This morning my heart was once again drawn back to the theme of the spiritual realm, and as I thought about where to read in my Bible, I was reminded of Paul's letter to the Romans, specifically chapter 8. Here are a few verses that I am reflecting on this morning - Romans 8:5-11,14-17 NIV:
[5] "Those who live according to the flesh 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 lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. [10] But if Christ 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."
[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 (& daughtership). 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, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
The first that stood out to me in this section was verse 9, "You.... are in the realm of the Spirit", for this statement is fact, whether we know it or not. If we have received salvation, then the Holy Spirit lives within us, and gives us life. The same Holy Sprit who raised Jesus from the dead gives life to our mortal bodies, and life is given because of the righteousness that Jesus purchased for us!
Again, this is accomplished in us all, for this is His gift, for each of us, there are no favorites (Romans 2:11). There are no people who have experienced His salvation that have been left out. If you think it isn't true for you, you are believing a lie from the pit of hell. Paul goes on to confirm this very thing, for he indicates that one of the very first things the Holy Spirit does is confirm our identity as God's children. We are His son or His daughter, adopted into His family, with the full rights of a family member! The Holy Spirit testifies to this in our lives... if we learn to listen to Him, or if we remember that first sense of belonging that we experienced when we were saved, we will see this truth. We sometimes talk about this as the first-love, but it meant to be experienced over the whole of our lives.
The enemy spends much of his time trying to convince us that we are some sort of second class family member, some forgotten son or daughter, or some child that is in trouble with the Father. He is trying to get us to focus on fear (see verse 15 above) of punishment, fear of disappointing the Father. Again, these are lies from the pit of Hell, and are meant to get us focused on the wrong things, and subject ourselves to the wrong realm. If he can get us to lay down our identity, and live like this is not true, or live in such a way that we are unaware of the Spirit, he is able to get us to live in his realm, unaware of our inheritance, unaware of our authority, and unaware of our rights!
This is a bit like what happened to the slaves in Texas who lived as slaves for 2 years, after they had been emancipated. No one told them they were free, and I am guessing that someone purposely didn't tell them they were free. This is the historical event that was recently celebrated as Juneteenth, when they were told they were actually free. (See: https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/historical-legacy-juneteenth).
In the same way, we need to be told, and or reminded that we no longer belong to the realm of the flesh! We are no longer slaves to fear! We are no longer subject to the laws of the kingdom of darkness, for we have been set free, and we have been given the Holy Spirit, who now lives within us and gives us life, and confirms our identity as sons and daughters of God!
Paul continues on a bit later in this chapter, hammering home this message! Romans 8:34-39 NIV:
[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."
Nothing an separate us from His Love! Nothing can nullify His sacrifice! Nothing can cause us to lose our salvation! Nothing can cause the Holy Spirit to stop living within us! Nothing can change this truth!
We can, however, choose to live as if they are not true. We can choose to live our lives focused on the wrong things, investing in the wrong things, listening to the wrong things! I believe this is the foundational truth of learning to live in and by the Spirit, WE have the choice as to which realm we live in and which we listen to! Nothing can force us to lose this love, this life, this gift of the Holy Spirit, but we can ignore it, and live in such a way that our experience of this reality is limited!
So this morning, my question is how much am I embracing these truths? Am I learning to listen to the Holy Spirit, bringing my mind into alignment with these truths? Am I investing my time, my thoughts and my awareness in the realm of the Spirit? Am I choosing to live as a son of God, as a Co-Heir with Christ, or am I living as a slave to fear, my flesh and the lies of the enemy?
One thing important to note, the slaves that were set free on Juneteenth were not at fault for their having lived under slavery even after they were set free by the President's decree. In the same way, God does not accuse us or blame us if we have been living under the lies of the enemy, or giving ourselves to the wrong realm. He doesn't blame us for being deceived or convinced of some lie, He blames the liar! He is continually releasing His truth, so that we might be set free, that we might hear the truth and embrace our true identity as His son or daughter!
I am encouraged by the great love, mercy and compassion of God! I am encouraged that He has made a way for me to live in the realm of the Spirit, and provided me everything I need, because He loves me and is interceding for me! He is my greatest champion, my greatest cheerleader, my greatest teacher, my greatest guide, and my Father!
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment