Village Schools of the Bible

ROMANS: Heart & Soul of the Gospel
A Devotional Study of Romans
by Max Frazier, Jr.

ROMANS 8:5-17 : OUR NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

This lesson we study that great chapter on being kept secure in Christ. Romans 8:5-17 focuses upon our new life in Christ.

Notes on Verse 5:

"mind" - Does not have reference to intellect or understanding, but to the attention or occupation of the person. There are two classes of mind:

1.Those according to the flesh - those not born of God (read Ephesians 2:3 - state of such people). Those people cherish (desire, are occupied with, absorbed in, talk about, think of, follow after) the things of the flesh:

a. Physical lusts - gluttony, uncleanness, laziness

b. Lusts of the soul - mental delights, pleasure of the imagination, aesthetic indulgences

c. Spiritual lusts - pride, envy, malice

2.Those according to the Spirit - God's true children with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Those people cherish (discern, value, love, are absorbed in) the things of the Spirit:

a. Salvation

b. Person of Christ

c. The fellowship of the saints

d. The Word of God

e. Prayer

f. Praise

g. Prophecy

h. The blessed hope of Christ's coming

i. Walking as He walked before men

Notes on Verse 6:

"mind of the flesh is death" - a mind so set on death that it can be said to be death "mind of the Spirit of life and peace" - life is the life of the risen Christ. Peace is the peace of Christ. Both are supplied by the Spirit. God is not referring to people, but to flesh and the Spirit.

Notes on Verse 7:

This verse most clearly sets forth the hideously lost state of man after the flesh. In Romans 5:10 we were reconciled to God while we were enemies, but it did not in any wise consist in changing the nature of the flesh.

Notes on Verse 8:

This is God's sweeping announcement concerning all mankind that are outside of Christ. All in the flesh are outside of Christ. Those in the flesh (like Cain) who would worship God, would come in their own way - the flesh's way, which God cannot accept.

Notes on Verse 9:

Here is the great mark of a true Christian - that the Spirit of God dwells in him. The Spirit becomes now the element in which the believer lives (like water to the fish, or air to the birds), vital, supply, protecting.

"but if any man has not the Spirit" - Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit. He is called the Spirit of Christ because Christ promised and sent Him (read John 15:26; Acts 2:33; John 16:14).

"dwell" - the Spirit's making His home within us

Notes on Verse 10:

"Christ is in you" - in this verse we have the answer to our Lord's prayer in John 17:21-22 (we are in Christ because of the work at Calvary). Christ is in us (read 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Jesus Christ is in you (read 2 Corinthians 13:5). Christ in you, the hope of glory (read Colossians 1:27). Christ lives in me (read Galatians 2:20). That Christ may make His home down in your hearts through faith (read Revelation 3:20; Galatians 1:16; Ephesians 3:14-21).

"God is in us" - read John 14:10-11 and the Father is in me - John 17:21-23. There are two facts concerning those in whom Christ by His Spirit dwells:

1.The body is dead. Our bodies are contrasted with our spirits as they are in the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are in no sense redeemed yet. Our bodies are dead because they have no emotion toward God because of sin.

2.The Spirit is life because of righteousness. The Spirit is the maintainer and supplier of Christ's life in us (read 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 4:24).

Notes on Verse 11:

The body, the mortal body, is the subject of this verse. Our spirits have been shown to have life, now. Body is still dead - as to God.

1.The Spirit of that God who raised up Jesus is dwelling in us. Jesus is our Lord's personal name (read Matthew 1:21). It was Jesus whom they crucified and buried in Joseph's tomb.

2.Christ Jesus is His resurrection name. Although our bodies are yet dead on account of sin - dead to God - the Spirit of Him who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead, Christ Jesus, in whom we now are, this God will give life also to these poor mortal bodies of ours! And it will be by His Spirit who now indwells us.

Notes on Verses 14-17:

God adopted us as a son with every legal right as a son. He actually gave us His own Spirit so that we are in His family by nature and we are so conscious of this that we call Him "Father."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

We live in a world where the word "control" is most controlling. We talk about those who control the oil fields of the world. We read of those who control the financial institutions and business conglomerates. We listen to those who control the judicial and governmental entities around the world. To control something is to be empowered or energized by that something.

The central theme of verses 5-17 is one of control It is best stated, in a negative way, in verse 8: Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. Do I control myself, or am I controlled by another? I believe Paul would say that another desires to control me, but I must decide whether to yield control to that one. In fact, it appears that there are two persons who would greatly desire to have control over me, the one who acts through my sinful nature, and the one who acts through His Spirit that has been given to me.

I remember the illustration used by Campus Crusade of the throne sitting vacant in a person's heart. Two persons sought to sit upon that throne. "I" represented the sinful nature while the "cross" represented Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I am given the responsibility of making those daily choices as to the one controlling my life. And the consequences of that decision have a dramatic impact upon my life. If I desire to please myself, well then, I let the sinful nature have control and I will enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. But, if I desire to please God, then it is absolutely essential that I allow the Holy Spirit to have control of my life.

Oh that it might be so easy to make a one-time decision, as with our receiving Christ. But this is at least a daily and often an hourly need. The one who controls my life empowers and energizes me.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS ONE READS THESE VERSES:

1. Compose a list of what you think the "things of the flesh are" and then a list of the "things of the Spirit." Which group is it easier for you to focus your attention upon and why?

2. Did you know that you live in a "dead body?" What does that mean to you? Do you consider it a promise or a curse to be saddled with this "dead body?"

Romans 8:1-4 Return to the Table of Contents Romans 8:18-39