In Christ
Romans 5-8, The Holy Spirit • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsThis sermon serves as an introduction to the Holy Spirit from Romans 8.
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Introduction:
If you’ve joined us during this series through the book of Romans, we’ve seen together that for all who are in Christ, everything has changed. Our status has changed. We’ve moved from death to life, from darkness to light, from being “under Adam” to being “under grace.” From being “in Adam” to being “in Christ.” We’ve been called to live holy lives. We’ve been called to live in the Spirit and not in the flesh. And we say “yes, and amen.”
If you were with us last week, we unpacked one of the most encouraging passages in all the Bible. Paul opens up his life to us and exposes the battle he’s fighting between his fleshly desires and his Godly desires. And he calls us to choose life. Choose to walk in the Spirit.
For example, my generation and below are some of the most impatient people.
And many of us left encouraged knowing that we are going to struggle and battle with sin, and we rest in the victory of Jesus Christ.
But, if we were honest, we might be willing to say that there seems to be such little growth in Christ. If we were honest, we’re not exactly sure how we are going to walk in this new grace.
We despise the thoughts we have, and the feelings we have. In fact, we are probably led more by feelings than we’d like to believe. And the good thing is that Paul didn’t leave us in the dark. He didn’t hide the source of power for Godly living. continues after . You might not have known this, but Paul didn’t actually write the verse and chapter numbers. Those were inserted later on by the church to help us reference places and verses.
And so, what we have here is an explanation of how we are going to live in this new way.
In , Paul shares that the way we are going to live this way is by the power and the person of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Paul mentions the Holy Spirit 22 times in chapter 8, which is the chapter on godly living.
Now, as we begin this series on the Holy Spirit, I realize that many of us have all kinds of ideas on the Holy Spirit. In the Baptist tradition, we have been largely silent when it comes to the Holy Spirit during my generation. Not many of us have heard sermons about the Holy Spirit. And yet in a cursory reading of the entire Bible, you cannot help but see that the Holy Spirit is active in amazing ways throughout the entirety of the Bible.
The conservative church has been silent during most of our lives because of the misuse of the Holy Spirit in American churches. Many leaders reduce the Holy Spirit to being a force. Others equate the Holy Spirit with a feeling. Other movements are placing a religious experience or feeling over biblical truth.
And so, my aim this morning is to present a Biblical View on the Holy Spirit, from . We can’t say all there is to say about the Holy Spirit today, but we will use our text to help us. And we’ll continue to explore Him over the next few weeks.
In fact, if you have a question regarding the Holy Spirit, we’re asking that you text those questions to:
636.239.9801
We’ll do our best to answer your questions as part of this series. We look forward to getting those from you.
In light of that, let’s stand to read together.
READ
In light of this, Parham boldy said,
PRAYER
“The students of Bethel College do not need to study in the old way to learn the languages. They have them conferred on them miraculously....I expect this gathering to be the greatest since the day of Pentecost.”
Before we get to Paul’s teaching on the Holy Spirit, Paul reminds us of a powerful truth!
Parham sent out 18 students as missionaries to Japan, China, and India, expecting that the Holy Spirit would give them the ability to speak in native languages to preach the gospel. As you might imagine, they reported, and I quote, “in no single instance have they been able to do so.” They are returned home in disappointment.
If I am in Christ, I am not condemned.
If I am in Christ, I am not condemned.
But that didn’t stop the movement. Parham moved on and led
Listen again to
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
And then Paul explains. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
Paul explains that the law could not save us. No one from Moses to Malachi could keep the Law perfectly. Not the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. Not the Israelites dwelling in the Promised Land. Not the Judges or the Kings. Not even the prophets could keep the Law perfectly.
The point of the Law was not to save us. It never was intended to save us. The Law was designed to show us a need for salvation because we could not keep the Law perfectly.
And then Paul tells us how we have been rescued:
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, 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.
God did what the law could not do. He rescued us. How? By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.
What is Paul saying? He’s saying that because of sin, we stand condemned. We are unable to keep the Law. And in His Divine providence, God sent the Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin.
As one author wrote,
If Christ had not taken on our nature, he could not have been one of us. On the other hand, had be become completely like us (i.e., had he sinned), he could not have become our Savior.
The Bible uses a $100 dollar word for this. It’s a word bigger than mayonnaise. The word is propitiation. Listen to
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
That word means a sin offering, an atonement. When I think of this word, I think of this illustration:
Sponge soaking up water. When I think about what Jesus did, this is a great picture to me. Imagine that the water in this bowl represents your sin, my sin, the sins of the whole world. And left alone in our sin, we are condemned. We are guilty. We are only deserving of death and and eternity apart from God. We cannot overcome our sin debt. And what we could not do, Jesus came and did for us. (Soak the sponge) He lived a life perfectly in regard to the Law. declares “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
And Jesus on the cross absorbed our sin. As reminds us...
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Application: I am rescued from the condemnation of sin only by the sacrificial death of Jesus. And friends, if that is all that God did for us, we would have every reason to praise Him for all eternity. But that’s not all God has done for us. Let’s look together at the second truth we find in our passage.
If I am in Christ, then Christ is in me.
If I am in Christ, then Christ is in me.
Look with me beginning in
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
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,
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.
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.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
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.
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.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
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.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
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.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
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.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
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,
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.
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.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
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.
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.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
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.
Paul now explains the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
Listen to the clarity he gives to us:
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
What Paul teaches is that all who are in Christ have His Holy Spirit. In fact, it is the Spirit that brings us into relationship with God.
And where is the Holy Spirit?
In verse 9, Paul teaches that God’s Spirit “dwells in you.” In verse 10, Paul says that Christ is “in you.” In verse 11, Paul teaches that The Spirit dwells in you, not once but twice.
Now, that’s an interesting word, dwell.
There are other words for dwell.
The Greek word is Oikeo
It means to live in, to remain in, to reside in
What Paul is teaching us is that if we are in Christ, the Spirit dwells, reside, lives inside of us.
Allow me to provide a simple illustration. Corrie Ten Boom illustrated the Holy Spirit in this way. Imagine that you are this glove. Now, this glove was clearly made for something. It has a purpose. But on it’s own, it is unable to do that which it’s created to do. On the other hand, when a living hand fills the glove, it finds its fullest potential. Now that which is was created to do comes alive and it functions as it was designed. So we are when the Holy Spirit dwells in us, filling us with His presence and power to accomplish all that God calls us to. We can truly be who God created us to be when the Holy Spirit fills us.
Listen to the other passages that make this point clear:
By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
Argumentation:
Lifeway Research found that 56 percent of evangelical Christians say the Holy Spirit is a force rather than a person. In that same study, a quarter (28 percent) said the Spirit is a divine being but not equal to God the Father and Jesus.
Jim Cymbala writes, “The Holy Spirit is God’s agent on earth, yet he is the least understood member of the Trinity.”
We must understand the person of the Holy Spirit if we have any hope of living a victorious Christian life. He is part of the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He’s there in Genesis in the creation of the world. He’s there in the Old Testament, coming upon men and women of God to empower them to carry on the mission of God. He’s there at the baptism of Jesus, empowering Him to fulfill his mission from God. He’s there as the church begins, falling upon the apostles and moving through the book of Acts.
And Paul says that he dwells in you and me if we are followers of Jesus.
He is not an “it.” He is God. He is not a “feeling.” He is God. He is not a “force.” He is God. He is not for prosperity. He is God.
He exists in every believer so that we can bring glory to Jesus Christ and continue the mission of God in our lives, our families, our communities, and country and throughout the world.
In summary, the Holy Spirit matters.
He’s the way you are going to overcome the temptation of sin. He’s the way you’re going to seek Christ in your single life, married life, work life, retired life. He will overcome your anger, bitterness and lust and fill your life with life and peace.
And if you ignore or quench the Holy Spirit, you’ll live an inferior life that God never intended you to live.
You and I need the Holy Spirit like the air we breathe. The word for Spirit is, in fact, pneuma, which means air or breath. It’s as if God is breathing life into us that we so desperately need.
Application:
I’m convinced that we need a more Biblical view of the Holy Spirit. Friends, I want so badly to see you living in freedom. I want so badly to see healing and health for each one of us. And, I believe, in order for that to happen we need to see the Holy Spirit rightly.
Can I confess that the church hasn’t taught well on the Holy Spirit?
That word mean to dwell or live. The Holy Spirit dwells or lives within
Because of some of the charismatic movements that took place in the 20th Century, the Baptist church moved away from any teachings on the Holy Spirit. In fact, if you are over 50 years old and have been a Baptist for most of your life, you’ve probably not studied the Holy Spirit often. Friends, we have failed you. In just a cursory reading of the Old Testament and New Testament, you’ll find the Holy Spirit filling the pages of Scripture and even writing the Scripture in the process.
In my Christian experience, we have said things in the church, like:
Welcome to the house of the Lord!
It’s good to be in the house of the Lord!
God really showed up today!
We sing songs like, Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.
New songs crop up, like, “Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Flood this place and fill the atmosphere.”
There are lyrics about the Holy Spirit walking in the room.
Friends, I am not condemning these thoughts as heresy, but they are not Biblical thoughts!
If you are in Christ, then Christ is in you!
What we’ve unintentionally taught you is that the Holy Spirit is just waiting around the corner, ready to show up when everything is just right. What the Bible teaches you is that He’s right there, inside of you, ready to lead you, guide you, exalt Christ through you.
Daniel Henderson writes:
In the Old Testament, God’s presence led His people in the form of a cloud by day and a fire by night. In the New Testament, the cloud and the fire are within us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. In the old covenant, the presence of God filled the tabernacle and later the temple in Jerusalem. In the new covenant, we are the temple. His Spirit fills us. Jesus did not die to sanctify and fill buildings or “atmospheres.” His work on the cross changed everything. He died to cleanse, fill and empower our human hearts. His work is inside-out, not the previous “outside-in” paradigm of the old covenant. This is the promise of ongoing transformation.” - Daniel Henderson
If I am in Christ, then the Spirit of Christ is in me.
Friends, this is incredible news for those who believe!
This changes everything. Next week, we’ll talk more about the Holy Spirit and being led by Him.
Look again with me at
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
Listen to the names given to the Holy Spirit given by Paul in this passage:
The Spirit of Life. (v.2)
The Spirit of God (v.9)
The Spirit of Christ (v.9)
We see the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible.
We see Him in creation:
Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
We see Him empowering.
And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”
and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship,
So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
The Holy Spirit saves.
The Holy Spirit saves.
The Holy Spirit marks.
The Holy Spirit marks.
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.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
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.
Conclusion
Question: How do I know if I have the Spirit of God within me?
gives us evidence that we are believers. Many in our culture are teaching you that the way you know you are filled with the Holy Spirit is that you must speak in tongues or you must do miracles. Let’s think Biblically together.
But gives us an insight to know if we have the Holy Spirit…Let’s look at these verses...
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-
Am I bearing this fruit?
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
He’ll change the way you speak.
He’ll fill us with thanksgiving.
He’ll help us love one another well.
The proof is a changed life.
Am I surrendering to His Spirit?
1 Thessalonians
Do not quench the Spirit.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Finally, listen to the words of Jesus in
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
By show of hands, how many of you would like to have Jesus walking physically beside you right now? He’ll go to lunch with you, He’ll go to work with you, He’ll be in the car with you, He’ll be watching football with you, He’ll be with you right there beside you.
...
How many of you would like that? How many of you think that you’d live differently and love differently if He was right there?
Well, here’s what Jesus says - “I tell you the truth (because you might not believe this) - it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
Jesus says it’s better that He’s not physically here. Why? Because in human form, Jesus couldn’t go with all of us today. He’d be in one place at one time. He’d have to choose which one of us He’d go with.
But what’s better is now He’s sent His Spirit to live in us. In effect, it’s how Christ is in us now. And He’s going with you to lunch. He’s going with you to work. He’s going with you in the car. He is with you and is in you. And this is better!
Today, if you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you need Christ in you, the hope of glory. You need to realize that right now you are standing in sin, turning away from God and relying on your own good works and life. And friends, it will never be good enough. You need Christ. You need Christ in you. You need His HOly Spirit. And if you don’t have Him, you can know Him today.
If you already believe, you need to ask specifically for God to help you think and believe Biblically about His Spirit. Move past doubts, fears and feelings and embrace Biblical truth. Surrender to Him, and He will glorify God in your life.