Romans 8:13-26

Romans 8:13-26
(13) “FOR IF YE LIVE AFTER THE
FLESH, YE SHALL DIE: BUT IF YE
THROUGH THE SPIRIT DO MORTIFY THE
DEEDS OF THE BODY, YE SHALL LIVE.”
The phrase, “For if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die,” once again, has a far greater
meaning than meets the eye.
The thrust of the subject is, as it is given
by Paul, that a person who lives habitually
under the dominion of the evil nature, and
referring to Believers, that person will ultimately
lose their soul. Consequently, this
shatters the unscriptural Doctrine of Unconditional
Eternal Security.
As we have stated, and as is obvious, Paul
is speaking to Believers. He did not say that
if this thing continues, the Sin Nature dominating
the Believer, that one would lose fellowship
with the Lord, but that ultimately,
they would not only lose fellowship with the
Lord, but would die spiritually, i.e., will lose
their soul.
Whenever the word “die” is used in this
fashion, it actually refers to the final death
in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15). Consequently,
the warning is double-barreled:
THE DOMINION OF SIN
1. This speaks primarily to the Believer,
as is obvious, who does not avail himself of
what Christ did at Calvary, therefore, continuing
to live habitually under the dominion
of sin. While God will always be patient,
loving, longsuffering, and compassionate,
and will forgive anytime and every time, irrespective
of the sin, if the person is truly
sincere (I Jn. 1:9), still, danger is, that the
individual will begin to make allowances for
his sin, quit seeking forgiveness, and lose his
way totally.
No one can live with habitual sin, without
reaping its bitter results, irrespective of
the Forgiving Grace of God. Sin always takes
a deadly toll. The only answer to sin, is
what Jesus did at Calvary, and taking full
advantage of that great Act of Saving and
Delivering Grace.
THE WORLD SYSTEM
2. It also speaks of Believers playing loose
with the world, actually becoming a part of
the world, i.e., “living after the flesh.”
Even though Paul is not here and now
addressing this particular subject, the analogy,
nevertheless, holds true. The world system
is antagonistic to the Child of God. In
other words, it is hostile to the Believer’s
Faith. That’s the reason Paul did say,
“Wherefore come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you” (II Cor. 6:14-18; 7:1).
If there is not a separation from that system,
as well, the Believer who is constantly
associating himself accordingly, will ultimately
“die,” i.e., “lose his soul.”
The phrase, “But if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall
live,” tells us several things as well:
1. It is obvious that Paul is speaking here
to Believers, because he is placing a choice
before the Believer. First of all, how in the
world can an unsaved person expect anything
of the Spirit of God, when he doesn’t even
know the Spirit of God, and above all, does
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:13
NOTES
268
not have the Spirit of God? No, Paul is speaking
to Believers, and warning Believers!
2. We are told that it is only through the
Spirit of God that we can overcome the Sin
Nature. However, I remind the Reader, that
this is done on the basis of the Believer knowing
and understanding what Jesus has done
for him at Calvary and the Resurrection, and
his part in that great Act of Eternity. Again
we say it, even at the risk of being overly
repetitive, that the Presence of the Holy
Spirit in the heart of the Believer is potential
in nature. His Presence does not guarantee
anything, without the full cooperation
of the Believer. He has been sent to us to
“help,” not to treat us as a slave (Jn. 16:7).
3. We are not to come to terms with the
“deeds of the body,” i.e., the Sin Nature, but
rather “mortify them.”
“Mortify” in the Greek is “thanatoo,” and
means “to kill, put to death.” We are not to
kill the body, but rather the deeds of the “Sin
Nature” which have their expression in the
body, i.e., “physical body.”
4. This of which Paul says is not a suggestion
or a request, but rather an ultimatum.
We destroy by the Spirit the effectiveness
of the Sin Nature, or it destroys us.
Considering the results of not doing so,
which is the loss of one’s soul for all eternity,
I think that we should take these statements
very seriously.
5. If the Holy Spirit is given latitude, He
will do these great things within our lives.
Not only will He destroy the “evil deeds of
the body,” as well, He will also give the Believer
Life, i.e., “ye shall live.” It functions
in this capacity:
If the Believer insists upon “living after
the flesh,” i.e., allowing the Sin Nature free
course, more and more sin will be added, with
the situation quickly becoming desperate.
However, if the Believer allows the Holy Spirit
His complete latitude, more and more Life
will be the result, which in fact, will never
end. Death never stops while Life never stops.
We must always remember, that we are
speaking here of eternal things, and as such,
should realize the seriousness of this which
Paul is telling us.
If the Believer does not kill sin, sin will
kill him. In effect, the Believer cannot kill
sin, but he has received a power that can
make dead all the passions of sin in the body,
and that is the Power of the Holy Spirit.
(14) “FOR AS MANY AS ARE LED BY
THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THEY ARE THE
SONS OF GOD.”
The phrase, “For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God,” proclaims that which the
Spirit wants to do. He wants to lead us according
to the Will of God. As such, He will
lead us out of this domination by the Sin
Nature, and lead us into total Victory in
Christ. That is where He has been instructed
to lead us, and that is where He is leading
us, providing we cooperate with Him.
The phrase, “They are the Sons of God,”
pertains to what “Sons of God” do. They are
led by the Spirit of God.
Paul in addressing the Corinthians said,
“Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away
unto these dumb idols, even as you were led”
(I Cor. 12:2). As is obvious, he was speaking
of the Corinthians before they gave their
hearts to God. They were actually led by
demon spirits, but now they are led by the
Spirit of God. Of course, the same is apropos
for all Believers, and for all time.
There are so many privileges attached to
being a follower of Christ, that it is very difficult
to properly enumerate them. However,
being led by the Spirit of God has to be
one of the greatest Attributes and Blessings
afforded the Believer.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE LED BY
THE SPIRIT OF GOD?
First of all, if one truly has Christ, i.e.,
“born again,” one at the same time has the
Holy Spirit. It is impossible otherwise!
One cannot be united with Christ except
through the Spirit (I Cor. 6:17), one cannot
share Christ’s Sonship without sharing His
Spirit (Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:6), one cannot
be a member of the Body of Christ except by
being Baptized into that Body (I Cor. 12:13).
This is not a Baptism into the Spirit as
the Scripture seems to indicate on the surface,
but into the Body of Christ. The Body
here is the element one is Baptized into.
The Spirit is the Agent Who does the Baptizing
into the Body. The Believer is the
candidate.
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269
If it were the Spirit Baptism (Acts 2:4), NOTES
Christ would be the Agent (Mat. 3:11) and
the Holy Spirit would be the Element Baptized
into. As such, the Spirit from above is
the Power effecting the New Birth (Jn. 3:3-
8; I Jn. 3:9), for the Spirit is the Life-Giver
(Jn. 6:63), like a River of Living Water flowing
from Christ bringing Life to him who
comes and believes (Jn. 7:37-39).
THE SPIRIT OF GOD
AND DIVINE POWER
It is important to realize that for the first
Christians the Spirit was thought of in terms
of Divine Power clearly manifest by its effects
on the life of the recipient; the impact
of the Spirit did not leave individual or onlooker
in much doubt that a significant
change had taken place in him by Divine
Agency. Paul refers his readers back to their
initial experience of the Spirit again and
again. For some it had been an overwhelming
experience of God’s Love (Rom. 5:5); for
others of Joy (I Thess. 1:6); for others of Illumination
(II Cor. 3:14-17), or of Liberation
(Rom. 8:2; II Cor. 3:17), or of Moral
Transformation (I Cor. 6:9-11), or of various
Spiritual Gifts (I Cor. 1:4-7; Gal. 3:5).
Actually, in Acts the most regularly mentioned
Manifestation of the Spirit is the
speaking with other Tongues, also with
Prophecy and Praise, and bold utterance of
the Word of God (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 10:46;
13:9-11; 19:6). Over all, speaking with other
Tongues is the initial physical evidence that
one has been Baptized with the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:4).
All of these things put together tell us
why the possession of the Spirit as such can
be singled out as the defining characteristic
of the Christian (Rom. 8:9; I Jn. 3:24; 4:13),
and why the question of Acts 19:2 could expect
a straightforward answer (Gal. 3:2). The
Spirit as such might be invisible, but His
Presence was readily detectable (Jn. 3:8).
THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Gift of the Spirit was thus not simply
a corollary or deduction drawn from Baptism
or laying on of hands but a vivid event
for the first Christians, and continues to be
such unto this hour. It is most probably to
the impact of this experience to which Paul
refers directly in Passages like (I Cor. 6:11;
12:13; II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13).
According to the Book of Acts the first
Christians adapted their way of doing, their
way of being, and their way of worship, in
accordance with the Spirit rather than vice
versa (Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-48; 11:15-18;
18:25-19:6).
THE SPIRIT AS THE POWER
OF THE NEW LIFE
According to Paul the Gift of the Spirit is
also a beginning that looks to final fulfillment
(Gal. 3:3; Phil. 1:6), the beginning and
first installment of a life-long process of
transformation into the Image of Christ
which only achieves its end in the Resurrection
of the Body which is yet to come (II
Cor. 1:22; 3:18; 4:16-5:5; Eph. 1:13; II Thess.
2:13; I Pet. 1:2). The Spirit is the “Firstfruits”
of the Harvest of Resurrection, whereby God
begins to exercise His Claim over the whole
man (Rom. 8:11, 23; I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 15:45-
48; Gal. 5:16-23).
LIFE FOR THE BELIEVER
Life for the Believer is, therefore, qualitatively
different from what it was prior to
Faith. His daily living becomes his means of
responding to the Spirit’s Claim, enabled by
the Spirit’s Power, which is what it means to
be led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:4-6, 14; Gal.
5:16, 18, 25; 6:8). In other words, the Holy
Spirit becomes the Guide into all Truth, the
Leader of everything which is always toward
Christ, and the final Word concerning every
decision in the Life of the Christian, which
is always according to the Word of God.
Actually, this was the decisive difference
between a Bible Christianity and Rabbinic
Judaism for Paul. The Jew lived by Law, the
deposit of the Spirit’s revelatory work in past
generations, an attitude which led inevitably
to inflexibility and a direct block to anything
that God was now doing, since revelation
from the past is not always immediately
appropriate to the needs of the present. Regrettably,
this applies also to every single
modern religious Denomination which discounts
the Baptism with the Holy Spirit,
claiming that all is received at Conversion.
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:14
NOTES
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However, the Spirit of God brings an immediate,
personal relationship with God,
which actually fulfills all the great hopes
of the past, and which makes worship and
obedience something much more free, vital
and spontaneous than mere ritual
(Rom. 2:28; 7:6; 8:2-4; 12:2; II Cor. 3:3,
6-8, 14-18; Eph. 2:18; Phil. 3:3).
A FINAL FULFILLMENT?
At the same time, because the Spirit is
only a beginning of final Salvation in this
life, there can be no final fulfillment of His
Work in the Believer as long as this life lasts.
The man of the Spirit is no longer dependent
on this world and its standards for his
meaning and satisfaction, but he is still a
man of human appetites and frailty and part
of human society. Consequently to have
the Holy Spirit is to experience tension and
conflict between the old life and the New,
between the flesh and Spirit, exactly as we
are studying here (Rom. 7:14-25; 8:10, 12;
Gal. 5:16; Heb. 10:29).
Strangely enough, to those who saw the
characteristic Life of the Spirit in terms of
Visions, Revelations, and the like, Paul replied
that Grace comes to its full expression
only in and through weakness (Rom. 8:26;
II Cor. 12:1-10).
However, in all things in which the Spirit
leads us, and in all things which the Spirit
does for us, we must never forget, that the
Holy Spirit is that Person and Power Who
bears witness to Christ, always to Christ (Jn.
15:26; Acts 1:8; 5:32; Heb. 2:4; I Pet. 1:12; I
Jn. 5:6-8; Rev. 19:10).
HIS OPERATION IN EVERY BELIEVER
A distinguishing feature of the Holy
Spirit is that He is experienced by all and
works through all, not just a select few (Acts
2:17; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:7, 11; Heb. 6:4; I
Jn. 2:20). Of course, I am speaking of those
who have been Baptized with the Holy Spirit
(Acts 1:4; 2:4). As we have already taught,
the Believer who does not go on and be
Baptized with the Holy Spirit, which will
always include the speaking with other
Tongues, although definitely Saved, will
simply not have the Working of the Holy
Spirit in his life accordingly. In Paul’s
teaching it is only this common participation
in the One Spirit that makes a group
of diverse individuals one Body (I Cor.
12:13; II Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:3; Phil. 2:1).
And it is only as each lets the Spirit come
to expression in Word and Deed as a member
of the Body, that the Body grows toward the
maturity of Christ, and I speak of His Church
(I Cor. 12:12-26; Eph. 4:3-16). This is one
of the reasons why Paul both encourages a
full range and free expression of the Spirit’s
Gifts (Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-11, 27-31;
Eph. 4:30; 5:18; I Thess. 5:19), and insists
that the Church test every word and deed
which claims the Authority of the Spirit by
the Measure of Christ and the Love He embodied
(I Cor. 2:12-16; Chpt. 13; 14:29; I
Thess. 5:19-22; I Jn. 4:1-3).
WORSHIP AND LEADING
The same twin emphasis on a Worship
which is determined by immediate dependence
on the Spirit (rather than in terms of
a Sacred Place or Sanctuary) and in accordance
with the Truth of Christ, is present in
John 21:24.
Similarly John emphasizes that the Believer
may expect an immediacy of teaching by the
Spirit as the Counsellor, which is being led
by the Spirit (Jn. 14:26; 16:12; I Jn. 2:27);
but also that the New Revelation will be in
continuity with the Old, in other words not
contradicting the Old, a re-proclaiming if you
will, even a reinterpretation of the Truth of
Christ (Jn. 14:26; 16:13-15; I Jn. 2:24).
THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST
It is this tie-in with Christ which finally
distinguishes the Christian’s understanding
of the Spirit from the earlier, less well-defined
conception. The Spirit even as He now
glorifies Christ in the heart and life of the
Believer, is now definitively the Spirit of
Christ (Jn. 7:38; 19:30; 20:22; Acts 2:33;
16:7; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 4:6; Phil. 1:19; Heb.
9:14; I Pet. 1:11; Rev. 3:1; 5:6).
Actually, the Other Counsellor Who has
taken over Jesus’ role on Earth (Jn. 14:16; I
Jn. 2:1), means that Jesus is now present to
the Believer only in and through the Spirit
(Jn. 14:16-28; 16:7; Rom. 1:4; 8:9; I Cor.
6:17; 15:45; Eph. 3:1; I Tim. 3:16; I Pet. 3:18;
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271
Rev. Chpts. 2-3), and that the Mark of the NOTES
Spirit is both the recognition of Jesus’ present
status (I Cor. 12:3; I Jn. 5:6-12) and the reproduction
of the character of His Sonship
and Resurrection Life in the Believer (Rom.
8:11, 14-16, 23; I Cor. 15:45-49; II Cor. 3:18;
Gal. 4:6; I Jn. 3:2).
(Bibliography: H. Berkhof, “The Doctrine
of the Holy Spirit”; Bruner, “A Theology of
the Holy Spirit”; Dunn, “Baptism with the
Holy Spirit.”)
The phrase, “They are the Sons of God,”
speaks of present tense. In other words one
is Saved now.
What Paul is speaking of relative to the
Believer being a Son of God, is explained more
fully in the next verse.
(15) “FOR YE HAVE NOT RECEIVED
THE SPIRIT OF BONDAGE AGAIN TO
FEAR; BUT YE HAVE RECEIVED THE
SPIRIT OF ADOPTION, WHEREBY WE
CRY, ABBA, FATHER.”
The phrase, “For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear,” speaks of
several things:
LAW KEEPING
1. The “spirit of bondage” as Paul here
uses the phrase, refers to the Old Mosaic Law.
The Law demanded obedience, as all law demands
obedience, and the person was a virtual
slave to that process.
That does not mean that the Law was bad
even as Paul has already addressed. Actually,
he plainly said, “The Law is Holy, and
the Commandment Holy, and Just, and
Good” (Rom. 7:12).
However, the Law while good, still, made
its demands, but gave no power to meet those
demands. So, the Jew, at least those who
tried to keep the Law, even as they certainly
should, found themselves in bondage to that
Law, because it was something they simply
could not do (the keeping of it) as hard as
they tried. And yet they knew they must!
Any Believer presently, who embarks upon
an effort of Law-keeping, as possibly all of us
have done in one way or the other, will find
ourselves in that same bondage. I do not
speak of the Law of Moses presently quite so
much as the laws, rules, and regulations made
up by many Churches. Nevertheless, it is Law,
with some of it probably very good, etc.
Such efforts tend to fool people for the
simple reason that many of these rules and
regulations are good, just as the Law of
Moses was good. Nevertheless, to reinstate
Law in any fashion, and no matter how sincere
we may be, such will not have the intended
results of Holiness, but rather the
very opposite.
FEAR
2. Efforts at Law-keeping always bring
fear, for the simple reason, that the person is
led to believe that their Salvation consists of
keeping these Laws, i.e., rules and regulations
of their Church, etc. So, their Christianity
now becomes a bondage instead of a
freedom — all of this, in attempting to be
Holy and Righteous, which in fact only Jesus
can give, which Law-keeping could never
give, for the simple reason that the Law was
always broken.
The very moment that the Believer attempts
to keep Law of some making, the Holy
Spirit withdraws His Help, with the Believer
always failing sooner or later. The idea is
not in the Believer keeping some type of Law,
but rather in placing our trust in Christ Who
has already kept the Law in every respect. In
other words, it is a task already done, instead
of being left up to us to do, which no one
ever did but Christ.
Some people have the mistaken idea when
they read that of which we have just said,
that this means that Believers have a license
to sin, etc. Quite the contrary!
In fact, the Believer is definitely to keep
every Moral Law of God. That’s one of the
great facets of Christianity, that our lives are
changed from the evil and the ungodly to
the Righteous and the Holy. However, this
process cannot be brought about by Lawkeeping
on our part, but only by trusting in
Him. As a result of our trust, Jesus keeps
the Moral Law through us, which is in accordance
with our imputed Righteousness
and Holiness (Gal. 2:20). He does this
through the Power, Agency, Person, and Ministry
of the Holy Spirit within our lives.
Now there is no “fear.” The responsibility
is not on my shoulders, but on Christ.
As well, it is not that He will do these things,
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:15
NOTES
272
but in fact has already done these things.
A true relationship with Christ is always
spelled out with one word “done!” The
bondage of religion is always spelled out in
one word “do!”
THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION
3. If the Believer has in fact, received the
“spirit of bondage,” it was not given to him
by the Holy Spirit, but rather by his Church,
or that of his own making and doing. So, the
Believer needs to look at his situation, as to
whether it matches up with this of which Paul
brings to us, or rather something else.
The phrase, “But ye have received the
Spirit of Adoption,” proclaims the manner
in which all Believers are “Sons of God.”
“Sons” in the Greek is “huios,” and means
“a mature Child of God in a legal standing
with God.”
The Believer is not to confuse the statement
“Sons of God” of verse 14 reflecting
his status, with that of Jesus Who is “The
Son of God.” We are such by “Adoption,”
while He is such as the Only Begotten Son
of God (Jn. 3:16). John actually refers to
Him in essence as the “Only Begotten God”
(Jn. 1:18).
The Word “Only Begotten” does not only
mean that our Lord was the Only Son of God
in this manner, but that He as God the Son
is Alone of His Kind, Unique, Begotten of
God through eternal generations. He is the
Image of God in the sense that He is a derived
Representation of God the Father, coexistent
eternally with Him, possessing the
same Essence, Deity Himself. Being the only
unique Representative, He is also, therefore,
the Manifestation of God. He said to Philip,
“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father”
(Jn. 14:9).
SONS OF GOD
He is also the One Who made Peace
through the Blood of His Cross, meaning
that He took away the enmity that was between
God and man, because of man’s Fall.
That is, through His Substitutionary Death
He satisfied completely all the claims which
the Law of God had against us. We as lost
sinners violated that Law. The Justice of God
demanded that the penalty, death, be paid.
But God in His Love desired to save those
who would come to Him in Faith to appropriate
Salvation.
So, He in the Person of His Son, Jesus of
Nazareth, stepped down from His Judgment
Throne to take upon Himself at Calvary your
sin and mine, your penalty and mine. God’s
Law being satisfied, He is now free to Righteously
bestow Mercy. Consequently, it is
now possible for any sinner to be “born
again,” and as such, to be brought into the
Family of God by Adoption, thereby, becoming
a “Son of God.”
However, we should understand even as
Paul tells us here, that adopted sons share
the same rights and privileges as one born in
the family.
Even though this Great Work was done
by Jesus at Calvary, even as stated, still, it is
the Holy Spirit who acts as the Legal Counsel,
to bring the believing sinner into the
Family of God.
When He does this, He is not bringing us
into the position of slaves, which caused those
under the Law to shrink from God in fear,
because they had broken the Law, but rather
into the great Family of God which gives freedom,
purchased by Jesus Christ. As stated,
this place and position is not one of fear,
slavery and bondage, but rather the very opposite.
Jesus has kept the Law in every respect,
and upon Faith in Him, every Believer
is given the status of Law-keeper, in other
words, the same status that Jesus now has.
ROMAN LAW
The Holy Spirit is the One Who places
Children of God as adult sons in a legal standing
before God and in relation to Him.
Actually, what Paul is stating here, is a
principle of Roman Law which was prevalent
in his day, and served as an excellent
example, contrary to Jewish Law which was
somewhat different.
In Roman Law, the process of legal adoption
by which the chosen heir became entitled
not only to the rights of the property
but to the Civil Status, to the burdens as
well as the rights of the adopter — the
adopted being made, as it were, the other
self of the adopter, one with him.
As stated, this Roman Principle of Adoption
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was peculiar to the Romans, unknown to the NOTES
Greeks, unknown to all appearance, to the
Jews, as it certainly is not found in the legislation
of Moses, nor mentioned anywhere as
a usage among the Children of the Covenant.
In essence, this tells us that the Adopted
Son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate
sense, One with the Heavenly Father.
What an honor! What a privilege!
The phrase, “Whereby we cry, Abba, Father,”
presents the status of the Adopted Believer.
Slaves were never allowed to say
“Abba” to a Master or “Imma” to a Mistress.
“Abba” is a Syrian term which Paul translates
in Greek “The Father.” Jesus used the
term “Abba” in His Gethsemane Prayer (Mk.
14:36) which Mark also translates into Greek.
However, Greek Scholars say, that the Greek
word is not meant to be a mere translation
of the Syriac, but that the Name “Father” is
repeated. Robertson says it is a child’s privilege
to repeat the name, in other words,
“Abba, Father.” The Holy Spirit enables the
Child of God to call God, Father, which is
done so because of Jesus Christ.
In all of this Paul is telling us that the
Believer has received the Power (his knowledge
of what Christ has done and the Power
of the Holy Spirit to make real that knowledge
within his life) that can make dead all
the passions of sin in the body. As stated,
this is a Work of the Holy Spirit, and tells
us that we are Sons of God. This Glorious
Work does not put the Believer under the
bondage of Law where he would be perpetually
oppressed with doubts and fears as to
whether he was Righteous before God, but
it brings him into the High and Glorious
Position of a child who, possessing his
Father’s nature, spontaneously cries out
“Abba, Father” (Williams).
“Cry” in the Greek is “krazo,” and means
“a loud cry expressing deep emotion.” In
other words, it speaks of much more than
mere title, but rather “relationship.”
(16) “THE SPIRIT ITSELF BEARETH
WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT, THAT WE
ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD:”
The phrase, “The Spirit Itself,” should
have been translated, “The Spirit Himself.”
The Holy Spirit is a Person, and, accordingly,
should never be addressed as “It.”
The phrase, “Beareth witness with our
spirit,” means that He is constantly speaking
and witnessing to us a certain thing. It
is more, much more, than a witness when
we first were Saved, but rather a continuing
witness, something which never stops.
“Beareth witness with,” in the Greek is
“summartureo,” and means “to bear joint
witness with” some other person, “to bear
joint-testimony with” some other person.
“Our spirit” refers to the Saint’s human spirit
energized by the Holy Spirit (Wuest). In
other words, our own spirit tells us we are
God’s Children, but the voice with which it
speaks is, as we know, prompted and inspired
by the Divine Spirit Himself.
The phrase, “That we are the Children
of God,” speaks of present tense, meaning
“right now.”
WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS WITNESS
OF THE SPIRIT?
To be sure, it is something far higher than
the mere knowledge of a philosophy, or even
a personal experience we may have had. While
personal experiences in the Lord are of extreme
importance and never to be demeaned,
still, the “witness of the Spirit” of which we
speak, transcends all feelings, and means that
it is stamped in the legal standing of the
Word of God. It is a certitude (for certain) of
the Spirit’s Presence and Work continually
within us, which takes us not only from experience
to experience, but from Faith to
Faith. It is manifested in His comforting
us, His stirring us up to prayer, His reproof
of our sins, His drawing us to works of Love,
to bear testimony before the world, etc. On
this direct testimony of the Holy Spirit rests,
ultimately, all the regenerate man’s conviction
respecting Christ and His Work
(Olshausen).
It is amazing that many in this modern
climate claim that God no longer speaks to
people presently. They should read Romans
8:16, where the infallible Word of God proclaims
that the Spirit of God not only speaks
to Believers, but as well speaks constantly.
Perhaps these doubters do not know of this
Truth, simply because He is not in their lives,
i.e., they are not Born Again.
(17) “AND IF CHILDREN, THEN HEIRS;
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:16-17
NOTES
274
HEIRS OF GOD, AND JOINT-HEIRS WITH
CHRIST; IF SO BE THAT WE SUFFER
WITH HIM, THAT WE MAY BE ALSO GLORIFIED
TOGETHER.”
The phrase, “And if children, then heirs,”
speaks of a present position. “If” in the Greek
is “ei,” and means “a fulfilled condition.”
In other words, the Spirit right now, is constantly
bearing testimony right now, in company
with our spirit right now, that we are
Children of God right now.
The phrase, “Heirs of God” speaks of this
“Adoption” as being the highest of all, not
merely a secondary position, even as glorious
as that would be. This is illustrated in
the story given by Jesus of the Prodigal Son.
THE PRODIGAL
The Prodigal so sick of his lost condition
with all of its attendant misery, was planning
on going back to the Father and requesting
of Him, “Make me as one of thy
hired servants” (Lk. 15:19).
The “hired servant” did not even have the
status of a regular servant who had full security
and employment, but rather one who
stood at the gate every morning, and took
whatever work was available, irrespective as
to its servility or shortness of duration.
However, when he came back to the Father,
he found that the Father did not treat
him as a servant, much less a “hired servant,”
but brought him back to full status as a “Son”
even with all of its full inheritance, even
though the previous inheritance had been
squandered. This is what Paul is talking
about “Heirs of God.”
Adam squandered the inheritance given
to him by the Lord, and now guilty, his sons
come back to the Father, and are received
not as servants, but as “Sons” with all the
privileges which the Father can give. In
other words, total status and position are
restored, with all rights reinstated.
If one is to notice, there was no condemnation
whatsoever on the part of the Father
as regarding the Prodigal Son, but
rather the very opposite. Hence, Paul would
say, “There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”
(Rom. 8:1).
THE LAST ADAM
The phrase, “And joint-heirs with Christ,”
means, however, that we could never have
this relationship with the Father, were it not
for the Second and, therefore, Last Adam,
The Lord Jesus Christ. He as our Representative
Man, has done for us what we could
not do for ourselves, and at tremendous price
one might quickly add. So, this privilege
and position of being a “joint-heir” with Him,
is strictly because of His Mercy, Grace, Love,
and Compassion, and not at all through anything
that we have done. Simple Faith in
Him, grants me all the privileges which He
has with the Father, which makes me an
“Heir of God.”
Roman Law made all children including
adopted ones, equal inheritors, which Paul
no doubt had in mind.
By contrast, Jewish Law gave a double portion
to the eldest son. However, Paul is saying
that Jewish Law (the Law of Moses) does
not apply here, because Grace lifts one to a
higher status, and, therefore, gives us equal
rights with Christ.
As one reads these Words, one is humbled,
especially considering, the price that was paid,
and how much none of us deserve any of
this of which the Lord so freely gives.
Jesus is the Eldest Son, but He has purposely
forfeited His place and position of the
double portion, rather making all Believers
equal with Himself regarding inheritance.
One can only shout “Hallelujah!”
The phrase, “If so be that we suffer with
Him,” does not pertain to mere suffering,
for such does not fulfill the condition. It is
suffering with Christ.
SUFFERING
The idea is that the Holy Spirit also binds
the heart of the Believer in sympathy with
the suffering Creation and with all its pain
and misery. Christ felt that sympathy; and
anyone who believes himself to be a Christian
but does not so suffer with Christ deceives
himself, for only those who suffer thus
in sympathy with the suffering Creation,
and in this sense with Christ will be Glorified
with Him (Williams). Verses 19-22 bear
this out.
ROMANS 8:17 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
275
Any person who truly knows God, and, NOTES
consequently, walks close to Him, cannot help
but see the terrible conditions in the world
such as starvation, war, sickness, pain, suffering,
heartache, etc., which are brought
about by the Fall. This will not, and in fact,
cannot be changed until the return of the
Lord. The unbeliever gropes in this darkness
having no understanding of the future
and little or nothing of the past and present.
As Paul has already said, they are not led by
the Spirit and, therefore, have little true
understanding of anything. Those without
God have a sordid past, a hurting present,
and an unknown future.
THE CHURCH
As well, and certainly not secondary, the
True Believer in Christ, who attempts to follow
Him in all things, will find great opposition
not only from the world, but, as well,
from the Apostate Church. By the Apostate
Church I mean the following:
There was a time, even as late as the
1960’s that the line was pretty well drawn
respecting Fundamentalism and Modernism.
(Fundamentalists are those who claim
to believe all the Bible.) However, that line
has become so blurred presently as to be
indistinguishable.
At the present time, and a situation I
might quickly add which is going to continue
to deteriorate, strong religious Denominations
who once held for the Truth of the
Gospel, have become so shot through with
unbelief, that they no longer even remotely
resemble what they once were. While there
are some in these Organizations who still
cling to the straight gate and the narrow way,
for the most part its Leadership is not in
that category.
One could easily speak of modern Psychology
which is wholly unbiblical and in fact,
anti-Biblical, with virtually all of Christendom
having plunged into this pit, but in
Truth, Psychology, which is the religion of
Humanism, is but a symptom of the real problem.
The real problem is a failure to follow
the Word of God, either because of self-will or
unbelief. Such mirrors perfectly the spiritual
condition of the Israel of Jesus’ day.
Israel had never been more religious than
at the time of the First Advent of Christ.
However, that was their problem! It was mere
religion, with no relationship at all with God.
Consequently, they murdered their Messiah,
and in spirit, such continues to be done even
unto this very hour.
For a long while I grieved concerning the
Leaders of the Pentecostal Denomination
with which I was formerly associated, thinking
that if they would just come to our meetings,
they would see the Moving and Operation
of the Holy Spirit, and, consequently,
would not be so antagonistic and even hostile.
However, I finally came to see and understand,
that it was the Moving and Operation
of the Holy Spirit which they so greatly
opposed. That was the very reason, the
Anointing of the Holy Spirit in my life, for
their intense dislike. The other things which
they presented to the public were merely excuses
and not true reasons. The reason is
that of which I have spoken. Regrettably, as
I dictate these words, the situation has not
improved, but rather worsened.
CAIN AS AN EXAMPLE
And yet, the problem is not new, having
even begun with Cain murdering his brother
Abel at the very dawn of time. God approved
of Abel’s Sacrifice, while disapproving that
of Cain. Consequently, Cain murdered his
brother, which spirit has continued unto this
very hour. That’s what I mean by the Apostate
Church (Gen. 4:3-9).
Joseph’s suffering, even as Abel, was from
his Brethren. David’s great enemy was Saul
and certain elements in Israel. It was Israel
who killed their own Prophets, and not the
heathen. It was the Church of Jesus’ Day
which crucified Him, and not actually
heathenistic Rome. It was Apostasy which
gradually weakened the Early Church, until
finally the world was plunged into the Dark
Ages. Regrettably, it continues unto the
present, and due to the deception of these
last days, will only grow worse, even ushering
in the Antichrist.
The phrase, “That we may be also Glorified
together,” pertains to the Coming Resurrection
of Life, when every True Saint will
be Glorified exactly as Christ now is.
The idea is, that if one is a True Believer,
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:17
NOTES
276
and please understand that this number is
not nearly as large as one would think, they
are going to be opposed by the false way,
which is actually one of the great signs of
the True Way of the Word of God. Jesus suffered
the opposition of the Apostate Church
of His Day, and all others suffer accordingly,
that is, if they truly know the Lord.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO
BE GLORIFIED?
As stated, this pertains to the Coming
Resurrection.
We can probably best answer the question
by addressing ourselves to three questions:
1. What do we know of Resurrection as
Transformation?
2. What do we know about the Resurrection
State?
3. What is Resurrection Power?
THE RESURRECTION AS TRANSFORMATION
(TO BE GLORIFIED)
John wrote that God has made us His
Own Children (I Jn. 3:1) and then added (I
Jn. 3:2), “What we will be has not yet been
made known.
“But we do know that when Jesus appears,
we shall be like Him.”
Paul in I Thessalonians 4:14 provides the
broad outline of Resurrection when Jesus returns.
He is speaking of the Rapture or the
Resurrection, both words referring to the
same event.
He spoke of those who had died in the
Faith, in other words their soul and spirit
going to be with Jesus, and then coming back
with Him in the Resurrection. This has to
do with that large group receiving a Glorified
Body, which will be united with their
soul and spirit. Those who are alive at that
time will be instantly Glorified, meeting the
Lord in the air (I Thess. 4:13-18).
There are more details in I Corinthians
Chapter 15. To the questions “How are the
dead raised?”, and “With what kind of body
will they come?” (I Cor. 15:35), Paul simply
notes that the Resurrection Body will
correspond to our present Body, but in contrast
it will be imperishable, glorious, infused
with power — spiritual rather than
natural. It will be in the likeness of Jesus,
through a transformation that will happen
“. . . in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
Trump.” Then the “. . . dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall all be changed”
(I Cor. 15:35-52).
THE RESURRECTION STATE
What do we know about the Resurrection
State? Very little, according to the Apostles
Paul and John.
But many have found it fascinating to
observe the capabilities of the Resurrected
Jesus and speculate what being “like Him”
might mean.
For instance, the Resurrected Jesus had
“flesh and bones” (Lk. 24:39). Why not flesh
and blood? It is because “the life of the
flesh is in the blood?” (Lev. 17:11) and a
Resurrected person is infused with a different
kind of life!
The Truth is, that whereas the “blood” was
that which formerly contained the life of the
human body, now it will be the Holy Spirit.
Others have noted Jesus’ sudden appearance
among His Disciples in a locked room
(Jn. 20:26). Is this teleportation? Or can a
Resurrected person move between the atoms
of the physical universe?
While all the questions are not now answered,
this we do know. The limitations of
our physical nature will then be gone, and
whereas we are now perishable, we will then
be imperishable. Power will replace weakness,
and to such an extent as to be beyond
present comprehension. As well, immortality
(Eternal Life) will end mortality (death).
WHAT IS RESURRECTION POWER?
This is one of the most exciting of New
Testament themes. Paul writes that, “If the
Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead
is living in you, He Who raised Christ from
the dead will also give life to your mortal
bodies through His Spirit, Who lives in you”
(Rom. 8:11).
The point Paul makes is that the Holy
Spirit, the Agent of Jesus’ Resurrection, lives
within the Believer. This means that Resurrection
Power is available to us even in our
mortal bodies. Through the Holy Spirit we
are raised beyond our human limitations and
enabled to live a Righteous Life, and as well,
ROMANS 8:17 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
277
to do the Works of Christ (Jn. 14:12). NOTES
Actually, this Doctrine is sometimes overlooked,
and certain Biblical Passages are,
therefore, misinterpreted.
For instance, in Philippians Chapter 3,
Paul is not expressing uncertainty about his
own Resurrection when he yearns “somehow,
to attain to the Resurrection from the dead”
(Phil. 3:11). The entire sentence reads, “I
want to know Christ and the Power of His
Resurrection and the fellowship of sharing
in His Sufferings, becoming like Him in His
Death, and so, somehow, to attain to the
Resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10-11).
Actually, Paul’s thought is focused on the
present — living a Resurrection kind of life
now — not on Eternity. He is expressing
the desire, and even that which he definitely
experienced, the Power of Jesus’ Resurrection,
at work in our lives presently. In other
words, the same Power which raised Jesus
from the dead, that it work in us now, and
which it will, if we “suffer with Him.”
THE DOCTRINE OF RESURRECTION
AND CHANGE
The Greeks thought the soul had permanent
existence and thought that it even possibly
had renewed life through transmigration
(to pass at death from one body or being
to another, a form of reincarnation). However,
they did not believe that the “soul” was
the individual’s conscious personality. Neither
did they believe that this new state was a
Resurrection. Resurrection was in fact so foreign
to Greek thought as to be considered ridiculous.
The idea was, “Why would anyone
want to go through all of this all over again?”
Of course, they had no knowledge of what
True Resurrection actually meant.
THE JEWS
In the Jewish world of the First Century,
opinion was divided. The Orthodox
Pharisees were confident of a Resurrection,
but the Sadducees denied the Doctrine.
This division was possibly brought about
by the lack of clear teaching in the Old
Testament concerning this great Doctrine.
However, while the teaching was not extensive,
it was very clear in what little it
did say (Job 14:14; Ps. 17:15; 49:7-20;
73:23-26; Isa. 25:8; 26:19; Dan. 12:2).
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
It is the New Testament that makes God’s
Plan for individual human beings clear.
There is an eternal destiny, a life beyond this
life. Resurrection lies ahead. Jesus’ Own
Appeals to the Old Testament show evidence
sometimes overlooked. But it is the Resurrection
of Jesus that is the final proof.
Jesus’ Resurrection not only declared Him
to be what He claimed to be, the Son of God,
but also provided a guarantee for us who believe.
Because Jesus lives, we too will live.
And we will share His Destiny, which is actually
what we are studying in this 17th verse
of Romans Chapter 8.
Again, as John said, “When He appears,
we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as
He is” (I Jn. 3:2) (Richards).
(18) “FOR I RECKON THAT THE SUFFERINGS
OF THIS PRESENT TIME ARE
NOT WORTHY TO BE COMPARED WITH
THE GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED
IN US.”
The phrase, “For I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time,” speaks as we
have stated, of the misery and ruin into
which man and the Creation are fallen because
of man’s sin — whether in the world
or the Church.
“Reckon” in the Greek is “logizomai,” and
means “to compute, to calculate.” The word
implies reasoning. “I judge after calculation
made” (Godet). The word refers to a
process of reasoning which results in the arriving
at a conclusion (Wuest).
When Paul used the words “present time,”
he was speaking not only of his particular
day, but of a condition which has existed ever
since the Fall, and will exist until the Second
Coming of the Lord. The Salvation of
this world is the Second Coming of the Lord.
To be sure, it is not one of several answers,
but actually the only answer.
The phrase, “Are not worthy to be compared
with the Glory which shall be revealed
in us,” proclaims a comparison.
The future time for which man and the
Creation hope, is the promised day of the
Coming Resurrection when the Redeemed
and the Creation will be delivered from the
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:18
NOTES
278
bondage of mortality and brought into the
freedom of immortality. The glory of that
future time will bear no relation to the misery
of this present time (Williams).
The words “Shall be revealed in us,” in
the Greek Text carries the idea of “toward us
and upon us.” In other words, it will be a
reflected glory, reflected from our Lord in
His Glory, that will make the Saints radiant
when they return to the Earth with the Lord
Jesus at the Second Advent.
THE PILLARS OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
An excellent example of this is found in
Solomon’s Temple of old. The two giant
Pillars which stood in front of the Temple
were actually there as ornamentation, not
really holding up anything as Pillars normally
do. As well, they were made of brass
(I Ki. 7:13-22).
As is known, brass (copper) tarnishes easily,
but when properly polished, presents a
high gloss.
Inasmuch as the Temple faced the East,
the Sun upon arising over Mt. Olivet would
first strike the burnished brass of the two
Pillars, creating a dazzling display of light.
It is even said, that Traders coming into the
City would purposely delay their arrival so
they could stand on Olivet and watch the
rising Sun as its rays struck the Pillars. It is
stated that its beauty at this time was a wonder
to behold. Perhaps this is what Jesus
was speaking about when He said, “Him that
overcometh will I make a Pillar in the
Temple of My God . . .” (Rev. 3:12).
As the beauty of those Pillars was a reflection
of the shining rays of the Sun, likewise,
the Glory of the Believer is and shall be, the
reflection of the rays of the Son.
(19) “FOR THE EARNEST EXPECTATION
OF THE CREATURE WAITETH
FOR THE MANIFESTATION OF THE
SONS OF GOD.”
The phrase, “For the earnest expectation
of the creature,” would have been better
translated, “For the earnest expectation of
the Creation.”
“Earnest expectation” in the Greek is
“apokaradokia,” and means “a watching
with the head erect and outstretched.” Creation
speaks of everything, both animate and
inanimate (animate refers to that which has
conscious life such as human beings and
animals, etc., versus inanimate, which speaks
of that which does not have conscious life,
such as plants, etc.).
The phrase, “Waiteth for the manifestation
of the Sons of God,” pertains to the
Coming Resurrection of Life.
The idea is, that due to the Fall, everything
is cursed (Gen. 3:17). Inasmuch, according
to Psalm 8 that God had put the
entirety of His Creation under the dominion
of Adam (man), it seems like the entirety
of the Creation, including outer space,
etc., also suffered the result of the Fall. Consequently,
nothing works as it should work
and because of this Curse.
As well, in some mysterious way, even as
the Holy Spirit through the Apostle here proclaims,
the whole of Creation, both animate
and inanimate, waits in suspense for the
Coming Resurrection. In other words, it is
not functioning as it was originally created,
and cannot do so until the Creator returns
and makes everything right.
“Waiteth” in the Greek is “apodechomai,”
and means “assiduously and patiently to
wait for.”
MANIFESTATION
In essence, this tells us that all of Creation
is involved in some way in the fortunes
of humanity. But this, if Creation be personified,
naturally leads to the idea of a mysterious
sympathy between the world and man,
and this is what the Apostle expresses. He is
saying that Creation is not inert, utterly unspiritual,
alien to our life and its hopes, but
rather, the natural ally of our souls, because
of being created by God.
“Manifestation” in the Greek is
“apokalupsis,” and means “an uncovering, a
laying bare.” That is, the non-rational Creation,
subject to the Curse put upon it because
of man’s sin, is expectantly waiting for
the Glorification of the Saints, that it also
may be delivered from the Curse under which
it now exists. Inasmuch as man was given
dominion over all of God’s Creation (Ps. 8),
then everything was subject to the Curse.
The “Sons of God” speaks of all Believers,
even as Paul said in Romans 8:14, and are
ROMANS 8:19 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
279
such because of what was done by the Sec- NOTES
ond Adam at Calvary and the Resurrection.
The First Adam brought on the Curse, with
the Second Adam paying the price for deliverance
from the Curse. Soon, the Curse in
its totality will be lifted when Jesus returns.
However, this “Manifestation” will come
in two parts. At the moment of the Resurrection
(I Thess. 4:16-17), all Saints who
have ever lived will be Glorified at that time.
However, inasmuch as Jesus will not return
to this Earth at that particular time, total
Manifestation will not be brought about.
That awaits some 7 years later, which will
be after the Great Tribulation which will
bring Israel back to God, which will occur
at the Second Coming (Zech. Chpts. 13-
14; Rev. Chpt. 19). For the “Manifestation”
to be complete, the Jews must also
return to the Lord.
Then the Curse will be lifted totally and
completely from all things, with Christ
reigning supremely on this Earth and in
Person (Isa. 2:1-5; 4:2-6; 9:6-10; 14:1-8;
25:6-12; 26:1-4; 32:1-15; 33:6; 63:1-19).
FALSE!
There is a false teaching concerning the
“Manifestation of the Sons of God,” which
has been around for quite some time. It
teaches that this “Manifestation” is already
taking place, and has actually been enlarged
on by the modern error of that which is referred
to as “Kingdom Now.”
Its proponents claim there will be no Rapture,
which seems to indicate that they do
not quite understand that the Rapture and
the Resurrection are one and the same. As
well, the idea is in this teaching, that this
“Manifestation” will be ushered in by political
means, with Christians being elected to
public office, etc. In fact, a great part of the
energy of the Church in the 1990’s has gone
toward this purpose, and not the real purpose
of the Church, which should be World
Evangelism — the Preaching of the Gospel
to the lost in order to bring them to Christ.
No, this “Manifestation” of which Paul
speaks, will be carried out at the Resurrection
of the Just, and then the Second Coming
of the Lord (Dan. 2:34-35).
(20) “FOR THE CREATURE WAS MADE
SUBJECT TO VANITY, NOT WILLINGLY,
BUT BY REASON OF HIM WHO HATH SUBJECTED
THE SAME IN HOPE,”
The phrase, “For the creature was made
subject to vanity,” pertains to the fact, and
as stated, that inasmuch as God gave Adam
dominion over all His Creation, Adam’s Fall
signaled its Fall. As the Creation “was made
subject” to Adam, it was also subject to his
sin which resulted in a Curse on all things.
“Vanity” in the Greek is “mataios,” and
means “idle, resultless, futile, aimless, in
other words, empty nothings.” It describes
something that does not measure up to that
for which it is intended.
Here, the Creation is viewed as originally
created, a perfect Creation to Glorify God.
When the Curse was put upon it, that purpose
was interfered with in that a perishing
and decaying Creation cannot perfectly Glorify
Him. It was rendered relatively futile
in that respect.
As we have stated, in some mysterious
way, it senses that it is not fulfilling its intended
purpose.
The words “not willingly” mean that Creation
did not sin, even as such cannot sin,
and, therefore, had no part in the reason for
the Fall. However, inasmuch as Adam had
dominion over all, all fell with him, including
the whole of the human family.
In fact, due to the Fall, which has terribly
adversely affected all of the Creation, man
has absolutely no idea as to what it originally
was before the Fall. Considering how
beautiful that Creation is presently, which
speaks of the animals and plant life, etc., as
well as the Heavens, etc., one cannot help
but wonder as to exactly how beautiful and
glorious it was before the Curse of Sin perverted
its true purpose!
However, what the First Adam lost, the
Second Adam, The Lord Jesus Christ has Redeemed,
with all, at least Believers and the
Creation, eagerly awaiting His Return. As
the song says:
“Our Lord is coming back to Earth again!”
The phrase, “But by reason of Him Who
hath subjected the same in Hope,” speaks of
God as the One Who passed sentence.
The Expositors say that Paul did not use
the grammatical form which would express
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:20
NOTES
280
the direct agency of God, but rather that it
was done “by Him Who hath subjected.” In
other words, it was done on account of Him,
the idea being, that God had stated that if
Adam disobeyed, Judgment would come,
which is exactly what happened. It could
probably be said to be “the Law of Sowing
and Reaping” (Gal. 6:7). It was not so much
that God directly did the thing (effected the
destruction), but rather that He said that it
would happen, and in essence, because of
certain Laws which He had originally instituted.
Consequently, it was Adam’s sin and
not God’s Will directly which was the direct
and special cause of the subjection to vanity.
The supreme Will of God is thus removed
“to a wider distance from corruption and
vanity” (Alford).
It was on account of Him (God) — His
Righteousness might be shown in the punishment
of sin — that the sentence fell upon
man, carrying consequences which extended
to the whole realm intended originally for
his dominion.
The words “in Hope” state that the sentence
of man, however, was not hopeless, and
Creation shares in his Hope as in his doom.
When the Curse is completely removed from
man, as it will be when the Sons of God are
revealed, it will pass from Creation also,
which will take place in the coming Kingdom
Age, and for this, Creation sighs.
Creation was made subject to vanity on
the footing of this Hope; the Hope is latent,
so to speak, in the constitution of nature as
it only can be, and comes out, in its sighing
in some manner, to a sympathetic ear, which
is actually that of the Lord (Denney).
(21) “BECAUSE THE CREATURE ITSELF
ALSO SHALL BE DELIVERED FROM
THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION INTO
THE GLORIOUS LIBERTY OF THE CHILDREN
OF GOD.”
The phrase, “Because the creature itself
also shall be delivered,” presents the direction
of this “Hope.” The Hope is that of the
subjected (Creation) not the Subjector (God).
Nature possesses in the feeling of her unmerited
suffering, a sort of presentment of
her future deliverance (Godet).
However, the words “shall be delivered”
in this phrase, tells us what type of “Hope”
is here being addressed.
The word “Hope” as is normally used presently
contains no certitude; however, that
of which the Holy Spirit uses through the
Apostle, speaks of a guaranteed positive conclusion,
but not exactly known when. If
one is to notice, Paul did not say “the creature
itself hopes to be delivered,” but rather,
“shall be delivered,” which speaks of that
which is certain.
The phrase, “From the bondage of corruption,”
speaks of mortality, i.e., “death.” “Corruption”
in the Greek is “phthora,” and means
“moral corruption, decay, ruin, depravity,
wickedness.” It also speaks of that which is
“perishing and being destroyed,” which is the
application for “Creation,” in this case, mostly
“inanimate,” but can include the “animate,”
i.e., “animals, fowls, fish, etc.”
The idea is not that animals will live forever
in that coming time, but that they will
function as God originally intended, which
speaks of their nature being changed to that
of docility (Isa. 11:6-9).
The phrase, “Into the Glorious Liberty of
the Children of God,” expresses the mysterious
sympathy which we have mentioned, between
the creation and man. When man
fell, Creation fell! When man shall be delivered,
Creation will be delivered as well, and
is expressed in the word “also.”
“Glorious Liberty” can be translated “the
Liberty of the Glory.” It refers to the Glory
of verse 18.
Then Redeemed man will be as he was
before the Fall, but with one great difference.
Redeemed man will be “Glorified,”
which is far greater than what Adam previously
had. That’s the reason it is called “Glorious.”
The idea is, “When sin abounded,
Grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20).
(22) “FOR WE KNOW THAT THE
WHOLE CREATION GROANETH AND
TRAVAILETH IN PAIN TOGETHER UNTIL
NOW.”
The phrase, “For we know that the whole
Creation,” means exactly what it says, every
single thing created by God, and all things
created were created by Him (Jn. 1:3).
The phrase, “Groaneth and travaileth in
pain together until now,” refers to the
common longing of all the elements of the
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281
Creation, not to its longing in common NOTES
with God’s Children (Vincent).
“Groaneth” in the Greek is “sustenazo,”
and means “to experience a common calamity,”
which in this case refers to the Fall.
“Travaileth” in the Greek is “sunodino,”
and means “pangs in company with or simultaneously.”
However, “travaileth” is different
than “groaneth,” in that the “travail”
carries with it an expectation of relief
from suffering.
Even though this does speak of the entirety
of the Creation, and is readily understandable
concerning the inanimate Creation,
and as well of Believers who truly know
the Lord and are cognizant of the reason for
man’s present difficulties; however, it does
not explain the unsaved of humanity who
make up the far, far greater majority. One
might argue that the word “together” does
not include them; however, it does!
The unsaved “groaneth,” but for an entirely
different reason. The Believer “groans”
because he knows the cause of so much suffering
(sin) and as well, the only deliverance,
which is the Coming of the Lord. The unbeliever
“groans” under the weight of rebellion
against God, and the misery it brings,
but never quite knowing the reason why.
The Believer “travails” but with the expectation
of Deliverance, while the unbeliever
does the same — but Deliverance from the
wrong source, which in reality, is no Deliverance
at all.
(23) “AND NOT ONLY THEY, BUT OURSELVES
ALSO, WHICH HAVE THE FIRSTFRUITS
OF THE SPIRIT, EVEN WE OURSELVES
GROAN WITHIN OURSELVES,
WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION, TO WIT,
THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY.”
The phrase, “And not only they, but ourselves
also,” picks up on Believers, with Paul
giving a greater explanation, and for the simple
reason that it is Believers only, as we have
stated, who know the true state of affairs. Believers
know that Jesus is coming, that is if
they truly know the Bible, and they know that
He is the Answer to all things, hence, all True
Believers say with John the Beloved, “Even
so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
The phrase, “Which have the Firstfruits
of the Spirit,” tells us, that even though
Believers have the Holy Spirit, still, all that
He can do, and all that He will do, will only
be brought about at the Coming Resurrection.
UNIVERSAL SUFFERING
The phrase, “Even we ourselves groan
within ourselves,” tells us in essence, that all
that Jesus paid for and accomplished in the
Atonement at Calvary’s Cross, has not yet been
realized, and will not be fully realized until
the Resurrection. Believers, while in the body,
are not yet exempt from our share in the universal
groaning. In effect, Believers presently
have “the earnest of the Spirit” (II Cor. 1:22),
which means a down payment of all that He
will yet do. As well, we now only have “the
earnest of our inheritance” (Eph. 1:14), which
speaks only of a part payment, with the full
payment yet to come.
This answers many questions, or at least
it should, concerning the reason for much
Christian suffering. Unfortunately, some
modern Bible Teachers have attempted to
consider all present suffering and difficulties,
as a lack of Faith. While a lack of Faith
definitely does play a part in many things
concerning Believers, still, no amount of
Faith can bring the Blessing of the Coming
Resurrection into the present.
The phrase, “Waiting for the adoption,”
in essence could be translated, “Waiting for
the fulfillment of the process which adoption
into the Family of God guarantees.”
The phrase, “To wit, the Redemption of
our body,” proclaims that (the Body) which
has not yet been Redeemed.
The link which unites the Believer with
the suffering Creation is his body. Because
of sin it is subjected to pain, decay, and death.
This connection with the Creation brings
into conscious suffering the heart that is
indwelt by the Love of Christ. It is the suffering
of sympathy. The sense of the pain
and evil that encompass the Creation oppresses
him; and the more conscious he is of
the indwelling warmth and liberty and power
of the Divine Nature, which is Love, the more
is he sensible of the weight of the misery
introduced into the Creation by sin.
Thus, the Believer is united to the Creation
by his physical body and to Heaven by the
Spirit; and the sympathy which he feels for the
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:23
NOTES
282
suffering Creation is a Divine sympathy.
God, because of man’s sin, subjected the
Creation to death, even as verse 20 proclaims,
but He did so in Hope. He looks forward to
its recovery when man shall be fully Redeemed
(Williams).
IS HEALING IN THE ATONEMENT?
This question has been heatedly argued I
suppose almost from the time that Jesus died
on Calvary.
The word “Atonement” means “a making
at one” and points to a process of bringing
those who are estranged into a unity. Its
use in theology is to denote the Work of
Christ in dealing with the problem posed by
the sin of man, and in bringing sinners into
right relation with God, which was done at
Calvary’s Cross.
In this, Jesus dealt with the sin question
and all its effects. That means that the terrible
sin debt was paid, with it no longer held
against man, at least those who believe in
Christ (Jn. 3:16).
In dealing with the sin question, which
Jesus did in totality by offering up His pure,
spotless, sinless Body as a Sin-Offering at Calvary,
He settled the sin question and its effects
once and for all (Isa. Chpt. 53). The
effects speak of sickness, poverty, ignorance,
and slavery. So, that means that Healing
is definitely in the Atonement as well as
prosperity, etc.
That means, that it is the Will of God,
and always the Will of God to save from all
sin, heal from all sickness, redeem from all
poverty, deliver from all bondage and spiritually
educate from all ignorance.
And yet we know, that despite this great
thing which Jesus did at Calvary, Christians
at times still sin, the sick are not always
healed, prosperity is not the offing for all,
and at times some spiritual bondages are not
broken, at least not quickly, etc.
Why?
The answer is obvious. Even as Paul has
so plainly said, Believers presently only have
the “Firstfruits of the Spirit,” which means
that all that Jesus did at Calvary has not yet
come to the Believer, and in fact, will not
come in totality until the Coming Resurrection.
However, that doesn’t mean that
Believers should live in a type of spiritual
apathy of “whatever will be, will be.” Many
things can now be changed, and are in fact
changed constantly, by Believers believing
God, having Faith in Who He is and What
He can do. So the Believer is to believe God
for whatever is needed, irrespective that we
now only have the “Firstfruits.” But yet at
the same time, Preachers should not claim
that the failure or lack of one hundred percent
of all of these things can be explained
by a lack of Faith. That, as should be painfully
obvious, is unscriptural!
THE MODERN FAITH MESSAGE
The following material has been previously
printed in our Commentary on Daniel but
due to the manner in which Commentaries
are normally studied, and the significance of
this subject, I have felt it proper to reprint
this article at this time. As well, there is
some repetition in the material, but which
we think is necessary in order to properly
develop the correct emphasis.
I feel like there are many elements in the
modern Faith Teaching which are positive.
Much of it is wholesome, edifying, and needful.
Emphasizing Faith certainly does tend
to elevate victorious Christian living, and this
is definitely essential within the Body of
Christ. If the “Faith Teaching” stopped
there, it would be of untold value to the Work
of God — but regrettably, much of it does
not stop there. Sad to say, because of error,
many individuals participating in this teaching
have not been led to Victory but defeat,
and complete defeat at that!
To the unlearned — those unfamiliar with
the Word of God — it sounds logical, Scriptural,
and inviting. This, of course, is why
it ensnares so many people. Much error rides
into the Church on the back of Truth.
The following lists some of the errors
which I believe permeate the modern Faith
Teaching. They are:
BIBLIOLATRY
Words of Scripture seem to be deified —
apart from the Living God — and collected
into various “Laws” which activate the forces
of good and evil. Anyone who questions the
specific interpretations is immediately
ROMANS 8:23 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
283
branded as “denying the Word of God and NOTES
its Power.”
One could say that the sin of “Bibliolatry”
is committed. This occurs when one makes
an idol of the Bible or has excessive reverence
for the letter of the Bible, in this case,
claiming that certain Passages bring certain
forces into play, etc.
As such, the Bible itself, apart from
Christ, is looked at as the Source. This is
idolatry just as surely as is the bowing down
to heathenistic idols. However, it is very
subtle and, therefore, far more dangerous
because of its religious context.
KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge is said to be the way to achieve
a Divine place in Creation. Attainment of
“a new-creature status for the Believer”
makes them part of a superior, elite, or master
race, they teach.
This fits right in with the “political message”
in the Christianizing of the culture
and ultimately leading the world into the
Millennium.
Just as with the ancient error of old, called
“Gnosticism,” a superior knowledge is
claimed! Consequently, whether the advocates
realize it or not, “knowledge” becomes
the way to Salvation instead of Christ.
CONFESSION
The Confession Principle is strictly adhered
to, which teaches that the use of Scriptural
formulas to “confess” results releases
the forces of good on one’s behalf.
And again, whether they realize it or not,
the advocates of the Confession Principle are
taking control out of the Hands of the Lord
and placing it into their own hands.
In other words, they automatically conclude
that they know the Will of God in
any and all circumstances, which of course
is untrue. The conclusion of that is to ultimately
attempt to use the Word of God
against God, which of course, the Lord will
never allow to be done.
For instance, when the three Hebrew Children
were facing the fiery furnace, they exclaimed
that the Lord was able to deliver
them. However, they went on to say, “But if
not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we
will not serve thy gods, nor worship the
Golden Image which thou hast set up”
(Dan. 3:17-18).
“But if not,” would have been considered
a bad confession by the so-called Faith people,
but God did not call it such.
LAW
They teach that sin is a consequence of
the Law, which disappeared with the New Covenant,
and that confession of sin becomes a
false perception because behavior is made
right (they say) by confessing “who one is in
Christ Jesus.” Repentance then plays no part
in our present-day experience, in their thinking,
because it relates to sin — which ended
with the Law.
As a result of this teaching, any Preaching
that convicts of sin is called condemnation
and is rejected out of hand. Actually,
they little believe in Holy Spirit conviction,
claiming that it represents a throwback to
condemnation which ended with the abolishment
of the Law (Law of Moses).
Any confession of sin is pretty much denied
because it is a “wrong confession” of
who one is in Christ. As a result, one of the
great Office Works of the Holy Spirit — His
convicting of “sin, and of Righteousness, and
of Judgment” — is denied or erroneously interpreted
(Jn. 16:8-11).
For instance, they claim that this pertains
only to the “world” and not to the Believer.
However, the word “world” simply means
that it applies not only to the Jews, but also
to Gentiles, in other words, to all people.
John also said, “And He is the Propitiation
for our sins: and not for ours only, but also
for the sins of the whole world” (I Jn. 2:2).
Basically, this teaching claims that sin, conviction
of the Holy Spirit, Repentance, etc.,
belong to the Old Covenant (Law) and have
no validity under the New Covenant. Therefore,
they have an erroneous conception of
what sin is and its cure, which is Christ.
SIN NATURE
They basically deny human nature, claiming
that the Christian is either Divine or Satanic,
which is dualism. In other words, they
deny “the Sin Nature” which goes along
with their erroneous understanding of
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:23
NOTES
284
“New Creationism.”
Consequently, the struggle between the
“flesh” and the “Spirit,” which characterizes
the life of every Christian, is pretty much
denied as well! “How can there be a struggle
if one is a ‘New Creation?’,” they claim.
In answer to that theory, John the Beloved
wrote, “If we say that we have no sin
(Sin Nature), we deceive ourselves, and the
Truth is not in us” (I Jn. 1:8).
SCIENTISM
Much modern Faith Teaching espouses a
form of Scientism, teaching that “Law” and
“Formulas” can control circumstances
around us.
This harks back to point one, “the deification
of Scripture,” and points to, “the superior
knowledge.”
SUFFERING
They deny, pretty much, Christian suffering
in the bearing of the Cross of Christ,
claiming that the Cross is in the position of
“past miseries.”
The Cross of Christ is little looked at as a
Source of Victory, being replaced by “proper
confession.” In their idea, the Cross, even
though necessary in its place, plays no part
in our modern Victory. The Victory, they
claim, is attained by the Resurrection.
Consequently, any and all songs about the
Blood of Christ or the Cross are labeled as
“elementary” and have little place in “New
Creationism.”
They show a lack of knowledge of the
Atonement of Christ and what was accomplished
both at Calvary as the Source and
Key to all present Victory. In effect, this is
the most dangerous part of their teaching
because anything that demeans Calvary in
any way or relegates it to a secondary position,
is tantamount to spiritual suicide.
While it is certainly true that Calvary
would have been of no effect without the
Resurrection, it was not the Resurrection that
Redeemed man from sin and all its consequences,
but Calvary. This is the reason that
Paul said, “For I determined not to know
any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and
Him Crucified” (I Cor. 2:2).
Paul, who was no doubt the greatest
Bible Scholar of his day, made this statement
for purpose and reason: A. That which
Paul said about Calvary was what the Holy
Spirit demanded; and, B. By experience,
Paul knew that Jesus satisfied the Sin Debt
at Calvary, and as well, there broke the power
of the dominion of sin in the heart and life
of the Believer.
As one Godly Preacher has said, “When
the Church goes beyond Calvary, it has
backslidden.” He meant that everything
comes through Calvary: Salvation, the Baptism
with the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing,
Miracles, Overcoming Victory, Answered
Prayer, Eternal Life, etc.
As stated, whether the present-day Faith
Teachers realize it or not, their interpretation
of the Atonement is not consistent with
the tenor of teaching throughout the Word
of God. This lies at the very heart of this
teaching, and it strikes at the very core of
Christian belief.
SCRIPTURE
One of the basic teachings of this element
is that all Scripture is not the same. In other
words, some Scriptures pertain particularly
to those who are still in the realm of the
“senses (flesh)” — those who are sadly unenlightened.
Some of them even go so far as to say that
the Apostle Paul demonstrated great lack of
enlightenment in many of his experiences.
I Corinthians Chapter 4 is considered an example
of this. Actually, they say the same
thing concerning all the Apostles in the days
of the Early Church.
In other words, these Teachers say that if
the Apostles of old had the knowledge that
we posses today, they would not have been
required to suffer many of the difficulties
which they experienced.
In practice, only certain Scriptures are
used by the Faith Teachers to support their
contentions. Their basic difficulty with the
Word of God is that they separate the Word
from the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In short, they have replaced God with their
chosen Scriptures, rationalizing that this will
justify their actions. Consequently, certain
Words of Scripture are deified — apart from
the Living God — and exalted into various
ROMANS 8:23 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
285
“Laws” which bring the forces of good and NOTES
evil as stated, into action.
They call themselves for the most part
“Word” people, constantly quoting particular
Scriptures, thereby, convincing the public
that they are very Scriptural and very
Spiritual — thus making their contentions
trustworthy.
In Truth, they actually deny parts of the
Bible as Revelation not illuminated with a
higher knowledge.
THE OLD TESTAMENT
Even though they call themselves
“Word” people, they rely on only a few selected
Scriptural Texts, actually taking them
out of Scriptural context. Consequently,
they have very little respect for the Old Testament,
seemingly suggesting that since Old
Testament Personalities did not have the
Written Word (or at least very much of it),
they did not know very much. As a result,
“Word” people basically only use isolated
Texts from the Old Testament in their teaching.
They seem to completely ignore the
fact that the entire framework of New Testament
context (thought) is derived from
Old Testament Revelation.
Actually, one cannot arrive at a proper
understanding of the New Testament unless
he has a proper understanding of the
Old Testament.
Years ago, I heard a Preacher make the
statement that some individuals today worship
the Bible apart from God Who inspired
it. At first his statement puzzled me, but
after some thought, I feel like I understand
what he was saying.
Basically, he was suggesting, to which we
have already alluded, that certain Scriptures,
such as Mark 11:24 or John 15:7, etc., are
taken out of context, used in some manner
as a type of magic talisman (good luck piece).
In other words, he was saying that particular
Scriptures are taken completely out
of context and used to deal with situations,
even though they have almost nothing to
do with the present difficulty at hand. These
Scriptures are quoted over and over again,
with the individual using them as a sort of
club to force God or circumstances to line
up with the person’s reasoning.
Also, many of them insist that Scriptures
that do not line up with their way of teaching
are just simply not relevant today. Again,
we emphasize that they contend that if individuals
such as the Apostle Paul had had
their Scriptural knowledge, he would not
have had to suffer persecution and trials.
They go on to tout their experience in
the Word, meaning that they are more “developed”
than the Apostles of old.
In Truth, most of these Teachers know
very little about correct exegesis (interpretation)
of Scripture — all the while proclaiming
themselves to be “Word” people.
SUPERIORITY
As well, there is an air of superiority about
these Teachers, their teaching, and their followers.
They are the “New Creation people.”
They have “the knowledge.”
Of course, even with a superficial investigation,
this is absolutely opposed to the
teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Humility
was the Master’s great hallmark. One of
His last acts on Earth was the washing of
the Disciples’ feet. Superiority and lack of
humility are always of Satan; these never
come from God. They reveal the worldling,
the ego of man, Believers in the so-called
“master race.”
They teach that one will continue to be a
part of the “master race” unless one slips
into using information from the “sense
world” around them.
As a member of this superior mold (or
master race), one is made to feel that he is
entitled to all types of riches and rewards;
hence, the Hundredfold Return Gospel.
These Teachers do not seem to realize that
to demand a hundredfold return from God
on our investment is to again turn the
Temple of God into a den of thieves, which
is pretty well what it has become, at least in
many circles.
THE PROSPERITY MESSAGE
Basically, the so-called Hundredfold Return
Gospel intertwined with a master-race
theory has little or nothing to do with the
Love of God. It has little or nothing to do
with the desire to promote God’s Cause or to
give to Him simply because we Love Him.
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:23
NOTES
286
At best it is an investment or a gamble. At
worse, it is a deception perpetrated by Satan.
At its core, it is little better than the Las
Vegas practice of enticing people into gambling
casinos with the selfish lure of “something
for nothing.”
This is the “Prosperity Message” so
prevalent today.
These Teachers hold the thought before
their followers that their Faith (or knowledge)
will deliver anything they desire. Consequently,
they must drive the largest cars, live
in the finest houses, wear the best clothes,
the best jewelry, and so forth. This is an image
they must maintain. It is somehow supposed
to demonstrate their Faith. They are,
in effect, role models for their followers.
As a result of this practice, the followers
tend to look to the make of car, style of
clothes, etc., as the mark of an individual’s
(or Teacher’s) Faith.
Some time ago I heard one of their
Preachers preach on the subject of “K-Mart
Faith.” His contention was, that any Christian
who shopped at such a place evidently
had little Faith.
To be frank, I did not hear the entire Message,
because such drivel is so insulting to
even elementary Scriptural intelligence, that
one can only stand so much.
CO-DIVINITY
This teaching claims that man is basically
victorious through his knowledge rather than
through Christ. It elevates him beyond his
basic position as merely mortal. He, in essence,
becomes co-divinity with his Creator,
or, in other words, a little Jesus.
This satisfies two perverted needs in fallen
mankind:
1. The need to be one’s own god, in control
of all life.
2. The need to glorify oneself beyond one’s
proper place in Creation, which is what
caused the Fall in the Garden of Eden to
begin with.
These Teachers frequently use words like
“dummies” or “idiots” to characterize those
who do not believe in their particular way.
This, of course, is a demonstration of one of
man’s basic problems today — ego. Man
wants to “play God.” In actuality, he wants
to “be God.” This is (and always was) Satan’s
problem too, and he has inoculated mankind
with his desire for God/man equality.
Satan tempted Christ to misuse the
Knowledge and Power of God when he suggested
that Jesus create bread out of stones.
The Lord gave Satan the correct reply, but
this same desire — to misuse knowledge —
is prevalent today.
They suggest, as stated, that there was a
basic lack of knowledge of the laws of Healing
and Salvation until Paul’s time. Consequently,
Old Testament Saints (according to
these Teachers) underwent many unnecessary
difficulties because of this lack of knowledge.
Of course, this is absurd, but it is their
excuse for any Scripture which conflicts with
their misguided teaching.
Actually, there is a tendency to emphasize
knowledge rather than Salvation. It is
as though one becomes Saved, then becomes
more Saved as his knowledge increases. It
comes very close to ignoring the Blood
Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
actually does in some cases.
THE WILL OF GOD AND
THE WORD OF GOD
In their deification of superior knowledge,
they seem to have lost the realization that
True Christian Belief is that the Will of the
Father and the Words of the Bible are in perfect
conformity; they give life to us as we
move in the Knowledge of God according to
the leading of the Holy Spirit, not in the
bondage of a written formula that is separated
and apart from our Living Saviour.
When God’s Written Word is apart from
His Person, a Scriptural Code of Law is developed.
As with any Code of Law, legalism
must develop — and with it the resultant
condemnation whenever the Believer fails to
keep one or several of the Laws.
If one would notice, Faith Teachers are
often heard to say, “It was your Faith that
failed. God can never fail.” Consequently,
the Believer becomes the one following the
formula of Faith to its maximum and taking
the blame for any ensuing failure. According
to them, the “Faith Law” or “formula”
always works! The only possibility of
failure, therefore, lies in our Faith as revealed
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287
in our confession of the words or formulas. NOTES
In view of this, they say we should lean
on our knowledge which will then control
all circumstances around us. These Laws,
or formulas, by their actions, are impersonal
and divorced from any relationship except
that of their mechanical performance.
By and large, as stated, this knowledge
removes the control from God and His Will
to an exercise of our will, using the formula
(or Law). The line between God and man
blurs, and man suddenly seems to become a
Law unto himself. Of course, this totally
ignores the fact that Jesus, although He was
the Very Son of God, totally submitted Himself
to the Will of the Father. It would seem
prudent for us to do likewise!
KNOWLEDGE SALVATION
This “Knowledge Salvation” imposes a
great burden on the Believer. He mustn’t
under any circumstances “lose his confession.”
If he does, all the results of the forces
put into motion with the confession will
be lost. One of their Teachers said, “Action
on the Written Word of God brings God
onto the scene.”
It would seem from this teaching that God
is automatically stirred into action by repetition
of certain Words of Scripture. Consequently,
the Believer acts solely upon the
substance of his own Faith world — guided
by specific Laws, confessions, and formulas.
THE LAW OF CONFESSION
Following hard on the heels of “knowledge”
is “confession.” Confession constitutes
a major element in this so-called Faith
Ministry.
Scriptural formulas confessing results into
existence, thereby, releasing benevolent forces
on our behalf, constitute a major force in
this gospel. Their “Law of Confession” is a
routine quoting of certain Scriptures. The
Word of God is seen as a self-energizing entity
— a deity within itself.
Specific Scriptures are utilized out of context
most of the time, completely ignoring
all related Scriptures addressing the same
principles, which of course, is a violation of
proper Scriptural interpretation.
By using these isolated Scriptures, God is
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:23
supposedly obligated to perform certain actions.
The verbalized confession becomes
the total force.
Of course, within this system the burden
on the individual becomes almost too great
to bear. Above all, he must not lose his confession;
he must not weaken his confession;
he must not err in his confession. No matter
what happens, he is compelled to ignore
reality and to maintain his confession.
As a result, sick people are prayed for and
automatically declared healed.
Why?
Once the confession has been made, and
because certain specific Passages of Scripture
have been applied to their sickness, it is impossible
for them not to be healed! In their
thinking, the Word of God (which again has
become a deity within itself) has been imprisoned
within their Laws and the individual
has to be healed.
In these matters, the Will of God, as well
as all related circumstances, are totally ignored.
The unfortunate individuals who find
themselves under these Teachers are at times
instructed not to see a doctor since this would
counteract their positive confession, with the
consequent loss of their healing. The sad
fact is that some have actually died by observing
this dangerous and hurtful teaching.
JESUS AND THE WORD
As stated, the Word of God is basically removed
from the Person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Individuals are told they can do anything
Jesus did — if they have the right type
of knowledge, believe correctly, and have the
right confession; they can have anything they
confess. They are told that the Believer, infused
with a new kind of nature (the new
knowledge), can speak (even as God spoke)
worlds into existence. This type of teaching
is often termed “the God-kind of Faith.”
Too often, this teaching basically denies
the effect of sickness, death, trials, and problems
in their lives when these problems are
present. They seem to feel that they have
the power to release “forces of good” as a
consequence of their knowledge and confession.
As such, they have little compassion
for those who are sick or who suffer from
trials or difficulties. They simply state with
NOTES
288
a cold, scientific logic, “You are suffering
because you have refused to know your place
in Christ (superior knowledge).”
They also say that if you pray according
to God’s Written Word and follow His Instructions,
you will always get results. If you
miss it (they say), it is your Faith that failed,
not God.
They imply somewhat that prayer, in the
sense of need, is the enemy of confession.
They say that such prayer asks for help without
denying that the circumstances exist; in
other words, it is the opposite of confession.
They suggest that rather than praying, we
confess the answer, because in confessing the
answer, we repeat the magic formula causing
the negative factors to disappear.
PRAYER
They further imply that prayer (asking God
for help) is a sign of weakness and dependence,
so we should religiously avoid this
type of praying. Instead, they say we should
confess our position in Christ because confession
has the ready answer, and all we really
have to do is begin confessing.
In view of this, we are instructed not to
pray as one normally would, since prayer, as
indulged by most Christians, is really an enemy
of Faith, they say. Prayer is talked about,
but in reality there is very little praying in
these circles, with what they refer to as prayer
little more than words twisted to conform
to the principle of confession.
Once again, the veil of condemnation falls
heavily on the shoulders of the Believer. He
is told that he can govern the circumstances
around himself, using only the Written Word
of God. He can use this as a club to force
God into a particular position or at least as a
magic talisman (good luck charm) that will
banish all problems.
Trusting Believers are further told that
results probably will not happen overnight
just because we “confess” certain things once
or twice. In other words, we must keep saying
them over and over again and keep believing
them.
Once again, the responsibility of the results
falls entirely on the individual. Consequently,
the individual is the one who is glorified
if and when results occur. The Name
of God and His Word are spoken of constantly
and are “used” continuously. But, in actuality,
it is the individual who is glorified, and
God receives very little of the praise. They
even tell us that these are the same principles
“used” by Jesus.
The Believer, as stated, is discouraged from
the usual manner of praying since this would
require him to repeat the problem allowed
for all to hear. (This amounts to an acknowledgment
of the problem which is a bad confession,
they say!) Some insist that praying
for help implies that God has left something
undone, that Redemption is incomplete.
Within this teaching nothing is considered
incomplete.
REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS
We are even told, at least by some of these
Teachers, that the prayer of Repentance and
Forgiveness is not for the modern-day Saint
and that no Christian should ever confess
sin as one generally does. Some teach that a
confession of sin should be replaced by a confession
of who the Believer is — a New Creation
in Christ. This is somehow supposed
to erase the slip into sin consciousness.
If one would notice, these Preachers or
Teachers seldom preach against any kind of
sin. There is little said about it because
(they say) it will cause people to have a “sin
consciousness.” As stated, and because it is
so very important, we repeat it, they really
do not believe in Holy Spirit Conviction
either. They suggest that conviction is really
condemnation, which completely ignores
John 16:7-11.
Consequently, they pay lip service to getting
people Saved, but to that effort devote
little energy. Their brief, mechanical Altar
Calls, if any at all, are little more than passing
efforts. Their entire Movement depends
on someone else winning souls to God. Only
then do they come on the scene to elevate
these to new levels of knowledge. As such,
their teaching must be viewed as parasitical.
In other words, if there were not true Preachers
of the Gospel bringing people to Christ,
the so-called modern Faith Teaching, would
ultimately, simply disappear, simply because
they bring precious few to Christ themselves.
As a result, they have very little regard for
ROMANS 8:23 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
289
World Evangelism, at least as we think of NOTES
such, except in limited settings. This is not
surprising in that their teaching of “higher
knowledge” does not appeal too readily to
many people in many parts of the world.
They do, however, mention “thousands
Saved.” This fits in with their confession concept.
Even though there are few, if any, outward
results, they tend to confess great results.
They also imply that the Believer no
longer really needs God’s Grace, but is himself
invested with the ability to do what is
necessary in life. Hence, one hears a great
deal about the ability of God in the Believer.
In other words, the Believer becomes something
of a free agent or a franchisee, doing
all sorts of great things.
PRESUMPTION
When this is carried to its final conclusion,
it completely ignores the Will of God,
falling into the err of presumption and leaving
the Believer out of God’s Will, exercising,
instead, his own judgment and will
which is the ultimate sin. He will then commit
Satan’s sin of using God’s Word against
His (God’s) Purposes. Individuals are told to
confess anything into existence — from
Cadillacs to Resurrection — completely ignoring
the Will of God in the matter. This
is their “right” in their “new knowledge in
Christ Jesus,” they say!
As we have previously stated, they basically
deny the “Sin Nature,” teaching that
one cannot have a human nature and a
Godly Nature at the same time. One is either
totally Divine or totally Satanic, never
just human.
We are told that man is either operating
totally in the “flesh” realm (the world of the
senses) or in the spiritual realm. Therefore,
they would convince us that sickness is
purely spiritual in origin and must be healed
on that level alone, instead of the physical
level as well!
Consequently, they sometimes say that
sickness is aligned with the sinful state of
the ill person. It is always a spiritual problem
(they say).
In view of all this, those adhering to this
philosophy (and it is a philosophy; it is not
the Gospel), do not feel that Christians truly
undergo trials and/or testings. If an individual
appears to undergo such, then that
person is operating, they say, in the realm of
the senses, or the flesh realm — the world of
carnality or of Satan.
I don’t know in what state they would
have placed the Apostle Paul, unless they
claim, as some actually have, that if Paul
had had their type of Faith, he would not
have had so many problems and difficulties.
They equate any individual living completely
free from all difficulties or problems
as operating in the world of the Divine, which
is God. It is always one or the other.
The individual is never just “human”; consequently,
they would seldom say that they
are “tired” or “discouraged,” etc. Converts
are told never to confess any type of sickness.
If they have a cold, they are to say (by
Faith) that they do not have a cold because
confessing something of this nature would
indicate humanity. They, as they tell it, do
not operate in the realm of the senses; they
operate on a higher plane.
Anyone who prays, admitting total dependency
on God, is filled with flaws and inconsistencies.
To pray for God’s Help would be
considered foolish by these people. They simply
do not have flaws or inconsistencies. They
have already arrived at a state of co-Divinity
with God.
PRIDE
These Teachers seem blind to man’s basic
human nature and thereby appeal to man’s
pride. They do not seem to realize, or will
not admit, that we are actually poor, undeserving
creatures desperately in need of God’s
Help, and, due to the Fall, we were born spiritually
incomplete and inadequate, needing
a Redeemer.
They do not seem to know or realize that
only Jesus Christ is acceptable to God as our
Saviour and Redeemer and that our relationship
to God is according to our relationship
with Christ, not some type of “superior
knowledge.”
They also tend to forget that when we are
Saved (Born Again), our humanity does not
cease. They ignore the fact that we still possess
the flaws and inconsistencies of humans
and, thereby, continue to fall short of the
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:23
NOTES
290
Glory of God, and only God’s Grace and Mercy
— through Jesus Christ — allow us to enter
into the Presence of God. They lose sight of
the fact that within ourselves we are unworthy
and, therefore, totally dependent upon
the Lord for His Mercy and His Grace.
AN IMPROPER KNOWLEDGE
OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST
This teaching, as stated, has an incomplete
or faulty knowledge of the Cross of Jesus
Christ. They basically teach that Jesus Christ
became a partaker of the Satanic nature on
the Cross. In other words, they suggest that
He became identified with Satan. They claim
He could not have died physically without
first dying spiritually.
They seem to say, concerning the mortality
of the Body of Christ, that His Death on
the Cross was proof that He had ceased being
the Son of God. They have a complete
misconception of the Incarnation of Christ
as the Perfect Sacrifice (a Sin-Offering).
Whether they realize it or not, they are
teaching that Jesus was both Divine and Satanic,
but not at the same time. In their
view, He was Divine while in His Earthly
Ministry but became sinful while on the
Cross as He took our sins upon Himself.
The logical extension of their philosophy
is that when Jesus took our sins upon Himself
on the Cross, He became Personally in
need of Redemption because of those sins.
In short, because of this, they say, He died
spiritually, went to Hell (the burning side),
and as a result had to be Born Again exactly
as we have to be Born Again presently.
They flaunt the Scripture which says He
was the Firstborn of many creatures, and
they distort this to suggest that He was Born
Again (in the sense of a spiritual birth).
They seem to ignore the fact that this refers
to a physical birth, not a spiritual birth
(Rom. 8:29).
GNOSTICISM
Irenaeus, the ancient Teacher who so
strongly refuted Gnosticism (superior knowledge)
which is so similar in many respects to
the modern Faith Teaching, said, “No creed
is so blasphemous as theirs . . . , cutting off
and dividing Jesus from Christ, Christ from
Saviour, Saviour from Word, and Word from
Only Begotten.”
These Teachers claim that Jesus took on
our Satanic flesh on the Cross and then died.
They use the Scriptural reference of II Corinthians
5:21, completely pulling it out of context.
They imply that the Cross is the place
of the spiritual death of Jesus in addition to
His physical death.
In Truth, this borders on blasphemy. It
would seem that the Power and Forgiveness
provided in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus
Christ is lost to them, rejecting as they do
their need for anything beyond knowledge.
One has the feeling that they come close
to repudiating Calvary, consequently, making
light of such songs as “The Old Rugged
Cross,” etc. This type of song is looked at by
them with disdain. They protest that they
do not want to identify with the Death of
the Lord Jesus Christ, only His Resurrection.
One cannot help but conclude that they do
not feel they have to go through Repentance
and the Cross. As stated, it is ignored and
treated as “past miseries.”
Whether they realize it or not, such teaching
also denies their Salvation.
The Truth is, as the Apostle Paul said in
Galatians 6:14, “But God forbid that I should
glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto
Me, and I unto the world.”
Perhaps this error is merely Scriptural ignorance.
However, the fact that one is not
aware of error does not make the error any
less destructive.
A GREAT LURE
Tragically, this teaching, because of its
promise of worldly riches, holds out an exciting
lure and attracts many followers. It attracts
many because most Christians, sad to
say, do not have the firm foundation they
should have in the Word of God. Consequently,
they are easy prey for this type of teaching.
As stated, it has a powerful attraction!
The promise of instant riches appeals to
the selfishness and greed in most people’s
hearts — even Christians. However, the only
one getting rich is the Preacher or Teacher!
Because this teaching is covered with
Scripture, although twisted and taken out
ROMANS 8:23 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
291
of context, it has the apparent blessing of the NOTES
Word of God. With these twin appeals, money
and self-gratification, it exerts great allure.
Individuals are promised instant health and
wealth — and this is a heady gospel.
“Miracles” and “Healings” are spoken of
constantly when, in reality, there are few
Miracles, if any, and precious few Healings.
Trusting followers are led to believe that God
is continually speaking to these teachers.
While it is certainly true that God definitely
does speak to His people, still, the regularity
and instant communication claimed by these
individuals places the Teacher or Preacher
in some type of spiritual atmosphere far
above the lowly crowd.
FAITH?
As such, stupendous statements and
claims are made — statements and claims
having no documentation in fact. By
“Faith,” great numbers are announced as
being Saved. Miracles are tossed about as
common occurrences, but with little basic
substance or fact backing them up. Carelessness
with facts becomes rampant — all
under the guise of “Faith.” The followers,
often knowing little of the Word of God, are
lulled into deception by eagerly accepting
what really does not exist.
It sounds so Scriptural to the unknowing
ear and eye! It sounds so plausible! It appears
to be the dream of man, the answer to
the cry of those desiring Victory within their
lives. And there is some Truth, as we stated
earlier, in what they teach.
This, of course, is what makes the error
so much more difficult to recognize. Error
surrounded by Truth finds it easy to entrap
the unwary in its reaches.
Jesus told us we must judge a tree by the
fruit it bears (Mat. 12:33; Lk. 6:43). For a
moment, let us look at the “fruit” of the
“Faith Ministry”:
1. Very little priority is placed on winning
souls to Christ. Principle emphasis is
placed on Money, Healings, Miracles, Faith,
Knowledge, etc. Very little concern is demonstrated
for the very core of True Christian
Faith — the Salvation of the lost.
2. The taking of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
to a lost world is little heeded. Consequently,
areas of the world that cannot give a monetary
return are, for the most part, ignored!
This, within itself, is a complete denial of
the Great Commission and actually denies
the Last Words left by Christ before His Ascension
(Mk. 16:15-20).
3. This teaching will not lead to Victory
in the hearts and lives of any individuals
because it is not Scriptural. In all cases, if
followed to its conclusion, it will lead instead
to future difficulties. People are
promised all sorts of physical and material
rewards, but very few of these promises ever
materialize.
Consequently, the Believer is led to expect
many things that God has never promised.
Then when the expectant results fail
to materialize, the individual ends up disappointed,
at the least, and embittered, at
the worst.
IT JUST DOESN’T WORK
When real tragedy befalls, as it does in
many lives, this teaching of “laws” and “formulas”
is applied, but to the Believer’s dismay,
they just don’t work. The Believers
have been promised that these are God’s Laws,
while in actuality they are nothing more than
man’s Laws.
It is in this way that many, due to this
teaching, have abandoned their walk with
God and become embittered. They end up
denying God, His Work, His Church, and all
that real Salvation comprises — all because
they believed with all their hearts a premise
built on a foundation of sand. The spiritual
shores are littered with the wrecks of these
hapless individuals. They placed their all in
a false doctrine, but instead of gaining all,
they lost all.
Sadly, these victims are ignored. There is
no compassion for “Faith drop-outs.” They
are dismissed with a flippant “they missed
it” and brushed aside like so much debris
because there is always a fresh crop of gullible
Believers to take their place.
In closing, I must echo the Words of Christ:
“ . . . Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it
die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and
he that hateth his life in this world shall keep
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:23
NOTES
292
it unto life eternal.
“If any man serve Me, let him follow Me;
and where I am, there shall also My servant
be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father
honor” (Jn. 12:24-26).
(24) “FOR WE ARE SAVED BY HOPE:
BUT HOPE THAT IS SEEN IS NOT HOPE:
FOR WHAT A MAN SEETH, WHY DOTH
HE YET HOPE FOR?”
The phrase, “For we are Saved by Hope,”
refers to three things:
1. We have been Saved, we are being Saved,
and we shall be Saved. This statement has
to do with several things but primarily the
fact that we must continue to trust and believe.
Paul’s statement completely refutes
the unscriptural doctrine of Unconditional
Eternal Security, which teaches that once a
person is truly Saved, they cannot lose their
Salvation irrespective of what they may do
or not do. In other words, the Grace of God
is taken to the extreme.
2. As we have stated, “Hope” is a guarantee
of something which is coming to pass in
the future, but not known exactly as to when.
3. The word “Hope” as used here, tells
us that the greater part of our Salvation is
yet future. We have now been Sanctified
and we have been Justified; however, we have
not yet been Glorified. That great event
will take place at the Coming Resurrection,
when we will then realize the totality of
what Jesus did in the Atonement at Calvary’s
Cross (I Cor. 6:11).
The phrase, “But Hope that is seen is
not Hope,” proclaims in another way the
great Truth that all Salvation affords is not
yet given unto the Believer. In fact, as far
as the natural is concerned, we have not
seen and neither can we see, at least at the
present, that which is yet to come, except
by Faith. This statement completely refutes
the erroneous doctrine which claims that
Christianity is going to gradually take over
the world by political means, and has already
made great strides in this direction,
with some even claiming that we are now
living in the Millennium.
False doctrines arise because of three
things: A. Ignorance of the Word of God; B.
Knowledge of the Word, but unbelief regarding
what it says; and, C. Misinterpreting the
Word because of pride.
Anyone who would read these Scriptures
and draw such a political conclusion, obviously
cannot understand simple language.
The Truth is, that the Believer has not even
remotely seen all of that which is yet to come
(I Cor. 2:9).
The question, “For what a man seeth, why
doth he yet Hope for?”, in effect tells us
bluntly that what is coming is so far beyond
that which is here at the present, as to be no
comparison. Hope is the absolute conviction
and assured expectation. Such Hope
saves from depression and animates the heart.
It is the Hope of verses 19 and 23 (Williams).
(25) “BUT IF WE HOPE FOR THAT WE
SEE NOT, THEN DO WE WITH PATIENCE
WAIT FOR IT.”
The phrase, “But if we Hope for that we
see not,” plainly tells us again that all that
Salvation affords is not yet here. This speaks
of the Believer and the great change that is
coming respecting the physical body. It also
speaks of the entirety of Creation, how it will
be changed back to that which it originally
was when first created by God before the Fall.
In other words, a Restoration of all things is
soon to come.
The phrase, “Then do we with Patience
wait for it,” proclaims the certitude of its
coming, because the Holy Spirit has promised
that it would.
We do not see all that the Gospel holds
out to us, but it is the object of our Christian
Hope nevertheless; it is as true and sure
as the Love of God which in Christ Jesus reconciled
us to Himself and gave us the Spirit
of Adoption, and, therefore, we wait for it in
patience (Denney).
The idea of Paul’s statement is, that just
as sure as what we presently have, just as
sure is that which is to come. Therefore,
this “Patience” produces a joy in the heart
of the Believer, which is the opposite of that
of the world.
In other words, we presently enjoy so
much what we now have in Christ Jesus, that
it gives us a double joy in the anticipation of
that which is yet to come.
(26) “LIKEWISE THE SPIRIT ALSO
HELPETH OUR INFIRMITIES: FOR WE
KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHOULD PRAY FOR
ROMANS 8:24-26 JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY
293
AS WE OUGHT: BUT THE SPIRIT IT- NOTES
SELF MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US
WITH GROANINGS WHICH CANNOT BE
UTTERED.”
The phrase, “Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities,” tells us several
wonderful things:
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BELIEVER
1. First of all, the Holy Spirit Who is
God, lives within our hearts and lives, which
was made possible by what Jesus did at Calvary
and the Resurrection and the Exaltation
and our acceptance of His Great Work.
This is at least one of the things that makes
the New Covenant of such greater magnitude
than the Old Covenant. For one to
realize that God is with him and actually in
him (Jn. 14:17), is in a sense beyond comprehension.
The idea is, that as far as the
person is concerned, God is directing all His
attention and help to that one person. Of
course we know that God is Omnipresent,
therefore, everywhere, but still, His help for
the Believer is of such a personal nature,
even as we are told here, that it is as if all of
God’s Power and Wisdom are reserved for
the one Believer.
That is in no way meant to promote selfishness
in the heart of the Believer, but
rather the extent of personal direction given
by the Lord.
HE HELPS US
2. “Helpeth” in the Greek is “sunantilambano,”
and means “the action of a person
coming to another’s aid by taking hold over
against that person, of the load he is carrying.”
The one coming to help does not take
the entire load, but helps the other person
in his endeavor.
It speaks of the Holy Spirit indwelling the
Saint, coming to the aid of the Saint in the
Saint’s spiritual problems and difficulties, not
by taking over the responsibility for him and
giving him an automatic deliverance without
any effort on his part, but by lending a
helping hand, allowing him to work out his
problems and overcome his difficulties, with
the help of the Spirit.
It is done in this manner, to teach the
Believer responsibility, trust and dependence
on the Lord, and to bring us to a state of
maturity. If the Holy Spirit did everything
for us, without us having to do anything
ourselves, as should be obvious, this would
not be good for the Saint.
In other words, the Holy Spirit will not
promote the laziness of the Believer by having
food brought to him, but He will help
him to go out and find a job. Even in that,
He will seldom bring the job to the person,
but will take the person to the job, at least if
they get out and try.
A perfect example is that of Ruth the
Moabitess. She had accepted the God of Israel
and had come into His Covenant. However,
needing food for she and Naomi, she
went out to glean in the fields, which was
the custom in Israel of that day concerning
people who had fallen for whatever reason,
on hard times.
The Scripture says, “. . . And her hap was
to light on a part of the field belonging unto
Boaz . . .” (Ruth 2:3).
In other words, she went out looking for
a place to glean, not really knowing where
to go, but the Holy Spirit drew her to a certain
place, even though she thought it just
happened by chance. However, nothing is
by chance concerning the Child of God.
PRAYER
3. “Infirmities” in the Greek is “astheneia,”
and means “want of strength, weakness.”
The weakness spoken of here is defined by
the context which speaks of prayer, one of
the things in the spiritual realm in which
our weakness needs His Power. Although,
the word “infirmities” could speak of physical
needs, it is basically, at least here, speaking
of that which is spiritual.
The Holy Spirit here through the Apostle
is telling us how He wants to help us and how
that it is done. We find it in the next phrase.
The phrase, “For we know not what we
should pray for as we ought,” proclaims
prayer as the vehicle through which these
things are carried out.
The weakness addressed here concerns the
inability of the Saint to know what to pray
for. We do know what the general objects of
prayer are. But we do not know what the
specific, detailed objects of prayer in any given
JIMMY SWAGGART BIBLE COMMENTARY ROMANS 8:26
NOTES
294
emergency or situation are.
In the Greek the definite article is used
before the word “what.” Consequently,
Paul actually said we do not know “the
what” we should pray for, in other words,
the particular what.
“As we ought” in the Greek is “katho dei,”
and means “What is necessary in the nature
of the case for that we are to pray.”
According as the need is at the moment,
we know the end, which is common to all
who pray, but not what is necessary at each
crisis of need in order to enable us to attain
this end (Wuest).
The subject of prayer is of such importance
that it needs greater treatment than
just a few lines. We will address ourselves to
that at the conclusion of the Commentary
on this particular verse.
THE SPIRIT AND INTERCESSION
The phrase, “But the Spirit itself maketh
Intercession for us,” should have been translated,
“The Spirit Himself . . . ,” and for the
reasons previously given.
“Intercession” in the Greek as used here
is “huperentunchano,” and means “to make
a petition or intercede on behalf of another,
or on behalf of.”
There are two major directions concerning
the word “Intercession” as it is used here:
1. This is Intercession in respect to prayer,
and not Intercession on behalf of one who
has sinned, which can only be carried out by
Christ, which He does constantly, with the
Scripture saying, “Seeing He ever liveth to
make Intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).
The Holy Spirit does not make this type of
Intercession, only Christ. We will address
ourselves to the Intercession of Christ when
we get to verse 34.
2. The type of Intercession made by the
Holy Spirit on our behalf in the realm of
prayer is varied, even as we have already studied.
However, this Intercession includes the
manner and way for approaching a King, in
other words, protocol. The Greek word is
“enteuxis,” and is normally the noun used
for “prayer.” However, inasmuch as Paul uses
verbs relative to Intercession, it does not show
up in verses 26 or 27.
Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit not only
directs our attention to what we should pray
for, but as well makes certain that what is
said before the Father (His Translation),
that it is terminology befitting a King, and
in this case, The Lord of Glory.
As an example, I have had the occasion to
meet a President of the United States two or
three times, plus other World Leaders. Due
to their office, one observes certain protocol,
as would be obvious. In other words, one does
not just barge in as in some cases with a friend.
When meeting one of such high office there
is certain things that one does and certain
things that one does not do.
Using that as an example, it would hold
even more true for the Creator of all the ages.
Consequently, the Holy Spirit makes certain
that we are approaching God as we should,
even though within ourselves we do not have
such knowledge.
What a Mighty God we serve!
GROANINGS
The phrase, “For us with groanings which
cannot be uttered,” speaks of a burden of
prayer which comes straight from the heart,
and cannot really be put into words, at least
successfully. This tells us that it is the state
of the heart which the Lord looks at, and
which approaches the Throne of God. In
other words, the Holy Spirit is little interested
in pious platitudes or beautiful phraseology
in prayer. He is looking for a soul
searching which cries to God to such an extent,
that such a burden cannot really be
put into words. Consequently, it can only
be expressed in “groanings.”
“Groanings” in the Greek is “stenagmos,”
and means literally “a cry.”
Many times in prayer the Holy Spirit will
move through me in exactly this manner.
The tears will begin to come as the Lord takes
me into the very Throne Room of God.
There is no way that one can properly express
these times except with tears. At the
same time, while the weeping or crying comes
from my heart, it is the Holy Spirit Who is
actually moving upon me, that this type of
prayer would go forth. I personally feel it is
the highest type of prayer.
This I do know, in times of prayer such as
this, when the Holy Spirit does move in this
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fashion, in my own spirit I feel like I have NOTES
gotten through to the Throne of God as at
no other times. To fully describe what has
happened, one is unable. And yet at the same
time, there is a peace that fills one’s heart at
these times, because beyond the shadow of a
doubt that which the Holy Spirit wanted has
been done.
THAT WHICH THE LORD TOLD ME
TO DO RESPECTING PRAYER
I have always had a strong prayer life, nurtured
by my Grandmother when I was but a
child. I was brought up with this, and when
Frances and I married, it had become a daily
staple in my life. Actually, that was my Bible
School, my Seminary, the seeking God at
my Grandmother’s knee, so to speak. In that
atmosphere she taught me to believe the
Word of God and to have Faith in that Word.
She taught me that there was nothing that
God could not do.
I can hear her and even see her yet in my
mind, as she would look at me but yet with
a far-away look in her eyes, saying, “Jimmy,
God is a big God, so ask big!” I have never
forgotten that lesson, it has helped me to
touch this world for Christ.
In the late Fall of 1991, with this Ministry
in chaos and with Satan making every
attempt to apply the death blow, all I knew
to do was cry to God, imploring Him as to
what I should do. Very clearly and plainly,
He told me to have two prayer meetings a
day, morning and night. We have done that
from then until now and have no plans to
stop. To be frank, I think that it is the greatest
thing that has ever happened to me in
my Christian experience. It has been a time
of drawing nearer to the Lord, and Him dealing
with my heart concerning many things
which were desperately needed.
To be frank, I do not even feel comfortable
addressing myself to this which the Lord
has instructed me to do. But hopefully, it
will be a blessing to others what little I have
said and do say, respecting the tremendous
privilege of prayer.
ASKING AND RECEIVING FROM GOD
Considering how many Promises we
have in the Bible respecting prayer, and
considering how Paul has brought it out
extensively as to how the Holy Spirit helps
us in this effort, and especially considering
that this type of Intercession, which is
the only type the Holy Spirit gives, is
brought about only through prayer, by all
means we should take advantage of this tremendous
privilege.
The very idea that a mere mortal has the
opportunity and privilege of going before the
God of all the Ages, even encouraged to do
so, knowing that He can do all things, presents
a privilege of unparalleled proportions.
And yet, most Christians take little advantage
of this which is so very, very important.
Even though we have titled the beginning
of this dissertation “Asking and receiving
from God,” still, this only makes
up a small part of prayer. Prayer is for consecration,
for dedication, for the Will of God
to be realized in one’s life, for introspection
by the Holy Spirit, in other words, there
are really only three ways that one can properly
communicate with the Lord. Those
three ways are: A. The Word of God; B.
Prayer; and, C. Worship. If the Believer
lets down on any one of these three, sad
will be the results.
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
A few paragraphs back, I briefly mentioned
the Fall of 1991; however, I want to take the
Reader to the Spring of 1988, actually, the
month of March.
The largest Ministry in the world was in
shambles. I did not know what to do, and
the consternation was to a far greater degree
than the problem at hand. I simply did not
understand, considering that I was trying so
very, very hard, as to how Satan could get
the best of me, especially considering that
the Lord was using me to touch much of
the world for Christ, with untold thousands
being brought to a saving knowledge of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
I had always had a strong prayer life. My
Grandmother, as stated, had taught me that
as a child. As well, I was faithful with that
prayer life, even to the extent that I was not
only seeking the Lord an hour or more each
day, but I had begun getting up at night and
praying another hour. In fact, I was losing
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296
so much sleep that I could barely function
during the day. Actually, I was fighting for
my life and I did not know what else to do.
At that time, I did not understand the
Cross as it regards Sanctification. I understood
it as it regarded Salvation, and I
preached it strongly. But when it came to
Sanctification, living a victorious, overcoming
Christian life, I had no idea the part the
Cross played in that all-important endeavor.
And when I failed, virtually the entirety of
the Church offered no help at all, only criticism.
In fact, when I mentioned my strong
prayer life, they accused me of lying. In their
thinking, because they did not understand
the Cross either, they thought that if a person
prayed as much as I said I did, then surely
that person would have no problems whatsoever.
So, in their minds, I must be lying.
But I wasn’t lying!
These disciplines, as important as they are,
as valuable as they are, as helpful as they are,
will never give one power over the powers of
darkness. Sin cannot be overcome in this
manner. Our Saviour said:
“You shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32). And the
truth, as it regards Sanctification, which
pertains to the Cross, I simply did not know.
Also, looking back, I didn’t know a single
person at that time who did.
A GREAT DAY
On this day in question, when I was suffering
almost to the point of death, I had
stayed home from the office with the intent
of spending the entirety of the day in
prayer, which I often did. While it was one
of the saddest days of my life, at the same
time, it would prove to be one of the greatest
days of my life.
Frances had gone to the office, along with
Donnie, and I was left alone. In those days,
I generally walked while I prayed, and did so
on the 25 acres that surround our home and
Donnie’s. I was at the back of the property,
endeavoring to seek the Lord, with my heart
broken in ten thousand pieces. As stated, I
did not know what to do. More than all, I
was more concerned about my own personal
situation. How could I have failed? How
was it possible? I was doing everything I knew
to do, but nothing seemed to help.
That morning as I began to pray, after
just a few moments, the powers of darkness
came against me, at least as great as I have
ever experienced. I don’t think I had ever
experienced anything of this degree, as it regards
oppression. It was so bad that I remember
standing beside a fence that separated
our property from our neighbor’s, telling
the Lord, “No human being can stand
this! Please, help me!”
The Evil One was pushing about as hard
as he could push, telling me, “Get what
money you have in the bank (which was
about $800), get in your car, and leave. Just
disappear! You have brought shame on your
family, on your Church, and, above all, on
the Work of God. You would do the Work of
God a service, if you simply disappeared.”
Those were the words of the Evil One.
And then, all of a sudden, it happened!
It was like the Spirit of the Lord said, “It is
enough!” The powers of darkness instantly
dissipated, with the Power of God coming
all over me. One moment I was as destitute
as a human could be, in total despair. But
the next moment, it was like I didn’t have a
single care in the world, as the Power of God
enveloped me.
As I began to walk with my hands uplifted,
worshipping and praising the Lord,
all of a sudden, the Spirit of the Lord spoke
to my heart. He said to me:
“I’m going to show you some things about
the Holy Spirit you do not presently know!”
That was all He said. He did not mention
the problem, my consternation, or the terrible
situation in which I now found myself.
Simply: “I will show you things about the
Holy Spirit you do not now know!”
THE HOLY SPIRIT!
What did He mean? Of course, the Holy
Spirit is God; consequently, there are untold
numbers of things about Him I do not know.
But yet, I knew that the Lord was speaking
of my predicament. He only told me that
He would show me this thing, but He did
not say when. At any rate, I had a Promise!
But, it was actually nine years before the Lord
brought to fruition that great Promise. The
answer would come in the Revelation of the
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297
Cross; however, I had no knowledge whatso- NOTES
ever of that in 1988.
As I mentioned some paragraphs back, the
Holy Spirit directed me to have two prayer
meetings a day, which began in October of
1991. I faithfully followed that regimen all
of those years. A little group of us would
meet every morning at 10 a.m., and then
again at night at 6:30 p.m. This occurred
five days a week, including Saturday night.
All during this time, the Lord graciously
moved upon my heart, and did so countless
times. He gave me tremendous Promises,
which strengthened me – Promises which
are just now beginning to come to fruition.
However, even though I remembered graphically
what the Lord had told me regarding
the Holy Spirit, still, as to exactly what that
was, I didn’t know.
THE REVELATION OF THE CROSS
During the six years of those prayer meetings,
day and night, a regimen, incidentally,
which I personally continue unto this hour,
I really did not know that for which I was
actually seeking the Lord. In other words, I
wasn’t praying for any specific thing, because
I actually did not know what I really needed.
The Lord had, in fact, spoken to me at the
outset, saying, “Do not seek Me so much for
what I can do, but rather for Who I am.”
And that’s exactly what I did!
Little by little, the Lord began to reveal
Himself to me, and in a more personal way
than I had ever previously known. And then
it happened!
It was some time in the Spring of 1997. I
had gone to the office early, which I always
did, to get ready for our morning program
over SonLife Radio. I was studying the Book
of Romans, actually preparing to write the
Commentary on that great Epistle of Paul
the Apostle. While I was studying, all of a
sudden it happened. The Spirit of the Lord
began to open up to me the meaning of the
Sixth Chapter of Romans.
This is the great Chapter where Paul tells
the Believer how to live for God. He first of
all takes the Believer straight to the Cross
(6:3-5). In a few words, he tells us how the
Believer is baptized into the death of Christ,
buried with Him by baptism into death, and
then raised with Him in newness of life. In
other words, that is the foundation of our
Christian experience, and of our Sanctification.
He then showed me, and did so through
the writings of Kenneth Wuest, the Greek
Scholar, as to the meaning of the word “sin,”
as it is used in Paul’s writings, especially in
the Sixth Chapter of Romans. He explained
from the original Greek Text, in effect, the
way it was originally written, in that it referred
to the “sin nature.”
I will not go into any detail, but the moment
I began to read those words, the Holy
Spirit began to quicken my heart and mind,
in order that I might properly understand
this all-important aspect of Christian living.
Tragically, most Christians don’t have
the foggiest idea as to what the sin nature
actually is.
THE SIN NATURE
The sin nature is a result of the Fall, which
took place in the Garden of Eden. Man fell
from his position of total God-consciousness
down to the far lower level of total self-consciousness.
Sin, which is disobedience of the
Word of God, characterizes the person’s life.
In other words, their very nature is toward
sin. In fact, before the person comes to
Christ, they are totally dominated by the sin
nature, twenty-four hours a day, seven days
a week. They know nothing else, simply
because they cannot know anything else.
Everything they do, in some way, is toward
sin — hence, the sin nature.
Instantly, as this great Truth began to
dawn on me, I knew this was the answer to
my great question of “Why?” If the Believer
doesn’t properly understand the sin
nature and how it works, and, above all, how
to have victory over the sin nature, then, in
some way, the sin nature is going to rule
and reign in the heart of life of the Believer.
It doesn’t matter how zealous that person
is for the Lord or how consecrated they are
to the Lord. If they do not understand the
sin nature, then, in some way, the sin nature
is going to rule them, and they will be
left extremely perplexed. That’s why the
great Apostle Paul said:
“For that which I do I allow (understand)
not: for what I would, that do I not; but
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NOTES
298
what I hate, that do I” (Rom. 7:15). Please
notice: I placed the word “understand” in
parentheses, which is the way the Verse
should have been translated, i.e., “For that
which I do I understand not.” This was before
the Lord gave to the great Apostle the
understanding of the Cross. But, to be sure,
when Paul wrote this Seventh Chapter of
Romans, he very well understood the Cross.
He is telling us that if we do not understand
and follow the teaching given in Chapter 6,
we are bound to repeat Chapter 7, which refers
to the sin nature ruling and reigning in
one’s life.
Paul was trying with all of his zeal and
strength to overcome, but he simply could
not do so. That’s why he said, “I don’t understand
what is happening,” etc. How many
Christians at this moment are failing miserably,
despite all they try to do otherwise (and
I speak of those who truly love the Lord and
who are struggling with all of their strength
and might to be what they ought to be in
the Lord)?
THE TRUTH
I found out later from my study of the
Word that as the Lord first of all gave me the
understanding of the sin nature, likewise,
this is the way it was with Paul. Actually,
the sin nature is approached basically in one
of several ways. They are:
1. Ignorance: Regrettably, even though
this is one of the most important aspects of
the Believer’s life, most Christians don’t have
the faintest idea as to what the sin nature is.
They are ignorant of what the Bible teaches
in this respect.
2. License: Some few have some knowledge
of the sin nature, but come to the conclusion
that because the sin nature is running
rampant in their lives, sin is excused.
In other words, they think, “Even though I
am a Christian, I cannot help but sin every
day.” The Apostle Paul answered this by
saying, “Shall we sin that Grace may
abound?” His answer was concise and to the
point, “God forbid!” (6:1-2).
3. Denial: Believe it or not, despite all
the teaching in the Word of God, there are
many who claim that once the person comes
to Christ, the sin nature is gone. In other
words, they have no sin nature. Now, that’s
strange, when we consider that Paul mentions
the sin nature some 17 times in Romans,
Chapter 6. Actually, there is one time
that it does not really refer to the sin nature,
but to acts of sin, which is in the 15th Verse.
In the original Greek language, which is
the language of the New Testament, the word
“sin,” at least some 15 times in the Sixth
Chapter of Romans, has what is referred to
as the “definite article” in front it. In other
words, in the original language, it actually
reads: “the sin.” This means it is not actually
speaking of acts of sin, but rather the
“evil nature” or the “sin nature,” both meaning
the same thing.
That’s the trouble with the Church presently.
It mostly treats the symptoms of sin
instead of what is causing the sin.
So, to deny that the Believer has a sin
nature, especially in the face of a mountain
of evidence otherwise, is foolishness indeed!
4. Struggle: There are many good Christians,
and I speak of those who are truly consecrated
to the Lord, who struggle daily with
the sin nature, simply because they do not
know or understand how it is to be addressed.
In other words, they don’t understand the
Cross. So, their Christian experience is one
gigantic struggle, which, to be frank, is a far
cry from the “more abundant life” spoken
of by Christ (Jn. 10:10).
5. Grace: This is the only way that the
sin nature can be properly addressed. When
the person comes to Christ, the sin nature
is made dormant. In other words, it should
not cause anyone any problem, whatsoever.
However, if we attempt to live for God in
the wrong way, which denies the Grace of
God, then we will find ourselves once again
being ruled by the sin nature. If we keep
our Faith in Christ and the Cross, understanding
that it’s the Cross that makes available
the Power of the Holy Spirit, then the
Grace of God can flow uninterruptedly in
our hearts and lives, thereby giving us perpetual
victory, which means that the sin
nature causes no problem.
But regrettably, most Christians are frustrating
the Grace of God, which means they
are trying to live for God without the help
of the Holy Spirit. Paul said: “I do not
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299
frustrate the Grace of God, for if righteous- NOTES
ness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in
vain” (Gal. 2:21).
THE CROSS OF CHRIST
Even though the Lord had shown me that
the problem was the sin nature, or rather an
improper understanding of the sin nature,
He still didn’t tell me what the solution was.
A few days after this first revelation had been
given to me, in one of the morning prayer
meetings, the Spirit of the Lord came upon
me, and the Lord gently said to my heart,
“The solution for which you seek is found in
the Cross, and is found only in the Cross!”
In fact, I was praying about this very thing.
What was the answer to the sin nature? And
then the Lord gave me the answer.
I was now beginning to understand the
Scriptural rudiments of Sanctification. As
wave after wave of the Spirit of God swept
over my soul that morning in 1997, I knew
that what the Lord was giving me was greater
than I could even begin to comprehend. I
remember requesting of Him that this door
never close. Knowing that I could not exhaust
the potential of the Cross, i.e., “the
Finished Work of Christ,” I asked the Lord if
He would continue to open that door to me,
in other words, to continue to give me more
and more understanding of the Atonement.
To be sure, that He has! There is very
seldom a day that I do not learn a little more
about the Finished Work of Christ. It is a
Perfect Work. It is so Perfect that it will
never have to be amended. This is the reason
Paul called it “The Everlasting Covenant”
(Heb. 13:20).
From the information given by the Holy
Spirit to me, as it regards the Cross, I knew
that the Cross must be the object of my Faith.
To be sure, that is so very, very important!
The major problem with most Christians is
an improper object of faith. In other words,
they are placing their faith in something
which may be good in its own right, but
which is the wrong place for their faith. Our
Faith must be exclusively in Christ as the
Source of all things and the Cross as the
Means of all things.
After the Lord gave me this Truth regarding
the Cross, which was not new, but which
had been given to the Apostle Paul long ago,
the thoughts entered my mind as to how the
Holy Spirit figured into all of this. I knew
that He did, but I didn’t understand how.
For several weeks I cried to the Lord about
this thing, asking Him to show me. And
then it happened:
THE HOLY SPIRIT
It happened one morning, a few weeks
after the Lord had given me the Revelation
of the Cross. Actually, we were in the midst
of our Radio Program, “A Study in the
Word,” which airs seven days a week. Loren
Larson was on the Program with me. I cannot
recall who else was present, if anyone.
Without premeditation, I made the statement,
“The Holy Spirit works entirely within
the framework of the Finished Work of
Christ.” I went on to say: “He will not work
outside of that framework, which demands
that we have Faith exclusively in Christ and
what Christ did for us at the Cross.”
It somewhat shocked me when these
words came out of my mouth, because, as
stated, they were not premeditated. There
were a few moments of silence after these
words were spoken, and Loren spoke up, asking,
“Can you give me Scripture for that?”
I sat there for a moment, and then the
Holy Spirit brought to my mind Romans
8:2, “For the Law of the Spirit of Life in
Christ Jesus has made me free from the law
of sin and death.” When I said it, the Spirit
of the Lord entered the room. All of a sudden
I heard that still, small voice. “This is
what I told you back in 1988 that I would
tell you about the Holy Spirit!” It had taken
nine years. I cannot even begin to tell you
how I felt.
Of course, that which the Lord told me
that day, He has enlarged upon from then
until now. In effect, He told me how the
Holy Spirit works. As stated, He works entirely
within the framework of the Cross of
Christ. In other words, what Jesus did on
the Cross gave the Holy Spirit the legal right
to do what He does in our hearts and lives
(Jn. 14:17). For Him to work as He so desires,
He only requires that our Faith ever be
in Christ and the Cross. Then He will do
great things within our lives, bringing about
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300
Righteousness and Holiness (Rom. 6:3-5,
11, 14; 8:1-2, 11).