Romans 1:1 – 7, A Meditation (6)

 

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“…according to the Spirit of holiness…”

 

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26).

 

Note that in Romans 1:2 that we have “the holy Scriptures.” The Scriptures we receive are holy, the Spirit of God which we receive is holy, Jesus was resurrected by the Spirit of holiness, He who lives within the People of God is the Holy Spirit. Jesus died for us so that we can, through Him, live in the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 10:19 – 25) – not just as individuals but as the people of God.

 

“…to bring about the obedience of faith…” I would like us to see the link between holiness and obedience, for we are called in Christ to holy obedience; outward obedience without the Nature of inward holiness is Pharisaical – we become performers; outward disobedience with a claim to inward holiness is drinking from the demonic cup of lawlessness. (Matthew Chapter 23; 1 Cor. 10:14 – 22; 2 Cor. 6:14 – 7:1; 1 Peter 1:13 - 2:12).

 

In 2Cor. 7:1 Paul writes, “…let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”  Peter writes (1 Peter 1:14 – 16), “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, ‘You shall be holy for I am holy.’” (See Leviticus 11:44; 19:2; 20:7).

 

Also compare Romans 12:1 – 2 with the above, for we are called to present ourselves to God as living and holy sacrifices and we are not to be conformed to the world but rather transformed by the renewing of our minds.

 

In the Pentateuch, Leviticus follows Exodus; once the Tabernacle is established we read, “Then Yahweh called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying…” (Lev. 1:1). Yahweh then speaks to Moses and Israel of His holiness, for God has established a holy place for worship and communion, but there is more that God desires, for He desires that what the People outwardly see becomes an inward reality, a Way of Life, hence Yahweh says, “You are to be holy for I am holy.” God wants His People to know His Nature and to partake of His Nature. He desires that His Nature live in us and conform us to His image (hence we have Romans 8:29 in context).

 

This same pattern is repeated in the New Testament, for after God’s Eternal Temple is manifested on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) a stark lesson is seen in Acts 5, when Ananias and Sapphira lie to the Holy Spirit and are struck dead. We also see the Apostles teaching obedient holiness throughout the New Testament (see above) and Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God, calling the churches of Revelation to holiness.

 

The trajectory of Romans 6, in which we are crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, and raised with Christ, leads us to the sanctification/holiness of 6:19 – 23; then we have a new marriage from the Law to Christ (Romans 7), and then the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8). From Romans chapters 12 – 16 we see what a community living in holiness ought to look like, for “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).

 

Sin is contagious, we see this in Leviticus and we see it in the New Testament, a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. We cannot eat whatever we want to eat, this is taught in Leviticus, it is explained by Jesus and the apostles – this isn’t about physical food, it is about what we bring into our hearts and minds and souls and yes, it is also about how we use our bodies – for they are the Temple of God, individually and collectively. We are each called to “know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor” (1Thess. 4:4) for we have been “bought with a price” (1Cor. 6:20).

 

So much of this is about nature, God’s Nature and our nature, and whether we are living in the nature of Adam or the Nature of Christ, as with so much in life, if we fail to understand the fundamentals, the foundations, of life, and especially of holy Scripture, we will wander and die in the Wilderness. Simply to escape from Egypt is not enough, that is like saying that simply being born is enough – but never making it out of the hospital to live a full life is not important. If we don’t live our lives on the banks of the Red Sea, we tend to live them wandering around the Wilderness, never entering into, and possessing, our inheritance in Jesus Christ. (Consider 1 Cor. 10:1 – 13).

 

Well, this is probably enough for one posting.

 

What does the Spirit of holiness look like in my life? In the lives of our congregations? What does it look like in your life?