Bible Studies

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The Letters
Romans 8:14-17 – Adopted in His Spirit

Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 14: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” – As His adopted children we become full heirs of His estate. Everything that is His becomes ours.
  
  
• 15: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption.” – The Holy Spirit reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
  
  
• 16: “When we cry ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” – When we are able to cry out to God in a loving and personal manner – “Daddy” or “Papa” – it demonstrates and proves that our inner spirit is connected to Christ as a child of God.
  
  
• 17b: “if, in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” – To live as Jesus did, as a servant to others and nonconforming to the ways of the world, it may exact a price. We may face difficulty and cost but in the sharing of His suffering also comes the sharing of His glory.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• What does it mean to you to have “the Spirit of God dwelling within you?” Does it provide you with a sense of holiness or awe? Does this knowledge provide you with comfort as you realize you can never separated from Him? Does it make it easier to face the hurts, habits, and hang-ups in your life when you come to realize that His Spirit is right there, within you, to provide support, comfort, and guidance? Does it bring your relationship with God to a more personal level?
  
  
• Are you out of control? Do you have a particular habit or sin that dominates your life? Have you fought for years but still yield to its lure and temptation every time it comes your way? Have you tried asking God for help? Have you tried focusing on His holiness? Do you realize that as we focus inwardly at our own issues, as we give in to our own temptations, that not only are we choosing to ignore God’s Spirit, but we are choosing to elevate our self and our needs higher than God? Our temptation becomes more important than God. Paul is saying that if we truly focus everything we have on God, if we love Him above our temptations, if we lean into His Spirit in all things, then we will be lifted from the bonds of sin and temptation that attempt to destroy us.
  
  
• Do we need to suffer if we are Christian? Is it a condition for salvation? If you have not suffered does that mean you are somehow falling short of being the disciple you are called to be? Or are Paul’s comments recognition that doing the right thing is not always the easy path? If we follow Jesus where He leads could there be challenges, trials, and tribulations along the way?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

John Wesley defined the witness of the Spirit in our lives as follows: "It is the inward impression on the soul whereby the Spirit of God immediately and directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God, that Jesus Christ has loved me and given himself for me, and that all my sins are blotted out, and that I, even I, am reconciled to God." How sure can we be of our salvation? Wesley said that God's Spirit gives the believer such an assurance of his adoption that he can no more doubt the reality of it "than he can doubt the shining of the sun when he stands in the full blaze of its beams."<sup>1

1</sup>Collected Sermons, Dr. Bill Bouknight, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2002, 0-000-0000-13.

FUMC Devotionals

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