His Spirit Makes You Alive—Romans 8:10
"But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness" (Romans 8:10)
It is easy to get distracted in life while we wait for the Lords return. We look forward to the day when we will see him face to face. We talk about it at church and among groups of believers excitedly anticipating his return to takes us to heaven. We long for the day when we will be united with him eternally. However, as equally exciting but not as readily talked about is the fact that one-third of our entire existence has already been completely redeemed.
Paul said in today's verse, "But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]" ( Romans 8:10 Amp ). When we were born again God put his Spirit of righteousness inside us to replace the sin nature or spirit of this world that he took out of us. By giving us this new spirit, he imputed His righteousness to us. This righteousness fulfills the entire law and brought us into relationship with God. While it is true that we were freed from the sin nature at this time, it is also true that eventually our bodies, which haven't been fully redeemed yet will die, be buried and remain in the grave until Jesus returns. This physical death happens to everyone and is a result of the fall of Adam. That is what Paul is saying here, even though your bodies will die, your spirit is alive right here and now!
How can we exist in two states at once? Our body is waiting for full redemption, our spirit has been fully redeemed and our mind or our soulish realm will experience rebirth by living by the spirit and renewing our mind to the word of God. So we exist in this dual state of redemption because the Lord is still offering this amazing gift to others. Peter said, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" ( II Peter 3:9 ). And again, "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation..." ( II Peter 3:15 ). Why is God waiting to physically redeem us? It is because he is not willing that any should perish, he provided this salvation to everyone and is waiting for people to accept and believes this awesome gift. We are of those who are privileged to be able to share this amazing news with the world. That is why we are still here.
We have been given this new spirit to assure eternal redemption. We have been freed from sin, we have been forgiven of our sin, we have been freed from any guilt and shame associated with our sin, but our bodies die because our bodies haven't been fully redeemed yet. We are waiting for this redemption, but while we wait, it is important to understand that full payment has been made for our entire spirit, soul and body. We have the down payment inside us right now. "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory" ( Ephesians 1:13-14 ). This is why we need to be born again. Because we need to have an imperishable spirit that cannot die when our earthly bodies perish. Right now we are waiting on the redemption of our bodies, but our spirit has already been redeemed and completely change. The payment has been made for all of these things even though we haven't seen it in our own bodies yet.
It is amazing to know that we currently possess the down payment of our salvation. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time" ( I Peter 1:3-5 ). Our born again spirit is where our rebirth took place. In our born again spirit is where we currently possess eternal life. In our born again spirit is where the mind of Christ exists. Everything needed for life on this earth while we wait for the redemption of our bodies is in existence there ( II Peter 3-4 ). Jesus provided it so we would be fully prepared navigate this life.
In yesterday's verse Paul reminded us that we belong to Christ because we bear His spirit. Today we know that although we are waiting for the redemption of our bodies, our salvation is secure in Him through the promised Holy Spirit that we possess. And if we currently possess it, then we can rest assured that he is able to rescue our bodies as well. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" ( Philippians 3:20-21 ). So we can look forward to that time when we see Jesus face to face and our earthly bodies become like his, but equally as important we must remind ourselves of the sweet and precious promises that we currently posses through Christ Jesus. Today it is my prayer that you take this truth into your workplaces, coffee shops and everywhere that you go to take full advantage of your calling on this earth. Amen!