In and After the Spirit
At the end of Romans 7, Paul said, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 7:24-25).
Notice that he didn’t say, “I thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord.” He was saying, “I thank God I’m delivered from the body of this death through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, Paul was describing the futility of trying to serve God in the flesh. The flesh part of us (body and soul) will always fall short. “Imperfection can’t be perfect. How do I ever get out of this? Praise God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, I have a brand-new person inside of me.”
Then Paul moved right into chapter 8, which speaks of letting our born-again spirit dominate our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 7 describes frustration, defeat, and sin coming alive. Romans 8 overflows with victory. As I said earlier, the Spirit/spirit is mentioned once in chapter 7,
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and twenty-one times in chapter 8. Paul was contrasting Christ living through us (Rom. 8) with our trying to live for God. (Rom. 7.) That’s powerful!
Free from Condemnation
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
Who is in Christ Jesus? You are if you’ve been born again and have this new man. With this new nature, there is no condemnation to you when you are in Christ Jesus and walking “not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (v. 1).
If you’ll let this brand-new spirit live through you, there is no condemnation, no judgment, no sentence against you. Nothing can stop you. Nothing can hold you down. This born-again man doesn’t have any limitations or inadequacies. As Jesus is, so are you in your spirit. (1 Cor. 6:17; 1 John 4:17.)
Condemnation refers to declaring unfit for use. When you condemn a building, you declare it unfit for use. The devil does that to you by saying, “You sorry thing. What makes you think God would use you?” That’s condemnation.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2
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The law that governed my old man declared, “You’re a loser and a failure. You can’t lay hands on the sick and see them recover. You can’t prosper. You can’t be happy. You can’t have joy.” That old man is now dead and gone. The law that enforced his rule isn’t over me anymore.
What the [Old Testament] law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
Romans 8:3
If I would not have been imperfect, the Old Testament law would have been great. I would have kept it and that would have solved the problem. But because I was imperfect, through my flesh, the Old Testament law—instead of being something good—actually became my condemnation. So God sent His own Son as a man, and judged sin in His flesh.
Positional and Experiential
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:4,5
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after the flesh?
after the Spirit or
How can you tell if you’re walking
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There’s a difference between “in the flesh” and “after the flesh,” and “in the Spirit” and “after the Spirit.”
If you are born again, you are in the Spirit. That’s a positional truth. It’s the way you are. But you might not be walking after the Spirit. You might be walking after the
flesh and letting your physical self dominate, which means you won’t experience in the natural realm the victory that’s yours in the Spirit. But the truth is—positionally—you’re in the Spirit.
If you aren’t born again, you are in the flesh. That’s your position. But you could walk after the Spirit. In other words, you could imitate the things of the Spirit. Although you could do some right things, it won’t change your standing with God. Only being born again can do that.
In speaks of your position in Christ (in the Spirit) or not (in the flesh). This is consistent all the way through this eighth chapter of Romans. However, after speaks of how you are experiencing things.
What Are You Thinking?
They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:5
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How can you tell if you’re walking after the Spirit or after the flesh? What are your thoughts focused on? Are they on the flesh? Is your mind occupied with fear, strife, depression, or poverty? Then you’re after the flesh. If you’re after the Spirit, you’ll be thinking about God. You’ll be meditating on His Word and who you are in Christ. It’s really that simple!
To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 8:6
If you’re thinking on carnal things, you’re after the flesh. For instance, if someone treats you badly and you mull it over again and again, you’ll be hurt, depressed, and offended. That’s what carnal mindedness produces—death. It’s not so much what that person did to you that made you angry, bitter, and upset. It’s the fact that you meditated and thought on it that empowered it in your life.
I’ve had people come against me, but I’ve learned to be quick to cast things over onto the Lord. I refuse to think on the negative side of things. There are people who have promised to kill me if I ever set foot on their property. There are nationwide ministers—people you’d know if I named them—who believe that I’m the slickest cultist since Jim Jones.1 They’ve even proclaimed that publicly. People have used my tapes to criticize me. But do you know what? I don’t think on those things. And as a result, I’m not hurt or offended. I’ve held meetings and
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You have this new spirit on the inside of you and the only thing holding you back is your “stinkin’ thinkin’”.
been on the exact same platform as some of these folks. I’ve loved them. I’ve sent people to their churches and given offer-ings toward their projects. I speak nothing but well of them. I’m not angry or bitter because I don’t dwell on those things.
It’s not what people do to you that makes you angry, but how you think about it. If you’re carnally minded, you’ll get carnal results. If you’re spiritually minded, you’ll get spiritual results. This is awesome!
You Are Not in the Flesh
The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:7,8
Lost people cannot please God. They are in the flesh. They aren’t born again. They don’t have the life of God inside them. They have this old sin nature instead. For them, it’s impossible to please God.
Ye are not in the flesh….
Romans 8:9
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If you’re born again, you aren’t in the flesh. You’re in the Spirit. You may be walking after the flesh and getting the same results as you did before being born again. But the truth is, you aren’t in the flesh anymore.
[You are] in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Romans 8:9
And we could go on and on. There are some powerful truths here, but it’s basically saying that you’re already free in Christ. You have this new spirit on the inside of you and the only thing holding you back is your “stinkin’ thinkin’”. You still think like you’re married to that old man. “Well, I resisted for a while, but I’m just an old sinner after all. I’m going to sin anyway, so I might as well give in now.” If you think that way, you’re walking in the flesh and you’ll reap corruption.
Here’s what you need to begin to realize: “I’m free. There’s nothing in me that’s making me defeated. There’s nothing in me that can make me depressed. No outside circumstances can make me discouraged. My spirit is always full of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. (Gal. 5:22-23.) I have a choice. Will I let hurt, depression, anger, and bitterness rule me? Or will I be spiritually minded and let who I am in Christ reign? It’s my choice.” If you think that way, you’ll be
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Turn from self-reliance, self-salvation, and self-righteousness.
walking in the Spirit and you’ll be free to
receive God’s blessings and goodness.
Now that’s freedom!
