All that Scripture says about 'rising in glory' is said about
believers. It is represented as a spiritual process. They who have
the Spirit of God in their spirits because they have it receive the
glorified body which is like their Saviour's. It is not enough to die
in order to 'rise glorious.' 'If the Spirit of Him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that
dwelleth in you.' The resurrection is promised for all mankind, but
it may be a resurrection in which there shall be endless living and
no glory, nor any beauty and no blessedness. But the body may be
'sown in weakness,' and in weakness raised; it may be 'sown in
dishonour' and in dishonour raised; it may be sown dead, and raised a
living death. 'Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt.' Does that mean nothing? 'They that have done evil to the
resurrection of condemnation.' Does that mean nothing? There are dark
mysteries in these and similar words of Scripture which should make
us all pause and solemnly reflect. The sole way which leads to the
resurrection of glory is the way of faith in Jesus Christ. If we
yield ourselves to Him, He will plant His Spirit in our spirits, will
guide and growingly sanctify us through life, will deliver us by the
indwelling of the Spirit of life in Him from the law of sin and
death. Nor will His transforming power cease till it has pervaded our
whole being with its fiery energy, and we stand at the last men like
Christ, redeemed in body, soul, and spirit, 'according to the mighty
working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.'
THE INTERCEDING SPIRIT
'The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.'--ROMANS viii. 26.
Pentecost was a transitory sign of a perpetual gift. The tongues of
fire and the rushing mighty wind, which were at first the most
conspicuous results of the gifts of the Spirit, tongues, and
prophecies, and gifts of healing, which were to the early Church
itself and to onlookers palpable demonstrations of an indwelling
power, were little more lasting than the fire and the wind. Does
anything remain? This whole great chapter is Paul's triumphant answer
to such a question. The Spirit of God dwells in every believer as the
source of his true life, is for him 'the Spirit of adoption' and
witnesses with his spirit that he is a child of God, and a joint-heir
with Christ. Not only does that Spirit co-operate with the human
spirit in this witness-bearing, but the verse, of which our text is a
part, points to another form of co-operation: for the word rendered
in the earlier part of the verse 'helpeth' in the original suggests
more distinctly that the Spirit of God in His intercession for us
works in association with us.
First, then--
I. The Spirit's intercession is not carried on apart from us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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