The Spirit Of God Is Alive And Well -- In You!

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALIVE AND WELL, IN YOU

Romans 8:11-19 -- March 28, 2004 – LENT 5

ROMANS 8:11-19

11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Christian Friends:

The Psalmist tells us: "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." It is a joy to be alive. Yet, we probably don’t feel that way everyday that we wake up, even it still is ought to be a joy to be alive. We realize that as each day goes by and the years go by, we find a few more aches and pains in our lives. We might not feel so well everyday of our life. We might worry and fret about the world situation, and the list goes on. But the Lord reminds us that, yes, we may not always feel the best every day; and yet, we still are believers who have the Spirit of God alive in us. Because of that, our spiritual life, our faith, is alive and well.

Listen to what Jesus tells us in John: "(Jesus promises)...the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you" (JOHN 14:17). The Father tells us that the Spirit of God is alive and well in each one of us, in every believer. Ever all around us, the world does fret and people are so concerned about themselves, and they can not think about anything else except worry. They lose the joy of living. It is because they don’t know the Holy Spirit. They don’t see Him. They don’t understand faith. Today by God’s grace, you and I gather together to remind ourselves that, yes, there is joy in living in this world; because the Spirit of God is alive and well in you.

That is what we consider as we look at Paul’s words to the believers at Rome and to us as well. THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL, IN YOU.

I. We are God’s own dear children

II. We are heirs of God’s eternal glory

I. We are God’s own dear children

Our text begins by reminding these early believers how they became children of God: 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. First of all, the Apostle Paul reminded these believers that their Savior Jesus Christ had come back to life with the power of the Holy Spirit. If they would think about that, they would realize this is a great power. Paul goes on to say that same great power that was able to raise Jesus to life, even though He was dead, even though He had been crucified, is the power that lives in them. It is a power that is able to change their lives, which is able to make them find joy in living. Even though we know they could have complained because they faced tremendous persecution.

Now that they considered what God had done for them, Paul continues: 12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. Paul says we look at how we have come to faith, that it is a gift of God. Remember that power God used to raise Jesus back to life? It is the same power that is in the gift of faith. Paul says that believers now owe God something, but not living in any sinful way, that leads to nothing. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Paul says that power of God had changed their lives. They no longer had to walk mindlessly down the path of destruction, but instead they could put to death the misdeeds of the body. They could resist sin. They could resist the devil, and they would discover life.