The Battle of Our Two Realities

Church: We live in an overlap of two realities. Do you feel the fight? Do you experience the drama? Our first glorious reality is that in Christ or because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection, the “righteous requirement of the law has been fully met in us” (Rom. 8:4). Because of Jesus Christ fulfilling the law perfectly for us, we can no longer be condemned for failing to do the law; in Christ, we have been made righteous. Let joy, hope, peace and victory reign in us as our first reality over shadows our second reality
 
The second reality that we still live in is the age of sin and death. We still live in a universe where sin has effected everything and wants to rule over us in a rebellion against God (Rom. 8:18-25). Do you feel the struggle?
 
The great news is that God has left us with His Holy Spirit to live a life of victory and joy during this life in the overlap. Romans 8, makes it very clear that our only hope of experiencing a life of victory in this age of overlap is a mind that is set on the things of the Holy Spirit and not the flesh. Flesh is our enemy.
 
What is the flesh that Paul refers to in Romans 8? It is the power of sin and death that remains in our human nature that desires to rule over us to pursue life without God (Rom. 8:5-8).
 
What is the Spirit that Paul refers to in Romans 8? It is the power of the Spirit of God given to us to rule our minds and empower our lives for victory against the flesh (Rom. 8:9-11).
 
When we set our minds on a life under the power of the Holy Spirit we are freed from bondage to sin. Even though our sin nature remains - righteousness, life, peace and hope wins. Hold on to this truth! Spirit conquers flesh.

Look at this explosion of promises in Romans 8, for a mindset that lives by the Spirit of God:

• The law of the Spirit of life has set believers free from the law of sin and death (v. 2).
• The law’s requirements are fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit (v. 4).
• Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit (v. 5).
• To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace (v. 6).
• Believers are in the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives in them; whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (v. 9).
• The Spirit gives life because of righteousness (v. 10).
• The Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in believers; His Spirit will also bring their mortal bodies to life (v. 11; cf. 1:4).
• Believers will live if they put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (v. 13).
• All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons (v. 14).
• Believers have received the Spirit of adoption, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (v. 15).
• The Spirit bears witness with believers’ spirits that they are God’s children (v. 16)
• Believers have the firstfruits of the Spirit, eagerly awaiting adoption (v. 23).
• The Spirit himself intercedes for believers with unspoken groans (v. 26).
• God knows the mind of the Spirit; the Spirit intercedes according to God’s will (v. 27).

See you Sunday, with a mindset of victory in the Spirit, Steve