Morning Watch Monday 3/2 Heirs Conformed; Heirs Inseparable From God s Love Romans 8:24-39

Morning Watch Monday 3/2 Heirs Conformed; Heirs Inseparable From God s Love Romans 8:24-39 Related verses Rom. 8:24-27, 34 24 For we were saved in hope. But a hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly await it through endurance. 26 Moreover, 1 in like manner the Spirit also joins in to help us in our 2 weakness, for we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 But He who searches the hearts knows what the 1 mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints 2 according to God. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Rom. 5:2 2 Through whom also we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast because of the hope of the glory of God. 1 Thes. 5:8-9 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Heb. 4:15 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all respects like us, yet without sin. Luke 22:31-32 31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have you all to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have made petition concerning you that your faith would not fail; and you, once you have turned again, establish your brothers. Footnotes Rom. 8:26 1 In like manner indicates that prior to the help of the Spirit mentioned in this verse, there was already another help of the Spirit, which must be the help rendered to us by the Spirit as the firstfruits mentioned in v. 23. This is confirmed by the fact that both v. 23 and this verse speak of our groaning. 26 2 The weakness here is our ignorance of how we should pray. We do not know the kind of prayer God desires, and we are not clear how to pray, according to the burden we feel, for our being conformed to the image of God s Son; hence, we groan (v. 23). In our groaning the Spirit groans also, interceding for us. His interceding is mainly that we may experience the transformation in life for growth into the maturity of sonship that we may be fully conformed to the image of God s Son. 27 1 This is not the mind of the Spirit that is independent of us. It is the mind of the Spirit that has been mingled with our mind (v. 6) and has become a part of our heart. The Spirit not only has mingled Himself with our spirit; He has also mingled His mind with our mind. This is not the mind of the Spirit that is independent of us. It is the mind of the Spirit that has been mingled with our mind (v. 6) and has become a part of our heart. The Spirit not only has mingled Himself with our spirit; He has also mingled His mind with our mind. 27 2 The interceding Spirit prays for us not according to something of God but according to God Himself, that we may be conformed to the image of God s Son. Suggested daily reading Paul continues to say, For we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings in our manner. This groaning apparently is our groaning, but in our groaning is the groaning of the Spirit. This is why His groaning is in the same manner as our groaning. He is in us and His groaning is in our groaning. He groans with us in like manner. This is the best prayer we can have for the growth in life. Most of our prayers are very utterable with clear words, but they may not be out of our spirit. But when we have a real burden to pray yet we do not know how to utter it, then spontaneously we just groan with that burden without any utterable word. This will be the best prayer within which the Spirit intercedes for us by groaning together with us. This kind of unutterable prayer is primarily for the growth in life, concerning the true need of which we do not have much understanding. Concerning our material needs and business affairs we are clear and do have the utterance to pray about these things, but concerning the matter of our growth in life we are lacking in both understanding and utterance. However, if we are seeking the Lord regarding the growth in life, oftentimes deep within our spirit we will be burdened with some prayer about which we have no clear understanding and for which we have no utterance. So, spontaneously we are forced to groan. While we are groaning from deep within our spirit, the Spirit who

Morning Watch Monday 3/2 Continued... dwells in our spirit automatically joins in with our groaning, interceding for us mainly that we may have the transformation in life for growth into the maturity of sonship. Verse 27 says that He who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because He intercedes for the saints according to God. The Spirit intercedes according to God. What does this mean? It means that the interceding Spirit prays for us that we may be conformed to the image of God. We will consider more of this in the next message. We have seen that we are the sons of God enjoying all the blessings of sonship. We may itemize the blessings: the Spirit of sonship, the witnessing of the Spirit, the leading of the Spirit, the firstfruit of the Spirit, the helping of the Spirit, and the interceding of the Spirit. Eventually we will have the full sonship of the sons of God revealed in the freedom of glory (vv. 19, 21). In this portion of the Word three significant terms are used children, sons, and heirs. These three words correspond to the three stages of sonship. The life of God works in three stages to make us sons of God. The life of God regenerates us in our spirit, transforms us in our soul, and transfigures our body. Hence, we have regeneration, transformation, and transfiguration. These together give us full sonship. As the result of these three steps the sons are fully matured. In this portion of Romans we are told that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God (v. 16). In verse 16 it does not say sons or heirs, for in the first stage of sonship we are simply little children who have been regenerated by the life of God. After this we will grow. Then verse 14 says that as many as are led by the Spirit of God these are the sons of God. In verse 14 we are no longer babes or children, but sons. When we are capable of being led of the Spirit, it means that we have attained a certain growth in life. We have grown from children into sons who are able to take the leading of the Spirit. This means that we are in the second stage, the stage of transformation. Ultimately, we will become heirs. According to ancient law, heirs had to be of age and declared the legal heirs that they might claim the inheritance. Therefore, in this portion of Romans we have children by regeneration, sons by transformation, and heirs by transfiguration or glorification. We were born the children of God, we are growing up as the sons of God, and we are waiting for the time when we will be fully matured and legally declared to be the rightful heirs of God. The procedure which makes us legal heirs is the transfiguration of our body, that is, the redemption of our body, the full redemption (v. 23). The transfiguration of our body will qualify us to be the heirs of the divine inheritance. This transfiguration will be accomplished by glorification. There are great riches in this portion of Romans, and we need several messages to cover them. In this message we have seen a sketch of the three stages of the making of God s sons: regeneration, transformation, and glorification. As a result of these three stages, we will obtain full sonship. These three stages correspond to the three stages of God s salvation: the first stage, justification, produces children; the second stage, sanctification, enables the children to grow into sons; and the third stage, glorification, results in the transfiguration of the body that we may become the legal heirs of the divine inheritance. Life-Study of Romans Message 19, pg. 232-234 (F. The Interceding of the Spirit; G. The Full Sonship) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission

Morning Watch Tuesday 3/3 Related verses Rom. 8:28-29 28 And we know that 1 all things 2 work together for 3 good to those who 4 love God, to those who are called according to His 5 purpose. 29 Because those whom He 1 foreknew, He also 2 predestinated to be 3 conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the 4 Firstborn among 5 many brothers; Eph. 1:4-5 4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, 5 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 1 Cor. 15:49 49 And even as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. 2 Cor. 3:18 18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit. Phil. 3:20-21 20 For our commonwealth exists in the heavens, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 Who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself. Footnotes Rom. 8:28 1 Including all persons, all matters, and all things. 28 2 God the Father answers when the Spirit intercedes for us, and He arranges our circumstances, causing all things to work together for good to us. 28 3 According to the context, the good here is not related to physical persons, matters, or things. It refers to our gaining more of Christ, to our having Him wrought into our being, that we may be transformed metabolically and may eventually be conformed to His image, the image of the Son of God (v. 29), that is, that we may be brought into the full sonship. 28 4 Loving God causes us to care for His desire and to be willing to coordinate with Him. God s working needs our coordination, and our coordinating with God confirms that we are called by God according to His purpose. 28 5 Referring to the purposeful determination in God s plan. This is God s purpose to produce many brothers of His firstborn Son. 29 1 In vv. 29-30 all the steps of God s work are described using the past tense, indicating that in His eyes all the work has been completed. Because God is the God of eternity, there is no element of time with Him. 29 2 God has predestinated us not simply that we may be sanctified, spiritual, and victorious but that we may be fully conformed to the image of His Son. This is our destiny, determined by God in eternity past. 29 3 Conformation is the end result of transformation. It includes the changing of our inward essence and nature, and it also includes the changing of our outward form, that we may match the glorified image of Christ, the God-man. He is the prototype and we are the mass production. Both the inward and the outward changes in us, the product, are the result of the operation of the law of the Spirit of life (v. 2) in our being. 29 4 Christ was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18). When He was sent by God into the world, He was still the only begotten Son of God (1 John 4:9; John 1:14; 3:16). By His passing through death and entering into resurrection, His humanity was uplifted into His divinity. Thus, in His divinity with His humanity that passed through death and resurrection, He was born in resurrection as God s firstborn Son (Acts 13:33). At the same time, all His believers were raised together with Him in His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3) and were begotten together with Him as the many sons of God. Thus they became His many brothers to constitute His Body and be God s corporate expression in Him. As the only begotten Son of God, Christ had divinity but not humanity; He was self-existing and ever-existing, as God is. His being the firstborn Son of God, having both divinity and humanity, began with His resurrection. With His firstborn Son as the base, pattern, element, and means, God is producing many sons, and the many sons who are produced are the many believers who believe into God s firstborn Son and are joined to Him as one. They are exactly like Him in life and nature, and, like Him, they have both humanity and divinity. They are His increase and expression in order that they may express the eternal Triune God for eternity. The church today is a miniature of this expression (Eph. 1:23), and the New Jerusalem in eternity will be the ultimate manifestation of this expression (Rev. 21:11). This book reveals that God s making sinners His sons is for this expression (12:5) and points to the ultimate manifestation of this expression (Eph. 3:19). 29 5 The purpose of God s foreknowledge, predestination, and calling is to prepare and produce many brothers for His firstborn Son (see note 17 2 in John 20) that, on the one hand, they, together with God s firstborn Son, may be the many sons of God with the divine life and nature for the expression of God, and that, on the other hand, they may be the many members who constitute the Body of God s firstborn Son as the corporate expression of God in His firstborn Son, which is the fullness of God s firstborn Son, that is, the fullness of God in His firstborn Son (Eph. 1:23; 3:19). Suggested daily reading Verses 26 and 27 say, And in like manner the Spirit also joins in to help us in our weakness; for we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; but He Who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He intercedes for the saints according to God. Here we have the sympathizing, helping, and interceding of the Spirit. For what purpose do we have these things? The purpose is found in verses 28 through 30. Paul begins verse 28 with the words, And we know, words which connect this verse to the foregoing verses. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to the purpose. What is the

Morning Watch Tuesday 3/3 Continued... purpose of God s calling? We find it in verse 29. Because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He should be the firstborn among many brothers. Paul does not say that God foreknew and predestined us to go to a happy place or to have a life that will endure forever. These are not our destiny. God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son. This destiny was determined before we were even created. Before the creation of the world God had decreed such a destiny for us. Hence, it is a predestiny. God s firstborn Son is the prototype, and we are the mass production. Christ is the model, mold, and pattern. God has put us all into Him that we may be molded into the image of His firstborn Son. Eventually we all shall be conformed to the mold. Sometimes when the sisters make cakes they put dough into a mold. By being put into the mold the dough assumes the pattern and image of the mold. Furthermore, the dough must also be baked that the cake may bear the pattern of the mold without any change. If the dough could speak, it probably would cry out, Sister, have mercy on me. Don t apply so much pressure. I can t bear it. Please keep your hands off. However, the sister would reply, If I keep my hands off, how will you fit into the pattern of the mold? Dear dough, after my molding you must be put into the oven. You may think that pressure is enough suffering for you, but you also need burning. After you have experienced pressure and intense heat you will bear the pattern of the mold permanently. Likewise, Christ, the firstborn Son of God, is the prototype, pattern, and mold, and we are pieces of dough. We all have been put into the mold, and are now being kneaded by the hand of God. We have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of God s Son that He may be the firstborn among many brothers. This is God's purpose. God's purpose is to produce many brothers of His firstborn Son. When Christ was the only begotten Son, He was unique, but God desired to have many sons who will be the many brothers of His Son. In this way the only begotten Son of God becomes the firstborn among many brothers. He is the firstborn Son, and we are the many sons. What is the purpose of this? The purpose is that we express God in a corporate way. God s kingdom is built up with His many sons, and the Body of Christ is built up with His many brothers. Without the many sons God could never have a kingdom, and without the many brothers Christ could never have a Body. Thus, the many sons of God are for the kingdom of God, and the many brothers of Christ are for the Body of Christ. The kingdom of God is simply the Body life, and this Body life in the church is God s kingdom where He is expressed and where His dominion is exercised on the earth. This is God's purpose. Therefore verse 30 says, And whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. In eternity we were predestinated and in time we were called. Why does God arrange our environment, surroundings, and situations in such a way that we experience suffering? We should not explain this according to our natural concept saying, The whole earth is filled with sufferings and everyone undergoes hardship. Why should we be an exception? This is a natural concept, and we should not accept it. We must realize that God's purpose is to make us full-grown sons, not little children. We should not be content to remain children enjoying His cherishing and loving. God intends to make us full sons, completely grown up to be legal heirs that we may inherit all that He is in this universe and that we may express Him and exercise His dominion over the earth. Since God s intention is to bring us into full sonship, we need to grow. There is no doubt that growth comes from inward nourishment, but this inner nourishment needs the coordination of the outward environment. According to our feeling, most of the outward environment is unpleasant. Thus, the outward environment becomes a suffering as far as we are concerned. I do not say that the outward environment is not good; it is always good, but it may not appear good to your feeling. Sometimes parents do things to their children which, according to the feeling of the children, are not positive. The children may cry and weep, imagining themselves to be suffering. However, good parents are not deceived by their children s tears. Some young mothers have been cheated by the weeping of their children, changing their policy when they see the tears of their little ones. It is not a gain for children to deceive their parents with their tears. A mother must tell her child, I don't care about your crying. I know that I am putting you into a very good environment, the one that is best for you. You may say that it is a suffering. But I know how good it is for you. God deals with us in exactly the same way. He knows in which situation and in which environment we can grow well. He is our Father, and everything is under His arrangement. He can do nothing wrong. Everything He does for us is excellent and wonderful, although to our feeling it may not be good. However, we should not care for our feelings; we should take care of God s arrangement. Was it you who decided to be born in the twentieth century? Was it you who planned into which family you would be born and which parents and brothers and sisters you would have? Was it you who designed your face? You did none of these things. It was God who chose the place of your birth and the design of your face. God selected us, predestinated us, and caused us to be born at the right time and in the right place. He knows what is best for us, and everything is under His control. I say once again that, according to our feelings, our environment may be a suffering, but actually it is a blessing; it is God s sovereign provision. Everything we need for our growth in life has been sovereignly provided by God. Everything is all right. Therefore, when we are experiencing pain and suffering, we must deny them and say, Satan, you are a liar. This is not a pain or a suffering to me; it is God s arrangement. This is a blessing that I may grow into full sonship. We all need a proper environment to provide the elements which are required for our growth in life. Nevertheless, when unpleasant things happen to us we may not understand that they come from the hand of our Father for our growth. Life-Study of Romans Message 20, pg. 239-243 (C. Conformed to the Image of the Firstborn) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission

Morning Watch Wednesday 3/4 Related verses Rom. 8:28-30 28 See Tuesday 29 See Tuesday 30 And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also 1 justified; and those whom He justified, these He also 2 glorified. Acts 13:33 33 That God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, You are My Son; this day have I begotten You. 1 Peter 1:3-4 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 Unto an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, kept in the heavens for you, John 20:17 17 Jesus said to her, Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. Heb. 2:10-12 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 Saying, I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You. Footnotes Rom. 8:30 1 Justification is a bridge that brings sinners, who are redeemed by Christ, from the law s condemnation (3:19) into God s acceptance (5:1-2). In this acceptance God works to conform them to the image of His Son until He brings them into His glory (Heb. 2:10). 30 2 Glorification is the step in God s complete salvation in which God will completely saturate our body of sin, which is of death and is mortal (7:24; 8:11; 6:6), with the glory of His life and nature according to the principle of His regenerating our spirit through the Spirit. In this way He will transfigure our body, conforming it to the resurrected, glorious body of His Son (Phil. 3:21). This is the ultimate step in God s complete salvation, wherein God obtains a full expression, which will ultimately be manifested in the New Jerusalem in the coming age. Suggested daily reading We cannot avoid the process mentioned in the previous message, for it is the purpose of the Holy Spirit s intercession with groanings. God the Father knows the purpose of the Spirit s groaning and thus He causes all things to work together (v. 28). Following verses 26 and 27 which speak of the Spirit s intercession, we have verse 28 which says, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to the purpose. The Holy Spirit groans within us, interceding for us, and God the Father answers this intercession by causing all things to work together for good. In Greek the word translated all things means all matters, all persons, all things, all in all. God the Father is sovereign and He arranges everything. He knows how many hairs you need (Matt. 10:30) and how many children you should have. Do not complain about your children, for God will not give you more or less than you need. He is sovereign. He knows. He knows whether you need obedient children or naughty children. He knows whether you need boys or girls. Again and again I say that He knows. He causes all things, all matters, and all persons to work together for your good. It seems that God sacrifices everyone for you. To the wife her husband is a sacrifice, and to the husband his wife is a sacrifice. To the children the parents are a sacrifice, and to the parents the children are a sacrifice. Who can do such a work? Only God. I have told the Lord, Lord, why do You sacrifice everyone just for me? I have the inward sensation that all the brothers with whom I coordinate and even all the churches are sacrifices for me. Nevertheless, when you suffer, I suffer more. When the wife suffers loss, the husband suffers more, and when the children suffer, the parents suffer more. Praise the Lord that God causes all things, all matters, and all persons to work together for good to those who love Him and who have been called by Him to the end that He may fulfill His purpose. God has determined our destiny beforehand, and this destiny can never be fulfilled without the divine arrangement which causes all things to work together for us. Our destiny is to be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God. We are not yet fully in the image of the firstborn Son of God, but God the Father is planning, molding, and performing by causing all things to work together for good. Praise the Lord! While we are growing, He is molding. We all should be comforted. If you have a nice wife, praise the Lord for your nice wife. If

Morning Watch Wednesday 3/4 Continued... you have a difficult wife, praise the Lord even more for your difficult wife. Whether you have a nice wife or a difficult wife, a nice husband or a difficult husband, obedient children or naughty children whatever you have you should be comforted. You should tell the Lord, Lord, I can make and I have made many mistakes, but You can never be mistaken. Even my mistakes are in Your hands. If You do not allow me to make a mistake, You just move Your little finger and change the situation and I will not make one. Everything is in Your hands. Therefore, we all must be comforted. However, do not be so spiritual that you go to an extreme and pray the Father to give you suffering. Do not pray for sufferings. Instead you should pray, Father, deliver me from temptation. Deliver me from all manner of sufferings. Keep me away from every kind of disturbance. Although you pray in this way, some hardships and afflictions will visit you. When they come, do not complain and do not be troubled, but say, Father, thank You for this. Father, if it is possible, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, Father, not my will but Thine be done. This is the proper attitude. Never pray that sufferings come, but pray the Father to keep sufferings away from you. However, when the sufferings come, do not be disappointed; accept them and continue to pray, Father, if possible take this away. Keep me in Your presence, away from every trouble and distraction. On one hand we must pray in this way; on the other hand we must be happy with all that the Father gives us, because we know that everything is in His hands and comes our way that we may be conformed to the image of His firstborn Son. This conformation is the preparation for our glorification. In verse 24 Paul says that we have been saved in hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what anyone sees, why does he also hope? The hope mentioned in this verse is the hope of glory. Since none of us has ever seen this hope, it is a hope complete and genuine. Some hope is partial because we have seen a certain percentage of it. However, the hope of glory is a whole hope, for we have not seen any part of it. Hence, we are waiting for that hope, eagerly expecting it through endurance (v. 25). Chapter 5:2 says, that we boast in hope of the glory of God, and 9:23 says that we are vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory. This glory will be in the revelation of the coming kingdom in which we, as revealed sons of God, shall participate. God has called us into this glory (1 Thes. 2:12; 2 Thes. 2:14; 1 Pet. 5:10). Christ Himself is the hope of this glory (Col. 1:27) which we are expecting and for which we are waiting. Our hope is none other than Christ Himself who will be revealed as our glory. We now boast and rejoice in this hope of glory. We shall share this glory at the day of our glorification. When Christ appears, we shall appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:4). This is our destiny. Life-Study of Romans Message 21, pg. 247-249, (2. Outwardly by the Working Together of All Things [paragraphs 1-4]); Message 21, pg. 252-253 (D. Glorification, 1. The Revelation of the Sons of God in the Freedom of Glory [paragraph 3]; 2. The Sharing of God s Glory) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission

Morning Watch Thursday 3/5 Related verses Rom. 8:31-34, 36-37 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 Indeed, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also 2 at the right hand of God, who also 3 intercedes for us. 36 As it is written, For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we have been accounted as sheep for slaughter. 37 But in all these things we 1 more than conquer through Him who loved us. Rev. 12:10-11 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death. Heb. 7:25 25 Hence also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them. 2 Cor. 4:10 10 Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. Footnotes Rom. 8:34 2 This verse states that Christ today is at the right hand of God, in the heavens; v. 10, however, states that He is now in us, in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). As the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), He is omnipresent, being both at the right hand of God and in our spirit, both in heaven and on earth. 34 3 In this verse it is Christ who intercedes for us, yet in v. 26 it is the Spirit who intercedes for us. These are not two Intercessors but one, the Lord Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). He is interceding for us at two ends. At one end it is the Spirit in us, probably initiating the intercession for us; at the other end it is the Lord Christ at the right hand of God, probably completing the intercession for us, which must be mainly that we will be conformed to His image and brought into His glory. 37 1 Because of God s unchanging love for us and the fact that Christ has accomplished everything on our behalf, neither tribulation nor persecution can suppress or defeat us; rather, in all these things we more than overcome and conquer through Him who loved us. Suggested daily reading The love of God (Rom. 8:39) is the source of His salvation. In His salvation this love to us has become the love of Christ (v. 35), which will accomplish God s complete salvation in us through the grace of Christ. This love of God is in Christ and has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (5:5). Nothing can separate us from this love of God (8:38-39). In God s salvation this love has become the love of Christ, which does many marvelous things for us through the grace of Christ until God s complete salvation is accomplished in us. Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved by grace. According to our natural understanding, we think that grace is freely given to us by God without any price. Actually, it is not so shallow. What is the grace of Christ? The grace of Christ is Christ becoming the life-giving Spirit through death and resurrection; it is also the Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God who has passed through the various processes. The marvelous things which God does for us due to His love provoke God s enemy to attack us with all kinds of sufferings and calamities (Rom. 8:35-36). However, because of our response to the love of God in Christ, these attacks have become benefits to us (v. 28). Hence, we more than conquer in all our calamities (v. 37). Christ s resurrection was His victory, which will accomplish the ultimate and complete victory in resurrection for us who believe in Him and participate in His resurrection (1Cor. 15:54). Through resurrection Christ was victorious over Satan, God s enemy, over the world, over sin, and over death. We who believe in Christ will enjoy the consummation of resurrection through the redemption and salvation in Christ. This resurrection begins with the enlivening of our dead spirit and is completed with the transfiguration of our corruptible body. Between these two ends is the process in which our fallen soul is metabolically transformed by Christ Jesus as the life-giving Spirit, who is the reality of resurrection. Christ s victory should not only be an accomplished fact for us to receive; it should also become our daily experience in life through the union of the resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b) with our spirit as one spirit (6:17) that we may be alltranscending in our overcoming with Christ. Hence, we should live by and walk according to this mingled spirit. The Experience of God s Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ s Life Message 4, Reigning in Life (1), pg. 48-50 (III. In Being Overcoming in all Circumstances [A. 1. 2. B. 1. 2]) Living Stream Ministry, used by permission

Morning Watch Friday 3/6 Related verses Rom. 8:35, 38-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers 39 Nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the 1 love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 5:5, 8 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 8 But God commends His own love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 2 Cor. 5:14-15 14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died; 15 And He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised. 2 Cor. 13:14 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Footnotes Rom. 8:39 1 The love of God is the source of His eternal salvation. This love is in Christ and has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (5:5). Nothing can separate us from this love of God (vv. 38-39). In God s salvation this love to us has become the love of Christ (v. 35), which does many marvelous things for us through the grace of Christ until God s complete salvation is accomplished in us. These marvelous things provoke God s enemy to attack us with all kinds of sufferings and calamities (vv. 35-36). However, because of our response to the love of God in Christ, these attacks have become benefits to us (v. 28). Hence, we more than conquer in all our afflictions and calamities (v. 37). By the end of ch. 8 this book has covered the first half of God s salvation in Christ. This salvation has saved us to the extent that, on the one hand, we are in God s acceptance enjoying the source of this salvation, which is God s love in Christ, from which we cannot be separated by any person, matter, or thing; and, on the other hand, we are in God s life being conformed by the Lord Spirit to reach the ultimate goal of this salvation, that is, to enter into the incomparable divine glory and be glorified together with God (vv. 18, 30). Suggested daily reading Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For Your sake we are being put to death all day long, we have been reckoned as sheep for slaughter (vv. 35-36). Although this certainly speaks of suffering, the following verses declare, But in all these things we more than conquer through Him Who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (vv. 37-39). We are not defeated; we more than conquer because God loves us. Why does God care so much for us and do so many things for us? Simply because we are His beloved. No one can separate us from His love. Once He loves us, He loves us forever with an eternal love. Nothing can separate us from Him. Because He loves us and because we are His beloved, sooner or later we all shall be sanctified, transformed, conformed, and glorified. Paul was wise and very deep. As I have pointed out previously, he composed three of the sections in Romans according to three of the attributes of God His righteousness, holiness, and glory. Eventually, however, Paul guides us into the love of God. Ultimately, our security is not only God s righteousness, holiness, and glory, but also His love. What is God s love? Love is the heart of God. God s love issues out of His heart. Righteousness is the way of God, holiness is the nature of God, glory is the expression of God, and love is the heart of God. After speaking of God s righteousness, holiness, and glory, Paul brings us into God s heart of love. Why has God demonstrated His righteousness? Because man was fallen. Man was wrong with God and needed His righteousness. Why must God exercise His holiness? Because man is common. God must sanctify all of His common, chosen ones. Why must God give us His glory? Because all His chosen ones are low, mean, and vile. Hence, He must exercise His glory to transfigure us. But what was in God s heart originally? Love. Before God exercised His righteousness, holiness, and glory He loved us. Love was the fountain, love was the root, and love was the source of it all. God loved us before He predestinated us, He loved us before He called us, He loved us

Morning Watch Friday 3/6 Continued... before He justified us, and He loved us before He glorified us. Before everything and anything else He loved us. Our salvation originated with the love of God. Love is the source of all that God does for us, and this love is His heart. Love was the source of God s eternal salvation which includes redemption, justification, reconciliation, sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification. Salvation began with God s heart of love. Therefore, after God s salvation has been fully accomplished, His love remains our security. The love of God is not only the source of our salvation, it is the security of our salvation. Many Christians talk about eternal security. Eternal security is the love of God. God cannot be wrong in any of His attributes. Our security is His love. In verse 31 Paul asks, What shall we then say to these things? What shall we say about predestination, calling, justification, and glorification? We have nothing to say except, Hallelujah! If God is for us, who can be against us? Now we can understand this word in a deeper way. God is for us because from eternity His heart loved us. Thus, His love is our security. Paul touched upon this love in 5:8 when he said that God commends His own love to us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. This actually was an introduction to and a recommendation of the love of God. When we believed in Jesus the Holy Spirit poured out God s love into our hearts (5:5). Although Paul touched upon this matter of love in Romans 5, he did not cover it adequately. He waited until he had compassed the vast scope of God s predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. After finishing the entire record he reached the appropriate time and place to present us a full revelation of the love of God. Paul was persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God because he knew that this love does not derive from nor depend upon us, but upon God Himself. This love was not initiated by us; it was initiated by God in eternity. Because of this Paul could say that we conquer in all things. Paul was convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This phrase in Christ Jesus is very significant. Why did Paul say this? Because he knew that there would be a problem if the love of God had been shown apart from Christ Jesus. Apart from Christ Jesus even a little sin such as losing our temper would separate us from the love of God. However, the love of God is not merely the love of God in itself, but the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Since the love of God is in Christ Jesus everything is insured, and we are assured that nothing can separate us from it. Are you insured? Paul was. I use the word insured; Paul uses the word persuaded saying, I am persuaded. Paul was convinced that in all things we more than conquer through Him Who loved us. This does not mean that we in ourselves are able to overcome; it means that God is love and that Christ is victor. God loves us and Christ has accomplished everything for us. Since God s love is eternal, His love in Christ Jesus is our security. We are not only under God s righteousness, holiness, and glory, but we are in His heart of love. Now we can understand 2 Corinthians 13:14 which says, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. The love of God is the source. Therefore, the Apostle Paul has brought us through the righteousness of God, the holiness of God, and the glory of God into the heart of the God of love. This is where we are. Hallelujah! This is our eternal insurance policy. Now you know how to answer people when they ask you if you have insurance. You can say, I have insurance. My insurance policy is Romans 8:31-39. I am insured by the love in God s heart. We are insured by God s eternal love in Christ Jesus. Life-Study of Romans Message 21, pg. 253-256 (III. Heirs Inseparable From God s Love) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission

Saturday 3/7 Rom. 8:24-39 Rom. 8:24-39; Eph. 1:4-5; Heb. 2:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:14-15 Lord s Day 3/8 1 Peter 1:1-9 1 Peter 1:1-9 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the sojourners of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 Unto an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, kept in the heavens for you, 5 Who are being guarded by the power of God through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time; 6 In which time you exult, though for a little while at present, if it must be, you have been made sorrowful by various trials, 7 So that the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 Whom having not seen, you love; into whom though not seeing Him at present, yet believing, you exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, 9 Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.