For today’s blog article, I will examine each of the verses and provide some explanation. At the end of the article, I will address some applications to our personal lives.
— Romans 8.5 — For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
I have defined “flesh” as a life lived apart from a relationship with God. People who live this way focus on what they want, independent of God. For example, a selfish person may become so consumed with their own desires that they lose awareness of their selfishness.
Paul describes the “flesh” in Chapter 1 as a state where people know God but choose not to honor Him or show gratitude. As a result, their thinking becomes futile, and their minds are darkened.
For though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened (Romans 1.21).
When a person devotes their thinking and behavior to a relationship with the Holy Spirit, this is the result:
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5.22-23).
— Romans 8.6 — To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
People who are committed to the flesh, both in mind and body, fall under the wrath of God. They have separated themselves from God and cannot receive the truth because their focus is on falsehood.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth (Romans 1.18).
The fruit of the Spirit, as described in Galatians 5, illustrates a life submitted to the Spirit, where a person cooperates with the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. The result is life, peace, and much more.
— Romans 8.7-8 — For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
The nature of the flesh is to live independently of God. When we focus our attitudes and actions on things apart from God and choose not to submit to Him, we find ourselves in a position where it is impossible to please Him.
It stands to reason that we can’t live separately from God and please Him at the same time. If our mindset is focused on living for ourselves, we cannot also be focused on pleasing God at the same time.
— Romans 8.9-10 — But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, along with the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, ushered in a new age. People are no longer under the shadow of death but are now able to live in a relationship with God.
It’s important to note that in verse 9, “the Spirit of God who dwells in you” is described as “Christ in you” in verse 10. Whether we refer to God’s work in our inner self as Christ or the Holy Spirit, it is the living Lord who dwells within us.
He is the One who brings us to life and enables us to live in a right relationship with God.
— Romans 8.11 — If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Two key aspects signify our eternal future with God: the resurrection of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Both testify that the God who holds our hand in the present will guide us into heaven.
Application
After reading these verses, there’s one key takeaway for our lives: we should commit to aligning our spirit with the work of the Holy Spirit.
While we may not entirely rid ourselves of the flesh—our life separate from God in this age—we can make every effort to allow the Holy Spirit to work within us and lead us into the profound truths of this passage.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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