Life in the Spirit - Part 1 (Romans 8:5-13)
INTRODUCTION:
This morning we return to Romans 8 after a five-week break. If you remember we did the first four verses where Paul declared our freedom from sin. First, he gave us freedom’s fact which is that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Second, he declared freedom’s why, why is there now no condemnation? Because of justification, we have been declared righteous by God. Third, Paul gave us freedom’s way, how is it that we can be justified before God? Our freedom, our justification came by way of substitution, Jesus Christ died in our place, suffered God’s wrath against sin on our behalf and paid the full penalty for sin, which is death. Because He was a perfect, sinless substitute through faith in Him we are justified and there is now no condemnation because we are in Christ Jesus by faith. Fourth, Paul declared freedom’s fruit which is sanctification, the process where we are conformed to the image of Christ, the process where the requirement of the Law is fulfilled in us as we walk in obedience to God walking in accordance with the Spirit.
This morning Paul is going to focus more on what it means to walk according to the Spirit. Chapters 1-7 only made four references to the Holy Spirit, but chapter 8 refers to the Holy Spirit 19 times. Paul really begins to build the doctrine of the Spirit’s ministry in the life of a believer in this chapter. John MacArthur writes, “The Holy Spirit is to a believer what God the Creator is to the physical world. Without God, the physical world would not exist. It has been created and is continually sustained by the omnipotent power of God. So the Holy Spirit—who also, of course, participated in the creation of the world—is to the Christian. The Holy Spirit is the divine agent who creates, sustains, and preserves spiritual life in those who place their trust in Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who ultimately will bring every believer into the full consummation of his salvation by granting him eternal glory in the presence of God.”[1]
Before getting into our passage I need to say a few things about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not simply an influence or an impersonal force or power coming from God, He is God. The Holy Spirit is a person and exists as the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is equal in every way to God the Father and God the Son. If you have questions about the Trinity please see me, the Trinity is a doctrine that is clearly seen in Scripture, that God is one, existing in three Persons. As we begin our passage this morning Paul makes clear that the Holy Spirit is very involved in our salvation, transforming our nature and giving us the strength to be victorious over our unredeemed flesh. First, we will look at a contrast that Paul makes between life in the flesh and life in the Spirit, then we will look more closely at life in the Spirit, and finally at our responsibility as believers walking in the Spirit. Let’s pray then get into our passage for this morning.
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans 8:5-13, our passage of Scripture for this morning. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Romans 8:5-13,
“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But 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. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:5–13, NASB95)[2]
CONTRAST OF FLESH AND SPIRIT (Romans 8:5-8)
Paul begins this passage contrasting life in the flesh with life in the Spirit. He again begins with the conjunction “for” which can also be translated “because.” In verse 4 Paul had declared that the requirement of the Law would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit and now he tells us the difference, because those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Because we have a new heart and new mind transformed by the Holy Spirit by grace through faith in God’s Son we no longer have to behave according to the flesh, the flesh and sin no longer rule us, we now have God’s nature within us.
God only sees two kinds of people in the world, those who belong to Him because of faith in Jesus Christ, and those who do not belong to Him because they have rejected His offer of grace. Two kinds of people, either those who are according to the flesh or those who are according to the Spirit. This is not to say that the one group is thoroughly evil and the other is made up of only super saints there are degrees within these two categories. Some unsaved people are very moral, and some saints do not mind the things of God as they should. But you cannot be partly according to the flesh and partly according to the Spirit, you are one or the other, either a child of God or a child of Satan.
This phrase “according to” is a phrase that speaks of our basic spiritual nature, it refers to a person’s essential nature, or what is natural and normal for them. Those who are according to the flesh are the unsaved, they are those who are unforgiven and unredeemed. Those who are according to the Spirit are the saved, they have been forgiven, they are redeemed, they have had their spiritual nature transformed by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The phrase “set their mind” is a verb in Greek and refers to the basic way of thinking of a particular person’s mind. It is not referring to the mind or the intellect, but more to a person’s thought patterns, affections, reasonings. Those who are according to the flesh focus there attentions on the things of the flesh, in Galatians 5:19-21 Paul lists some of these things of the flesh, he writes, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19–21, NASB95)[3] The things of the flesh or the deeds of the flesh as Paul calls them here in Galatians, those who are according to the flesh allow themselves to be occupied with these things.
But those who are according to the Spirit, they set their minds on the things of the Spirit, because they belong to God they think and do the things of God. Paul speaks of these as well in Galatians 5:22-25, he writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22–25, NASB95)[4] Paul also told the Philippians in Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8–9, NASB95)[5] These are the things of the Spirit that we are to set our minds on. Do we always set our mind on these things? No, that is why Paul says if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit and practice these things. In Romans 7 Paul was clear that even God’s children sometimes falter and fail to obey God. But remember that in that same chapter Paul said that he joyfully concurred with law of God in the inner man. Even though we fail, and we sin, like Paul, our basic thought patterns, those things that concern us most in our inner being have to do with the things of the Spirit when we have put our faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul continues in verse 6 to contrast a mind set on the flesh and a mind set on the Spirit. Notice though that a mind, again this is speaking of our thought pattern or the content of our minds, not the mind itself, this mind that is set on the flesh is death, Paul does not say that it leads to death, but is death. What Paul is saying is that the unsaved person is already spiritually dead. In other words, this is not a result of the mind set on the things of the flesh, the fact that this unsaved person is spiritually dead results in his mind being set on the things of the flesh. This is the state of each of us before salvation, we are dead in our trespasses and sins, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind (Ephesians 2:1). Because the unsaved person is like a spiritual corpse it is completely unable to respond to the things of God. That is, unless the Holy Spirit intervenes by convicting this person of sin and enabling him to respond to God by faith and thus be made alive. Do you see that salvation is totally and only a work of God? We are not even able to respond without God intervening in our lives.
Then Paul gives us the contrast, the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Again, this is not a result of the mind being set on the Spirit, this is more an equation, the mind set on the Spirit is the same as life and peace. In other words, this is what the mind set on the Spirit is, not what it leads to. The mind set on the Spirit equates or is life and peace, which equates or is a Christian. The phrase “the mind set on the Spirit” is the same as a Christian, the two mean the same thing, they refer to the same person, this is someone who has been born again, given spiritual life by God’s grace working through the person’s faith. The mind set on the Spirit is peace, to have the mind set on the Spirit is the same as peace with God, spiritual peace, to be a Christian is to have peace with God. No unsaved person can ever have peace with God, they are God’s enemy. Only those who have new life have peace with God. Remember what Paul said in chapter 5, verse 1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1, NASB95)[6] To be justified by faith is to have your mind set on the things of the Spirit which is to be a Christian which is life and peace.
Paul brings his contrast back to the one whose mind is set on the flesh. This is the person who has no desire for the things of God, even though this person may be what the world would call a good person, he is honest and above board in all he does, he is a moral person, maybe he is even religious, but the content of his mind, the thought patterns, his basic inclinations are on the things of the flesh. This person whether religious or an atheist, whether moral or wicked, this person is hostile to God, he is God’s enemy. Because this person is unsaved, because he does not belong to God, he cannot live a godly and righteous life because he does not possess a godly nature and has no righteous resources. Because of this he has no love for God and no love for the things of God, he is hostile to God. Paul goes on to say that this person that is unsaved with his mind set on the flesh does not subject his mind to the law of God, he does not make it his authority because he cannot keep it, it is impossible for him. Because of this, if this fleshly mind does not and cannot subject itself to the law of God, then this person in the flesh cannot please God. That was the position of each of us, Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, NASB95)[7] This is who we were, we were hostile to God and unable to please Him. A professor of mine, Dr. John Mitchell, wrote, “We were incapable of submitting ourselves to God. Hence nothing but sovereign mercy could redeem us. You can’t, my friend, so fix up the flesh that it is pleasing to God.”[8] Paul turns from telling us what the mind set on the flesh cannot do, it cannot please God.
LIFE IN THE SPIRIT (Romans 8:9-11)
He turns from life in the flesh to life in the Spirit. He writes, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:9, NASB95)[9] Paul addresses the members of the church in Rome and us and says that they are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, but he goes on to qualify that by stating, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. Paul is giving them a test that will tell them if they are in the Spirit or in the flesh. He is asking if there is evidence that the Spirit of God is in them, that He dwells in them, you can be certain of your salvation if the Spirit dwells in you. This word translated “dwell” is a word that speaks of being in one’s own home. Paul is saying that if you are in the Spirit then He has made you His own home. He has come to live in you and there will be evidence of His living in your life, your life will be transformed, your mind will be set on the things of the Spirit. If this is not the case in your life, I would be asking yourself if you really ever put your faith in Jesus Christ, agreeing with God that you are a sinner unable to please Him in anyway but you believe that Jesus Christ died for you, that He suffered God’s wrath against sin as your substitute and died paying the penalty required for sin, that He was buried and on the third day rose from the dead proving that sin had been paid for by His perfect death and that death had been conquered. If you believe this you are declared righteous by God and you are indwelt immediately by the Holy Spirit of God, He moves in, transforms your spirit and makes you His own home.
Paul continues in this verse and says the opposite is also true, if you do not have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you, you do not belong to Christ. The Holy Spirit is our pledge and guarantee that we belong to Jesus Christ, that we have put our faith in His death, burial and resurrection on our behalf. That is what Paul wrote to the Ephesians when he was declaring to them all the spiritual blessing that they had through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13–14, NASB95)[10] What Paul is saying in the end of Romans 8:9 is that a person who does not give evidence of the presence, power and fruit of the Holy Spirit in His life has no claim to Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. If God’s Spirit is dwelling in you it will be demonstrated in your life, you will have a desire for the things of God, you will hate sin and seek to avoid sinning so that you please God. Your mind will be set on the things of the Spirit and you will seek to be obedient to the Word of God. We see all three members of the Godhead in this verse, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God the Father, and the Spirit of Christ are all said to indwell us. The power and the presence of each member of the Godhead indwells us by the Holy Spirit when we place our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Paul is telling us to test ourselves, to examine ourselves for the evidence that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. He admonishes us to know for sure that we have the freedom in Christ that he proclaimed in the first four verses of this chapter. He said something similar to the Corinthians, in the end of 2 Corinthians 13 in verse 5 he wrote, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5, NASB95)[11]
CONCLUSION:
I am going to end here this morning; we will look at the rest of this passage next Sunday Lord willing. My challenge to each person this morning is the challenge of Paul to the members of the church in Rome and to the members of the church in Corinth. Test yourself to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Is the evidence of the Spirit of Christ in your life, do you pass the test? Maybe you have attended church your whole life and thought you were a Christian, maybe your parents were Christians, so you thought you were a Christian too. Understand that sinful people can only produce other sinful people, each person must decide what to do with the Gospel. Maybe upon testing yourself you realize the evidence is not in your life, your mind is not set on the things of the Spirit, but on the things of the flesh, but you feel the prompting and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to change that this morning, or maybe the evidence is there but it is suppressed because of some sin that you have given into and indulged in, and you feel the Holy Spirit convicting you to confess this and get our mind off the flesh and back on the Spirit. Take a few minutes this morning to test yourself silently. If you would like me to pray with you this morning or you have some further questions, I would be happy to do either, speak to me after we close the service. Test yourselves, then I will close in prayer.
[1]MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Romans 1-8. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, 1991.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]Mitchell, John G., Right with God: A Devotional Study of the Epistle to the Romans. Portland, OR : Multnomah Press, 1990
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.