Romans 8:9-11

Paul has just described the hopeless situation of those who live by the flesh, out of their own resources. Now he turns to those who live by the Spirit, and says a number of things about us:

• First, we are not controlled by the flesh. This a part of the fruit of the Spirit, part of the gift of the good news. The good news is not just that we are forgiven. In fact if forgiveness was all that God gave us then life would be hell, and so would heaven! Imagine living for eternity still unable to overcome the struggles we have, unable to overcome sin, unable to overcome fear. But God has given us forgiveness and a new life. The good news is that in Christ we are forgiven and through the Spirit we are able to be different, to be overcomers.
• It is nonsense to talk about being a Christian and not having the Spirit of God. Becoming a Christian is not a merely a matter of giving intellectual or emotional assent, it is about being born again (John 3:3). The Bible knows nothing of someone belonging to Christ and not having the Spirit.
  
• If Christ is in us, then the though our body is dead because of sin, our spirit is alive because of righteousness. We all know our bodies are decaying (the older you get, the more aware you become of this!), but because of righteousness our spirits are alive. What does this last bit mean? It means that because Christ died for us on the cross God could send the Holy Spirit to give life to our spirits. In John 16:7 Jesus said that it was better that he went away, so then He could send the Holy Spirit. If Jesus had not paid the price for our sins then the Holy Spirit could not live within us, for God cannot dwell with unrighteousness.
  
• Through the Holy Spirit, God will give life to our mortal bodies. This means that He will make a difference to our lives now. We will never be perfect until Christ returns, but most certainly will experience changes in our lives in this life. We will find God enabling us to overcome things that defeated us for years, to experience Him giving us a new heart and a new mind.

When we follow Jesus there will be times of suffering, time when He takes us through difficult circumstances, but these will be far outweighed by joy when we experience the new life He gives to us in ever increasing measure. Praise the Lord.