The Radical Difference

Romans 8 speaks about our full assurance of our final salvation. In Romans 8:9-11 Paul shows us the radical difference between believers and unbelievers, the saved and the lost, those who are children of God and those whose father is the devil, those who live kata pneuma (according to the Spirit) and those who live kata sarka(according to the flesh).

What is this radical difference? It is the Holy Spirit. The saints of God are “in the Spirit,” and the Spirit of God dwells in them. The Spirit is our home, and we are the home of God. We cannot fathom this mystery, but we enjoy its great reality.

If you are not a believer and do not trust in Jesus Christ, either you do not know who he is, or you do not agree that he is the Son of God incarnate who died for the sins of the elect sinners of the world. Either way, you are not saved from God’s wrath that is revealed against you. The greatest sin in the world is not murder or homosexuality; it is not believing in God’s only Son sent for our salvation. Only the sin of unbelief will not be forgiven in this life or in the life to come.

Therefore, we must all examine ourselves to see whether we are really in the faith. We must test ourselves as we read this chapter, and make our calling and election sure. If we are not saved from the wrath of God to come, we must call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.

Paul speaks in Romans 8:9-11 concerning our past life, our present life, and our future life. In this study we will look at our past life and present life.

I. Our Past Life

Paul begins, “But you, [Roman Christians,] you are not in the flesh” (v. 9). What type of life did we live before we trusted in Christ alone for our eternal salvation? We wereen sarki (in the flesh). These Roman Christians were characterized as being in the flesh and under God’s wrath. “When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies so that we bore fruit to death” (Rom. 7:5). Sin deceived us and we were sold as slaves to sin. Sin was living in us (Rom. 7: 11, 14, 17).

Every unbeliever is a son of Adam, whose one sin brought death to all his descendants: “[S]in entered the world through one man, and death through sin-and in this way, death came to all men because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). People do not understand original sin. We die because of the one sin our forefather Adam sinned one time. All of us are conceived in sin, born in sin, and can only sin; therefore, we must deny any idea of self-righteousness. “Every inclination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil all the time. . . . Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Gen. 6:5; 8:21). The prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9).

All unbelievers are controlled by sin and directed by Satan himself. Jesus told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6, author’s translation). No man can know the wickedness of his own heart. Jesus said that from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts and evil actions (Mark 7:21-22).

Earlier in this epistle, Paul declared, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). Every unbeliever tries to negate that statement, saying, “I am righteous.” But no unbeliever can be righteous. It is a universal negative. Paul continues, “There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. . . . There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:11-12, 18). All unbelievers are dead in trespasses and sins. The evil spirit works in them, and they are slaves to Satan, the ruler of this world. In their thoughts and actions, they obey the devil.

In Romans 8:4-8 we see that an unbeliever lives according to the standard of evil. His mind is always thinking about how to sin. “The mind of those who are in the flesh [i.e., controlled by sin] is death” (v. 6, author’s translation). His mind is at enmity against God. He violently opposes God’s revealed truth and God’s Son. He does so through philosophical lies, creating his own view of man and man’s needs (creating his own anthropology). Such an unbelieving enemy of God is powerless to save himself (Rom. 5:6).

The unbeliever does not submit to God’s moral law; in fact, he cannot (Rom. 8:7). Thus, he violates God’s commandments daily because there is no moral ability in him to keep them. What explains this lack of moral ability? The sinner does not have the Holy Spirit. Paul states elsewhere, “The man without the Holy Spirit does not receive the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). Jude agrees: “These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit” (Jude 19). The Holy Spirit is the radical difference between a believer and an unbeliever.

Unbelievers are dominated by sin. They are under the thumb and control of sin. Paul writes, “We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin” (Rom. 3:9). Every sinner is a bondslave of sin. Only God’s Son and the truth of the gospel can set him free. A sinner is bound in chains by his own guilt. He is not only under sin but he is also under the wrath of God. This was our own condition. Thank God, it is in the past.

II. Our Present Life

So Paul continues, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you” (v. 9). We are no longer under the dominion of sin and Satan; we have been set free! “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. . . . But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefits you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” (Rom. 6:17-18, 22).

Now we are “in Christ.” That fact spells total salvation and total security. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. Now we are in the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is in us. What a glorious transfer-from flesh to Christ, from sin’s control to the Spirit’s control. Having been born of the Spirit, we now live in the sphere and realm of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “The Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6). Because our spirits have been made alive by the Spirit of God, we now can see and enter the kingdom of God, where we enjoy righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. We can enjoy eternal life even now, unlike the rich young ruler, who refused to believe in Jesus and went away sorrowful (Matt. 19:16-22). His is the condition of everyone who will not believe in Jesus Christ. He is miserable and restless, without God and without hope in the world.

But through the regenerating work of the Spirit, we have been taken out of the sphere of death and have been introduced to the sphere of life. We have been removed from the dominion of flesh and brought into the dominion of God’s Son. We confessed by the Holy Spirit, “Jesus is Lord,” and so we live according to the will of the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). We think the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5). We delight in reading the word of God and now enjoy life and peace because the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). We obey the law of God (Rom. 8:7). In fact, obedience to God’s moral law is our joy, not pain. We are able to do so by the work of the Spirit in our lives. We now have moral ability.

We are now able to please God by doing his will. We glorify God and enjoy him forever in whatever we do, whether we eat or drink. Paul writes, “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God as in fact you are doing” (1 Thess. 4:1). As God’s saved people, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit dwells in us permanently. He lives in us to rule, to empower, to direct, to provide, to protect, and to teach us. So Paul exhorts, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Jesus declares, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him and we will come and make our home with him” (John 14:23). God is our home, and we are God’s home.

The Holy Spirit never leaves us. What great security that gives us in this fallen world with all its troubles! No enemy can touch or harm us. We are in God and in God’s hand. We are confident, not in ourselves, but in God. We are fearless. Once we were dead, but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works” (Eph. 2:10); “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone; the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Because we possess the Spirit of Christ, we belong to Christ (v. 9). We are not our own; we belong to Jesus (1 Cor. 15:23). His seal of ownership is upon us, for we are baptized in the Holy Spirit: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13-14).

Because we belong to Christ, we are his responsibility. We can trust him, for he takes good care of us. He is the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. He will not let a roaring lion devour us. He is the Lord of all, the Lion of Judah, under whose feet are all things, including his enemies. Even death itself was swallowed up in victory when Christ died and rose again. Jesus gives us eternal life, and we shall never perish.

This is true of all regenerate Christians. They are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in them as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of promise, the Spirit of holiness, and our blessed Paraklete. Jesus promises: “I will not leave you as orphans,” meaning without a father or mother, without a home, without brothers, without sisters, without a family, without any provision and security. We belong to the Father and the Son who have come to dwell in us in his Holy Spirit. This is the radical difference between unbelievers and believers. Believers have the Holy Spirit.

This Holy Spirit is our comforter, counselor, and advocate. He is the infinite Person, co-equal with the Father and the Son. He gives witness to Jesus Christ and glorifies him. He tells us who Jesus is and what he has done in his life, death, and resurrection. (PGM) As the Spirit of truth, he teaches us the truth of the gospel and opposes all Satan-inspired lies of philosophers and scientists in the world. The Holy Spirit makes us holy by applying Christ’s salvation to us. He teaches us all things that we may know God, which is eternal life. The Holy Spirit enables us to have fellowship with the holy God. This Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, never speaks of himself; he speaks of Christ our Savior. It is he who convicts sinners of their guilt. No sinner will repent on his own. Only when the Spirit convicts us can we truly repent and confess all our sins.

The Holy Spirit leads us and tells us how to live. He can do so because he is Lord. He enlightens us as we read the word of God. He opens our eyes and causes us to discover wondrous things out of God’s word. He makes it bread to us that will strengthen our souls. He regenerates us and gives us faith to trust in Jesus Christ. He always guides us in the paths of righteousness and never leads us into sin. Isaiah declares that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of power, the Spirit of knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isa. 11:2). Do you want wisdom and counsel? If we seek him for these things, he will give them to us. If we are weak, the Spirit of God will give us power. Jesus told his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8). When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will fear the Lord. Therefore, if a person is arrogant, he has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus baptizes every believer in the Holy Spirit and fire. The Spirit opens our closed minds to give us understanding in the Holy Scriptures. He gives us power to live a holy life in an evil world and enables us to boldly bear witness to our Savior. He brings to our minds what we should speak to the world. He abundantly distributes into our hearts the love of God with which we in turn love God and keep his commandments. With this love, we also love our brothers and sisters in Christ. And with this divine love, we also love sinners enough to proclaim to them the good news. We declare that Jesus alone can save sinners from God’s wrath because he suffered that wrath in our place and for our salvation.

The Holy Spirit produces spiritual fruit in every true child of God. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Self-control is the Spirit’s control realized in our lives. Every Christian will manifest this fruit in ever-increasing measure as he is led by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit also distributes spiritual gifts just as he determines. We need spiritual gifts-the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, gifts for helping, gifts of administration, gifts of teaching, and so on. We are to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:31). If a person does not have such gifts, he or she did not desire them and pray for them. God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. The Spirit distributes these gifts to equip the church to do her work.

The Spirit also works in us that we may work out God’s will in the world. Our heavenly Father works, our Lord Jesus Christ works, and the Holy Spirit works. God’s holy people, therefore, must work to please God, not themselves. Paul admonishes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work our your salvation with fear and trembling because it is God [by the Spirit] who works in you to will and to do his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13-14).

The Spirit who dwells in us works in us as the agent of the Father and the Son. And as he works in us, so we will work out. A believer obeys God as a result of his saving faith in Christ. Paul told us that we are called to the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5). Therefore, one who calls himself a Christian but does not obey God is a monstrosity, a liar, and a phony. He is like Judas, Demas, Achan, and Saul. The Holy Spirit is not dwelling in him. He is an unregenerate person who suffers from moral inability to keep God’s law. He cannot work out God’s good purpose.

Such unbelievers exist with true believers in the church, as we read in the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). All were invited. All belonged to the church. All professed that the bridegroom Christ was their Lord. All believed in the return of the bridegroom and were waiting for him. All fell asleep, and all woke up. But only five were admitted to the wedding feast. The other five-the foolish virgins-were rejected. The radical difference is that only five had the oil of the Holy Spirit with them. The foolish virgins had no oil; they did not have the Holy Spirit. So they heard the words of judgment: “Depart from me. I never knew you. You do not belong to me. I am not your bridegroom.” What will you hear from Christ’s lips on the last day: “Depart” or “Enter into the joy of the Lord”?

It is true that sin still dwells in us. But the radical difference is that the Holy Spirit now also dwells in us, enabling us not to sin. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than the might of indwelling sin. Thus, because of the grace manifested in Christ, we can now say “No” to sin and “Yes” to righteousness and God’s holy will. Paul says, “I beat my body and make it my slave” (1 Cor. 9:27). He was exercising discipline in his life. Elsewhere he writes, “So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the cravings of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). By the Spirit we can defeat sin and put to death the misdeeds of the body (Rom. 8:13). Through the Spirit we fight and win.

I hope we will remember that we are children of God, born of God and indwelt by the Spirit of God. We are taught in the word of God and powered by the Holy Spirit. We are not our own; we are bought by the precious blood of Christ. So we honor God by obeying his holy will for his glory and for our eternal joy.

If you are a Christian, grieve not the Holy Spirit by whom you are sealed for the day of redemption. Do not resist or quench the Spirit, but yield to him. Discipline your body to obey the Spirit. God’s Spirit dwells in his people permanently. He will not leave his temple, but will govern us, even through chastisement, if necessary, so that we will obey him. His will shall be done in us as it is in heaven. And finally he will take us to heaven to enjoy the presence of God, which is eternal life. The Holy Spirit is our resident boss. He rules us as Lord, and we obey him.

What is the will of our Lord? John explains, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). Peter says, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). Hear the call of Jesus himself: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt. 11:28-29). Jesus also said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). Denying ourselves means denying our will, our understanding, our opinion, our ambition, our philosophy, and everything else, and submitting ourselves totally to Christ.

Peter proclaimed, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38). Do not be like the rich young ruler. He was miserable, so he asked for eternal life. But he refused to pay the price and went away sorrowful.

If you are a sinner who has never trusted in Jesus Christ, you are miserable. But Jesus is calling you to make you happy by granting you salvation. The Holy Spirit is the radical difference. May you call upon the name of the Lord even today and be saved.