8. The Spirit of bondage (Romans 8:15)
This sermon was preached on 17/12/2009
‘For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear.’
In verse 15 Paul contrasts the Spirit of adoption with the spirit of bondage which produced fear, whereas the Spirit of adoption results in the cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ That the term ‘spirit’ is used in two senses is obvious; what is not obvious is to whom or what each refers. There are three possible meanings.
(a) Both uses refer to the human spirit. If this is the case, then by ‘spirit of bondage’ Paul means either the sinful attitude that controls unbelievers in general as they live sinful lives or it can mean the period of conviction of sin prior to conversion when such individuals were discovering they were unable to deliver themselves from the power of sin. If Paul is referring to the human spirit in the phrase ‘spirit of adoption’ he means the new outlook of intimacy with God that the person, who was in bondage to sin, experiences once he becomes a Christian.
(b) The second suggested meaning leaves ‘spirit of bondage’ as describing the human spirit but takes the phrase ‘Spirit of adoption’ as referring to the Holy Spirit who at the conversion of a sinner comes to indwell that person and from within him gives to him the new outlook of spiritual freedom.
(c) The third suggested meaning is that both phrases refer to the Holy Spirit, and within this meaning there are two possible senses. Some say we should interpret them from an individual perspective and see the phrase ‘Spirit of bondage’ as referring to the Spirit as the cause of conviction of sin in a sinner before he becomes the Spirit of adoption when the sinner is converted. Others say that we should read the phrases in a corporate sense, which means that the phrase ‘Spirit of bondage’ refers to the manner in which the Holy Spirit operated during the Old Testament dispensation when Israel was under the ceremonial law; and now he functions as the Spirit of adoption because that period of bondage is over.
Personally I incline to the third option, that both uses refer to the Holy Spirit; and within this third option I regard both usages as having a corporate meaning. In one sense it does not matter which view we take because Paul is saying that Christians no longer have this experience of bondage. Instead they cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ But I suspect the slavery described by Paul does not even refer to the experience that Christians have of the Spirit in convicting them of sin prior to their conversion. It is important to note the word ‘again’, which implies that God’s people as a body had already received the Spirit in this way on a previous occasion. The time when they received the Spirit in this way – as the Spirit of bondage – was during the Mosaic dispensation.
The same idea is expressed by Paul in a slightly different way in Galatians 4:1-7: ‘What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.’
Paul says that the difference between Old Testament believers and New Testament believers is similar to the difference between a child under the care of a pedagogue, which depicts the Old Testament believer, and the adult son in a family, who possesses certain rights and is a picture of the New Testament believer. A believer during the Mosaic period was still a true believer, yet he was subject to all kinds of God-given rules which no longer apply. And Paul, there in Galatians 4 likens their experience to one of slavery. Given that there are many parallels between Romans 8 and Galatians 4, and these parallels help us in understanding Paul’s thought, we can see why in Romans 8:15 the phrase ‘Spirit of bondage’ can refer to the work of the Spirit in a former period.
Why was the Mosaic dispensation one of bondage?
There are many reasons for asking this question. After all, the children of Israel had seen God’s great power in their redemption from Egypt, they had encountered him in most dramatic way at Sinai when he gave them various rules and regulations, they had worshipped him at the tabernacle and later in the temple, he had provided them with the land of promise, he had even restored them to their country once the exile in Babylon was over and spiritual recovery was experience (as we can see from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah). Yet there are two reasons that can be mentioned as to why it was a period of bondage.
The main reason why it was a period of bondage was that it was an administration of types and shadows. We can look at all the rituals and see great spiritual truths in them, but that was not always the case with believers during that period. One of the comments made at the council of Jerusalem, recorded in Acts 15:10, was, ‘Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?’ All these rituals of sacrifices and other activities such as circumcision were a bondage.
Think, for example, what happened when a godly person such as David took part in the public worship of God at the tabernacle. He would have to select an animal without blemish, take it to the priest, lay his hand on it in identification, then kill it, and then watch the priests perform various rituals (Lev. 1). Remember this was a Holy Spirit-given form of worship, far superior to pagan religions, an evidence of his grace in letting his people draw near to God.
Think also what happened when a person became ritually unclean, say when touching a dead body, or coming in contact with a leper, or even when giving birth to a child. Or recall that at Passover time they had to search their homes for leaven before taking part in the feast of unleavened bread. There were so many rituals that they had to keep. It was better than pagan worship, but it was bondage in comparison to the privileges of the New Testament church.
But it was not only God-given rituals that were a bondage. Something similar can be said about the giving and the using of the Old Testament. For example, Peter says of the prophets in 1 Peter 1:10-12: ‘Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.’ Peter makes it clear that the prophets did not fully appreciate what God was saying to them.
Imagine the prophet speaking to a crowd of people. They ask him what his message means. He replies that he is not really sure and in any case the full meaning of the message is for a future generation of God’s people. In a sense, all they knew was that everything depended on the coming of the Messiah. Until he came, a great deal of the Old Testament could not be fully understood.
A verse that is often misquoted out of context is 1 Corinthians 2:9: ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’ The interpretation often given is that Paul refers to heaven in that verse. But he does not, because in the following verse he says: ‘these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.’ The verse is taken from Isaiah 64:4: ‘From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.’ That was said by Isaiah within the Mosaic dispensation, when he was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah’s kingdom.
So the Old Testament period, although it was a gracious one in the sense that the Spirit was active, was also one of spiritual bondage, particularly with regard to the God-given sacrificial system and with the understanding the people of God had of the Old Testament. But since we no longer live in the Old Testament period, what applications can we make regarding Paul’s reminder that we have not received the Spirit of slavery again to fear?
Some applications
First, through this description of the Mosaic period we can see why the apostles were so opposed to any persons who advocated a return to Old Testament religious practices. Such behaviour was a denial of God’s grace to his church in having taken it forward to a new era and was, sometimes without the people realising it, a an attempt to bring back into spiritual bondage. One of the ways by which this can be done is by focussing too much on externals such as what we can see (design of buildings) and what we can hear (performance).
Second, here we have a reminder of the unity of God’s people. As Paul described them in Galatians, they are all one family, except some were in kindergarten (during the Mosaic period) and others are grown-up sons (the New Testament era). There are two wrong responses that we make to the Old Testament saints. One is to make them the equal of New Testament believers; that is wrong. The other is to reduce them to having virtually no light at all, which is not a problem with us, but it is with other Christians called dispensationalists. We are to value the Old Testament saints for living up to the light they had, but as it was said of John the Baptist, although he was the greatest of the Old Testament believers, the person who was least in Christ’s kingdom was greater. The list of the great heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 closes with the reminder that they needed us, for without us they could not be made complete.
Third, we are to realise that our experiences of God as a church are greater than Israel’s experience of God. God meeting with Israel at Sinai was a wonderful occasion, but note how the writer of Hebrews contrasts with our experience in Hebrews 12:18-24: ‘For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.’ The appearance of God at Mount Sinai was truly a wonderful occasion. Nevertheless his display of glory brought great fear into the outlook of the Israelites and their last thought on that occasion would have been to cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ This does not mean that we should not reverence God, but it does mean that we want to draw near to him when we gather together for worship.
Jesus referred to the superiority of New Testament experience in John 7:37-39: ‘On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.’ It is evident from these verses that there were profound experiences ahead for the disciples of Jesus, once the age of the Spirit began at Pentecost.
Fourth, we are to make full use of our privileges. If the Old Testament believer could attain such heights under limited divine provision, surely they are a rebuke to us for failing to progress with the greater light we have. How many of us can say that we have experienced, even in a remote manner, the amount of spiritual blessings available for us?
Fifth, although we have progressed beyond the experience of the Mosaic dispensation, and indeed may have entered into some of our inheritance as the sons of God, we are far short of the experience of heaven. All we have is the first fruits of the Spirit. Great as our privileges are, there is much more to come. The difference between the Testaments is less that the difference between grace and glory.
(a) Both uses refer to the human spirit. If this is the case, then by ‘spirit of bondage’ Paul means either the sinful attitude that controls unbelievers in general as they live sinful lives or it can mean the period of conviction of sin prior to conversion when such individuals were discovering they were unable to deliver themselves from the power of sin. If Paul is referring to the human spirit in the phrase ‘spirit of adoption’ he means the new outlook of intimacy with God that the person, who was in bondage to sin, experiences once he becomes a Christian.
(b) The second suggested meaning leaves ‘spirit of bondage’ as describing the human spirit but takes the phrase ‘Spirit of adoption’ as referring to the Holy Spirit who at the conversion of a sinner comes to indwell that person and from within him gives to him the new outlook of spiritual freedom.
(c) The third suggested meaning is that both phrases refer to the Holy Spirit, and within this meaning there are two possible senses. Some say we should interpret them from an individual perspective and see the phrase ‘Spirit of bondage’ as referring to the Spirit as the cause of conviction of sin in a sinner before he becomes the Spirit of adoption when the sinner is converted. Others say that we should read the phrases in a corporate sense, which means that the phrase ‘Spirit of bondage’ refers to the manner in which the Holy Spirit operated during the Old Testament dispensation when Israel was under the ceremonial law; and now he functions as the Spirit of adoption because that period of bondage is over.
Personally I incline to the third option, that both uses refer to the Holy Spirit; and within this third option I regard both usages as having a corporate meaning. In one sense it does not matter which view we take because Paul is saying that Christians no longer have this experience of bondage. Instead they cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ But I suspect the slavery described by Paul does not even refer to the experience that Christians have of the Spirit in convicting them of sin prior to their conversion. It is important to note the word ‘again’, which implies that God’s people as a body had already received the Spirit in this way on a previous occasion. The time when they received the Spirit in this way – as the Spirit of bondage – was during the Mosaic dispensation.
The same idea is expressed by Paul in a slightly different way in Galatians 4:1-7: ‘What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.’
Paul says that the difference between Old Testament believers and New Testament believers is similar to the difference between a child under the care of a pedagogue, which depicts the Old Testament believer, and the adult son in a family, who possesses certain rights and is a picture of the New Testament believer. A believer during the Mosaic period was still a true believer, yet he was subject to all kinds of God-given rules which no longer apply. And Paul, there in Galatians 4 likens their experience to one of slavery. Given that there are many parallels between Romans 8 and Galatians 4, and these parallels help us in understanding Paul’s thought, we can see why in Romans 8:15 the phrase ‘Spirit of bondage’ can refer to the work of the Spirit in a former period.
Why was the Mosaic dispensation one of bondage?
There are many reasons for asking this question. After all, the children of Israel had seen God’s great power in their redemption from Egypt, they had encountered him in most dramatic way at Sinai when he gave them various rules and regulations, they had worshipped him at the tabernacle and later in the temple, he had provided them with the land of promise, he had even restored them to their country once the exile in Babylon was over and spiritual recovery was experience (as we can see from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah). Yet there are two reasons that can be mentioned as to why it was a period of bondage.
The main reason why it was a period of bondage was that it was an administration of types and shadows. We can look at all the rituals and see great spiritual truths in them, but that was not always the case with believers during that period. One of the comments made at the council of Jerusalem, recorded in Acts 15:10, was, ‘Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?’ All these rituals of sacrifices and other activities such as circumcision were a bondage.
Think, for example, what happened when a godly person such as David took part in the public worship of God at the tabernacle. He would have to select an animal without blemish, take it to the priest, lay his hand on it in identification, then kill it, and then watch the priests perform various rituals (Lev. 1). Remember this was a Holy Spirit-given form of worship, far superior to pagan religions, an evidence of his grace in letting his people draw near to God.
Think also what happened when a person became ritually unclean, say when touching a dead body, or coming in contact with a leper, or even when giving birth to a child. Or recall that at Passover time they had to search their homes for leaven before taking part in the feast of unleavened bread. There were so many rituals that they had to keep. It was better than pagan worship, but it was bondage in comparison to the privileges of the New Testament church.
But it was not only God-given rituals that were a bondage. Something similar can be said about the giving and the using of the Old Testament. For example, Peter says of the prophets in 1 Peter 1:10-12: ‘Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.’ Peter makes it clear that the prophets did not fully appreciate what God was saying to them.
Imagine the prophet speaking to a crowd of people. They ask him what his message means. He replies that he is not really sure and in any case the full meaning of the message is for a future generation of God’s people. In a sense, all they knew was that everything depended on the coming of the Messiah. Until he came, a great deal of the Old Testament could not be fully understood.
A verse that is often misquoted out of context is 1 Corinthians 2:9: ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’ The interpretation often given is that Paul refers to heaven in that verse. But he does not, because in the following verse he says: ‘these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.’ The verse is taken from Isaiah 64:4: ‘From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.’ That was said by Isaiah within the Mosaic dispensation, when he was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah’s kingdom.
So the Old Testament period, although it was a gracious one in the sense that the Spirit was active, was also one of spiritual bondage, particularly with regard to the God-given sacrificial system and with the understanding the people of God had of the Old Testament. But since we no longer live in the Old Testament period, what applications can we make regarding Paul’s reminder that we have not received the Spirit of slavery again to fear?
Some applications
First, through this description of the Mosaic period we can see why the apostles were so opposed to any persons who advocated a return to Old Testament religious practices. Such behaviour was a denial of God’s grace to his church in having taken it forward to a new era and was, sometimes without the people realising it, a an attempt to bring back into spiritual bondage. One of the ways by which this can be done is by focussing too much on externals such as what we can see (design of buildings) and what we can hear (performance).
Second, here we have a reminder of the unity of God’s people. As Paul described them in Galatians, they are all one family, except some were in kindergarten (during the Mosaic period) and others are grown-up sons (the New Testament era). There are two wrong responses that we make to the Old Testament saints. One is to make them the equal of New Testament believers; that is wrong. The other is to reduce them to having virtually no light at all, which is not a problem with us, but it is with other Christians called dispensationalists. We are to value the Old Testament saints for living up to the light they had, but as it was said of John the Baptist, although he was the greatest of the Old Testament believers, the person who was least in Christ’s kingdom was greater. The list of the great heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 closes with the reminder that they needed us, for without us they could not be made complete.
Third, we are to realise that our experiences of God as a church are greater than Israel’s experience of God. God meeting with Israel at Sinai was a wonderful occasion, but note how the writer of Hebrews contrasts with our experience in Hebrews 12:18-24: ‘For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.’ The appearance of God at Mount Sinai was truly a wonderful occasion. Nevertheless his display of glory brought great fear into the outlook of the Israelites and their last thought on that occasion would have been to cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ This does not mean that we should not reverence God, but it does mean that we want to draw near to him when we gather together for worship.
Jesus referred to the superiority of New Testament experience in John 7:37-39: ‘On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.’ It is evident from these verses that there were profound experiences ahead for the disciples of Jesus, once the age of the Spirit began at Pentecost.
Fourth, we are to make full use of our privileges. If the Old Testament believer could attain such heights under limited divine provision, surely they are a rebuke to us for failing to progress with the greater light we have. How many of us can say that we have experienced, even in a remote manner, the amount of spiritual blessings available for us?
Fifth, although we have progressed beyond the experience of the Mosaic dispensation, and indeed may have entered into some of our inheritance as the sons of God, we are far short of the experience of heaven. All we have is the first fruits of the Spirit. Great as our privileges are, there is much more to come. The difference between the Testaments is less that the difference between grace and glory.
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