There Is News In The Truth

Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

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Last time we preached in Romans, we made an emphasis on the fact that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Christ; the Spirit of the person Jesus Christ. I want to say it does matter what we believe. Some people don’t believe that the Holy Spirit is a person. They teach that he is God’s force or God’s power. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the person Jesus Christ. I got to thinking about when Jesus was on the cross, and he cried with a loud voice and said with his last breathe, “It is finished!”, the bible says that he gave up the ghost. I want to say that the Holy Ghost was that Ghost. It was Jesus’ ghost. It was Jesus’ Spirit. God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son, Jesus Christ, into our hearts. (Gal 4:6)

But Paul goes one step further in verse ten. It’s not “If the Spirit be in you?” It’s not, “If the Spirit of Christ be in you?” No, he says, “If Christ Be in You?”

• “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor 13:5)
• “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col 1:27)

If Christ be in you? What a blessed question? If The First and The Last be in you? If the Alpha and Omega be in you? If the Prince of Peace be in you? If the Lamb of God be in you? If the only Potentate be in you? If the only begotten Son of God be in you? If the King of Kings and Lord of Lords be in you?

If Christ be in you? What a blessed thought? If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. This is very similar to Psalm 51.

• Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. (Psalm 51:5,6)

The first part is the great terrible truth: I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother concieve me. Paul said, I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. He said SIN dwelleth in me. He said I am carnal, sold under sin. He said evil is present with me, sin is in my members. He said that the wages of sin is death. He said sin entered into the world and DEATH by sin. That’s bad news. He said ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

We’re in bad shape. We’re going down the wrong road. Every imagination of the thoughts and intents of our heart is only evil continually. We’ve gone through the wide gate, and we’re traveling down the broadway to destruction. We are a fallen race. Our bed is in hell. Hell moves for us and opens her mouth for us. Sin that is in us is our surety for the lake of fire. That is the truth. Every born again Christian knows this to be true.

But every born again Christian also knows that God is not willing that anyone should perish, but all should come to the knowledge of the truth. Every born again Christian knows that God HATES sin, but he also so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever beliveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The first truth is that I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. But the second truth is “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.”

We were born in iniquity and there we would stay but for the desires of God. In sin we were conceived, and there we would stay and wallow, but for the work of God. So in Romans our first truth is that the body is dead because of sin. And death is all we’d have if not for the desire and the work of God. The second truth is that if Christ be in you, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. In this scripture we see, that if you’ve been born again, you’ve passed from death unto life.

And every saved, born-again child of God, washed in the blood of the Lamb has got this testimony. We’ve passed from death unto life. And there’s a difference between life and death. I got to witness to somebody the other day and I was telling him about the day I got saved and he asked me, “Is it better?” Is life better than death? I was a walking dead man. I had a malignant cancer of the soul. I was like those Pharisees

• Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (Matt 23:27,28)

Amen, that what I was. But I got to thinking the other day as they were singing that song Thanks to Calvary. The first verse goes like this:

Today, I went down to the place where I used to go
Today, I saw the same old crowd I knew before
And when they asked me what had happened, I tried to tell them,
Thanks to Calvary, I don’t come here anymore.

And that place, you can’t help think of a bar or a honky tonk or a gambling joint. And usually people that have come out of that can relate to this song. And you know their testimonies and you see them lift up their hands and weep and thank God that they don’t go to those places anymore. But when I hear this song, I never went to those places. I was never into booze and partying, and gambling, and drugs and things like that. But still, something in my heart stirs up when I hear this song, and I find myself there weeping along with them, thanking God for what he’s done in my life.

The other day as they were singing that song, I remembered that whited sepulchre. I remembered the dead men’s bones. I remembered the graveyard. I remembered that Gadarene full of devils. The bible says that when Jesus come out of the ship, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. The bible says he had his dwelling among the tombs. And always, night and day, he was in the tombs! In the tombs. Oh, but when Jesus came by my way… When Jesus came to the grave, and cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

• And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. (John 11:44)

I didn’t come out of the bar. I didn’t come out of the honky tonk. I came out of the graveyard. I came out of the whited sephulchre. I passed from death unto life. God asked Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

• Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: (Ezekiel 37:4,5)
• So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom 10:17)
• How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Rom 10:14,15)

Thank God for the gospel. Thank God for the glad tidings, the good news. We don’t have to live in the bad news. Even though you were shapen in iniquity, conceived in sin, you don’t have to stay that way. God desires different for you. Even though the body is dead because of sin, you don’t have to stay in that condition.

Paul asked, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” IF CHRIST BE IN YOU, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death… God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in  us.” (Rom 8:2-4) The Spirit is life because of righteousness.

I want you to see this. Paul said that he was crucified WITH Christ. He said:

• Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 6:6-11)

Look, in Adam we all sinned, but in Christ that sin was nailed to a cross. That sin was paid for. The wages of sin is death, and that death took place in the person of Jesus Christ on Calvary. We are no longer under the death sentence of the law. We are no longer under the condemnation of the law. The righteousness of the law is not being good. The righteousness of the law is not the absence of transgression, it’s the payment of that transgression. The righteousness of the law is the blood. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. That righeousness was fulfilled and finished when Christ died on the cross. And it’s fulfilled in you, when you believe in the name of the only begotten of the Father. When you put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, when that blood is applied, that righteousness goes to work in your body.

That sin is condemned by the death of Jesus Christ, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Because the law was satisfied. Jesus said that he came that we might have life and that we might have it more abundantly. Every born again child of God can has that life, can live that abundant life, not because he’s good, not because he deserves it, but because Jesus wrought righteousness inside of us. He satisfied the law. We’re free from the law. We’re free to walk in the newness of life.

• But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. (Rom 7:6)

It is the greatest disappearing acts of all time. Our sin was put on Jesus. The bible says that he was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Our sin was laid upon him and in him. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him” (Isaiah 53:5) I used to think that all my sins, every single one, was nailed to the cross, but that’s not it. Jesus was nailed to the cross and my sin was in him. He took my sin and wrapped it up in his flesh, and they nailed HIM to the cross of shame. And up there, on that cross, Jesus died for my sins. The bible says “for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” (Gal 3:13)

They pulled that lifeless body down from the cross, and laid it in a tomb. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. And when Jesus walked out of that tomb, my sins were gone. The greatest mystery of all time. God said, “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Heb 8:12) The cross is empty and the tomb is empty.

You ask me why I am happy so I’ll just tell you why, Because my sins are gone; And when I meet the scoffers who ask me where they are, I say, my sins are gone. They’re underneath the Blood, on the Cross of Calvary, As far removed as darkness is from dawn; In the sea of God’s forgetfulness, that’s good enough for me, Praise God, my sins are gone.

If Christ be in you, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. When I found that verse about the tree and cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree, Galatians 3:13, there’s more to that verse.

• Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13)
• And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)
• But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)
• But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (John 15:26)
• Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, thatshall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:7-14)
• And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:4,5)
• But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
• Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:37-39)
• And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:9-13)
• Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:10-14)
• In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:37-39)

Acts1:15 says that in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples when they were going to replace Judas. The bible says that the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty. I wonder if they were all there on the day of Pentecost. I wonder if there were some that missed Pentecost. How would you have felt if you stayed home that day? What if you forsook the assembling of yourselves on that day of Pentecost when God filled the them with the Spirit and 3000 people got saved?

• And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, puttingtheir hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand:… (Judges 7:4-7)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romans 8:9 “…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

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Foreword

Now if you take the positive light of this statement, we are to understand that if any man have the Spirit of Christ, he is His. If you have the Spirit of Christ, then the Spirit of Christ has you. I wanted to entitle this message the If-Then Statement of Mutual Ownership; mutual possession. In the Song of Solomon, the bride says, ‘My beloved is mine, and I am his.” (2:16) Last message, we introduced these next three verses as the If-Then Statements of Romans 8. And we spent the entire message on the The If-The Statement of Mutual Indwelling.  I truly wanted to stay along these lines, however, I believe God has had me study down another path. If we come back to this concept of ownership, then that’s great. But I’m not going to force us that way. I want to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. What really stood out to me in this verse was the expression the Spirit of Christ.

Introduction

Now if we stay within the context of Romans chapter 8, there is no doubt that the Spirit of Christ is in fact, the Holy Spirit. Of course we know, the Holy Spirit is known throughout the bible by different names: The Spirit, The Holy Ghost, The Spirit of God, The Spirit of Your Father, The Spirit of Our Father, The Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Truth, The Spirit of Holiness, The Spirit of Life, The Spirit of the Living God, The Holy Spirit of Promise, The Spirit of Glory. We can learn more about the Spirit, by studying the names of the Spirit.

Some of us maybe have seen this done with the Lord God. He is referred to many different ways in the Old Testament. He has many names: El Shaddai, El Elyon, Adonai, Yahweh, Jehovah-Nissi, Raah, Rapha, Shammah, Tsidkenu, Mekoddishkem, Jireh, Shalam, Saboath, Elohim. The names of the God can be studied and much can be learned of the character of God. Many messages have been preached on the names of God. But I want to say that the same things can be done of the God the Spirit. There’s something about the names that gives us insight into the character of the person it’s naming, in this case the Holy Spirit.

In this verse, the holy Spirit of Almighty God, the Spirit of God that moved upon the face of the waters before this world began, He is named the Spirit of Christ. I find this interesting because this is the first time in the Bible that he is named after the person Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the God-man, that walked this earth, born of a virgin, performed many miracles, did the will of the Father, died on the cross, rose the third day; Jesus the person. In this verse, the God the Holy Spirit is named after Jesus Christ himself; the Spirit of Christ.

I find this to be very interesting. There are four verses in your King James Bible that refer to the Holy Spirit in such a manner.

1. Romans 8:9, He is the Spirit of Christ.
2. 1 Peter 1:11, He is also the Spirit of Christ.
3. Galatians 4:6, He is the Spirit of his Son.
4. Philippians 1:19, He is the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

I want to look at these today. If we are to have, to own, to possess, the Holy Spirit, let it be known the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is whom we speak of. The Holy Spirit is not a force, a power, or a thing. Let us not be as the sorcerer Simon in the book of Acts. The bible says that he himself believed and was baptized. When he saw the apostles lay their hands on some from Samaria and the Holy Ghost had fallen on them, he was impressed and offered the apostles money. He said, “Give me also this power!” “But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou has neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.” (Act 8:20,21) Simon was very much interested in the power of the Holy Spirit, but had neglected the person of the Holy Spirit. That person is the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and our Savior.

I – Having the Spirit of Christ

Romans 8:9 Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Such a simple verse, yet so clear. I remember when I heard the preacher say, “I’ll tell you in 5 seconds if you’re saved and on your way to heaven, or lost and going to hell!” And he quoted this verse. “…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” I want to make a distinction at this time, that Paul is not asking if we have a Christ-like Spirit, but do we have the Spirit of Christ. It would have been very easy to go down that road. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We ought to examine our spirit. Is it Christ-like? Do we have a spirit of humility, meekness, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy? We should most definitely desire that our spirits be Christ-like. But there is a difference between a Christ-like spirit, and the Spirit of Christ.

This may be where many have gone astray. We may to some degree have success in emulating the Lord Jesus Christ. We practice humility. We practice meekness, forgiveness, compassion. We try to be merciful. And don’t get me wrong. We should. But just because we do may mean we have the Spirit of Christ, but it may not mean we have the Spirit of Christ. Some naturally have a meek and quiet Spirit. Some have practiced it and have grown good at it. The bible says, “Let a man examine himself…” (1 Cor 11:28) It says “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor 13:5) David asked the Lord, “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” (Psalm26:2)

Don’t ever think that you are above being played the fool, especially by yourself. Most of the deception that we encounter in our life is brought upon us by our own selves. it’s not the world that deceiving us, it’s us that deceiving us. We want to blame the devil, and the world, and other people when we have no one to blame but ourselves. So I find it a good thing to examine yourself; to check up as some preachers say. You can fool all the people some times. You can fool some people all the time. But you can’t fool all the people all the time. And we certainly can’t fool God. The eyes of the Lord are in everyplace, beholding the good and the bad.

You talk about being fooled, even the anti-Christ will have a Christ-like Spirit. He will fool many. “Oh he won’t fool me!” You’re fooled already. I tell you, I don’t want anything that’s like Christ. I want Christ and Christ alone. Sure I want to be like Jesus, but I’d much rather just have Jesus. You see, being Christ-like, or like Christ does not commend us toward God. What commends us to God is God himself. The positive of this statement is if any man have the Spirit of Christ, he is His. If I possess God, he’ll possess me. The Bible says, “Draw nigh unto God, and he’ll draw nigh unto thee.” Acting like Christ does not make us more desirable to God or more acceptable to God. Acting like Christ is just that; acting.

How are we supposed to know then? Jesus said to his disciples, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (John 15:4) Jesus said to abide in me; no fruit except ye abide in me. Remember Simon the sorcerer: it’s not the power that we should seek, but the person. We have the Spirit of the person Jesus Christ within us, we need no power. For all power is given unto Him. So if we possess Him, he’ll possess us.

Such a simple verse, yet so clear. I remember when I heard the preacher say, “I’ll tell you in 5 seconds if you’re saved and on your way to heaven, or lost and going to hell!” And he quoted this verse. “…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” There is nothing on this earth that will commend us toward God, but God himself. The song writer wrote, “In my hands no price I bring, but simply to thy cross I cling.” Or another song, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” I want to say that there is nothing, no work, no price, no religion, nothing in this world that will commend us towards God. There is nothing that will stand. There is nothing that we can stand upon. It’s Christ and Christ alone. The only reason God has you now is because God has give you Himself. He gave His only begotten Son. He gave us His Holy Spirit. And because we now have that, he has us. Amen.

“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” If you don’t have the Spirit of the person of Jesus Christ, then God does not have you. We quote that scripture where Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:29) I want to say this. If you have not the Spirit of Christ, then you are not in Jesus hand and you’re not in the Father’s hand.

All those people in Matthew Chapter 7, that Jesus said, “I never knew you.”, all those people that prophesied, and cast out devils, and did wonderful works, all those people had one thing in common. Not a one of them had the Spirit of Christ. They had the name of Christ. They were CINOs, Christians in name only. They prophesied in his name. They cast out devils in his name. They did wonderful works in his name. They had the name of Christ, but they didn’t have the Spirit of Christ. And therefore, they didn’t belong to Jesus, and he said, I never knew you.  Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

That is why Paul said, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Who walk after the Spirit. They follow me. The Lord, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, is my shepherd. I may not be able to walk side by side in this body by the Lord Jesus Christ, but in spirit, I can clasp his hand in mine. In spirit, he’s the shade upon my right hand. In spirit, he leadeth me, O blessed thought. In spirit, I can lean upon the Lord Jesus Christ. In spirit, I can talk with him and walk with him by the way. The Spirit of the person of Christ is mine as I am his. Like the song says, “Thou who never lost a battle, Stand by me…” It’s not so much that I want to win the battle. I just don’t want to go through battle without Him beside me. It’s the Spirit of the person of Jesus Christ that stands beside me. The Messiah, the God-Man, the Miracle Worker, the Virgin Born, He who is, was, and is to come, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Prince of Peace, he stands beside me.

“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

II – Testifying the Suffering and Glory of Christ

1 Peter 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

I want to go back just a little bit so we can see where Peter is coming from in the text. This is the beginning of his letter in which he is trying to encourage the brethren and tell them many wonderful things about themselves in Christ Jesus. He refers to them as strangers or sojourners, in verse 1.  Then the elect in verse 2. Peter talks about them, the church of God, the believers in Jesus Christ.

He tells them that God the Father has begotten us again by his abundant mercy. He’s given us an inheritence that’s incorruptible, undefiled, and reserved in heaven for us. He tells us how we are kept by the power of God through faith. He tells us how we greatly rejoice through manifold temptations. He tells us how our faith will be found unto praise, honour, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. He tells us how, though we don’t wee him, we love him, we believe him, and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He tells us how we have recieved the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls.

Then, he writes a little bit about the this salvation, and it’s history. He says in verse10 “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:” Peter said that the prophets inquired of this salvation. He said that the prophets searched diligently of this salvation. And he said that they prophesied of this salvation, this grace that has come to us, his church, his people. So you see, Peter is talking about the prophets. He’s saying that this wonderful salvation; begotten by his mercy; inheritance incorruptible; reserved in heaven; the power of God; and joy unspeakable and full of glory.  This salvation is the one that the prophets had inquired, searched, and prophesied about. So understand that we are on Messianic ground as we come into this text.

Verse 11 “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” Peter said that the prophets were searching what or what manner of time. They wanted to know who or what and when the Messiah would come. Peter might have had a very keen interest in the Messiah, as many Jews did. His brother, Andrew, was a follower of John the Baptist. And of course John made it very clear that he was preparing the way for the Messiah. And when John pointed out Jesus, and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!”, two disciples, one of which was Andrew followed Jesus for a day. Then Andrew went and found his brother Peter and said, “We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” (John 1:41) “Peter, the Messiah, the one, the Christ that the prophets have spoken of, we have found him!”

Remember when Jesus asked his disciples who people said that he was? They said that some said John the Baptist, some said Elias, and some said Jeremias or one of the prophets. And Jesus said, “But whom say ye that I am?” And it was Peter that spoke up. He said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” See, I believe that Peter, and his brother Andrew, had an affinity for the prophets. For he also had searched what and what manner of time salvation would come, grace would come, the Messiah would come. This was a topic of great interest to him; the Messiah, the Christ.

And interestingly, he said, when he spoke of what the prophets were searching for, he states that “the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify…” The answers to the prophet’s inquiries and searchings were signified (evidenced by, marked by, signaled by, showed, proclaimed, declared) by who? Or what? The Spirit of Christ which was in them. The Spirit of Christ. There was someone inside the prophets that spoke. Peter later said in his second letter “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:21) More specifically, the were moved by the The Spirit of Christ.

Peter, the one who looked Jesus in the eyes, and said, “Thou art the Christ” and saw the miracles he performed, saw him walk on water, calm the sea, saw and heard him pray on the Mount of Olives, saw him crucified, buried, and raised from the dead… Peter, the one who saw the Christ said, “His Spirit, Christ’s Spirit, was in the prophets.” Which was in them. Peter said “The Spirit of my Savior was in the holy men of God, the prophets.” The reason the prophets were able to prophecy about the Christ is because the the Spirit of the Christ was in them.

Peter said, (In 2 Peter) “Look, we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. No, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. I was there on the mount with James and John. We saw his honour and glory when the Father out of heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ We have a more sure word of prophecy. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” And it was His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of His beloved Son, the Spirit of whom God is pleased with, that signified what and what manner of time. Man did not just come up with this stuff. It was Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Can I say this: The Spirit of Christ is the author, and the Man of Christ is the finisher. It was Him that wrote these things by the prophets years ago. He was in them, like He is in you today.

The Spirit of Christ which was in them.  The Spirit of Christ signified what and what manner of time. The Spirit of Christ marked, declared, or proclaimed who and when this glorious salvation, this grace that should come, would come. The the Spirit of Christ give the prophets a name, and a date? No. Read on. The bible says, “when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

When Isaiah was writing down those words, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows… He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities… the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all…”, the Spirit of Christ was signifying what and what manner of time. When David wrote in that Psalm, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” When he wrote, “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet… they look and stare upon me… They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture…”, those many years ago, as they penned those words, the Spirit of Christ which was in them was saying, “That is me! That is me!”

And again, I want you to see that this is a keen interest to Peter. Remember after Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ, and Jesus blessed him and said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…” After that, Jesus began to show his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. The bible says, “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” But Jesus turned and said unto Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me…”

Peter didn’t understand it all then. He knew that Jesus was the Christ, but he didn’t know what or what manner of time. But when he wrote this letter, he understood. Sometime after Jesus suffered and died, sometimes after that, (I believe that is was sometime after Pentecost, after he was filled with the Spirit) no doubt Peter went back to the old scriptures. He took out Isaiah, chapter 53, and he read those words, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him… He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities…” And the Spirit of Christ that was in him said, “That’s me. That’s me.”

When Peter wrote this letter, he understood it all. That’s why he said, “The Spirit of Christ signified what and what manner of time when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” I say all this to say this: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Heb 13:8) The same Spirit of Christ that testified before hand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, testifies today of the same matter. The Spirit of Christ, which is in me, is still testifying of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. He still speaks to me of the wonderful work of Christ, the amazing grace of Calvary, the thorns upon his head, the nails through his hands and feet. And he still speaks to me of his glorious resurrection in which I share. And he speaks to me of his glorious abode where he prepares for me a place. The Spirit of Christ which was in them is in me, is in his people today.

Peter, knew the Lord Jesus Christ. He had met him, abode with him, walked with him, talked with him. He knew that Jesus was the Christ. He just didn’t understand the work of Christ and what he was sent down here to do. Today, it’s the opposite. Everybody know what Jesus Christ came down to do. Everybody know that he came to give his life a ransom for a lost world. They all know, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But unlike Peter, they don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ. They’ve never met him. They don’t abide with him, They don’t walk with him, They don’t talk with him. They have not the Spirit of Christ.

III – Crying, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

The Spirit of his Son. First of all, what an amazing love that Father has for us that he would send us the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. I mean, he gave his only begotten Son that we wouldn’t perish. Has not God given us enough? God has done so much for us already. He’s given us mercy in his Son. He’s given us redemption in his Son. He’s given us peace in his Son. He’s given us so much. On top of all that, he sends forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. This is the Son that God parted heaven and called out “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is the Son that God has given all power to. This is the Son that God has declared the king of kings and lord of lords. This is the Son that conquered death, hell, and the grave. God says, “I’m gonna put my Son’s Spirit in your heart.” Why? Because we’re sons now. We’re sons now!

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:6)

Look, I understand begin saved. I understand being forgiven. I understand being washed in the blood of the Lamb. I understand God giving me eternal life. I even understand the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. All that was good in Christ is given to me. I’m not judged by my iniquity, but rather by Christ’s righteousness. I can understand much of these things. But I got to admit, I don’t understand this thing of the “adoption of sons.” I mean I know what adoption is. I know that if you adopt a boy that boy is yours now, and you are his Daddy or Mommy from here on out. I understand the concept of adoption. What I don’t understand is how I (me, Rick Alegria) can be called a child of God. I’m not fit to be called a son of God. I mean a doorkeeper is fine with me. I’ll slop the pigs. I’ll clean the horse stables.

I can say like Paul, “There’s no good thing in me.” I can say like Peter, “Depart from me, for I’m a sinful man.” I can say like Isaiah, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips…”  I can say “Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me…” I can say all that, but what he says to me is, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” (Song of Solomon 4:7) John said, “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God..” (1 John 3:1) When I got saved, I didn’t ask God to be my Father. I didn’t ask God that I might be his son. I simply said, “God be merciful to me a sinner!”

And in God’s mercy, he has seen fit to not just save me, not just forgive me and give me everlasting life, but to make me his child. What good is everlasting life, if we can’t be connected to him in someway. In God’s mercy, to as many as received them, gave he power to become the sons of God. I’m so glad that I believed on his name. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..” I just wanted the weight removed. I just wanted to lay my burden down. I just wanted mercy. I just didn’t want to go to hell. I just wanted to be rescued.

That day I turned from sin to Him, the precious love of God moved in.

The blood applied and I became a child of God.

Not one thing that i’ve done, all the praise goes to God’s son.

I’m so thankful for the love He’s shown to me.

What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God? “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Rev 21:7) “…I will recieve you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (Ephesians 6:17,18)

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts…” Why do we have the Spirit of his Son? Simply because we we are sons. I’ve said before many times that the only thing that’s holy in me, is the Holy Spirit that dwells in me. Likewise, the only thing that commends me to God as his son, is the Spirit of his Son that dwells in my heart. Our text: “…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” O, how we must have the Spirit of his Son.

The bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” I want to say this: Without the Spirit of His Son, it is impossible to please God. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said “Behold the Lamb of God.” and God said, “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” John pointed to the only way to please God, and that is through the Son. Yes, it’s faith that pleases God, but it’s faith in the Son of God. That’s why Paul said, “And the 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 me.”

If we are ever going to please God, it’s faith. Remember, we’re preaching about serving in the newness of spirit. We’re preaching about bringing forth fruit unto God, pleasing God. Remember, Paul was saying earlier, “For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Paul’s got a will to please God, but he can’t find a way to do it. In chapter 8, Paul introduces that way. That way is the Spirit. That way is the Spirit of his Son. Would you believe that God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts? Is there something inside of you that cries, Abba, Father?

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (Romans 8:14-16)

We’ll cover this more in depth when we hit these verses. But what I do want to say is that the Sprit of God that leads us is the Spirit of his Son. The Spirit of adoption is the Spirit of his Son. The Spirit that bears witness with our spirit is the Spirit of the his Son. It’s by the Spirit of his Son, that we pray, “Our Father, which art in heaven…” And only by the Spirit of his Son can we come to know the Father. The only Father we’ve truely known are our earthly Fathers; imperfect children with imperfect fathers, and hence an imperfect love between the two. I believe alot of us transfer our knowledge of our earthly fathers to our heavenly fathers. We lean on our own understanding, and miss the perfect love of our Father in heaven; for Spirit of his perfect Son dwells within us. And only in Him we can come to know and love the Father. His ways are above our ways. We are but a sorry excuse for a Father, and a sorry excuse for a son.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: (John 14:8-11)

We preached last week of the mutual indwelling of the Holy Spirit, If he’s in me, then I’m in him. It goes even further than that. In the Spirit of his Son, we can be in the Father, and the Father in us. it’s in the Son that the Father’s will is done. It’s in the Son that the work of the Father is done. And it’s in the Son that the Father is glorified. Can we love the Father as Jesus loved the Father? Do we cry Abba, Father? That’s an emphatic name of endearment and love, a filial affection.

“…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Having the Spirit of Christ, is having the Spirit of his Son in your heart that cries Abba, Father. Knowing that the Spirit of his Son dwells in my heart, brings a new meaning to scripture where John said, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” Do you have the Spirit of Christ. Remember, we’re not preaching about having a Christ-like spirit. We’re preaching on having the Spirit of his Son dwelling, living, abiding in our hearts. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

IV – Supplying the Spirit of Jesus Christ

Philippians 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

This verse somehow I skipped when I was covering the Things of the Spirit. I remember while preaching through, I came across this verse and wondered, “How in the world did I miss this verse.” And I thought it to be such an interesting verse; the supply of the Spirit. So God is the God of second chances. God has allowed us another opportunity to cover this verse.

So here’s a little background. This letter to the Philippians was supposedly written while Paul was in prison. And he explains to the Philippians that what is happening to him has fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. He said, Even though I’m in bonds, I’m able to preach the gospel wherever I go; in the palace and in all other places. And he explains that his imprisonment has also emboldened the brethren, and they are “waxing confident” and “are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” So even though he’s in bonds, he rejoices and will rejoice because Christ is preached.

I believe, judging by what he’s written, that he believed that it was the end of the line for him; that he was most likely going to die. He said, “For I am in a strait betwixt two,having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” He said, “I want to go, but you need me here.” He wrote those wonderful words, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul was saying, I have nothing to lose here. They may hang me. They may crucify me. They may burn me at the stake. It may be a little suffering here, but what awaits me is eternal glory. How can I lose?

So it’s in this state that Paul says these words. “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” So, obviously, Paul is in a difficult situation. He’s in prison. Nobody wants to be in prison. But I think what he’s saying is “There’s two things that are gonna get me through this: your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Now the first one, your prayers, I’m not going to cover. We need the prayers of others. Amen. But what I want to look at is in this difficult time is that Paul notes that it’s the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ that’s gonna see him through this.

I want to remind us that Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” And bible goes on to say that “this spake he of the Spirit…” I just want to point out that Jesus said to come unto me. He said he that believeth on me. The rivers of living water are contigent upon what you do with Jesus Christ. Did you come to Him. did you believe on Him. It is Him that turns on the fountain. It is Him that controls the supply. It is Him that lets it run. It’s is Him that controls the flow. It is Him that pours out his Spirit upon all flesh, as Joel and Peter said. It is Jesus that will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, as John told us.

And I want to remind us that the bible says to be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. That was Paul who wrote that as he wrote to the church in Ephesus. Paul was filled with the Spirit on the Street that was called Straight in the house of Judas. Paul was filled with the Spirit when he confronted Elymus the sorcerer. Paul was filled with the Spirit after the persecution that arose in Antioch. Him and Barnabas were expelled out of the coasts, and the bible says that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote about being filled with the Spirit. It was a very real and present condition in his life, and he knew much about it.

I believe that is what he is referring to when he speaks of the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. What we must see is that when Paul was in prison, when he was going through this difficult time, it wasn’t some great scheme that would see him through this. It wasn’t some great plan that would get him out. It wasn’t some high paid legal counsel. He wasn’t on the phone with David Gibbs from Christian Law Association. And he wasn’t asking and looking for some miracle.

There were only two things that he was interested in, and that was the prayers of God’s people, and the filling of the Holy Ghost. Those are the things that are would get him through. Paul did not even desire life. He was thinking about the gain of death. He did not desire freedom. He wanted the blessed fullness and filling of the Holy Spirit, and more specifically, the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

I can see Paul, as he wrote this, the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, his mind went back to that day when he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus road. That bright light shown from heaven. He fell down to the ground and said, “Who are thou, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I AM JESUS!” Paul said “I need a more of Him. I need a steady supply of the Spirit of the Jesus Christ. I need the glory of Jesus Christ. I need Jesus high and lifted up. I need Jesus to shine his light before me everyday! I need the supply more than I need anything else”

When you are in custody, you have little to no possessions. Paul had no home to call his own. He had no personal bedroom with all his stuff, his bed, his books, his lamp, his things. He owned no dishes.  He owned no clothes. He had no possessions to enjoy. But I’ll tell you what he did have. He had the infinite, unwavering, inexhaustible supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples, “I will be you ALWAY!” That means Jesus will be with you ALL THE WAY! When I’m nearing my time to go. When I get to be like Paul, and I’m in a strait betwixt two places. When I know that my time here on earth is short, and heaven is just ahead… I want to say, Praise God for doctors, I hope I have a good one. But the one thing I want is the supply of the Spirit. When it’s time to go, that what I want. I don’t want to be filled with drugs. I want to be filled with Holy Ghost of Jesus Christ. I want to have the Spirit of Christ, that he might have me.

Conclusion of the Matter

Paul said, “That I may know him…” Sure I’d like to see the power of God in my life. I’d like to see him working in my family, in my church, in my preaching. But I want to know him, the person Jesus Christ. Thank God I have the Spirit of Jesus Christ within me that I might know him.

I hope that some of this was a help to someone here today. I know we talk about the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity, as if he’s someone different from the Father or the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But to me, it’s helpful to know that He’s not. He’s the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the Son of God. And if you see the Son, you see the Father. If you have the Son, you have the Father.

 

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.

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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.