Living in the Spirit
July 14, 2023
Scripture Reading:
Romans 8:1-11
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since 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, though 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 from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. –Romans 8:9-11
I have a grammar checker on my computer. Besides my writing, it notes any corrections that might be identified in a quote. Because it is a quote, I do not make the changes recommended. I do make one exception to that rule. I use a scripture source from the United Kingdom, which spells some words slightly different than we spell the same English word in the USA. I alter those spellings to USA English because it does not impact the original interpretation but might distract from the readers’ concentration. In the above scripture, Paul is trying to help us understand what is of God and what is not. He differentiates the flesh from the Spirit.
The Greek word for Flesh sárks (“flesh”) is not always evil in Scripture. Indeed, it is used positively in relation to sexual intercourse in marriage (Eph 5:31) – as well as for the sinless human body of Jesus (Jn 1:14; 1 Jn 4:2,3). Indeed, flesh (what is physical) is necessary for the body to live out the faith the Lord works in (Gal 2:20).]*
The Greek word translated in this scripture as spirit is pneúma, which means breath or wind**. Breathe is the source of life itself. This is described in Genesis 2:7 when God breathed the breath of life into the human, and the human became a living being. In Mark 15:37, we are told that Jesus breathed his last breath from the cross, and his flesh died.
Being human comes with all the attributes that define the human. Humans are given the choice of using those attributes for good or evil and, more likely, all the attributes that lie between good and evil. God did not leave us, however, without counsel in our choices. God implanted God’s own Spirit within us to guide us in our decision making and God’s breath is eternal.
Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to receive your guidance as we strive to serve you as the humans that we are. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/greek/4561.htm
**https://biblehub.com/greek/4151.htm
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.