Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:3-4; 5:10; 8:28-29
Ⅰ
The seed of David becoming the Son of God speaks of the process of Christ's being designated the firstborn Son of God by resurrection and of our being designated the many sons of God by resurrection—Rom. 1:3-4; 8:28-29:
A
By incarnation Christ, the only begotten Son of God in His divinity (John 1:18), put on the flesh, the human nature, which had nothing to do with divinity; in His humanity He was not the Son of God:
１
Jesus in His humanity was the seed of David, a human seed belonging to the old creation (the old man—Rom. 6:6) of God—Col. 1:15b.
２
When Christ died on the cross as the seed of David in His humanity, He crucified the old man with the old creation, destroyed the devil, condemned sin in the flesh, and judged the world—Rom. 6:6; Heb. 2:14; Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; John 3:14; 12:31.
B
In resurrection Christ's humanity was deified, sonized, meaning that He became the Son of God not only in His divinity but also in His humanity—Rom. 1:3-4:
１
In resurrection He was designated the Son of God, made the firstborn Son of God, possessing both divinity and humanity—8:29.
２
Crucifixion was the best way for Him to be designated, glorified, resurrected:
ａ
If a seed dies by being buried in the soil, it will eventually sprout, grow, and blossom, because the operation of the seed's life is activated simultaneously with its death—John 12:23-24.
ｂ
The divinity, the Spirit of holiness, in Christ became operative in His death, and in resurrection He "blossomed" as the Son of God.
ｃ
According to His flesh, He was crucified, but according to His Spirit, He was made strong, very active, to put divinity into the humanity of Christ to make it divine; this is what it means to designate, and this is to sonize—1 Pet. 3:18.
C
The humanity of Christ was designated, marked out, uplifted, by the Spirit of holiness, the divinity of Christ, into divinity; that is, Christ was begotten again in His humanity to be the firstborn Son of God—Acts 13:33:
１
Christ was the first one regenerated in resurrection—Rom. 8:29:
ａ
His humanity was born in His mother's womb; that was human and could not be considered the Son of God but the Son of Man.
ｂ
Christ's resurrection uplifted His humanity and put His divinity into this humanity; so by this resurrection His humanity was born again to be a part of the Son of God.
２
The prototype is the firstborn Son of God, and the reproduction is the many sons of God, the members of the prototype to be His Body, which consummates in the New Jerusalem—1 Pet. 1:3.
D
Christ has already been designated the Son of God, but we are still in the process of designation, the process of being sonized, deified—Rom. 8:28-30; Heb. 2:10-11.
E
The goal of the gospel in Romans is that God is transforming sinners in the flesh into the designated sons of God in the spirit for the building up of the Body of Christ.
F
The life of the Son of God has been implanted into our spirit—8:10:
１
Now we, like the seed that is sown into the earth, must pass through the process of death and resurrection—John 12:24-26.
２
This causes the outer man to be consumed, but it enables the inner life to grow, to develop, and ultimately, to blossom; this is resurrection—1 Cor. 15:31, 36; 2 Cor. 4:10-12, 16.
３
The more we grow in life for our transformation in life, the more we are designated the sons of God:
ａ
In order to grow, we need to be poor in spirit with a heart turned to the Lord and a heart that is pure toward Him—Matt. 5:3, 8; 2 Cor. 3:16, 18; 2 Tim. 2:22.
ｂ
In order to grow, we need to feed on the guileless milk and the solid food of the word—1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:12-14.
ｃ
In order to grow, we need the watering of the gifted members—1 Cor. 3:6b; John 7:37-39; Prov. 11:25.
ｄ
Through all the things in our environment and by our failures, our ugly self is torn down, and the Lord has a greater opportunity to work within us—Rom. 8:28-29.
ｅ
One day this process will be completed, and for eternity we will be the same as Christ, God's firstborn Son, in our spirit, soul, and body—1 John 3:2; Rom. 8:19, 23; Hymns, #948, stanza 2.
G
In resurrection Christ in His humanity was designated the Son of God, and by means of such a resurrection we also are in the process of being designated sons of God—Rom. 8:11; 6:5:
１
The process of our being designated, sonized, deified, is the process of resurrection with these main aspects—sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, and glorification—v. 22; 12:2; 8:29-30.
２
The key to the process of designation is resurrection, which is the indwelling Christ as the rising-up Spirit, the designating Spirit, the power of life in our spirit—John 11:25; Rom. 8:6, 10-11; Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:26; 2 Cor. 5:4.
３
We urgently need to learn how to walk according to the spirit, to enjoy and experience the designating Spirit—Rom. 8:4, 14; 10:12.
H
The key point of the entire Christian life is that Christ as the all-inclusive life-giving, designating Spirit lives in our spirit, and as the Spirit He mingles Himself with our spirit to make these two spirits one—1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17:
１
In our mingled spirit there is no problem, so there is no need of solutions; whatever we need is in our spirit—Phil. 1:19; 4:23; cf. Rom. 15:13; Psa. 3:3.
２
We need to forget about our weaknesses, shortcomings, failures, and everything of the self and set our mind on the spirit, that is, to remain in the spirit by always paying attention to our spirit, using our spirit, and caring for our spirit—Rom. 8:6.
３
Even though our surroundings and circumstances may be miserable, we ourselves must be joyful in the spirit, living in the reality of the kingdom of God—14:17; cf. Dan. 3:19-20, 25; Acts 16:23-25; Eph. 4:1.
４
When we are burning and joyful in the spirit, we enjoy God, reign as kings in life, walk in newness of life, and serve in newness of spirit—Rom. 5:10-11, 17; 6:4; 7:6.
５
When we turn to our spirit, remain in our spirit, and walk and live according to our spirit, we are the real sons of God and the living members of Christ, who are organically related with one another and built up together as a living Body to express Christ as a reality in the church life to consummate the New Jerusalem.
Ⅱ
Christ is our Life-Savior, the One who saves us in His life by Himself as the Spirit of life and the Spirit of the Son of God—5:10; 8:2; 1 Cor. 15:45b:
A
Romans reveals that the Spirit of life is doing a fourfold work within us:
１
The Spirit of life is the liberating Spirit:
ａ
When we walk in the Spirit of life, we are freed from the law of sin and of death—Rom. 8:2.
ｂ
It is not knowledge that liberates us but the Spirit of life Himself; therefore, we need to pray ourselves into the liberating Spirit to live, move, and have our being in this Spirit, who is mingled with our spirit—v. 4.
２
The Spirit of life is the delivering Spirit:
ａ
Because we are bound, we need liberation, but because we are fallen, we need deliverance.
ｂ
If we are in the Spirit of life, we will have a deep conviction that we need deliverance from our attitude, motives, thinking, loving, hating, decisions, temper, disposition, and many other items—5:10.
３
The Spirit of life is the sanctifying Spirit:
ａ
To be sanctified is to be saturated through transformation with all that God is— 6:19, 22; 12:2.
ｂ
Sanctification equals transformation in Romans 12:2, which says, "Be transformed by the renewing of the mind."
４
The Spirit of life is the glorifying Spirit:
ａ
Eventually, the Spirit of life will glorify us for the full corporate expression of the Triune God in our entire tripartite being—8:30.
ｂ
He is leading many sons into glory by His divine sanctification to make us His glorious church—Heb. 2:10-11; Eph. 5:26-27.
B
Romans reveals that the Spirit of the Son of God for our sonship is carrying out a fivefold work within us—Gal. 4:6:
１
The Spirit of the Son of God is the witnessing Spirit, witnessing with our spirit that we are children of God—Rom. 8:15-16.
２
The Spirit of the Son of God is the leading Spirit; if we live under this leading, we will walk and behave in a way that proves we are God's sons—v. 14.
３
The Spirit of the Son of God is the interceding Spirit; there is Someone within us who is always praying for us and for others—vv. 26-27.
４
The Spirit of the Son of God is the conforming Spirit, doing a work to conform us to the image of Christ as the firstborn Son of God—v. 29.
５
The Spirit of the Son of God is the building Spirit:
ａ
All the sons of God are the members of Christ, and all these members are built up and coordinated together by the Spirit—12:4-5; Eph. 4:3-4.
ｂ
The mutual membership and organic relatedness in the Body for the proper church life is the ultimate work of the Spirit of life and the Spirit of the Son of God for our sonship.