Good morning. I think we could say amen and go on to the Lord's Supper after Evans prayer for us this morning. Thankful for that being reminded of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, we're continuing our study of Romans chapter 7 this morning, so you can take your Bibles and join me there in Romans chapter 8 this morning. Sorry. Let's try that again. Romans chapter 8. We can do 7 again. I'm sure there's something we missed. We could go back and revisit. But Romans chapter 8 this morning. There's a few Bibles in front of you. If you don't have a copy, you're welcome to have that one as our gift to you. This chapter emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. And I'm sure that you're aware there's a lot of confusion, a lot of error, there's a lot of unbiblical teaching these days surrounding the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. Even our local community has loads of examples of how these errors can work themselves out. Some of it is so awry that it leads to really outrageous practices among certain groups. And this causes confusion and it brings dishonor to the name of Jesus. It leads people to rely on self rather than The grace of God in Christ, it robs Christians of great encouragement and assurance as we live this Christian life and as we await Jesus' return. And I think that today's passage is a help in correcting some of those things, because we really can lose confidence. We really can lose the encouragement that should be ours when we get the Holy Spirit wrong, and when we start misunderstanding His person and His work. On the other hand, a healthy grasp of biblical teaching on Him strengthens believers and glorifies God. So I trust with God's help we'll find this to be the case today from Romans chapter 8. I got it now. So let's step back into the context of Romans 8. If you remember, and I think it's helpful that we do this, not only the very narrow context where we've been taking all the small details piece by piece, but if we zoom back out and we remember the larger section of the book that we're in, chapters five through eight, that we see this theme being unfolded there of the absolute surety of final redemption for those who have repented and found salvation and justification by faith in Jesus. Those whom he has justified will most certainly be glorified. And this whole section helps to, from different angles, show us that that is a guaranteed rock-solid hope. And so, we saw this first in chapter 5, verse 10, where we read there, For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life." So that's a snippet of the theme, and that continues to unfold, and we find its crescendo towards the end of chapter 8, and it's probably many of our favorite passage of scripture, the end of chapter eight, where this same theme shows up in grand fashion, that nothing can separate us from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus. So how has this been unfolded for us? Well, chapter five kind of presented to us fruit of justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." And he continued to unpack some of those fruits of the justification that we've received by faith in Jesus. And then he detailed for us the transition that we've undergone because of God's grace. We were once in Adam. But now we are in Christ Jesus. And then in chapter 6, he began to interact with, okay, what does that mean for our living? How do we live now in response to grace? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And by no means, how can we who died to sin live in it? So we now begin to see our new relationship to the sin that once held us captive and once bound us. And then in chapter 7, well, what then the law? Because we're no longer under law, but now we're under grace. And so we begin to see that just like in the marriage relationship, we have died to the law through the body of Christ that we can belong to another. We can belong to the Lord Jesus. And we walk now in a new way of the Spirit. And that theme of the Spirit is very important in chapter 8. So, what is life like as we walk, not under the law, but under grace? Well, it's a battle, isn't it? A battle with that remaining sin that lingers. And chapter 7 unpacked that for us as he continued on. Each piece clarifies what has happened to a person when he or she is united to Jesus. And chapter eight continues that in really encouraging ways. So in the midst of this ongoing struggle that all of us have faced every day this week, amen, we know that struggle. It's in our face all the time, always battling. In the midst of that, there is a bright and shining light, a bright shining reality that helps us in our present weakness and assures us of our future hope. And that is the person of the Holy Spirit indwelling the Christian. the person of the Holy Spirit indwelling the Christians. So that's what we're discovering in chapter 8 now, and we're still in this ongoing flow of thought. So last week, we noticed from verses 5 through 8 that there's two ways to live. There's only two positions before God, either with the mindset on the flesh, which produces death, or that contrast with the mind that is set on the spirit, which leads to life and peace. The mind of the flesh, verse 8 taught us, is hostile and rebellious and unable to please God. And today, as we pick up in verse 9, we'll see the other half of this contrast as the Apostle Paul shifts now from examining life in the flesh to examining life in the spirit. So let's pray together. I'm going to read verses 5 through 11 to catch the flow of thought, but our focus is verses 9 through 11. Let's bow together. And a little, Father, just as we sang a moment ago, we pray that you would speak, that you would speak by your spirit through your word. I pray, Lord, for clarity of thought and of speech to bring forth the message that's in these verses, that your church would be built, strengthened, encouraged, and it will be all for your glory. Help us to marvel at what you have done for us and in us through our Savior Jesus and your mighty spirit. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Hear God's word now from Romans 8, beginning in verse 5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. And thanks be to God for his word. I wonder if you noticed a repeating phrase over and over through those last three verses. I think that's the point of the text, namely that God the Holy Spirit dwells within every Christian. God the Holy Spirit dwells within every Christian. And that might just sound like a piece of Bible trivia, but I think it's so much more when we really ponder that reality. When we consider this truth and consider how it is serving the larger context to strengthen and encourage us in our absolute sure hope of salvation and glory, then this truth here that the Spirit dwells in every Christian can really strengthen our faith. Well, how does it do that in this context? I think in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit reveals that we truly belong to Christ and are not in the flesh. We found that in our text. And then in the larger context, we see that the Holy Spirit enables believers to live with their minds set on the things of the Spirit and to walk in righteousness, putting the deeds of the flesh to death. and then how His presence in us helps us to confidently wait for our bodily resurrection like Jesus. And so may God be pleased today to help us by His Spirit to appreciate this mystery and this wonder of the truth that God the Holy Spirit dwells in every Christian. So we're going to study this passage under two headings, three verses and two headings. The first one is the dwelling place of God, verse nine. the dwelling place of God, and then the second, number two, the life-giving spirit, verses 10 and 11, the life-giving spirit. Number one, the dwelling place of God, verse nine. Remember, this is a flow of thought. We're jumping right into the middle of a presentation here. So previously in verse eight, we saw the conclusion about unbelievers with a mindset on the flesh. Verse eight again, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. So life in the flesh that is under the control of natural fallen man, devoid of the work of God in his life. There's no spirit of God there. There's no power there. There's no ability to do what pleases God. As the late John MacArthur explained, the person who gives no evidence of the presence, power, and fruit of God's spirit in his life has no legitimate claim to Christ as Savior and Lord. He says, the person who demonstrates no desire for the things of God and has no inclination to avoid sin or passion to please God is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit and thus does not belong to Christ. But as verse 9 opens, we see this strong contrast. There's this definitive difference between the one who is does not belong to God, cannot please God, and then the Christians. So verse nine begins, you however, and remember the you is the Christians in Rome to whom he addresses the letter. You can read that again at the beginning of the book. You however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. This is the same reality that we've run into several times now in our study of Romans. Through union with Jesus by faith, believers are no longer who they once were. We are new. When God saves a person, He makes a real and permanent change in the person. No longer under the dominion of sin. Finally, we're free. Finally free from the condemnation that the law says you're guilty. You cannot escape it. You're guilty. And no amount of law-keeping ever fixes that, because you're already guilty, condemned, bound under sin. But in Christ, that's removed. In Christ, we're free from that condemnation, as verse 1 has helped us to understand. And Romans 6, 6 says, our old self, was crucified with Jesus in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. So that's just the sort of reminder and the sort of encouragement that we need as we face that ongoing battle with sin in our daily lives, like we read about there in chapter seven. I think chapter seven, it's a few weeks away for us now in the course of our study, but it's only a moment away. as he was writing this letter, that battle of that. I long to do what God's law says, but I find in me that when I try to do that, I end up doing what I don't want to do. I can't seem to do the right that I desire. and the wrong that I don't want to do, I'm constantly falling into that again. And so in the midst of that, isn't it an encouragement for us to know that through union with Christ, we're not who we used to be, and we're not bound anymore under that reign that we used to be bound under, no longer condemned because God has redeemed us through the life, death, burial, resurrection of Jesus, and he has placed us in his spirit. Sometimes we might feel like we've slipped back under that cruel reign of sin. We've slipped back again under the condemnation of the law. And if you're looking at the law as a list to keep in order to make yourself right with God, that's exactly where you end up. be right back under what the law always does. It shows us our inadequacy. It shows us that on our own we are condemned. But if we realize what the law, where it's pointing us, and if we remember that all that it demands Christ Jesus has fulfilled in our place, then we can remember we're no longer under that condemnation. It's not over us anymore. You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, verse nine says. Yeah, well, hold up there, James. The verse has other words in it too, right? It continues. And it seems like it leaves room for doubt because it says, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. So isn't that opening up opportunity for doubt? Well, it's true that it does say that. but it does not leave room for doubt." And actually the grammar of this verse does the exact opposite. So according to A.T. Robertson, a grammarian, he says that the structure is what's called a first-class conditional statement. And what all that means is that The arrangement of the words in the original text and the tense and mood of the verb show us that there's something he's doing with the grammar. He's actually communicating something to us by the way he's arranging the words. And it's this. The if in this statement communicates certainty. We can say it like this. if, as is the case, the Spirit of God dwells in you. A good translation would be like this. You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. You see how that changes it completely? That brings to clarity what is trying to be said here. It's not drawing out doubt. It's emphasizing certainty. You're not in the flesh because, since the Spirit is within you, the Spirit of God dwells in you. The Holy Spirit is inside of you, dear Christian. And that proves that you're not in the flesh, but you're in the Spirit. And this is a profound mystery. I mean, how the infinite and the immortal can take up residence in the finite and mortal, that's a great mystery, but it is a key identifier of being a genuine Christian or still being in unbelief. Do you remember the New Covenant prophecy that we read last week from Ezekiel 36? Well, in part, it read this, Ezekiel 36, 27. The Lord speaking, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues. and be careful to obey my rules. 1 Corinthians 6, 19, speaking to individual believers in the singular, it says, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? 1 John 3, 24, whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. So the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit is proof positive, guaranteed, that you're no longer in the flesh. And I'm sure we've all heard words like this throughout our lives, that when you become a believer, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. But have we really stopped to ponder that? Have we really considered the astounding reality of the indwelling presence of God. We're not talking about mystical things where we are becoming one with the force that we call God out there. We're not talking about mysticism. But the real presence of the immortal God dwelling in his people. In the beginning, God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. Remember how that's described to us? But after sin came, there was this severe separation between the Holy One and sinners. And so God continued to dwell among His people, but in a highly restricted fashion in the form of the tabernacle and later the temple. And then, when the great fulfillment of Old Testament hope came, when Jesus Christ came, the long-promised Messiah, He came in the incarnation, He came as a man, and John 1.14 says, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Like we went back to Eden again in a fashion. He's closer than he's ever been before. He was with us, Emmanuel, God with us. But now, God has drawn even closer than that. taking up residence inside his redeemed people. And that's the meaning of the word that we have here, the word dwell. What it's conveying is that it indicates the making of a home. And we understand this idea. When a person buys a house and moves in, it goes from being just a building, a house, to be turning into a home. It was just an empty structure before, but afterwards, it's where life and family and memories are built. It becomes a home. It's a difference. John MacArthur again, he explains that the word dwells has the idea of being in one's own home. In a marvelous and incomprehensible way, the very Spirit of God makes His home in the life of every person who trusts in Jesus. Isn't that wild? Isn't that wonderful? Home is where we belong, and where we make our personal mark. Of all the places on the earth, that's our place. And it has the marks of, of us all over it. It's our home. It's suited to our taste. We make updates. We're always making updates to our home, but it's always becoming more of ours, right? And the Holy Spirit does this for the believer. He moves in. He starts making it His. He starts bearing His fruit. He starts producing that peace and that life and holiness that we've been reading about in the life of the believer. And this is true of the individual Christian. We read that in 1 Corinthians 6 a minute ago. It's also true of the church, which is the corporate dwelling place of the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 3.16, now he's using the plural, second person plural, do you, plural, not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? North Hills Church, do you know? that you are God's temple, and God's spirit dwells in you. Ephesians 2.22, in Christ Jesus, you, plural, are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the spirit. I wonder if we consider this when we gather in our weekly gatherings. Assembled together this morning, we are the corporate dwelling place of God. He's not in a temple somewhere where you have to go through real strict means and rules to get access. He's no longer distant from us because of our sin that once separated us from him. Rather, he's among us and he is in us. How should that affect our conduct and our attitudes about church? Should it add a level of reverence and move our focus maybe away from self to Christ. I know that for me this is true, it's probably true for all of us, that there's always a temptation to go back to self. Either what's on the to-do list or what, am I comfortable or not, or what's distracting me or whatever. Always self, me, me, me. But shouldn't realizing that we are the corporate dwelling place of God change that? Change our perspective about being together? And does that make the gathered body of Christ a little bit more precious to us? Does it make being a part of the family of God personally a very precious thing? There's an old song, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. Is that really our song? Do we really find great joy in that? Being a part of his family and filled with his spirit? Well, verse nine continues on there, the second half. And it speaks in sharp contrast to what he just wrote. So he says, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. That's one of them crystal clear, can't mistake what's going on kind of statements. Crystal clear. If the Spirit is in you, you're not in the flesh. If the Spirit is not in you, you do not belong to Jesus. It doesn't matter about religious credentials, or our pedigree, or where we grew up, or who's your mama, who's your daddy, none of that. It's the Spirit of God dwelling within you. If not, you're not His. It's just flat out a matter of fact. But I would contend there's encouragement here. Do you see encouragement here? Immediately upon conversion, Every Christian, from the young child to the magisterial reformer, from the ordinary Joe to the Apostle Paul, from the one struggling under heavy and ongoing temptation to the one who's experiencing great growth and holiness, every Christian is indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God. You don't have to wait for some so-called second blessing or reach some new level of spirituality before you finally get to enjoy his presence within. To be a Christian is to have the Spirit of God in you. It's to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit. And if anyone does not have the Holy Spirit within, then it's a plain fact that that person does not belong to Jesus. And this is not something you can go find a list of rules and keep in order to gain. It's by grace through faith in Christ. Have you looked to Christ? There's only two ways to live. So are you, just do some reflection here as you sit there, are you conscious of the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in your life? Is there evidence that he's there? Is there his fruit being born in your life? And a lot of times, your brothers and sisters in Christ who live with you, they're in a better position to notice that than we are of ourselves. But is his fruit there? Can those around you see you growing as time goes on in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control? Is that hope and trust in Jesus alone a reality for you? That's the work of the Spirit. Is there evidence that He's there? Well, if not, then I would put to you the challenge that was put to the Corinthian church, 2 Corinthians 13, 5. Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith. And if you're not, Don't try to keep rules. Don't go try to be good. Rather, repent and trust in the risen Savior, Jesus Christ, who alone can save you. And it's his spirit that comes in when he does that. Well, as we move on, we get even further encouragement from this truth of the indwelling spirit and presence of the Holy Spirit of God as we move to number two, the life giving spirit. And we'll start with verse 10. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. Now we're gonna take a little detour here for a minute. Did you notice the change of vocabulary as verse 10 starts? He says, but if Christ is in you, And if we'll glance across verses 9 to 11, we see that this happens a few times. It's almost like, without hesitation, Paul just swaps from saying, the Spirit, to the Spirit of God, to the Spirit of Christ, to Christ in you, and then in verse 11, the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, which is to say, the Spirit of God the Father. So what's the significance here? Why all this variation? Well, this is Trinitarian language. going on here. Paul is using these terms interchangeably as he speaks about the one, same, one divine person of the Holy Spirit. It's very informative to us. It helps us to think rightly about God. So this is an important passage on the triune nature of the one true God. We see distinctions between the persons, each one able to be distinguished, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But at the exact same time, you can't parcel them out into separate beings because you see, at the same time, perfect unity. There is only one God, not three. And this one and only one true and living God exists in three distinct identifiable persons who are united in one being, the one true triune God. And Jesus spoke the same way. He used the same type of language there in John chapter 14. I want us to take a look there if you'll join me in John chapter 14 and watch Jesus do the same thing. John 14, this is the evening of his betrayal before he makes his way with his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane. And we'll read from verse 15 and following. John 14, 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, so we already see distinction between the Father and the Son, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so there's a third, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, so the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him or knows him. So the Holy Spirit is not a force, some ethereal influence out there. He is a person of the one true God. Jesus continues, you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. Same thing now on the other side of the cross. Those who have faith in Christ, the Spirit is in you. He continues, I will not leave you as orphans. Watch what he does. This is very interesting. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. So how, Lord Jesus, are you leaving and coming? How are you coming in your leaving? How is this working? Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day, you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you." Now, he just said, in verse 17, the Holy Spirit will be in you, but he says, Right here in verse 20, I in you. And then verse 25. These things I have spoken to you while I'm still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. So Jesus is leaving, but he's coming. He's going back to the father, but he's going to be in us. It's all in the person of the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ, the spirit of the father, the three are one. So Jesus can say, I'm leaving, but I'm coming. I'm returning to the Father, but I'll be in you. Because when the Holy Spirit dwells in a believer, the Bible says, like in Romans 8 verse 10, Christ is in you. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. All right, so that's our detour on this Trinitarian language of the one true God. So verse 10 has more as we continue to read it. He says, but if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. Alright, so I'm reading from the ESV. You may have a different translation that you're following along with, and if so, you may notice a bit of variation here in verse 10. In the ESV, Spirit is capitalized, in other translations it's lowercase, and there may be a little variation to what is meant by the word spirit. There's two main ways to interpret this. The translations reflect it. The first one is the word spirit here in verse 10 refers to the Christian's human spirit. And so it would be to say something like this. The Christian's physical body is mortal and will die as a consequence of sin, but the believer's spirit is alive because of Jesus' imputed righteousness received by faith. So that's one way that this verse is understood. And the second way is that the word spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit, who is life. That is to say, he is the life-giving Spirit of God. and he gives life to us because of the righteousness of Jesus imputed to the believer. So, both options are true propositions. Both of them are taught in Scripture as the reality, but what does verse 10 mean? What does it say? Well, I tend to lean towards the second option, that this is capital S, Holy Spirit of God, mainly because in this section of Romans 8, the word spirit is exclusively used to refer to the Holy Spirit in each of the other verses that we've covered, and even does so again in the very next verse, in verse 11. And so I take this to mean that although the believer's physical body is mortal, and bound for the grave because of sin, the Holy Spirit is life for the believer because of the righteousness of Jesus that's been imputed to us by faith. And again, I contend that this is encouraging news, strengthening news in regular daily living of the Christian life. We can see that if we keep in mind the anguish of chapter 7, verse 24, when he said, When we keep that in mind, and then we think on this, we're living with this lingering reality of the consequence of the fall, the wages of sin is death. These old bodies of ours, they're dying because of the curse of Adam's race, the curse of sin on Adam's race. And one day, they'll be laid in the grave if the Lord tarries is coming. Yet, the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So this free gift that we enjoy in Christ includes bodily resurrection. bodily life that goes on and continues on for eternity. Look at verse 11. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead, the Father, will also give life to your mortal bodies. through His Spirit who dwells in you. J. Vernon McGee gives a good explanation here. He says that the indwelling Holy Spirit is our assurance that our bodies will be raised from the dead, even death itself, that great enemy. It loses the battle through Christ's victory. He continues the quote here, because Christ was raised from the dead, we shall be raised from the dead. The Holy Spirit will deliver us from this body of death. And that takes us back to our baptism, doesn't it? We're buried with Christ in baptism into his death. And just as Christ has been raised to the glory of God the Father, we too will be raised to walk in newness of life and one day raised to life everlasting. He puts it in a pretty picture here in 1 Corinthians 1, I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 53 and following. I'm trying to do too much at once. I'm reading, I'm drinking, I can't do it all at once. 1 Corinthians 15, 53. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. And when the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So let us rejoice in the nearness of our God who dwells within, in ourselves personally and in us corporately through the Holy Spirit. Let's rejoice in the indwelling spirit and that he reveals that we truly belong to Christ and we're no longer in the flesh. And let's take heart knowing that he enables believers to live with minds that are set on the spirit and to walk in righteousness, putting to death the deeds of the flesh and to confidently await our bodily resurrection when he will raise our lowly bodies to be like Jesus' heavenly body. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let's pray. Help us, I pray, O God, to truly grasp This great. Mystery is great reality of. The Holy Spirit within. I pray you would strengthen us in our daily life and daily battle against that old sinful flesh that. We continue to battle against continues to hang on. Pray Lord that we are encouraged that we're truly yours. If the spirit of Christ is there. and that is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. We will most certainly be saved. Jesus has accomplished salvation. There's no failure. Strengthen us, I pray, with these words and help us to walk in the spirit. In Jesus' name, amen.