Last time we considered:
The Reality (character) of the Spirit filled mind
The Reason for the Spirit filled mind
The Result of the Spirit filled mind
The Reality (character) of the Spirit filled mind
To have a mind filled by the Spirit of God
To have a life in touch with the Spirit of God brings me into touch with God / Christ (v9)
This is firstly a moral experience, it changes me.
How can I say this?
Notice verse 5 begins with “for”
Verse 5 gives the reason therefore for verse 4
The righteousness of Gods law is fulfilled in my life because: the reality of Gods Spirit is filling my mind!
If all men do what they do; sin, because of what they are; sinners, then what causes a man to be different from the rest?
A man like: Abraham, Noah, Joseph, David, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech and Abednigo?
We need an explanation for the unusual / the abnormal.
That there is / can be known in the life of men a passion for God and His holiness beyond even the concerns for self and the pursuit of the flesh needs explaining (v5).
The Reason for the Spirit filled mind
“after the Spirit” (8:5)
There are 2 possibilities for me:
After the Spirit (v5) marked by the righteous walk (v4) and indwelt by Christ (v10)
After the flesh (v5), minding the things of the flesh (v5), an enemy of God (v7)
The proof of genuine Christianity / salvation is not a past event but rather a present experience!
The sacrifice of Calvary has in view not only my salvation but also my sanctification
There are not 2 kinds of Christians in this section: Spirit filled and carnal but rather 2 kinds of people: believer and unbeliever, saved and unsaved, those with the Spirit and those without!
The Result of the Spirit filled mind (8:6)
The Spirit filled mind is marked by:
Life
Peace
The present enjoyment of the life of God (8:2)
In 8:8-13 my body is indwelt by the whole trinity!:
Indwelt by Christ (v9)
Indwelt by Spirit of God (v9)
Indwelt by God the Father (v11)
An awesome responsibility to represent God to a lost world!
Consider:
Evidence of the Spirit filled body
The Experience of the Spirit filled body
The Expectation of the Spirit filled body
Evidence of the Spirit filled body
'Righteousness' – the proof of the Spirit filled body (8:4)
“The Spirit is life because of righteousness” (v10)
Is this my Spirit – in contrast to my body in the verse?
I think rather this is the Holy Spirit bearing in mind the context which points to and frequently speaks of the Spirit of God:
v9 – Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ
v10 – Christ be in you
Note the progress in the chapter of the theme of the Spirit of God being the source of life:
“The law of the Spirit of life” (8:2)
“to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (8:6)
“the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (8:10)
The Spirit of God requires an environment of righteousness in which to work.
'The Book keeps me from sin and sin keeps me from the book'
Peace (8:6):
I know my mind is on the right lines if it is marked by peace.
In Christ:
I have Peace with God (Rom5:1)
I enjoy the Peace of God (Phil 4:7)
A I draw close to Christ I come to the one who is my Peace (Eph2:14)
If I draw close to the one who is “my peace” I would expect to enjoy His Peace!
Such a believer is marked by peace practically in:
Church relationships “in one body” (Col 3:15)
Marriage (Col 3:18-19)
Family (Col 3:20-21)
Work (Col 3:22ff)
Personal Relationships (Col 3:12-15)
Consider the contrast between the believer marked by righteousness and peace in Romans 8 and how we started with the sinner in Romans 1!
1:29 : “filled with all unrighteousness” and then a lit
1:29 : debate, whisperers, backbiters, proud, implacable – these people are contentious, prickly, argumentative, discontent, proud, arrogant, fiery and constantly picking fights and fault finding with others (2:1ff) – the very opposite of peace
The Experience of the Spirit filled body
If Christianity was just a set of dogmas it would probably never have reached us!
Consider the blood shed and sacrifice for the gospel to come to us:
The prophets: Isaiah cut in half with a wooden sword, Jeremiah in a well, Daniel in the lions den, others just plane dead!
The apostles martyred
Evangelists suffering persecution down through the centuries
Tyndall burned at the stake for translation the Bible into English
Gospel preached and held dear in the most severe persecutions: Covenanters, reformers and anabaptists.
Without the dynamic an powerful motive of the Spirit of God – no Christianity!
Something must drive all of this!
Something does! Someone does! The Spirit of God bringing a real and vibrant relationship with God through Christ!
What does the Spirit filled life consist of?
Experience the Presence of Christ (John 14:16)
John 14 begins with a bombshell – the Lord is leaving!
These disciples had left family, homes, and business to follow Christ
Now He was going to leave them!
In connection with this devastating news the Lord promises:
“another Comforter” (John 14:16)
“another” in greek can be 'heteros' – another of a different sort or 'allos' another of the same sort.
The word uses here is “allos” - of the same sort
We are at no material disadvantage in day of the physical absence of the Lord Jesus compared to the disciples who had Him 24/7.
This word “comforter” : “parakletos” or its cognates is use of:
The Spirit of God (Jo14:16)
The Person of Christ (1 John 2:1)
The Word of Scripture (Rom 15:4)
In the physical absence of the person of Christ – His comfort comes today by His Spirit and through His Word.
We are not disadvantaged by His bodily absence!
We can still know and experience now what they did:
Satisfaction with the living water (John 2)
Feeding with the Living Bread (John 6)
Calming the storms of life (John 6)
Assurance of sins forgiven (John 8)
Illumination (John 9)
“Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked with us by the way and opened onto us the scriptures...” (Luke 24)
Expounding the Truth of Christ (Jo 16:13-15)
Compare the 2 on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24)
We can enjoy the same today
This very experience which kindles the passion of Christ within us!
Illust:
Col 1 – 3 hard questions where did the universe come from, into what was it created and where is it going to?
Rom 4 – What did people do before Christ
Rom 5 – What happen to a child who dies?
Rom 5 – Why does God permit sin simply to let the world go back to the beginning again – back to Eden?
1 John 4 – The charismatic movement.
Enjoy the Peace of Christ
Expressing the Character of Christ (John 15)
Notice how we move from :
no fruit (15:2)
to Fruitful (15:2)
to more fruit (15:2)
to much fruit (15:5)
This comes only by pruning – by putting to death our members
By putting to death the deeds of the body
The fruit of the Spirit is often developed in the problems of life:
Rom 5:1-5 – Tribulation brings patience
2 Thess 1 – Faith, love and patience
1 Peter 1 – Trial of your faith
Job – his patience
The Expectation of the Spirit filled body
The presence of the Spirit of God is:
Proof of Divine Possession
Proof of future promise
Proof of ultimate purpose in life
The flesh is expendable (Gen 6:3) but the Spirit is not!
https://graceinchrist.org/romans
Posts
