(Romans 8: 1 – 16)
In other words, the person must be born again. To be born-again is a miracle of God, by which Jesus Christ comes into your body to live, literally in the form of the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9). Life is a race and to run this race successfully and completely we need the spirit of God in us. Dwelling in the spirit makes us brand new people (II Cor. 5:17). Our old self is crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. So we live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us (Gal. 2:20). The Bible says “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Since the father did not condemn Jesus, neither can he condemn those that are in Him. We cannot be condemned, and will not be condemned. There is a spiritual union between Christ and believers. Christ is in believers by His Spirit, and believers are in Christ by faith. We no longer live under the law but in the Spirit because the law could not defeat sin; it could only detect sin. Only Jesus can defeat sin, and He did just that through His work on the cross. The law can do many things. It can guide us, teach us, and tell us about God’s character. But the law cannot give energy to our flesh; it can give us the standard, but it cannot give us the power to live a life pleasing to God. You cannot dwell in the spirit or please God when your flesh is in control of you. The Bible says “to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”. The spirit and the flesh are always at war against each other so in order to overcome, we have to walk in the spirit (Gal. 5:17). The Bible describes the work of the flesh as being “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. At some points in their lives, Samson and David walked in the flesh because of their relationship with women. The Bible describes the fruit of the Spirit as “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance. Joseph, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are Biblical examples of people who walked in the Spirit. Finally, Our God is a consuming fire and we cannot afford to do anything to offend Him or the Holy Spirit in us. John 14:16 The Holy Spirit is our teacher and comforter.