According to the Spirit - Part 2

As I started to do a few days ago and got caught in Romans 8:28, I want to explore deeper what it looks like to live according to the spirit. It just makes sense that if this is the kind of life I want to live and enjoy then I need to fill my mind with the information, instructions and descriptions of what it involves. Here are clues that I find throughout chapter 8.

1 ...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

2 ...the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

3 (God did) what the Law could not do by sending His own Son – He condemned sin in the flesh,

4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 ...those who are according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

6 ...the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

9 ...you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. (If one has the Spirit of Christ he belongs to him)

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.

12 ...we are under obligation, (but) not to the flesh,,,

13 ...if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (Daddy)

16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

21 ...creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

23 ...we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

24 For in hope we have been saved...

25 ...we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good at a point in time, because of God's unfailing, totally selfless love, for those who respond to His invitation to be transparent before His presence from their hearts.

31 ...If God is for us, who is against us?

32 (God will) freely give us all things.

33 ...God is the one who justifies (us);

34 ...(Jesus is the one) who intercedes for us.

37 ...in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is a great deal of clues to sort through. I certainly can't process all of them at once, but I always find it very helpful to condense opposite ideas down to their simplest form so that I can see them more clearly and see the relationships between the various points made about one side.

I felt a confirmation this morning of the impressions and conclusions I have been contemplating the past few weeks about spirit vs. flesh being internal vs. external, heart vs. mind. While reading one of my devotional books I read the following statement.

Spiritual life is not nourished from within, but draws its nutrition from Christ, as the branch does from the vine. We are dependent upon Christ every moment; He is our source of supply. All our outside forms, prayers, fastings, and alms-giving cannot take the place of the inward work of the Spirit of God on the human heart....

One branch is not to borrow its sustenance from another. Our life must come from the parent vine. It is only by personal union with Christ, by communion with Him daily, hourly, that we can bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. . . . Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness, all depend on our union with Christ and the degree of faith we exercise in Him. {SD 290}

I want to do much more than simply learn with my mind what it looks like to live according to the spirit. I want these things to stimulate and guide my heart into an intimate union with Christ to become a flaming conduit of God's passion. These emotions and desires are impossible to condense into mere words. That is why I need so much the intercession of the Holy Spirit who searches my heart and understands how to translate between my heart and God's mind. I want Romans 8 to not just be another chapter I read in the Bible but to be a vivid description my own experience. So help me God!

(next in series)