The Power of the Spirit
The power of the Spirit makes victory over the Flesh possible for the children of God. The seventh chapter speaks of conflict. The eighth chapter speaks of the victory. The struggle itself should not be interpreted negatively but positively. The presence of inner conflict is a sign of life. However, the believer can’t defeat the power of sin on his/her own. The believer has a Helper in this struggle—the indwelling Spirit.
The principle of life brought to us by the Spirit is the only power that can set us free from the principle of sin and death. We are only set free from sin in Christ, not through the efforts of self-discipline. If we could have set ourselves free from sin then the Law would have accomplished this task. But what the Law could not accomplish, because of our own weakness, God has done for us in Christ. We needed a Savior, not just another Law to keep. But Paul does not say that Christ kept the Law for us, although He did perfectly keep the Law. He kept the Law perfectly so that He could be our substitute. But sin was taken away so that the Spirit could then dwell in us. Now that we have the Spirit if we walk after the Spirit, we will keep the requirements of the Law.
Paul returns again to these two opposing principles: Spirit and Flesh. Either the Spirit or the Flesh will control our minds, and whatever the mind is fixed upon will control the deeds of the body. We live out through our bodies what captivates our minds. The person whose mind is fixed upon the desires or agenda of the Flesh cannot live unto God. In fact, that person will be a rebel who is hostile to God. The only person who can successfully live unto God must have their mind controlled by the Spirit.
Now Paul seems to be saying that if we do in fact have the Spirit dwelling in us, the presence of the Spirit will effectively end the dominion of the Flesh. If this is not the case then we don't have the Spirit and we do not belong to Christ. The Spirit of Christ dwelling in us will give life to our bodies, which were once used as instruments of sin, but will now be used to serve God. So the Believer who has the Spirit owes no allegiance to the Flesh to serve its desires. There is power to say "No!" to sin.
If the Believer's mortal body can be compared to a house, then the management of the house has changed, and this means the House is now a place God can use for Himself. If we live under the management of the Spirit then this is the evidence that we are in fact the sons of God. Sons are free to please the Father. The Sons are free and are no longer in slavery to sin and fear.
The Hope of Glory
The believer lives in the hope of full redemption, which is glorification, when the Flesh will be put away forever. One writer captures Paul's intent perfectly: "Sanctification is the End of the Age being applied to our existence now" (Graeme Goldsworthy).
Sons are also heirs which implies that there is something still to come that we will inherit. We are becoming like Jesus, the heir of all things. But we must also suffer like Him if we are going to one day be glorified like Him. The Sons of God suffer now because the work of redemption is not yet complete. Glory is the final phase of redemption and it will be far weightier than any suffering that precedes it. And suffering must precede glory, as we saw in the Captain of our Salvation.
We live in a World that has not yet been redeemed. The Creation is waiting for the glorification of the Sons of God. God is not done with Creation. Creation's glory is wrapped up in our glory, which is wrapped up in Christ's glory. God cursed the creation because of man's sin, in hope of redeeming both mankind and Creation. Creation will be set free from death when the Sons of God are finally set free from death. Creation is suffering the pains of childbirth—a new creation is being born. The Holy Spirit in us has already made us a new creation, but the body is not yet redeemed. We were saved for this glory: new bodies to match a new man and to live in a new creation. When all of that happens then the work will be finished. In the meantime we suffer and we groan, longing for the work to be finished. We are weak in our present state.
Paul's purpose is to convince us that God's purpose will be finished and nothing can stop it. There is no chance that God's purpose of glorifying those in Christ will fail or be aborted. Those in Christ will be conformed to the image of Christ. This is God's predetermined purpose. Christ is the Firstborn of a new, glorified race! God has invested Himself in this purpose. He gave His Son for this purpose. If the purpose is not completed then Christ died for nothing. The present intercession of Christ is proof that God has not given up on His purpose and His people. There is no suffering, evil power, or opposition that we face in this world that can keep us from glory if we are in Christ. The believer must be certain of this because we will go through suffering and opposition on our way to Glory. We must know that nothing can stop God's plan to glorify those in Christ because if we are not convinced of this the suffering and the opposition will overcome us. Going through suffering is not a sign of God's abandonment. On the contrary it is the love of God working for us.
Summary and Conclusion
Salvation has three distinct aspects, or phases. There is justification, where the believer's sin is taken away and a new status is bestowed. There is sanctification, where the believer lives by the Spirit unto God and puts to death the sins of the old life. And finally, in the future, there is glorification, where the believer will inhabit a new body that is free from all of the effects of sin and death. Paul, in Romans 5-8, wants to make it clear that the believer is more than just a justified sinner.
The believer is a New Man in Christ and this new principle of life in Christ Jesus will be obvious and worked out in practical ways. It is reasonable to conclude from this that if a person who is justified does not continue on into sanctification, but instead continues to be dominated by the Flesh, then that individual will not be fit for the final stage of glorification. There are truncated views of salvation that allow for a believer to feel secure while never progressing in sanctification. It should also be made clear that we do not achieve sanctification by our own efforts alone, but through the Spirit.
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