Adopted into His family.

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Believers are not led through subjective, mental impressions or promptings to provide direction in making life’s decisions – something Scripture nowhere teaches. Instead, God’s Spirit objectively leads His children sometimes through the orchestration of circumstances (Acts 16:7) but primarily through: 1) illumination, divinely clarifying Scripture to make it understandable to our sinful, finite minds (Luke 24:44,45; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; Ephesians 1:17-19); and 2) sanctification, divinely enabling us to obey Scripture (Galatians 5:16,17; 5:25). When a person experiences the Spirit’s leading in those ways, he gains assurance that God has adopted him into His family.

Commentary from the MacArthur study Bible, notes for Romans 8:14.

Lip Service

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It is not sufficient to give lip service to Christ’s lordship. Genuine faith produces obedience.

Commentary from the MacArthur Study Bible, notes for Luke 6:46.

The Father loves Christ’s own

God is not indifferent to believers of Christ. On the contrary, the Father loves Christ’s own. In fact, the Father sent the Son to redeem them and then return.

Commentary from the MacArthur study Bible, notes for John 16:26-28.

Believing

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In this verse, Jesus chose to emphasize the power of faith. Jesus healed multitudes, but many, if not most, did not believe in Him.

Commentary from the MacArthur Study Bible, notes for Mark 9:23.

The excellence of wisdom

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The most valuable reality a person can attain is the insight to order his life by the standard of truth.

Commentary from the MacArthur Study Bible, notes for Proverbs 8:10,11

Free to Serve Others

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Christian freedom is not for selfish fulfillment, but for serving others (Romans 14:1-15). Commentary from the MacArthur study Bible, notes for Galatians 5:13.

Fallenness

Ten times Exodus refers to God’s hardening Pharaoh’s heart (e.g., 4:21; 7:3,13), and other times to Pharaoh’s hardening his own heart (e.g., 8:32; 9:34). This does not mean that God actively created unbelief or some other evil in Pharaoh’s heart (see James 1:13), but rather that He withdrew all the divine influences that ordinarily acted as a restraint to sin and allowed Pharaoh’s wicked heart to pursue its sin unabated (see also Romans 1:24,26,28).

Commentary from the MacArthur study Bible, notes for Romans 9:18.

Raised Up

“Raised you up” refers to bringing forward or lifting up and was often used to describe the rise of leaders and countries to positions of prominence (see Habakkuk 1:6 and Zechariah 11:16). Paul is using Pharaoh as the context, however it is applicable to any, that although a leader or nation may think that their position and actions are of their own free choice to accomplish their own purposes, in reality they are serving God’s purposes.

Commentary from the MacArthur study Bible, notes for Romans 9:17.