1. What does it mean to you to live a full life? Who is someone that you would say has lived a full life? What makes their life full?
Paul, the author of Romans, after showing the limits of the Law and the benefits of the Spirit of God, gets very pointed with his intended audience here. After speaking in reference to non-believers and the state of their thoughts in hostility to God, Paul turns to Christians in saying, “You, however,…”
Romans 8:9-11 says, “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.”
2. Track the word “in” throughout verses 9-11. How many times is it used? What are some of the people and things it is used to refer to?
• Close to Christ
There is a close, intimate connection between believers and God Himself. Believers are not told that the Spirit is around them or above them, but rather that the “Spirit of God dwells in you.” Paul originally wrote this to Christians in Rome, but in speaking of the truths of their salvation, we can apply these theological truths to Christians today as well.
3. What comfort does it bring that if you are “in Christ,” God’s Spirit is dwelling in you?
4. What conviction does it bring that the Spirit of God is dwelling in you if you are a Christian? How does that truth affect you moving forward from here?
As we talk about often at The River Church, God’s Spirit is not in us because of what we have done or how good we have been, but because of Jesus Christ. At our moment of conversion, we receive the imputed righteousness of Christ. It is the best deal we have ever been offered and received. Christ receives our sinfulness, and we receive His righteousness! As a result, we can stand before God the Father sinless. This is why the author of Hebrews tells Christians, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16).
5. What can it look like to stand before the throne of grace with confidence? Is this something that you regularly make a habit of? Why or why not?
Standing with confidence before God is one of the many benefits of this life that Christians are afforded because of the Spirit of God dwelling within them.
• Connected to Christ
There is a phrase the I grew up hearing that I believe purported an incorrect idea of easy-believe-ism. In kid’s church, over and over, I heard that all I had to do to be saved was “ask Jesus into my heart.”
Ephesians 3:17 says, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love...”
6. What do you think of the phrase “ask Jesus into your heart” to be saved? Is it accurate? Is it missing something? Should it be a phrase that we use in evangelistic contexts?
There is a theological term that I learned in my Systematic Theology course in Bible college called “Union with Christ.” It is the idea that Christians are joined with Christ in His life, death, and resurrection, and it is the result of confessing Him as Lord. Paul talks about this earlier in Romans 6:5-6, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
A couple of weeks ago, my wife, Haleigh, and I went to visit family in Colorado. Like any sane person, we chose to fly instead of making the 20-hour road trip. When we arrived at the airport, we had a choice to make - would we board the plane to Denver or just stare at it and hope that by being inspired by it, we would arrive in Denver? We could even try following the plane, but I can only run 13 miles an hour, so I would never keep up with the plane. Clearly, we boarded the plane. As we got to our seats, we sat down, got buckled in, and settled in for a three-hour ride. If we did not board the plane, we would not have arrived in Denver. As the plane took off, because we boarded it and were united to it, the destination of that plane determined our destination. If the plane climbed, we climbed. When the plane hit turbulence, we hit turbulence. Ultimately, when the plane landed in Denver, we landed in Denver.
This is a picture of the Gospel truth of union with Christ. Where the plane went, because we were united to it by boarding it, so we went. Because of this, the Christian’s salvation is secure because we are connected to Him!
7. Have you doubted your salvation? What causes you to question it?
If Christ has been resurrected (which has been proven over and over!), verse 11 tells us, so will Christ raise our mortal bodies one day. As Christ has come once, He is coming back again.
8. How often do you think of the future resurrection? How can setting your mind on the future promises of God change the here and now?
Until Christ comes again, believers have the promised Holy Spirit with us. One of the dangers in Christianity is singing songs where we welcome the Holy Spirit into spaces. The Holy Spirit does not need an invite! If Christians are gathered together, the Holy Spirit is there! It is not like the Holy Spirit just chooses to show up some Sundays and not others. Leon Morris puts it well in saying, “The Spirit is not an occasional visitor; He takes up residence in God’s people.” What a beautiful promise from God’s Word! The Holy Spirit of God has chosen to make His home within us. Now, as the temple where God dwells, we are His ambassadors through word and deed!