God For Us: Alive By the Spirit

The Big “Ifs”

If indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you

If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ

If Christ is in you

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you

These four conditional statements are very similar in content.  The suppositional clause that contains the “if” is called the protasis.  The clause containing the statement based on the supposition is called the “apodosis.” In essence all the suppositional clauses or protasis if clauses can be summarized as:

If the Spirit lives in you. . .

Since the Spirit lives in you. . . .

You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. 9

You belong to Christ. 9

You are alive because of righteousness. 10

You will be given life to your mortal bodies. 11

You are in the Spirit. 9

9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you

Verse 9 is more personal as Paul directly addresses his hearers. Believers are presented as “in the Spirit” and “Spirit. . .in you.” Both are true and interrelated and inseparable, although distinguishable. 

All believers have the Spirit of Christ indwelling them.

You belong to Christ. 9

But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him

You have been bought by a price in redemption.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefor glorify God in your body.

You have been brought into a family by adoption.

You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. 

You have life in the Spirit. 10-11

10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But 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.

Because of righteousness  10

10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

Verse 10 begins reiterating the indwelling Christ with another conditional clause.  The body is dead because of sin reminds of 5:12 and 6:23.  Bodily death is the wages of sin.

By way of resurrection.

11 But 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.

Verse 11 Again we see the the intimate relationship within the Godhead.  The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in believers.  This Spirit is the Holy Spirit.  The Father is noted as the One who raised Jesus from the dead (4:25,25; 6:4; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:17, 20).  In verse 10, the Spirit is life.  Here we see that He is resurrection life. 

Ephesians 2:5 "even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

1 Corinthians 15:50-57

50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit ^cthe imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53   For this perishable must put on ^athe imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55     “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

You are free in Christ.

You are focused on the Spirit.

You have a future through the Spirit.

            Because you are in the Spirit and not the flesh.

            Because you belong to Christ and not the enemy.

            Because you have been raised by the Spirit with Christ.

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