In the light of God’s Word, we are reflecting on “the life” possessed by each of us who has become a believing follower of Jesus.
We have already discovered, from passages such as John 3, that the day we looked up in faith to Jesus—hanging on the cross to give His life and His blood—He did it for me personally. At that moment, I was born again as a completely new person, a new creation.
From that moment on, God Himself dwells within me through His Spirit; I am in His presence 24/7, and He is with me—right to the end of my life here on earth.
Then, at my death, I will cross over as a spiritual being into the remainder of my eternal life—but now in the direct presence of God, in the third heaven, as described by Paul.
With this in mind, I invite you to join me at the feet of the Lord to hear, once again, what He says for our encouragement regarding this portion of life here on earth.
Let me take you now to what is written about this in Romans 8.
Remember, it is our Living Lord Himself who is speaking to you through His Word. Therefore, I ask you to focus and read with close attention—unlike the way we usually read things on a computer or mobile phone.
Hear what the Lord Himself says to you about this “life.” Pay special attention to how everything revolves around God the Spirit, who now dwells within us and is at work in us!
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. 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. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”