In Christ: The Spirit and the Church
Study Romans 8:9, read the following comments, and then try to explain in your own words the meaning of the passage.
There is a very close connection between the Spirit and Christ. There are several ideas in Romans 8:9 that deserve some attention. First, there is a contrast between being in the flesh and being in the Spirit. Believers are not in the flesh; that is, they are not controlled by their fallen nature, not in a state of rebellion against God and unable to submit to the divine will (vss. 6-8). They are, rather, in the Spirit; that is, they are spiritually alive (vs. 10), have become children of God (vs. 14), and sin does not rule over them. The passage describes two incompatible ways of life: One belongs to the old creature and the other to the new creation, the new humanity in Christ.
Second, being in the Spirit means that one belongs to Christ. This indicates that to be in union with Christ is synonymous with being in the Spirit. The Spirit and Christ are not being equated, but it is suggested that Christ relates to believers through the Spirit. Union with Him is union with the Spirit. The gifts that are ours in Christ are also said to be in the Spirit. For instance, we are justified and sanctified by the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11), we have “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17, NIV), and we have fellowship in both the Spirit and Christ (1 Cor. 1:9, Phil. 2:1).
It’s also crucial to remember that union with Christ through baptism cannot be separated from union to the body of Christ, the church. To be baptized into Christ is at the same time to be “baptized by one Spirit into one body”—namely, the church (1 Cor. 12:13, NIV). The image of the church as the body of Christ designates the unity and the interdependence of believers with one another and with Christ. Such union is reflected or manifested in a life lived in Christ/in the Spirit. The members of the church often are identified as those who are “in Christ,” indicating that sometimes the phrase simply means “to be a Christian” in the sense of living a life totally determined by what Christ has done for them.
Look at your life in the past 24 hours. What practical evidence exists that you are living “in Christ”? How is your union with Christ reflected in the way you relate to other church members who are also part of the body of Christ?
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