Romans 8:12–17
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Introduction
The Holy Spirit as Oil
Oil is the second most common symbol of the Holy Spirit in scripture (the first is wind). The points of comparison between the Holy Spirit and oil are:
- Fuel. Oil served as fuel for lamps in Bible times (as oil is also used for fuel today). Like oil the Holy Spirit fuels our work for the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit empowers the church with gifts to carry out the command of the Great Commission to build the church (Matt. 28:19–20).
- Beautification. Oil in the ancient world (once again, just like today) was used as a beauty product. In the story of Esther, Esther puts oil on her face (think facial moisturizer) before being presented to the king. Likewise, the Holy Spirit makes the work of the church beautiful. Every Christian, because of sin, has imperfections. We have weaknesses, frailty, infirmities, and ignorance. Because of hte Holy Spirit, these imperfections do not prevent us from being beautifully effective for the Kingdom. He works in spite of us. All we must do is obey and trust that the Holy Spirit will make the work of our hands beautiful.
- Nourishing. We consume oil because it’s tasty, and it has nourishing qualities. Similarly, the Holy Spirit nourishes our life in Jesus. Drawing on the symbol of wind/breath, the Holy Spirit is the oxygen to our life in Christ. The Holy Spirit fills the God-shaped hole in us, making us spiritually healthy and strong.
The Healing Work of the Holy Spirit
Oil also has healing qualities. The Holy Spirit brings healing to us by joining us together with Christ and with one another. This healing, however, requires Christians to be vulnerable. In Romans 8:12 Paul calls the Christians in Rome “brothers”. The family relationship is the most intimate!
In Revelation 5 Jesus is in the throne room as a lamb that was slain. This is an image of weakness and vulnerability. It was by wounds that God brings healing to the world. Jesus is our wounded healer. Through the cross and weakness of Christ God’s strength manifest to redeem the world.
This is true of us as well. God brings healing to the world through the wounds of individuals in the church. By acknowledging our sin, and being honest with ourselves, others, and God about the imperfections of our past, we humble ourselves to be a safe place for others who are hurting. Once we humble ourselves, we can welcome others who are hurting without harsh judgment or criticism. The church can become a sanctuary for those in need of healing and care.
Healing for our souls (and spiritual and emotional healing) comes through genuine relationships. Intimacy in relationship requires vulnerability. It requires covering our shame with the blood of Christ so that we don’t have to be fearful of hiding our shameful qualities from others.
For Moses to draw closer to God in the burning bush, he had to remove his shoes. If we want to draw closer to God, we have to be willing to be vulnerable.
It’s no good putting the healing oil on the healthy places of our lives. We have to expose our wounds for the Holy Spirit’s healing work to take place.
He Can Be Trusted
Paul points out in the passage above that Christians are no longer subject to the tyrannical slave master of sin and death. Under the “flesh” (i.e., the sin condition that is enslaved to sinning), we operate out of fear, which becomes the axis for all our behaviors.
Christians (i.e., those who are born again), are freed from being obligated to death because our sin guilt is lifted by the substitutionary atonement of Christ. This means that we’re no longer slaves, but now we’re children of God.
This is a reminder that God—unlike the slave-master of sin—can be trusted! You can trust him with your vulnerabilities and deepest places of woundedness.
In the call to be holy, we are also called to be trustworthy of others’ woundedness!
Strength to Do the Difficult Thing
Being vulnerable is difficult. The process of healing can be painful sometimes. It causes us to have to relive episodes from our past that we would probably rather forget. When the Holy Spirit leads us to the place of healing, he also empowers us to be courageous enough to allow him to take us to those places where he may not want us to go.
It’s also hard to be a safe place for others to be vulnerable. It’s so easy for us to judge and criticize others harshly. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be empathetic, merciful, kind, and understanding for others who are hurting (this doesn’t mean tolerating their sin, but being a place where the pain our of which sin grows can be acknowledged and dealt with accordingly).
Paul says in Romans 8:16–17 that we are heirs with Christ. This means that as we’re adopted into the family of God, all of God’s resources are available to us. Through the Holy Spirit, we have what we need to do the difficult thing.
Conclusion
- The cross demonstrates that God’s chosen means for bringing healing to the world is through weakness and woundedness (e.g., the slain lamb who is Jesus). This means that he can heal the world around us through our healed wounds.
- The Holy Spirit consistently leads us to the place of healing. He doesn’t finishing his redeeming work until it’s finished. We must be willing to follow him to that place.
- Getting healed means being honest with ourselves and God about our deepest wounds. We must uncover the darkest, most bruised and battered places in our lives for the master to do his work.
- God can be trusted. The wounded healer is gentle, yet strong in brining healing to our most sensitive places.
- God will empower us to entrust ourselves to him for healing. He will also empower us to be trustworthy for others to find healing in the church as the body of Christ.
