Romans 8:10-11 - The Life-Giving Spirit

Romans 8:10-11 - 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 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.

Message:The Life-Giving Spirit

Time: This book was probably written between 56 and 57 B.C. Paul was in Greece, probably Corinth when he wrote. It was sent to Gentile believers, but also believers with a strong Jewish element.

What the Lord is Saying:

Review and Reflection
I continue to look at and examine the Spirit of God in my life. Sanctification has been the theme in Chapter 6-8. Sanctification being the process of Christ making us holy and separate from the world and our flesh. In Christ, we are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:21), but that doesn't mean that we always act like new creatures. The challenge in my life is to live in the same way that God now sees me. I have been freed from sin, so I should live free from sin. The Law has no more dominion over me so I should live like the Law has no more dominion over Me. I still have sinful tendencies and still have the Law of sin and death tendencies, but the Spirit of God is alive in me and I need to submit to it so as to live in the way I have been intended to live.


I have been watching my daughter wrestle with this of late. She is living in two different worlds. On the one hand, as a believer in Christ, she loves and enjoys time with her friends that share her faith. She likes to grow in knowledge of God. She reads verses and has a thirst for it. And yet she still has her friends and boyfriend that don't share her beliefs. She enjoys her time with them and feels the love and acceptance from them, that sometimes I think she sees is missing from those at church. Church people often evaluate us and watch us to make sure we are aligned with truth, and when we aren't, they put up their guard and begin to sort of judge us. The judging is not bad. We need it. But, it is difficult nevertheless. It is hard to live in two different worlds. And I can see that my daughter is wrestling with this. It is kind of like a tennis match in her life, not so much like the one mentioned at the end of Chapter 7, but sort of similar.

The Spirit is Alive
The Spirit is Alive in the life of those who are in Christ. Romans 3:22 and 3:30 mention that righteousness is imputed to people by believing; by having faith. This is how Christ becomes in me. When I have faith and believe in what Christ has done from me, then sin is dead, but the spirit is alive.

And yet, do I live dead to sin all the time? No. Do I live alive in the spirit all the time? No. Yet, by being in Christ I am dead to sin and I am alive. Why? Because Christ is in me. Christ is my righteousness. I am alive because of righteousness being imputed to me.

The Spirit Dwells in Us
"If the Spirit of Him who raise Jesus" is a reference to the Father. It was God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24; I Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 4:14). The Spirit does not simply make a visit in the life of a believer but dwells or takes up residence in the life of the believer. The resurrection confirms two truths: (1) the resurrection of Christ and (2) The indwelling of the Spirit.

Promise: From Tabletalk, June 9, "The absence of the Spirit proves that the Lord has not justified us, and without justification, there is no life. But if we have been justified, then we do have the Spirit, and though our physical bodies still die, this death is no longer for our transgression as it is for the unbeliever; rather it serves to evidence the fact that God has not yet removed the presence of sin from us."