Got the Spirit?
Rom 8:9,10 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. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If a person belongs to Christ, he is given the Holy Spirit to dwell in him and his allegiance and subordination to the sinful nature (the flesh) has been broken. Though the sinful nature dwells beside us in the same body, we are not longer viewed as being inside our sinful nature, but rather beside it, dwelling in the Spirit.
Everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit dwelling in them. "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" Eph 1:13,14 Or "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" 1Cor 3:16 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body——whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free——and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." 1Cor 12:13
Again, despite belonging to Christ and the Spirit dwelling in us, the body is nonetheless dead because of its sinful nature, which dwells together beside us in the same body, as Paul says, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells" Rom 7:18a Though we are no long viewed as being inside or controlled by our sinful nature. The NIV says it this way "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." Thus while freed from control of our sinful nature, the presence and influence is still there as Paul described in Romans 7. ("It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." Rom 7:17) Consequently though freed from slavery to the sinful nature, the believer will continue to experience a struggle with the sinful nature with regards to influence over one's behavior. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Gal 5:17
BUT just as the sinful nature influences the behavior of the saint, so does the Spirit of God who dwells in us. Thus he says to Christians, "Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Gal 5:16 Having been made righteous through faith in Christ, and have a destiny of righteous living, the Spirit helps us to walk in that righteousness.
The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources
Rom 8:9,10 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. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If a person belongs to Christ, he is given the Holy Spirit to dwell in him and his allegiance and subordination to the sinful nature (the flesh) has been broken. Though the sinful nature dwells beside us in the same body, we are not longer viewed as being inside our sinful nature, but rather beside it, dwelling in the Spirit.
Everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit dwelling in them. "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" Eph 1:13,14 Or "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" 1Cor 3:16 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body——whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free——and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." 1Cor 12:13
Again, despite belonging to Christ and the Spirit dwelling in us, the body is nonetheless dead because of its sinful nature, which dwells together beside us in the same body, as Paul says, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells" Rom 7:18a Though we are no long viewed as being inside or controlled by our sinful nature. The NIV says it this way "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." Thus while freed from control of our sinful nature, the presence and influence is still there as Paul described in Romans 7. ("It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." Rom 7:17) Consequently though freed from slavery to the sinful nature, the believer will continue to experience a struggle with the sinful nature with regards to influence over one's behavior. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Gal 5:17
BUT just as the sinful nature influences the behavior of the saint, so does the Spirit of God who dwells in us. Thus he says to Christians, "Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Gal 5:16 Having been made righteous through faith in Christ, and have a destiny of righteous living, the Spirit helps us to walk in that righteousness.
The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources
