holy Spirit won’t be the same for everyone. But it will be personal for you. It will be what you need at the time.
The other thing to note here is that we may not feel divine assurance all the time. Ignatius taught that in the Christian life there are periods of desolation when God feels very absent, just as there are moments of consolation when God reassures us of his affection and presence. Christian faith is about continuing to follow Jesus, whatever the weather of our feelings.
Paul continues to unpack the implications of our being God’s children in verse 17 where he says: Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…
Paul’s thought here is this: because we are God’s children that means Jesus is our brother, which means we are co-heirs with Christ. Therefore, we will share Christ’s inheritance, his reward.
And what is the inheritance we share with Christ? Well, it is the kingdom of God. It is abundant, joyful, healthy, peaceful, life; the kind we want to go on living forever. But that is not all. The real reward is God Himself. Eternal life is intimacy with God. As any child knows, time with mum or dad is more valuable than gifts or toys.
However, we cannot expect to share in Christ’s reward if we are not prepared to share in his suffering. Suffering with Christ is the path to glory
Returning to John Wesley for a moment. Quite often when John spoke about his new assurance, in Anglican pulpits, he was met with a hostile reception and told not to return. Being given an inner assurance by the Holy Spirit doesn’t make us immune from getting a hard time from the world we live in.
But the inner assurance of God’s Spirit can lend a deep and lasting sense of security to our human spirit. After being kicked out of the mainline church, John began to speak in the open air, taking the gospel to the poor in the industrial towns. These people had little contact with the church of England.
One is reminded of the apostle Paul’s experience in Acts, getting kicked out of the synagogue, then taking the gospel to the gentiles.
For fifty-two years John Wesley travelled the countryside on horseback, preaching the gospel. Some people accepted his message, others rejected it. Either way, John Wesley’s sense of security was unshaken because his security wasn’t based on the opinion of others or the success of his ministry. It was based on his attachment to God through the Holy Spirit.
We are unlikely to have a preaching ministry like John Wesley, but we may still suffer for identifying with Christ. If (or when) that happens we can be assured we are not being punished by God but rather are following in the footsteps of our older brother, Jesus.
Indeed, suffering for Jesus is its own assurance. For if we share in Christ’s sufferings, we will share in his glory.
Conclusion:
Two questions for you to ponder…
What (or who) makes you feel secure?
How reliable (or lasting) is your security?
The Holy Spirit is a source of security we can rely on. The Holy Spirit shows us God’s affection, He is involved in our adoption by God and He assures us we are God’s children.
Let us pray…
Father God, we thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, both seen and unseen. Help us to move at the impulse of your Spirit, that Jesus would hold sway over our affections and we would reproduce your character in our relationships. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
- What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- What made you feel secure when you were a child? Has the source of your security changed as you have grown through life? How so?
- What (or who) makes you feel secure now? How reliable (lasting) is your security?
- Discuss / reflect on some of the Biblical images of the Holy Spirit. What characteristics of the Holy Spirit do each of these image’s highlight?
- What is affection and why is it important? How do you like to show affection? Who holds sway over your affections?
- What does it mean to be adopted by God the Father? What are the implications for you personally?
- Have you ever suffered for identifying with Christ? What happened? Were you aware of God’s assurance or help in that situation? If so, how?
[1] F.F. Bruce, Romans, page 166.
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