Where Bible Study Makes A Difference

Don’t forget the Holy Spirit?

And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:10-14)

Main Idea:

To provide that the indwelling Holy Spirit is fully involved in empowering us to live transformed in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit leads the Christian to put off the deeds of the flesh and to put on Christ.

Discussion:

One of things that may happen in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ is we forget ignorantly that He dwells within us. We get caught up in all the terminology and logistics of life’s hardships, forgetting the God is working within us (Philippians 2:13). We attempt in fighting our own flesh with our own flesh. “I am going to stop doing this,…let me just work on it!”. Then, what happens later on? Yes, you forgot and go back to doing the same thing over and over; going around in a cycle going nowhere.

You cannot fight the flesh with the flesh; it just will not arrive at any good fruition. Oh, for awhile you may cease sinful habits, but the flesh will trap you somewhere else and your right back to same old circle again. Be encouraged, believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t forget the indwelling Spirit of Christ within you. What do the scriptures tell us:

Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. (Romans 13:13-14)

So why do we put of the flesh only to make provision for it? Here is what you need to know from text of Romans 8:

12So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh

ὀφειλέτης opheiletēs is transliterated to mean one who owes another, or a debtor to another. The verse is simply implying we do not have to obey the flesh; we owe the sinful flesh nothing. We are under obligation that’s new; new because we have been given the Lord’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The daily struggles of life come, so we must surrender trustfully to the Holy Spirit, and let joy be filled within us.

How do we do this? I am not the one you need to ask my friend. The scripture speaks to the question in the next verse of Romans 8:

13for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

This gives us clear exposure to the fact Christians don’t live like they formerly lived before the saving work of Jesus Christ the Lord. Verse 6 in Romans brings to light what the mind of our flesh is content on: death. So by following after the Spirit, you put off the things of your flesh and live.

This battle can be difficult and frustrating, but it is a battle of victory. A victory obtained through following the Spirit of the Lord. How do you follow the Spirit?

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Obedience to the Word of God is how! Realizing the bible says in Christ, your flesh has not the power over you, obey the Spirit of God (Romans 6). Believe what the Word of God says and live out that belief in Christ. John 15:5 says without Christ, you can do nothing. Do you understand the text? Do you believe the text, or are you just faking the funk? Because if you believe it, you’ll obey being confident that you are a son of the Most High God.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32)

Verse 14 of Romans 8 is the most encouraging, and should cause you not to forget the Holy Spirit.

14For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these aresons of God.

Noting verb led in this verse, you will find being led is in the present passive indicative. This means the Holy Spirit is working presently in the lives of all believers. ἄγω agō means to lead along, or to bring along. This is not in reference to all our decisions such as who to marry, where to work, etc, but one that leads you into Christlikeness in your character. Your life should evidence this by the biblical standard. Then you can display the fruit of the Spirit eloquently in your life and be confident in the life Christ Jesus has given you. Be blessed my beloved and walk in His fulness.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Note: Some of this material was gathered from a devotional I receive on Fridays provided by Thomas Leake pastor-teacher. Thank you.