Romans 8:9-11 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Recap and Important Things Regarding The Spirit and the Flesh
So last time we covered the carnal mind and we learned more of what that is, and what it leads to. It’s death. It’s the emnity with God. It’s not subject to the law of God. It displeases God. I told you that a carnal mind is the state of every person’s mind until they get saved. Every unsaved person has a carnal mind and the carnal mind is a grave-digging, god-hating, law-breaking, one way ticket to hell. That’s bad news.
But the good news is verse 9. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” In the context of this passage, to be in the flesh is to be lost and to be condemned without hope, and under the power of the carnal mind. And Paul is saying to the Christian, “Hey, you are not in the flesh! You are not in this state of death, enmity, and transgression! This is not your end. You are not digging a spiritual grave. There is no enmnity seperating you from God. You are not on your way to hell!” Praise the Lord.
Now, let me explain just a few things. This is why we are Baptists. We believe that once a sinner is saved, he is always saved. Therefore, a saved person cannot have a carnal mind or be in the flesh. Alot of people think they can, but they can’t. They use that expression, “in the flesh” loosely. “Oh, I was just getting in the flesh… Ha Ha Ha!” And that’s fine, I understand what they’re getting at. But when we’re in Romans, Chapter 8, we’ll say no such thing. Someone in the flesh is lost, and cannot please God. He is ruled, reigned, and bound by the carnal mind. If it was possible to be in that state again, then it is possible to be lost again. And if you think that’s possible, you are living beneath your privileges. You might want to consider getting on board.
Now you are in one of two states. You are either in the flesh and friends with it; or your are out of the flesh and struggling against it. And likewise, you are either in the Spirit and friends with Him, or out of the Spirit struggling against the Sprit of God. The bible says “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh…” (Genesis 6:3) When you are in the flesh, your struggle and fight is against the Spirit of God. When you are in the Spirit, your struggle and fight is against the flesh. The bible says “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other…” (Gal 5:17) So which ever one you are in will determine which one you’re fighting against, and which one you’re fighting with. So when a lost person get’s saved, his struggle with the Holy Spirit has ceased and he’s made peace with God. Now listen carefully, a saved person can never get lost. Therefore his struggle with the flesh will never cease and there will never be peace with the flesh, until that glorious day when we lay it down. Bless the Lord. (Read this entire paragraph again)
When you were lost, in the flesh, with a carnal mind, you followed after the flesh. But when you got saved, God gave you another Comforter and he said he will be in you. The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God takes up residence in your soul. And with the Holy Spirit comes the mind of the Spirit. Now that doesn’t mean that you immediately were acquainted with following after the Spirit, and were fully capable of ceasing your walk after flesh. No. You’ve followed the flesh all your life. You don’t know how to follow after the Spirit. You might have the mind of Spirit, but that doesn’t mind mean that you necessarily mind the things of the Spirit. Were you able to work trigonomic functions at the age of 2 months? Some of you all are saying, “What’s a trigonomic function?” Right? Well, being born of the Spirit is no different. Sometimes, these things take time.
I want to please God. When this is all said and done, I’d love to hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But I didn’t want that as much I do now than I did ten years ago. As I grow in the Lord, the desires of God have become more precious to me. I can say more honestly now than before what David said, “I delight to do thy will, O my God.”
When a sinner is saved, he repents of the flesh and the carnal mind. A preacher once said, “Repentance is the vomit of the soul.” But sadly, “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” (Prov 26:11) Sometimes, it takes some time to gain wisdom. Just because one is not in the flesh does not mean that he hasn’t learned to not walk after it and instead walk after the Spirit. Just because one does not have a carnal mind, does not mean he doesn’t struggle with the tendencies and temptations of the flesh.
It’s much like the Spirit. Paul said, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal 5:25) Paul makes a real clear distinction. Living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are two different things. Living in the Spirit is where you’re at. Walking after the Spirit is where you’re going. That’s pretty plain, isn’t it? Living in the Spirit is sitting in a brand new F350 dually with 4 wheel drive. It feels good, Amen. But walking after the Spirit, minding the things of the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit, is like putting the key in that ignition, cranking that engine, putting it in gear, stepping on that gas, rolling on, hauling that load and getting the work done. It’s much more satisfying.
Likewise, living in the flesh and walking after the flesh are two different things. Living in the flesh, having a carnal mind, is where you are at. And walking after the flesh, being carnally minded, is where you’re going. So that being said, what exactly is a carnal Christian? What is a Christian that is walking after the flesh. What is a saved person in the Spirit doing walking after the flesh? Isn’t that what Paul asked? He said, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect in the flesh?” So my question again, what is a a saved person in the Spirit doing walking after the flesh? He’s essentially trying to go somewhere that he cannot go. You’re trying to get somewhere that you’ll never get! You’re spinning your wheels. You’re going in circles. That’s like that little ant on the edge of a glass that goes around and around and around and around.
I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to spin my wheels for Jesus, amen? I want to go somewhere with God. I want to walk with God. I want God to walk with me. The husbandman in the Song of Songs said to his beloved, “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” O that’s where I want to go. Paul said that they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But then he says, “But ye are not in the flesh!” If you are saved today. If God has brought you into his marvelous light, and washed you with his blood, and put you into the family of God, I want to say that ye are not in the flesh!
“Preacher, I got a problem with anger…” Ye are not in the flesh. “Preacher just can’t forgive my brother…” Ye are not in the flesh. “Preacher I got a problem with swearing…” Ye are not in the flesh. “Preacher I just can’t seem to understand this bible…” Ye are not in the flesh. What are you trying to do? Are you trying to go to hell? Well you’re not going. Ye are not in the flesh. “Preacher I don’t think I can do right before God, I can’t please God…” Are you saved? Born again? Well? Ye are not in the flesh, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about, because if your are saved, you are in the Spirit. You are not dead in the flesh, you are living in the Spirit.
The flesh and the Spirit are worlds apart. Jesus said his kingdom is from another world. Can I say this? If you are saved, brother/sister, you are in the Spirit World. “Did you say Spirit World, preacher”? Yes! You are in the Spirit World. You know those Indians? They smoked that pipe, the peace pipe. If they smoked enough of that stuff, before you know it, they were in the Spirit World. You say that sounds crazy. It is crazy! You want to get crazy? Let’s get crazy! I tell you what’s crazy. Trying to go to hell when you can’t ever get there! Ye are not in the flesh, why are you still walking after it?
But ye are in the Spirit! “Preacher, I don’t understand…” Just believe it. Listen, just because we don’t understand it, doesn’t mean it ain’t so. You do not have to understand the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost to be saved. You do not have to go off to college and take a course in Pneumatology. What’s that? That’s the study of the Holy Ghost. Receiving the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with our understanding of the Holy Ghost, but it has everything to do with our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Saved folk are in the Spirit. Amen. Believe it. Believe it. Believe it. That’s called faith, faith, faith! “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4)
Introduction to the If-Then Statements of Romans 8
Amen. So that kinda puts a cap on what we preached about last time, and gets us into what we’re preaching about today. I’d like to preach for a few minutes on If-Then Statements in of Romans Chapter 8. In these three verses we are covering there are four If-Then Statements to consider. You may be asking what is an If-Then Statement? If-then means much to me because of the time I spent doing computer programming. I realize that most people do not have experience with programming languages. So I’m going to spend a lot of time on this to make sure everybody gets it. Just kidding.
Most all programming languages have If-Then Statements. An If-Then Statement has two parts to the statement: the If part and the then part. What an If-Then Statement does is that it analyzes an expression in the If part of the statement. This expression is called a boolean expression, not a booyah expression, a boolean expression. What’s that? It’s what you say when your out trying to scare people on Halloween. Boolean! I’m kidding again. A boolean expression is an expression that can only be one of two things. It’s either true or it’s false. If the boolean expression is true, the program will execute what is declared in the then part of the statement. If the boolean expression is false, then it skips what is in the then part of the statement and moves on. So if the boolean is true then we do the then part says to do, otherwise we do nothing. So that is what an If-Then Statement is. Simply put, if this then that.
So in my meditating on our text, I couldn’t recall another time that I saw so many If-Then Statements together in the Bible. So I wanted to take a look at those four. We’re only gonna be able to cover one today. I really purposed to hit all four today, but once I got into the first one, I couldn’t get out of it.
#1 The If-Then Statement of Mutual Indwelling
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. (9)
So we have covered many times the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We’ve been taught many times that when a person is saved, the Holy Spirit indwells you. And I just had alot to say about not being in the flesh, but being in the Spirit. What I want to point out in all this is the mutual aspect aspect of it. It’s not just Him in me, but it’s also I in Him. It’s not just “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27); but it’s you in Christ.
The text says “if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” There’s our if part of the statement. What is our boolean expression in the if part of the statement? That the Spirit of God dwell in you. This is the expression that you must analyze. That’s the expression you must determine about yourself. Is it true or false. Does the the Spirit of God dwell in you. If it’s true, the then part is to be executed. What’s the then part? “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” So we must ask ourselves if the boolean question is true? Does the Spirit of God dwell in you. Is that true or false? Well, if you are saved, then it’s true. If you’re not saved, then it’s false. If you are saved, then it’s true, and if it’s true what does that mean? The then part of the statement is executed. That means clearly that you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.
A Mutual Indwelling of Friendship
I’m just trying to make this as plain as I can. Simply put: If He’s in, then you’re in. Amen. You know what that speaks to me of? The bible says that “there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) I’m in Him, and He’s in me. If He’s in, then you’re in. I want to say this, friends stick together. If one friends goes, the other goes with him. They don’t abandon each other.
Friends are loyal to each other. Nowadays, all you hear on the news and social media out there regarding the Bible is about compromise. These people compromised their principles, compromised the values. Compromise is always talked about in a negative light. It’s always portrayed as such a bad thing to compromise. Be very careful what you hear from the media. Half of it is a lie, and the other half I don’t believe it. But I want to say this. If it wasn’t for compromise, I’d be going to hell. Some people say “God doesn’t compromise when it comes to sin!” Oh Yeah! He offered me a pretty good compromise. He said, “Let’s see here, you give me your sin, and I’ll give you my son.” I’d say that was a pretty good deal he made. Compromise requires grace. A compromise is a settlement. I’m glad that “the record’s clear today, for He washed my sins away, When the old account was settled long ago.” Yes there was a settlement made on an old rugged cross. Bless the Lord.
And now, I’m in Him, and He’s in me. But I’m not Him, and He’s not me. We’re different. That’s the truth about friends. He’s high and holy. And but a I’m a sinner. So because of that, we don’t always see eye to eye. But you see, he doesn’t just bail on me. He’s loyal to me. Therefore, I’ll be loyal to him. When I’m wrong, he gives me the benefit of the doubt. He does not just leave me, but waits for me, and is patient with me. Therefore, when I don’t understand Him, I’ll give Him the benefit of the doubt. I’m not just gonna up and leave, I’m gonna stick around until I understand Him. I’m in Him and He’s in me. It’s a mutual indwelling.
A Mutual Indwelling for Eternity
The bible says, “…know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God…” (1 Corinthians 6:19) God dwells in us. He lives here. He resides here. But it’s a mutual indwelling. That means I dwell in Him. I live in God. I reside in God, in the Spirit of God. I know that’s hard to fathom. I’m his temple and He’s my temple.
This mutual dwelling relationship is forever. Jesus said “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, Even the Spirit of truth… for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14:16,17) My body is the temple of the Holy Ghost now and forever. “Well what about when I die when my body turns to dust?” I don’t know. Do I have to know everything? Job did say, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” (Job 19:26) He shall dwell in us forever.
Yet so shall I dwell in him forever. “David said, “I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever.” (Psalm 61:4) I don’t think that David was talking about a tent made with hands. The tabernacle is the body. Peter said, “Know that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle..” (2 Peter 1:14) The tabernacle is the body. Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) The temple is the body. John said when he got a glimpse of heaven, “And I saw no temple therein:for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” (Rev 21:22) The Lamb will be our temple.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like stay at people’s houses. I’d rather just get a hotel. And people are really gracious you know… at first. After the third day, things change. You have to exercise some prudence about these matters. It can get taxing when someone is living with you for a long period of time. But God can handle it, Amen? God invites us to abide in him forever. And not with him, but in him. The bible says that He “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians2:6) He said in Christ Jesus. I used to picture myself sitting on some cloud up there swinging my feet back and forth. But I’m not gonna be on some cloud, the Bible says in Christ Jesus! Go ahead and look up the Greek on that one. In means in. I am God’s temple forever and God is my temple forever; a mutual indwelling for eternity.
A Mutual Indwelling of Protection
It’s also an mutual indwelling of protection. David said, “I will trust in the covert of thy wings.” (Psalm 61:4) David said, ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1) In the Spirit is a place of protection. In God it’s safe. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which aresent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…” (Matthew 23:337) To be in the Spirit, in Christ, in God is to be sheltered and protected; to have a home, to be protected. There was something my wife said the other day. We were discussing how to enclose our porch, and we were trying to figure out what to enclose it with. How much did we want people to see in? How much were we wanting to see out? She said this, “If I can’t see clearly what’s out there, then I’d just rather be hid.” David said “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me…” (Psalm 27:5)
And Just as God hides me in Him, I will Hide him in me. Just as I find shelter in God, God can find shelter in me. My heart should be a place of reliability, a place of trust, a place of protection. And it’s not that God needs it, but that God desires it; and that it’s so. You think of the ark of the covenant, where God dwelt between the cherubims. The Jews took great care to protect the ark. The ark was cherished and always kept safe. They fought battles to protect it. Do you remember when they fought the Philistines and they took the ark of God out there to battle, it was stolen from the children of Israel? The bible says that Eli the priest trembled for the ark of God waiting for the news of the battle. He wasn’t worried about Israel. He was worried about that safety of ark of God.
When the messenger came back from the battle and told him that his sons, Hophni and Phineas had fallen in battle, it didn’t phase him. But when they said the ark was gone, Eli fell off his seat backwards, broke his neck, and died. And when his daughter in law, the wife of Phineas who was with child, heard that the ark of God was taken, Eli was dead, and so was her husband, she travailed and gave birth to a son. They told her not to fear because she has a son, but the bible says she regarded them not. She called his name Ichabod. “And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.” (1 Samuel 4:22) They failed to protect the ark of God, the presence of God. We are to be a place of protection, a place of protection, for God. O can he count on us? Can he trust us?
It’s a mutual indwelling of protection. We can trust him in the time of trouble, when our enemies surround us. David said, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (Psalm 92:2) Amen, but can he trust us. Will we stand up for Him. Will we build the walls of protection around our heart where God dwells. Will we keep him safe in his temple. Jesus once said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nest; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) Does Jesus find refuge in our heart today?
A Mutual Indwelling of Love
IF the Spirit of God dwell in you, THEN you are in the Spirit. It’s a mutual indwelling. I in Him, and Him in me. I want to say also, that it is a mutual indwelling of love. In the Song of Solomon, we see the the love of the bridegroom toward the bride, and the love of the bride toward the bridegroom. The bride says, “My beloved is mine, and I am his.” (2:16) We sing that song, “Jesus love me this I know for the bible tells me so.” Amen, but we also sing that song, “I love Jesus, hallelujah! I love Jesus, yes, i do.” John said, “We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4;19) It’s a mutual indwelling of love. I love Him, and He loves me. Listen carefully to what John said “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1 John 3:16) (That is so good, you ought to read that verse again)
Brethren, God has not hid his love for us. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He showed us how much he loved us. He wasn’t embarassed to love us. He wasn’t ashamed for his love. He showed the whole world. He didn’t hold back. He did not conceal his affections. He was lifted up high on the cross that the whole world might see that He loves us. What about us? Paul said “Christ liveth in me: and life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for.” (Galatians 2:20) Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” I’m not ashamed of my love for Him. I’ll sing. “My Jesus I love thee. I know thou art mine. For thee all the follies of sin I resign! I love thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow! I’ll love thee in life! I will love thee in death! And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath!” I’m not ashamed that I love Jesus.
God’s love for us compelled him to Calvary. The bible says Jesus set his face to Jerusalem. He told his disciples that he’s going to Jerusalem, He’s going to suffer many things and die. The disciples didn’t like it. They tried to stop him. He said, “No Peter, thou desirest the things of man. You don’t understand. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. I’m on a journey of love, and not even the devil is going to get in my way.” He was compelled by love. Does your love for Christ compel you? Does it move you? The Spiritual mind is a life-driving, self-denying, God-fearing, Christ-serving, soul-satisfying journey to a heavenly kingdom. It’s love that drives us. It,s love for him that constrains us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. We don’t serve him because we have to. We serve him because we love to. I in Him and Him in me. It’s a mutual dwelling of love.
Conclusion
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” If the Spirit of God dwells in me, then I dwell in him. I’m in the Spirit as sure as the Spirit is in me. If we have a hard time with the if, we’re gonna have a hard time with the then. (Repeat that) If that boolean expression comes up true one day, and false the next day, that means, we’re going to be skipping over the then part of the If-Then Statement.
The truth is that the boolean is always true for the Christian. How well we grasp and believe the truth of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost will determine how well we live our life in the Spirit, how well we walk after the Spirit. Paul said, if we live in the Spirit, then walk in the Spirit. We will walk in the Spirit as much as we are aware and conscience that we live in the Spirit. We live in the Spirit, just as sure as the Spirit lives in me. Him in me, and I in Him.