The Apostle Paul is not only the first of the Christian authors whose writings have been preserved for posterity; he is also the most prolific of the New Testament writers. Seven of his authentic writings appear in the New Testament, namely, his letters to the Romans, his two Letters to the Corinthians, his Letter to the Galatians, his Letter to the Philippians, his Letter (the first) to the Thessalonians and a short letter to his loyal friend and ally, Philemon.
Having proclaimed “that I too have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 7:11), Paul was well aware of the role of the Spirit in his life and ministry. He often wrote about the Spirit in his letters to the various churches. What he wrote about the Spirit is generally buried within a longer piece of correspondence, with the result that Paul’s appreciation of the Spirit is often overlooked by the contemporary reader. This should not be, especially as we approach this season of Pentecost, the season when we celebrate the role of the Spirit in the foundation and life of the church.
Among Paul’s letters, the Letter to the Romans is often considered to be his chef d’oeuvre. Almost all of Chapter Eight of this letter is a powerful and meditative piece on the Spirit of God. Having devoted Romans Seven to the Law, Sin and Death, forces that turn us from God, in Chapter Eight Paul tells his readers — including us who read his letter today — that the Spirit has freed us from sin and death (Rom 8:2) so that we might live according to the Spirit, the consequence of which is life and peace. Life and peace are God’s great gifts to us so long as we allow the Spirit to dwell within us. The indwelling Spirit is not an inert presence within us; it is the very Power of God, active within us.
This powerful gift is the very Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead. Given to us at baptism, the indwelling Spirit who is the living Spirit of God and his Christ is the pledge of our own future and bodily resurrection from the dead. Ultimately, the Spirit is the ground of our hope for complete and total salvation.
While the gift of the Spirit provides this future dimension to our existence, it also does something to us at the present. The Spirit given to us, as Paul writes in Rom 8:15, is not the spirit of slavery which would lead us to be fearful. Rather, the Spirit that we have received is the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of freedom.
A wonderful token of the Spirit of adoption dwelling within us is that we can cry out “Abba, Father.” The Aramaic term “Abba” is the way that first century people living in Israel addressed their biological fathers. It suggests the intimacy that exists between a child and a beloved father. It is the way that Jesus himself addressed God (Mark 14:36). Now, because of the Spirit of adoption, we can address God in the same way that Jesus did. We are adopted children of God with every right to call God “Abba, Father.”
On second thought, this also means that baptized Christians are adoptive siblings, as it were, of Jesus. Consequently, we share the experience of Jesus. With him we suffer; with him we will be glorified. With him, we can address God as “Abba, Father.” In effect, because of the indwelling Spirit of adoption we can talk to God in a truly personal way. Because of the Spirit of adoption we can really pray; otherwise, we could not (see Rom 8:26).
To put all this in a broad perspective, Paul reminds his readers that just as the Spirit of God was active in creation and human beings are the apex of God’s creation, so creation itself awaits its renewal and the revelation of baptized believers as God’s children. Creation needs to be set free from the slavery to which humans have condemned it, a process that Paul compares to the throes of a woman in labor (Rom 8:18-25). When creation itself is set free, we who possess the first fruits of the Spirit will be revealed as God’s children, our bodily redemption will be complete; and our hope will have been fulfilled. Alleluia!
Father Raymond F. Collins, S.T.D., is a senior priest in the Diocese of Providence who has had a long career as a college professor. He served as dean and professor of the New Testament at The Catholic University of America, and professor at the Catholic University of Leuven and the University of Notre Dame, among other assignments.
