Lesson   60  October 27, 2002

Ų      Rom 8:9   The reality of  the Believer's status; 

 

Begins with a statement of fact then follows with how we know this!

However, YOU, [yourselves] are [eivmi keep on being, always true] not in the flesh but [avlla.] in the Spirit,

 

 

The H/S becomes the basis for the reality of vs:4 in us, empowering,  energizing us so we're able to live the Christian life.

 

 

How we know this, Paul states in the next phrase; if indeed [ei;per      assumes as true]   the Spirit of God dwells in you. 

 

 

 

-   Point is that as a believer we are now to live not in the sphere of the flesh, [Rom. 6, its power has been broken]  but in the sphere of the Spirit, one in which the fruit of the Spirit is produced, this is now to be the norm for the life.

 

 

 

How important is the indwelling of the Spirit?

But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Him.

 

 

 

 

Ų      8:10  And if [1cc] Christ is in you, though the body is dead [subject to death] because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

 

 

We are no longer dead to God, we have eternal life; so what's in view when he says we're dead?

 

 

What one thing will justification and sanctification never cure??

 

 

Our connection with Adam has been severed, we're in Christ, we have His life, yet at some point we're going to die!

 

 

The power of the new spiritual life in Christ, conveys 2 truths  here; 

#1  that we have life in the sense of deliverance from condemnation, servitude to the Sin nature, and we can enjoy that now.

#2  in the future we will experience resurrection life that will bring transformation of this body itself.

 

When you believed in Christ, the perfect righteousness of God was credited to your account;          

 

Ų      8:11  The reminder that since the body is still subject to death need cause no alarm or despair to the believer. 

 

But if [1cc] the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you [and He does]

 

This will be the final act of our redemption, when our bodies are glorified like our Savior's body.

 

 

Ų      So to be "in the Spirit" means that we as Christians have the dynamic of the Spirit available to us that enables us to live as God wants us to live.

 

Ų      Our new life "in the Spirit" produces four new dimensions in relation­ships: (1) the personal; (2) the interpersonal; (3) the revelational; and (4) the motivational.

 

(1)   The Personal Dimension of Life in the Spirit

Not only do we receive all the benefits of our new position in Christ including the transfer from "in the flesh" to "in the Spirit" when we believe the gospel, but we also place ourselves under the daily obligation to begin living according to the Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2)   The Interpersonal Dimension of Life in the Spirit

When we are walking by the Spirit, in fellowship with the Spirit, we are also immersed in the body of Christ, the church.

 

 

 

 

The church is the community of the Spirit.  Christians must recognize that the transfer from Adam and from flesh not only re­solves the vertical alienation with God but also as we grow in the Word and learn to apply it, it also handles the horizontal alienation with our fellow human beings.

 

 

 

(3)   The Revelational Dimension of Life in the Spirit

All of the ethical sections  [these are the so-called paranetic sections]  of the New Testament are all revelational of what life in the Spirit entails. (detail the will of God)