#6 The Spirit’s Indwelling

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"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" (Rom. 8:14-17).

Did you ever wish you were stronger and more competent for your spiritual struggles? I can't speak for you, but I feel so weak at times. I certainly feel called to tasks that are greater than my paltry abilities. Then I am just plain overwhelmed by my unworthiness. I am a sinner. If Paul was "chief of sinners," I'm at least an assistant chief.

Then I begin reading my Bible again and find that my experience isn't all that unique. The people of God throughout history have been outnumbered and overmatched by the forces of the Evil One — but still have triumphed. God acted around them, on their behalf, and through them to accomplish what no one could have predicted from a purely human point of view:

God did something for those people. He gave them something. He acted on their behalf. Although these precise words are nowhere in their life histories, you could use them of Moses or Ruth, Paul or John Mark: The one working in them was greater than everything else that was working against them.

Wouldn't it be nice to think that something comparable was going on with me in my weak, overwhelmed, and ill-equipped moments? With you in yours? With this church? With believers in places in the world where Christians are being persecuted for their faith? With your children in their temptations?

I am here today to testify that the same thing that went on in the lives of those saints is going on in your life and mine. I am here to claim, in fact, that we have an even clearer promise of divine aid in advance of our needs than those saints had.

The promise- words of Jesus that he would send the Holy Spirit to live not only among but inside the very bodies of his disciples is being fulfilled in us. And my thesis is that a greater awareness of this biblical truth would serve all of us well by reassuring us in our moments of terror and comforting us in our moments of apparent failure.

I know what you do when you feel trapped, weak, and outmatched by the devil. You do the same thing I do. You think about everything behind you, in front of you, and around you that screams "Target!", "Scapegoat!", "Patsy!", "Victim!"

It's time for you to begin hearing the voice of God speak to you in those moments to tell you, "Ah, but look at what's inside you!" And then perhaps these explicit words will come ringing in your ears: "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

Incredible as it sounds, the fact is that God indwells every saved man and woman in the person of the Holy Spirit. Because of what happened to the word in its English usage, we more often speak of the Holy Spirit today than of the Holy Ghost. But I will tell you that I like the original idea inherent in the term Holy Ghost for the simple reason that in seventeenth-century English, the word "ghost" had the essential meaning of our modern "guest."

Thus three centuries ago people would have spoken of the third member of the Godhead as a holy guest among them — without our modern connotations of a "ghost" as a floating, transparent bed sheet. A Halloween weirdo. A disembodied human being.

Frankly, I love the idea of God as our Holy Guest down here on Planet Earth! He is with us. He is among us. He is in our hearts, minds, and bodies to act for heaven on our behalf. There are so many Scripture texts that affirm it.

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 (Rom. 8:9-11).

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit (1 John 4:12-13).

Most people in my heritage understand the first half of Acts 2:38 to be pretty important, but some of us are a bit fuzzy on the second half. "Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

We understand the apostle's instruction about repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus; we continue to teach and stress these biblical commandments to people seeking pardon and hope. But we need to teach with equal emphasis that the new life of a disciple to Jesus Christ is not doomed to be just another version of past attempts at self-help recovery from addictions, moral failures, and vices greater than our personal or collective ability to handle as humans.

The personal presence of God that indwells every Christian through the Holy Spirit is a promise of victory to feeble, struggling, overmatched people like us. In spite of anything behind you (i.e., in your personal past, in your genetic makeup, in your marital record, in your criminal record, etc.), around you (i.e., bad circumstances, poor options, enemies, slander), or in front of you (i.e., deadlines, ultimatums, consequences, death), you have something — no Some-ONE — inside you who is omnipotent, eternal, and omniscient. You and he together are a match for anything! You and God are an overwhelming majority against any and all odds Satan can bring against you! Here is why it is so, as explained by Paul in the text for this lesson.

First, the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit is proof of your established and certified family relationship with God.

According to Paul: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Rom. 8:16). Both here and at Galatians 4:6, the apostle affirms that the Holy Guest whom God sends into the hearts, minds, and bodies of his people speaks of sonship (and daughterhood!) to himself: "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.'"

Here Paul represents the Holy Spirit calling out to heaven on our behalf to remind God that "Larry is your son!" or "Linda is your daughter!" In other words, he is pleading our case. He is letting the Sovereign of the Universe know that some struggling soul down below is not a stranger or would-be visitor at the door but one of his children.

"He's in trouble again, God!" "You're going to have to bail her out again, Father!" It's as if the understood premise is: "I know you wouldn't do this for anybody but one of your own family!" In another place, Paul says the Holy Spirit is the "stamp" or "trademark" or "brand" on each of God's people — the mark that indicates ownership (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).

Second, the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the basis for boldness in your spiritual struggles.

Not only Satan but our own humanly devised systems and rules tend to generate a spirit of bondage, oppression, and fear. "The God who made the birds never made birdcages," Oswald Chambers once said. "It is men who make birdcages, and after a while we become cramped and can do nothing but chirp and stand on one leg. When we get out into God's great free life, we discover that that is the way God meant us to live in ‘the glorious liberty of the children of God.'" And I might also add: "in the splendid boldness of the family of God."

In our original text for today, Paul reminded his readers: "You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit who makes you sons (Rom. 8:15)."

With the new status (i.e., child of God) comes a new boldness. There was enough bondage and fear in the old life! God doesn't mean for you to bring it into the new one. Even if you are still paying the consequences of some of the things you did back there, you are supposed to get your chin up, walk with a confident stride, move ahead with your life now.

God has set you free from the guilt and power of sin. So be fearless today. Be audacious about your prospects. Live as a confident child — not as a cringing slave — in your Father's presence.

Third, claim the presence of God's indwelling Holy Spirit as the ground of your security in Christ.

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ . . ." (Rom. 8:17a).

The confident assurance that you will outgrow your spiritual immaturity is tied up with the Spirit's presence and power in your life. The almost- swaggering confidence you have about overcoming an addiction that has kept you in bondage to sin for so long is rooted in his power at work in you, not your own.

The enthusiasm you feel for going on with your life in spite of some of the awful things in your past is due entirely to his enabling grace, not your perceived rights.

The temple God dwells in today is not in Jerusalem or Mecca or Salt Lake City. According to the Word of God, it is your body. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" (1 Cor. 6:18).

Reach up and touch your head right now. That is the data bank and communications center of God's living temple. Wiggle your fingers now. Those are service appliances or utility implements for divine service. Think that's a stretch? In the context of 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul is arguing that, since one's body belongs to God, joining it with someone to commit fornication is equivalent to temple defilement.

The same thing would be true of your eyes glued to pornography, your hands taking something that doesn't belong to you, your feet and legs transporting you to a place where things that dishonor God are happening, etc. You get the picture, don't you? Your body as a divine temple is meant to speak both security and holiness to you.

Fourth, the indwelling Holy Spirit is also proof of a unity and partnership with Christ that is so intimate that it will allow you to share in every experience he has had.

"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" (Rom. 8:17b).

You will definitely share in his glory at his return (cf. 1 John 3:2). Since that is so, it should not be surprising that you may also be required to share in some of his sufferings in the meanwhile. You may be opposed because you care about or choose to do the right thing when others are willing to drift with the flow. You may experience the heartbreak of being rejected by friends or abandoned by family. Or your suffering may come in the form of cancer, crippling arthritis, automobile accident, or death.

Because you are partnered with Christ, though, even suffering means something different than it otherwise could have. Because you are not only indwelt but empowered by the Holy Spirit, you will be enabled both to endure and to prevail. The Holy Guest will supply everything you need. In your weakness, you will feel his strength. Not only through the exhortation of the Word of God but in your daily routine, you will hear from and experience the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a close association between the Word of God and the Spirit of God. But they are not the same. Their relationship is document to author, weapon to warrior, aspiration to competence.

And while their relationship is important, it is not mutually exhaustive. Having a Bible isn't the same has being filled with the Spirit. Even sincere and diligent obedience to the steps to holiness we discern in the Bible isn't the same as "walking by the Spirit" or being "led by the Spirit."

One writer compares the role of the Spirit in our lives to a guy who wants to learn to dance. He's a rational, intelligent sort of guy, so he goes to the bookstore and buys a how-to book. He takes it home and begins studying. He does everything it says with meticulous care. When the instructions say sway, he sways. When the instructions say lean, he leans. When the instructions say spin, he spins. He even cuts out paper footprints and arranges them on the family room floor so he will know exactly where to step.

Finally, he thinks he's got it down pat. He calls his wife in and says, "Honey, watch!" With book in hand and reading aloud so she'll know he's done his homework, he follows the instructions step by step. It says, "Take one step with your right foot." So he takes one step with his right foot. Then it says, "Turn slowly to the left." He turns slowly to the left. He keeps it up, reading and then moving, reading and dancing, through the whole thing.

Then he collapses exhausted on the sofa and says to his wife, "What do you think? I executed it perfectly!" To which she replies, "You executed it all right. You killed it!"

The confused husband says, "But I followed the rules, I laid out the pattern, I did everything the book said . . ."

"But," she sighs, "you forgot the most important part. Where was the music?"

With that, she puts on a CD. "Try it again. Quit worrying about the steps and just follow the music." She holds out her hand, and he gets up and takes it. The music starts, and the next thing the guy knows he's dancing — without the book!

"We Christians are prone to follow the book while ignoring the music. We master the doctrine, outline the chapters, memorize the dispensations, debate the rules, and stiffly step down the dance floor of life with no music in our hearts. Dancing with no music is tough stuff. Jesus knew that. For that reason, on the night before His death He introduced the disciples to the song maker of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit."

If you will let him be your Holy Guest and move to the music he makes, you will be — to borrow Paul's language from Galatians 5:25 — "in step with the Spirit."

A member of the family of God. Bolder in your struggles with temptation and the Evil One. Secure in your status as a co-heir with Christ. And living in spiritual unity with him — awaiting his glory, yet willing to suffer in the meanwhile.

Why, you're not as alone as you've felt at times. Now that you know it, maybe it will help you to take heart for what still lies ahead.

“Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmity: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. “And he who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26-27).

Much controversy surrounds this passage as to its particulars. In this essay, we will set forth the view that we feel best conforms to the overall context of Romans 8, together with the grammatical particulars that are employed in these two verses.

Romans 8 is a chapter that rings with Christian assurance. One can be confident of his salvation in Christ, provided he does not pursue the life of the “flesh;” rather, he walks after the leading of the Spirit (vv. 1-4), Whose guidance is effected through the Scriptures He inspired (Eph. 5:18; cf. Col. 3:16; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 6:17).

The leading of that holy revelation generates “life and peace” (vs. 6). Our confidence is grounded in the fact that the indwelling Spirit eventually will be instrumental in effecting life for our mortal bodies by means of the bodily resurrection from the dead (vv. 11, 23). By the leading of the Spirit we may be assured of our status as “sons of God” (vs. 14).

Moreover, the Spirit Himself bears witness with the Christian’s personal spirit, confirming our child-father relationship with God (vs. 16). Our knowledge of the indwelling Spirit, which relationship is a “first-fruits” of that yet promised, enables us to cope with “the sufferings of this present time,” and so to live in hope of the glory that is to come (vv. 18-25).

A cursory reading of the first twenty-five verses of this remarkable chapter clearly reveals the role of the Holy Spirit in this marvelous reliance the child of God may entertain relative to his future destiny. In this section alone, the third Person of the Godhead is alluded to no less than fourteen times. This emphasis, we believe, contributes to our understanding of verses 26-27. We now direct our attention to a consideration of the precise language of these two passages.

In like manner

The couplet begins with the phrase, “In like manner the Spirit also helps our infirmity . . . .” The phrase, “in like manner,” directs the student’s attention back into the previous context. The allusion most likely is to the “hope” just mentioned (vv. 24-25).

Just as our awareness of the Holy Spirit, as a presence in our lives (vv. 9, 11, 23), provides us with “hope” for the future, “in like manner,” we may take consolation in the fact that the Spirit is an abiding companion, assisting with our present infirmity.

J.B. Phillips paraphrases as follows: “The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations.”

The Spirit

To what does the expression “the Spirit” refer in this passage? While a few sincere students have alleged that this is an allusion to the human spirit, the overwhelming majority of competent Bible scholars are confident that it refers to the third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. The following points, we believe, are worthy of serious thought.

While this procedure is a translating judgment, it does indicate the prevailing view of these renown scholars. In addition to these, there are numerous one-person versions that join the chorus (e.g., Phillips, Weymouth, Bruce, Goodspeed, Verkuyl (Berkeley), Williams, Wuest, Beck, McCord, etc.).

We mention these to emphasize the fact that the unusual view, which alleges that the term “Spirit” in Romans 8:26-27 is the human spirit, does not have the support of the respectable scholarship of the biblical world.

The “Spirit” here is not a component of the saint himself. One does not intercede for himself (see below).

Similarly, “we know not how to pray as we ought” reflects first person emphasis, yet the phrase “the Spirit itself [himself ASV] makes intercession” manifests a third person structure.

Moreover, if the human spirit were in view, one would think that pneuma would take a plural form (spirits) to conform to the plurals “our” and “we know not,” i.e., the sense would be “our spirits help our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but our spirits themselves make intercession for us . . . .”

Quite obviously this does not conform to what the original text actually says, and, frankly, doesn’t express a sensible thought.

The “but” (de) functions as an adversative particle here. Note the contrast in verses 22-23. “. . . [T]he whole world groans . . . . And not only so, but (de) ourselves also....” Clearly the “Spirit” is an entity separate from the “we.”

Let us say the same thing, but in a slightly different way. There is the affirmation that “we know not.” Since it is the “spirit” within man that is capable of either “knowing” or “not knowing” (1 Cor. 2:11), and, as this passage asserts that “we know not,” that is the equivalent of saying that our spirit does not know. But the implication of this passage is that the Spirit (under consideration here) does know. Thus the Spirit, here in view, is not the human spirit.

But in verse 26, there is a compound term, huperentunchano, which signifies “to make a petition or intercede on behalf of another” (Vine, 424). The word is multifaceted: the main stem is tugchano, “to happen,” together with en, “in,” and huper, “on behalf of.” The addition of huper onto the front of the word merely intensifies the force of the base word (cf. Chamberlain, 147); it does not imply another intecessor, in addition to the Holy Spirit.

Guy Woods observed that the word suggests “to happen just in the nick of time, for our assistance.” He adds:

“How comforting it is, when exhausted and weary from heavy burdens, to have a friend or brother come along, and lend a willing hand until the task is done. Such is the picture presented us in this verb of the Holy Spirit’s aid” (72).

Note how the term entunchano is elsewhere used. Christ, at the right hand of God, “makes intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34). Again, the Lord “ever lives to make intercession for us” (Heb. 7:25). In addition, a noun form of the word (in the plural) is used in 1 Timothy 2:1, to describe the petitions we make on behalf others (e.g., rulers).

Here is the point: one does not intercede on his own behalf. The fact that the Spirit intercedes for us is evidence that “the Spirit” is someone other than ourselves.

It is sometimes objected that the Holy Spirit cannot be the One interceding for us, because Christ is said to accomplish that task. What is the problem in having more than one intercessor on my behalf? If hundreds of Christians can intercede for me (1 Tim. 2:1), why cannot both Christ and the Spirit intercede on my behalf? The objection is not logical.

Roy Lanier, Sr. observed that all three Persons of the Godhead are said to “sanctify” us (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 2:11; Rom. 15:16) (60). No one, so far as we can determine, sees any conflict in this. Neither are two intercessors problematic in Romans 8.

For these reasons, at the very least, it is almost incomprehensible to this writer that anyone should take the position that the “Spirit” in this context is anything other than the Holy Spirit of God.

Also helps our infirmity

The verb “helps” is most fascinating. In the Greek Testament, it is a present tense form, suggesting sustained activity. The original word is sunantilambano, consisting of these elements - sun (with), anti (over against, facing), lambano (to take up).

The picture conveyed is that of two persons sharing a load. The term is used elsewhere in the New Testament only in Luke 10:40, where Martha implores Jesus to bid Mary, her sister, to “help” her. One can almost imagine a heavy piece of furniture that needs moving.

In his massive grammar of the Greek New Testament, A.T. Robertson provides the sense in our present context:

“The Holy Spirit lays hold of our weakness along with (sun) us and carries his part of the burden facing us (anti) as if two men were carrying a log, one at each end” (573).

Samuel Green noted that the expression signifies “to help by coming into association with” (152). It certainly suggests an assistance, other than one’s self, in dealing with our limitations in communicating adequately with God.

The Greek word for “infirmity” is astheneia, a compound term signifying “without strength.” The better textual evidence has it in the singular; it is a common infirmity shared by all Christians. It suggests an inability to produce a desired result (whatever may be indicated by the context).

While the immediate text focuses upon the Christian’s lack of knowledge in knowing “how to pray” with absolute precision, the Spirit’s function, in assisting with the entire panorama of human difficulties, with which we struggle, may be hinted of as well (cf. Murray, 311).

For example, it is entirely probable that the divine Spirit is active in the orchestration of providential benevolence on behalf of the children of God. Jesus once promised that the Father will “give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him” (Lk. 11:13). In a parallel reference, God is said to “give good things to them that ask him” (Mt. 7:11).

The use of “Holy Spirit” in Luke’s version appears to be an example of the figure known as metonymy, in this case, the cause being put for the effect (see Horne, I.359). The Spirit is named for the blessings he effects. This strongly hints of the providential activity of the Spirit of God in the lives of the saints.

It is not inappropriate that we briefly discuss what the Spirit of God does not do on our behalf. There is a common idea in the community of “Christendom” that the Scriptures are not sufficiently clear for human beings to understand, hence, the Spirit operates in a mysterious way so as to “help” us comprehend the meaning of the sacred text. This concept is called the “illumination” of the Spirit.

“Without an illumination of the Holy Scriptures [by the Spirit], no man can understand God’s divine, infallible revelation ... illumination [is] the means by which the Scriptures are made clear to the reader” (Pfeiffer, et al., 831).

For we know not how to pray as we ought

In this phrase, our pitiful, limited knowledge of the ideal will of God is dramatically underscored. We think we have the avenue of prayer perfected, but how woefully mistaken we are. We sometimes pray for things which, if supplied, would be most harmful to us. There is much truth in the saying that “one of life’s greatest blessings can be unanswered prayers” (cf. 2 Cor. 12:8-9).

Too, there are deep needs that we have, but of which we are unaware. Accordingly, we do not think to pray for them. And so, we do not “know” how to pray as we ought.

The verb rendered “know” is oida, which Vine suggests has to do more with “fullness of knowledge” (444). Wuest thus renders the phrase: “we do not know with an absolute knowledge” (366).

Though the verb is a perfect tense form technically, it yields a present tense sense (Arndt, 558), which indicates that we never master the art of expressing our prayer needs adequately. The Christian will always need the Spirit’s assistance.

But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us

The expression “Spirit himself” is emphatic; it expresses an activity of the Holy Spirit personally, rather than what He may accomplish through a representative medium (cf. Jn. 4:2). While the pronoun auto (“itself” KJV; “himself” ASV) is a neuter form, it is more appropriate here to render it as a masculine, since the Holy Spirit is a Person, not a thing. This has the precedent of Scripture itself (cf. Jn. 14:26 where the masculine ekeinos is used of the “Spirit” - a neuter term).

With groanings which cannot be uttered

The term “groanings” (stenagmois) denotes a sigh or groan. It is used (in various forms) more than fifty times in the Greek version of the Old Testament, and it reflects a “human lament” which suffering people are powerless to remedy on their own (Balz, 3.272). For instance, it describes the anguish of the Israelite people under the burdens of Egypt (Ex. 2:23; cf. Acts 7:34).

The notion that the “groanings” refer to “speaking in tongues” is to be rejected totally. Stott comments:

“These groans can hardly be glossolalia, since those ‘tongues’ or languages were expressed in words which some could understand and interpret” (245).

But whose groanings are these? Though some would attribute them to the Holy Spirit, the better view appears to be that they are the Christian’s groanings, which are conveyed, on his behalf, by the Spirit unto God. Clearly the term refers to the Christian’s plight a few verses earlier in this chapter (vs.23), though a different point of focus is in view.

The context seems to suggest that the “groanings” originate because “we know not how to pray as we ought” in a knowledgeable and articulate way. It would seem, therefore, more in harmony with the general tenor of the Bible as a whole, then, to conclude that it is the Christian who gives rise to these “mute sighs, the expression of which is suppressed by grief” (Thayer, 25), rather than the “groanings” issuing from the omnipotent Spirit of God.

“Surely the Holy Spirit who has the ability to completely reveal the mind of God to man would have no difficulty in pleading man’s cause to God” (350).

It is not impossible, though, that there may be a blending of two thoughts. Some think that the “groanings,” though originating with the Christian, actually are “shared by the Holy Spirit and the believer” (McComiskey, 2.424).

John Stott suggests that “the Holy Spirit identifies with our groans,” so that “[w]e and he groan together” (245). One thing is certain. When the “groanings” reach God, they are perfectly clear to him.

It is imperative, though, that we emphasize this point. It must not be concluded that the Father could not know of our plight apart from the Spirit’s intercession; no, rather, it is the role of the Spirit as a companion in the Christian’s life that is being emphasized. His work has been divinely orchestrated, consistent with the planning of the entire Godhead.

“Since [the Holy Spirit] dwells in Christians, he helps them in the act of prayer. Prayer is to God the Father in the name of Christ, and by the help of the Holy Spirit. Hence, each member of the Godhead is included in acceptable prayer” (256).

And he who searches the hearts

The heart-searcher of this passage is generally conceded to be God, the Father, mentioned subsequently in the verse. God is said to “search” the heart of man.

The word means to examine, to investigate. It is a form of the figure known as anthropomorphism (representing God with human traits), the design of which, in this text, is to emphasize the all-knowing aspect of deity (cf. 1 Chron. 28:9; Psa. 7:9; Prov. 17:3; 1 Thes. 2:4). Similar expressions are used both of Christ (Rev. 2:23) and of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10).

The present tense form argues for the concept of a God who is ever aware of our needs. The “heart,” of course, is the soul or spirit of man, the rational, feeling aspect of the human being - that part made in the very image of God Himself (Gen. 1:26-27; Dan. 7:15; 1 Cor. 2:11; Rom. 10:9-10).

Knows what is the mind of the Spirit

Again the verb (oida), employed as a present tense (see above), reveals the fact that the Father and the Spirit are constantly in close communication with One Another, if we may express ourselves in the same sort of accommodative language discussed just above. God is ever aware of the Spirit’s insights into our souls, hence can adequately respond to our needs.

Cottrell suggests that Paul’s argument here is one where the reasoning proceeds from the less likely to the more likely.

“If God knows what is in the minds of created beings who are qualitatively different from him and relatively independent of him, then surely he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit himself, who is qualitatively equal with God and one in nature with him” (1.498).

Because [that - ASVfn] he intercedes for the sainst

The present tense of the verb (intercedes) depicts the characteristic activity of the Spirit on behalf of the Christian. For the meaning of “intercede,” see above.

The term “saints” (hagion), as used in the New Testament, is a general term for those who are faithful to God. It is commonly used for the members of various congregations of the Lord’s people (cf. Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1). It is linguistically related to the words “holy” (hagios), and “sanctified” (hagiazo). It refers to a person who, by virtue of his obedience to the gospel plan of salvation (cf. Eph. 5:26), and his consecration of life, has become “separated unto God” (cf. 1 Thes. 4:3-4, 7; Rom. 6:19, 22; Heb. 12:14).

The Holy Spirit is delighted to operate on behalf of a people dedicated to righteousness. The Roman Catholic concept of “sainthood” bears utterly no relationship to the New Testament Scriptures.

According to the will of God

The Greek text simply says: “. . . according to God.” The translators of both the KJV and the ASV have supplied the words “the will of” (as indicated by the italics) for clarification purposes. God the Father and the Holy Spirit operate in perfect unison in the interest of Christian people.

Perhaps it is not out of place at this point to remind ourselves that, unlike the so-called “gods” of the ancient pagan world, the members of the sacred Godhead are never at variance with One Another. They function in absolute harmony.

As we conclude this rather detailed discussion, perhaps we could sum up, with a commentary-paraphrase that brings everything together.

Just as we entertain a precious hope for the future as a result of the promised activity of the Spirit of God, in like manner, even now, the Spirit helps us by taking hold with us of our infirmity.

Especially is this true in the matter of our prayers; we just do not know how to fully address our needs in prayer. On this account, therefore, the Spirit personally pleads our case. He takes the sighs which reflect the true needs of our souls, which we are unable to put into words that form a proper request, and He conveys them on our behalf to God.

And God, Who is perfectly familiar with the inner workings of the human mind, and Who certainly knows the mind of the Spirit, responds to our needs. He honors the role of the Spirit Who is making intercession on behalf of those who have been set apart for divine service by virtue of their obedience to the truth.

Yes, God answers according to his will, rather than according to our superficial requests.

Most Bible students would agree that this marvelous pair of verses, dealing with the work of the Spirit of God on behalf of Christians, is one of the most thrilling one can contemplate. Surely there are things about these verses that as yet challenge our understanding.

In spite of the limited scope of our comprehension, there is enough here to almost take away one’s breath! Thanks be to the divine Godhead for Their precious interest in those who love Them and are submissive to Their will.

Balz, Horst & Schneider, Gerhard (1993), Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
Boles, H. Leo (1983), The Holy Spirit - His Personality, Nature, and Works (Nashville: Gospel Advocate).
Bromiley, G.W., Ed. (1982), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), Four Volumes.
Chamberlain, William D. (1979), An Exegetical Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker).
Cottrell, Jack (1996), Romans - The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press).
Green, Samuel (1907), Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament (London: Religious Tract Society).
Horne, Thomas (1841), A Critical Introduction to the Holy Scriptures (Philadelphia: J. Whetham & Son).
Lanier, Roy H., Sr. (n.d.), Class Notes on Romans (Denver, CO: Privately Published).
McComiskey, T. (1976), Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Colin Brown, Ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).
Murray, John (1968), The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
Nichols, Hardeman (1980), What Do You Know About The Holy Spirit?, Wendell Winkler, Ed. (Hurst, TX: Winkler Publications).
Pfeiffer, C.F., Vos, Howard, Rea, John (1998), Wycliffe Bible Dictionary (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).
Robertson, A.T. (1919), A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (London: Hodder & Stoughton).
Stott, John (1994), Romans: God’s Good News for the World (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity).
Thayer, J.H. (1958), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark).
Vine, W.E. (1991), Vine’s Amplified Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Iowa Falls: World).
Woods, Guy N. (1970), How To Read The Greek New Testament (Nashville: Gospel Advocate).
Wuest, Kenneth (1961), The New Testament - An Expanded Translation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).

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