The Holy Spirit in the Believer
Notes
Transcript
Last week we began our look at what it means “to be in the Spirit” according to Paul’s teaching in Romans 8:9, in which the the Holy Spirit through Paul declares of those “beloved of God” and “called as saints”,
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.
Paul has shifted his focus from the impersonal, over to the personal, from “those who are in the flesh are not able to please God”, over to “.. that doesn’t describe you! You are not int he flesh but in the Spirit”, resolving and finally balancing out these alternative view he started in verse 5. And he has explained to a discussion of what is presently true of all believers, declaring “this is what is true of you who are in Christ Jesus: the Spirit of God dwells in you”.
And we ought to be clear, is that he is giving us the most clear, most explicit definition of what it means to be “in Christ Jesus”, something the world with its incapability of understanding the Scriptures rightly is wholly incapable and unqualified to do – and that lack of capacity and qualification is excruciatingly placed on display for those of us who are in Christ on a daily and weekly basis, as they continue to lump in all sorts of people into this nebulous category they call “christian”.
This is of course nothing particularly new, there have been those going back to the very beginning who thought they were eminently qualified to be approved by God. For example, the Samaritans, who had synchronistically mixed the worship of Yahweh with the worship of other gods practiced by those other peoples they had intermarried and intermixed their lives with, were entirely unsuited to join with the returning Jews in the rebuilding of the temple under Ezra and Nehemiah.
It is these, even these who call Jesus “Lord, Lord” that will not enter the kingdom, these whom Christ rebukes in Matthew 7:22–23 saying ““Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
The world doesn’t get that. These people Christ spoke of, don’t get that. When you really study that account there in Matthew, you will realize that they fully expect to enter the kingdom, and it comes as a shock to them when they are denied entry. And so, it ought to be no surprise to us that when the world comes up with the word “christian”, the definition they use to suggest what makes a person a “christian” isn’t a very accurate one, compared to what God declares.
And it is to that very definition that Paul has been speaking to us here in Romans 8, that the most basic, most fundamental way to differentiate whether a person is in Christ Jesus, or not in Christ Jesus, is bound up in the question as to whether or not a person has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside them.
And it is to this remarkable thing that we turn our attention this morning, for there seems to be a great deal of confusion about this where there really should not be.
So let’s pray before we begin.
O Lord our God, Your way is blameless; Your word is tried; You are a shield to all who take refuge in You. For who is God, but Yahweh? And who is a rock, except our God, the God who girds us with strength, and makes our way blameless? You, o Yahweh, have given the shield of Your salvation to all who are in Christ Jesus, and Your right hand upholds us; and Your gentleness makes us great, all to the glory of Your beloved Son, in whom You are well-pleased, and bring honor to His blessed name. Amen
When we open our Bibles to Romans 8:9 and read,
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.
The logic goes like this: to be “in Christ Jesus” means you cannot be “in the flesh”, but you must be “in the Spirit”. If you are not “in the Spirit”, you are still “in the flesh” and so are absolutely unable to be considered as being “in Christ Jesus”. In other words, the most basic definition of a person who is “in Christ Jesus” means that they “have the Spirit of Christ”. There is no matter of degree or extent, these statements are indicative, meaning that the Spirit is present or else is absent, there is no intermediate state, no gradual “easing in”, but rather there is a stark and immediate dramatic differences.
A person’s real character, notes Charles Hodge, “[is] not determined either by their professions or their reputation”, but rather “the only decisive test…” is whether or not a person has the Spirit of God dwelling within them.
But the apostle uses some potentially troubling phrases here that have causes some confusion, “you are… in the Spirit”, he writes. And then he talks about “the Spirit of God”, and also “the Spirit of Christ”. Surely, there must be a particular significance for this, for we have already seen that this apostle writes as he does with great intention, that there are no idle or meaningless thoughts he includes in his letters.
Unfortunately, there are many people who have gone awry here, for example considering this “Spirit of Christ” to refer to an attitude or perspective of Christ.
As so we get into this, we should start by understanding that in each of these three cases, Paul is referring to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, and is such we can think of these terms as being somewhat interchangeable. On a human level, if I were to say “I was talking to my wife, and Kathy said that she wanted ice cream”, you would understand that “my wife”, “Kathy”, and “she” all refer to the same person. But in each case, there is a subtly different aspect that I am bringing out. “My wife” shows a particular relationship, “Kathy” shows a familiarity sufficient to refer to her by the familiar name she goes by, “she” refers to her in a more general sense, but still differentiating her out from all the rest of the women I may be speaking of. The three terms all speak of the same person through different lenses, different viewpoints.
In much the same way, Paul starts by referring to the Holy Spirit in a general sense by saying “you are … in the Spirit.” Next, he refers to Him as “the Spirit of God” in order to emphasize the Holy Spirit’s relationship with the Father, and then later “the Spirit of Christ” in order to emphasize His relationship to the Son. But throughout, he is putting on display different particular aspects of one and the same Holy Spirit for us.
So, it behooves us to understand why it is that he is making such a distinction, and of course the great confusion regarding the doctrines of the Holy Spirit throughout the modern churches today ought to indicate to us the need for such clarity.
If we look at John 14:16, we read…
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever;
Notice, that the Spirit is a whole other person, separate from the Father and also separate from the Son, “another Advocate”, meaning different and not the same as the two already mentioned, the Father and our Lord Himself.
Now in a general sense, Paul has already introduced this Spirit to us all the way back in Romans 1:4 in saying that the seed of David “ … was designated as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,” and then closely following that up in Romans 2:28-29,
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
These verses in chapter 2 really do introduce what it means to be in the Spirit in the sense in which Paul has used the phrase in Romans 8 very well for us. There is of necessity a removal of something we were born with, a removal which has been accomplished by none other than the Holy Spirit Himself, which causes a person to please God and to be affirmed by Him. And just as circumcision is a one-time act which forever altered a man’s appearance, so, too is this indwelling of the Holy Spirit a one-time act which forever alters a man or woman’s own spirit, making them to now and forevermore be “in Christ Jesus”.
In Romans 5:5 …
and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
… we read that the Holy Spirit is given to all who are justified by faith according to verse 1 of that chapter, that “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:1) and on account of having obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, in addition to boasting in hope of the glory of God we find that we are filled to overflowing with the love of God.
But also notice the Trinitarian fullness of this indwelling. Even here, where it would have been so possible for the Holy Spirit to toot His own horn the way certain groups tend to do, refused to do so. The Holy Spirit who breathed out this Scripture through the apostle Paul took care to not glorify Himself alone, but to involve each member of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; they are here together involved in verse 9. “You are in the Spirit”, meaning the Holy Spirit Himself. “The Spirit of God”, meaning the Father, “dwells in you”. “You [have] the Spirit of Christ”, the Son.
Back to our principal text…
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.
So having considered the Holy Spirit in general terms, let’s look together at what aspects he is bringing out by this phrase, “the Spirit of God”.
From the very beginning we are told of “the Spirit of God”, in Genesis 1:2 we read clearly of Him,
And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
In Exodus 31:3, we read of Him again, speaking of Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah as God instructs Moses in the building of the Tabernacle, saying…
“And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in discernment, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, in order for him to work in all kinds of craftsmanship.
It was the Spirit of God who came upon Balaam the son of Beor, causing Balaam to invoke a blessing rather than a curse upon the sons of Israel as they made their way through the wilderness in Numbers 24.
It was the Spirit of God who came upon Saul the son of Kish, of the least of the families in the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes of Israel, yet anointed ruler over Yahweh’s inheritance, whose heart God changed and when he came upon a group of prophets the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them in 1 Samuel 10.
Elihu, in the midst of his wrong assessment of Job and his situation, nevertheless rightly understands in Job 33:4 that ““The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
I think that perhaps Jesus’ words in John 14 will help us understand this a little bit better. Turn there with me, as we look at Jesus’ promise that after having spent the last 3 or so years seeming to build and build and build, leading up to what seems like a glorious crescendo with His triumphal entry into Jerusalem just a few days prior, he drops the seeming bombshell on them… I’m leaving you. I’m going away from you. I’m returning to My Father.
But in this, He also comforts them in verses 16 and 17, saying…
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
Now note that “the world cannot receive” the Spirit of God. A person who is “in the flesh” and “after the flesh”, according to Romans 8, cannot receive the Holy Spirit. But, of course, everyone who is in Christ Jesus, now not only can but does receive the Spirit of God. He abides with us and in us
But now, we also have the ability to start understanding the particular aspects of the Holy Spirit being brought out in this term, “the Spirit of God.” For from the very beginning in Genesis, and onward through the New Testament, we realize that the Holy Spirit is ever and always at work for the will of the Father; He is essential in creation, but also in revelation according to knowledge and understanding according to truth, 2 Peter 1:21 declaring that “…no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” His primary purpose is to reveal God. It is the Holy Spirit of God that brings life to that which is otherwise dead, both in the physical sense as in the case of Job, but also in the spiritual sense in the case of believers.
But, the Holy Spirit is also referred to here as the “Spirit of Christ”. This is a far more unusual term for the Holy Spirit, and so warrants careful attention. In John 15:26-27 we read again of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had said moments before came from the Father, but this time He declares…
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me, and you will bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
…and again in John 16:7,
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
…we realize that although it is true to say that God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to us, it is also true that God the Son also sends the Holy Spirit to us. Christ Jesus has obtained the Holy Spirit for His own people, this is the same idea that is being referenced in Romans 8:2 when we read of “…the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus…” which has “…set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
John also declares a particular relationship between the Holy Spirit and Christ Jesus, saying
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
…and again in John 15:26
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me,
and finally again in John 16:13-14
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
In other words… the truth which the Holy Spirit speaks in particular has its emphasis and goal in particular to point to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
But not only does He do that, but when we read 1 Corinthians 12:13,
For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
…we realize that it is the Holy Spirit Himself who not only declares Jesus to us, and draws us to Jesus, but that He also is the one who unites us to Christ Jesus as well.
So, when we read…
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.
…we see that the aspects of creation and truth, but also in that it is through the Holy Spirit that believers are pointed to Christ Jesus, drawn to Christ Jesus, and united with Christ Jesus. His ministry to us is essential in removing us out from the realm and rule of sin, and into the realm and rule of righteousness.
But you will also notice something unique here in the New Testament that you don’t find at all in the Old Testament, this concept of the Holy Spirit dwelling within a person. In our examples earlier, we read of the Holy Spirit coming upon a person, of Him filling a person, of Him being with a person, but there is never a sense of permanence in the Old Testament.
When King David prayed after his sin with Bathsheba in Psalm 51:11, pleading with God “Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me”, this was no idle or benign thought. Rather, David had seen with his own eyes, heard with his own ears, in the saga of King Saul that this removal of God’s Spirit was a real possibility, that it really happened.
But uniquely, we read here that the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling in the person who is truly in Christ Jesus.
What ought this mean for us? First, that there is an inherent intimacy that was never seen in the Old Testament. When you consider Psalm 139:7, in which David proclaims the omnipresence of the Spirit, saying “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Now, instead of being out there, or dwelling in the sanctuary of the tabernacle and later the temple, the Holy Spirit now dwells in the man or woman who is in Christ, taking up His residence within us. In fact, Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:19,
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?
Let it not be lost on us the incredible intimacy this brings! Just as we know and have close relationships with those who live in our own homes, so do we now enjoy that close and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit!
Not only that, but there is a constancy to this intimacy.
Jesus spoke to the woman of Samaria of this in John 4:14, saying
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst—ever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
This is not a splash of water, or even a pitcher of water, rather the Holy Spirit is within us an ever-flowing source of eternal life. In John 14:23 Jesus continues encouraging His disciples by saying to them, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.” The Father and the Son will join the Spirit in this constant dwelling with us.
This is not a visit, they are not coming as guests, but as permanent residents! They have moved in.
And finally, this indicates to us the sovereignty in this dwelling. We are no longer our own; remember Paul’s statement we looked at a few moments ago in 1 Corinthians 6:19, saying “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?” When we see the images relayed of the sanctuary within the temple, when we realize that to be in Christ is according to Romans 10:9 to “…confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead…”, agreeing that He is master and owner of all things, including yourself, we cannot help but to realize that where God dwells is by nature chief and foremost, it becomes ever more obvious to us.
And so now, we finally understand the great reality for all who are in Christ Jesus according to 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.
Our focus has been fully balanced over and shifted to understand the reality of “grace abounding all the more”, seeing now that the reason for this change is nothing less than the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and that if the Holy Spirit is not present in you, you are not actually in Christ Jesus, and that no matter how well or poorly you are behaving at the present time, this is still true of you. That in this indwelling by the Holy Spirit, we also are the dwelling of the Father and the Son, that the Holy Spirit will always be at work in us to call us to truth, and in particular to Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6), and that His indwelling is intimate and constant and sovereign.
And all of this serves to bring us far greater assurance than could ever be possible for we ourselves to have in any way saved ourselves.
Praise be to God, for this great reality for all who are in Christ Jesus!
Let us Pray!
