We are in chapter 8, of course. We're looking at verses 9 through 11 this morning. Learned a few things this week. Y'all know that when people teach, it's not because they already know it. It's because they've studied it this week and learned it. And when you're like me and didn't know anything to begin with, it's not hard to learn something. Some points of contention, some things that people debate. I don't know where they get their ideas from, but we'll look at it as we go and see. Start with verse 9. He says, 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. So we have three very important verses as Paul sums up and applies what he has been saying to these Christian people in Rome. And he takes his theme just a little bit further. As we have seen and stated over and over again, Paul's objective for the most part is to give these people that he's writing to, and thereby us, assurance of final and complete salvation. This assurance grounded in what has happened to them, namely that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed them from the law of sin and death. He has told us how this happened and how the objective of that freedom is that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us. And that this is only true of those who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. I'm having a really hard time talking this morning. I apologize. My grandmother used to say I got my tongue wrapped around my eye teeth and couldn't see what I was saying. Okay, so now he gives us the application, repeating his thesis in verse 9, followed by a picture of the actual position of the Christian in verses 10 through 11. And then later in 12 and 13, based on that position that he stated, he will present us with an appeal and an exhortation. As we look at these three verses this morning, we have to take note of the fact that Paul believes this to be an extremely important matter. A matter that must be clarified, and that matter being that all of this is only true of those that do not walk according to the flesh, but walk according to the Spirit. This is basic Christianity 101, and as far as our understanding of ourselves as Christian people is concerned. He's repeated it again and again simply because it is a point that is easily misunderstood, but it is vital and should not be taken for granted. First thing we see in verse 9 is Paul establishing without a doubt that everything he has been saying applies to all Christians, as we have already stated. There is an exposition of the earlier verses that would have us believe that they only apply to certain Christians. the Special Forces Green Beret type of Christians, okay? What we have to understand is that positionally, alright, everybody's familiar with that word, positionally, right? Positionally, in other words, where we stand in the eyes of God is the exact same for all people who are Christians. The ninth verse sets that in stone. If you recall, We left off in verse 8 with Paul saying, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. He then goes on to say in verse 9, he says, you however, you who? You who are Christians. This is, this is, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You who are Christians, this is not true of you, any of you. Because you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Then to emphasize this point even further, he says anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ is not a Christian at all. If a man is a Christian, then the Spirit of God in him is an absolute necessity. So logically, Paul's case looks like this. The Christian is not in the flesh, and that is true because the Spirit is in him. If the Spirit is not in him, then he is not a Christian. Therefore, to be a Christian at all means that we are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. So we establish beyond any doubt that Paul has all along been describing every Christian, any Christian and not merely some special group of people, that have received some additional blessing that some of the rest of us did not get. To have the Spirit of Christ means that you are a Christian. To be a Christian means that you have the Spirit of Christ. You can't get much plainer than that. Now, a little point of contention that we have to look at so that we are ready to give an answer. In this one verse, we see the Spirit the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Why does he use all three? What significance is found in the variation? Well, those of us who believe in the Trinity, that's why we're called Trinitarians, okay, can draw only one conclusion, and that is that the three terms are interchangeable. They all convey exactly the same meaning. In each one, Paul is referring to the third person in the Holy Trinity, to the Holy Spirit. He refers to him as the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ and as the Spirit of God. Now, I won't go into this because it is nonsense, but that is put forth by those that want to make a case for a man being able to remain carnal and still be a Christian. But they say that we can have the mind of Christ and a love for God even though the Holy Spirit is not in us. Paul, by using all three here, puts that notion to bed by emphasizing that all three terms are equal and synonymous, and in each case refers to the Holy Spirit. So why the distinction? Well, this has been discussed and argued for centuries, but what it teaches for sure and certain is the doctrine of the Trinity, God in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. But it also emphasizes the unity in the Trinity. Three persons, but only one God. And so the terms can be used interchangeably. You don't understand any of what I just said, and neither do I. OK? ready neither does anyone else so we'll just leave it right there and leave it alone trying to explain it only and only always ends up in heresy everybody is aware of that right when you try to explain the trinity hundred percent of the time the further you go the deeper in the heresy you're going to get alright so don't do that but Paul does make the distinction and he does so for one reason he is directing our attention to the way in which the Holy Spirit comes to us And it is there that perhaps these different terms, Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ, are seen to have significance. Sometimes in Scripture, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the promise of the Father. Paul in Ephesians calls Him the Holy Spirit of promise. Over and over, God promised to send His Spirit upon His people. And so from that aspect, we can say that the Holy Spirit is sent by God and thus is the Spirit of God. There are other clear statements to the effect that the Spirit is sent by the Lord Jesus Christ. John 14 and 16 says, And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever. Now, that's very interesting and maybe confusing. He says, I will ask the Father, and He, the Father, will give you another Helper to be with you after I am gone. But then in the 15th chapter, verse 26, he says, But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And again in chapter 16 and verse 7, he says, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." Now, I have no doubt that the majority of the people here, of all three of those, committed to memory. But did you ever look at the distinctions between all of them? There is a sense in which God the Father sends the Spirit. There is another sense in which God the Son sends the Spirit. And it is clear in every case that the Spirit is a person. Just like the Father, just like the Son, the Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is not the force, Luke. Okay? It's not some abstract power or some influence. Okay? He is a person, another comforter. So the teaching is, again, beyond me, but that because of the work of redemption that the Son accomplished when He was here in this world, when He returned to glory, the Father gave Him the Spirit to give to the Church. Therefore, we can say that the Spirit is given by both the Father and the Son, and so we can call Him the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. The same person, the Holy Spirit given by the Father, given by the Son, and that is hard will go with the division of the godhead god in three persons is one god never forget that fact reading that fact led to some of you that are interested in church history no already uh... led to the first major division in the universal church the church was originally one but the split but she split into two sections the eastern church in the western church Roman Catholic, or the Western Church, and the Orthodox, or Eastern Church, separated from one another over this very thing. The Eastern Church claimed that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. The Western Church claims that He proceeds also from the Son. And the Protestants, which is us, followed after the Church of Rome, which is and was the correct direction But it just goes to show what happens when men feel the need to explain the unexplainable. And this is where I will cease to try to explain the unexplainable. So let's move on to another matter at hand. What is the truth of the Christian here in verse nine? Number one, he is not in the flesh, as he has already told us numerous times, no longer governed by the fallen human nature. Flesh meaning the man without any influence of the Holy Spirit on him. The Christian is no longer in the flesh. Why is that significant? Because we are in the Spirit. If we are still in the flesh, it would not be possible for us to be in the Spirit. These are two different realms. And never the twain shall meet. There is no jumping back and forth. That does not exist. Being in the flesh is a state or a condition. It is a position. The Christian is no longer in that state, whatever his situation. The Christian never goes back to the state and condition of being in the flesh. In the Spirit is also a state or condition of being. It is a position. It means that the Christian is in a new realm. a realm governed and controlled and dominated by the Spirit. No longer under the law of sin and death, but under the new law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. There is something more wonderful than even that. He says, if we are in the Spirit, then it is also true that the Spirit of God dwells in us. Not only are we in the Spirit, but the Spirit is in us. followed by the fact that all of this is only true of those that are no longer in the flesh. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. Over and over and over again, throughout the entire New Testament, throughout every one of Paul's epistles, there is this one overarching truth about every Christian, and that is that the Holy Spirit lives in us And if that be true, then it means that there are other things that are equally true. Three are one. These three are one, which means that if the Holy Spirit lives in us, then the Father, what? Also lives in us. And the Lord Jesus Christ, what? Also lives in us. Okay? This is the realm in which we now live, that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit live in every one of us who is a Christian. This is what Paul clarifies as the mystery of the gospel in Colossians 127. The mystery of the gospel is what? Christ in you. The hope of glory, Creator, King, Comforter, God, Lord, and Savior, all living in each one of us right now, right this very moment, and for all eternity. How much more hope of salvation and sanctification and glorification could we possibly ask for? This is the ultimate doctrine of all, the highest peak of this Christian doctrine of salvation. Can we understand it? Not at all. Not clearly, but as through a glass darkly, as we're told, kind of, sort of we can. But God gives us a key in Ephesians 3, 16 and 17. It says that according to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love. So the Holy Spirit comes into your inner man And he prepares and strengthens that inner man in order that Christ can then come and make his home in us. And Christ is in the Father, so when Christ comes, who else comes? The Father comes as well, okay? The Holy Trinity lives in all who are Christians, the result being that we are now alive. But it is not us who are alive, but it is Christ that lives in us. In this life we now live, trapped in this fleshly body, we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. There's nothing in the entire universe comparable to being a Christian. It has been said that the very creation of God, which he spoke into existence, ex nihilo, from nothing, there was nothing And everything that is, God spoke into existence from nothing. God created everything from nothing. It is said that that miracle is not nearly as significant a miracle as His taking a spiritually dead man and giving him new and eternal life. So what does this look like in practice? Well, this verse offers us a test that we can apply to ourselves Yes, I know the tendency, my tendency, is to apply this test to other people. That's really easy to do, right? We can apply all this to other people because they're seen as far more obvious to us than ours is. But it is meant for self-examination. How am I to know whether the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ dwells in me? Well, the ultimate test is this. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. If any man has the Spirit of Christ, he does belong to Christ. Fair enough? So how do I know if I have the Spirit of Christ? Well, this goes a whole lot deeper than just a profession of faith. What we have here is a much more thorough test. The test is not about belief, because we know that even the demons believe and tremble. It's not about church membership. It's not about your nationality. It's not about intellectual agreement with certain truths. It's certainly not about your works or your words. The test is this. Is the Spirit of Christ in you? This does not mean that you live a Christ-like life, which you will if you are a Christian. But there are many, many people who live and follow the teachings of Christ, but do not have the Spirit of Christ in them. They do what they do for the praise of men. It means that the Spirit of Christ lives in you. The Spirit who dwells in the Christian has been sent, according to the Lord Himself, to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, He will not speak of Himself, He will glorify Me. So the first thing that the Spirit does is to glorify the Son of God. Those who deny the person of the Son and his work of atonement and all of his other work do not have the Spirit of Christ in them. Might be a very nice man. Might be a sweet little old lady. Might say many good things and might do many good works. But anyone who is not, as a style of life, glorifying the Son and His finished work, does not have the Spirit of Christ in them. To have the Spirit of Christ means that you are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit. You are born again. You are a new creation. Your ultimate test is your relationship to, your attitude toward, and your view of the precious Lamb of God, that is our Lord Jesus Christ. So, verses 10 and 11. It says, 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. These two verses expound on Paul's definition of a Christian even further. Paul has already shown us the contrast between the believer and the non-believer. And here he sums all that contrast up and he proceeds to give us a clear definition and a description of the state and condition of the Christian man. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him, but if, but if, So Paul here is not assuming, he's not taking anything for granted, he's writing to a church, but he's not taking anything for granted. He says, but if you who are reading this, this is for you to examine yourself to see if Christ be in you. If a man is a Christian, then Christ is in him. All Christians, every Christian, Christ lives in the Christian. Now, for certain there are some differences in maturity levels. Young Christians, babes in Christ, young men in Christ, old men in Christ, some that are better examples than others, but this is Paul's reminder that Christ lives in all Christians, regardless of their maturity level. And because Christ lives in us as Christians, Something else is also true. The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. Now we have to approach this statement a little carefully, else we will force it to say something that it does not say, and a lot of people do just that. A lot of commentaries do just that. Remember that the objective of this whole chapter is to teach the doctrine of assurance. That is what Paul is working out here. The Spirit of God and of Christ is in the Christian. And because of that, the Christian sets his mind on the things of the Spirit and not on the things of the flesh. In verses 10 and 11, he puts that same truth in just a little bit different way. First, he tells us what is true of us now, our current position, as it were. He says that the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. He then tells us the results of our current position, which is our future and ultimate position. In verse 11, he says, 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. So if Christ is in you, then you will ultimately have eternal life because of and through our triune God. That is our ultimate future. So let's look at verse 10 first. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. So this is actually another contrasting statement. We have somebody wandering through our midst back here. Who are you young men? Spies bringing grapes from the promised land. Oh my. That is a huge bunch of grapes. Good job, spies. That one broke an arm getting his grapes. That makes me happy. Okay. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. This is actually another contrasting statement. The correct translation, best I can gather, is like this. But if Christ be in you, on the one hand, The body is dead because of sin. On the other hand, the spirit is life because of righteousness. Now, on the one hand, the body is dead because of sin, which is a very important theological and doctrinal statement, and one which we have been pointing to going all the way back to chapter 5. We've gone over this multiple times, but we must touch on it once again here. This body, as referred to here, is our physical body. It is not the same word he uses when describing the flesh. The flesh and the body are not the same thing. Up to this point, he has been focusing on the flesh, meaning our human nature in its fallen state, apart from the influence of the Holy Spirit. That is not what he is talking about here. This is literally our bodies, flesh and blood and bones and all of its inner workings. It includes our ability to reason and to think, or our brains, or lack thereof, if you will. Many commentators declare this to still mean the flesh, but it cannot be so. Why? because of the contrast he draws in the same verse with the spirit. Man as a whole is body, mind or soul, and spirit. There is a distinction between the soul and the spirit. The soul has two aspects with regards to itself. The spiritual side, which links it to God, and the earthly side, which links it to man and life in this world. The body, as we see here, is being contrasted with that spiritual side. Again, this is in reference to the physical body, not to the flesh. As we will see in the next verse, where we are told that the Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies, not to our flesh. So he says the body is dead. The deeds of the body, however, are not dead. In fact, he's going to tell us in verse 13 that we are through the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body. So they're not dead yet. This is one of our positional statements. Our body is dead. He does not say that if Christ is in us that our bodies will die or will become dead or shall die. The body is dead now. Remember all the way back to chapter 6. He says that we are not to not let sin reign in Our mortal bodies. In fact, we are to consider ourselves dead to sin And alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord same thing here. The seed of death is in our bodies Ever since the fall from the moment we enter into this world we begin to die. I The seeds of illness, weakness, decay, and death are in us. Some of us it is more obvious than others, but death awaits us all. Now, that is true of every one of us, but the body is dead also in a moral sense. Our body is the instrument that sin most readily uses. It works, as we saw in chapter 7, through the passions and desires which are inflamed by the law. Our body is the battleground in our struggle with sin. It is the main cause of pain in the believer in every sense, be it physical or moral or spiritual. The body is dead, or in other words, it is a kind of dead weight with a law of sin in its members, again as we saw in chapter 7. The body is dead because of sin. Sin is the culprit. Sin is always the culprit. One man sin entered into the world and death by sin and so all men died because all men sinned. Adam's sin brought death, death to his whole mortal body as well as immediate spiritual death. There was no decay in man's original body but when sin came in this element of death and corruption and decay came in with it. So here's the contrast. Praise God for the contrast. It says, if Christ be in you, it says, even though Christ be in you, your body is still dead. And although your body is still dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. So here comes the point which I said people try to force on the text including our ESV translation. Word spirit here is not a capital S spirit. That capital S would eliminate the contrast that Paul is trying to make here. Paul is describing a Christian man. Describing you and I if we have Christ in us. He says on the one hand the body of this man is dead. your body and my body is dead. When Adam sinned, all men died. Our body is dead. But on the other hand, the spirit is life. The contrast is between body and spirit. A Christian man's body and his spirit. The Holy Spirit is not part of us. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. but he is not part of us. See, I almost messed up right there. It's not an it. He is not part of us. Our body is dead. Our spirit is life. This is our position. This is our condition now. This is the spirit of man, the other part of man, body and soul or body and spirit. He has told us what is true of our bodies. He now tells us what is true of the other side. He said this other side is life. Not shall have life. This is not future. This is positional. The state of the Christian man as he is in this world right now. The Christian is alive. The seed of life is in the Christian. Our spirit has been made alive by the Spirit of Christ. In other words, the Christian is regenerate. The truth about the Christian is not just that the Holy Spirit dwells in him. He has been born again, and the seed of God is in him. The Christian is a partaker of the divine nature. He has received new life. The spirit of man died as a result of the fall. But in the Christian, that spirit has been made alive again. The wages of sin is death, But the free gift of God, which we have already received, is what? Eternal life, okay? So the body of the Christian is still dead, but praise God, the spirit of the Christian man is alive. His body is dead and I will eventually die, but the Christian shall never die. The Christian's body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. This is on account of righteousness. Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, which has been imputed to us. But not only imputed, as we have said before, but also imparted to us, imputed to us in our justification, imparted to us in our sanctification. Our present position, says Paul here, is that as of right now, our salvation is partial With regards to our spirit, we are as saved as we will ever be. We are alive in Christ Jesus. We are already seated with Him in the heavenly places. We are as saved as we will ever be. That is true of us, but it is not true of our bodies. My body is still dead because of sin. See that? This is where the impartation comes in. It says, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ, because this is already absolutely true of you. And because of that truth, do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies. You are alive in the spirit, so do not allow sin to reign in that body of yours. Mortify that sin in your body, kill it before it can kill you. Don't give in to temptations. Don't allow your members to become instruments of unrighteousness. But give yourselves to God as those that are alive from the dead, as they should do. The impartation of righteousness and the power of the Holy Spirit give us all that we need for the righteous requirements of the law to be fulfilled in us. Watch and pray. Put on the whole armor of God. Mortify the flesh. because the battle that we are in will never end as long as we are on this earth. That's why we have all of those exhortations. All of which leads us to this, 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. Now, there's another if. Never take anything for granted, never assume, because we all know from Scripture that there are a lot more lost people in what calls itself the church than there are saved people. This is, as we have said multiple times, the main objective is assurance. However, it is only a certain cast of people who can ever truly have assurance. Jesus in Matthew 7 tells us of a multitude of people. standing before him filled to the brim with assurance. But it was an assurance constructed in their own minds and not from the Word of God. So first off, just to get this out of the way, this verse 11 thing, this is not talking about a moral resurrection as what John Calvin taught. Yes, I did just say that I'm smarter than John Calvin, okay? No, I did not say that. But this is what he taught. This is not about a moral resurrection. And this is not a regarding faith healing as the Benny Hinn's of the world teach, okay? This is not about that. And if you're not smarter than Benny Hinn, you got a problem, okay? I'm just gonna say. This is ultimate and final resurrection and glorification of our mortal bodies. If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, God who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, again the Holy Trinity plain and clearly shown right here in one verse, and all three concerned very much about us and about our salvation. The Father planned it all, the Son came to execute it, and the Spirit applies it. So a couple of things we see here, actually many, but for the sake of time we will cover the most critical. First we see the clear and unmistakable reference to the physical resurrection of Christ in the body from the grave. And he states that twice, just to make sure that we don't miss it. Raise Jesus from the dead. Raise Christ Jesus from the dead. Kind of important, you'd think, huh? Or he wouldn't have said it twice. Secondly, and again, he states it twice, the Spirit dwells in you. The Spirit dwells in our bodies, our actual physical bodies. 1 Corinthians 6.19. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? I'm not sure if you grasp the significance of that statement. But everything that we see, or read, or listen to, or do, the third person of the Trinity is right there taking note of it. And if the third person of the Trinity is right there taking note of it, who else is there? The other two people of the Trinity, persons of the Trinity. A temple is a place of worship. Worship meaning to declare the worth of. For those of you that did not know, that's what that word means. To declare the worth of. We've already been told to submit our members, our eyes, ears, minds, desires, passions, and all such things to submit them to God as instruments for righteousness. God's Spirit lives in this temple, this body, and we should be very careful not to grieve or to quench the Holy Spirit that lives in us. Anyway, the point being made is that the Spirit lives in our mortal bodies. stated twice so that we know that this thing that is going to happen is going to happen to our mortal bodies. This is important. I didn't, that was decades that I didn't think it was important. It is important. Okay? So what's going to happen? Resurrection. He just told us our position. Your spirit is alive because of righteousness, but your body at the moment, for as long as you live here in this world, Your body is dead because of sin. But do not be dismayed. All is swell. All is swell. There is a time coming when even your dead body is going to be raised. Again, this is comfort and assurance. Not only are we already saved in the Spirit, We are also going to be saved in the body. Our bodies need to be made alive and that is exactly what is going to happen to them. Not merely resuscitated but made alive. Our frail mortal bodies full of weaknesses and sicknesses containing the very seeds of death are going to be made alive. My spirit My spirit is already alive. My body is going to be made alive as well. Now, one question. This verse 11 seems on its face to be rather complicated, rather wordy as it were. If the point being made is that God is going to one day raise up our bodies, is that the point being made? God is going to one day raise up our bodies. Why not just come out and say, one day God is going to raise up our bodies instead of going through all of this? Okay? Well, since it is Paul, we know that this was deliberate. What he is emphasizing is that the Holy Spirit lives in us. This living in us is what truly matters. This is why he leads with it at the beginning of that verse and finishes with it in the same verse. Because this indwelling is true, then we can rightly say that other things, other certain things, are equally true. What every true Christian really and truly desires most in the body is to be freed from the sin that is in our bodies. Is that a true statement? If we are Christians, our biggest desire is to be freed from the sin that is in our bodies. The traps and the snares that sin lays for us in our bodies. The message here is that that day is coming when we are going to be freed from the sin that is in our bodies. I can be certain of it, because I have a guarantee of it. That guarantee being the Spirit of God that dwells in me. Ephesians 1, 13 and 14. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory. Sealed with the Spirit of God, guaranteed by this down payment, as it were, of the Holy Spirit, that God will do what He promised to do. He who began this good work in us, placed us into his own son, placed his own spirit in us so that we can be absolutely certain that God's divine work will be completed and can never be thwarted. If the spirit is in you, your final position is already signed, sealed, and delivered. God's spirit actually dwells in our mortal bodies. in this temple and to be quite honest most of us our temple is not really fit for habitation for deity but the spirit begins immediately when he comes to us what does he begin immediately to do? to clean house He's not going to dwell in filth. The Holy Spirit is not going to dwell in filth. When He comes in, He immediately begins to clean house. He is going to make this temple, this body, a fit habitation for Himself and for Christ by making us more and more like Christ without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Finally, The Spirit in us is the same Spirit who was in the Son of God. We are in Christ, no longer in Adam, but in Christ. Everything that happened to Christ happens to us. We were crucified with Him, we died with Him, and our bodies will be raised with Him. The Spirit in us means that Christ is in us, and it means that we are in Christ. Christ came to redeem God's people from the fall and from the consequences of sin. And to complete that work, He must raise our very bodies. To complete that work, He must raise our very bodies. Our bodies participated in the effects of the first Adam. This is what I learned, okay? I told you for decades I didn't think this was important. This is very important. Our bodies participated in the effects of the first atom, and therefore they must participate in the effects of the last atom. That's why this is important. Paul is here telling us that Christ's work will not be left incomplete. Our body, this body, now dead because of sin, will one day be made alive. grass will change our bowel mortal body so that it will be like his glorious body this is how i like to train i don't look the same but not be the same it's it's okay make of it what you will but it's going to be locked glorious body of christ like the body of his glorification And we will at last be completely redeemed and delivered. Let's pray. Father God, I love you so much. I thank you for your word that gives us assurance. I thank you for your word that shows us your promise and then guarantees us the fulfillment of that promise. Lord, pour out your Spirit upon everyone here this morning, that we might all understand where we stand positionally in you. Sometimes we fail, sometimes we stumble, sometimes we falter. Lord, our position never changes, because we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. And it's in His name we pray. Amen.