Audio - Living by the Spirit

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The 9th Sunday in Trinity
Living by the Spirit
August 2, 2009

TEXT:  (Romans 8:10-17 NKJ) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors-- not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
 
 
 
What does Paul mean when he says our body is dead because of sin?—look at us—we walk—we breathe—we do things on this earth that show the world we are alive—but Paul says we are dead—Paul understands the mystery of life and death—Paul understands God’s gift to the world—His Son, Jesus Christ—Paul understood that man has two parts, natural man and his spirit—our bodies are made of elements of the earth—but those elements are not enough—it is the spirit that gives life to the body—consider the creation of Adam—God formed him—then God breathed life into him
 
(Genesis 2:7 NKJ) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
 
It is God in man that gives life—Paul knows God gives life—and Paul knows we are all dead to our sins in this world—Paul also knows that when God resurrected His Son in glory—everything changed for man—listen to Paul’s description of these changes—hear how the natural body dies and decays—but the resurrected body is raised incorruptible—that is, a body that cannot and will not decay comes from the resurrection—our bodies in heaven will last forever
 
(1 Corinthians 15:42-49 NKJ) So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
 
At the fall of man into sin, God tells us that our earthly, natural bodies will again turn to dust
 
(Genesis 3:19 NKJ) In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."
 
This is reinforced in the Psalms
 
 
(Psalm 104:29-30 NKJ) You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.
 
And, finally, we hear from King Solomon—the wisest of all men—as he approached the end of life in this world, King Solomon shared these inspired words with all mankind who would listen
 
(Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 NKJ) Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. 7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
 
The silver cord is symbolic of the cord that ties the spirit to the body—when it is loosed the spirit returns to heaven—and the body goes back to the earth—the golden bowl carries the living water—and once we’ve returned to heaven, the river of living water flowing from the throne of God sustains us
 
(Revelation 22:1-2 NKJ) And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
 
As we’ve discussed before, this body is a temporary dwelling place for us while we are in this world—but just as Jesus was resurrected—we will be resurrected—and just as the temple of God in Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt better and more glorious than before—our bodily temple will be destroyed—it will return to the earth from whence it came—and we will receive our heavenly body which is more glorious than our natural body
 
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NKJ) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
 
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJ) Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
 
We live in a world that is under the power of Satan—but we are not of this world—we are just in this world—we belong to Christ—and we are citizens of heaven—waiting for God to take us home
 
(Philippians 3:20-21 NKJ) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
 
In this lesson—Paul describes those filled with the Holy Spirit as “sons of God”—and he states that we cry out “Abba, Father” when we cry out to God—this reference—Abba—is a name of familiarity much like calling out to dad as a reference to a father—Paul wants us to know that we are truly sons of God—inheriting all the things of His true Son, Jesus Christ—Paul wrote this same thing to the Galatians
 
(Galatians 4:4-7 NKJ) But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
 
This fulfills the promise Jesus made in John’s Gospel
 
(John 16:13-15 NKJ) "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
 
What a magnificent promise!—listen in your heart for the things of the Holy Spirit—obey the Spirit—and inherit all the promises of God in heaven
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!