LIFE BY THE SPIRIT

THURSDAY 1 JULY 2021

There's the Spirit life. It's the real Christian life. In John 3:6 (NIV), Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." In other words, humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. Everyone born into this world was born of the flesh and automatically functions in the realm of the flesh, unless and until they become born again. Therefore if you are born again, you belong to the Holy Spirit and He dwells in you now, which means that you are alive to God in the spiritual realm. Using this knowledge aright yields continuous results in our Christian lives.

Reference: Romans 8:9 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.

The first line of the above Scripture reads, "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." Beloved, I see this Scripture as spiritual empowerment. What does this mean? The apostle from Tarsus is creating a spiritual awareness in us. As born again Christians, Paul is awakening our spirit to the realm we were born into. God knows the limitations of the flesh. Through Paul, He empowers us with this revelation knowledge so we can function according to our origin in Christ. In life, we often notice that obedient children follow the leading of their father or mother. Likewise, this Scripture opens our inner sight to the realm we belong so we can function in it by following the leading of God's Spirit.

Beloved, you are not called to live in the realm of the flesh, but in the realm of the Spirit because the Spirit of God indwells you. Why is this spiritual empowerment very paramount? It's because functioning in the wrong realm (which is the realm of the flesh) can limit what the Spirit of God can do in and through us. In other words, the flesh can resist or short circuit the flow of divine power in us. Therefore we are to leave no room for living by the flesh, if indeed we have the Spirit resident in us. Galatians 5:25 (NKJV) reads, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." For the Christian, living life by the flesh is a breach in His spirit. This is because "life in the flesh" indicates that he's not functioning under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; thus he opposes the flow of the Spirit. For his recreated human spirit, this becomes a breach of function. For this reason, since God's Spirit has given us a spiritual life, we should follow the Spirit of God.

The second line of our referenced Scripture reads, "And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ." The implies that the Spirit of God (or Christ) is the permanent reward given to us when we accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord. He is the seal and evidence of our salvation which reveal that we belong to Christ. And there is no limit on how much Christ can be glorified in us, if we live our lives by the Spirit. This also means that there's no limit on how much we can manifest the power of God through the Holy Spirit in us. Passively, the bottom line is that in Christ, we have the Spirit of Christ; we have a life in the spirit; we have a higher nature (which is divine), and we live a higher life, which is the life of the Spirit. Therefore live and function accordingly. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - John 6:63; Romans 8:1-9; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Galatians 5:16-17.

Exuberant Declaration: I have the nature, life and Spirit of Christ in me. My sphere of existence is the domain of the Spirit; Hence I keep in step with the Spirit by following His leading in every area of my life. By submitting daily to the will of God, I'm well set and positioned in the right direction ordained for my life, fulfilling God's purpose with the boldness of the Spirit and giant faith. Hallelujah!