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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact 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, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
- Romans 8:5-11
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact 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, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
- Romans 8:5-11
Introduction
This will be a 4 part blog series to get through this passage of scripture. To start off, I simply wanted to give a verse by verse breakdown. This is simply a quick breakdown of the verses from when I first read through the passage. I hope it's helpful in helping you see what Paul is trying to talk about in this section of Scripture.
Verses | Exposition |
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. | Live in flesh = minds on things of flesh Live in Spirit = minds on things of spirit |
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. | Mind of flesh = death Mind of Spirit = life & peace Note mind of flesh has 1 thing, mind of spirit has 2 things. Life and peace |
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. | Mind of flesh is hostile to God. Why? Because it doesn’t submit to God. Why? Because it cannot submit to God. Therefore? They cannot please God. Hostile – ἔχθρα – echthra – enmity, hostility, alienation. Non-believers cannot please God. |
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. | Christians are in the Spirit. Paul cautions that, it’s not just a reaffirmation that Christians are in the Spirit, but examine your life to make sure the Spirit of God dwells in you. Because if the Spirit of God doesn’t dwell in you, then what Paul is about to say doesn’t apply to you. |
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. | This is that internal struggle that all Christians go through that we talked about 2 weeks ago. If Christ is in you, your body is dead to sin, but you are alive in the Spirit. Why? Because of righteousness. Who’s righteousness though? Not ours, but Christ’s, the Spirit’s righteousness. |
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. | Here is an argument validating the Spirit’s power. The above is true, and here is an example as to how. If the Spirit of God lives in you, the same Spirit is the one who raised Christ from the dead, therefore, you too will have life through the Spirit. |
Overall, I hope this was a helpful overview of this section of scripture. If you have any notes, or feedback, I'd love to hear your thoughts int he comments section of this article.
Going from here, we will take a little deeper dive into this portion of Scripture over the next 3 blog posts.
Going from here, we will take a little deeper dive into this portion of Scripture over the next 3 blog posts.