thesis 07: The Man Who Is: Identity, Inheritance, and the Life of the Trinity

Prologue: The Man Who Was / The Man Who Is

Romans 7: The Man Who Was

He was a man caught in the mirror of the law—haunted by a holiness he could see but never touch.

He knew of God, but not of Abba. He revered Christ, but did not know he dwelled in Him.

He had heard of the Spirit, but had not felt His breath. This man wanted righteousness, but carried the burden of sin alone.

His “I” was divided—struggling to obey, yet bound to the law of sin in his members.

He was a soul alienated from the Trinity—trying to live for God, but not from God.

He is every man before grace finds its voice, before sonship is heard.

Romans 8: The Man Who Is

Now, behold the man reborn. He is not condemned—not because he is perfect, but because he is in Christ.

The Father no longer stands distant—He draws near as Abba. The Son no longer remains outside—He lives within.

The Spirit no longer hovers apart—He indwells, He leads, He assures. This man walks not in flesh, but in the Spirit.

His righteousness is no longer a reward, but inheritance. His cry is no longer, “Who will rescue me?” but “Abba, Father.”

He is not alone. He is not trying. He is trusting, receiving, resting. He is the man who is— not by effort, but by union.

Not a servant struggling for acceptance, but a son awakening to the love he always had.

From Striving to Sonship — A Trinitarian Awakening

“And you did not receive the ‘spirit of religious duty,’ leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the ‘Spirit of full acceptance,’ enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned , for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, ‘Beloved Father!’ For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, ‘You are God’s beloved child.’”

Romans 8:15-16 The Passion Translation

“And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls “Abba Father!” Galatians 4:6 NET

The transition from Romans 7 to Romans 8 is not merely a theological shift—it is a shift in identity, a Trinitarian awakening. In Romans 7, we meet a man bound by the law, haunted by his failures, and isolated in his struggle. He desires what is good but lacks the power to do it. His efforts are sincere, but his identity is fractured. He knows about God, but not intimately. He lives apart from the fullness of the Trinity—relating to the Father only as Judge, unaware of his union with the Son, and untouched by the presence of the Spirit. Romans 8 reveals a new man—not reformed, but born from above. He is not condemned, because he is not alone. The Father is now known not through law but through love—Abba, not merely Authority. The Son is not only Savior but also indwelling righteousness. The Spirit is not just power from above, but presence within, bearing witness to his adoption, leading him into life, and interceding in his weakness.

This man has not just believed a new doctrine; he has been caught up into a new relationship—a relationship rooted in the eternal fellowship of the Trinity. He is no longer striving for acceptance; he is living from it. This thesis is an exploration of that journey—from alienation to intimacy, from striving to sonship. It begins by reframing sin not as mere wrongdoing but as a distortion of identity—separation from the relational life of God. It redefines righteousness not as a reward for obedience but as the shared nature of the Son, imparted through union. And it reclaims judgment not as condemnation from a distant deity but as the Spirit’s loving conviction—a call back to truth and belonging. This is the story of Abba’s Heart—and the restoration of true identity in the fellowship of the Trinity.

Romans 7 — The Man Who Was

The Fragmented Self and the Absence of Fellowship Romans 7 presents one of the most raw, honest depictions of spiritual frustration in all of Scripture. It is the cry of a man who knows what is good but cannot live it. A man who desires righteousness yet finds himself continually mastered by sin. “This is how the sell-out to sin affects my life: I find myself doing things my conscience does not allow. My dilemma is that even though I sincerely desire to do that which is good, I don’t, and the things I despise, I do (Romans 7:15 Mirror Bible). This is not a moral dilemma—it is an identity crisis. And more than that, it is a relational crisis. The Romans 7 seven man has reduced the gospel to a mere carnal life.

This man is not just struggling with sin; he is struggling with separation. Romans 7, when viewed through a Trinitarian lens, reveals a life lived apart from the indwelling presence of the Godhead. His language is filled with isolation: I, me, myself—over forty times in a single chapter. There is no mention of the Holy Spirit, no cry of “Abba, Father,” no resting in the finished work of Christ. The man is sincere but alone, devoted yet divided. He is a man trying to live for God by his own willpower rather than living from God, in union.

The Distant Father: Law Without Love

The man of Romans 7 sees the holiness of the Father, a Father who is too holy to even look upon sin. This is religion at its finest, the Father revered, but the Son unknown and the Spirit unmet.

The law as principle is holy and so are the ten commandments; it consistently promotes that which is just and good (Romans 7:12 Mirror Bible), but to the man without intimacy, who's been hijacked by sin consciousness, the law becomes an impossible standard rather than a mirror of sonship. The Father, in this state, is perceived more as a divine judge than a relational Abba. Without the Spirit revealing the Father’s heart, the law magnifies distance and separation instead of irrevocable union with the Trinity. It demands law-righteousness instead of the beautiful announcement of faith-righteousness. The man hostage to the law sees righteousness as a reward for keeping the law. It’s a gift from the Father.

The result is despair—not because the Father is unkind, but because His kindness has not yet been revealed in relational form. The man knows what God wants but does not yet know what God is like.

The Forgotten Son: Effort Without Union

There is no active mention of Christ’s indwelling presence in Romans 7 until the cry at the end: “It doesn’t matter how I weigh myself by my own efforts, I just do not measure up to expectations. The situation is absolutely desperate for mankind; is there anyone who can deliver them from this death trap? Thank God, this is exactly what he has done through Jesus Christ our Leader; he has come to our rescue. I am finally free from this conflict between the law of my mind and the law of sin in my body (Romans 7:24–25 Mirror Bible).”

Up until that moment, the man struggles in a separation mindset. He sees Jesus as not yet living on the inside because it’s up to him to be one with Christ. He knows about the cross but has not yet experienced what it means to be truly crucified with Christ.

This absence of union is crucial. Without knowing that we are in union with Christ, righteousness remains external—something to earn rather than something shared with us through Abba. The man strives to please God by his own strength, unaware that righteousness is not a performance, but a Person. He is a servant in search of approval, not a son resting in inheritance.

The Absent Spirit: Knowing the Standard, Missing the Union

Perhaps most telling is the complete absence of the Holy Spirit in Romans 7. This silence is not accidental—it is theological. Life apart from union and the Spirit is a life ruled by self-effort and constant internal conflict.

Paul said to the Galatians that if they let themselves be circumcised they were obligated to fulfill every single one of the commandments and regulations of the law (Gal. 5:3 TPT), in other words, he was saying that if they want to live their lives without participating in union with God, you are obligated to living by your own efforts. But that doesn’t make the gospel any less true.

The Romans 7 man desires good, but lacks the indwelling power to carry it out. “The longings to do what is good are within me, but willpower is not enough to accomplish it (Romans 7:18).” Did you see that? Paul is painting a picture of what it would be like for someone to live by their own efforts. We were never meant to live by mere willpower alone. We were meant to live by the Spirit. Our own self-effort will accomplish what the finished work of Christ has done for us. The Spirit is the One who reveals the Father’s love, imparts the Son’s righteousness, and leads us into our authentic identity. Without Him, the man is left in constant turmoil—fully aware of who he’s not, but blind to how his Father sees him and what He’s accomplished through the Son.

Romans 7 ends not with resolution, but with a cry:

“What an agonizing situation I am in! So who has the power to rescue this miserable man from:the unwelcome intruder of sin and death?

(Romans 7:24 TPT)

This desperate question becomes the doorway to the gospel’s deepest answer—not a what, but a Who: Thank God, this is exactly what he has done through Jesus Christ our Leader; he has come to our rescue. I am finally free from this conflict between the law of my mind and the law of sin in my body

(Romans 7:24–25 Mirror Bible).”

Here lies the hinge—the moment when self-effort collapses under the weight of its own insufficiency, and the soul looks beyond itself. The man who was, exhausted and exposed, becomes ready to receive what only heaven can give: not a better set of rules, but a restored relationship with the Godhead. The fragmented “I” of Romans 7 is met with the full embrace of Father, Son, and Spirit in Romans 8.

Romans 8 is not the story of a man who tries harder and succeeds. It is the story of a man who surrendered and fully awakened to Trinitarian life.

Romans 8 — The Man Who Is: Awakened to Intimacy, Empowered by Union

The man of Romans 8 is not some improved version of Romans 7. He is not the result of greater effort or willful progression. He is a new creation—reborn not just in belief, but in belonging (2 Corinthians 5:17). Where Romans 7 was the dissonant sound of a soul laboring under law, Romans 8 is the song of a heart living in a continuous dance with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Every burden that crushed the man who was—guilt, striving, fear—is silenced by the presence of the One who is within (Romans 8:9–11).

This man lives in the Spirit. He walks as a son. He knows the Father not as a distant deity who thinks that he isn't quite good enough, but as the Abba who fully accepts him (Romans 8:15). He no longer lives to earn righteousness, for he now carries the righteousness of the Son (Romans 5:17; Philippians 3:9). He is not merely forgiven; he is home (John 14:23).

He does not fear condemnation, for “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Where the man of Romans 7 was a slave to the law of sin, the man of Romans 8 is led by the Spirit of God, and these are the sons of God (Romans 8:14).

This life is not self-generated. It is not fueled by willpower, but by fellowship—a communion with the Triune God in which identity is received, not achieved. The Spirit testifies with his spirit that he is a child of God (Romans 8:16). The Son intercedes for him (Romans 8:34). The Father works all things for his good, conforming him to the image of the Son (Romans 8:28–29).

He no longer asks, “What must I do to be righteous?” Instead, he rests in the declaration: “God has identified us, who can disqualify us? His word is our origin. No one can point a finger; he declared us innocent (Romans 8:33 Mirror Bible).”

He does not fear separation. He knows: “No dimension of any calculation in time or space, nor any device yet to be invented, has what it takes to separate us from the love of God unveiled in our Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:39 Mirror Bible).

He is not an improved man. He is a man who has always been in union. He is not striving to belong. He is beloved, and because he is beloved, he belongs.

Life in the Spirit: A New Way Of Living/Being

“For the ‘law’ of the Spirit of life flowing through the Anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the

‘law’ of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2 TPT)

The man who has been freed from the old operating system—the law of sin and death, which demanded righteousness but could not empower it. In its place, he now lives under the law of the Spirit of life. This law is not a new code of conduct, but a new mode of being. It is relational, not mechanical. The Spirit now governs him—not by external pressure, but by internal participation with the Trinity. The Spirit becomes his breath, his guide, his assurance. He no longer walks by compulsion, but by communion. He no longer resists sin because it has no dominance over him—he overflows with abundant life.

The Spirit becomes his breath (John 20:22), his guide (Romans 8:14), his witness of adoption (Romans 8:16), his strength in weakness (Romans 8:26), his seal of belonging (Ephesians 1:13), and his foretaste of glory (Romans 8:23).

This is not merely a shift in behavior—it is an ontological transformation. He is no longer defined by what he does, but by the very union he shares with Abba (Romans 8:9–11). The law of sin and death no longer speaks the final word. The voice that once said “You are not enough” has been silenced by the voice of the Spirit crying, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15). He does not walk by compulsion, but by communion (2 Corinthians 13:14). He does not strive to become righteous, for he now walks in the righteousness that is of God, through the faith of Christ (Philippians 3:9).

He does not resist sin by self-effort alone, but by the liberating life that the Spirit supplies. His holiness is no longer a fearful discipline, but the natural result of fellowship with the Father, Son, Spirit (1 Peter 1:15–16).

This is the life Jesus promised: “I have come with the sole purpose for you to have life in its most complete form” (John 10:10 Mirror Bible). This is life radiating and overflowing with the very life of Jesus and the truth of the gospel! This is the mystery Paul unveiled: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). This is the mystery of the ages. This is the inheritance of the sons of God: not just a new morality, but a new reality—life in the Spirit, life in the Son, life in the embrace of the Father.

This is not some slightly better version of the old life. This is what it means to be human—again. To be fully human is to be at home in the Father and know that we’ve always been in union with Him.

Union with Christ: Righteousness as Shared Life

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

Romans 8 reveals that righteousness is not a standard to reach but a life to receive. The man who has not improved; he has been joined. His righteousness is not the result of personal performance but of participation—he is in Christ, and Christ is in him. This union is the mystery of the gospel: the Son of God now lives His life through the believer.

Where once he labored to obey, now he rests in the One who accomplished it all. Where once he feared rejection, now he knows unwavering acceptance. He is not only declared righteous—he carries righteousness in the person of the Son. To be in Christ is to be caught up in Trinitarian love—to be known by the Father as the Son is known, and to walk in righteousness as a natural fruit of that eternal fellowship (John 17:23). This is not just a new path—it is a new place: the man is hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3), rooted in Him, and sustained by the Spirit who makes Christ’s righteousness manifest within him.

This is the gospel: not just the forgiveness of sins, but the sharing of life. Not just a transaction, but a transformation. Not just a declaration, but a reality.

Adopted by the Father: The Cry of Abba

“You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’’

(Romans 8:15)

At the heart of this transformation is adoption. Adoption does not mean that man was at one point outside of the family of God. We’ve always been in the family since the beginning. But Abba is bringing back into the family that we walked away from as a result of the fall. This is where we belong. The Romans 8 man is the man who knows the Father—not as Judge, but as a Father. This is not a title of reverence only, but of intimacy. The Spirit awakens the believer’s heart to this truth, teaching him to cry out—not in fear, but in trust.

This cry—Abba—is not learned behavior; it is Spirit-born revelation. It is the sound of identity awakened and restored. The man who once lived in guilt now lives with grace as his reality. He no longer measures himself by law, but by the love of the Father.

Led by the Spirit: Identity in Motion

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

(Romans 8:14)

Sonship is not static. It is dynamic, alive, responsive. The Spirit does not simply dwell within; He leads. The man who has learned to walk in step with the Spirit—listening, trusting, following. His life is not driven by fear of failure, but led by the whisper of the Spirit. Even in weakness, he is not alone. Even in confusion, he is not abandoned. This is the rhythm of the new man: surrendered to the Spirit, confident in the Son, secure in his union with Abba.

The man who has entered into a new reality: Trinitarian life. He is not defined by what he has done, but by Who he now shares life with. His righteousness is inherited, his identity is secure, and his life is filled with so much glory. But to live in this newness, he must see differently—he must redefine sin as it pertains to identity and not action, rediscover righteousness, and recover the truth about judgment.

These are not theological abstractions, but relational revelations. And so the journey continues—not into deeper religion, but into deeper reunion.