Some Key Words (9/20/00)

In (en [1722]):

rest in a place or thing, on, at, by, remaining, in close proximity to, in the presence of, enveloped in; in, by, with; a fixed position in place, time, or state, a relation of rest

Flesh (sarx [4561]):

animal flesh, the human body, mankind, the infirmity of mankind's nature, the corrupt nature subject to sinfulness, natural descent, temporal advantage; the animal nature of man, with its sinful cravings, and its subjection to suffering, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, prone to sin, and opposed to God; the meat of an animal, the body as opposed to the soul or spirit, the external, human nature with its physical and moral frailties and passions

Spirit (pneuma [4151]):

the spirit - which is wind-like in invisibility and power, the immaterial part of man, the element of perception, reflection, feeling, desire, and purpose in man, character, moral qualities, the Holy Spirit, the inward man of the believer, the new life; the vital principal of animation, the rational spirit, the soul, the Spirit of God, His power and agency made manifest in human affairs, and by its influence upon the souls, the Holy Spirit; a spirit, the rational soul, mental disposition, God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit

Dwells (oikeo [3611]):

to dwell, inhabit; to dwell in; to reside, remain, cohabit

Have (echo [2192]):

to have, hold on, to wear, to be with child, to possess; to hold, to have in the hand, to hold fast, to consider, to own, to possess, to be joined by bonds of marriage, friendship, duty, or law, to lay hold of, adhere to, to be closely joined to a person or thing; to hold literally or figuratively - as with possessions, abilities, relations, or conditions

Belong (esti [2076]):

is; third person singular of to be (to exist)

Body (soma [4983]):

a physical body - living or dead, men taken in war and enslaved, the Church in respect to Christ its head, the body of believers, material substance as opposed to types; a body - dead or alive, plant or animal, a closely united group of men, that which casts a shadow; the body

Dead (nekros [3498]):

naturally or spiritually dead, separated from God's grace, and from divine light, inactive as a dead man; lifeless, deceased, one whose soul is in Hades, spiritually dead, not recognizing or devoted to God, but rather given over to sin, inactive as to doing right, destitute of force or power, inoperative; literally or figuratively dead

Sin (hamartia [266]):

missing the true end of our lives [God], an offense in relation to God - emphasizing the guilt; to miss the mark, be without a share in, wander from uprightness, honor, and God's law, a violation of God's law in thought or act; a sin

Alive (zoe [2222]):

life, the principle of life in the spirit and soul as opposed to mere physical life, the highest and best which Christ is, and which He gives to the saints; the state of one who is animate, the absolute fullness of life in essence and ethic, belonging to God and Christ, real and genuine life devoted to God and so blessed forever

Righteousness ([1343]):

the essence of that which is just and righteous, fulfilling God's claim on oneself, conformity with the demands of higher authority, the state commanded by God and standing His judgment, conformity to all God commands, God's standard; the state of one who is as he ought to be, the condition acceptable to God, integrity, virtue, purity of life, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting; equity of character or act, Christian justification

Raised (egeiro [1453]):

to awaken, wake up, to become attentive to one's dangerous position and to God's salvation, to recover, rise up from bed, to recall from death to life; to arouse, cause to rise, to arouse from sleep, or death, to cause to rise from a seat or bed, to raise up, produce, cause to appear, to cause to be born, to construct; to waken, rouse from sleep, disease, death, obscurity, inactivity, ruin, or nonexistence

Give life (zoopoieo [2227]):

to make alive, vivify, as in resurrection; to produce alive, bear living young, to give life, to invigorate by spiritual power, to restore to life, to endue with new and greater powers of life; to revitalize

Mortal (thnetos [2349]):

mortal as opposed to immortal, a condition of changeability or mortality; liable to death; liable to die

Indwells (enoikeo [1774]):

to dwell in, to dwell in one and influence him for good; to inhabit

 

Paraphrase: (9/20/00)

9 If the Spirit of God lives in you, you rest in the Spirit, and no longer remain in the flesh. Otherwise, you don't belong to Christ. 10 If Christ lives in you, by His righteousness you are spiritually alive, even though sin has brought death to your body. 11 If the Father's Spirit is in you (He who raised Jesus from death), He will give your body life even as He gave Jesus life from death. He will do this through His Spirit dwelling in you.

Key Verse: (9/20/00)

8:10 - If Christ is in us, the state of the body is no longer of import, and no longer a clue to our true state, for regardless of the body's state and foolish actions, the spirit is alive because of His righteousness.

People Mentioned: (9/20/00)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (9/21/00)

8:9

Ro 7:5 - While we remained in the flesh, the Law aroused our sinful natures. Jn 14:23 - If we love and obey Jesus, Father and Son will come and make their abode with us. 1Co 3:16 - The Spirit of God dwells in us who are His temple. 1Co 6:19 - I am not my own, for I am a temple of the Holy Spirit whom God sent. 2Co 6:16 - We are living temples of God, according to His own words, for He said He would dwell in His people and walk amongst them. Gal 4:6 - God sent forth His Son's Spirit into our hearts, because we are His sons, as well. Php 1:19 - Interceding prayers and the providence of the Spirit of Christ assure us of deliverance. 2Ti 1:14 - We are to guard and treasure the true Gospel we have been entrusted with, by means of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. 1Jn 4:13 - He has given us of His Spirit, so that we may know that we abide together with Him. Jn 14:17 - The world cannot understand the truth of the Spirit, for they don't know God, but we know Him who abides in us, and so understand.

8:10

Jn 17:23 - God in Christ in us, uniting us in perfect unity, to show the world He was sent, and we are loved of God even as He was. Gal 2:20 - It is no longer me living, but Christ living in me, my life being by faith in Him who loved me and willingly died for me. Eph 3:17 - Pray that Christ dwell in our hearts through faith, and that we will be rooted in love. Col 1:27 - The great mystery of Christianity is our hope of glory: Christ in us.

8:11

Ac 2:24 - God raised Christ from death, ending its agony, for death could not hold Him in its power. Ro 6:4 - We have been baptized in that death, buried to our old ways so that we might walk in newness of life, too. Jn 5:21 - As the Father, so the Son, for He gives life to whomever He wishes.

 

New Thoughts (9/22/00)

For starters, I really think I need to see the definitions back in the verses for this section.

9 However you are not resting enveloped in the infirmity of your nature, but remain enveloped in the presence of the Spirit of God - His power manifest by its influence on your soul, if indeed The Spirit of God resided and rests in you. But if anyone does not possess and hold fast to the Spirit of Christ as one married to Him, his existence is not to Christ. 10 And if Christ is resting in you, though the physical body is separated from God's grace and does not recognize God because its actions violate God's law, yet the inward man of the believer enjoys the highest and best of life - devoted to God because of the essence of that which is just and righteous, and conforms to all God's commands. 11 But if the Spirit of God, Him who recalled Jesus from death to life cohabits with you, He who roused Christ Jesus from death will also endue your bodies - liable to change and death - with new and greater powers of revitalized life through His power and agency made manifest, as He inhabits you to influence you for good.

Wow! There is so much to chew on here! I want to start with some observations that came to mind as I was going through the detail work on this passage, which are just reinforced by this last exercise.

In verse 10, we are told that our spirit is alive as never before, even though our body may be failing, and remains subjected to sins. We are also told why our spirit is alive. It is because of righteousness - the essence of that which is just and righteous, conforming to all God's commands. Is that you or me? I don't think so. I have great difficulty conforming for any lengthy period of time even to most of His commands, let alone all. It just isn't in me. No it's the essence of His standard. It's the righteousness of Jesus that alone can be called true righteousness. He is the only one who walked this life in perfect obedience to God. He alone is the essence of all that is just and righteous. And it is by His righteousness, His actions on our behalf and God's willingness to accept His work to our account, that has given life to our spirit. This is why salvation is through faith in Christ and no other path. We cannot be righteous of our own accord. Our bodies will betray us every time, and our spirit - left to itself - will cheerfully follow along to damnation. But thanks be to God that He provided a way for us! God, that You would provide for us the means to be acceptable in Your sight. That You would move so mightily to redeem and preserve Your creation! You are an awesome God! How can I but love You? What can I not trust You with, when You have done so great a thing for me already?

If there is one word that just screams from this verse, I think it is "in." Such a small word, but so much meaning as regards this passage. I am not in the flesh, I am in the Spirit, because God's Spirit dwells in me. Christ is in me, making my spirit alive by His righteousness. The Spirit is in me, assuring me that my body will one day be redeemed as well. Now, look at the meaning of "in" again: rest in a place or thing, on, at, by, remaining, in close proximity to, in the presence of, enveloped in. I am not resting in the flesh, I don't remain in the ways of my flesh, I am not in close proximity to its sinfulness nor enveloped by it. Rather, I am resting and remaining in close proximity to the enveloping presence of the Spirit, because that very Spirit is resting and remaining in close proximity to me. Christ is resting and remaining enveloped in me. God's Spirit is resting and remaining in close proximity to me! Follow me to the next step! Look at all the verses dug up in verse 9, and another thing becomes clear. Not only does the Trinity rest and remain in close proximity to me, it abides, cohabits, and fills me to influence me for good. Why? Because He has declared me His temple! 1 Corinthians: I am a temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in me. 2 Corinthians: I am a living temple of God. Galatians: God sent the Spirit of His Son to live in us. As Augustine pointed out, the Supreme being does not share His temple with another. That all three persons dwell in me, His temple, according to His own word, tells me that indeed God is One. Over and over, we see that He is operating to one purpose, all three persons of His being acting in united fashion to bring us to salvation and to Him. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - one in essence, one in purpose, one in desire. All have come to fill this temple, to make it holy as His habitation must be. And in John 17:23, we see why: as God is united in perfect unity, so He is working to unite us in perfect unity. Why? We are His example to the world today. We are the visible proof that Jesus was indeed sent of God and Son of God. We are His visible proof in the world today that He loves His adopted children even as He loves His only begotten Son. Inasmuch as we fail to live out that unity with our fellow Christians, we fail to properly reflect and display God to a desperate world. We fail to be the proof He calls us to be. We fail to live our lives as temples to Him. Father, help me. I fail You so often. I fail You both in acting in one accord with my church family, and by my actions as an individual. I can be such a rebellious child. But You, oh Lord, are such a loving Father. You have been, and remain so patient with me; gently correcting me, reminding me of what is right over and over again until I get it. You have provided for me so greatly, God, sending Your Son to save me, and Your Spirit to guide me. Keep my ears open to Your word, Lord, that I might better reflect Your love to the world that sees me.