| Church School Lesson: How Three Make One |
"How Three Make One"
December 28, 2025
Background: Joel 2:28-29; Luke 11:9-13; John 3:5-8; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15;
Acts 2:1-21, 32-33; Rom. 8:1-17, 26-27; 1 Cor. 12:1-13; Eph. 1:13-14; 3:14-21; 4:1-6, 30;
Print: Rom. 8:12-17, 26-27; Key Verse: Rom. 8:16; Dev. Eph. 3:14-21
Romans 8:12-17 (ESV)
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:26-27 (ESV)
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans Chapter 8 (Commentary)
8:12-13 Paul wants us to kick the flesh to the curb so that we can experience the abundant life God has promised. If we put to death the deeds of the body, [we] will live (8:13). We can overcome the discouragement of a bad marriage, or singleness, or financial stress because he who is in us is “greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4)! Jesus promised that we would have trouble (see John 16:33), but he also promised to give us overflowing life in the midst of it.
8:14-15 If we walk according to the Spirit as God desires, we prove ourselves to be God’s sons (8:14). Not only are we sons (and daughters), but we are adopted children (8:15). If a person was adopted in Paul’s time, that individual immediately received all of the rights of an adult heir. The chief right that Paul mentions here is intimacy with God. We therefore can pray, Abba, Father (8:15). Abba is a term of intimacy meaning “Papa” or “Daddy.” We can say it with complete assurance that God is listening.
8:16-17 Being adopted as God’s children (8:16) may come with extreme benefits, but it also carries with it intense responsibility. Yes, we are already heirs of God, but we can only become coheirs with Christ if we suffer with him (8:17). If we do suffer, we will be glorified with him (8:17). If we shrink back in the day of trial, we’ll lose something valuable. We cannot lose our salvation, but we can certainly lose some of the reward God intends to give us.
8:26 We have a helper as we wait for our sanctification. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, and he helps by praying for us, interceding for us with unspoken groanings. I’m glad the Spirit is praying for us because we do not know what to pray for as we should. That is, we don’t know the language of prayer like God does. We’re like foreigners, wandering around a country completely helpless. But in this unknown territory, the Spirit of God translates for us.
8:27 The Greek word for “intercede” that Paul uses means “to appeal.” In our weakness, we may simply be groaning, but the Spirit translates that into an appeal that is according to the will of God. If we pray from the heart—even if our prayers are only groans—they are exactly as they should be by the time they reach God.