“So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:16-17, ESV).
According to the Apostle Paul living in God’s Kingdom is not about doing good. It’s not about formulating a set of rules and regulations for good behavior. It’s not about finding happiness or success.
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:26-28, NLT).
We often try to comfort someone who is suffering or grieving by quoting a phrase in vs. 28: “all things work together for good.” In the middle of tragic circumstances these words may provide little consolation to the one who is hurting. And the sentiment may even seem to trivialize one’s loss or grief (It’s almost like saying be happy because this bad thing happened to you.)
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:11, NLT).
The Apostle Paul describes Christians as people presently living in bodies that will die and be resurrected and then live forever.
“What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did.” (Romans 8:3, HCSB).
Some consider Romans 8 the greatest, most theologically eloquent chapter about Christian spirituality in the New Testament. Certainly, some verses from Romans 8 are the most often quoted, often taught, and often preached of any in the Bible. Here’s a few examples:
“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” Isaiah 64:4, NLT).
To the prophet Isaiah, the plans and purposes of God were formulated outside of His creation–in other words, without the help of human wisdom.
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:1-5, HCSB).
Commentators differ as to whether Romans 5 belongs thematically with Chapters 3 and 4 where the Apostle Paul argues for the imputation of righteousness through Christ or with Chapters 6-8 where Paul describes the new life in Christ.
I see it as transitional from one theme to the next because it summarizes Paul’s case for righteousness in Christ and then suggest how this new life of righteousness in Christ can be applied to our personal lives.
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“As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah. At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat” (Judges 14:6, NLT).
Samson was an enigmatic leader who was an inspirational but flawed hero.
“He exiled Israel to call her to account. She was exiled from her land as though blown away in a storm from the east. The Lord did this to purge Israel’s wickedness, to take away all her sin” (Isaiah 27:8-9, NLT).
This verse is a response to a question the prophet Isaiah posed to the hearers of his message: Has God punished His people in the same way He has punished the enemies of His people?
“Lord, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. O Lord our God, others have ruled us, but you alone are the one we worship” (Isaiah 26:12-13, NLT).
Ultimate control and supreme authority over the universe emanate from the throne room of God, the unseen Kingdom of Heaven where God resides and rules over the universe.
“Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, HCSB).
In Chapters 5 and 6 of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul discusses specific immoralities that had been reported to him. The misconduct of the Corinthian church that Paul addresses in these chapters are sexual immorality and lawsuits against one another.
Steve's Bible Meditations 