The Bible describes the non-Christian as a person “in the flesh”, and a Christian as a person “in the Spirit.” The astounding truth is that Christians are indwelt by the very same Spirit that was in Jesus Christ! Learn the Biblical characteristics of each of these kinds of people from Romans 8:5-11.
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“In The Flesh” Vs. “In The Spirit”
Romans 8:5-11
Romans chapter 8 is the Spirit chapter. We have the Love Chapter in 1 Corinthians 13. We have the Faith Chapter in Hebrews 11. Well, here in Romans 8, we have the Spirit Chapter. The Holy Spirit is referred to 17x in this chapter. In Romans 8, Paul is describing life in the Spirit.
Now, in Romans 8:5-11, Paul compares and contrasts two different kinds of people. He speaks about those who are “according to the flesh” in verse 5. Then in verse 8 he calls those people “those who are in the flesh.” So, those who are according to the flesh are the same ones that are in the flesh. Those are just two different ways of speaking about the same people.
In verse 5 he also speaks of those who are “according to the Spirit.” Then, in verse 9 he says that they are “in the Spirit.” So, either a person is according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. Either a person is in the flesh or in the Spirit. There are only two kinds of people in the world. It doesn’t matter how moral, or religious, or devout they may be. The only thing that really matters is whether they are “in the flesh” or “in the Spirit.”
To be “in the flesh” means that they are merely human. This describes a person who does not have the Holy Spirit. He is unregenerate, unconverted, unsaved. Jude calls them people who are “devoid of the Spirit.” They are just flesh. In the end it doesn’t really matter how “good” others think they are, or how devout, or religious they were, or how often they attended church or prayed. The only thing that really matters is whether they possessed the Holy Spirit or not.
In order to see the stark contrast between these two different groups of people, just notice their relationship to God’s law. In verse 7, we read that those who are in the flesh do not subject themselves to the law of God, for they are not even able to do so. Rather, they are hostile to God and can’t please God. Now, notice verse 4. Those who are in the Spirit fulfill the requirement of the Law. Those in the flesh – can’t subject themselves to God’s law. Those in the Spirit – fulfill the requirement of the Law. These are two totally different groups of people. And in the end, there are only two different groups of people in the world. The lost and the saved – the unconverted and the converted – those in Adam and those in Christ – those in the flesh and those in the Spirit.
Well, this morning let’s compare these two groups of people and see what is true about each one.
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Those Who Are “In The Flesh”
1) Set Their Minds On The Things Of The Flesh
Those who are according to the flesh (8:5). This is simply another way of saying “those who are in the flesh” (8:8). In 7:5 we discover that these are people who have not died to the Law and have not been joined to the risen Christ, and thus they can only bear fruit for death. Those who are according to the flesh means those people who only have a fleshly nature. They have never become partakers of the divine nature. They have never been born of the Spirit. They have never been given new spiritual life. They have never been given a new heart. They have never become a new creation in Christ. They are simply “flesh.” Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). He is flesh, and that is all he will ever be unless he is born of the Spirit.
Set their minds on the things of the flesh (8:5). They think about and make plans on how they can gratify the desires of their corrupt nature. They are concerned with and constantly dwell on what they will eat or drink or what they will wear, or where they will live (Mt. 6:31-32). Jesus said the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. However, He told His disciples that they should seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Of course, Christians also think about what they will eat and drink and wear and live. But the primary focus and preoccupation of our lives is not with the things of the flesh, but the things of the Spirit.
2) Are Spiritually Dead
For the mind set on the flesh is death (8:6). So, what does that mean? It means that the person whose mind is set on the flesh is spiritually dead. They may attend church or synagogue or say their prayers, but they have no spiritual life. They are spiritually dead now, and if they remain in that condition, they will experience eternal death, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power. The evidence that a person is spiritually dead is that he sets his mind on the things of the flesh.
3) Are Hostile To God
The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God (8:7). If a person does not have the indwelling Holy Spirit abiding in him, he reacts to God with hostility. He has no real love for God or trust in God. So, when God speaks to him through His Word with authority, and declares what He must and must not do, he can only react with hostility. He does not fear God. He does not want to submit to God. He wants to do his own will, not God’s. Romans 5:10 says that before we were saved we were enemies of God. Romans 1:18 says that this person suppresses the truth in unrighteousness, and exchanges the glory of the incorruptible God for images, and exchanges the truth of God for a lie. Romans 2:5 says that he has a stubborn and unrepentant heart. Romans 2:8 says he is selfishly ambitious and does not obey the truth, but rather obeys unrighteousness. This person is in defiance of God and is hostile to Him!
4) Can’t Subject Themselves To the Law of God
The mind set on the flesh does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so (8:7). Because this unregenerate person is hostile to God, he is unwilling to submit himself to God and His law. But his trouble is even deeper than that. It is not just that he is unwilling. He is unable! His nature is opposed to God and His Word. He is inclined toward the flesh. Since he does not possess spiritual life, he does not love and desire God’s Word. Since all he has is a fleshly nature, it is no wonder that he is completely incapable of submitting to God’s law.
5) Can’t Please God
And those who are in the flesh cannot please God (8:8). Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” This person does not possess Bible faith, saving faith. Do you know what pleases God? His Son! Whenever God sees a reflection of Jesus in others, He is pleased. But this man has only a fleshly nature, and his mind is set only on the flesh. Therefore he can’t please God, because Christ is not seen in his life. Do you believe this? This verse is telling us that there is nothing an unsaved person can do to please God. No amount of good works, religious observances, or charitable giving will please God. He can never please God until he is transformed from a person “in the flesh” to a person “in the Spirit.”
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Those Who Are “In The Spirit”
1) Set Their Minds On The Things Of The Spirit
Just as the person who is in the flesh sets his mind on the things of the flesh, so too the person who is in the Spirit sets his mind on the things of the Spirit. He thoughts are occupied with God, His Word, worship, and serving the Lord. Notice, that Paul is not exhorting believers to set their minds on the things of the Spirit. He is just saying that believers will set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Because the Spirit dwells in him, he will have a spiritual mindset. I don’t know if I can go 30 minutes without thinking about God in one way or another. I will wonder if my thoughts or actions are pleasing to Him. I will thank Him for something that He has just done for me. I will ask Him to bring His blessing into so and so’s life. I will think about another brother or sister in the Lord, and wonder how I can help them in their Christian life. Have you experienced the same thing? When the Holy Spirit dwells within, we can’t help but set our mind on the things of the Spirit.
2) Experience Life and Peace
The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (8:6). What does Paul mean by this? I think Paul means that the person who has his mind set on the Spirit does so because of the new life he has received from Christ. Because he is a new creation with a new heart, and a new life, he instinctively thinks on, considers, and focuses on the things of the Spirit. The person who sets his mind on the things of the flesh is spiritually dead, whereas the person who sets his mind on the things of the Spirit is spiritually alive.
But what does Paul mean by peace? I think he means the opposite of “the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God.” The mind set on the Spirit belongs to someone who is at peace with God. Instead of being enemies of God, we are friends who have been reconciled. Instead of being hostile to God, we love Him. We desire Him. We treasure Him. And thank God, we are at peace with Him!
3) Are Indwelt By The Spirit Of God
However you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if the Spirit of God dwells in you (8:9). What is it that makes the difference between the lost man and the saved man? The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit! That’s it! The man in the flesh does not have the Holy Spirit. The man in the Spirit does.
Spirit – Spirit of God – Spirit of Christ – Christ (8:9-10). All of these expressions are referring to the same presence. He is the Spirit of God the Father, and the Spirit of God the Son. Since the Spirit communicates so much of Christ, it is true to say that Christ Himself is present in us. We can read the Old Testament, and almost be jealous of the experiences the children of Israel had. They saw the Red Sea part right before their eyes. They saw the pillar of cloud and fire lead them through the wilderness every day. They ate the manna that God sent from heaven. They drank the water that came out of the rock. The only problem was that they really didn’t have close access to God. Only the High Priest could draw near to God, and then only on one day out of the year. But you and I have immediate access to God 24/7 by His indwelling Spirit. He actually lives in us!
Dwells (8:9). The Greek word means “to live in a house.” This word doesn’t just mean “be somewhere temporarily.” It’s not the word you would use to be in your car, or a coffee shop, or a store. The Holy Spirit is not present in you as if you were a stopover. No, He is present in you, because He lives in you. Your body is His residence. You are His home. If someone moved into your home and lived there over several years, you would become very familiar with them. You would see them all the time. You would talk with them, eat meals with them, maybe watch a movie with them or work with them. And over time, they would have an influence on you. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. He dwells in you permanently. He is working in you all the time. Therefore, you and I should be very familiar with Him, and He should be having a huge influence on our lives. Actually, the Old Testament saints should be jealous of us! We are the ones that have constant access to God! They could never have imagined that there would be a people whom the Creator of the universe would come and dwell in permanently. We are so very privileged, and I fear we take it for granted.
4) Belong to Christ
If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him (8:9). Well, that means that if anyone does have the Spirit of Christ, he does belong to Him. Those that have the Holy Spirit have been marked out as God’s possession. That’s what Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” When someone truly believes in Christ, He is sealed with the Holy Spirit. God gives the Holy Spirit as a pledge, a promise, a down payment, an engagement ring, that He is going to give us something else. What is that? Our eternal inheritance! When God gives the Spirit to us, He does it with a view to our full redemption. Why? Because we are His possession. He owns us. We were bought with a price, and we have been indwelt by the Spirit. Therefore, we belong to Christ.
5) Possess Spiritual Life
Though the body is dead because of sin…(8:10). What is Paul saying here? He’s saying that our bodies are as good as dead, because we are part of a sinful and fallen humanity. Even though the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and God has saved us, our bodies remain mortal. Our redemption happens in stages. Our soul has been redeemed, but our body will not be redeemed until Christ returns. Notice what Paul says in verse 23, “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” If Christ tarries, we will all die. That is the product of the Fall.
Yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness (8:10). Even though our body is going to die, our spirit has already been made alive. Paul is describing the New Birth. We may look the same on the outside, but we are brand new on the inside. We have the same warts, balding hair, and wrinkles under our eyes. But God has made our spirit alive. At one time we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were cut off from God. But now the Spirit has come inside and made us alive together with Christ. He has given us a new heart. Why did all this happen? It is all based on Christ’s righteousness. At the cross, Christ purchased a gift of righteousness for us, and this righteousness obtains this new spiritual life for us. We don’t have to wait for the redemption of our bodies to have spiritual life. We have it now, the moment we are born again. We have Christ in us now. We have His righteousness now. Therefore, we have His life now.
6) Will Be Resurrected to Life
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (8:11). When we die, our living spirit will be separated from our body for a time, but it won’t last forever. Even though redemption happens in stages, those stages will come. Our resurrection from the dead is as certain as Christ’s resurrection! How can we know that? Because the same Spirit that raised Him dwells in us and will raise us. We are the body of Christ. Do you think God is going to raise the Head and leave the Body in the grave? He purchased all of you – spirit and body. He’s not going to throw away what He purchased at such great cost. This means that God will resurrect our bodies, and then unite our living spirits to them. Our bodies will have no sinful inclinations, and there will be no sinful temptations. We will live on a New Earth in which righteousness dwells. We will shine like the sun in the glory of our Father!
Conclusion
As a result of our study in the Word today, Christian do you see your exalted status and the glorious privileges you have been given? Don’t ever be envious of unsaved people! You are the one who should be envied!
What is true of the unregenerate?
- He sets his mind on the things of the flesh
- He is spiritually dead
- He is hostile to God
- He can’t subject himself to God’s Law
- He can’t please God
- He doesn’t belong to Christ
What is true of the regenerate?
- He sets his mind on the things of the Spirit
- He experiences life and peace
- He is indwelt by the Spirit of God
- He possesses spiritual life
- He belongs to Christ
- He will be resurrected to life
Christian, I exhort you to appreciate the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit! Set your mind on the things of the Spirit. Give thanks for His life and peace and indwelling presence. Look forward with joy to the resurrection of your body to live in a righteous New Earth! Don’t grieve the Spirit. Don’t resist the Spirit. Walk in step with the Spirit. Cultivate your dependence upon the Spirit, and your relationship with Him.
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