YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Romans 8 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams

Romans 8 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

by Heritage Press · 4,102 words · 708 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00So, in the previous chapter, chapter
0:02seven, Paul has presented that the
0:05carnal man must die in repentance,
0:09meaning he must no longer have control
0:11over your choices
0:13in order for you to legitimately marry
0:15the Lord Jesus.
0:17And then he's shown
0:18>> [music]
0:18>> that that struggle is going to go on in
0:20your life.
0:22And victory doesn't look like the
0:24silence of temptation.
0:27Victory doesn't look like the absence of
0:29a struggle with your flesh. It looks
0:31like [music] a refusal to ever let him
0:33get back on the throne and become your
0:35master.
0:36So, through Jesus Christ, [music] you
0:39keep the old man dead.
0:40And then he starts Romans 8:1
0:44to finish out that theme and show us how
0:48we keep the old man dead, how we keep
0:51the [music] victory through Jesus Christ
0:53our Lord. Okay?
0:56Romans 8 verse one.
0:59Therefore,
1:01there is now no condemnation
1:04for those who are in Christ Jesus,
1:10who walk not according to the flesh, but
1:13according to the spirit.
1:17So, the tension between the two men in
1:20Paul's life,
1:22Paul the fleshly sinner and Paul the
1:24born-again saint,
1:26is
1:28whether he's going to walk according to
1:29the flesh or according to the spirit.
1:34Therefore, there is now no condemnation
1:36to those who are in Christ Jesus, who
1:38walk not according to the flesh, but
1:40according to the spirit. For the law of
1:43the spirit
1:44of life
1:46in Christ Jesus has set you free from
1:49the law of sin and [clears throat]
1:52death.
1:54So, there's two laws.
1:56There's the law of sin and death, and
1:58there's the law of the spirit and life.
2:01And that's the newness of the spirit
2:03that empowers you. If you're walking by
2:06the spirit, you will not fulfill the
2:08lusts of the flesh.
2:10For what the law of Moses could not do,
2:13weak as it was through the flesh,
2:16God did, sending his son in the likeness
2:19of sinful flesh, and as an offering for
2:22sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.
2:25So that the requirement of the law
2:29might be fulfilled in us who do not walk
2:33according to the flesh, but according to
2:35the spirit.
2:37So here's the whole resolution of what
2:38we've been discussing.
2:40He's not talking about the Levitical
2:42system.
2:43He says the requirement of the law. Now,
2:46that does not mean, as some dishonest
2:49interpreters will say, that we need we
2:51need to now fulfill the whole old
2:53Levitical law. That's not the law he's
2:55talking about. He says the righteous
2:58requirement of the law might be
3:01fulfilled, not
3:03enacted in all its detail, but
3:05fulfilled. So we ask, what is the
3:07fulfillment of the law?
3:09Love the Lord your God with all your
3:10heart, soul, mind, and strength, and
3:12love your neighbor as yourself. This is
3:14the fulfillment. This sums up the law
3:17and the prophets. Okay? So when God gave
3:20us the spirit, now what the law could
3:23not do, weak as it was through the
3:25flesh, now
3:27it can happen.
3:29The requirement of the law might be
3:31fulfilled in us who do not walk
3:35according to the flesh, but according to
3:38the spirit.
3:40The spirit is the liberation from that
3:44man of sin that Paul is tormented by,
3:47and you are tormented by, and I am
3:49tormented by.
3:51The law of the spirit to live in the
3:54spirit, to live in the anointing, to
3:57live in the truth, to live in the grace
4:01of what God has poured out through the
4:02spirit.
4:03For those who are according to the flesh
4:07set their minds on the things of the
4:10flesh, but those who are according to
4:12the spirit, the things of the spirit.
4:17He's talking about what's controlling
4:18our lives and he says, "It all happens
4:21here. The mind is the control center."
4:24And if your mind dwells on the flesh, if
4:27your mind is fixed on the flesh, what
4:29the flesh wants, what the flesh needs,
4:31what the flesh's ambitions are,
4:34what the flesh fears,
4:36who the flesh blames, what the flesh
4:38hasn't forgiven,
4:40if that's what your mind is,
4:43then those who are according to the
4:45flesh set their minds on the things of
4:46the flesh, but those who are according
4:48to the spirit set their minds on the
4:50things of the spirit. When you've been
4:52converted to the spirit, you want to
4:54know what God is speaking, what God is
4:56doing, what the spirit is saying and how
4:59he's moving.
5:01Him He who has ears, let him hear what
5:03the spirit is saying to the churches.
5:06For the mind set on the flesh is death,
5:09but the mind set on the spirit is life
5:11and peace.
5:13Paul has described a war in Romans 7
5:15and now he's going to show us how to win
5:17it in Romans 8.
5:19And the war is obviously between your
5:21fleshly man and your spiritual man.
5:25But the big question is who controls the
5:27mind.
5:29For the mind set on the flesh is death.
5:33Your mind is the command center of your
5:36life.
5:37And if your mind is consumed with the
5:39things that your flesh wants,
5:42your flesh fears,
5:45your flesh hates,
5:48then you're not going to please God.
5:50But the mind set on the spirit is life,
5:54because the mind set on the flesh is
5:57hostile toward God.
6:00For it does not subject itself to the
6:02law of God, for it is not even able to
6:04do so.
6:05And those who are in the flesh cannot
6:08please God.
6:11So Paul said in Romans 7
6:14that there was something in him that was
6:16warring against God's will. What is the
6:19thing in you that is hostile, meaning
6:22warring against God?
6:24The mind
6:26set on the flesh is hostile toward God.
6:28Everything God wants to do in your life
6:31is going to be stopped by your carnal
6:34mind.
6:36Until that carnal mind is subjected to
6:39the spirit of God.
6:41You're going to process his promises
6:44through the wood chipper of your carnal
6:46thinking until they come out ruined.
6:49This carnal mind that argues your way
6:52out of responsibility,
6:54that deflects all blame onto others,
6:58that rationalizes the things we should
7:00not do.
7:02It's all here.
7:04This is the tree of knowledge.
7:08Those who are in the flesh cannot please
7:10God. However, you are not in the flesh,
7:13but in the spirit.
7:15Remember, he's writing to Christians.
7:17You're in the spirit, he says, if
7:22It's not automatic that you're in the
7:23spirit.
7:25It's not assumed that just because
7:27you're a member of the Roman church,
7:28you're in the spirit.
7:30That you're one of the saints of God at
7:32Rome that he's writing the letter to.
7:33It's not assumed. He says, "You're not
7:35in the flesh, you're in the spirit if
7:39indeed, meaning in actuality,
7:42the spirit of God dwells
7:45in you.
7:48Does the spirit of God live inside of
7:51you? Notice he does not say if you had
7:54an experience with the spirit 10 Sundays
7:57ago.
7:58He said if he lives in you.
8:01If he dwells in you. But if anyone does
8:04not have the spirit of Christ,
8:07he does not belong
8:09>> [snorts]
8:09>> to him.
8:11We belong to God when God sets his seal
8:15upon us by giving us his spirit.
8:19To receive God's spirit is to surrender
8:21our life to him.
8:24To steal it away from self and surrender
8:28it to God.
8:30You can't have the spirit without
8:32yielding yourself to belong to God.
8:35He wants to take possession of your
8:37thoughts, your feelings, your past, your
8:40future, your words, your actions. Do you
8:44belong to God?
8:46If anyone has not the spirit of Christ,
8:48he does not belong to him.
8:50If Christ is in you,
8:52though the body is dead because of sin,
8:55yet the spirit is alive for
8:58righteousness.
8:59Where does righteousness come into your
9:01life? Through the spirit. That's why the
9:02spirit's alive in you. He wants to make
9:04you righteous. He wants to empower you
9:07to bear fruit to God like he said in the
9:09last chapter.
9:12And what does he mean when he says
9:14though the body is dead because of sin?
9:15Means your body's under a curse.
9:18Your body's not redeemed yet.
9:21We're waiting eagerly for the redemption
9:23of our bodies. But your body today still
9:26gets a cold. It still gets cancer.
9:30It still breaks limbs. Jesus' body is
9:32redeemed, but yours is not.
9:35So your body is under death. It's dead
9:37because of sin, but your spirit's
9:39redeemed.
9:41Inside of you is the spirit of God and
9:44that's going to empower you for
9:46righteousness.
9:49But if the spirit of him who raised
9:51Jesus from the dead
9:53lives in you now,
9:56dwells in you, he who raised Christ
9:58Jesus from the dead will also give life
10:01to your mortal bodies through his spirit
10:03who presently dwells in you.
10:06So he's saying one day your body's going
10:08to be redeemed. He's going to give life
10:10to the mortal part of you.
10:12But right now he's already given life to
10:13the immortal part of you, your soul,
10:15your heart.
10:17He's going to give life. He's going to
10:18give resurrection to the immortal part
10:21of you. So then brethren, we are under
10:23obligation not to the flesh
10:26to live according to the flesh.
10:29For if you are living according to the
10:30flesh, you must die.
10:35He's saying if the flesh is still your
10:37master, if you haven't resolved the
10:39conflict I described in Romans 7, you're
10:41going to die.
10:44But if by the spirit you are putting to
10:48death the deeds of the body, you will
10:51live.
10:53Notice the tense.
10:55He doesn't say if by the spirit you once
10:57put to death your flesh.
10:59Once repented, always repented, you're
11:02you're alive. He says if by the spirit
11:04you are putting to death.
11:07You're still fighting the good fight.
11:09You're still choosing the voice of God
11:11over the voice of sin,
11:12then you will live. For all
11:15who are being led by the spirit of God,
11:21these
11:23are the sons of God.
11:26Not all who were once led, all who are
11:29being led by the spirit of God, these
11:32are the sons of God.
11:35For you have not received a spirit of
11:38slavery
11:40leading to fear again,
11:43but you have received a spirit of
11:44adoption
11:46as sons
11:48by which we cry out, "Abba, Father."
11:53You weren't allowed to call
11:56God
11:57your Abba, your Daddy
12:00until he gave you birth by putting his
12:03own spirit inside of you.
12:05So, the spirit he's given us isn't a
12:07spirit that makes us scared of God, run
12:10out of the room.
12:11It's a spirit that allows us to call him
12:13our father.
12:15The spirit himself testifies
12:18with our spirit
12:20that we are children of God.
12:23How do you know you're a son of God? Are
12:25you being led by the spirit of God?
12:29Is the spirit testifying?
12:33What does it mean for someone to
12:34testify?
12:36Come to the witness stand and give a
12:37story that confirms a claim.
12:41Does the spirit
12:42write a story in your life that confirms
12:45the claim that you're a child of God?
12:48The spirit himself testifies
12:51that we are children of God. And if
12:53children, heirs also, heirs of God and
12:56fellow heirs with Christ.
12:59If indeed we suffer with him, so that we
13:01may also be glorified with him.
13:04So, he says when he gave us his spirit,
13:06he made us siblings with Jesus, co-heirs
13:10with Christ, heirs of God
13:12and heirs with Christ.
13:15Jesus is not the only one who's going to
13:18inherit the glory of God.
13:20We are his brothers and sisters when we
13:22are born of the same spirit that he was
13:24born of.
13:25We inherit the kingdom that belongs to
13:27him.
13:30For I consider that the sufferings of
13:31this present time are not worthy to be
13:33compared with the glory that is to be
13:35revealed to us.
13:39For the anxious longing of creation
13:43waits eagerly for the revealing of the
13:45sons of God.
13:47For the creation was subjected to
13:49futility not willingly, but because of
13:52him who subjected it in hope.
13:55That the creation itself would also be
13:57set free from its slavery to corruption
14:00into the freedom of the glory of the
14:01children of God.
14:03For we know the whole creation groans
14:05and suffers the pains of childbirth
14:09together until now.
14:11And not only this, but also we ourselves
14:14having the first fruits of the Spirit,
14:15even we ourselves groan within ourselves
14:19waiting eagerly for our adoption as
14:22sons, the redemption of our bodies.
14:27For in hope we have been saved, but hope
14:29that is seen is not hope. For who hopes
14:31for what he already sees? But if we hope
14:33for what we do not see, with
14:35perseverance, we wait eagerly for it.
14:38What is he saying?
14:40He is saying that the whole creation
14:44is suffering because of human sin.
14:47What did human sin bring into the
14:49creation, Tina?
14:51The curse. The curse. And what did What
14:53is the curse?
14:54Death. It's death. What does that mean
14:57for the creation?
14:59That constantly
15:01everything that it brings forth of life
15:05is dying.
15:07And so Paul says the whole creation is
15:09groaning, "Oh, let us be free from this
15:13death."
15:14This death it says that the creation was
15:17subjected to futility, that's you and
15:19me,
15:21not willingly. It didn't have a choice
15:22in the matter,
15:24but it was subjected in a hope
15:27that we would become the sons of God.
15:31Okay?
15:32So,
15:33and it says that the creation is
15:34groaning
15:36in a very specific way, in birth pains
15:39until now,
15:41waiting for the redemption
15:43of us.
15:45Why is the creation groaning in birth
15:47pains?
15:48If we think about sin and the curse and
15:51death, what is the only mechanism that
15:54keeps death from winning in the world?
15:58Reproduction.
15:59Birth pains.
16:01The sparrow builds her nest.
16:04Twig by twig and feather and dust and
16:08builds it, builds it, builds it, builds
16:09it, lays her eggs, sits on them,
16:11watches, waits, and then the birds are
16:14hatched.
16:15And she helps she feeds them and feeds
16:17them and feeds them and then they fly
16:19away.
16:20And she starts over
16:22building the nest, building the nest,
16:24building the nest, sitting on the eggs.
16:26Her whole life is spent protecting life
16:30from death.
16:31And then one day she dies.
16:34But sparrows continue to live because of
16:37the sparrows they gave birth to.
16:40So, they are groaning in perpetual
16:43birth,
16:44hoping that birth outpaces death.
16:48But one day they believe that this curse
16:50of death is going to be rolled away.
16:53When? When you and I
16:56are redeemed.
16:58When we overcome our bondage to sin and
17:01come into the glorious liberation and
17:04adoption of the sons of God.
17:07And Paul says that we also are suffering
17:10under this, because remember our inner
17:12man is redeemed, but our mortal bodies
17:15are not redeemed.
17:17So, we also are suffering with cancer.
17:20We also are suffering blindness. We also
17:23are suffering aches and pains and death.
17:26Right?
17:28We are waiting for the redemption of our
17:30bodies. So, he says we who have the
17:32first fruits of the Spirit because the
17:33Spirit is life, the Spirit is
17:36resurrection, the Spirit is what raised
17:38Jesus from the dead, and we have the
17:40first fruits, but the first fruits are
17:42not the full picking.
17:44We just have a taste of resurrection
17:46when we receive the Holy Spirit.
17:48And we're still saying, "God, I know
17:50I've got the Spirit, but I'm still
17:52groaning and I'm waiting and I'm looking
17:54forward to that day when you will wipe
17:56away every tear.
17:58And there will be no sorrow or sighing,
18:00and there will be no more death. That's
18:02the redemption of my body. That's when
18:05we get to heaven.
18:07Do you understand?
18:08But we wait in hope.
18:11Not for what we have already seen, but
18:13for what God has promised. And what is
18:15the assurance that we're going to be
18:17resurrected that he gave us the Holy
18:18Spirit?
18:19The Holy Spirit is the first picking of
18:22a bigger harvest.
18:24The first picking when the peaches come
18:25in is the smallest picking. It's a small
18:28bowl with half a dozen peaches, but we
18:30rejoice over it greatly because it
18:33promises a big harvest. And that's the
18:35first fruits of the Holy Spirit
18:37promising the harvest of resurrection.
18:39So, now Paul is going to focus on what
18:41it means to suffer with faith.
18:45In the same way the Spirit also helps
18:47our weakness.
18:49For we do not know how to pray as we
18:51should, but the Spirit himself
18:53intercedes for us with groanings too
18:56deep for words. So, the Spirit is
18:58working and praying through us. We don't
19:00even know what to pray.
19:02And sometimes it's praying things that
19:04are too deep for words, and it's praying
19:05it through us.
19:07And he who searches the hearts knows
19:09what the mind of the Spirit is because
19:11he intercedes for the saints according
19:13to the will of God.
19:14And we know that God causes all things
19:17to work together for good for those who
19:20love God, to those who are called
19:21according to his purpose.
19:24He's answering those who groan.
19:26Do you see people who groan because of
19:28the suffering of their body? Well,
19:30Paul's saying God can use even the
19:32curse. God can use even the groaning. If
19:36you'll surrender your life, if you'll
19:38love him and be called according to his
19:40purpose, everything you go through,
19:43setbacks, pains, betrayals, mistakes,
19:46even your own failures, God can cause it
19:48to work for his good.
19:51For those whom he foreknew, he also
19:53predestined
19:55to become conformed to the image of his
19:58son, so that he would be the firstborn
20:01among many brethren. God has destined us
20:04to be conformed to the image of his son.
20:08That's our purpose. And he what he's
20:09suggesting here is that what you suffer
20:12in the groaning,
20:14God can use to conform you to the image
20:16of his son. That's how he makes it work
20:18for the good.
20:20Are you hurting?
20:21Are you in pain?
20:23Are you getting closer to the attitude
20:25of Jesus? Are you being conformed to the
20:27image of his son?
20:29Well, then praise God. It's being worked
20:31together for the good.
20:34That's the purpose.
20:36For those whom he foreknew, he also
20:37predestined to become conformed to the
20:40image of his son. It's a process,
20:42becoming conformed to the image of his
20:45son.
20:46And these whom he predestined, he also
20:48called.
20:49And those whom he called, he also
20:51justified.
20:53And these whom he justified, he also
20:55glorified. So, Paul is saying that
20:59these whom God
21:01destined, he also called.
21:04And those whom he called, he also
21:06justified. And those whom he justified
21:08he also glorified.
21:10Now,
21:11does that mean that we've already been
21:13glorified in heaven?
21:15No, you and I haven't been.
21:17But every process toward salvation that
21:21we're going to experience, Jesus has
21:23already gone through.
21:24And he's already reached perfection in
21:26heaven.
21:27So, our task is not to replace him.
21:31Our task is to be conformed to him. And
21:34he has already been glorified.
21:37So,
21:38if we start the journey now, everything
21:42that he's already attained is imputed
21:44and credited to us even while we're
21:46still in process
21:48of being changed, of becoming more like
21:51the image of God that he mentioned
21:53above.
21:54So, the writer of Hebrews, probably also
21:56Paul, says, "He has perfected forever
22:00those who are being sanctified." Now, if
22:03they're being sanctified, they're not
22:05perfect.
22:07But our status before God is achieved
22:10and static. It's perfect so long as
22:13we're in the process of being perfected.
22:17Do you understand? It's like God has
22:18fast-forwarded where we're going.
22:21And he's imputing that perfection of
22:23Jesus to us so long as we keep on the
22:26path of sanctification, of being
22:28perfected, of being conformed to the
22:31image of his son.
22:33That's how Paul is thinking about this.
22:35What then shall we say to these things
22:37against us?
22:39What things against us? The persecution,
22:41the sickness, the pain, the things that
22:44make us groan.
22:46>> [clears throat]
22:46>> Paul also was groaning because he didn't
22:48say you groan, he said we groan within
22:51ourselves.
22:52So, what shall we say to these things
22:54against us?
22:56Here's what we should say.
22:58If God is for us, who is against us?
23:04He who did not spare his own son,
23:08but delivered him over for us all,
23:11how will he not also with him freely
23:14give us all things?
23:18He's saying, "If God loved us so much
23:21that he let Jesus die for our good,
23:24don't imagine that he's going to hold
23:26back anything less. He's already given
23:28his son. He's going to give you
23:30everything you need."
23:33Who will bring a charge against God's
23:36elect? That just means
23:38God's covenant people.
23:40God's family.
23:42God is the one who justifies. Who is the
23:45one who condemns?
23:47He's saying, "Are you going to condemn
23:48people because they're hurting? They're
23:49suffering? Don't you dare. God's on
23:52their side.
23:53And even if they're in chains, even if
23:55they're in pains,
23:57God didn't spare his son. He gave Jesus.
24:00He's going to give us what we need."
24:04Christ Jesus is he who died, yes, rather
24:06he who was raised, who is at the right
24:08hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
24:12Who will separate us from the love of
24:14Christ? And this is what God's going to
24:16give that we need. He's going to give us
24:18his love.
24:21He says, "Who will separate us from the
24:22love of Christ?" He's still thinking
24:24about the groaning, y'all, okay?
24:27So, he he starts listing off the things
24:29that people might think could separate
24:31us from the love of God.
24:33Will tribulation, or distress, or
24:36persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
24:40peril, or sword?
24:42Just as it is written, "For your sake,
24:45we are being put to death all day long.
24:47We are considered as sheep to be
24:49slaughtered."
24:51But,
24:53in
24:54>> [clears throat]
24:54>> all these things,
24:57we overwhelmingly conquer through him
25:02who loved us.
25:04If we keep his love, we defeat the
25:07devil's plan.
25:09The plan to separate us from the love of
25:11God.
25:13We do not conquer by escaping all these
25:16things.
25:17We conquer in all these things by
25:20keeping his love.
25:23Jesus said, "Abide in my love." We have
25:26a choice to stay in his love. Nothing
25:28can separate us from his love, but we
25:30could separate ourselves from his love.
25:32Jude says,
25:34"Build yourself up in your most holy
25:36faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep
25:38yourself in the love of God."
25:42So, what can separate you from the love
25:43of God?
25:44Nothing.
25:46Except your choice to lose faith. Build
25:49yourself up in your most holy faith
25:51>> [music]
25:51>> and keep yourself in the love of God.
25:54But in all these things, we
25:56overwhelmingly conquer through him who
25:58loved us. For I am convinced [music]
26:01that neither death nor life,
26:03nor angels, nor principalities,
26:06nor things present, nor things to come,
26:09nor powers, nor height,
26:12nor depth, nor any other created thing
26:15[music]
26:16will be able to separate us from the
26:19love of God,
26:21which is in
26:23Christ Jesus,
26:25our Lord.
26:26So, Paul is saying,
26:29"Walk by the Spirit,
26:31and you'll be in Jesus, and there's no
26:34condemnation in Jesus."
26:37But beware.
26:38It's your carnal mind that is hostile to
26:40God and will turn your whole life back
26:43over to the flesh and death if you don't
26:45watch it.
26:47And don't be discouraged by what you go
26:48through, because you're groaning even
26:50though you have the spirit, [music] I
26:52Paul am groaning, too.
26:54But we have the first fruits of the
26:56spirit, and we also have the love of
26:58God, and nothing can separate us from
27:00that.
27:01And if we have love amidst pain, then we
27:04conquer. We win.
27:07If we suffer [music] and we still keep
27:08love, we win.
27:12If we're hurt and we still keep love,
27:14we win.
27:16If we die and we still keep love, we
27:19win.
27:20And that death will not be able to
27:22separate us
27:23>> [music]
27:23>> from the love of God that is in Christ
27:25Jesus. And one day, our bodies are going
27:27to be redeemed just like our
27:29immortal souls have already been
27:31redeemed. And when that happens, the
27:33whole creation is going to take a sigh
27:34and laugh
27:36because the birth pains are going to
27:37stop, because the death is going to
27:39stop, and life is going to be for
27:41everyone forever and ever.
27:56>> [music]

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Romans 8 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams by Heritage Press, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,102 words across 708 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.