Romans 8:9-17

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 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. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The first point I would like to discuss is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  These verses could not be any more clear.  Those who belong to Christ are actually residences of the Holy Spirit.  If the Spirit does not dwell in us, then we are not children of God.  Presumably we should be bearing the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control - if indeed we are indwelt by the Spirit.  This is what I think Paul is getting at when he writes “the Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God.”  The question is “How does the Spirit do this?”  If all we had was that statement, it would be difficult to say.  But the context of the statement seems to imply that the way the Spirit bears witness is by “putting to death the deeds of the body.”  Therefore, the indwelling of the Spirit is not some mysterious union that causes us to be unconscious (slain in the Spirit), to be hysterical and speak nonsense (tongues), but rather it is a union that has very real effects - obedience to Christ.  This is in contrast to chapter 7 where Paul has explained that he cannot obey the law.  Again in chapter 8 he has mentioned that those in the flesh cannot please God.  The answer is that even though the flesh is dying, the spirit is made alive through the indwelling of God’s Spirit.  This is what makes our obedience possible.

There is also an interesting eschatological theme here.  Paul writes “although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”  This is the hardest part of being a Christian.  We are already resurrected - in our spirit - but, our bodies still consist of mortal flesh that must die.  Also, though we have experienced the resurrecting power of Christ, we are at times led astray by our flesh.  For a long time, the prayer I have most wanted an answer to is this: “Lord, let it finally be the day when I can no longer sin against You.”  This day is coming, but it is not here yet.  What then are we to do until we die or the Lord returns?

One answer is that we begin to see ourselves as we are.  If we are in Christ, we are not only indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but we are adopted as sons and daughters of Christ.  Through this adoption we can cry “Abba, Father.”  The rough translation that brings out the intimacy of this term is “Daddy”.  To some that might sound disrespectful or cliche, but it simply underscores the closeness we have to our Father.  This truth also opposes the harsh truth of the law that tells us we are dead.  Christ makes us alive, indwells us, and treats us as children.  One manifestation of this relationship is that we are to be continually talking to our Father.  As we fight with these bodies that will die, we need constant help to put to death the deeds of the flesh.  When we are at wits end, when we feel as if we have failed, when we feel that there is nothing else we can do, then we can cry, through the ministry of the Spirit, Abba Father.

I would like to spend a moment on that last verse -  “Provided that we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.”  What does this mean?  Well, first I think we must say that it doesn’t mean we earn our glorification through suffering.  Romans, as well as many other biblical witnesses, tells us that we are saved by grace through faith.  In the context, I think it is clear that the suffering involved is fighting against sin.  The verse says “suffer with him.”  How is it that we suffer with Christ in fighting against sin if Christ never sinned?  Though he never sinned, He was tempted in all the ways in which we are tempted.  Remember His humility in submitting to baptism followed by his suffering in the desert.  Remember how he suffered in the garden of Gethsemane.  Christ was literally putting sin to death both by not sinning himself and by becoming a sacrifice for sin.  Though we do not become sacrifices for sin, we should strive with all the strength within us to put sin to death in our lives.  If we exert no effort in suffering with Christ, then how can we say we are in Christ?  The person who has been created anew will strive through the Spirit against sin.