THE SAME SPIRIT

Romans 8:1-11

Romans 8:1–11 (NLT)

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

When you belong to Christ Jesus, you are associated and identified with Him. It’s this identification as His that enables the Spirit to free you from the power of sin that leads to death.

The law of Moses couldn’t do this, because we were unable to keep it. Because Jesus kept the law and took the punishment of a law-breaker, the debt for our sins has been fully satisfied.

Matthew 5:17 (NLT)

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

That purpose was to demonstrate our need for a savior and to fulfill the obligation of punishment that a broken law demanded.

By doing this, He set us free from following the law; instead, we now live by the Spirit and follow His leading.

Because of this, you can have a thought life that glorifies God. The Spirit inside you, when given permission, can guide your thoughts. When you yield control to the Spirit within, He brings you to places of life and peace.

We have to be controlled by the Spirit, which is the evidence that He lives inside of us. If you don’t have the Spirit within you with His fruit as evidence, Paul says you don’t belong to Him in the first place.

You have been made right with God, which means that the Spirit can give you life. This isn’t the life marked by the beating of your heart or the breath in your lungs; rather, it’s the life that is marked by the Spirit living on the inside of you.

What are the results of the Spirit living inside of you?

Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Finally, that same Spirit gives life to your mortal bodies. It’s the same Spirit that hovered over the waters of the deep in Genesis. It’s the same Spirit that breathed life into Adam. It’s the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove after He was baptized, and it’s the Same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.

The Spirit is IN you for your good. He leads and guides, brings learned things to your memory, teaches, and trains you to live by faith. He comforts and encourages. He brings us into truth.

He doesn’t do it from afar. He does it from within. We don’t need to call Him down to work in our lives. The same Spirit that raised Christ lives IN us, and He works from within us.

He’s available tonight to bring life to your body. He’s available tonight to transform your soul. He’s available tonight to give you wisdom and answers.

If you need an encounter with the Holy Spirit tonight, it’s as easy as believing by faith that He lives on the inside of you and calling him from within you to move in your life.

If you need healing in your body, He’s able. If you need peace in your mind, He’s able. If you need direction, He’s able. My part tonight is to bring my faith to your situation and pray with you. I’m not giving you my Holy Spirit when I lay hands on you. I’m joining you in calling the SAME SPIRIT that lives in me to be in you and work in you.