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)