THE LIVE GIVING SPIRIT

Romans 8: 9-11 (NKJV)

‘9 But you are not in 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. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 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’.

In verses 9, Paul makes clear that the Spirit of God dwells in lives of every believer. That is why the bible says that ‘ if anyone does not have Christ, he or she does not have him. We are all Christians which means that ‘we are all followers of Christ’, which also means that we should all have his Spirit. But in order for us to have his Spirit we must ask for it, if we don’t have his Spirit we will still be dwelling in the flesh “sinful nature” and we can not be off Christ for he is righteousness and Holy with out sin.

In verses 10, “talks about how body is dead because of sin”. Even Christian body is subjected to physical death, which is the wages of Sin. Your Spirit is alive or “ the Spirit is life”. In Romans 8: 2, talks about the Spirit of life, which is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit who is a life giver. If we go back to the book of Genesis, when God finished modelling man he than breath in to him the spirit of life. In the same way Pauls says that the ‘ Spirit is life’ or its life giver.

‘Body’ Paul again talks about our sinful body (flesh). That we cannot gain freedom from our own strength but by the controlling power of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 7: 24, Paul talks about the ‘wretch man’, this is a great illustrations for us for we are all sinful people. But Christ gives us his Spirit and through the Spirit we will be freed from our sinful bodies.

Lastly verse 11, mansions how the Holy Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies. This is talking about the resurrection of our bodies, which is guaranteed to those who believe in Christ by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  Which in turn providence us with the assurances that the Holy Spirit is now transforming us.

CARNAL MINDS

Romans 8:7-8

‘ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subjected to the law of God, nor indeed can be, so than, those who are in the flesh cannot please God’.

In verses 7, it talks about how sinful men are always against the will of God, for it is not subjected to their law of flesh. Therefore they can never be obedient to God for their law is not subjected to God. As for verses 8, illustrates how those who live in the flesh cannot please God, to please God we would have to obey His commands.    

 There are two minds that are described in Romans 8; 5-8, where there is sinful nature and spiritual nature. “Sinful” leads to death and spirit leads to life and peace in Christ Jesus.

ARE YOU LIVING ACCORDING TO SINFUL NATURE OR SPIRITUAL NATURE

Romans 8:5-6

 ‘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, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace’.

Verse 5, talks about those who live according to the sinful nature of their minds, they relay on the things from the sinful nature, which is the law against Gods righteous law. But those who live according to the Spirit, their have minds set on things on what the Spirit desires for them. Which is living accordance with Gods will, because if we live in accordance to the Spirit we are living the will of God.

Verse 6, talks about being carnally mind but what does that mean. “Carnally mind” means sinful minds. In this verse it talks about how the mind of sinful nature is death. Because those who live according to the flesh do what the flesh desires of them, which leads to sinful nature. ‘ For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’. Romans 6:23

But the minds that are controlled by the Spirit is life and peaceful. That is because the gift of god is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Unless we have a Spiritual life that desires for us the will of God to be done in us each day, than we have no life we become man who only live according to flesh not the Spirit of God.  

GIFT OF SACRIFICE

'For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit'. Romans 8: 3-4

Verses 3, discussed that the law was powerless in that it was weak through the flesh, which means that the law was not able to overcome the controlling power of sin. In Hebrews 8:3, it talks about how every high priest must offer a gift of sacrifice, so it was also necessary to Jesus to offer us a gift of sacrifice for sins of the world.

In the likeness of sinful man, Christ was incarnation he become truly human. But unlike all of us he was found sinless. Matthew 4:1-11, talks about when the Spirit took him into the wilderness for 40 day and 40 nights. There Satan temped him three times but he defeated sin. ‘In the Flesh’; Paul is perhaps using that to illustrate to Christ human body (on the cross).

Verses 4, ‘righteous requirements of the law’, the law still plays a part in Christ followers life. Not as a mean of salvation but as a mortal and ethical path, obeyed out, of love for God and by the power of the Holy Spirit given. If you look in Jeremiah 31:31-34, it talks about the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Here In verse four of Romans talks of the fulfilment of that covenant.

God purpose in sending His Son is so that all His believers might be enable to embody the true, and full intention of the law. Living according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh for the flesh will always lose over the controlling power of sin.  The Spirit of God has a more powerful controlling power than that of sin, but we have to let Him come in our lives. If we do this we’ll be empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit to come upon us, then evil will have no places in us therefore we become the righteous sons and daughters of God. AMAN

   

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FREE FROM INDELLING SIN?

Do you wanna be setfree?

'‘ '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. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.’ Romans 8: 1-2

Here in verse 1, it talks about that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, because they do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. But what is condemnation? It means to bring judgement upon someone. What is the role of the law? The law bring condemnation because it points out stimulate and condemns sin. How does that relate to those who are in Christ Jesus, It relates to them because those who believe in his name, have redemption in His blood, and are made partaker of his spirit. They will have the same way of thinking as he did and most of all they will walk according to the Spirit not according to the flesh.

In verse 2, it talks about freedom from the law of sin and death, by the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Here Paul is talking about the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, whom is life giving. The apostle Paul uses the word ‘Law’ in many different ways, but in this case he uses it t show the controlling power in sin which results in death. The only time that we will be freed from sin is when we walk according to the Holy Spirit.

GOD'S EVERLASTING LOVE

Roman's 8:31
' what then shall we say to these things?
God is for us, who can be against us?'.

This verse talks about how  God  our heavenly father is on our side, therefore there is no one against us. If you think about it there are many things in this qorld that are trying to separate us  for God, because God is all for us there is nothing in this world no matter how hard they try they will not be successful in separating us from Him. But God needs our consent for Him to work in our lives, we need to surrender all that we are to Him daily that his glory maybe seen through us each day. When we let God have full control of our lives there is nothing that we cant do, the whole of the universe blongs to him therefore there is nothing that is Impossible for him. There is nothing under Heaven or Earth that can separate us from God!