Who I am through Jesus Christ

Transcription

1 Who I am through Jesus Christ I am elect I am under grace I am in the Spirit I am in Christ Jesus I am the Temple of God I am property of God I am a member of Christ Body I am a Son of God I am an heir of Abraham I am one who has been saved I am a citizen of Heaven I am an heir of the Kingdom I am one who has everything provided by God

2 Who Are You? Romans 1:6 You also are the called of Jesus Christ Romans 6:14 For you are not under law but under grace Romans 8:9-11 You, even you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, since Christ is in you. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. 1 Corinthians 1:30 By His doing you are in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 3:17 You are the Temple of God 1 Corinthians 6:19 You are not your own. 1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. Galatians 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For you are all one in Christ Jesus, and since you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Ephesians 2:5-8 God made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are having been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, For by grace you are having been saved through faith. Ephesians 2:19 You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household. Colossians 2:10 In Him you are having been filled to a complete measure.

3 Romans 8:9-11 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. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 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. One of the best contrasts in the New Testament. Verses 5-8 are about who the unbelievers are. They are characterized by walking according to the flesh They are ones existing according to flesh They have a mind of flesh They think only of fleshly things Their only result is death They are at enmity towards God They are not subject to the law of God They are not able to subject themselves to the law of God They are ones existing in the flesh They are not able to please God Verses 9-11 will inform you who believe how God sees you. The first concept is found in verse 9 that we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. The verse again uses the status to be verb εἰμί eimi (eye-mee ). The verb is in the Present Indicative. The language supports the emphatic concept that God does not consider believers to be in the flesh. The rest of the passage supports this premise, so it is important to understand what this is saying. What we need to understand is how God sees us. The first clause states very emphatically who you are not. The first point is that of pronouns. Going back to verse 4, we saw the pronoun us. There are no pronouns in verses 5-8, but in verse 9, the verse begins with another pronoun. Paul switches from the 1 st person plural (us) and shifts to the 2 nd person plural (you). As you remember, the verb contains the subject. The verb εἰμί is in the 2 nd Person Plural and combined with the Nominative 2 nd Person Plural Pronoun. To translate this, with this emphasis, one could state, You! You are not in the flesh. The conjunction de is used, which can be

4 either contrastive or connective, or sometimes both. So this could be You, however, even you are not in the flesh. Sentences are great. The εἰμί sentence often does not have a direct object. The sentence does not have an action transferred. The status is with the subject. You, even you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. The conjunction ἀλλά is used here to show a strong contrast between who you are and who you are not. This means that we need to recognize this truth as God sees us. The verb eimi is borrowed by the next phrase. You are in the Spirit. There are no articles here, but one can be used in order to help the reading. The lack of articles indicates a close connection between you and flesh/spirit. We need to know who we are (handout). The next phrase in verse 9 provides the assurance. All major translations have if. The normal conditional clauses use ei and ean. This sentence begins with εἴπερ eiper (eye -pehr), a compound conjunction using the normal if with an untranslated particle. This word always means since or indeed. In the English vernacular, any if is conditional, even if that condition is known to be true If the sun comes up. But in Greek, this does not leave any doubt as to the truth. You are in the Spirit since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Remembering the lessons of Pneumatology and the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit The word for dwells is οἰκέω oikeō which is the verb for house, to dwell, live in, reside in. This is not a temporary dwelling but a permanent living. Also, according to Ephesians 1:13-14, it states that He was given as our pledge, which is a down payment, a promise for full payment to come. God dwells in you. The verb, just like the status verb εἰμί, is in the Present Indicative. This is the status of the Spirit of God being in the individual believer. The rest of the verse states a fact that is contrary to the previous statement. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. The sentence is not set up as a challenge to the recipients of the letter. But just as the previous section had antitheses to those who are in the flesh, this provides contrast to those who are in the Spirit. It is also likely that the thought does not supplement this verse at all; the theme of this next phrase fits best with verse 10. But for this study we will stick with the verse breaks.

5 The pronoun is τις tis and is in the Nominative Singular form. This is not referring back to the plural you but rather anyone or whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ. Since the previous verse is status, this is cannot be the reality for any of the intended readers; therefore Paul must be contrasting the saved readership with those who are not. The final phrase in verse 9 refers to the anyone. The verb does belong is interpretive not bad, just not correct. The verb is εἰμί in the Third Person Present Indicative. The demonstrative pronoun is used as the subject, this one is not His or he is not His or more literally, he is not of Him. The second half of verse 9 may be rendered: Since anyone else does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Christ Verse 10 restates the contrast. Verse 10 is an unusual 1 st Class Conditional Sentence, unusual because there are no verbs. When a status verb is implied, the sentence becomes stronger, an axiom. The first clause is the protasis, If Christ in you. Again the verb εἰμί is implied thus bringing the understanding that this is an absolute 1 st Class condition. Since Christ in you. The result of this truth is a men de. Captured in the NASB as Though, Yet. This is used to show correlation between the phrases This can be translated On the one hand on the other hand, showing a strong contrast between two phrases that are extreme opposites. That which is being contrasted here is that of death and life, the physical body and the spirit, sin and righteousness. The body (is) dead refers to the believer s physical condition because of sin, but more specifically in regards to sin. The body was put to death with its nature on the Cross (Romans 6:4-7,12-14). The word for because is dia and is better understood here as on account of. The sin is not the direct cause, but we have been crucified with Christ on account of our sin. The contrast is between the body is dead and the spirit is life. The body is reckoned, thought of as being dead due to our identification with Christ. Likewise, our spirit is alive. ζωή zōē is a noun but is being used as an adjective and is in contrast with the adjective death in this sentence. Stating the spirit is alive is not verbal but descriptive (Ephesians 2:4-5).

6 The main take away from verse 10 is that this is something that does not and cannot change for believers. The syntax of the verse does not leave any doubt in the mind of the believer. Verse 11 correlates the power that raised Christ from the dead and the power that resides in the believer. When reviewing the resurrection of Jesus in this verse, the Holy Spirit is given credit for raising Jesus from the dead. This is the only reference where the Spirit is accredited with this act. John 2:18 I will raise it up; 1 st Person Singular Jesus states strongly that He will perform the act. Most of the references to the resurrection of the dead are attributed to God. Generally, when we see theos it is considered to be God the Father (1 st Corinthians 6:14; Colossians 2:12). Through this analysis, it is seen that all three members of the Tri-Unity were instrumental in the raising of Jesus. Back to verse 11 - The same Spirit that gave life to Jesus from among the dead will also cause our mortal bodies to be made alive. Interestingly, we are viewed as living in dead bodies. The fact that the promise of living forever in resurrected bodies is not something that was only revealed to the church (Job 19:23-27; Psalm 17:13-15; Isaiah 26:19). The promise of a physical resurrection is founded throughout Scripture and one that we should know very well, to depend on that fact as well as any other promise of God. Give life is the verb ζῳοποιέω zōopoieō (dzoh-ah-poy-eh -oh) and is a compound word live and the verb do, make. This verb is in the Future Indicative (promise), to make alive, revitalize, quicken (John 5:21; 6:63; 1 st Corinthians 15:42-49). Some have asked concerning what kind of body we will have and are concerned whether this earthly body needs to be preserved. 1 st Corinthians 15:35-38 The spiritual bodies of the saints will be provided by God. It is not a big thing for God to provide a new body, to reuse the same elements, or to piece together that which has been scattered. If the preservation of the body were important then there would have been specific instructions as to what to do with it. Conclusions and Observations 1. We need to see ourselves as God sees us a. Not a fleshly, hostile, mind who is not able to please Him

7 b. We ARE in the Spirit c. This is merely one of how God sees believers Handout 2. We have the Spirit of God dwelling in us as individuals 3. Housing God means that we will receive something more than just eternal life, a hope of a bodily resurrection 4. The physical resurrection has been known and promised throughout the Scriptures 5. The same power, the same Spirit that raised Jesus, resides in each believer and will make alive our mortal bodies as well 6. Theologically a. Grace there is nothing indicated in these verses that states we deserve this benefit b. God views us in the light of eternity, not the physical realm c. We need to do the same we need to view ourselves the way God does. d. God the Promise Keeper He will resurrect all the saints to glorified bodies 7. So then with all this information, what shall we do? Romans 8:12-13 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.