The Spirit Within

Children’s Bible Page 1229

There was a season during my seminary training where I had the privilege to be a part of a prison ministry.

One night a week, we would meet with a group of prisoners and share God’s word with them and pray with them.

And after a prisoner had been part of the program for a certain amount of time, they would then have the chance to get a mentor who would walk alongside them and help them to prepare for when they would leave prison and enter back into everyday life.

I learned while I was there that the biggest fears and concerns the men had were not the daily life they lived in prison now.

The biggest fears and concerns the men had were what they were going to do once they were released.

What was life going to be like once they were free?

They were concerned about where they would live.

If their wives and kids would receive them back in their homes.

If they could stay away from the bad crowd that led them down the wrong path last time.

They were concerned about finding and keeping a job and not being tempted to go back to illegal activity in order to make a living.

There was also going to be the stigma of being identified and defined by their past as an ex-convict.

You see, there were a lot of fears for men who had lived in prison to consider what it would be like to then live in freedom.

The book of Romans has shown us that we were all born sinners by nature and by choice, and because of that, we are naturally enslaved to sin and unable to obey God and His good law.

This is true of all humanity.

Yet, while we were still sinners, God showed his great love for us in sending his son Jesus to die in our place for our sin.

Then, God rose Jesus from the dead defeating sin and death for us.

And when we place our faith in Jesus, we are forgiven of our sin and declared to be right with God.

We are given peace with God.

At the moment of our faith being placed in Jesus, God removes the heart of stone in us and gives us a heart of flesh.

We are born again to new life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For the very first time, we are made a new creation in Christ, and are empowered by the Holy Spirit of God to love him, worship Him, and serve Him as we ought.

We are also empowered through Him to love others even more than ourselves.

This is eternal life! This is freedom!

Yet, we saw last week, that while we now have a new nature that is alive to God, until we die or Christ returns, we still drag around the old nature of sin that constantly wants to pull us back into our prison cell and convince us that freedom is not worth it.

Our old nature constantly wants to remind us that we were prisoners.

We couldn’t do anything right to obey God or love others then, why do you think you can now?

And Paul ended last week calling himself a wretched man because he knows that the old imprisoned man of the flesh still haunts him and calls to him as He desires to live in the freedom of God and worship and obey God, which is now his deepest desire.

So, just as Paul laid out for us at the end of chapter 7 last week, what giving into the old imprisoned man under the law looked like,

This week, in the beginning of chapter 8, he is going to lay out for us what living in the new man of freedom and life looks like, and how it is accomplished by the Spirit of God within us.

Romans 8:1–11 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 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. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 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. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 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. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 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.

1. The Spirit Within Frees Us From Condemnation

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

May I encourage and exhort you to tattoo that verse onto your minds and hearts.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Because in the midst of the war between your old nature the flesh and your new nature the spirit, you are constantly going to be tempted to fall back into the mindset of a condemned prisoner.

But there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The condemnation Paul is referring to is the final verdict of guilt leading to the outpouring of the righteous wrath of God.

At the day that the war is over, I’m talking about the day that your body dies or that Jesus Christ returns, whichever one happens first, and the war between your flesh and your Spirit is over, and you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, you will be declared right and righteous and you will enter into the eternal joy of your Savior.

For, while you were a guilty sinner, Jesus Christ took your sentence of condemnation and guilt, and he took the fullness of the righteous outpouring of the wrath of God in your place as your substitute on the cross.

That means that every time you face difficulties and challenges in life,

And even every time you suffer the consequences of your own sinful choices, you can be sure of this:

God is not punishing you in condemnation.

He may be lovingly disciplining you as a son or daughter, but he’s not punishing you in condemnation.

All of God’s punishing wrath was poured out on Jesus for you, so that there is none left for you.

You are not cursed or condemned.

I know we don’t use that language very often, but aren’t you tempted sometimes to believe you are cursed?

That some part of your old flesh is what is going to have the final say over your life and your destiny?

I know I sometimes feel like my fears and anxieties may have the final say over my life.

What is it that you are tempted to believe other than Jesus may have the final say over your life?

I remember I was working with a group of men who I had only known for about a year.

And every other man in the group was decades older than me, and they had all known each other since they were kids.

And at one point, the work we were doing got difficult, and we were experiencing some tension and conflict,

And one of the guys stopped showing up.

When I asked about him, the other guys said, “Ah, he’s always been that way. When we used to play ball in the front yard, if something happened that he didn’t like, he would just pick up his ball and go home.”

I was really struck by it because I thought, here this man is in his retirement years still being identified with and defined by something he has struggled with since he was a kid.

I wonder if anyone here could point to a decades long sin or suffering that you are tempted to believe will define you forever?

Listen, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So, get back up, keep walking and pressing forward, you are not cursed, no matter how long or deep seated the struggle, you are not condemned, God is not holding it against you, and you will finally be totally freed from it, so keep fighting for faith.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Here’s how this works:

Verse 2 - For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

When you were imprisoned under the law of God that you could not obey, you lived under the banner of sin and death.

Now that you have been born again, you live under the banner of the Spirit of life that has set you free in Christ Jesus!

That old flesh nature is finally going to fall away, and all that will be left is the Spirit of life in you, because the banner over your life is victory and freedom!

May we never lose sight of how this freedom has been won for us!

Verse 3 - For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

While the law of God is good, it cannot bring our spiritually dead flesh to life to actually obey it from the heart.

But God has brought our dead hearts to life by His Spirit within us!

By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

So, since the power of our enslavement was a conviction of sin in our flesh that kept us chained in our jail cell,

God sent His son Jesus to take on flesh just like ours, though he never sinned, and Jesus placed his name on our conviction notice, and Jesus chained his flesh to our jail cell on the cross,

So that the just punishment of our condemnation could be paid by him and we could go free!

And verse 4 tells us why, it tells us what this gospel has accomplished in us - in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

What does it mean that in Christ, the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us?

It means that Christ has taken his record of perfect obedience to the law of God, and has placed our name on that record.

It also means that by the Spirit of God within, we are now able to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law that we were unable to when we were lost.

Paul is writing about this same topic in Galatians when he writes:

Galatians 5:14 ESV

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

No one has pure and genuine love for neighbor over self without the love and life of God inside of them.

And everyone who has the love and life of God inside of them can now love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and worship Him as they ought.

So, the life of the Spirit inside of us has now brought to life what the law was always aiming at: genuine love of God leading us to genuine love of others.

The Spirit within us frees us from condemnation in order to freely love God and others.

2. The Spirit Within Sets Our Minds Toward Life And Peace

Verse 5 - 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.

What Paul now does is contrast the mindset of someone who is of the flesh, and the mindset of someone who has the Holy Spirit of God within them.

He’s not saying genuine believers never think in a fleshly way, of course, our old flesh flares up in our thinking all the time, but he is saying, those who have the Spirit within adopt a new way of thinking that a lost person never could.

The Holy Spirit of God instills in our minds a whole new perspective and way of thinking that could never be thought up by the mind of the flesh.

Once again, let’s let Paul’s writing in Galatians help us contrast further the mind of the flesh and the mind of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16–23 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 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. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The mind of the flesh thinks about sin and self.

What would bring my flesh pleasure,

What would give me power,

What would make me look better and gain more than others,

What would build my own personal kingdom.

The mind of the Spirit thinks about God and others.

What is honoring to God,

What promotes God’s kingdom,

What is for the good of others,

What makes for peace with others,

What allows for others flourishing.

Philippians 4:8 ESV

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

You know, one thing the Holy Spirit of God within us does is He illuminates God’s word to us.

He helps us understand the Scriptures, and He helps us see God for who He truly is.

And then He helps us apply the truth of who God is to every situation in our life.

God is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

And when we see God with this mindset, we also learn to look for these characteristics in others.

I’ve heard it said that you will find in people whatever it is that you are looking for.

If you are looking for faults, things to criticize, and short comings, you will find them. We all have them.

But, if you are looking for what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

By God’s grace and Spirit within us, we have those things too.

Verse 6 - For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Now, Paul is making this contrast here not to make you ask yourself to evaluate which kind of mindset you have more often than not.

He is not saying, if you have a fleshly mindset more times than not, you don’t have the Spirit of God, and if you have a godly mindset more often than not, then you do have the Spirit of God.

That’s not what he is doing.

Instead, he is saying, the only way you you ever for even one second have the mindset of the Spirit of God is if the Spirit of God has come to live in you.

Look at verses 7 and 8 - 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.

So, what Paul is doing is he is actually encouraging us in saying: If you, at the core of your being, want to see things God’s way, want to glorify and honor God with your life, and want good for others even at the cost of your own good at times, that’s because you have the Spirit of God inside of you.

Like imagine if you were face to face with me at the worst moment of my Christian walk, a moment where I’m discouraged, and doubting, and giving into sin, and isolating myself,

Imagine you were face to face with me in that moment and you were to ask me what is going on:

And imagine I tell you, man, I am a real mess right now. I’m hurting, I’m discouraged, I’m doubting, I know I’m not where I should be.

I’m not thinking right. I’m not acting right.

This is not honoring to God and it is not loving toward others in my life.

What did I just speak in my worst moment? Truth.

And as I wrestle with that truth, it is going to lead me to repent move forward in my walk with Jesus.

Why? Because I have the Spirit of God within me.

Now, you find someone without the Spirit of God, and you find them in that place, can I promise you, they are not concerned at all about how their life is honoring God leading to love for others.

They will either be deceived into thinking their is nothing wrong with them, or they will have worldly sorrow because they realize the way they are acting is not best for themselves, their kingdoms, and what they want out of life.

The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law, it cannot. Those in the flesh cannot please God.

So, if you from the heart know and believe that your life is not your own, but that it is to be lived for the glory of God and the good of others,

no matter how much you stumble, fail, and fall short as we all do, if you know the truth of the glory of God and the love of others in the deepest part of you, that is because the Spirit of God dwells inside of you.

You see, the way we get tempted to fall back into those feelings of condemnation is when we stumble, fail, and fall short in the Christian life,

But, it is in those very moments when you realize you are not living for the glory of God and the good of others as you should, that should lead you to be encouraged, because you know that is the evidence of the Spirit of God inside of you.

This is how this war is fought, believing and trusting in God’s good work within you even when you have blown it again, because the Spirit of God is inside you, convicting you, leading you to repentance, leading you always toward life and peace.

Finally,

3. The Spirit Within Will Finally Give Us Resurrection Life

Verse 9 - 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.

Now, while Paul is primarily encouraging Christians in this text, telling them that they are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, he does lead us all to evaluate ourselves.

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

So, we should evaluate ourselves.

It’s interesting, one of the primary places in the New Testament where we are commanded to test ourselves to see whether we are in the faith is in 2 Corinthians 13.

The believers in that church were involved in a lot of sin: quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, deceit, and disorder.

So, Paul says,

2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Paul goes on to tell them that His goal aim in all this is for their restoration.

Then he says this:

2 Corinthians 13:11–14 ESV

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

What would be the key to the test of faith? It wasn’t perfect obedience.

It was, in the deepest part of who you are, do you desire restoration? Do you have any impulse to agree with one another and live in peace with the goal of the glory of God and the good of others?

If so, that is the Holy Spirit of God at work within you.

But, if you can’t go there in your mind and heart, if you are completely consumed with your rights, and your way, and your kingdom, there is good reason to consider you do not belong to Christ.

Back to our text, verse 10 - But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

In other words, though you still carry around that old body of death, the Spirit of God lives inside of you because you have been gifted the very righteousness of Christ.

Verse 11- 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.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, and Paul hopes that all Christians would be convinced by what he has just written that He does, then the same Spirit who rose Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.

In other words, just as Jesus’ body died, was buried, then was brought to new glorious life by the power of God, in a newly glorified body, so you also will finally physically die, but then be raised by the power of God, to glorious life in a newly glorified body for eternity.

So, though we struggle now in the war within,

There is coming a day soon where you will die or Jesus will return, and you will finally be rid of the flesh and the sinful nature, and all that will remain is a glorified body with the one nature of the Spirit of God in you, to be glorified with Christ forever.

No matter where you find yourself today, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

He has begun this good work in you through the Spirit, the Spirit is within you know, and by His great grace, He is going to bring you safely all the way home.

Pray.

Invitation (elder at couch)