Life through Spirit – Romans 8:1-17
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 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 to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 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. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since 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, though 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 from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 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. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
What does the Passage Say?
V. 1-4 Eugene Peterson calls the relationship between God, law, and people a ‘fateful dilemma.’ For God to restore the relationship with people, God had to solve the problem. The Message says, “God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problems as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that” (v. 3-4 The Message)
V. 5-11 Realm of Flesh and Spirit.
Paul says that there are two ways of living; Flesh and Spirit. He says that having one’s mind focused on the Flesh will lead to death. If we have our mind set on the ‘fractured human nature,’ it is true that we will not experience life.
Paul says to the believers, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (v. 9 NIV). I believe every believer has the Spirit of God, and we are asked to bear the fruit of life in this world obsessed to the flesh.
V. 12-17 Paul says that we have an obligation to live according to the Spirit. The Spirit leads our life and also confirms that we are children of God. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (v. 14 NIV). Through the Spirit, we can freely call God ‘Abba Father.” We live in the restored relationship.
What does this mean to us?
We need to be attentive to the life living according to the Spirit. Holy Spirit is dwelling in our lives. If it wasn’t for the Spirit, we were not justified as children of God. It says, “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (v. 9b NIV). We call this Justifying Grace.
Now, we are to be more aware of the Spirit, who lives in us and transforms us. When we are aware of this Spirit, and when we allow the Spirit to work in our lives, the Spirit raise us from the ‘fractured human nature,’ in restoring the image of God, in our lives. We call this journey of transformation, receiving the ‘Sanctifying Grace.’
Are you willing to allow to Spirit to change you for God’s purpose?
Lord, we invite the Holy Spirit to change our life for your glory. Restore the image of God in our lives, and shine your light through us today.
In Christ Name, Amen.
What are your thoughts?
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