Have you ever contemplated what God is doing right now? For the sake of clarity, let us ask what God the Father is doing right now. Some might say that He is governing, listening, speaking, moving, and comforting, but are these literal activities? What about Jesus, God the Son? What is He doing? The Scriptures say He is sitting, though on at least one occasion, He is portrayed as standing. According to His own words, Jesus is the groom “preparing a place” for His bride in His Father’s house. He is also seen as our mediator and our high priest who intercedes for us.
But what about the Holy Spirit, God the Spirit . . . the One we tend to neglect? He is the One sent to guide, to teach, to remind, and to lead us in our spiritual journey. He intercedes for us before the Father with unutterable groans, and He is the very presence of God calling out to us in our time of need.
So with which of the three manifestations of God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—do we have the most interaction? Who is it that walks with us? Who is it that reminds us of the teachings of the seated Christ? Who is it that conveys to us the counsel of the governing Father? Who is it that fulfills the words of the prophet Isaiah . . .
“Your eyes will see your Teacher, and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: ‘This is the way. Walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21)
This is the Holy Spirit.
So what does Paul mean when he tells the church that the declaration of no condemnation rests on those who are “in Christ Jesus” and on those who “walk according to the Spirit”? Are those two separate criterions? Can we do one and neglect the other? Can I accept the salvation of Jesus and reject the leading of the Holy Spirit?
Let us begin with Paul’s declaration in Romans 8:1-4 . . .
“Therefore, no condemnation exists for those in Christ Jesus . . . who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
For me, this creates a powerful separation. There are those “in Christ” and there is the rest of humanity. In addition, there are those who “walk according to the flesh” and those who “walk according to the Spirit”. Just as in Jesus’s parable of the sheep and goats, there are only two options.
So as you read this, I would encourage you to get out a sheet of paper or something and draw a box and title it, “In Christ”. Allow for the rest of the paper to be those who are not actively “In Christ” and let us begin to mark out the boundaries as clearly as possible.
In Romans 8:5-8, Paul draws a distinction between two controlling entities: the flesh and the Spirit. For the sake of clarity, what exactly does it mean to walk according to the flesh? The Greek word is “sarx” and it refers to things that are birthed out of fallen man. You might say that actions of the flesh are purely self-centered, they are actions which are devoted to pleasuring the senses, and they are actions which have no regard for the governance of God.
On the contrary, the idea of walking by the Spirit is to live a life guided by the intervening counsel of God. It is a life that tempers the senses to enjoy this life according to the design of God.
Paul writes that the mind, or the thinking, of the one living according to the flesh is “death”, while the mind of the one led by the Spirit is “life” . . . again, we see the two options. Bringing this to a more personal level, Paul writes that the one whose thoughts are according to the flesh are “hostile to God”, while the one whose thoughts are governed by the Spirit have “peace” with God.
Death and hostility.
Life and peace.
The image Paul creates is the image of a battlefield. There are two forces arrayed in battle formation. Those allied with the flesh will be destroyed in death. Why? Because they have set themselves as “hostile” to God. The Greek word is “echthros” which is generally translated as “enemy”. So how have they done this?
“For the mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so.” (Romans 8:7)
The dynamic of the hostility between God and flesh-thinking humanity becomes much more vivid when we see the Greek word that is used in the phrase for “submit”. Paul used the Greek word “hupotasso” which is a combination of the prefix “hupo” which refers to something “under” and the base word “tasso” which refers to something being arranged or orderly. The mind of the flesh simply refuses to place itself under the arrangement of God’s law. The person walking in this way will choose to arrange his life according to his self-centered interests and he will make decisions without regard for the design of God.
To see a picture of the image Paul is conveying, you need to recall the story in Luke 7 of the Roman centurion who came to Jesus so that his servant might be healed. When Jesus heard his story, He quickly prepared to leave for the home of the centurion. The centurion, however, assured Jesus that it would not be necessary . . .
“For I too am a man placed under authority (“hupotasso”), having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” (Luke 7:8)
Jesus is blown away with this Gentile’s comprehension of authority and the faith that he had in the authority of Jesus to simply speak and his servant would be healed.
So when Jesus says, “Love one another,” how do we who have submitted to the arrangement of God respond? When we are told, “Forgive as you have been forgiven,” do we hesitate? Living under the authority, or the binding arrangement of God, is an indication that we are walking according to the Spirit, but to utterly reject the authority of God’s law is to set yourself as the enemy of God, hostile to Him, and positioned for death.
Ultimately, Paul writes that the one whose thinking, or mindset, is hostile to God is a person who is utterly incapable of pleasing God. A devastating indictment!
So Paul makes a personal appeal to this beloved church . . .
“You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you.”
It is almost like Paul can see their face as they contemplate their lives and all the times they have stepped out of the authority of God’s law and allowed the flesh to dictate their lives. He reaches into their souls and pulls them out just as a soldier would save comrade in arms who was straying too close to enemy lines. He grabs them by the coat, pulls them close, and tells them who they are in Christ. He reminds them of the indwelling presence of God who is moving and guiding. He practically wills them to a place of repentance . . . a place we all must find from time to time as we stray from submission to God’s law.
Then Paul begins to paint a very subtle picture. As he describes the journey of those in Christ, those walking according to the Spirit, and those living under the arrangement of God’s law (and repenting back into that arrangement as needed), Paul paints the picture of the life of Christ . . . it is subtle so look carefully.
“Now, if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:10)
What do you do when the body (the Greek is “soma” which refers to the physical body) is dead? You bury it, right? What did Paul say in Romans 6:4 about our condition in Christ? He wrote, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him by baptism into His death.” What was the first thing Jesus did as He began His earthly ministry? Jesus was baptized.
But what happens next? Picture John the Baptist helping Jesus out of His immersion. Jesus emerges from beneath the surface of the water (a Jewish metaphor for death) and in that moment there was a dove and a thundering voice. As Jesus emerges from this picture of death and burial, the Gospel writers declare that the Spirit of God descended like a dove in that moment which speaks into Paul’s declaration that the Spirit brings life. Did you see it?
Paul continues this thought . . .
“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:11)
Notice the double meaning, or maybe the foreshadowing, of the baptism of Jesus and His resurrection from the tomb on the third day. God raised Him up by the power of the Spirit, and it is that very power that Paul says will raise us up as well. The trick to this phrase is that Paul declares that our “mortal bodies” will be raised by the Spirit. The Greek words are “thanatos soma” which refers to our “death bodies” which creates the image of a dead body being resurrected by the power of the Spirit to rest in Christ, to walk according to the Spirit, and to live under the authority of God’s law. That is not a picture of our ultimate resurrection, this is a resurrection to a “new way of life” . . . Paul will refer to this as being a “living sacrifice” later in the letter.
But there was also a voice from Heaven at the baptism of Jesus . . .
“This is My beloved Son, I take delight in Him!”
It was the voice of God the Father declaring not only His affection, but also conveying on Jesus of Nazareth the title of “Son of God”.
Paul continues in Romans 8 . . .
“So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.” (Romans 8:12-14)
Do you get that the same title conferred upon Jesus of Nazareth at His baptism is that same title the Spirit confers upon you when your life is found in Christ, walking according to the Spirit, under the arrangement of God’s law? You are no longer an enemy! You are now a son or a daughter of God. You have life and you have peace with God through the righteousness given to you at Calvary.
Paul expounds on this theme . . .
“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:15)
This encouragement away from any form of enslavement and fear is curious, but when you consider what happened just after the baptism of Jesus, it starts to make sense. The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus went immediately from the glory of the baptism to the anguish of temptation. Matthew wrote . . .
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.” (Matthew 4:1)
What was Jesus facing in this season of temptation? What were the exact temptations? Jesus was asked to turn stones to bread to selfishly please his senses . . . IF He really was the Son of God. Jesus was dared to jump from the pinnacle of the Temple to test God’s promises in the Scriptures . . . IF He really was the Son of God. Jesus was offered authority over the kingdoms of the world . . . IF He would simply bow to (an enslave Himself to) the Devil.
Do you see what was in play? Just as the Spirit was present with Jesus in the wilderness affirming the words spoken at Christ’s baptism, “This is My beloved Son!” so too He is with us in our daily battle reminding us, “YOU are God’s Son! You are not obligated to the flesh! You are in Christ! You love the arrangement of God’s law!” Just as Jesus fought the temporal ease of being granted authority over the world in exchange for the bondage of slavery, so to the Spirit guides us out of the deceit of Satan as he tries to enslave us in the bondage of hatred, lusts, and unforgiveness.
And in all this, Paul encourages the Roman believers with the words that they can cry out at any moment, “Abba, Father!” . . . deeply, intimate words that only a true son or daughter would use to address his or her father. Words that Jesus, the beloved Son, uttered at Gethsemane . . .
“And He said. ‘Abba, Father!’ All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36)
So Paul concludes this thought . . .
“The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Romans 8:16-17)
The Spirit testifies with our spirit . . . “summarturos”. Have you ever sensed the presence of God assuring you that you are right with God? Have you ever experienced that time in your life where you knew you were “In Christ” and there was an absolute peace because the presence of God was agreeing with your assessment of your condition? What a comforting presence!
We will surely suffer with Christ . . . “sumpascho”. When did Christ suffer? Continue the story and it leads us beyond Gethsemane to the trials and the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul declared to the Galatian churches that he was “crucified with Christ”. The apostles celebrated the occasion on which they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ. It is what happens to Sons of God.
We may be glorified with Christ . . . “sundoazo”. On the third day, Christ rose from the tomb in victory and in glory, and He was seated at the right hand of God. Our hope is clear that we, too, will be raised just as Christ was raised to enjoy eternally the glory of the presence of our God.
But this is only for those for whom there is no longer any condemnation . . .
. . . those who are in Christ Jesus.
. . . those who are walking according to the Spirit of God.
. . . those who submit to the arrangement of God’s law.
If this were a test, where would you be?
In or Out?
