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Romans 8: Living In & Experiencing the Power of the Holy Spirit... (2 of 6)
Life Through the Holy Spirit
Romans 8:5-11
Romans 8 has been termed – The inner sanctuary of the Christian life. Throughout this chapter we’re face-to-face with glorious promises to reflect on and claim as believers.
Romans 8:1 (ESV) –
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
God’s law shows us the horror our sin but the glorious news of the Gospel is that those who know Christ are not condemned. As believers we know the assurance that though we’re sinners we’re not condemned because Jesus has suffered the condemnation we deserve on the cross, as our substitute.
Romans 8:9 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
If you belong to Jesus Christ, then – God is with you; the Holy Spirit is in you!
Romans 8:18 (ESV) –
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
We continually need to set our present suffering and difficulties in the context of the promise of future glory.
John 16:33 (ESV) –
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:28 (ESV) –
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
This is qualified; this is for those who love God. Did you catch the glorious news that God works all things together for our ultimate good?
Romans 8:31 (ESV) –
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:38-39 (ESV) –
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There is safety in being a follower of Jesus – Nothing can separate us from the love of God!
Romans 8:5-11 (ESV) –
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
The mind set on the flesh leads to death, it’s hostile to God. The mind set on the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace. We’re contrasting opposites that lead in opposite directions. The Holy Spirit indwells all believers and He is the guarantee of our future heavenly inheritance.
1. The radical contrast between the flesh and the Holy Spirit is the difference between hostility toward God and peace with Him.
The flesh (the sinful nature) and the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) pull in opposite directions.
Romans 8:5 (ESV) –
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
Romans 3:23 (ESV) –
“...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...”
Romans 6:23 (ESV) –
“For the wages of sin is death...”
Romans 8:6 (ESV) –
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
The flesh leads along the path of hostility toward God to death. The Spirit brings life and peace. Our sin-dominated self and the Holy Spirit pull in opposite directions with opposite results.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) –
“...you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Romans 8:7-8 (ESV) –
“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Galatians 5:16 (ESV) –
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Romans 7:7 (ESV) –
“Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Romans 7:5 (ESV) –
“For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.”
We’re unable to keep God’s law, our default human condition is enslaved to sin.
Romans 8:4 (ESV) –
“...who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:19-24 (ESV) –
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Those who live according to the flesh often do not understand the priorities and values of those who are led by the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV) –
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Romans 8:9 (ESV) –
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
If you belong to Jesus Christ, then you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Theologians call this the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. God is with you; the Holy Spirit is in you!
2. The Holy Spirit lives in (He indwells) all believers. His presence is the guarantee of our future resurrection.
Romans 8:9 (ESV) –
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
Ezekiel 37:14 (ESV) –
“And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:14 (ESV) –
“And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live...”
John 14:16-17 (ESV) –
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper. to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
Be sure to get this – everyone who belongs to Jesus has the Holy Spirit! The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is the basis for the assurance of our future resurrection!
Romans 8:11 (ESV) –
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV) –
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
The Holy Spirit gives those who belong to Jesus Christ the glorious assurance that though our bodies will die we have the joy-filled, certain-hope of the resurrection.
Romans 8:1 (ESV) –
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
• The Christian assurance of no-condemnation is not based in our performance but in Christ’s finished work!
• Real change isn’t self-improvement or self-help. Real change comes through the work of the Holy Spirit!
• The power for victory over sin isn’t in ourselves, it’s in the Holy Spirit. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit enables us to live a Christian life!
• Our awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit changes everything! Think about it, we are never alone. God is with us, He’s in us.
The Lord’s Supper: We’re proclaiming the Gospel through eating and drinking. Christ’s body was broken and His blood was shed on the cross as our substitute, paying the penalty for our sin.
Ask – Am I a believer? And – Am I aware of sin that I need to repent of right now?
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (ESV) –
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”