IF CHRIST IS IN YOU

MONDAY 14 AUGUST 2023

Beloved, God did something remarkable for us. He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering for us. And so Christ condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. More below!

Reference: Romans 8:9-10 New International Version (NIV) "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness."

If you are born again, you are not in the realm of the flesh but are now in the realm of the Spirit. Paul added, "if the Spirit of God lives in you." Why mention that? He said that so you can personally examine yourself to know whether you are born again. So Pauline insistence introduces or points us to a self-check assessment, because if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

But if you examine yourself, and indeed you have the Spirit of God, then affirm or declare that you are born again. Then what follows next is something great that must settle well in your mind and spirit. And that is: Even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because of righteousness, meaning that you now live by the Spirit, not by the flesh.

To that effect, Paul noted in Galatians 2:20 - "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20 NLT). Beloved, it is the Spirit of Christ that gives you life because of righteousness; it is no longer the life of the flesh. So, Paul the apostle, trained his mind and spirit to live according to the Spirit, which is expected of every born again Christian, bearing in mind that the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6 NIV).

I therefore urge you today to reason like Paul and allow the Holy Spirit to take full control of your mind and spirit by yielding to Him in every aspect of your life. That way, you'll experience the life of the Spirit and peace that come from the divine nature at work in you, which is the glorious effect of the fruit of this knowledge. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - John 6:63; Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:25.

Exuberant Declaration: I am a born again Christian. I belong to Christ Jesus; the Spirit of God dwells in me and I'm constantly filled with Him. I'm heavenly, and I live by the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, which I declare in my world on a regular basis. Hallelujah!