Introduction
C. The believer’s relationship to God ch. 8
"Spener is reported to have said that if holy Scripture was a ring, and the Epistle to the Romans its precious stone, chap. viii would be the sparkling point of the jewel." [Note: Godet, p. 295.]
"It is undoubtedly the chapter of chapters for the life of the believer . . ." [Note: Griffith Thomas, St. Paul’s Epistle . . ., p. 200.]
As the fifth chapter climaxed Paul’s revelation concerning the justification of the sinner, so the eighth culminates the truth concerning the sanctification of the saint. Both chapters end by affirming the eternal security of the believer. In chapter 5 our security depends on the Son’s life and in chapter 8 on the Spirit’s power, both of which rest on the Father’s love. This chapter contains the greatest concentration of references to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, an average of one almost every two verses. Whereas there are about 30 occurrences of "I" in chapter 7, there are 17 references to the Holy Spirit in chapter 8. This chapter explains the benefits of sanctification made available through the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. [Note: See Dillow, pp. 358-82.]
"It is altogether too narrow a view to see in this portion simply the antidote to the wretched state pictured in chapter 7. Actually the chapter gathers up various strands of thought from the entire discussion of both justification and sanctification and ties them together with the crowning knot of glorification." [Note: Harrison, p. 85.]
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