Title: The Indwelling Holy Spirit
Commentary on Romans 60
Holy Spirit indwelling
Romans 8:5 - 8
Introduction: Why is the Holy Spirit necessary for Christians? The answer to this can be interpreted in various ways doctrinal. We divide those who are in Christ in the difference between those who follow the flesh and those who follow the Spirit, and some people think that some people are still living after the flesh in Christ, while others have matured in their faith and are living after the Spirit There is. However, Paul points out in Romans 8 assertively that Christians are not those who follow the flesh, but those who follow the Spirit, and that they are not thinking about the things of the flesh, but thinking about the things of the Spirit. Not only that, but those who follow the flesh not only do not submit to God's law, nor can they do it, nor can they please God, and they become enemies of God. But in verse 9, Paul clearly states that those who do not have the Holy Spirit do not belong to Christ, and thus clearly show that there is an inseparable relationship between Christians and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
1. A person who is not in the flesh but in the spirit
At the beginning of verse 9, Paul says, “If the Spirit of God dwells in you, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” This means that the Christian is not in the flesh under any circumstances. Because the Spirit of Christ dwells in him.
(1) To say that we are not in the flesh but in the spirit means one realm to which Christians belong. The phrase “has passed from death to life” also refers to the realm of the Christian life. Christians, too, have formerly lived under the dominion of the flesh, and that flesh has always been under the dominion of sin and condemned by the law. But we have now moved out of the realm of the old man and moved to the place where we are governed by the Spirit of Christ. Unlike before, we are not people who have to live under the control of the flesh, but people who must live a spiritual life under the control of the Holy Spirit and following his commands. Without the Holy Spirit's control or guidance, he is without the Holy Spirit and is not a Christian.
(2) To say that a Christian is in the Spirit means that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is present. The Holy Spirit dwells in Christians. Paul said of our bodies in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from your God?” To be with you does not mean temporary essential oil, but eternal dwelling. “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23).
The saying that the Holy Spirit dwells with us in us is a very mysterious word. In verse 9, the Holy Spirit is expressed in three names. ‘Spirit of God’, ‘Spirit’, ‘Spirit of Christ’, etc. It can be said that this is a manifestation of the Trinity of God. And it is surprising that when Jesus said “we” in John 10, he was referring to this triune God of the one who dwells in us. This means that the Father sends and the Son also sends, and it is an expression that means that the Holy Spirit does the work of God in us and the work of the manifestation of Christ.
2. The body is dead because of sin,
We discover two things that happened in our bodies by the Holy Spirit in verse 10.
(1) The body was said to be dead because of sin. The body Paul is referring to here is the actual body in which we live in this world. When we say body, this body means the visible physical body and the invisible soul. Humans have souls. This soul plays a two-sided role. One leads to a relationship with God. It is because we have souls that we communicate with God, praise God, worship God, listen to God, and obey His will.
And the other side is that this soul appears as a necessary aspect of the life of a man or the life of this world. But when a person sinned, his soul died. To say that the soul is dead here means to cut off our relationship with God. Everything that has ever had a relationship with God is completely dead. By sin, man fell into an irretrievable place in his relationship with God.
This is total depravity. They became enemies with God. This soul can only be restored by receiving Jesus Christ. After that, what humans have is only the parts necessary to survive in this world. This same life exists in other creatures as well. What sets us apart from other creatures is that human life is highly superior, and God's commandment called conscience is engraved in our hearts. Therefore, a person's true life is in the soul that has a relationship with God. A person whose soul dies will be judged by God. To say that you believe in Christ and are saved means the survival of this soul.
(2) Man's salvation must be strictly divided into two aspects. One is the salvation of the soul, and this salvation comes as soon as you believe. The Holy Spirit comes into us and plants new life in my dead spirit. We should not think that the Holy Spirit is our eternal life. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who enters into us and gives us the eternal life of Christ. Therefore, without the Holy Spirit, no one can receive the life of eternal life. In this way, the Holy Spirit gives us the true life, saving our dead life, but also as the seed of eternal life.
Moreover, the reason the Holy Spirit dwells in us is for Christian sanctification and protection and comfort to the end of the world. On the other hand, our bodies are dead because of our sins. As Christians, we have to live with these elements of sin until our bodies die, so it is necessary to live a life that constantly fights against sin. But our spirits are alive because of the righteousness of Christ. Therefore, since the life that was dead toward God has come to life, we are not people who live after the flesh but people who live after the spirit.
3. Hope of Resurrection
But even though Christians are dead in their bodies because of sin (meaning they will perish and die in the future), we do not end there. The salvation accomplished by Christ is complete salvation. Complete salvation includes the redemption of the body. The redemption of this body is the resurrection. Our body is in a state of death as a seed of death in this world, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will overcome this death someday and come back to life as a resurrection body. At this time, we will not be naked spirits, but will live in the kingdom of God as glorified resurrected bodies adorned with new clothes, a glorified body.
This is the day our redemption is completed. This is no different than what has already been done to us. We are thankful by faith because God has given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee.
Conclusion: Our bodies are still (until the resurrection) dead. Sin is now trying to dominate me in this body without touching my soul. Sin is trying to take me captive in my body to rule. However, we must resist and fight against these attempts of sin. The Holy Spirit who can overcome all these things dwells within us. We must please God by living in pursuit of this Holy Spirit.