Chapter 7 was all weakness and defeat and all about “I, me or my” mentioned 47 times! Christ is mentioned twice. The Holy Ghost is not mentioned at all. This chapter is Spirit-saturated. The Holy Spirit is mentioned 18 times, Christ 13 times and “I, me or my” three times! The law could not set man free from the power of sin. But God has done it by sending His Son to earth to die on the cross. By His death, Satan, sin and death have been conquered.
V.1-4 The basis of the Spirit’s work is the cross of Christ. And this shall be our theme of praise in eternity. The Spirit of God wants to have us think about Christ more and more.
V.5-13 The Spirit is contrasted with the flesh. People who are the Lord’s are to live differently than those who do not know the Lord. The flesh fights against our new life all the time, but life in Christ brings us to new interests, and we have an aim in life — to please the Lord. The new life only wants to do this. The flesh never understands this because it does not understand God.
V.14-17 The Spirit makes us sure we are the sons of God.