Ci – The Leading of the Ruach 8: 12-17

The Leading of the Ruach
8: 12-17

The leading of the Ruach DIG: What does it mean to be a joint-heir with Messiah? What privileges does that bring? What are the ways that help us to avoid and kill sin in our lives? What does Paul mean by being “led by the Spirit?” How can that be seen by others? What in this passage leads you to believe that you are a child of God?

REFLECT: How do we know that the Ruach will empower us to obey the Torah, as promised in 8:1-11? Since we are not justified by doing good works, what is the motive for changing our lives? How are we to deal with our old [sin nature]? What is an example from your life of being dependent on the Spirit as you worked to “put to death” an area of sin?

The Ruach Ha’Kodesh in believers gives all the assurance and confidence we need for victory, no matter what sufferings, discouragements and doubts we meet along the way.

So then. By the use of the phrase so then, Paul reminds his readers of the wonderful privileges of victory over sin that believers have through the resident Ruach Ha’Kodesh. In the previous eleven verses of Chapter 8, he has pointed out, among other things, that we are no longer under the condemnation of ADONAI, that we have been set free from the “torah of sin and death,” that we are no longer under the domination of our old [sin nature], that we walk by the Spirit, that we have minds that are set on the Spirit, and that we have life and shalom through the Spirit.²¹⁴

So then, brothers, we don’t owe a thing to our old [sin nature] that would require us to live according to our old [sin nature] (8:12). Since the believer is not within the sphere of the old [sin nature], its power being broken, and since he is within the sphere of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, he is under no obligation to the evil [sin nature] to live under its rule.

Those who live according to the old [sin nature], will certainly die (8:13a). Paul is not warning genuine believers that they may lose their salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer), and be condemned to death if they fall back into some of the ways of the flesh. He has already given the absolute assurance that there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in union with the Messiah Yeshua (8:1). Rather, he is saying that a person whose life is characterized by the things of the old [sin nature] is not a true believer and is spiritually dead, no matter what his religious affiliations or activities may be. If he does not submit to Messiah in true faith, he will certainly die the second death under God’s final judgment (see the commentary on Revelation Fp – The Lake of Fire is the Second Death).²¹⁵

The pattern of a true believer’s life, on the other hand, will show that he not only professes Messiah, but that he lives his life by the Spirit and is habitually putting to death the practices of the body. As a result, he will live, that is, possess and preserve the eternal life that he already has in Yeshua Messiah (8:13b).

The phrase practices of the body, refers to the body’s bad habits which the old [sin nature] has produced. God’s people invariably fall back into sin when their focus turns away from YHVH to themselves and to the things of the world (First John 2:15-16). For this reason, Paul warned the believers in Colossae: So, if you were raised along with the Messiah, then seek the things above, where the Messiah is sitting at the right hand of God. Focus your minds on the things above, not on things here on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God (Colossians 3:1-3). Scripture offers believers at least five ways for avoiding and killing sin in our lives.

First, it is imperative to recognize the presence of sin in our flesh. We must be willing to confess honestly with Paul: So, I find this law or principle at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me (7:21). Paul reminds all believers: If we claim to have fellowship with [God] while we are walking in the darkness, we are lying to ourselves and not living out the truth (First John 1:6). Because of the influence of our human weaknesses and limitations of our thinking, it is often difficult to recognize sin in our lives. It can easily be disguised, often under the guise of something that seems trivial or insignificant, even righteous and good. We must therefore pray with David: Examine me, God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts. See if there is in me any hurtful way, and lead me along the eternal way (Psalm 139:23-24).

A second way for believers to kill sin in their lives is to have a heart fixed on ADONAI. David said to the Lord, “My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast. I will sing and make music” (Psalm 57:7). Another psalmist testified: May my ways be steady in observing your commandments. Then I will not be put to shame, since I will have fixed my sight on all your mitzvot (Psalm 119:5-6). In other words, when we know and obey God’s Word, we are building up both our defenses and offenses against sin.²¹⁶

A third way for believers to avoid sin in our lives is to meditate on God’s Word. Many of the Lord’s truths become clear only when we patiently immerse ourselves in a passage of Scripture and give Him the opportunity to give us a deeper understanding. The Psalter gives us the example with these words: I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119:11). As the Word is memorized and internalized, it becomes directive for our lives. No wonder Yeshua said: If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples (John 8:31 BSB). However, the act of hiding God’s Word in our hearts is not to be limited to the memorization of individual texts or even whole passages, but extends to habitually living in devotion to the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 30:14; Jeremiah 31:33).²¹⁷

A fourth way to destroy sin in our lives is to fellowship regularly with YHVH in prayer. Peter calls us to keep alert and self-controlled, so that you can pray (First Peter 4:7). When we are faithful in these disciplines we discover how interrelated they are. It is often difficult to tell where the study of God’s Word ends and meditation on it begins, and where meditation ends and prayer begins.

It should be emphasized that true prayer must always have an element of confession. Although we have the assurance that we belong to Ha’Shem and are free from condemnation, we also know that we can never come before Him completely sinless. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us (First John 1:8-10). Sincere prayer has a way of unmasking sin’s deceit. When God’s children open their minds and hearts to their heavenly Father, He lovingly reveals sins that otherwise would go unnoticed.

A fifth way to put sin to death in our lives is to practice obedience to the LORD. Doing the will of ADONAI and His will alone in all the small issues of life can be training in habits that will hold up in the severe times of temptation. This includes the giving of our tithes and offerings (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others: The Seven Principles of Scriptural Giving). As Paul has already made plain by the testimony of his own life in Chapter 7, putting sin to death is often difficult, slow, and frustrating. Satan is the great adversary of God’s people and will make every effort to drag us down into the gutter of sin. But as we conquer sin in our lives through the power of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, we are not only brought nearer to our heavenly Father but gain increasing assurance that we are indeed His children and are eternally secure in Him.

Paul assures us that we have the power for victory over the old [sin nature] that still clings to us in this life. Apart from the Ruach’s supernatural power, we could never succeed in putting the recurring sin in our lives to death. If we were left to our own devices, the struggle with sin would simply be flesh trying to overcome flesh, humanness trying to overcome humanness. Even as a believer who wrote most of the B’rit Chadashah, Paul lamented: For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out (7:18). Without the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, a believer would have no more power to resist and defeat sin than does an unbeliever.²¹⁸

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for giving us the weapons to use to win the battle against temptation and sin. Praise You that the weapons You give us are powerful, sharp and have the power to put to death any lies of Satan. Thank You for being with Your children and sending your Ruach Ha’Kodesh to guide and to live within each one who loves and believes in You as their Savior.  I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper so He may be with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him. You know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17). It is so wonderful to have You always right there by our side when we need help. Praise You that you are never too busy to answer the cry of Your children when we ask for help. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Thank You for providing a way to build our spiritual muscles so we are strong and fit and ready to handle and conquer any temptation.  No temptation has taken hold of you except what is common to mankind. But God is faithful – He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle. But with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so you will be able to endure it (First Corinthians 10:13). Praise You that the way to succeed in defeating temptation is not by our own power but it is by relying on You. It is the same way to win in entering heaven . . . thru Your righteousness. Heaven is available not by any amount of good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), but Your children enter thru Your power and righteousness.  He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21).

I choose to spend time training for battle in the spiritual gym. I will be aware that sin is deceitful, so I ask you to open my eyes to see any sin in my life. I accept the responsibility to train for battle by making my relationship with You as the most important thing in my life. I will fill my mind with thoughts of Your power and love, especially at night before I sleep, I will meditate on how you always win every battle. My mind will think over how great, powerful, wonderful and loving you are. I choose to make time to talk to you in prayer – not just prayer that asks and petitions, but as the powerful prayers of David begin with praise, then petition of asking and end with confidence of your supreme power over all circumstances (Psalms 52-64, 140-143 . . .) so my prayers will be full of much praise for You! Also, as Paul prayed for others to grow in You, so I will pray for new believers in other countries to grow strong in You. I mention you in my prayers – that the God of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, our glorious Father, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in knowing Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what is the richness of His glorious inheritance in the kedoshim, and what is His exceedingly great power toward us who keep trusting Him – in keeping with the working of His mighty strength (Ephesians 1:16b-19).

I will make time to meditate on the Truths of Your Word. I won’t just read, but I will also rethink the passage and absorb its wonderful truths. Sharing truths from Your Word with others will help both of us strengthen our faith. Your control of my life will extend beyond my mind and my time, to my money. As soon as I get finances, before I pay for anything else, I rejoice to give you tithes and offerings. You have first place in my heart and it is a joy to serve such a loving and wonderful Heavenly Father. I rejoice in the thought of being victorious in temptation battles because I have trained in the spiritual gym for victory by setting my mind/heart on you as top priority and I have made You first place in my time and finances. I look forward to loving on You for all eternity. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children (8:14a). Our status as a child of God is not determined by our obedience. Our status as His child is based on the faithfulness of YHVH and what He does for us (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). God’s children are secure in Him even when we are not as responsive and obedient to His leading as we should be. But that doesn’t mean we will always feel secure. The believer who neglects the study of Scripture, who neglects ADONAI in prayer, who neglects fellowship with God’s people, and who is careless about his obedience to YHVH will invariably have doubts about his salvation, because he is indifferent about the things of God. Even for the obedient child of God, doubts about his relationship to the LORD can easily slip into the mind during times of pain, sorrow, failure, or disappointment. The Adversary of God’s people, is always ready and willing to take advantage of such circumstances to plant seeds of doubt and uncertainty.²¹⁹

Paul continues to shower his readers with the benefits of being believers. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to bring you back again into fear (8:14b). Here he says that we are no longer chained to fear – fear of God’s wrath, of death, or of where we will finally end up. We are not slaves to fear. On the contrary, you received the Spirit of adoption (Ephesians 1:4-5; John 1:12; Galatians 3:26-29), who makes us His children and by whose power we cry out, “Abba Father!” (that is, “Daddy!”) (8:15). When we place our faith in Messiah, God becomes our Father, we become His children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the Messianic congregation or church becomes our spiritual family. The family of God includes all believers in the past, the present, and the future. The only way to get into God’s family is being born again into it. You become a part of the human family by your first birth, but you become a member of God’s family by your second birth (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bv – Jesus Teaches Nicodemus).²²⁰

The Ruach Himself bears witness with our own spirits that we are children of God (8:16). That is, God makes certain that His children know they are His children. Because of His Spirit living in our hearts, our own spirit recognizes that we are always privileged to come to YHVH as our loving heavenly Father. But here, Paul doesn’t have in mind merely some mystical small voice saying we are saved. Rather, there is evidence of our salvation when we bear spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Not only does the Ruach testify that believers are God’s children, but He guarantees that we will never be removed from the family. He ensures our future resurrection: If the Spirit of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead is living in you, then the One who raised the Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach living in you (8:11).²²¹

And if we are children, then we are also heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Messiah (Revelation 20:4-6) – provided we are suffering with Him in order also to be glorified with Him (8:17). We are the recipients of every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3) now, and in the future we will share in all the riches of the Messianic Kingdom. Sharing with Yeshua Messiah, however, involves more than anticipating the glories of heaven. For our Lord, it involved suffering, abuse, and crucifixion; therefore, being joint-heirs with Messiah requires that we suffer with Him.²²² Yeshua said: If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you do not belong to the world – on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world – therefore the world hates you. Remember what I told you, “A slave is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you too (John 15:18-20a). But after we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him. To the extent that you share the fellowship of Messiah’s sufferings , rejoice; so that you will rejoice even more when His Sh’khinah is revealed . . . our certain hope, which is the appearing of the Sh’khinah of our great God and the appearing of our Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah (First Peter 4:13; Titus 2:13).