How would you describe a Christian in one word, phrase, or sentence? Think about that for a second. How would you describe a Christian: “A Christian is someone who…” These three verses are so important as they give us a remarkable answer to this question. 

A Christian is someone in whom the Spirit of God dwells.

That is what a Christian is. And if you are a Christian, this is most emphatically true of you! God, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. This is an extraordinary thing to consider. But first we need to backpedal and work our way toward this. I want to remind you why Paul is bringing this up. Two weeks ago we looked at verses 5-8, which talked about living according to the flesh (“the sinful nature”) versus living according to the Spirit (God’s Spirit). And we looked at how these two phrases are used to describe the non-Christian and the Christian. The non-Christian is the one who lives according to the sinful nature. And the Christian is one who lives according to the Holy Spirit. And remember how living according to the flesh was described?

Those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. In other words, they are worldly minded. They think about and are moved by the things of this world only. God is not in their thoughts at all. The mind set on the flesh is death - it leads to death. For the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. Those who live according to the flesh are at war with God. They hate him. Now listen, they may be really nice people, but when confronted with the God who exists, those who are in the flesh are resistant to Him. And how do we know? Verse 8 says, “for [the mind set on the flesh] does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot.” How can you sense the hostility? An animus to God’s law, to his ways. Now I hasten to say that Christians can resist God, we can be resistant to His ways. We are not perfect. BUT the person who lives according to the flesh - that is the power source for their life - they are constantly at odds with what God says, his standard for what is good and evil, right and wrong, true and false, etc. 

Finally Paul finishes his discussion on the flesh by making this bleak statement that, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” They cannot. It does not say they will not. That’s true, but it goes deeper. Those who are in the flesh “cannot please God”. They are not able. 

This is where verse 9 takes a turn, and this is where we will focus today. Look at verse 9: 

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit…

I think this is what is going on here. After laying out the stark contrast of living by the Spirit and living by the flesh and the really bleak and dark prospects for those who live according to the flesh, Paul wants to assure those he is writing to of something different for them! Remember Romans 8 it about assurance! It is about assuring the Christian of their standing with God, producing a boldness and confidence that we are His forever. 

So Paul says, “I am sure of something different about you! You are not in the flesh. You are in the Spirit!” And then he puts this condition on it: “IF in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you!” And that is what the rest of this passage is all about. It’s all about the indwelling Spirit. The Christian is fundamentally a man, woman, boy, or girl in whom the Spirit of God dwells. 

Now you may have noticed that the Spirit who dwells in us is called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. And then you see the phrase, “if Christ is in you.” What is going on here? This is trinitarian talk. The reality of the Trinity - that there is One God, three Persons, working in perfect harmony for our salvation. For the NT Christians, the trinity was not just an abstract theological truth, it was something that was to be enjoyed and known experienced. So Paul can seamlessly go from talking about the Spirit of God (the Father) and the Spirit of Christ (the Son), because he is! And then he can talk about Christ being in us, because he is by His Spirit. 

In these three short verses Paul describes Christians as:

• Those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them (v. 9)
• Possessing the Spirit of Christ (v. 9)
• Having Christ in them (v. 10)
• The dwelling place for the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead (v. 11) 

If you are a Christian… and I don’t assume everybody is. But I do feel like Paul, that generally, I can say, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit…” And if you are. If you are a Christian, this is true of you. You are a temple of the living God! You are the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. This is the Big Idea of the text. 

And because the Spirit dwells in you, there are three realities that are drawn out in our text:

ONE: If the Spirit dwells in you, you belong to Christ

Through the indwelling Spirit, you are sealed for Christ. There is a seal of ownership upon you. You belong to Jesus Christ. Paul says in the negative here. Look at verse 9:

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. (v. 9)

If you don’t have the Spirit dwelling in you, you do not belong to Jesus Christ. You are not one of his. You are not a sheep that he cares for. Our culture is allergic to Christian truth that asserts truth in such and black and white way. That there are sheep and goats. There are those who belong to God through Jesus Chrsit and there are those who do not. The vibe in some quarters is that everyone is a Christian. Or at least spiritual and if they are sincere in their spirituality, they are in. That’s not what the bible teaches. The person who makes this the most clear in the bible is Jesus Himself. Listen to Jesus in John 17 where he clearly delineates between those he prays for and those he does not pray for and it has to do with belonging to him:

I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. (John 17:9)

We see statements like this throughout the bible. But let’s turn the statement around. I don’t think we do injury to the scripture to turn this statement around and say: “Anyone who has the Spirit of Christ belongs to Him.” If you have the Spirit dwelling in you, you belong to Christ. You belong to the One who has been raised from the dead and exalted to God the Father and has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. You belong to him. This ought to give us incredible comfort and assurance. Remember the very first question to the New City catechism? What is our only hope in life and death? 

That we are not our own but belong body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.

We belong to Jesus Christ. His Spirit has taken up residence in us, which is a way of communicating, “This one belongs to Christ!” And if we belong to Christ, we may safely say, he will keep us belonging to him. And what we see if verse 9 is that it is the indwelling Spirit who is a sign of Christ's ownership of you. He is Lord. He is Master. Romans 14:7-8. Paul makes the connection of the ownership of Christ and the indwelling Spirit in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20,

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a price. 

Jesus bought you with a price. He paid for you with his blood on the cross. His Spirit dwelling in you is the proof that he bought you. When we understand that we belong to Christ because his Spirit dwells now in us, it has a massive impact on our conduct. On how we live. We will look more at this next time as we move on in Romans 8, but just a few remarks now. 

One of the greatest outward evidences that you are a Christian and have the Spirit of God dwelling within is that you bear witness by how you live that you are not your own. The highest authority is no longer what you want. Or how you feel. Or what you think. It is not about your dreams and aspirations. The highest authority now is the Lord Jesus Christ. What he says in his word. What he wants for us and expects of us, and commands us to do. It is about his kingdom advancing and his glory. If the Spirit dwells in you, you belong to Christ. 

TWO: If the Spirit dwells in you, you have received dynamic life from the Spirit.

If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (v. 10)

This is an interesting phrase, which is not the main point, but helps to make the main point, is important. Although the body is dead because of sin. I think what Paul means is that these bodies we live in are subject to death. We are all subject to death. These bodies are subject to the death penalty God pronounced on our first parents Adam and Eve, when they sinned in the garden. This is true even for Christians. And why are our bodies subject to death? Because of sin. Why does everyone die? Sin. 

And so everyone dies. These bodies are going to die. We should care for them. We should want to be healthy and live as long as we can in faithfulness to Christ. But it is always important to remember that the goal is not for these bodies to never die. 

But that’s not what Paul lays the emphasis on. He says, “Although that is true”, the body is subject to death because of sin, “the Spirit is life, because of righteousness.” Some translations take this verse to refer to the human spirit that is now been made alive through Christ. I take this to refer to the Holy Spirit (ESV) because it seems to fit with the context of what came before and what comes after. And I think this is what Paul is saying. In these mortal bodies that are subject to death, resides the mighty Holy Spirit who infuses life into us. I love the way this is worded. The word “life” here is the Greek word “Zoe” which is universally used to describe eternal life. And notice that is says the Spirit “IS” life. Eternal is not “a thing” that God gives us, but he gives us the Spirit to dwell within, who is eternal life! Do you see that? The Spirit is life. The reason why I think this distinction is important is because if eternal life is just a thing, like a punched ticket to heaven, well we can put it in our back pockets and pull it out when we need it. 

But if the Spirit is life, the life comes with the Person… well then, our present experience of this life can be increased as we walk by the Spirit and follow after the Spirit. I might step on some toes here, but that’s okay. I love you all! I have already said that we should take care of our bodies as best we can. And many of us agree we could do better. That said, because the emphasis is laid heavily on the inner life of the Spirit, I think we can conclude that it is far more important to cultivate the spiritual life. 1 Timothy 4:8 says, 

While bodily training is of some value (some may need to pause here and receive this - it is), godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and the life to come. 

Godliness or maybe I could say, life in Spirit, impacts all of life. So we should cultivate this spiritual life, life in the Spirit. I use the word cultivate very intentionally. You cultivate something that already has life. You don’t cultivate a rock. You cultivate a garden. You cultivate a fruit tree. Paul said, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” We know this is what the Spirit of life wants to produce in us. 

The Spirit is life. What a statement. He is life for us and in us. Eternal, unending life. And the Spirit is life, “because of righteousness”. The Spirit has come to us and infused us with life because of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Ours? No way! The question is asked in Galatians 3: “Did you receive the Spirit by righteous works of the law or by hearing with faith? By hearing with faith.” We heard the gospel, believed, were counted righteous, and received the Holy Spirit who is life! 

THREE: If the Spirit dwells in you, He is your guarantee of resurrection

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Since the reference to Christ’s resurrection is so clear in the first part of the sentence, I believe the second part of the phrase “[he] will also give life to your mortal bodies” refers to our future bodily resurrection at the second coming of Jesus Christ. But notice the language of certainty. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you… the same God who raised Jesus from the dead will most assuredly raise you up as well. And who will he do this? Through his Spirit who dwells (currently) in us. I think this connects us to what Paul says in Ephesians 1 and 2 Corinthians 1 when he refers to the Holy Spirit as guarantee or down payment of our future inheritance. We sang these words a bit ago, 

Come behold the wondrous mystery

Slain by death, the God of life

But no grave could e'er restrain Him

Praise the Lord, He is alive

What a foretaste of deliverance

How unwavering our hope

Christ in power resurrected

As we will be when he comes

You heard the word foretaste. The Holy Spirit is a foretaste, a guarantee, a down payment of our resurrection when Christ returns. You might say, “I don’t get it. How?” The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead currently dwells in us. And the One who raised Jesus up will raise us up and give our bodies life. And this life to our bodies will come through the same Spirit who currently dwells in us. Which means the Holy Spirit will dwell in us forever. I love what Michael Reeves says on this point: 

The Spirit will eternally be working in us. We will have real bodies [forever], but they will be animated by the Spirit through and through now. 

What we have now is real. The Spirit is life… even as we live in these bodies that are subject to death. And by God’s grace we can experience more of the Spirit’s life. We should seek to walk by the Spirit, and bear the fruit of the Spirit. But what awaits us is life to the fullest! The life of the Spirit in bodies that will never be subject to death again because sin will be a thing of the past forever. This is life in the Spirit. You belong to Christ. The Spirit breathes real and eternal life in you. And the indwelling Spirit and his life is a foretaste of unending life through the Spirit in the future when Jesus Christ comes again. 

What we are going to look at next time in more detail I simply want to reach out and touch on for two minutes. Verse 12 says this, “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.” Do you hear Paul? He says we are debtors. We owe a debt. We are under obligation. We owe something. But it’s not to the flesh. You are under no obligation to the flesh, to follow the desires of the flesh. Let’s be done with that! You and I are debtors to the Spirit. We owe the Spirit our allegiance. We owe the Spirit our attention. We owe the Spirit our obedience.