The New Order of the Spirit in the Life of the Believer

In the Book of Romans, Paul spends a great deal of time reflecting on the position of mankind under the previous law, and the status of the Christian after the death of Jesus on the cross. After accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, a Christian then is commanded to life a new life, worthy of the sacrifice Christ gave for their sins, having been brought from death into life. Paul describes this as a new order to our lives. The new order of the Spirit gives us a new life in Christ Jesus who has liberated us from the law of sin and death. That new order that Paul is speaking of is the process of sanctification.

Definition

Many scholars have debated the definition of sanctification over the years. Before reviewing what Paul has to say on the issue in Romans, a broader definition of sanctification should be reviewed. The practical definition of sanctification given by Elmer Towns is:

“A continual process beginning with the conversion and finally accomplished at the coming of Christ, which involved the Christian becoming Christ-like by struggling in the present life with sin, and appropriating the divine and biblical means of overcoming it.”1




The Holy Spirit, which dwells inside of a believer once they have been redeemed through Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, is constantly working to “make the believer 'holy' (lit. 'to set apart') and 'spiritual' (to reflect the character of God.).”2 Typically, the process of sanctification is viewed in three parts: The first is that the believer was sanctified when they were forgiven of their sins and set apart to God at the moment of salvation. Secondly, the believer is constantly being made holy, or set apart, from sin as he exercises grace in his life. And thirdly, he will be completely sanctified when he comes face to face with the Lord.3 Sanctification is not “merely the completion of justification; it is justifying faith at work. In the faith counted for righteousness, actual righteousness is born.”4 Based on my research, I have come to hold my own definition of what sanctification is. I believe that sanctification is the ongoing process by which the Holy Spirit continually works to make the believer more and more Christ-like, and will only end when the believer receives their glorified body after dying. Humans cannot do this on their own, and it requires a constant yielding to the urging of the Holy Spirit, working inside of them, every single day. It is not a one time deal, but a continual process.

Basis

Paul uses the word sanctification only briefly in Romans, specifically speaking of it in chapter 6. Romans 6:22 states : “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” (ESV) Having lived under the reign of sin, the believer now lives under the reign of God. The believer “must recognize that the grace and power of God that justified us continue to be at work to sanctify us.”5 The believer has been given a new life, as Paul mentions in 6:4, and this new life is directed by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to each believer for this process of sanctification. It is through this process that a believer is able to, as Paul mentions in 6:19, “present your members as slaves to righteousness.” (ESV) But how does this process begin? Paul begins his explanation in Romans 6:3-4:

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (ESV)




Since sin's power has now been broken over us, “we should reflect that new freedom in the way we live. Sin no longer characterizes us.”6 There is a new order to the way a Christian lives their lives. Before Christ, a person's life was dominated by sin, and each person was a slave to sin under the law. But now that the captive has been set free, the new life begins in the Holy Spirit. Because “the cross put sin to death and because the Spirit freed us from sin's unhindered control, our life no longer is determined by sin; we are no longer only lawbreakers.”7 We “are no longer under bondage to sin, which used the law as its instrument to increase sin and lead to death.”8

What purpose did the law serve in this process of sanctification? Paul begins chapter 8 by explaining that the law, which was weakened by flesh as explained in 8:3, could not completely set a sinner free. This is why Jesus had to come, because only God could really set the captive free, and as Paul writes in 8:4: “In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.” (ESV) So what did the law do then, even though it was given by God? Paul Raabe summarizes the accomplishments of the law, specifically citing Paul on this issue:

“The law holds all sinners guilty before God (Rom. 3:19); it reveals sin (3:20); it brings God's wrath and makes sinners lawbreakers (4:15; 5:13); it holds sinners captive under sin (7:6); sin uses it as sin's base of operations to increase sin (5:20; 7:5-13). Sinners cannot establish their own righteousness through the law (3:9-20; 9:30-10:13) nor can Christians—because they are still sinners—produce their own sanctification through the law (7:14-25). Therefore Paul also emphasizes that Christians are no longer under the law (6:14-15); they have died to the law (7:4, 6); they have been released from the law (7:6). The law is powerless to bring about its own obedience, and it cannot prevent itself from being used by sin.”9




Romans 8:4 is speaking of the new Christian life of obedience to God, “empowered by the Spirit, that fulfills the righteous requirements of the law.”10 And although the process is ongoing, it is but “the beginning of our complete liberation and perfect obedience at the resurrection.”11 Because the sinner has been set free from the law, by the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit then leads them on a new path, which is their continual sanctification. The Spirit has liberated Christians, in Christ, “from the sin and death associated with Adam and exacerbated by the law. This liberation is rooted in the atoning death of Christ.”12

Means

Because the believer is no longer living according to the flesh, but the Spirit, they are now guided through the process of sanctification. How does this happen? First of all, God has already begun the process of sanctification. Because a believer has gone through the process of justification, and now stands in a right relationship with God through Jesus' death, God has sanctified the believer. This is the positional sanctification of the believer, where now in “the book of heaven he is set apart as holy, having obtained the righteousness of Christ”13 that Paul spoke of in Romans 3:22: “The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” (ESV) Sanctification is not “merely the completion of justification; it is justifying faith at work. In the faith counted for righteousness, actual righteousness is born.”14 There is a direct relationship between justification and sanctification. In justification, “God at the beginning of Christian life declares us acquitted. In sanctification, God accomplishes his will in us as Christian life proceeds.”15 It is important to note that “sanctification never replaces justification.”16 It is God's work through Holy Spirit that “enables believers to fulfill God's righteous requirements. The flesh is unable to obey God, but believers are no longer simply in the flesh.”17 So it is important to note that God is the one who begins the process of sanctification.

Secondly, the believer is to not set their mind on the things of the flesh. Paul explains this in 8:5: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit.” (ESV) The “Christian's death with Christ should result in a new life of obedience—walking in newness of life, not serving sin, bearing fruit to God, and serving in the newness of the Spirit.”18 The concept of the flesh is one that Paul has been, so to speak, “fleshing” out so far in Romans. Paul uses the term to trace “people's manner of life to their underlying way of thinking.”19 This comparison primarily takes place in 8:5-8, where Paul uses a back and forth approach to contrast the two lifestyles. By contrasting a life devoted to the flesh, versus a life devoted to the spirit Paul is seeking to show that “the lifestyle of the flesh flows from a mind orientated to the flesh, whereas a lifestyle of the Spirit comes from a mind orientated to the spirit.”20 Flesh is “now given its more characteristic negative sense, designating human existence as weak, mortal, prone to sin, and above all hostile to God.”21 This does not “necessarily refer to an immoral lifestyle per se, but a life in which the Spirit is not given His freedom to reign, and which therefore cannot please God.”22

Lastly, it is a reliance on the power of the Spirit to continue the process of sanctification for a believer to live in this new order. Paul outlines what the Holy Spirit does in the life of a believer in 8:26-28:

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)




This section of Romans shows that “the involvement of the Spirit in a believer’s life is then displayed as the new basis for a daily relationship with God.”23 It is the Spirit that “is the one facilitating morality and offering companionship in times of suffering and weakness.”24 This is the culmination of the contrast Paul has been making of the flesh filled life and the spirit filled life. It is the Spirit now which takes up the mantle of a daily interaction with the believer and God. Believer's are “now given the choice where beforehand it was impossible not to sin.”25

A summary of the means of sanctification is provided neatly by Paul is 8:29-30:

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (ESV)




Time Factor

The next focus should be on the time factor for sanctification. The question could the be raised: Are we made perfect at the moment of salvation? Paul uses the concept of fruit in 6:22, being that “the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” (ESV) Just as eternal life is at the end of the Christian's journey, so the fruit must grow during that journey. Paul is showing that “our domination by a new set of powers does not yet mean that we are rescued from any possible contamination from the old regime.”26 We are still prone to falling back into our old ways. Paul describes his own struggle with sin in 7:18-20:

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”(ESV)




Paul is writing this post-salvation, showing the he still relies on the Holy Spirit to provide the ongoing process of sanctification in his life. The lives of other believers are no different, and they are prone to face the same challenges with sin that Paul did. It is important to recognize that are their core, Christian's are still sinners. Their sins have now been forgiven through the redemption offered by Christ's suffering and death. The law merely “exposes the struggle between Paul's renewed will and mind and Paul's sinful flesh.”27 The law itself cannot resolve this struggle between the Spirit and the flesh, and “it is still powerless to produce its own obedience even for Christians.”28 Paul is speaking to a large group here, incorporating his own personal struggle, the struggles of those in the church living in Rome at the time of the letter's writing, and for all believers who would read his words. It is then observable that some, then and today as well, “having had their sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ, concluded that personal sins were now of no real consequence.”29 Paul then is showing that the old sin nature of man still “seeks to retain its control as 'master' over the believer in order that sin might continue to reign in one’s mortal body so that he obeys its evil desires.”30 This act of original sanctification at the time of salvation “was not a special one-time experience with the Holy Spirit that instantaneously transforms the carnal Christians into spiritual Christlike giants.”31 The flesh continues to appear both in the “regenerate and the unregenerate man. Paul's design was to set forth not the origin of sin from the flesh, but the power of sin in the flesh. The origin of sin is from the heart.”32 All of this is to say that the process of sanctification is ongoing, as Christians continue to wage war against the flesh with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Results/Fruits

Once the new order of the Spirit has begun in the lie of the believer, there are benefits and results that follow from it. First, it should be noted the significance of what Paul states in Romans 8:1, for the life of the believer now holds no condemnation. Why is this? Paul answers in 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (ESV) There is freedom now for the believer, not to keep on sinning, but to now enjoy the new life that has been given to them. This entire section of 8:1-4 “actually ground the verdict of no condemnation in the liberating work of the Spirit producing sanctification.”33 Paul has already established that the law brought death, and to set the mind on flesh is also death, according to 8:6, but now believers set their minds on things of the Spirit, which brings life and peace. Christians “are no longer under bondage to sin, which used the law as its instrument to increase sin and lead to death.”34 Believers have now been moved from a position of bondage unto sin into a new position relative to their new standing with God, this position Paul calls this in 8:16 “co-heirs with Christ.” (ESV) This term “speaks of the believer’s sanctification, as a motivation for faithful living.”35 Amy Lindeman Allen describes this new position Christians now enjoy:

“In our confession and receipt of absolution, Christians celebrate the continually new, while not yet fully realized, possibilities of freedom in Christ. We confess our limitations and put our trust in God to break through our failings to renew our life in Christ and use our will for God toward the continued service of the kingdom.”36




Because believers are now made holy in Christ, “they are to be holy in practice in the power of the Holy Spirit. They are to be sanctified because they are already sanctified.”37

Paul begins to speak of the gifts of the Spirit in Romans 12, which vary according to what he calls in 9:6 the “grace given to us.” (ESV) These gifts are the result of the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer. Verses 6-8 in chapter 9 list these gifts as: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, contribution, generosity, leadership. zeal, and mercy. These gifts manifest themselves in the life of the believer as a direct result of the Spirit, and are all to be used with the purpose ultimately of bringing glory to God.

Paul also speaks of the marks of a true Christian in chapter 12, verses 9-21. The actions Paul speaks of can only be manifested through the workings of the Spirit in the life of the believer, through the process of sanctification. While the actions vary, and it would be hard to place all within one theme, they do present a clear motif: “The call for a humble and peaceable attitude toward others, both fellow Christians and non-Christians.”38 The heading for this section comes from verse 12:9: “Let love be genuine.” (ESV) All of the other actions stem from this command. Paul then spends verses 9-13 showing the “many facets of sincere love.”39 Believers are to abhor what is evil, to love one another, to outdo one another in showing honor, to be fervent in spirit, to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, and to contribute to the needs of the saints. Verses 24-16 then move on to show how to “live in harmony with other people.”40 Christians are called to bless others, rejoice with others, and to live in harmony with others. The final step Paul lays out for living the life of what he refers to as a true Christian in verses 17-21, by showing that believers should “overcome evil with good by refusing to retaliate.”41 What Paul is showing here is “a key ingredient of that love he mentioned in verse 14: responding to the persecution of unbelievers with kindness rather than hatred.”42 The key to these verses is found in verse 21, where Paul commands: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The results of following Paul's instructions for living in the Spirit will definitely place the believer at odds with the world. The sinful nature of the unbeliever will first of all place their own selfishness above the needs of others. Those living in the world of sin are out to get for themselves as much as possible. This is also including the practice of retaliation for any perceived wrong they might have experienced. Paul calls the Christian living in the Spirit, who is undergoing the process of sanctification, to live differently. Paul instructs the believer in 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God.” (ESV) Jewett suggests that:

“Paul is calling believers 'to redefine [their social obligations] so that the society no longer determines what one should do or be' since 'the obligatory patterns of society had been broken by Christ.’ Whereas society (or, the flesh) previously dictated the direction of human life, freed by Christ, the baptized are called to return to God.”43




Assurance

The question then arises: How can one be assured of sanctification? First of all, for Paul, those who have truly accepted Jesus as their Savior now have the Holy Spirit, who, as already stated, is constantly at work in the process of sanctification. Kevin McFadden summarizes this thought:

“For Paul, all Christians are "in the Spirit," since all Christians have been given the Spirit (5:5; cf. Gal 3:2-3), and all in whom the Spirit dwells are "not in the flesh but in the Spirit" (8:9a). Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, a mindset of death because it is a mindset at war with God, not able to submit to the law of God, and thus not able to please God. But those according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit, a mindset of life and peace with God.”44




To be saved is to have the Holy Spirit, so the question of whether the process of sanctification is taking place must be firmly rooted in the question of whether or not a person has really accepted Christ as their savior. Calvin was one who believed that all who are really saved will live their lives righteously. This would later be attributed to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Hodge would write on this:

“The orthodox doctrine does not affirm certainty of ־salvation because we have once believed, but certainty of perseverance in holiness if we have truly believed . . . the only sure evidence of the genuineness of past experience [justification by faith, alone].”45




This assurance stems from the believers new position in faith, as Paul has explained in 8:17, that believers are now “co-heirs with Christ.” (ESV) This now only “assures the 'children' of their salvation, but it also motivates them to 'despise with boldness the enticements of the world.'”46 The position itself provides comfort, having been moved out from under the law of sin and bondage, into a new position of righteousness, brought about by the believers faith in Jesus as their Savior, and the Holy Spirit, who is now beginning the process of sanctification.

The process of sanctification is ongoing in all who have truly pronounced Jesus as their savior, and because of this act, Paul now reaffirms the assurance by which the believer is saved in Romans 8. He poses the question in 8:35: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (ESV) Paul's answer would follow in verse 37, which is: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (ESV) Believers have assurance that once the work of the Spirit has begun in their lives, after their salvation, that nothing can separate them from God, and this work that is taking place in their lives. Paul gives an extensive list in verses 38-39 of the things that no longer have any power over the believers once they are saved:

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (ESV)




Paul is pointing out that while many things may be against us, and try to cause the believer to stumble in their new walk of faith, with the Holy Spirit as their guide, but “with God on our side, none of this opposition ultimately matters.”47

Paul spends a great deal of time in the Book of Romans dealing with the subject of sanctification, and devotes almost all of chapter 8 to the subject. Once the believer has put to death the old nature, through faith in Jesus' atoning death on the cross, then they begin a new order of life under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. The new order of the Spirit gives us life in Christ Jesus who has liberated us from the law of sin and death. That new order that Paul is speaking of is the process of sanctification.




BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Amy Lindeman, "Captivity, turning, and renewal: three liturgical readings of Romans 7:15- 8:13." Currents In Theology And Mission 41, no. 2, 2014.




McFadden, Kevin W., "The fulfillment of the law's dikaiōma: another look at Romans 8:1- 4." Journal Of The Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 3, 2009.




Moo, Douglas J. Romans. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.




Pass, William N W, III. . "A reexamination of Calvin's approach to Romans 8:17." Bibliotheca Sacra 170, no. 677, 2013.




Raabe, Paul R., "The Law and Christian Sanctification : A Look at Romans." Concordia Journal 22, no. 2, 1996.




Schafroth, Verena, "Romans 8: The Chapter of the Spirit." JEPTA: Journal Of The European Pentecostal Theological Association 30, no. 1, 2010.




Towns, Elmer L., Theology for Today, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008.




Towns, Elmer L., and Ben Gutierrez, eds. The Essence of the New Testament: a Survey / Elmer

Towns, Ben Gutierrez, Editors. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2012.




White, R.E.O, “Sanctification”, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, [ed Walter A. Elwell], Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.




Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. [rev. ed.] Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2011.


1 Elmer L. Towns, Theology for Today, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, (2008) 900.


2 Ibid., 302.


3 Ibid., 302.


4 R.E.O White, “Sanctification”, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, [ed Walter A. Elwell], Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, (2001) 1052.


5 Douglas J. Moo, “ Romans. The NIV Application Commentary”. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, (2000) 215.


6 Ibid., 198.


7 Paul R. Raabe, "The Law and Christian Sanctification : A Look at Romans." Concordia Journal 22, no. 2, (1996) 179.


8 Ibid., 179.


9 Ibid., 182.


10 Kevin W. McFadden, "The fulfillment of the law's dikaiōma: another look at Romans 8:1- 4." Journal Of The Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 3, (2009) 496.


11 Ibid., 497.


12 Ibid., 486.


13 Elmer L. Towns, Theology for Today, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, (2008) 473.


14 R.E.O White, “Sanctification”, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, [ed Walter A. Elwell], Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, (2001) 1052.


15 Ibid., 1052.


16 Ibid., 1052.


17 Elmer L. Towns and Ben Gutierrez, eds., The Essence of the New Testament: a Survey / Elmer L. Towns, Ben Gutierrez, Editors. (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2012), 136.


18 Kevin W. McFadden, "The fulfillment of the law's dikaiōma: another look at Romans 8:1- 4." Journal Of The Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 3, (2009) 489.


19 Douglas J. Moo, “ Romans. The NIV Application Commentary”. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, (2000) 250.


20 Ibid., 250.


21 Verena Schafroth, "Romans 8: The Chapter of the Spirit." JEPTA: Journal Of The European Pentecostal Theological Association 30, no. 1, (2010) 83.


22 Ibid., 83.


23 Ibid., 83.


24 Ibid., 81.


25 Ibid., 84.


26 Douglas J. Moo, “ Romans. The NIV Application Commentary”. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, (2000) 214.


27 Paul R. Raabe, "The Law and Christian Sanctification : A Look at Romans." Concordia Journal 22, no. 2, (1996) 183.


28 Ibid., 183.


29 William N.W. Pass III. . "A reexamination of Calvin's approach to Romans 8:17." Bibliotheca Sacra 170, no. 677, (2013) 79.


30 Ibid., 79.


31 Elmer L. Towns, Theology for Today, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, (2008), 302.


32 Ibid., 611.


33 Kevin W. McFadden, "The fulfillment of the law's dikaiōma: another look at Romans 8:1- 4." Journal Of The Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 3, (2009) 495.


34 Paul R. Raabe, "The Law and Christian Sanctification : A Look at Romans." Concordia Journal 22, no. 2, (1996) 179-180.


35 William N.W. Pass III. . "A reexamination of Calvin's approach to Romans 8:17." Bibliotheca Sacra 170, no. 677, (2013) 81.


36 Amy Lindeman Allen, "Captivity, turning, and renewal: three liturgical readings of Romans 7:15-8:13." Currents In Theology And Mission 41, no. 2, (2014) 105.


37 Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. [rev. ed.] Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, (2011) 1285.


38 Douglas J. Moo, “ Romans. The NIV Application Commentary”. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, (2000) 409.


39 Ibid., 409.


40 Ibid., 411.


41 Ibid., 412.


42 Ibid., 412.


43 Amy Lindeman Allen, "Captivity, turning, and renewal: three liturgical readings of Romans 7:15-8:13." Currents In Theology And Mission 41, no. 2, (2014) 105.


44 Kevin W. McFadden, "The fulfillment of the law's dikaiōma: another look at Romans 8:1- 4." Journal Of The Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 3, (2009) 488.


45 William N.W. Pass III. . "A reexamination of Calvin's approach to Romans 8:17." Bibliotheca Sacra 170, no. 677, (2013) 75.


46 Ibid., 71.




47 Douglas J. Moo, “ Romans. The NIV Application Commentary”. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, (2000) 282.