10 Sept. Living in the power of the Holy Spirit
"Those who live following their sinful selves think only about things that their sinful selves want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about the things the Spirit wants them to do."
"If people's thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace."
"When people's thinking is controlled by the sinful self, they are against God, because they refuse to obey God's law and really are not even able to obey God's law. Those people who are ruled by their sinful selves cannot please God."
"But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ."
"Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God."
"God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God's Spirit is living in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. God is the one who raised Christ from the dead, and he will give life through his Spirit that lives in you."
"So, my brothers and sisters, we must not be ruled by our sinful selves or live the way our sinful selves want. If you use your lives to do the wrong things your sinful selves want, you will die spiritually. But if you use the Spirit's help to stop doing the wrong things you do with your body, you will have true life."
"The true children of God are those who let God's Spirit lead them. The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear: it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, "Father".
"And the Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say we are God's children. If we are God's children, we will receive blessings from God together with Christ. But we must suffer as Christ suffered so that we will have glory as Christ has glory."
(Romans 8:5-17)
Paul continues his letter by describing the new life experienced after believers are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Because they have been put right with God, they do not follow their own selfish desires any longer, but live their lives prompted by the Holy Spirit. They “are thinking about the things the Spirit wants them to do” and this results in “life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).
Paul points out that this is the key difference between those who have faith in Jesus and those who don't: "You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ." (Romans 8:9)
Paul makes it clear that you can't be a Christian if you don't want to be enlivened by the power of the Holy Spirit: "But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God." (Romans 8:10)
Those who have the Spirit of Christ are "the true children of God … who let God's Spirit lead them." (Romans 8:14) They belong to Jesus and are “children of God” who can address God in prayer as "Abba", "Father" or "Daddy" (Romans 8:15).
And because they are children of God, they will receive great blessings from God in due course, even if for the moment, they have to suffer as Christ suffered.
The photo (by Dnalor 01) shows a dove with an olive branch - a traditional symbol of the Holy Spirit - in the Catacombs of Domitilla in Rome.
You can read more from Paul's Letter to the Romans @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/new-life-in-the-power-of…/