The Holy Spirit in Sanctification: Part 1
Memory Passage
The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does
not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature
cannot please God.
Romans 8:7-8
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:1-17
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 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.
Insights
"'What a redeemed soul needs is human holiness.' Angelic holiness will not
serve fallen man. If we are to be holy, that holiness must be wrought out in our
humanity. This is what Christ has accomplished. And now the Spirit, out of his
union with the incarnate Son, brings those resources to bear upon the lives of
believers. Because of his ministry in Christ he can now indwell us to reproduce
the same holiness in our lives. And so, adds, Kuyper, 'The Holy Spirit finds this
holy disposition in its required form, not in the Father, nor in Himself, but in
Immanuel, who as the Son of God and the Son of man possesses holiness in
that peculiar form.'" -Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit
Consider this!
Human holiness? This thought is contrary to what most of us believe about
ourselves and others. Holiness means to be set apart and the finishing
thought is to be set apart unto God. Thus the work of Christ's Spirit in us is to
set us apart unto God inwardly and give us power over the flesh, the antithesis
in us of holiness. As this happens in us, we as humans can know "holiness
wrought out in our humanity." Only by the Spirit of Christ indwelling us as
believers is it possible for the same holiness of Christ to be reproduced in us.
Personal Reflection
- Define holiness. What does it mean that you are holy?
- Describe the kinds of things that make you feel "holy." What kinds of things
make you feel "unholy?"
- We are set apart because of the work of the Holy Spirit within us. In our worst
moments, the Holy Spirit is working in us to give us power over the flesh. Think
about one of your worst moments. How has that experience been worked for
good in your life so that you are now more aware of the Spirit's presence in
you?
- As you reflect upon these things, write a prayer that reflects your desire for
holiness.
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