Christ and The Spirit

Text

"And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness." —Romans 8:9-10

Bible Reading

ROMANS 8:9-11

Devotional

The New Testament teaches that anyone who is in Christ has the Holy Spirit. Those Christians err who think that they first have to believe in Christ and later will receive the Holy Spirit as a higher rung on the ladder.

It's true that some Christians are closer to Christ than others, and some are more yielded to the Spirit than others. "Having the Spirit" is not the same as "being filled with the Spirit." If we are made alive by the Spirit we haven't necessarily learned to walk by the Spirit.

But nobody can be in Christ unless he or she has the Holy Spirit. In fact, the only sure way of finding out whether people have the Spirit is to ask them what they think of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 John 4:2).

Sometimes the Bible uses the names of Christ and the Holy Spirit interchangeably. That happens in the part of Romans 8 we just read. "The Spirit of God in you" or "Christ in you" stands for the same reality. It means that we have gone over from a state of death to a state of life. To be sure, our "bodies" are still subject to death. Our present form of existence is not yet beyond the reach of sin and misery. At the same time we are alive. That new life comes to us from Christ, who died and rose again. The new life is in us through the Holy Spirit.

It is this daily living and daily dying that makes the Christian life so intense and sometimes so difficult. We must never be satisfied with what we have, spiritually, for as long as we are in this body we have not yet arrived. There is always more to unlearn and to learn. We must lose more of the old self so that we may gain more from God.

However, let's not confuse each other by separating the work of Christ from the work of the Spirit. Growing up in Christ and living by the Spirit is the same thing. And it's worth everything.

REFLECTIONS

"We must never be satisfied with what we have, spiritually." What does this mean for you personally?

-----

First let me apologize for not posting yesterday. I had an amazing evening with some new friends from our church and got home and had to go pretty much straight to bed. Now onto the good stuff!

"Having the Spirit" is not the same as "being filled with the Spirit." I think this is a good statement to remember as we go to church and meet Christians during our lives. Its essential when doing as Paul encouraged us to do, to live as peaceably as possible with our church family, to remember that every person is at a different area in their life. We cannot put every Christian in the same boat as another. That is not to say we cannot hold them to the same level of righteousness - but it will help us in how we go about discussing such things as personal holiness and daily disciplines. It will help us to show love and discernment. We were shown grace when Christ stood in our place and bore the full unadulterated wrath of God. We too should bestow grace to those brothers and sisters around us. "If we are made alive by the Spirit we haven't necessarily learned to walk by the Spirit."

Let me make sure to explain this a little bit further as best I can. I don't want you to misunderstand when I say each is at their own place in life and their walk with Christ. If a fellow Christian is doing something that is detrimental to their walk with Christ, is in complete contradiction with the word of God or is even bordering sinful behavior - it is our job as a family to point these things out. Not necessarily in a "jam this down your throat" sort of way - but by showing love and discernment, and by the work of the Holy Spirit, I believe God will show you how to handle each situation. I know that I've screwed up talking to people about holiness and such, but I hope to learn from my mistakes and when presented with situations of that nature in the future, that I will remember this devotional!!

What we're talking about is Regeneration and Sanctification. Regeneration is when our heart has been taken from its former state of stone and made into a heart of flesh. Its when God gave us saving faith and by His power, we believed in Christ and the sacrifice He made. Sanctification is the process that we go through from that day forward. We are to grow in Christ, grow in our faith and knowledge of the Lord and by the help of the Spirit, we are able to do that.

We cannot be made alive by the Spirit without first having the saving faith in Christ, which is a gift, nothing we can conjure up on our own. Unfortunately, some churches lead people to believe that once you're a Christian, life will be all full of gumdrops and rainbows the rest of your life. The truth of the matter is - we are still human, we still will have to deal with the blows of life and those things which want us to become weary. But - we are blessed with a hope. There's that word hope again that we've been discussing the past few days. With hope of Glory and with the Staying power of the Holy Spirit, we can have peace in all these drab situations. Peace is contentment, its joy in the hope of Glory at the end of this earthly life, its joy in the Lord that we have been given new life and are able to bring Glory to God while still here. Its a peace that passes all understanding!

"We must never be satisfied with what we have, spiritually." Personally this means that I cannot settle for where I'm at. I need to persevere and walk in the Spirit, to grasp for more knowledge of God, to desire the things that God desires for me and to grieve over the things that grieve God. I need to decrease and let Christ increase in His role in my life. I don't want people to see me - I want them to see Christ. Thats what it means to never be satisfied with what we have, spiritually. There is always more of God that we can learn and grow in. Sanctification never stops, its an ongoing process. Lets press forward and not settle with where we're at now. Grace&Peace.