“And not only this, but we also exult in our
tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and
perseverance proven character; and proven character hope; and hope does not
disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:1 – 5 (NASB).
Tribulation/suffering;
perseverance/endurance; character; hope that does not disappoint or let us down
or put us to shame – why? Because God’s love has been poured out [from God]
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
“Through the Holy Spirit” – life in the Spirit is amplified in
Chapter 8, but here we see the role of the Holy Spirit in our formation into
the character and image of Jesus Christ (8:29), a role which will be expanded
upon in Chapter 8, to the point where we can say that we are sons and daughters
of God through and in the Holy Spirit. “As many as are led by the Spirit of
God, these are sons of God” (8:14). The Spirit of sonship lives within our
hearts, the very love of God for God is love.
This love sustains us and
draws us into Christ in our suffering, developing endurance within us as we
submit our will to the will of God; our submission to the will of God (by the grace of God) places us in the position for God to form the
character of Christ within us (both in affirmation and negation), and as we
allow the Holy Spirit of God to work out the will of God within our inner
selves our hope in God grows deeper and brighter and into a heavier substance,
reaching beyond the veil (Hebrews 6:19; 10:19ff)) – and the love of God draws
us onward and upward and ever deeper into the Trinity.
Affirmation in Christ
confesses the complete and perfect work of Jesus Christ, the fullness of the
Atonement – “By this will [the will of God manifested in Jesus Christ] we have
been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”
(Hebrews 10:10). We affirm the transforming power of the love of Christ
(Ephesians 3:14 – 19). We affirm the “already – not yet” (Romans 8:30; 1 John
3:1-3).
Negation is found in our denial
of “self” – “…If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take
up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). We also practice negation when
we confess our sins (1 John 1:9 – 2:2). We live lives of negation as we
continually consider ourselves “dead to sin” and then live lives of affirmation
when we consider ourselves “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).
The process of transformation
into the image of Jesus involves both affirmation and negation, a vision of
Jesus Christ and a repudiation of who we were/are outside of Christ. The
sculptor must free the image embedded in the marble by chipping away at all
that is not of the image.
“We have come to know and
believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides
in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). Coming to know the
love of God is a process, it takes time and it takes experience, and much of the
experience can be in the form of tribulation and suffering – we don’t really
understand this love that the Holy Spirit has poured within our hearts; we don’t
understand and accept the deep assurance that it brings, we don’t really understand
its nature, and we don’t comprehend the unwavering character of God’s love –
not at first, not most of us anyway.
This is a love so “other” than
we are that it loves its enemies (Romans 5:10) and not only loves them, but
loves them to the point of drawing them into intimate relationship – of dying
so that its enemies might live. Ought we not to humble ourselves and bow our
knees before such love?
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