The Spirit Of Christ

[0:00] Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church. And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

[0:12] We continue this morning in our series in the book of Romans. You'll remember that Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD. And it is called Romans because it is written to the churches in the city of Rome.

[0:28] Romans is about the gospel. It's about the good news of Jesus' life and death and resurrection. Just like I did last week, I want to remind you where we are at in the larger flow of the letter going back to chapter 5.

[0:41] You'll remember in chapter 5, Paul tells us we are saved by Jesus' life and death and resurrection, not by what we do. Okay, so it's God's grace, not our works.

[0:52] Chapter 6, Paul then goes on to say, what? However, even though you're not saved by works, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, live however you want. You still live lives of holiness.

[1:03] Then in chapter 7, we begin to ask this question, well, how do those lives of holiness happen? Chapter 7 tells us, well, it doesn't happen by the law. More rules will not save you.

[1:15] Which brings us to chapter 8, which finally provides the answer, holiness comes by the Spirit of God. Holiness comes by walking in the Spirit.

[1:28] And so that's where we left off last week. Remember last week we asked this question, how is it that we walk by the Spirit? How do we walk in that holiness? And we saw that the answer was by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit.

[1:44] The things of the Spirit are the things of Christ and his work and the benefits that flow to us because of those things. That we're living all of life in light of the resurrection.

[1:55] So that's where we left off last week. Verse 5, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

[2:12] We might say that last week we asked the question of what it is that we do. This week we turn to the other question, what does God do? What does the Spirit work in us?

[2:28] What does the Spirit do in us? As we walk by the Spirit, it cannot simply be us setting our minds, but also God at work.

[2:39] This week I'm going to use the same strategy I've been relying on. I'm going to just preach in a straight line and we're going to go verse to verse from top to bottom. With that I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 8 starting at verse 9.

[2:53] You can find that on page 8 of your worship guide. No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word. Jeremiah chapter 23 tells us that God's Word is a rock that breaks a hammer into pieces, which is a way of saying that there is nothing so powerful that God's Word is not more powerful still.

[3:16] So that's why we read now Romans chapter 8 starting at verse 9. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

[3:30] Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

[3:45] Verse 11. 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 moral bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

[4:03] I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word. Our Father in heaven, we do praise you and thank you again this morning for your Word.

[4:15] And we thank you also for your Spirit that comes and gives us life. We ask that you would pour out the Spirit now in a special way among us. And that you would, by your Spirit, make your Word clear to us.

[4:28] That it would cut us to the heart. That it would burn within us. That we would have continued zeal and excitement and enthusiasm about you and your gospel and your grace that would cause us to follow after you in faith.

[4:43] And we ask that you do this not because we've earned it or deserved it. And we know that we haven't and we don't. We simply ask for it in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Years ago, a member of our church here at Cheyenne Mountain went off to college.

[5:02] And that member connected with a college ministry. And that college ministry said to him, Well, you know what? It's great that you are a Christian, but you need something else.

[5:15] It's great that you're a Christian, but you also need a second baptism. You need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You can be a Christian, in other words, at least according to these folks, and not have the Spirit of God.

[5:36] Now, what are we to make of that? What are we to think of that? Is it true that some Christians have the Holy Spirit and others don't? Is it true that we need another baptism or a second baptism?

[5:48] Paul answers that for us here in this passage. In verse 9, we pick up where we left off in verse 8 from last week. Verse 8 from last week says this, Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

[6:05] And I'm going to remind you again, and probably will in future weeks, what we mean when we speak of the flesh. You'll see the same definition from last week on page 7 of your worship guide. The flesh is human nature as corrupted, directed, and controlled by sin.

[6:24] So those who are in the flesh, those who are directed and controlled by sin, cannot please God. In fact, they're fighting against Him. They're rebelling against Him. They cannot do what the Christian can do, which is to do the right thing for the right reason.

[6:38] You'll remember this is what theologians call total inability. That outside of God's power in our lives, it is impossible for us to please Him.

[6:50] It's impossible for us to do things for God's honor and His glory, to do the right things for the right reason. That's a quick review, which takes us right back to this week, verse 9.

[7:01] You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to you.

[7:17] Okay, so yes, verse 8, those who are in the flesh cannot serve God, please God. But, and, verse 9, that's not true of you.

[7:28] And that's not true of you, because all Christians, every single Christian, has the Holy Spirit.

[7:40] There is no such thing as a Christian who does not have the Holy Spirit living within him or her.

[7:55] And that answers our question. You don't need a second baptism. If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit.

[8:08] And if you have a question about that, it's right here in verse 9. Now, Ephesians chapter 4 tells us you can grieve the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 says you can quench the Spirit.

[8:23] But what must be true if you grieve or quench the Spirit? You cannot grieve or quench a Spirit you don't have. By the way, you might be wondering, Okay, if it's so clear in Romans chapter 8 that all Christians have the Spirit, why would there be some Christians going around and teaching that not all Christians do, that some don't, that they need this second baptism?

[8:48] The answer is that it's basically a certain interpretation of the book of Acts that is incorrect. Okay, I'll just leave it at that. The point, though, is this. Remember I said we're preaching from top to bottom.

[9:01] The point of verse 9 is that there are not two classes of Christians. The point of verse 9 is there are not two classes of Christians.

[9:15] You do not have normal and average Christians who lack the Holy Spirit and then super extra special Christians that you do.

[9:25] If you are a Christian, you have God's Spirit living within you. It's great news.

[9:37] If you're a Christian, if you belong to Jesus Christ, if you follow Him in faith, God, by His Holy Spirit, has taken up residence in you and your life.

[9:58] If you're a Christian, God, by His Holy Spirit, lives in you. Now, I've been telling you that Romans is the fifth gospel, which is to say that what Paul teaches, Jesus taught first.

[10:23] Jesus speaks about this a lot in the gospel of John. John chapter 14, He says, I'm going to ask God the Father, and He will give you another helper to be with you forever.

[10:38] Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive. Remember, those who are in the flesh can't please God. Because it, that is the world, neither sees Him nor knows Him.

[10:53] You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. Jesus then, in John chapter 16, says something even more shocking.

[11:09] There, He says, it's actually good that I leave the earth. It's actually a good deal. It's a good trade. It is good that I leave the earth because in exchange, you're going to receive the Holy Spirit and receiving the Holy Spirit is actually better than having me.

[11:31] Now that's counterintuitive. It's a little mind-blowing. Jesus is saying, look, it's actually better that you're here in 2026 with the Holy Spirit than in the early years A.D.

[11:44] when Jesus is walking the earth. When Jesus is walking the earth, He interacted with some people in certain places at certain times. Now, He sent His Holy Spirit to live in you in every place at every time.

[12:05] The gift of the Spirit is so important that it is better that Jesus is in heaven than that He is here. Jesus then in John 14 says this, In that day, you will know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you.

[12:30] You in me and I in you. Jesus says that He lives in you by His Holy Spirit.

[12:45] Notice in verse 9, first of all, we have the Spirit. Then it's called the Spirit of God and then suddenly, we call it the Spirit of Christ.

[13:02] Which is to say, while we don't divide the three persons of the, where we don't, not divide, we don't join or fuse the three persons of the Trinity, they have their separate persons and actions, right?

[13:16] They are so closely identified, they work so closely together that the Holy Spirit can be called the Spirit of Christ. This is what theologians call the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

[13:28] Now you might be wondering, well, how exactly does this indwelling work? It's a great question. It's a mystery. What I can tell you is this, Jesus ascends to the right hand of God the Father Almighty and sends the Holy Spirit to His church.

[13:48] That's what we see in the book of Acts, the outpouring of God's Spirit in answer to His promise. Okay, that's verse nine.

[14:04] Raises a question, though, for us. If it's so good to have the Spirit, if it's better than having Jesus, why is it? Paul goes on to tell us in verses 10 and 11.

[14:17] It is better to have the Spirit because the Spirit means life now and the Spirit means life in the future. The Spirit means life now and the Spirit means life in the future.

[14:34] But Paul says it in a way that could potentially be confusing. So this is verse 10. He says, the body is dead because of sin. What body? And how exactly is that body dead?

[14:49] When Paul says your body, he is referring to your whole person, your embodied existence, and the fact that it still has the presence of sin.

[15:00] You'll remember before we've talked about the fact that sin has three elements to it. It has a power, a penalty, and a presence. Jesus in his life and death and resurrection have dealt with the power and penalty of sin in the life of the Christian.

[15:17] The presence of sin remains. Part of the presence of sin is the way it affects your entire person. It's present in the sins that you commit, in the temptations you face, and it is present in the way that sickness and decay and death and disease are still at work.

[15:46] So the body is death. Death is still at work. We could put it another way. Despite the presence of the Holy Spirit, you still struggle with sin.

[16:00] Despite the presence of the Holy Spirit, your physical body will one day die and is dying now.

[16:14] That's what it means to have the body of death. If you have a body, by the way, which I think you all do, you know this.

[16:25] I don't have to convince you that death is at work, at least if you've made it past a certain age. that takes us to the next piece of verse 10.

[16:38] Paul says this, if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

[16:50] Now, we've already talked about how Christ is in you. He is in you by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because of Jesus and God the Father sending the Spirit to the church.

[17:06] We've already talked about verse 9, how we moved from Spirit of God to Spirit of Christ. Verse 10 tells us the Spirit is life.

[17:19] Yes, your body has death here and now, but because of the Holy Spirit, life is what is ultimately true, which raises another question.

[17:39] What does that mean? What does it mean that you have life of the Spirit? Part of the answer to that question, Paul's going to unpack in the rest of Romans chapter 8, so I'm not going to spoil all of it for you.

[17:56] By the way, some people believe that Romans chapter 8 is the best chapter in the entire Bible. So we're not going to tackle all of it this morning. I'm going to give you a few examples, though, of what it means to have life because of the Spirit of Christ.

[18:14] have you ever been convicted of your sin? If you're a Christian, you have to say yes to that. It's part of what it means to follow after Jesus.

[18:27] If you've ever been convicted of your sin, that was the Holy Spirit at work giving you life. have you ever read the Bible and had incredible clarity about Jesus and his work on your behalf?

[18:51] That was the Holy Spirit illuminating the Scriptures for you. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 says we can't actually understand spiritual things, the things of God, unless his Holy Spirit is at work.

[19:10] If you've ever listened to a sermon and there's just been so much clarity and truth and life that has come to you, that is ultimately and finally the work of God's Spirit, not the work of the preacher.

[19:25] It's the work of God's Spirit giving the preacher clarity, the work of God's Spirit giving you clarity. That's the Spirit giving life.

[19:38] Sometimes people will say, you know, before I became a Christian, I would listen to the word, I would read it, I would go to church, and it just bounced off of me. And it bounced off of them because the Holy Spirit was not there giving life.

[19:55] It went in one ear and it went out the other until one day it cut them to the heart. And why did it cut them to the heart?

[20:06] Because the preacher was amazing? No, because God's Spirit was at work giving them life. Have you ever had a powerful sense of God's presence with you in suffering?

[20:25] love? That was the Holy Spirit. We've already talked about that. Romans chapter 5, remember verse 5, God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

[20:44] Paul's speaking about that. If you remember back to chapter 5, he's talking about suffering. He's saying you experience and feel God's love and joy in the midst of trials and hardships because of the work of His Holy Spirit giving life to you.

[21:04] But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

[21:19] And there's more. More that we'll talk about as we work our way through Romans chapter 8. I'll just give you one more example. If you look back on your life and you think back to 10 years ago, and you say to yourself, today I have more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control than I did before, why is that true?

[21:47] It's not true because you made a habit tracker and worked on your virtue. It is true because the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, was at work in you and your heart and your mind, and your life bringing life to you.

[22:16] The Spirit is life because of righteousness. The point of verse 10 is this. As a Christian, you do not simply or merely believe or do different things.

[22:34] Now you do, as a Christian, there are different beliefs and behaviors, right? But it is not merely or simply that. You also have a new power and a new heart at work within you.

[22:52] if you're a Christian. If you're a Christian, you do not merely or simply believe or do different things. No, you have a new heart and a new power.

[23:04] And as the Spirit works in you, because the Spirit works in you, you know more and more that your salvation is real.

[23:15] and as the Spirit works, you have greater and greater assurance of God's love. Verse 10 also tells us the basis of this life.

[23:35] The Spirit is life because of righteousness. In other words, the Spirit is at work in you because of Jesus' life and death and resurrection.

[23:52] Now remember I told you the Spirit is good because the Spirit gives you life now and gives you life in the future. It's the future that we see in verse 11 which tells us we will not have to struggle with the body of death forever.

[24:11] This is verse 11. 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.

[24:33] Paul is saying this. God the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit raised Jesus Christ from the dead. And if you are a Christian if you belong to him he will do the exact same thing for you.

[24:55] God raised Jesus from the dead God will raise you from the dead. What's true of Jesus will become true of you. What is Christ's present is your future.

[25:10] That future is a new body that will live forever. That future is a new body that is completely free of sin and temptation and disease and misery and decay.

[25:24] It will not be a body of death. That's what Paul means by mortal bodies in verse 11. It will be a body of life. Remember last week we talked about the body.

[25:37] The body isn't bad. The body is just tainted by sin. We're going to have bodies in heaven. They will just be bodies that are perfect. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 talks about Jesus and his resurrection as the first fruits.

[25:56] Now first fruits is an agricultural term. When you look at the first fruits, the first part of! the harvest, it shows you harvest will look like.

[26:08] In other words, if you want to know your future, look at Jesus Christ's present. Resurrected from the dead, just as you will be.

[26:25] And how do you know that that will be true? There's many ways you can know that that's true. One of them in this chapter is the presence of the Holy Spirit now.

[26:39] Paul is saying, do you see the Holy Spirit at work in your life right now? Well, guess what? Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 is true.

[26:50] He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And what is the work of the Spirit? We see it already in Jesus.

[27:03] The work is to give you life in your body and your soul and your mind. Romans is the fifth gospel.

[27:16] And what Paul teaches, Jesus taught first. Again, the gospel of John chapter 11, Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life.

[27:28] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

[27:40] Do you believe this? Do you believe it? Do you believe in Jesus' life and his death and his resurrection?

[27:55] Do you repent of your sins and trust him to cover them? And do you accept his perfect life on your behalf? Do you follow him in faith?

[28:08] If so, he is giving you a resurrected body in the future as he raises you from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit just as he did in Jesus Christ.

[28:24] And he is giving you life by his spirit now. the power that raised him from the grave now works in us to powerfully save.

[28:44] He frees our hearts to live his grace. Now go tell of his goodness. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you for your overwhelming grace and mercy to us.

[29:00] That you do not simply give us your righteousness and take the punishment for our sins, but you bring us life by your spirit. Life that we experience now and life we look forward to in the future.

[29:14] We ask that you would grow by your spirit our confidence in this hope, that it would shape our hearts and our minds and our lives, that we would live by the spirit, by minding the things of the spirit.

[29:27] We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.