What happens if the Spirit of God lives in you?
Feb 12, 2010
Case for Grace - part twenty in a study of the book of Romans
Mike Gaudet
If the Spirit of God lives in you . . .
. . . do you become some kind of “super Christian?”
. . . do you still struggle with sin?
What happens if the Spirit of God lives in you?
“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature (flesh) but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Romans 8:9-11
God’s Spirit does not turn a few select “mild-mannered” Christians into “super Christians.”
There are people who teach that only some Christians have God’s Spirit living within. They teach that a Christian who hasn’t received an ability to speak in a special prayer language hasn’t received God’s Spirit.
This cannot be the case. “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” The Holy Spirit of God lives in each and every Christian. It isn’t possible to be a Christian and not have the Spirit of God living within.
There are also people who teach that Christians who have God’s Spirit living within do not struggle with sin anymore. They teach that a “Spirit-filled” Christian only wants what God wants.
This cannot be the case. “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” It isn’t possible to be a Christian and not struggle with sin. This side of eternity we have to live with the tension created by “your body is dead” but “your spirit is alive.” We have to live with the tension of being living spirits entombed within dead bodies. The Spirit of God does not eliminate this tension. He helps us to endure it.
God’s salvation is a two-stage process. Stage one takes place on this side of the grave. Stage two takes place on the far side.
The first stage of salvation is when God makes our spirit alive.
When God “condemned sin in sinful man,” He transferred responsibility for sin from the human “spirit” to the human “body.”
Many Germans who lived during Hitler’s rise to power were forced to obey the laws of the Third Reich or suffer the consequences. When the allies toppled the Nazi regime, the responsibility for the atrocities committed was transferred to the Nazi leaders.
In a similar sense, “if Christ is in you,” the responsibility for sin is transferred to “your body.” As a result, “your body is dead because of sin” but “your spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
We will not cease to sin on this side of the grave. When we sin, however, the blame is borne by our “body.” Because our “spirit” is absolved of responsibility, God’s Spirit “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16 The Holy Spirit encourages us to believe that our sin is not able to prevent our spirit from being enfolded by God’s eternal embrace.
The second stage of salvation is when God places our eternal spirit inside an immortal body.
The Holy Spirit “raised Christ from the dead.” As a result of the Spirit’s life-giving power, Jesus passed through the grave clothes, out of the tomb, back into eternity!
The Spirit of God will repeat this miracle! “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”
On the far side of the grave, God’s Spirit will “give life” to the “mortal bodies” of those He lives within.
If the Spirit of God lives within you . . .
. . . He will help you live with tension of captivity in this life. The Spirit of God will remind you that you are God’s child . . . part of His forever family. The Holy Spirit will focus your attention on God’s commitments to you in order to encourage faith, hope and love.
On the far side of eternity, God’s Spirit will release you from the tension of captivity.
The Spirit of God will relocate your eternal spirit into an immortal body.
You will exist in the form Jesus presently exists in.
You will live that way forever!