Session 28 – Romans; Romans 8 Continued: Mark Lanier, 03/29/26

ROM 028_Romans P28_PODCAST_032926
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[00:00:00] We were for basically almost three months going every day into this courthouse in la and we were there 'cause we were trying a case. But it reminded me of the fact as I was studying for the Romans lesson this week, that Rome actually had quite an extensive legal system themselves. You can take in certain law schools classes in Roman law.

I spent a good deal of time in this textbook and other textbooks studying Roman law. Roman law is not just something that's in the past. Roman law was. Formative in founding the law of our nation. Our system of laws is one that's not built simply off of Roman law. It's also built off the Jewish law, the Torah [00:01:00] as well in a lot of ways.

But Roman law, Western civilization is a good bit of our legal system. In fact, there is a process we have called adoption. And adoption is something that happens through the court system. It's a legal process. Adoption actually comes from the Latin or Roman word, optio, which was the legal word for adoption in Roman times.

Now, in Roman times, adoption was a little bit different for us. When we think of adoption, we think about giving some. A child who doesn't have parents or is in a homeless situation, giving that child a loving family, that's what adoption is. It's a chance for a, a child to come into a family that either cannot have children or, or is led to adopt.

And, and it's, it's a [00:02:00] wonderful, loving relationship provided for a child that, that otherwise might not have such of a home. And that's what we generally think of as adoption. Our word and the legal process was there at the time of Rome and part of Roman law, but Roman adoption was very different than ours Under Roman law, adoption adoptee was a very deliberate act.

It was a very formal act. It had legal structure all around it, and it was used. Not so much to provide a loving home to someone who's homeless. It was used most often to secure an heir. And for that reason, most adoptions were not of children. Most adoptions were of adults. [00:03:00] You would adopt an adult because as a, once you, you know, you, you adopt a kid that's like rolling the dice, man, who knows what that kid's gonna turn out to be.

Wait till they're about 20, 25, 30 and then you got a pretty good idea if they have a good head on their shoulders. Right, Tim? I mean, we don't often know when they're kids how they're gonna be, but once they get to be older, you can figure out whether or not they're responsible enough for you to make 'em your heir for you to make 'em your kin, for you to make 'em your kid.

And, and when an adoption took place, and by the way, that's why the Roman emperors would adopt whoever was gonna be the next emperor. And as part of the inheritance that adopted adult inherited the role of being Caesar, it's a very formal process that did [00:04:00] basically three things. When you were adopted, all of the debts that you had prior to being adopted are canceled.

They're gone. If you're deep in debt in Roman times, just get yourself adopted. Poof.

When you were adopted under Roman law, a second thing that happened. Is you became a completely new legal identity. And by that I mean you had a new family name, a new head of the family, the pater familia, the head of the family was now the head of you and that head of the family can tell you everything you must do.

It doesn't matter if you're. 30 years old. If you are in a family with the, the father of the family, in a very real sense, they are the God of the [00:05:00] family. They are the godfather, which is what it becomes in Mafia Talk today. That's just a vestige from the pater familia, the head of the family. So you get a new.

Complete identity, a new family name. You get the reputation of that family. You get the community standing of that family. You become part of that family. And so three things. Number one, debt cancellation. Number two, complete new legal identity. And number three, you become a full legal heir. You, it doesn't matter.

You can take a, a family, a father who is the figurehead of the family. You can take a father who can have natural children. If that father adopts someone, that child who's adopted is not a second class child or adult or son. [00:06:00] That one who is adopted has full legal inheritance rights just as much as a naturally born child would have.

Those three points are extremely critical for us today because we're gonna focus on some verses in Romans chapter eight, where Paul uses the Roman system of adoption as a metaphor to explain the Christian walk, and only if we understand that Roman metaphor. Can we begin to really grasp some of what it means and then interpret it into our life today?

So that's what we want to do. And I've grouped this lesson around the three main points of Roman adoption. So we're going to talk about first cancel debt. And Paul does that in the first three verses we'll be looking [00:07:00] at today that as, uh, as adopted children into the family of God, our debts have been totally canceled just as much as if under Roman law we had been adopted into a family.

Number two, we are not slaves, we are sons. In Roman law, you could also, uh, uh, have your debts forgiven by becoming a slave. You could, in fact sell yourself into slavery. You could, you, you could say, Hey, um, I don't want to be me anymore. I'd like to be your slave and sell yourself into slavery. You could sell your kids into slavery.

And so the idea of, of this, Paul says. We are adopted. We weren't brought in as slaves to the Lord, we're brought in as full adopted sons. Now you may be saying sons, [00:08:00] but I'm a girl. Well, that's okay. Under Roman law, the metaphor only works if we talk about sons, but Paul's including girls too. And it's not some weird, uh, sexual orientation stuff here.

This is just, this is all law. Just work with me. Okay? Wait till the end of the class. Third thing, Paul says that we are also now heirs. We are heirs to the glory of God. But it's with a catch. It comes through suffering oftentimes. So those are the three things I want to talk to you about. Let's begin with debtors.

We owe the flesh nothing. That's where we began and we began with Romans eight chapter or chapter eight, verse 12. These two verses, let's just read 'em together. So then brothers we're debtors. Not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [00:09:00] For if you live according to the flesh, you'll die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Now that's the start of, of this. And that's Paul saying this, this idea of, of adoption law with debt. Let's look at it in some detail. And I'm sorry, I'm gonna Greek. Out on you today. I've got no choice. This, these verses have some of the coolest Greek in them, and I want, you don't have to be a Greek scholar.

I'm gonna break this down, but if you don't get some of this little Greek stuff, then. You could have gone to any Sunday school class, but by golly you went to a class with a teacher as a degree in Greek, and I'm gonna put it to work for you today. Alright, let's start right here. So then in the Greek raun, now this second [00:10:00] word, un O means therefore, and any first year Greek student could tell you that therefore.

So we've got this start, therefore O therefore, let me do the O there. O therefore, got it. Yeah. Okay, good. But if you look, the translation here is so then, so then therefore, so then, yeah, I kind of get it. You kind of get it. You can see how they did that, but they're doing something different. Because there's this other word aura.

See, the Greek actually says aura un o is. Therefore, you wanna know what aura means. Aura means, therefore, therefore, therefore, [00:11:00] that would've gotten the attention of Paul's listeners and readers. I say listeners, 'cause most people would've had this read to them, but whether listening to it or reading it, it's the, it's a, it's, it's a double punch.

Therefore, therefore, and that's why the translators say, so then instead of just therefore, or instead of just then. So then, but if you look at it, it's like therefore, therefore, and it's not just a hammer that makes it a sledgehammer. You got two words. Paul is really emphasizing something and his readers, his listeners, his audience would know as soon as they heard Raun, they would know, Hey, pay attention because this is big time.

Important. He just [00:12:00] said, therefore, therefore. And what that does is it's saying, therefore, I'm about to tell you something that's based upon what we've already said. It's based in, in two, two bases, sledgehammer based upon what we said. So what is it? He said, well, in just the proceeding, 11 verses of the chapter, we've got that started chapter one.

I mean, chapter eight verse one, there's therefore now no condemnation, udo Kama. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, and that Kama is a, is a courtroom word. It's where the judge is announcing a sentence and it's a legal verdict. And the judge is announcing a verdict that says the charges are [00:13:00] dismissed.

You are not guilty. There is no penalty, no punishment assessed. You're gone because this greatest verdict has happened. Therefore, therefore, our aun because of this. Because there is no condemnation, none, zero, zip, because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What I'm about to tell you is becoming very important, and that's not the only thing Paul has said already.

After that, Paul said, do you realize that there are two orientations? There are two destinies. You can live your life according to the flesh. Which Paul is using as a metaphor or an expression of self-reliance. The flesh in this sense is what I can do on my own. It's my [00:14:00] wisdom. It is my power. It is my strength, my endurance, my self-control, my ability.

You wanna live that way, you've got a destiny and it's not a good one.

Or we can live according to the spirit, which means we're dependent upon God according to the spirit. I will do this by God's wisdom. I will do this by God's power. I will do this by God's might. I will do this by God's strength. I will do this under the control of the Lord. I will do this on his behalf. I will do this to make his name great and that's all the difference in the world.

Paul has explained, if we set our mind on the flesh, [00:15:00] on doing it out of ourselves, on us being self-reliant, self-sufficient, it leads to death. But if we will set our mind on the spirit, if we will set our course, if we will be governed by the power of God, if we will rely upon him, then it brings life. And it brings peace.

And so Paul is gonna say, therefore, therefore, therefore, therefore, because there's no condemnation, therefore, therefore, because the mindset on the spirit is life and peace. And that therefore, therefore, extends to this question of which are you? And this is where we were last week. So, which are you?

Where's your ID card? And Paul says, you are not in the land of the self-reliant, you're in the land of relying on God. He said, you [00:16:00] however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you. And, and the if in fact doesn't mean like, maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. It's an if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you.

It does, and anyone who doesn't have the spirit of Christ doesn't belong to him. So he's saying, you are not in the flesh, but you are in the spirit now. Therefore, therefore pay attention. Romans eight 12. So then, so then our noon pay attention. So then brothers, we are, I'm sorry, I have to change this. Look what I just did.

This is the ESV version. So then brothers, we are debtors not to the [00:17:00] flesh, to live according to the flesh, but if you're reading in the Greek, so then Del Foy brothers, ti debtors. Hemond we are and then not, Ooh, we are it. It changes the words. So I just like to change the words for a minute. Let's keep the Greek words.

So then brothers, debtors, we are not to the flesh because we're debtors, but not to the flesh. Debtors, we are debtors. Ti Um, ti means, uh, someone who owes someone generally money, but it can also be a moral debt. Uh, it's, it's the word used in the Lord's Prayer. Paton, uh, ho tono, I guess say

is the, the [00:18:00] word that used there. It's from the same root. That's why sometimes we, we get mixed up whenever somebody's saying the Lord's Prayer, we always wanna listen to say, do, do, do they use the version? Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Or do they use the version, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

You ever be that way? You're wondering which one it's gonna be. That's because it's, the word means debt, but it can mean a moral debt, not just a, a financial debt. So it's someone who owns, uh, owes a moral or a monetary debt. Hence it can be used for sin and sinners. Uh, it's that, uh, we owe a debt. He, we owe a debt we could not pay.

He paid a debt he did not owe. Charles McKey has a song on that that I can never get. Right. One who owes a monetary or a moral debt is an o tie. [00:19:00] So Paul is saying, so then brothers debtors owing a moral debt. We are Mond, but it's not to the flesh. So we'll get to the flesh, but we need to park out for a moment on Mond.

Now Greek is a such a cool language and one of the coolness of it is the. Aspects or, or features of some of the verbs. So in Greek, a present tense verb in what would be called the indicative indicates a conditioner state that's constantly ongoing. It's just constantly there. It's like 24 7. The clock is certainly going, and that's what Esmond is.

Esmond is the first person, plural of the Greek verb to [00:20:00] be, and he's saying we are. But the reason he's got it in that present tense indicative is because he's saying, this is the condition we are in right now. 24 7, 24 7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, except sleep here, and then it's 366 days. This is a true statement.

Debtors not, not to the flesh. We are not debtors to live Zane according to the flesh. Now this word Zane, to live is also a present tense indicative. Paul's saying 24 7 all the time. We're not debtors to the flesh, [00:21:00] so we don't live 24 7, 365 days a year. We're not to live according to the flesh. That's not what we do.

We don't live according to the flesh. Kata, sarka. There it is. Kata. Sarka. We don't live according to, to the, the, the, the self-reliance. That's our word here. It's self-reliance. We should know 24 7 that we don't owe any debt to our self-reliance. We don't have an obligation. We, we don't live based on self-reliance 24 7.

Our condition is one of who of people who owe no obligation. The debt is gone, [00:22:00] the debt is canceled. It does not exist anymore. And he's saying, this is your legal status. This is your status under the law. You do not. If you are in Christ Jesus, you not only have no, you have no moral obligation, you have no fiscal obligation.

You have no obligation at all to being self-reliant. You don't have to be this bogus comment. Well, God helps those who help themselves. That's bogus you. God helps the helpless. If you can help yourself, you don't need God.

Look, this, this Christian walk is not one where you gussy it up and give it your best, and you do your part and he'll do his. That perspective is [00:23:00] not an accurate legal perspective of who you are. Your legal status is one where you have no obligation to trying to be it on your own. You can't live that way and live for God.

That is a road of self-defeat. The road of I can make it on my own is not the road we should be on. Paul says as he continues this, if you live according to the flesh, you will die.

But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you'll live. If you live by the flesh, if you live self-reliant, if you live thinking you're gonna make it on your own, you're gonna, and oh, okay. This is where I gotta geek out on you for a moment. This is one of the coolest words in Greek. [00:24:00] This word is so cool.

Meite, do I have a slide on this? I think I do, but let me just talk about it for a minute first. Um, MEITE is a word that means it's about to happen.

It's coming. It's about there. It is almost there, but do you know what this word is right here? It's that meaning in a present tense. So it means 24 7. So it's about to happen right now, all the time, every minute. And there is this, this meite was used in, um, or uh, oration. When, when orators were giving a speech and they would talk about what's about to happen, it was [00:25:00] used in, in plays where the narrator would come out and tell everybody, this is about to happen.

It could be used in moral writings where the, the writer was saying, Hey, this is where things are headed. But here we've got Paul using it in the present tense, which means you are just, you are about to, you are right there. Present tense, indicative. And there is a tension when he takes this word that talks about what's gonna happen at a future point and says that it's happening right now, 24 7.

It's Paul saying, you are on the very verge of dying.

He doesn't mean just physical death. He means that dead end in life. If you think you've got enough strength and you think you got enough wisdom to make it on your own, if you think that your plans are the plans that should take place, [00:26:00] you are on the very verge right now. Right now, 24 7, you're on the verge.

Of a dead end, you're on the verge. This future point right now of a dead end, if you live on your own self-reliance, then you need to know that you are on the verge and the translators, they can't put all of this into one word, so they just say you will die. But Paul Scott, he's got tension built into this.

He said, look, you may not get this, but you are on the verge right now. Right now, 24 7. Anytime you're living on your own power, you are on the verge of a dead end. You are on the verge of a dead end, but if instead by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, then you'll live. [00:27:00] If we try to live this Christian life, if we're Christians and we try to live life under our own power, by our own wisdom, with our own plans, with our priorities, in modern parlance, we're a zombie.

We're walking dead. But the interesting part of this is Paul doesn't say. So grow as a Christian by trying harder. That's not what he's saying. The opposite Christian growth isn't just try harder. It's yield to the spirit. And what does that mean? Well, Paul's gonna go into more detail, but let's get it out in the open.

Spoiler alert, because he's been talking about it for eight chapters. One way or another to yield to the spirit means to let God [00:28:00] have control. It doesn't mean that we're just sitting in the backseat and leaving all the driving to the chief, but it does mean that we're going to seek his wisdom. We're gonna seek his priorities.

We're gonna pray for his will. And if his will's different than ours, we're going to praise him and follow his will.

And that means that we will not live according to the flesh, but we will live by the spirit. And if there's anything that's gonna die, it's gonna be. The deeds of the body. We put them to death. Oh, by the way, Donna Tute, that is a present tense indicative. This is something that we try to do 24 7, 7 days a week, 365 [00:29:00] days a year.

This is the walk of the Christian walk. It is a walk where we try, we try really hard. To, to put to death the deeds of the body so that we will live so that we can live God's life for us, he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. He didn't come simply so that you could become a Christian, and then one day when you die, float off into some another world.

As pastor so aptly and scripturally put it this morning in his sermon, God seeks to be present in our lives. He seeks to be present and his spirit seeks to be present within our spirit, and so we are to walk by that presence of [00:30:00] God. Not by what we are without him. So debtors adoption, we're not of the flesh anymore.

We're not self, we're not in family self-reliance, and we don't owe anything to the flesh. But instead, we're sons not slaves. Now what is the defining mark of being a son? What is it? Is it, do we get a social security card? Do we get a birth certificate? It's the Holy Spirit. And so Paul continues and he says, for all who are led by the spirit of God or Sons of God for is God in the Greek because all who are led by the spirit of God.

Now this led by the spirit of God is in the passive [00:31:00] voice. It is the idea that that God leads, we are following him. It's the same word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in Isaiah 63 14, that God led the people through the wilderness. When the Exodus was taking place and God was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, he was leading them.

We are led. God is actively working in our lives to take us somewhere. We are led by the spirit of God, and that, by the way, is a present tense indicative. He doesn't show up on Sundays to lead. It's 24 7. The spirit of God is 24 7 working [00:32:00] to lead you. To lead you just as he led the people of Israel and all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.

So wait a minute, sons, I'm bothered by that again. Here's the thing. Under Roman adoption law. All of the full adoption rights applied to sons, not to women. Paul's not being a misogynist here because Paul will say it doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. You get all the adoption rights of a son under Roman law.

That's what he's saying. He'll say to the Galatians, uh, in Christ there's no difference. Male nor female, slave nor free Jew or Gentile. It's all, it's all together, but he's talking about Roman law here, and so he's gotta use the Roman law and you become sons with all that. The inheritance means under Roman [00:33:00] law as you're an adopted son and all who are led by the spirit of God are sons present tense, indicative.

You are right now, period. If you're a Christian, you are a son, and it's not that we follow the spirit that makes us adopted. It's the spirit is evidence of our adoption. There's a big difference. We're being led by the spirit because we're sons. It's not, we're sons so we get the spirit. It's not you do what?

Your part. This is passive. The spirit's gonna lead the people. Our job is not to quench it. Like Paul talks about in, in, is it Ephesians where he says, don't quench the spirit. It's like taking a water hose. The the water's flowing. Don't crank it.

Paul continues. He says, you did not receive the [00:34:00] spirit of slavery to fall fallback into fear. You didn't get your debts resolved by becoming a slave. You got the spirit of adoption. And as sons, we can now cry out Abba. Father, there's a big difference between adoption and slavery. You could get rid of your deaths in Roman law just by becoming a slave, but that's not Paul's metaphor.

We didn't become a slave. Our debts to the flesh are gone because we've been adopted. It was God's move to adopt us, and this adoption is something that's very distinct. So Paul says, you don't receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. You [00:35:00] are not a slave to this world. You're not a slave to what's going on.

You're not a slave to your life because you are not self-reliant. If you're walking by the spirit, the spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead, the most powerful, the spirit of God that created the world, the spirit of God that moved over the face of the deep, the spirit of God who dwells in your heart.

That spirit of God does not allow you to be scared of what this world has that you can't handle because you are not the one who has to handle it. Don't be self-reliant. Don't live out of the flesh. Look for how God's gonna handle it through you. That's why my proverb for this trial was Proverbs 2131.

The horse is made ready for battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. I mean, we get the horse ready. I'm getting up [00:36:00] sometimes at 1230 in the morning, one 15 in the morning. I'm working on the arguments. I've got a team of 45 people working in the back rooms, getting everything ready. We get to court early.

We stay at court late. We pay full attention. We take every note. We research the law. We read millions of pages of documents. The horse is made ready, but the victory belongs to the Lord. He's the one who gives us the ability, who gives us the opportunity, who tells us to use our energy that way? Who energizes us?

Who helps us in our weakness? Who gives wisdom in our shallowness? This is the Lord's victory. So I don't, if you're, if you've got fear in your life right now as relates to this, you should not be, that is not your legal position. You are allowing yourself to be something you're [00:37:00] not. Am I doing enough? Did I goof up too badly?

You don't know how bad I've been. You don't know what all I've done.

Does God accept me today? Get rid of that. You didn't receive some slave spirit where you have to be in fear. That's not what you got. You've received a spirit of adoption

as sons by whom we cry. Abba. Father, this adoption option. Huo thesis in the Greek huo means son. This is an adopted son. You got that status. This is a uniquely Paul word in the Bible. It means literally to adopt a son. Paul [00:38:00] uses it, nobody else does in the New Testament, but it's such a great metaphor that Paul, the lawyer, loves it.

Remember, Paul's legally trained Romans eight 15 and 23. Romans nine, four. Galatians four, five, Ephesians one, five. That's Paul using it. So debtors, we owe the flesh. Nothing sons, not slaves. And third, as adopted, glory, heirs glory through suffering. Go back to that passage. You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you've received the spirit of adoption.

Fear, fobo. We have the word phobia from it, but this is a spirit of adoption by whom? We cry. Abba, father, kind of cool of what's going on here, by the way, I just thought for thrills we'd do something fun here. Let's shift [00:39:00] out of the Greek for a minute and let's put up the Latin,

uh, spirit tomb Adopt. You see our word adoption? Come straight out of the Latin. We got a spirit. Spirit tomb. That's spirit. Spirit of adoption. Bet you didn't know you could read Latin. Some of you by which we cry out. Abba Father. Two languages. One cry. Abba. That's Aramaic. Now, some people like to think that translates.

Daddy, I don't like that. I mean, I don't wanna upset you if you want to, you, you do what you wanna do. But daddy sometimes denotes, um, a, um, [00:40:00] almost a, a level of, not disrespect, but, but it, it, this is, this is not, this is a word of great respect. It's just a word that's familiar and intimate. So the intimacy is legit to say, you know, daddy in a sense, but it's not a a kitty thing necessarily.

Here we're, we're talking about some measure of respect, but it, it, it is still an it, it's a relationship word. Um. Pater in the Greek or the Latin, uh, father Abba Pater, uh, that's what it says here. Abba is just put into Greek letters, but it's the Aramaic word for father. And then the Greek word or Latin word pater.

So this is the spirit of adoption by, uh, us sons, [00:41:00] by whom we cry. Abba Father. Now Paul goes on to say, we've got two witnesses here to this process. This is a legal thing where we've got, you can't just adopt without witnesses. So we've got two witnesses. Look at 'em. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

And here he's using tegna children instead of sons. Tegna is a neuter term. It means young children. It fits well with, uh, the idea of calling out Abba father, but it also fits well with the fact that sons is just being used in a legal sense. This applies to all of us. So the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit.

This is the Holy Spirit and our spirit within us. And it's an interesting thing because sometimes [00:42:00] we don't feel loved by God. We don't feel led by God, and yet we know that our spirit tells us God is at work in us and we do belong to him. Sometimes our brain is used by the spirit to overcome the difficulties of our heart.

And emotions because emotions tend to come and go, but our mind should kick in and help us remember and know that God is faithful and God is in us. Paul's appeal here is to the mind as much as the heart. We are sons. We're not slaves. And we are heirs glory through suffering. Paul says it this way as he continues, and this is [00:43:00] our last verse for the day.

And if we're children tegna, then we are heirs. Oma Clay. Well I can read it. Uh, clay Ron Moy. Clay Ron Moy. Um, we are heirs of God. We're fellow heirs with Christ provided that we suffer with or provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Now, I had an email exchange with someone a week or two ago about compound words.

Compound words are really fun. Some of them make sense, some of them don't. Goldfish. They're gold fish. That includes koi and it includes that stuff you eat from Pepridge farm. Gold fish. Snow man. [00:44:00] Snow man. Makes sense. Dragon fly. I ain't so sure on the dragon part, but I guess it kind of looks like a dragon.

Jellyfish. Well, I'm not putting it on my peanut butter sandwich. Foot ball, only when you're punting. Point after touchdown or a kick. Otherwise, it's a handball. Sun flour kind of looks like the. Now these are compound words because the word calm we get out of the Latin. The Latin word is cum and coom means with.

So depending upon what words following and what, whether it starts with a, uh, a labial sound or, or different type palatal sound or whatever. It sounds like it can be calm or it can be co. [00:45:00] Or it can be con or it can be call, or it can even be core,

all of us. But it means with now in Greek, it's the word soon. That means with and soon you linguist argue whether or not soon and calm have some deep endo, European root. That's common for the two of them. I don't know. It's beyond me, but I can tell you that the Greek word soon means with, and sometimes depending upon what's following it, it's spelled SUM zoom, or sometimes it's SUG su, or soon.

It's often an NG because of what follows sound. But anyway, so you got that. SUN means with SUM means with compound words. Greek. Now let's go back. [00:46:00] And if children then heirs. Heirs of with of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Soon, soon, soon. Soon. Here, S-U-G-S-U-M-S-U-N. It's all the same compound word it means with. So look what we have here in the, in the Greek we have here, and if children also heirs, heirs with Christ. But look at this. We are fellow heirs. We are heirs with him. That's just with heirs of Christ with suffer. In order that with dos of glory, these are the we, we [00:47:00] are with.

This is a relationship verse that's come after three relationship verses. We're not just adopted. We're adopted with the full rights of the son. We are adopted, we are fellow heirs. That's how they do the whiff. On the first one, we are fellow heirs. We are with him in our sufferings. We are with him in being glorified.

All of those are one word in the Greek. This is our relationship. This is what we have. We have a relationship with the Lord, by the way, uh, just for grins, 'cause we have 30 seconds here. Throw the Latin up there. Latin, you have co and conned each time. See, same thing with, so sorry, back to the Greek. Um, now what does this [00:48:00] mean?

What does it mean that we are these things? Well, this is hugely important to us. This means that, that we truly are with Christ fully adopted. We are debtors. We don't owe the flesh anything. We are sons. We're not slaves. We have full inheritance rights. Sometimes it's through suffering, but heavens listen to this.

We are co-heirs with Christ Easter Sunday. Christ was glorified and, and with the ascension on him, A name that's above every name. But what came before Easter Sunday,

good Friday, which wasn't all that good for Jesus

[00:49:00] suffering on a level we don't know or understand suffering for us undeserved. The one who could have called 10,000 angels, the one who spoke the world into existence, the one who could have just said, done not. It is finished, but done. Who could have stopped the world at that moment? Had he been faithless to his own word, but he's not one.

So he was faithful to his word and he was glorified through suffering. And we are co. Soon we are fellow heirs with him. Some days the sun is out and the winds behind you and you think, could anything be better than [00:50:00] this? And some days. You feel like there's no gravity. The earth's just kind of sucking you down into it and everything's being drained from you.

And Paul is speaking to you and to me, and he's saying, just don't forget your legal status. You belong to the Lord. You have no obligation to try and live on your own. You live invigorated and following the spirit of God. Doesn't mean you won't suffer, but it does mean you will experience the same glory through that suffering.

And that gives us our points for home. Because you owe the flesh nothing. Stop paying it. Quit trying to live on your own. We're not debtors to the flesh 24 7. Quit trying to [00:51:00] do it by your own power. Number two, approach the Father as an heir, not a scared slave. When you pray to Abba Father Abba Pater, you don't do it as a scared slave.

You do it as an heir. You didn't receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. If don't worry that you're not good enough, you're not capable enough, you're not able to do it. Trust in the name of the Lord most high, and by name, I mean his resume, cv, his character, who he is. And third, when you suffer suffering does not mean something's gone wrong.

Suffering is the path to glory. We suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Amen. [00:52:00] Alright, here's your lunch topic. And I've been told by my sister to leave the slide up a little bit longer so people can neither write it down or take a picture of it. So I'm gonna leave it up for a moment.

Here's your lunch topic. If you go to lunch and you're in the mood, is your primary. Emotional experience of God, more like a slave before a master or a child before a good father. Talk about that over lunch. What is your primary emotional experience of God?

Some people didn't grow up with a good father. That makes this a tough question, but that means it's even more subject to lunch discussion. Is your primary emotional experience of God, more like a slave before a master or a child, before a good father be a good thing to talk about. Alright, no class next week.

We have Easter Sunday. I'm excited to be here to worship for Easter and then I'll [00:53:00] see you, God willing, the following Sunday and we will continue. My goal is before we hit the summer. Change to make it through the rest of Romans eight. So that's, that's what we've got in front of us as we try to chart through before we hit the summer break.

And so, uh, um, uh, I'll see you guys in here in two weeks and then I think we move over after that to the other building. So, uh, let me bless in the name of Jesus. Father, we ask your blessings on all who hear this message. Lord invade their minds and their hearts. Invade our minds and our hearts with the truth of our status before you that 24 7 status as your children, no debt to doing it on our own.

Fully reliant on your spirit to empower and lead us. And Lord, may we follow with the power of your spirit. Bless my friends. In Jesus' name, [00:54:00] amen.