Friday, 29 May 2020 Romans 8 :12-27
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” -Romans 8:14
In the grand plan of God He created man, but when man fell from His plan, God established a way for man to come back to his pristine state through Jesus Christ His Son and by the renewing of the inner man by the Holy Spirit.
When a person who puts his faith in God through Jesus Christ he becomes “born again”- the Holy Spirit comes to take residence in his heart. 1Cor.12:3: “no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” The work of the Holy Spirit in a person starts from the day of His salvation to create in him a spirit man - a process called Inner Transformation. In Titus 3:5 this process is written as “renewing by the Holy Spirit.” Inner transformation is what the Bible focusses most since this is the process that will result us being “conformed to the image of His Son” and Romans 12:1 states it as “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This process of inner transformation is so crucial because when He appears we are to be like Him – 1John 3:2. The process of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ is a divine work orchestrated by the Holy Spirit when a born again Christian cooperates with Him. The significance of our verse comes here “led by the Spirit!”
There is a continuous process beginning from the day of salvation of a believer carried out by the Holy Spirit as written in 2Cor.4:16 “our inner man is being renewed day by day.” When someone is saved, he is a new creation (2 Cor.5:17) and that person has “put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” Col.3:10. This s a renewing or renovation which makes a person different than the past – he will be transformed completely by God. As we go through the process of inner transformation we are being transformed into the same image of Jesus Christ from glory to glory. (2Cor.3:18). The idea of transformation refers to an invisible process in a Christian during his/her lifetime.
The Greek word for transformation is “metamorphoo” from where the word metamorphosis - the transformation of a pupa into a beautiful butterfly- comes from. Dear reader God who created you awfully and wonderfully has given you that ability to be transformed internally to the image of Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit is the agent who administers this change process, provided you are ready to cooperate – willing to be led by the Holy Spirit!
As Paul says in (Rom.8:12) we have an obligation – it is not to live according to our sinful nature, for if we do that, we will die (V.13a). Paul here implies that we are obligated to live according to the Spirit of God- "But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. (V.13b). But we have the Spirit of God within us to help us, guide us to live a transformed life. As the key verse reminds us, “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” To be led by the Spirit is what a believer should aim for. With His help, we put to death the misdeeds of the body. Galatians 2: 20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
When Christ lives in us—His life flows through us, we have His power to resist and overcome sin. If we are in Christ, we are guided by the Holy Spirit into a transformed life that pleases God. In obedience, we will be led by the Spirit.
Prayer: Thank You LORD for the Holy Spirit who lives in me. May I be transformed from within by the Spirit that I may live pleasing to You. Amen
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