The Hope of The Spirit

Romans 8:9-11

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.

               Right after Paul outlines the dark nature of the flesh—the sin nature of humanity and our selfish desires—he brings it back to those that are in the Spirit, those who have peace, hope, and freedom. This Spirit is revealed to be the Spirit of God and of Christ. The Spirit that releases us from the flesh which cannot know God is the Spirit of God. Paul shows that the Spirit can only be found through Christ who brings life. Paul clarifies here again that “flesh” is not physical flesh, our bodies; it is a mind focused on the flesh, which is sin because the body is dying from sin, so it is not a physical death but a spiritual one. Paul is referring to the third part of the trinity here. The Spirit is not in him to begin with but the act of Christ Jesus raising from the dead allows the Spirit of God to fill him (and us).

Then, Paul makes this interchange. The body, being us in our normal state, is dead because of sin but we can be made alive through the Spirit of God which contrasts sin with righteousness. Paul shows that death turns into life as he turns from the body, which is himself, to the Spirit which is from God. Paul is still showing us that theme from the first sentence of the chapter. There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus because the Spirit of God brings righteousness to our mortal bodies because the Spirit dwells in us.

               The first sentence here is a declarative—you are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. That means you, Christian, are in the Spirit which is the only thing that can nullify the mind of the flesh. How does this power come about? Through Jesus Christ in us and not by our own power. We see that we might still have death in our mortal bodies but at the same time we will be kept alive in the Spirit. Take heart, Christian, that the spirit of God maintains us not through our own power but through the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. This same power that can cause resurrection lives inside of us, not for us to harness but for our use to live in Jesus and be righteous before God. It is important to note that all of this is possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. We need to live like we have that same power from the resurrection in us not through any power of our own but because of Jesus Christ in us.

               In the same way there is hope for those that do not have Jesus. He is there, ready to indwell you with the Spirit, going from knowing only the sinful nature to righteousness through Jesus. Having life is as simple as accepting Jesus to come take control of your life. If you do not have Jesus it might seem like you have a great life, but you are in fact dead. The hope and resurrection are not just in living but having a complete life. Jesus says He has not only come to give life but give it to the fullest (John 10:10). In this passage we see the inner workings of this. The Holy Spirit changes a dead heart to come alive and also is able to continue to grow those who have come alive to more abundant life in Jesus Christ. Jesus is about giving life not as we know it but as God understands the concept leaving the ideas of human life behind (the mind of flesh) and looking to full life (the mind of the spirit) which in the next passage will be seen comes with its own perks too.