Life in the Spirit

The Spirit Gives Life

Romans 8:9 NKJV

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Paul has been speaking about the contrast between being in the flesh and being in the Spirit. The flesh here is more than the meat on your bones, but the bundle of wants, need, and ambitions that make up the human experience. It means to seek these wants without reference to the Spirit of God. The unbeliever cannot live in the Spirit, which means he thinks about life in a purely horizontal way.

This is one of the clearest texts that demonstrate that all Christians have the spirit. To be in the Spirit is to be indwelt by the Spirit. But anyone who does not have the Spirit does not belong to God. If having the Spirit involved some second work of Grace after salvation, then there would be Christians who belonged to Christ but who did not have the Spirit. But Paul clearly states that to be without the Spirit is the same as not being a Christian.

Romans 8:10 NASB95

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

Romans 8:10 NKJV

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

There’s a translation issue here - in the original there were no capital letters, so whether “Spirit” meant the Holy Spirit or our human spirit depended on the context. If two good translations make different choices, you know that there is a legitimate question about the best way that should be translated, and that is the case here. Paul could be saying that our human spirit is alive to God even though our body is subject to death. But of the 37 times that the word “life” is found in Paul’s letters, nearly every translation translates it “life”. The NASB only translates “alive” here out of 135 occurences. When Paul wants to say that something is “alive” he uses a different word. for example . . .

Ephesians 2:5 NKJV

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Thus Paul is saying that the spirit is the source of life. Only the Holy Spirit is the source of life, so the “the Spirit of life” is the right understanding. Paul is stating that the Spirit that dwells in us is the source of life, despite the fact that our body still retains the mortal, limited life that we received from Adam. That ‘s why Christian die at the same age as nonChristians, even though we have eternal life already.

Romans 8:11 NKJV

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Paul often speaks about the fact that God raised up Jesus from the dead. For example

Romans 4:24 NKJV

but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

Romans 6:4 NKJV

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 10:9 NKJV

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Only here does Paul speak about the Spirit as the one who raised up Christ from the dead. That’s probably because he wants to emphasize that the same God who has the power to raise Jesus from the dead also lives in us.

What does it mean for the Spirit to dwell within us? God is everywhere isn’t he? so how can the Spirit dwell in Christians and not in non-Christians? There’s a difference between dwelling and being present. We’re all present in the building, but we don’t live here, do we? It’s not even about the length of time you spend in a building. Some of us spend so much time at work that we might be there more often than we are at home, yet we still don’t live at work. The difference is that work or other places aren’t ours. We treat our home differently because its our permanent dwelling. The Spirit treat us like this. We are his own possession, so he will take care of us. It follows that if the immortal Spirit chooses us as his dwelling, that we will necessarily live forever. He will give us eternal life because he lives within us.

Romans 8:12–13 NKJV

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

The implication of being indwelt by the Spirit is that we owe everything to God, since he has given us eternal life, and cares for us as his special dwelling. We owe the normal concerns of life nothing - the things of the flesh are only of incidental importance as they help us accomplish the life in the Spirit. We are told again that to live according to the flesh is death. But what kind of death? There is physical death, what we normally think of; there is spiritual death, which is being unable to respond to God and his Word; there is eternal death, which is permanent separation from God in hell.

Now living according to the flesh will have an impact on your physical life. A purely horizontal focus will inevitably result in doing some wrong things, and sin in your life will have a negative effect on it. For example

Deuteronomy 5:16 NKJV

‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

The promise of this commandment is that obeying it will extend your physical life. Now we do need to be careful here. The command was spoken to Israel as a nation, and the prosperity of the nation was directly connected with the overall moral and spiritual health of the nation. Such a promise has not been made to any other people on earth, especially when we all live in the midst of unregenerate people who will drag down any nation regardless of the spiritual health of the few Christians in it. However, God does not suspend the moral laws of the universe for anyone, which is the point of Ephesians 6:1-2.

But it would not make much sense for Paul to be talking about physical death. He uses the future tense here. He doesn’t say that if you live according to the spirit you will live longer. He says that living according to the flesh results in death; dying by the spirit results in life. If that’s physical death then he just promised you that good Christians never have funerals. Clearly Christians do die, even the best of them. And while walking in the Spirit does improve your life, it doesn’t at all guarantee a longer one. Paul must mean something else.

But it’s quite clear that Paul can’t mean spiritual death, either. All Christians have been made alive ( Ephesians 2:5 ) at the moment of salvation. This was an act of mercy by God, it was not of our own choosing. After all, dead people can’t do anything. We could not change our spiritually inert souls anymore than a dead man can walk. A Christian can be more or less sensitive to spiritual matters, depending on the faithfulness of his walk with God; but a Christian will be able to live on the spiritual plane because of the work of the Spirit quickening him. Our spiritual life is not dependent on our actions, as it is here.

Thus what we have left is eternal death. Paul seems to be saying that living by the flesh results in eternal death, but putting to death the deeds of the body results in eternal life. This is confirmed by

Galatians 6:8 NKJV

For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

But how can this be? We know that our eternal salvation is not dependent on our own efforts, either.

Romans 5:18 NKJV

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

Romans 8:1 NKJV

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:38–39 NKJV

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The answer is that Paul is here compressing the entire process of salvation and sanctification that he has already described. We receive justification by faith - at the moment of salvation, our sins are all forgiven forever. God also unites us with Christ and makes us spiritual alive. Because we are now in the spirit, we are able to function spiritually when we couldn’t before. Our life now has a new dimension, which causes us to think about life in a radically different way. A spiritual mind-set results in spiritual behavior. Now the process is not entirely automatic - we can still choose to be more or less faithful. But spiritual life produces spiritual movement, just as physical life produces physical movement. You may not be able to move as fast or as agile as an olympic athlete: but you are just as much alive as he is. So Paul is not saying that bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven. He is saying that spiritual behavior is the evidence of spiritual life. Those who have spiritual life also have eternal life. Those who live in the flesh demonstrate something about their soul - a life devoid of God betrays a soul that is dead to God; Those who are spiritually dead are on their way to hell.

What is Mortification?

The contrast to life in the flesh is the process of dying to the deeds of the body. What is this “mortification.” Well let’s be clear what it is not. It is not putting to death the joys of this earth - Masochism. God has created the things of this earth to be enjoyed

1 Timothy 4:3–4 NKJV

forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;

Nether is it putting to death the needs of the body - Asceticism. Asceticism is resenting the fact that God made us with natural desires like food, warmth, etc., and seeking to get over them. Something Paul condemns. Rather, mortification means rejecting any use of the body which serves ourselves instead of others and God.

How does Mortification happen?

While you become spiritually alive by an act of God at salvation, the process of putting to death the misdeeds of the body must be a conscious choice. It means radical amputation of any mind-set that results in sin; any sinful habit. Our old sinful tendencies, habits, and patterns do not fade away simply because we are Christians. A healthy Christian life is the process of putting away the old way of life and putting on new patterns of thinking, habits, and feelings. The normal process of using the Scripture must begin with understanding it, and it ends with a changed life.

Why should we practice mortification?

Paul promises life to those who put to death the deeds of the body. If it is true that living in the flesh results in eternal death, then it follows that putting to death the deeds of the body results in spiritual life. But just as Paul is saying something more complex than just bad people go to hell, so too he means more than just good people go to heaven. Rather, he means that the process of mortification is not some special practice for the really spiritual. Rather, it is the normal activity of all Christians. While some Christians may do this better than others, the absence of it is a sign that there is no spiritual life at all.

The Spirit of God makes us his children

Romans 8:14–15 NKJV

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Not only does the Spirit give us life, he also makes us his children. Adoption was a concept borrowed from Greco-Roman culture. Jews did not practice adoption, because the law had a complicated system of rules to handle all situations of orphan/childlessness within the extended family. The only old testament examples of adoption occur outside of Palestine - Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daugher, and Esther was adopted by Mordacai, for example.

Roman or Greek adoption was similar, but not quite the same as modern adoption. The difference was that Roman patriarchs had practically absolute power. As today, wealthy Romans who lacked children could adopt a child, and that child was considered just as much as if they had been born into the family. This would give the child not just a home but an exalted status as the son [usually] of a respected Roman citizen. He would, of course, also inherit the father’s entire estate. But it would also carry fairly significant responsibilities. The father could make many demands even of adult children. the son would be expected to live up to the family expectations and values just as much as a natural-born son would.

The word for adoption is used only by Paul and that only five times. He is using it as a metaphor for the change of relationship we have with God when we are saved. God is the creator of all, of course, but adoption is only for some. Adoption carries three benefits

Adoption means being led by the Spirit

All people who have become God’s children are led by the Spirit of God. As in Roman Culture the father had authority over the adopted son, so our father guides us. This leading is moral guidance.

Galatians 5:18 NKJV

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Both in Romans and in Galatians Paul talks about being led by the spirit in the context of living the Christian life. In Galatians Paul speaks about the fruit of the spirit just a few verses later; in Romans Paul has just told us about dying to the deeds of the body. So Paul isn’t talking about things like where to go to college, what job to take, or who to marry. He is talking about being able to discern what is the right thing to do, and having the desire and ability to do it.

Adoption means calling God our Father

The second benefit of adoption is that we can call God our father. It is the work of the Spirit that gives us the right to call God our father. This is a specifically Christian relationship with God. The Jews understood that God was the father of the Jewish Nation (Ex 4:22), but they did not address God as their father. “Abba” is the Aramaic form of the word Father. What is special about this is not so much the word itself - some have tried to make it a title like “daddy” but it’s just a rather normal word for father. What’s special about it, is that a Jewish child would of course use their native tongue in talking to their father, and the native language of Palestine was Aramaic. It is the word Jesus used of God in the Garden of Gethsemany (Mark 14:36). The familiar language means that he is referring to God the way any Jew would about his own earthly father. So to call God “Abba” means that we really treat God as our father. So whether your relationship to your own father was good or bad, your relationship with your heavenly father will be as a fatherly relationship should be.

Romans 8:16 NKJV

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

The flip side of calling God our father is the assurance that we are his children. Confidence in our standing with God is available to every Christian. Yet I am willing to bet that many of you have either struggled with assurance at some time in your past, or you know someone who did. Of course, some who struggle with assurance might not actually be a Christian. In which case it’s a good thing they did start to wonder about their eternal state - I can’t imagine anything worse than believing you are on your way to heaven only to find out when it is too late that you were wrong. But I’ve counseled teens and young adults that I am pretty sure were actually saved, yet they also struggled. If God promises assurance, why doesn’t every Christian have it?

We are told that the Spirit “bears witness” with our spirit. This is a fairly rare word, used only three times, and all in the book of Romans. So its clear that some kind of assurance is promised to us. But how does that happen?

Romans 9:1 NKJV

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,

Paul’s conscience confirms to him that he is telling the truth, because he actually is telling the truth. Thus he is telling us this with a clear conscience.

Romans 2:15 NKJV

who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

The gentiles’ conscience bears witness that the law of God is written on their hearts. You can’t see someone’s heart, but you can see the effects. Their thoughts either condemn them, or excuse them, depending on their own moral code and how well they are living up to it. If they are following what they believe to be right, then they will feel justified in doing whatever they did; if they do not live up to what they believe to be right, they will feel guilty for having failed to live up to it. Of course, because Paul is talking about pagans, their moral code doesn’t always match the truth. When that happens they might very well feel justified about their actions when they should actually feel guilty. But even pagans don’t get everything wrong. Very often, what they think is right really is right, and what they think is wrong really is wrong. When they feel good for doing what is actually right, or feel guilty for doing what is actually wrong, that is their conscience confirming the Law of God written on their heart.

So it is with the witness of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not work independently of his Word. So if you are poorly taught about salvation, or have yet to fully internalize God’s great promises of salvation, you may still struggle with assurance, even though the Spirit offers it. But when you look at what you think, feel, and act, and you find that the Bible tells you that the one who believes has eternal life, then you feel that you are God’s child. That feeling is not just you being smart enough to believe what the Bible says. It’s God’s Spirit confirming the truth of his word to you.

Adoption means being God’s heir

Romans 8:17 NKJV

and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have that “rich uncle” die and leave you millions? As cool as that might be, it is nothing compared the inheritance of the child of God. An inheritance means getting the entirety of that person’s possessions. God owns everything, so being God’s heir being inheriting the earth. Whether you have a little or a lot in this life, none of it really matters, because the inheritance we all have waiting for us is so vast it makes the richest persons look like a pauper. We are co-heirs with Christ. That is, we inherit everything along with him.

The condition for inheriting everything is that we also suffer with Christ. What kind of suffering? Everyone suffers some things because we all live in a broken world. The Christian is subject to the same kind of sicknesses, trajedy, and death that all people suffer. Christian or not. Jesus was subject to them, too. Many people think, for example, that Joseph his adopted earthly father died when he was a teenager or young adult. But this suffering is not experienced by all people, so Paul isn’t talking just about things like poverty, or the loss of a loved one.

Jesus also suffered for the sins of the world on the Cross. But that is something only he could pay. No one even has the ability to suffer for sin like he did, not even the Christian.

What’s left? Jesus experienced quite a bit of hostility because he preached the truth. He was so controversial that people wanted to kill him. But it was because he told them the truth about God’s Word. He exposed the religious leader’s sins, and they deeply resented that.

The Christian can expect a similar kind of suffering in this lifetime. We are not told that this suffering might happen, but that it is a certainty for all Christians. Here in America, the obvious question is, what persecution? For the most part we don’t experience much hostility for being Christians, and that is a great blessing. But I don’t think we have to limit this kind of suffering to being arrested and set to the Gulag. It’s also when you are unfairly ignored, or when the church is unfairly minimized in society. Its when someone doesn’t get the promotion they deserve because they refuse to bend the rules at work. It’s when an unsaved family member ignores you because you’re a Christian. It’s losing a friend because they don’t like your Christian ways. It’s when you try to witness to someone, and all they want to do is argue with you about it. We don’t need to go around looking for persecution. It will find you at some small level, and that shouldn’t discourage you, for it means you are on the right track. This suffering is the cost of living for God in a godless world, but living this way means that you have trusted Christ for salvation and therefore you are on your way to heaven. The glory to follow is equally inevitable.