Romans 8:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.

NASB: and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

CSB: And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

NLT: And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

KJV: And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

NKJV: Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Paul has revealed in Romans 8 that the life of a Christian on this side of eternity is one of waiting and longing to be with our God while enduring the suffering of this life. We live with a kind of endless groaning to be made whole by the redemption of our bodies. We are not alone, however. God gives His Spirit to everyone who trusts in Christ (Ephesians 1:13–14; 2 Corinthians 1:22). One way the Spirit helps us in our weakness is by taking our too-deep-for-words groanings, communicating them to the Father as prayers. The Spirit intercedes for us.

Now Paul explains how God receives those prayers. Paul uses a description for God which is both beautiful and perhaps intimidating. Here, he calls God the Father the "one who searches hearts" (Hebrews 4:12–13). The Father and the Spirit are eternally connected. The Father in heaven knows the mind of His Spirit in us. Their connection remains ever unbroken.

The Spirit then forms our unspoken groanings toward God into prayers that conform to God's will. God, ever in search mode, receives those prayers directly from our hearts. In this way, even in our waiting to be with God in person, we are in potentially constant communication with Him.

This does not mean we don't need to pray to God with words. We still need to make an effort to think about what we will say to God before we say it. Intentional prayerfulness is essential for those who are in Christ. This does mean, however, that we don't need to be overly anxious that we're "praying wrong." Because the Spirit is interceding for us to the Father and within His will, we are free to talk to God as little children talk to their fathers. We don't need special language or systems to be sure He is receiving what we're saying. He understands, even better than we do.

Romans 8:18–30 talks about the participation of Christians in the everyday suffering experienced by all of creation. We all groan together as a woman in labor while we wait for God to reveal His children. As His children, we are waiting for the Father to complete our adoption by redeeming our bodies so that we can be with Him. God's Spirit helps us in the season of waiting by taking our unformed prayers to God. We trust that God uses every circumstance in our lives for His purposes and that He has chosen us long ago to be His children.

Romans 8 begins and ends with declarations of the Christian's absolute security before God. There is no condemnation for those in Christ, and nothing will ever be able to separate us from His love. Having believed the gospel, we now live in the Spirit of God. That allows us to call God Abba Father. We suffer with Christ, and we suffer along with all creation while we wait for God to reveal us as His sons. With the help of the Spirit, we are confident that God is for us and loves us in Christ.

In Romans 7, Paul revealed his frustration of trying to do good only to be thwarted by his sin. He begins Romans 8, though, with the triumphant statement that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We live in the Spirit, and we relate to God as a child does to a father. The Spirit helps us in this season of suffering along with all of creation while we wait for our adoption to be complete with the redemption of our bodies. We are confident, though, that God is for us and nothing can separate us from His love.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.