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Romans
8:12-25
With thanks to page sponsor:
Adult Lectionary Class at
St Peter's Lutheran Church,
Stafford, Virginia
(Jan 07-08)
 | Reading the Text:
|
| Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
| Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of
Spirit:
|
|
Chapter IV,
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans,
Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110). |
|
Similitude IV,
Shepherd of
Hermas. (c.145) |
|
IV.IX.2,
V.VIII.1,
V.X.2,
V.XXXII.1,
V.XXXVI.3,
Adversus Haereses,
Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180) |
|
Chapter XI,
Exhortation to the Greeks,
Clement of Alexandria (c 200) |
|
IV.7,
Stromata,
Clement of
Alexandria (c 200) |
|
Chapter XI,
Against Hermogenes,
Tertullian (c. 205) |
|
Chapter X,
Chapter XL,
Chapter XLVI,
On the Resurrection of the Flesh,
Tertullian (c. 211) |
|
V.14,
Against Marcion,
Tertullian (c. 212) |
|
Chapter XIII,
Scorpiace,
Tertullian (c. 213) |
|
Chapter XVII,
On Modesty,
Tertullian (c. 217) |
|
I.VII.5,
II.IX.7,
III.V.1, 4,
First Principles (De Principiis),
Origen. (c.225) |
|
VI.XXX,
VII.XIII,
VII.XV,
The Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena),
Hippolytus of Rome. (c. 225) |
|
I.17,
I.24,
I.31,
Commentary on the Gospel of John,
Origen. (c.228) |
|
I.LVII,
IV.XCV,
V.XIII,
V.XLIX,
VI.LXX,
VII.XXXVIII,
VII.L,
VII.LII,
VII.LXV,
VIII.V,
Against Celsus,
Origen. (c.246) |
|
XI.6,
XIII.2,
XIII.26,
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew,
Origen. (c.247) |
|
Epistle LV --
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 252) |
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Epistle LXXVI --
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 255) |
|
On the Advantage of Patience --
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 256) |
|
Epistle LXXX --
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 257) |
|
V.1,
Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius of Caesarea, (c. 320). |
|
Chapter XXV, Proslogium,
Anselm of
Canterbury, 1077-1078. |
| From
Martin Luther's Bible Commentary (1545). |
| From the
Geneva Notes.
 | "...if the rest of the world looks
for a restoring, groaning as it were for it and that not in vain, let us
also sigh, indeed, let us be more certainly persuaded of our redemption
to come, for we already have the first fruits of the Spirit." |
|
| From
Matthew Henry's Commentary.
| "The miseries of the human race,
through their own and each other's wickedness, declare that the world is
not always to continue as it is." |
|
| From
Wesley's Notes.
| "This, therefore, and the Spirit of
adoption, are one and the same Spirit, only manifesting itself in
various operations, according to the various circumstances of the
persons." |
|
|
The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption (Rom 8:15). Sermon by John Wesley.
| "...the natural man neither conquers
nor fights; the man under the law fights with sin, but cannot conquer;
the man under grace fights and conquers, yea, is 'more than conqueror,
through him that loveth him'." |
|
| "The
Christian--A Debtor," Romans 8:12, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1856.
| "The gospel softened the breast of
Paul, and made him forget all national animosities, otherwise, one of
the down-trodden race would not have called his oppressor, 'brother.'" |
|
| "The
Sons of God," Romans 8:16-17, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1860.
| "They are sternly holy; they are,
like him, ready to forgive, but they can by no means tolerate iniquity,
nor hear that sin should live in their presence." |
|
| "Creation's Groans and the Saint's Sighs," Romans 8:22,23, Charles H.
Spurgeon, 1868.
| "The whole creation is fair and
beautiful even in its present condition. I have no sort of sympathy with
those who cannot enjoy the beauties of nature." |
|
| From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
| "'Abba' is the Syro-Chaldaic
word for 'Father'; and the Greek word for that is added, not
surely to tell the reader that both mean the same thing, but for the
same reason which drew both words from the lips of Christ Himself during
his agony in the garden." |
|
| From
The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
| "Paul was writing to the Romans,
among whom the adoption of children, not their own by nature, was
common. They would understand this to mean that those converted, or born
again, are adopted as children of God." |
|
|
| Contemporary Commentary, Studies and Exegesis:
|
"First
Thoughts on Year C Epistle Passages in the Lectionary,"
Pentecost, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in
Australia.
| "The inheritance is not a place or a
gift or a reward, but God and God's glory. And God's glory is not golden
shiny streets, but God's own being. The glow and glory of God is what we
celebrate in God. Paul is saying: our hope is nothing other than to
share in that life." |
|
|
"Heirs of God: The Day of Pentecost," analysis and reflections by
Carolyn Schneider, in Sabbatheology by The Crossings Community
of St Louis.
| "We are willing slaves of many
masters who are not God. Any of us who have tried to fight envy in our
own hearts know how enslaved we are." |
|
| "Passive Sin,"
Bandits No More.
| "The
notion of passive sin – sin that we suffer and need deliverance from,
but don’t actually do can be hard to grasp, especially when something
as painful as childlessness is associated with it." |
|
|
"Life
through the Spirit,"
"The
Future, Glory," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible
Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed
textual notes. |
|
|
"The Virtue of Hope," study guide, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at)
"Heaven and Hell," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2002. |
|
|
Kairos CoMotion Lectionary Discussion,
Romans 8:14-17 / Acts 2:1-21, Wesley White. "A place of
conversation regarding Progressive Christianity."
|
"Hopefully our prayers can deal with our fears and we do not remain with
bowed heads. We can talk about the dynamics needed to move beyond fear
and to move forward in prayer in many different ways. Sometimes it is
helpful to visualize this head-raising." |
|
| "Siding With the Spirit (Romans 8:1-17)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the
Biblical Studies Foundation.
| "The great danger faced by the church
today is not that of 'secular humanism' but that of 'religious
humanism'—seeking to serve God and to please Him in the power of our own
flesh, rather than 'according to His Spirit'." |
|
| "From Groaning to Glory (Romans 8:18-27)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at
the Biblical Studies Foundation.
| "The so-called 'mid-life crisis' is
that time when men come to grips with the reality of the futility and
corruption of fallen creation." |
|
|
"First
Thoughts on Year A Epistle Passages in the Lectionary,"
Pentecost 9, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in
Australia.
| "Even
self assurance is not based on fetching the certificate of membership
or recalling an even of the the past, but a sense of oneness or
otherwise with the being of God the Spirit moving within our lives
(8:16)." |
|
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"First
Thoughts on Passages on Year B Epistle Passages in the Lectionary:
Trinity," William Loader, Murdoch
University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "Paul has written our passage after
making a major argument about what is a liberating spirituality and what
is not." |
|
|
The Groaning of Creation, Light in August: Romans 8:18-39, Sheldon
Tostengard, Word & World Texts in Context,
Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, 1987. |
|
"Advent Preaching: Burden and Hope," Robert H. Herhold,
The
Christian Century, 1984. At Religion Online.
| "The tension between our moment and
the eschatological moment must be retained. For instance, when speaking
eschatologically about the nuclear arms race, a preacher would refer to
such things as the blasphemy of destroying God’s handiwork and the
idolatry of the bomb, not simply to a nuclear freeze. And those
eschatological statements are, in fact, more realistic about the nature
of the present darkness than is any political solution." |
|
|
| Articles & Background:
|
"Waiting," Paul Tillich, from
The Shaking of the Foundations,
1955. At Religion Online.
| "Let us not forget, however, that
waiting is a tremendous tension. It precludes all complacency about
having nothing, indifference or cynical contempt towards those who have
something, and indulgence in doubt and despair. Let us not make our
pride in possessing nothing a new possession." |
|
|
"The Witness of the Spirit to the Spirit," Paul Tillich, from
The
Shaking of the Foundations, 1955. At
Religion Online.
| "In the moment when we feel separated
from God, meaningless in our lives, and condemned to despair, we are not
left alone. The Spirit, sighing and longing in us and with us,
represents us." |
|
|
"The Chief End of All Flesh," Stanley Hauerwas
and John Berkman. Theology Today, 1992.
| "Christians cannot understand
creation solely in terms of Genesis 1:31 - "Behold, it was very
good"-but must read this passage in conjunction with Romans 8:19-21 and
Isaiah 11, where the original creation is understood in relation to the
present bondage of creation and the dawning eschatology of the new
creation." |
|
|
"The Transitoriness of Life," Paul Tillich, from
The Shaking of
the Foundations, 1955. At
Religion Online.
| "Therefore, commune with nature!
Become reconciled with nature after your estrangement from it. Listen to
nature in quietness, and you will find its heart. It will sound forth
the glory of its divine ground. It will sigh with us in the bondage of
tragedy. It will speak of the indestructible hope of salvation!" |
|
|
"Cosmic Groanings," by Ronald Goetz. At
Religion Online.
| "The ancient dualist might have had
some difficulty with what Paul says about the creation being 'set free.'
If matter is evil, how could it be liberated? Paul’s words at this point
would seem idiosyncratic to the dualist, although he might also feel
that a person who could speak of the 'futility' of the created order
must somehow be on the right track. In fact, however, this seeming
idiosyncrasy is not a quirk in an otherwise consistent dualism. Rather,
it reveals that Paul was, at least in the usual first-century sense, no
dualist at all." |
|
|
"The Right to Hope," Paul Tillich, at
Religion OnLine.
| "The hope for participation in
eternity is hope for a continuation of the present life after death. It
is not hope for endless time after the time given to us. Endless time is
not eternity; no finite being can seriously hope for it. But every
finite being can hope for return to the eternal from which it comes. And
this hope has the more assurance, the deeper and more real the present
participation in eternal life is." |
|
|
| Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
|
|
Aasgaard, Reidar, "Paul as a Child:
Children and Childhood in the Letters of the Apostle," Journal of
Biblical Literature, 2007.
Image Browse -
PDF |
|
| Carlson, Richard P.,
"Between Text and Sermon: Romans 8:12-17,"
Interpretation, 2004. (See also,
Romans, issue focus for
Interpretation, 2004.) |
| Dillon, Richard J.,
"The Spirit as Taskmaster and Troublemaker in Romans 8,"
The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly, 1998. |
| Eastman, Susan,
"Whose Apocalypse? The Identity of the Sons of God in Romans 8:19,"
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2002. |
| Foskett, Mary F.,
"Biblical Images of Adoption and Asian Adoptees in America,"
Semeia,
2002. |
| Goetz, Ronald,
"Cosmic Groanings," The Christian Century, 1987. |
| Hauerwas, Stanley and John Berkman,
"The Chief End of All Flesh," Theology Today, 1992. |
|
|
Johnson, Elisabeth Ann,
"Waiting for Adoption: Reflections on Romans 8:12-25,"
Word & World, 2002. |
|
| Keesmaat,
Sylvia C.,
"Exodus and the Intertextual Transformation of Tradition in Romans 8:14-30,"
Journal for the Study of the New Testament,
1994. |
|
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Olson, Stanley N., "Romans 5-8 as Pastoral Theology," Word & World,
1986.
Image Browse -
PDF |
|
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Powery, Emerson B., "The Groans of 'Brother Saul': An
Exploratory Reading of Romans 8 for 'Survival'," Word & World,
2004.
Image Browse -
PDF |
|
Talbert, Charles H.,
"Tracing Paul's Train of Thought in Romans 6-8," Review & Expositor,
2003.
Image Browse -
PDF |
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| Sermons:
|
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"Slanted
Truth," the Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner,
Day 1, 2006. |
|
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"Christ's Spirit and Convincing Us We Are God's Children,"
"Christ's Spirit and the Earth,"
from a series of sermons on the
book of Romans by Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church in
Des Moines, Washington. |
|
|
"Being Upbeat
in a Downbeat World," the Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo, 30 Good Minutes,
Chicago Sunday Evening Club, 2002. |
|
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"All of Creation, Freed," Dennis Speetzen,
The Clergy Journal,
2005. |
|
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Requiem,
the Rev. Dr. A.K.M. Adam, Flesh and Bones, 2001. (Entire book of
sermons is one long pdf file. Slow connections will require long download
times.) |
|
|
"Are
You Saved?" Amy Miracle, 2004. Covenant Network of Presbyterians. |
|
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"All Are the
Children of God," the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, General Secretary
of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. 30 Good
Minutes, Chicago Sunday Evening Club, 1999. |
|
|
"The Practice
of the Christian Life: Patiently Hopeful," John Jewell, 2002. |
|
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"Keeping Hope
Alive," the Rev. Dr. Lewis Smedes, 30 Good Minutes, Chicago
Sunday Evening Club, 1993. |
|
| Review:
| Bertone, John A. The Law of the
Spirit: Experience of the Spirit and Displacement of the Law in Romans
8:1-16. Lang, 2005.
Reviews
by James Miller and Volker Rabens, Review of Biblical Literature, 2006
& 2007. |
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| With Children:
|
| Drama: |
| Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
| Romans 8:18, Heartlight - Free Christian PowerPoint Backgrounds. |
|
| Hymns and Music:
|
Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions,
Together to Celebrate,
David MacGregor. |
|
Hymns with Scripture
Allusions: Romans 8:12, 15, 16, 17, 22. The Cyber Hymnal. |
|
Hymnal Scripture References, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship. |
|
"Resurrection
Power,"
"Fight the Good Fight,"
"Siblings
of the Risen Prince," Brenton Prigge, NewHymn, new, relevant hymn set to traditional tunes. |
| At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke
files, projection text):
|
|
| Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's
Art Index: |
|
Study Links and Resources for the
Book of Romans |
|
