The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it
does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able
to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the
Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit
of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you,
though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive
because of righteousness. 11 But 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.

At the beginning of verse nine the issue is: What´s
different about you? What sets you apart from the people of verses
7-8? These are the two great groupings of human beings that Paul is
dealing with. Verses 7 and 8 describe what we are like as merely
human – what he calls being "in the flesh" (v. 8), or having
the "mindset of the flesh" (v. 7). And he says that what
distinguishes us when we are "in the flesh," (cf. 7:5) or when we
have the "mindset of the flesh," is three things, or one thing said
three ways: 1) Verse 7a: that we are hostile and insubordinate to
God; 2) Verse 7b: that we cannot submit to God´s law –
that´s how deep our corruption and our rebellion are; 3)
Verse 8: We cannot please God. That is our condition and our plight
and our identity when we are in the flesh – merely human (cf.
John 3:6)

What´s Different about You?

Now at the beginning of verse 9 the issue is: What´s
different about you? The verse begins, "But you . . ." So there is
a group of people who are different from those described in verses
7 and 8. These are true Christians. So here we learn what it means
to be a true Christian. And oh what a difference it makes to be
such a Christian! Would that the world knew what this says!

So if you wonder what a Christian is, listen carefully to the
Word of God. It is not the family you grow up in. It is not whether
you were baptized or confirmed. It is not whether you have been to
Christian schools. It is not what church you go to or what
denomination you belong to. What is it? What makes you different,
if you are a Christian the way Paul describes it here?

How Christians Are Similar to and Dissimilar from Those in the
Flesh

If we take just verses 9-11, Paul describes five ways that you
are unlike the rest of the world (those who are "in the flesh"),
and one way that you are like the rest of the world. Let´s
take these one at a time. And, Christian, learn here who you are
and whose you are. This is no small thing. These are breathtaking
truths about yourselves that you are about to hear. Ask God to help
you feel the wonder of these things, so your life will show them
more.

And, non-Christian, listen well and you may become a Christian,
because these things I am about describe come true for us by faith,
and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans
10:17). I pray that God may bring you gently and reasonably and
freely to see and welcome and embrace Christ through his Word.

1. The Spirit Dwells in You

First, you, Christ, are different because "the Spirit of God
dwells in you." Look right in the middle of verse 9 to see this
(and there is a reason why I start in the middle): "However, you
are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God
dwells in you." This is the difference between a Christian and a
non-Christian. It is not merely a matter different ideas. It is the
very presence of the Spirit of God dwelling in us.

The word "dwell" is important. It´s more than "be there,"
like you might be in a bus station or in a train or in a car or in
a store. "Dwell" (oikeM) comes from the word "house" (oikos). And
so the implication is that the Spirit of God is not present in you
as if you were a stopover. He has taken up residence here. This is
where he lives. This is his home. The implication is nearness and
familiarity and influence. If someone makes your house their home,
they will be near you a lot. They will become familiar with you and
you with them. And they will have an influence on you and the way
you live. Know this about yourselves, Christians: the Spirit of God
dwells – makes his home – in you. If you are not
becoming very familiar with him, and communing with him, and being
influenced by him, something is profoundly wrong. Don´t
ignore him or grieve him or resist him. What better Christmas gift
could the risen Christ give you than the Spirit of God to dwell in
you?

Paul describes this first distinguishing thing about Christians
in two other ways: He says, next in verse 9, "you have the Spirit
of Christ." And then, at the beginning of verse 10 he says, "Christ
is in you." So the first distinguishing thing about being Christian
different from those who are "in the flesh" is that we are
"inhabited" people. And he says it three ways: 1) "the Spirit of
God dwells in you" (v. 9b); 2) "you have the Spirit of Christ" (v.
9c); 3) "Christ is in you" (v. 10a).

The change in names here is full of treasures. "Spirit of God,"
"Spirit of Christ," "Christ" – all of them referring
essentially to the same presence. The Spirit is equally the Spirit
of God the Father and the Spirit of God the Son, Jesus Christ. And
the Spirit communicates so much of Christ that it is fitting to say
Christ himself is present in you.

Listen to the way Jesus said it while he was still on earth.
John 14:16-18, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may be with you forever; (17) that is the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him
or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will
be in you. (18) I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to
you."

Do you see what he says? Verse 16: He will send the "Helper,"
the "Spirit of truth." Then he suggests (in v. 17b) that this
Spirit is one with himself: "He abides with you and will be in
you." In other words: I am with you now. But I will be in you after
I return to my Father and send the Spirit of truth. Then (in v. 18)
he speaks explicitly about himself: "I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you."

So for Jesus and Paul the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit
(John 14:26) – is one with the Spirit of Christ and
communicates so much of Christ that Paul and Jesus say: When he is
present in you, Christ is present in you.

There are treasures for you here, Christian. Give yourself time
to ponder these things and revel in them. You are never without
Christ. Never far from Christ. He is never at a distance. He has
said, "I will be with you to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20),
and now we know how close he really promises to be.

That is the first thing that makes you different as a
Christian:

The Spirit of God dwells in you.
You have the Spirit of Christ.
Christ is in you.

2. You Are in the Sway of the Spirit

Now here is the second thing that makes you different. The
second clause in verse 9: "You are in the Spirit." Note this
carefully. This is not saying, "The Spirit is in you," but, "You
are in the Spirit." And this is what distinguishes you from those
who are in the flesh. Verse 9a: "However, you are not in the flesh
but [you are] in the Spirit."

What does it mean that "you are in the Spirit"? It means that
you are in the sway of the Spirit, under the power of the Spirit.
It means that the Spirit is the decisive influence on your life. I
don´t say only influence. He has his enemies and competitors.
But to be "in the Spirit" is to come from the power of darkness
into the power of God (Acts 26:18). I base this mainly on the
parallel with being "in the flesh" and what Paul says about that in
verses 7-8. To be in the flesh is to be held in bondage to the
flesh, to be under the sway and captivity of the flesh, so that we
can´t submit to God´s law and can´t please God.
Now he says, "You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit." So I
take him to mean that the Spirit has broken that dominion of the
flesh and now holds the reins of your life. You are in his hands,
not in the hands of the flesh.

Now to connect these first two distinctions of being a Christian
and see another treasure: Paul connects them for us in verse 9:
"[You are] in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in
you." In other words, the Spirit liberates us and holds sway over
us from inside of us. If he dwells in you, you are in him –
in his sway and under his decisive influence. This is precious
because it calls to mind all the inner transformation that makes us
free in the service of Christ. The Spirit is not just outside
barking commands at us to influence us. He is inside, working a new
heart and a mind conformed to Christ, so that we will delight to do
what he commands. This is one of the great evidences that he is
there.

3. You Belong to Christ

The third thing Paul says about our difference as Christians is
that we belong to Christ. Note the last two clauses of verse 9:
"But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Him." So the reverse is true too: If you do have the
Spirit of Christ, you do belong to him. So as Christians we should
think
of ourselves as belonging to Christ – as Christ´s
possession.

In what sense are we Christ´s possession? Paul connects
the ideas of indwelling and possession in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 in
a way that explains: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of
the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you
are not your own?" In what sense? He explains in verse 20: "For you
have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
Paul describes two ways that Christ makes us his own: purchase and
habitation.

There was a time in this country when you could lay claim to a
piece of land in the west by simply going there and living on it,
homesteading it. And of course there is the more traditional ways
of obtaining land, paying for it. Christ did both in order to
possess a people for himself: he bought us, and he homesteaded us.
"You are not your own. For you have been bought with a price" (1
Corinthians 6:19-20) – that´s the purchase. "You are
the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . You are not your own" . . . "If
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to
Christ" (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9) – that´s the
homesteading. He bought us with his blood, and he moves in by his
Spirit. If you are a Christian, you are not your own. You belong to
Christ.

We are inhabited by Christ, under the sway of Christ,
and owned by Christ.

And here too there are treasures for you to ponder and enjoy.
One of the main treasures in Paul´s mind seems to be the
absolute security that this gives us, even in the face of death.
Christ takes care of his own. He did not buy us to lose us. He
bought us to have us and keep us.

You see Paul´s concern with this in the last two points. I
said there were five things that set us apart from non-Christians,
and one thing that showed how we are the same. Let´s take the
point of similarity next.

Christians Are Like the Rest of the World in That Their
Bodies Remain Mortal

Verse 10: "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because
of sin . . ." So here´s the point of similarity. In this age
our bodies remain mortal, and will die even though we are inhabited
by Christ. In other words, redemption happens in stages. And the
redemption of our bodies does not happen now in this age. We wait,
verse 23 says, for the redemption of our bodies. Your bodies are as
good as dead because you are part of a sinful and fallen humanity.
In that way we are like the rest of mankind. We will die.

But now there are two other things that make Christians
different from non-Christians and that take the sting out of our
mortality.

4. Your Spirit Is Alive Because of the Righteousness and the
Presence of Christ

The fourth difference from those in the flesh is at the end of
verse 10: "The spirit is alive because of righteousness." Yes, the
body is mortal and doomed to die. But two things make it different
for our spirit: the gift of righteousness and the presence of
Christ. You see them both in verse 10: "If Christ is in you, though
the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of
righteousness." The gift of righteousness secured at the cross
obtains our life, and the presence of Christ in us applies the life
to us as an experience now and forever.

We don´t have to wait for the redemption of our bodies to
be spiritually alive. The righteousness is ours now, and Christ is
ours now, and therefore life is ours now. Know this about yourself,
Christian. Know that the gift of righteousness is the ground of
your life now. Not just later. Now. You are alive to God in Christ
Jesus (Romans 6:11). And you can never die. The perfection of
Christ in your place and the presence of Christ in your heart
secures you forever.

Which leaves one last difference between Christians and those
who are in the flesh.

1) The Spirit dwells in you;
2) You are in the sway of the Spirit;
3) You belong to Christ;
4) Your spirit is alive because of the righteousness and the
presence of Christ; and now ...

5. Your Mortal Bodies Will Be Raised

If you die and your living spirit separates from your mortal
body for a time, that separation will not last forever. Verse 11:
"But 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 even though redemption happens in stages, the stages will
come. That´s the point. Your resurrection is as certain as
Christ´s resurrection because the Spirit that raised him from
the dead dwells in you. God did not create the body to throw it
away. And Christ did not purchase the body to throw it away. Our
bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. And
just as Jesus raised up the temple of his own body in three days,
he will raise us up and live in us forever and ever.

O Christian, know whose you are. And know the treasures that you
have in him. And if you are listening without Christ, come to him
and believe. Trust him. Receive him. Call on him. He will save you
and make you his own.