To Be In the Spirit

Uncondemned in Christ  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  34:51
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As we have been studying this eighth chapter of Romans now for the past few months, I think you will agree with me that the apostle Paul has done something rather remarkable, especially in verses 5 through 8, in that he has encapsulated and captured and held up for display a remarkably clear and succinct explanation of the entire state and condition of each and every man or woman who has ever been born as they truly are in their most fundamental sense.
And Paul has done this for us with an amazing economy of words, boiling the entirely of human history down to its most essential elements, and holding them out before us in order that we fully comprehend the total depravity and total inability to please God that no advance in science or technology, no gains in engineering or mathematics, no development in humanities as arts or culture may ever even hope to overcome.
For he had declared the reality in the most personal terms back in Romans 7:14, that “I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin.” And in the following verses in that parenthesis, he had explained how this applied to absolutely everyone, and that even the coming of the Law to a person, the Law which to this day remains holy and righteous and good, can only serve to revive sin, while simultaneously heightening a person’s own awareness of that same sin – the terrible reality of Romans 7:5 being unable to be overcome, “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.”
And what Paul has placed before us in Romans 8, is that such a person is this way, on account of being according to the flesh rather than according to the Spirit. For the Law, rather than bringing only an acute pain and duality for a person who is according to the Spirit, instead can and will see its righteous requirements fulfilled in such a person.
But the man or woman who is outside of Christ has no such hope. For they walk according to the flesh, their lives have been ordered and aligned with their mind, which has been intentionally fixated upon the things of the flesh. Such people are now spiritually dead – and, to be clear, everyone who has ever been conceived is “in Adam” according to the last 9 verses of chapter 5, all are under the condemnation of Adam, and the due punishment of that condemnation, namely death, for “by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one” (5:17), proven even before that in verse 14, where Paul had shown that “nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the trespass of Adam”; a proclamation to all of our common guilt of the trespass of Adam.
And yet further proof of the mind set on the flesh being death we find in Romans 8:7–8, where we read “because the mind set on the flesh is at enmity 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 are not able to please God.”
Not only is everyone in Adam an enemy of God, as Romans 5:10 had declared, that open hostility and conflict is the result of being at enmity toward God in their innermost being, within the heart, simmering beneath the face seen by the rest of the world, such people have an abiding animosity toward God which shapes their every motive and intention, it poisons their desires, it poisons their affections, it poisons their inclinations of their soul, it poisons every step they take, and every act they do, and every word they say. And nowhere is that enmity more evident than in their attitudes toward God’s law, such that they refuse to subject themselves to it rightly, they actively refuse to do so.
And so, Paul has painted us an accurate picture of all who are in the flesh – not only are they totally depraved in the sense that there is no part of themselves which is ever able to turn to God in faith, but they are also in a state of total inability to do so, there is no possible way for a person in the flesh to ever change their own position – they are dead in their trespasses and sins, completely and utterly incapable of causing their state to change even in the least. And not only are they incapable, but their are also entirely unwilling to do so.
And the apostle reveals that this character is true of all those who are in Adam, they they are those who “walk according to the flesh”, as indeed we all once were. But verse 4 has also given us a counterpoint, a beautiful harmony which brings great depth to this melody of death, for there are those who “walk according to the Spirit” who do fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law. Rather than setting their minds on the things of the flesh, these people instead “set their minds on… the things of the Spirit” in verse 5! The principle character of these people, rather than being death, is instead “life and peace” according to verse 6!
And so, having introduced the two sorts of people, those who walk according to the flesh on the one hand, as opposed to those who walk according to the Spirit on the other in verse 4, and then contrasted them against each other in verse 5, and again in verse 6, he focused entirely upon those who walk according to the flesh in verses 7 and 8, he now concludes this exposition by revealing to us the nature of the person who walks according to the Spirit in the 9th, 10th, and 11th verses, showing us once again how “grace abounded all the more” in them (5:20), saying
Romans 8:9–11 LSB
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. But 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, let’s pray before we glory in in this stark contrast this morning!
O Lord our God, You are our rock and our fortress and our deliverer; You are the rock in whom we who are in Christ Jesus take refuge, You are our shield, and the horn of our salvation, our stronghold. We call upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised, and we are saved from our enemies. You, o Lord God, sent from on high, and You took us, You drew us out of many waters, You delivered us from our strong enemy, and from those who hated us; You, o Yahweh, were our support, that You may glorify your Son in us, in we who were once vile enemies. And we ask that we may now glorify your beloved Son, in whom You are well-pleased, and bring honor to His precious name. Amen.
Today, I want to focus your attention onto verse 9, which declares…
Romans 8:9 LSB
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.
And I hope you will note, that there are absolutely no commands here. Just as Paul’s method in chapter 6 was to lay out and establish the principles before telling us what we ought to do with those principles, he is using the same approach here. What Paul is doing here is declaring what is true of each and every person who is “in Christ Jesus”, everyone of whom it is true to say “therefore there is now no condemnation for you”, on account of you being in Christ Jesus.
In other words, Paul is in the clearest way possible saying “this is what it means to be a in Christ Jesus.”
And indeed, it is the question "what is a Christian?" that very much needs to be answered today, especially as our culture progresses ever further away from an era where calling one’s self a “christian” was seen as a good and wholesome thing to do. For example, according to the various polls, around 2/3 of the U.S. population claim to be “Christian”, including both Roman Catholics as well as various protestant denominations such as Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, Mormons Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others. And clearly, even within those various groups, there are drastically different ideas of what it means to be a “Christian.”
If we were to listen to the various “authorities” in our nation and around the world, we quite frequently hear the idea put forward that a “christian” is a person who is a member of any of these churches, or is a person who grew up in a church, or is obviously a Christian because of the good and philanthropic things they do.
But the apostle Paul has no such confusion, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he desires that we should know beyond doubt what it means to be “in Christ Jesus”, and it’s probably wise that we focus on that as our principle understanding rather than the confusion of what it means to be “a Christian.”
After all, recall that the apostle is never recorded as using that term himself, it was given by outsiders first in Antioch in Acts 11, it was used by Agrippa in Acts 26, and we see it the third and final time in 1 Peter 4, once again describing the perspective of those outside the church. And so although the apostle is clearly aware of the term, he himself refuses to use it, and speaks instead of being “in Christ Jesus.”
And so, after having addressed in the strongest possible terms those who are in the flesh, that “those whoa re in the flesh are not able to please God” in verse 8, he now turns to these believers in Rome he is writing to them, and says
Romans 8:9
“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.”
Notice that he has made a great distinction, he is not writing here to only some of the church in Rome, but to all of them, addressing them altogether in Romans 1:7, writing “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints…” And so, although we may not be physically located in Rome, we still ought to understand clearly that this is addressed to all of us who are “beloved of God…” and “…called as saints.”
Now, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has declared that a “saint” is “a person in heaven who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.” And this involved a 3-step process of being first venerated, then blessed, then finally declared a “Saint” with various requirements at each level in the process.
And culturally, we in many cases will simply this in our minds, and begin to consider anyone who we consider to be “virtuous” to be a “saint”.
But the apostle Paul categorically rejects such notions as entirely heretical. A person is a saint, they are made holy, on account only of the work of God on them and in them. The opening address of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 is very helpful for our understanding this, where he addresses that letter…
1 Corinthians 1:2 LSB
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
These phrases are meant to be taken as synonymous, so “the church of God” are “those who have been sanctified in Christ”, that they are equally “called as saints”, and that this status is the same status and position and calling as “all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” – and no, that does not merely mean to have formed those words in their mouths, but rather to have repented of their sin and confessed Jesus as Lord. The fact that the first recipients of this letter happen to be in Corinth is for purposes of these statements almost immaterial, for this is the reality for everyone who is truly “in Christ Jesus” to use the phrase from Romans 8:1.
And there is a massive, unsurmountable difference between those who are “in Christ Jesus”, meaning those who are called as saints, meaning those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, meaning those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, meaning those who are “beloved of God”… and that difference is here in the opening words of Romans 8:9,
Romans 8:9 LSB
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.
Someone who is in the flesh is not able to please God. But you, believer? You, who are in Christ Jesus? You can and you will please God. You are different in a way that no amount of human ingenuity can overcome!
Someone in the flesh cannot subject themself to the Law of God. But you, “Christian”, who are a Christian according to God’s definition, having been brought to salvation through faith that wasn’t from yourself? You can and do subject yourself to the Law of God, you do agree that by rights you ought to be condemned, you have followed God’s command that everyone everywhere should repent.
Someone in the flesh cannot help but to be at enmity toward God. But you, you have been called as a saint and are beloved of God? Instead of enmity toward God, you are in a state of peace with God!
Because you aren’t in the flesh anymore! No! Instead, now you are “in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you”!
And here is where we rightly address a particular heresy that is common to many of the charismatic and holiness traditions; the idea that a person may first become justified and is therefore saved, but that they may at some later point experience a second of sanctification. It is not all that different than the Roman Catholic view, which considers a saint, or someone who is sanctified, set apart by God, to be someone that is a different sort and calibre than the normal, everyday Christian.
But the apostle Paul will have none of this distinction. Even while upbraiding the Corinthians for their behavior, saying
1 Corinthians 3:1–3
“And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly men, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are still not able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”
And he goes on to explain that he himself planted but Apollos was the one that watered, but even then it is God who causes the growth according to verse 6 of that chapter.
And yet, even in taking them to task in what seems to be a very harsh manner indeed, after explaining to them the reality of their place in Christ and His, he exclaims
1 Corinthians 3:16 LSB
Do you not know that you are a sanctuary of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
In other words…. even though they were behaving in such a disdainful and foolish manner, the Spirit of God yet still dwelt in them. He did not abandon them, even though they had behaved in such a foolish and worldly manner, in a manner that mimics “walking after the flesh”.
“But,” Paul is saying, “you don’t have to do this, it is not in line with who you really are.” “You’re acting like infants and you need to stop it, don’t be a baby, and because you’re being a baby I have to treat you like a baby. Now stop this and act like the men and women you are!”
His entire argument there in 1 Corinthians 3 is that they are in Christ, and that they have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and on account of that they need to act like it.
But when we read the second sentence in Romans 8:9, the difference becomes clearer still:
Romans 8:9 LSB
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.
It cannot be any clearer than this – if a person does not have the Spirit of Christ dwelling within that man or woman, they have no part in Christ Jesus. They don’t belong to Him, they are not in Christ Jesus. They remain in the flesh, they are condemned.
It does not matter if you are a good person, it does not matter if you are a member of a church, it does not matter if you are a moral person, it does not matter if you grew up Baptist or Catholic or Mormon, it doesn’t matter if you give to the poor or take up noble causes. The only thing that matters before God is if you are in the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of Christ in you. This isn’t to say we should not do good, live a moral life, or provide help to others. But these things can only please God when they are done by a person who is in Christ Jesus.
And what Paul is saying is that unlike those who are in the world, these believers in Rome he feels do at this moment, have the Spirit of Christ. Did you not catch the impersonal third person language of verses 7 and 8, compared to the intimate, second-person “you” of verse 9? This is a stark contrast which shows that this “if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” is an “if” of supposition, Paul presumes that this is the case of all those he has been writing to, on account of what he knows of these people who he has for the most part not yet met in person.
Paul had gone on to tell those believers in Corinth in chapter 6,
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
“Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
And what he says here of the man or woman who is in Christ Jesus is no different, you see it in the last phrase, “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” Meaning, Christian, that you belong to Christ Jesus. You are no longer living for yourself, you are no longer living for your own pleasure, you are no longer placing yourself to the forefront, desiring your own way, desiring your own authority.
No, to be a Christian according to God’s definition, is to fully, actively recognize that you are owned by Christ Jesus. Romans 6:17–18 put it this way, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
We who are in Christ Jesus are not our own, we were bought with a price, we are slaves of God. We are no longer our own master.
And this reality truly is “life and peace”.
The question I have, however, is whether or not this is you. If it is, take great assurance from this reality! If not, repent of your sin and confess Jesus as Lord, believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead!
Lord willing, next time we will continue on in our study.
Let us Pray!

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