Life Through the Spirit
Romans 8:1-17 NIV
[source: Biblegateway]
Life Through the Spirit
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (the living breathing WORD of God), 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives LIFE has set you FREE from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the (Holy) Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh (this world, man's law, your own will, selfishness) have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God (the breath of God) lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ (the Word) is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Our souls have been eternally redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross for those who believe. Jesus was sacrificed on our behalf. Jesus (Yahshua) was God's WORD made flesh to walk among us. Demons (evil spirits, dark forces, negative energy) tremble in fear at the name of Jesus. When you are feeling distressed, call on the name of Jesus. Say His name, whisper it if you have to, but call out to Him. Tell Jesus that you need Him, that you need to feel His presence. Within minutes, you will feel the Holy Spirit hugging you tight deep within your spirit and soon afterward your tears will be dried up and you will be filled with an enormous amount of LOVE that can not be compared to anything on earth.
When you plead the blood of Jesus Christ over your life, your mind, your home, your finances, your loved ones (name them) etc., demons (evil spirits, dark forces, negative energy) are cast out, banished. Ask God to put a protective hedge around you so that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. You have to be vigilant about this. Every day and every time you feel weak or in distress.
When you ask God for forgiveness and surrender your life to God, you are filled with the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit who begins the process of transforming you from the inside out. Not by your will, but by the will of God. Overtime, you will no longer desire to do the former things as God get's you in line for His perfect will for your life. Sin simply means come short of the glory of God's perfection; missed the mark; fallen short of the standard that God expects for us. None of us is perfect, therefore all of us walk in sin, even the preachers/pastors who constantly condemn everybody. Jesus didn't die on the cross and shed His blood for us so that all of humanity would continue to live in condemnation. It's satan who seeks to condemn you always to keep you from the love of God, your Heavenly Father. This is why it is important to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your day to day activities and choices. Please understand that God loves you soooo much unconditionally. He doesn't condemn you for your imperfections. He wants you to love Him in return of your own free will. He wants to have a "personal" relationship with you. Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NIV. (emphasis mine)
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh (this world, man's law, your own will), to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the (Holy) Spirit (the breath of God) you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (the annointed, the WORD), if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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