How The Holy Spirit Works

Chapter 4

​The Body & The Spirit

​“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10).


And If Christ Be In You

The fall made it impossible for the flesh to do anything that God can accept. It is The Holy Spirit who does the doing, which is made possible by The Cross of Calvary. The heading refers to a person having accepted Jesus as his own personal Savior. Consequently, the divine nature, which is the nature of God, is instantly deposited to the new believer (2 Peter 1:4). As well, at that time, The Holy Spirit also takes up residence within the child of God. It might be called the doctrine of "interpenetration". The idea is that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. Jesus said, "At that day(after the resurrection and the coming of The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost) ye shall know that I am in my Father(speaks of deity; Jesus is God), and ye in me(has to do with our salvation by faith), and I in you(enables us to live a victorious life [Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:3-5])" (John 14:20).



The Body Is Dead Because Of Sin

This speaks of the human body. Paul says it this way in order that the believer knows and understands that he must not try to gain victory over sin by means of his own physical body – self-will, personal efforts, one's own strength, etc. The believer's human body is dead in a sense that it has death in it because of sin, which speaks of original sin – Adam's sin that brought forth spiritual and physical death to each member of the race. In view of that, and as Paul has already adequately explained, one's willpower alone, which has to do with the human body, simply cannot bring about the needed results but actually can only hinder what The Spirit of God can do. So, Paul is saying that one is foolish to resort to these pitiful measures when he already has tremendous firepower, so to speak, within his heart and life in the form of Christ and The Holy Spirit in order to bring about what is needed.



But The Spirit Is Life Because Of Righteousness

Paul is speaking here of The Holy Spirit, which is obvious. He is God and, as a result, can do anything. In other words, He is almighty. So, one is not to think that his situation is so bad that The Holy Spirit is insufficient. I remind the reader that this is the same spirit of God Who "...moved upon the face of the waters" in Genesis 1:2. The earth, at that time, "...was without form, and void..." And, in six days' time, The Holy Spirit brought it back to a habitable state as well as created all animals, fowls, fish, and human beings. Understanding that, I think that The Holy Spirit has the power to do whatever is necessary.



The Spirit Is Life

The Holy Spirit has life and is, actually, through Christ, the source of life. Man has no spiritual life within him due to his spiritual death. Even the life that the believer has is that which is imparted by The Holy Spirit. So, to attempt to bring life out of death (the physical body of the human being) is a futile effort. All life is in The Spirit, and all life emanates from The Spirit. It is obtained by faith in Christ and what He did for humanity at Calvary and the resurrection. In other words, The Cross makes everything possible.



Righteousness

The "righteousness" addressed here is the righteousness of God, which is given to any sinner upon faith in Christ, and it is given instantly. Within himself, man has no righteousness, despite the fact that he attempts constantly  to manufacture such, which the Bible calls self-righteousness (Luke 18:9-14). The righteousness of God is defined as "moral perfection." It is right because it is God's way. Consequently, it is absolutely devoid of any type of wrongdoing. As well, it is the standard set by God and not by man. It is the only righteousness that God recognizes. As such, He is instantly angry at man's efforts at self-righteousness, which God calls wicked (Psalms 7:11; Romans 1:18). One might say that  righteousness is simply that which is right. However, it is God's definition of what is right and not man's. Within himself, man has no righteousness, can have no righteousness, and, because of the fall, man is depraved. However, upon simple faith in Christ, The Lord imputes a perfect, unsullied, spotless righteousness called "the righteousness of God", which is made possible by The Cross and our faith in that finished work.



But If The Spirit Of Him Who Raised Up Jesus From The Dead Dwell In You...

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11). The same power of The Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in believers and is available for our use. This is what Paul is saying. The idea is that there is no temptation or sin so black, so binding, or so destructive but that The Spirit of God can't handle it, that is, if we know the truth respecting the finished work of Calvary. That same resurrecting power is available to all believers. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us, and that we must understand. To think of such power is beyond comprehension and amazing to realize that it is at our disposal. However, for that power to be manifested on our behalf (and it is intended to be), The Holy Spirit demands one thing in particular and that is that our faith be in the correct object. What is the correct object? That which must be the object of our faith at all times is Christ and The Cross (Galatians 6:14; Colossians 2:10-15; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:2). The believer must understand that The Cross opened the door for The Lord to give us anything and everything that we need. It is so, simply because all sin was atoned at The Cross, and I mean all sin – past, present, and future – at least for all who will believe (John 3:16). Somehow, most Christians have a problem believing what I 've just said and, above all, doing what I've just said, which is to anchor their faith in Christ and The Cross. Why? Perhaps the reasons are many, but I think the greatest reason of all comes twofold. First is unbelief, meaning that the believer simply does not believe what I've said about Christ, The Cross, and The Holy Spirit. Second, The Cross of Christ exposes all the efforts of man and makes them look foolish, which does not sit well with religion. In other words, it exposes the flesh.



He Who Raised Up Christ From The Dead Shall Also Quicken Your Mortal Bodies By His Spirit That Dwells In You

Many erroneously believe that Paul is speaking here of the coming resurrection. That is incorrect. By using the word mortal, this means that he is speaking of our present experience in Christ. In other words, The Holy Spirit will impart whatever power is needed to our present physical bodies (mortal) in order that we may have victory in any and every capacity of life. In the Greek, the word quicken is zoopoieo, and it means "to cause to live; make alive; give life". So, He will infuse spiritual life into these physical bodies, which always takes precedence over the death that is already there due to Adam's fall. Paul is dealing here not only with the fact of sin that we face every day in our physical bodies but also in the fact of original sin, which is the cause of the problem in the first place. The Holy Spirit imparts enough life into these physical bodies to overcome death and give us strength to say yes to Christ in whatever capacity that He requires. Even though this of which we have stated is the thrust of Paul's statement, nevertheless, he also, in a secondary sense, is speaking of the coming resurrection of life when The Holy Spirit will also, at that time, give every believer a glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:38, 51-57).



Therefore, Brethren

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh" (Romans 8:12). If the believer will maintain his faith in Christ and The Cross, whatever else happens, the grace of God will continue to come to him in an uninterrupted flow. This provides the greatest life and living that man could ever know. The two words, "Therefore, brethren," portray the fact that Paul is addressing his statements to believers and not unbelievers, as should be obvious. Unbelievers have no interest in the Bible, do not care what it says, and really do not believe what it says. So, the Bible is for believers. Concerning that, the Scripture says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Actually, the entirety of the the Bible, all the way from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21, is the story of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Some expositors claim that the carnally minded and those who are in the flesh pertain to the unsaved. Not so. Paul is speaking to believers, hence him saying "brethren".



We Are Debtors

The heading refers to that which we owe The Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek, the word debtors is opheiletes and means "one held by an obligation", in this case, obligated to Christ. It is our Lord Who paid the price at Calvary's Cross, giving Himself as the perfect sacrifice in order that all sin would be atoned and that believers could walk in victory. We owe everything to Him. We do not owe anything to the world of religion or any other human being or philosophy, etc. We owe it all to Jesus, and the reason is simple. It is because Jesus is the One who has paid the price.



Not To The Flesh

The heading means that the believer does not owe anything in that direction and, in fact, has done nothing but suffer from that means. We continue to speak of the flesh. To be sure, Paul's statement, although directed to the subject at hand, covers far more territory than meets the eye. It has to do not only with the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, but it all spreads out to include religious men who would attempt to force the believer to abide in their manmade religious laws. All of this is of the flesh just as much as anything else one could name. The idea is that I, as a believer, do not owe anything to another Christian, even as Paul will later say, except to love him (Romans 13:8). There, Paul said, "Owe no man any thing,..." or, in other words, "I am not a debtor to any man to obey him in anything as far as believers are concerned, except to love him in Christ." Consequently, this shoots down all religious, man-devised hierarchies.



To Live After The Flesh

As a child of God, I must order my life after The Holy Spirit, Who will always guide me according to the Truth, i.e., The Word of God. As a believer, I owe the flesh nothing and must not allow it to intrude in any part of my daily living before The Lord. Sin is to no longer control me in any capacity because its dominion is broken. I am not to be guided by fleshly lusts or ungodly passionate desires. My hope alone is in Christ and what He did for me at The Cross. In Him, I find all I need and far more than I could ever need. As a result, I do not guide my life after the conventional wisdom of the world, nor do I flow with its current. Its interests are not my interests; its goals are not my goals. I am not moved by what moves it, nor do I respond to its appeal. There is a reason for all of that, which Paul beautifully gives us in the next verse. One other thing: for preachers who try to tell you to do things that you, as a believer, know is of the flesh, you do not owe them anything. In other words, don't do it, whatever it is. Please understand that if it's not faith in Christ and The Cross, irrespective as to what it might be or or how religious it might sound, do not get involved. You do not owe such anything.



For If You Live After The Flesh, You Shall Die

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:13). The unbelief of mankind is truly something that makes one marvel, especially considering the insurmountable proof otherwise. All goodness that proceeds from our flesh is rejected by God. Once again, this has a far greater meaning than meets the eye. The thrust of the subject as it is given by Paul is that a person who lives habitually under the domination of the evil nature (referring to believers) could ultimately lose his soul. Consequently, this shatters the unscriptural doctrine of unconditional eternal security. Whenever the word die is used in this fashion, it actually refers to the final death in the lake of fire, which is one dying but never knowing the relief that death brings (Revelation 20:11-15). This speaks of the believer who does not avail himself of what Christ did at Calvary, therefore continuing to live habitually under the dominion of sin. God will always be patient, loving, longsuffering, and compassionate, and He will forgive any time and every time, irrespective of the sin or the frequency, if the person is truly sincere (1 John 1:9). Still, the danger is that the individual will begin to make allowances for his sin, quit seeking forgiveness, and lose his way totally. No one can live with habitual sin without reaping its bitter results, irrespective of the forgiving grace of God. Sin always takes a deadly toll. In fact, it greatly weakens one's faith, and that is the great danger. The only answer for sin, and I mean the only answer, is what Jesus did at Calvary in atoning for all sin, at least for all who will believe. If one wants to know how bad sin is, one only has to look at The Cross and then one should say, "My sin did this."



The World's System

Paul's statement speaks, as well, of believers playing loose with the world, actually becoming a part of the world, i.e., living after the flesh. Even though Paul is not here and now addressing this particular subject, the analogy, nevertheless, holds true. The world's system is antagonistic to the child of God. In other words, it is hostile to the believer's faith. That's the reason Paul said, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you," (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1). If there is not a separation from that system, as well, the believer who is constantly associating himself accordingly could ultimately die, i.e., lose one's soul. 



But If You Through The Spirit Do Mortify The Deeds Of The Body, You Shall Live

First of all, one can only mortify the deeds of the body by and through The Holy Spirit. It cannot be done any other way. It is obvious here that Paul is speaking to believers because He is placing the choice before the believer. How in the world can an unsaved person expect anything from The Spirit of God when he doesn't even know The Spirit of God and, above all, does not have The Spirit of God? No, Paul is speaking to believers, thereby, warning believers. We are told that it is only through The Spirit of God that we can overcome the sin nature. However, I remind the reader that this is done on the basis of the believer knowing and understanding what Jesus has done for us at The Cross and our faith maintained in that finished work. If we leave out The Cross, we have, in effect, left out The Holy Spirit (Romans 8:2). 



The Cross Of Christ

Again, we say, even at the risk of being overly repetitive, that the presence of The Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer is potential in nature. His presence does not guarantee anything without the full cooperation of the believer. He has been sent to help us, not to treat us as a slave (John 16:7). We are not to come to terms with the "deeds of the body", i.e., the sin nature, but rather, "mortify them". In the Greek, the word mortify is thanatoo and means "to kill; put to death". We are not to kill the body but, rather, the deeds of the flesh, which have their expression in the body, i.e., physical body. This which Paul says is not a suggestion or a request but, rather, an ultimatum. We destroy, by The Spirit, the effectiveness of the flesh, or it destroys us. Considering the results of not doing so – which is the loss of one's soul for all eternity – I think we should take these statements very seriously. 



​The Holy Spirit

If The Holy Spirit is given latitude, He will do these great things within our lives. Not only will he destroy the evil deeds of the body, as well, He will also give the believer life, i.e., "ye shall live". It functions in this capacity, if the believer insists upon being after the flesh – allowing the flesh free course – then more and more sin will be added, with the situation ultimately becoming desperate. However, if the believer allows The Holy Spirit His complete latitude, more and more life will be the result, which, in fact, will never end. Death never stops while life, as well, never stops. We must remember that we are speaking here of eternal things. As such, we should realize the seriousness of this that Paul is telling us. One might say that if the believer does not kill sin, then sin will kill him. In effect, the believer cannot kill sin, but he has received the power that can make dead all the passions of sin in the body, and that is the power of The Holy Spirit, which is made available to us by and through The Cross of Christ.  


​

For As Many As Are Led By The Spirit Of God

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14). Do you believe that The Cross of Christ is the only answer for sin? Do you believe that The Holy Spirit works exclusively by and through The Cross of Christ? The heading proclaims that which The Spirit wants to do. He wants to lead us according to the will of God. As such, He will lead us out of this domination by the sin nature and lead us into total victory in Christ. That is where He has been instructed to lead us, and that is where He is leading us, providing we cooperate with Him. One cannot be led by The Spirit of God unless his faith is exclusively in Christ and The Cross. This is a must. Considering that The Holy Spirit works entirely within the parameters of the finished work of Christ and will not work outside of those parameters, it is incumbent upon us to place our faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintain it exclusively in Christ and The Cross. This is the only way in which we can be led by The Spirit of God. If we attempt this in any other way or manner, it will always and without exception lead to trouble. 



They Are The Sons Of God

The phrase, "they are the sons of God," pertains to what the sons of God do – they are led of The Spirit of God. In addressing the Corinthians, Paul said, "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led" (1 Corinthians 12:2). As is obvious, he was speaking of the Corinthians before they gave their hearts to God. They were actually led, at that time, by demon spirits, but now they are led by The Spirit of God. Of course, the same is apropos for all believers and for all time. There are so many privileges attached to being a follower of Christ that it is very difficult to properly enumerate them. However, being led by The Spirit of God has to be one of the greatest attributes and blessings afforded a believer. 



​What Does It Mean To Be Led By The Spirit Of God?

First of all, if one truly has Christ, i.e., is born again, at the same time one has The Holy Spirit, it is impossible to be otherwise. One cannot be united with Christ except through The Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). One cannot share Christ's sonship without sharing The Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:6). And one cannot be a member of the body of Christ except by being baptized into the body, and we are not speaking of water baptism but that which takes place at conversion (1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6:1-5). As stated, this is not a baptism into water and neither is it a baptism into the Spirit as the Scripture seems to indicate on the surface but, rather, into the body of Christ (Romans 6). The body of Christ here is the element one is baptized into, which takes place, as stated, at conversion. The Holy Spirit is the agent Who does the baptizing into the body. The believer is the candidate. If it were The Spirit baptism (Acts 2:4), Christ would be the agent (Matthew 3:11), but at conversion, The Holy Spirit is the agent baptizing the believing sinner into Christ, which, of course, is not physical but, rather, spiritual (John 3:6-8). As such, The Spirit from above is the power affecting the new birth (John 3:3-8; 1 John 3:9). For, The Spirit is the life giver (John 6:63) like a river of living water flowing from Christ, bringing life to him who comes and believes (John 7:37-39). All of this is done – or one might say is able to be done – because of what Jesus did at The Cross. 



Three Baptisms

There are three baptisms in which every believer should be engaged:

  1. ​The baptism into Christ: This takes place at conversion, and, as we have just mentioned, it is not a physical thing, as should be obvious, but totally spiritual (Romans 6:3-5).
  2. The baptism into water (Matthew 28:19): Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward work that has already been accomplished. It does not save and neither is it meant to save; it is meant to portray the fact that salvation has already been experienced.
  3. The baptism with The Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4): As stated, at salvation, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believing sinner into Christ. In the baptism with The Spirit, The Lord Jesus baptizes the believer into The Spirit (Matthew 3:11).



The Spirit Of God And Divine Power

It is important to realize that, for the first Christians in the early church, The Spirit was thought of in terms of divine power clearly manifested by its affects on the life and in the life of the recipient. The impact of The Spirit did not leave individuals or onlookers much doubt that a significant change had taken place in them by divine agency. Paul refers his readers back to their initial experience of The Holy Spirit again and again. For some, it had been an overwhelming experience of God's love (Romans 5:5). For others, joy (1 Thessalonians 1:6). For others, illumination (2 Corinthians 3:14-17). For others, liberation (Romans 8:2; 2 Corinthians 3:17). For others, moral transformation (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). And for others, various spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:4-7; Galatians 3:5). Actually, in the book of Acts is the most regularly mentioned manifestation of The Spirit – speaking with other tongues, prophecy  and praise, and bold utterance of the Word of God (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 10:46; 13:9-11; 19:6). Overall, speaking with other tongues is the initial physical evidence that one has been baptized with The Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). All of these things put together tell us why the possession of The Spirit, as such, can be singled out as the defining characteristic of The Christian (Romans 8:9; 1 John 3:24; 4:13) and why the question of Acts 19:2 could expect a straightforward answer (Galatians 3:2). The Holy Spirit, as such, might be invisible, but His presence is readily detectable (John 3:8). 



​The Gift Of The Holy Spirit

The gift of the Holy Spirit was thus not simply a corollary or deduction drawn from baptism or laying on of hands but a vivid event for the first Christians, and it continues to be such unto this hour. It is probably the impact of this experience to which Paul refers directly in passages like 1 Corinthians 6:11; 12:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13. According to the book of Acts, the first Christians adapted their way of doing, their way of being, and their way of worship in accordance with The Spirit rather than vice versa (Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-48; 11:15-18; 18:25-19:6). 



The Spirit As The Power Of The New Life

According to Paul, the gift of The Spirit is also a beginning that looks to final fulfilment (Galatians 3:3; Philippians 1:6), the beginning and first installment of a lifelong process of transformation into the image of Christ, which only achieves its end in the resurrection of the body that is yet to come (2 Corinthians 1:22; 3:18; 4:16 - 5:5; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). The Spirit is the firstfruits of the harvest of resurrection whereby God begins to exercise His claim over the whole man (Romans 8:11; 23; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 15:45-48; Galatians 5:16-23). 



Life For The Believer

Life for the believer is, therefore, qualitatively different from what it was prior to faith. Our daily living becomes our means of responding to The Spirit's claim enabled by The Spirit's power, which is what it means to be led by The Spirit (Romans 8:4-6, 14; Galatians 5:16; 18, 25; 6:8). In other words, The Holy Spirit becomes the guide into all truth, the leader of everything which is always toward Christ, and the final word concerning every decision in the life of the Christian, which is always according to The Word of God. Actually, this was the decisive difference between Bible Christianity and Rabbinic  Judaism for Paul. The Jew lived by law, the deposit of The Spirit's revelatory work in past generations. It was an attitude that led invariably to inflexibility and a direct block to anything that God was now doing since revelation from the past is not always immediately appropriate to the needs of the present. Regrettably, this applies to every single modern religious denomination that discounts the baptism with The Holy Spirit, claiming that all is received at conversion. However, The Spirit of God brings an immediate, personal relationship with God, which actually fulfills all the great hopes of the past and which makes worship and obedience something much freer, more vital, and more spontaneous than mere ritual (Romans 2:28; 7:6; 8:2-4; 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6-8; 14-18; Ephesians 2:18; Philippians 3:3). 



A Final Fulfillment?

At the same time, because The Spirit is only a beginning of final salvation in this life, there can be no final fulfillment of His work in the believer as long as this life lasts. In other words, The Holy Spirit never really gets through with molding and making us into the image of Christ. The idea is that the man of The Spirit is no longer dependent on this world and its standards for his meaning and satisfaction, but he is still a man of human appetites and frailty and part of human society. Consequently, to have The Holy Spirit is to experience tension and conflict between the old life and the new and between the flesh and the Spirit exactly as we are studying here (Romans 7:14-15; 8:10, 12; Galatians 5:16; Hebrews 10:29). Strangely enough, to those who saw the characteristic life of the Spirit in terms of visions, revelations, and the like, Paul replied that grace comes to its full expression only in and through weakness (Romans 8:26; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10). However, in all things in which The Spirit leads us and in all things that The Spirit does for us, we must never forget that The Holy Spirit is that person and power Who bears witness of Christ – always to Christ and what He did for us at The Cross (John 15:26; Acts 1:8; 5:32; Hebrews 2:4; 1 Peter 1:12; 1 John 5:6-8; Revelation 19:10; 1 Corinthians 1:17, 18, 23, 2:2; Galatians 6:14; Colossians 2:10-15). 



​His Operation In Every Believer

A distinguishing feature of The Holy Spirit is that He is experienced by all and works through all, not just a select few (Acts 2:17; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11; Hebrews 6:4; 1 John 2:20). We must also understand that The Holy Spirit works exclusively by and through the finished work (The Cross) of Christ. In fact, He will not work outside of those parameters. Before The Cross, The Holy Spirit could not abide in the hearts and lives of anyone except a few prophets to help them carry out their work. When that work was ended, He left. As far as believers were concerned, while The Holy Spirit was with them, He was not in them, and that is a vast difference. Since Jesus paid the price on Calvary's Cross, thereby addressing all sin for the believing sinner, The Holy Spirit now instantly comes into the heart and life of every believer at conversion. Now, do not mistake that for the baptism with The Holy Spirit, for that is not what we are speaking of. What we are addressing is the Spirit of regeneration. This enables us to be saved. As well, before The Cross, when believers died, they did not go into heaven but, rather, down into paradise where they were actually held captive by Satan. The evil one could not hurt them, but their salvation and deliverance depended totally ad completely upon The Cross. When Jesus died, thereby paying the price for all sin, Satan lost his ability to hold anyone captive who trusted in Christ, with them now becoming the captives of The Lord Jesus (Ephesians 4:8). Christ then led all of these pre-Cross saints out of paradise and into heaven itself. Since The Cross, when believers die, they instantly go to be with The Lord Jesus Christ in the portals of glory. In fact, the place that was once called paradise, which was in the heart of the earth, is now empty. It will probably be expanded into the lake of fire at the Great White Throne Judgment. Consequently, to have the work of The Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives on a continuing basis, which means 24/7, we must understand that The Holy Spirit works exclusively by and through The Cross of Christ (Romans 8:2; Colossians 2:10-15; 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, 23; 2:2). In fact, we must be ever conscious of His manner of work. This means that our faith must be exclusively in Christ and The Cross, and I mean exclusively. I was reading the other day behind a particular scholar, and he mentioned that every morning, saints of God should pray that The Holy Spirit would have His way on that particular day, etc. While, of course, that's what we want, that's really not the way to obtain it. We must place our faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintain it exclusively in Christ and The Cross, which then enables The Holy Spirit, Who works exclusively within that domain, to work on our behalf and to work grandly and never stop working. The great fault of the modern church is that it does not know how The Holy Spirit works. They do not understand that He works exclusively by and through The Cross of Christ. And how does that work? Before The Cross, it was sin that hindered The Holy Spirit. Due to the fact that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, the terrible fraction was still there, which greatly hindered The Holy Spirit. Since The Cross, which answered for all sin, The Holy Spirit now has free course. That is something we must understand. 



The Cross Of Christ And Sin

The believer must understand that the only place for sin is The Cross. This is the fault of the church. It keeps trying to address sin in all the wrong ways. That did not begin yesterday. It actually began at the dawn of time when Cain and Abel offered up sacrifices. Cain offered up a sacrifice of the work and labor of his own hands, refusing to obey God to offer up a sacrifice of blood. His sacrifice was rejected. Abel offered up a sacrifice that God demanded, for the situation did not address itself to how beautiful the sacrifice was but what it represented. When an innocent victim shed blood, which the lamb did as it was killed and put on the altar, Abel was saying that he was a sinner and needed a Savior, of which the sacrifice was a symbol. God accepted it. Cain, in essence, was saying that he was not a sinner and did not need a Savior. That is the problem of the church – offering up the wrong sacrifice. No doubt, the sacrifice of Cain was beautiful, and, as a result, millions today gather around the sacrifice of Cain, so to speak. The sacrifice of Abel was not beautiful. In fact, it was ugly, revolting, after a sense, seeing the little lamb slain, and, consequently, precious few are gathered around that sacrifice, but it is the only sacrifice that God accepts. I read where preachers tell people to fast for so many days and they will have victory over their problems. They will not. While fasting is Scriptural – if it is done in the wrong way – it will not give one victory over sin. The Cross and The Cross alone gives victory over sin. In fact, every believer should, morning and night, state to The Lord that his faith and trust is in Him exclusively and what He did for us at The Cross and not in ourselves or any other human being. That's what Jesus was talking about when He said "...If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (deny our own strength and ability), and take up his cross daily (please notice the daily), and follow me"​ (Luke 9:23). Then, Jesus said, "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). So, we are speaking here of something that is extremely significant, as I think would be obvious. Most believers have precious little help from The Holy Spirit because their faith is in something other than Christ and The Cross. Because it's so important, let me repeat myself and say it again. The Holy Spirit works exclusively, and I mean exclusively, through Christ and The Cross. In other words, what Jesus did at The Cross gives The Holy Spirit the legal means to do all that He does. Please read the following very carefully. ​"For the law  (that which we are about to give is a law of God devised by The Godhead in eternity past [1 Peter 1:18-20]; this law, in fact, is 'God's prescribed order of victory') of the Spirit (The Holy Spirit, i.e. 'the way The Spirit works') of life (all life comes from Christ but through The Holy Spirit [John 16:13-14]) in Christ Jesus (any time Paul uses this term or one of its derivatives, he is, without fail, referring to what Christ did at The Cross, which makes this 'life' possible) hath made me free (given me total victory) from the law of sin and death (these are the two most powerful laws in the universe 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' alone is stronger than the 'law of sin and death'; this means that if the believer attempts to live for God by any other manner other than faith in Christ and The Cross, he is doomed to failure)"(Romans 8:2).



Sanctification

What we have just described to you regarding how The Holy Spirit works is really the definition of sanctification. Once again, sanctification is a process which is extremely important but which most of the modern church knows nothing about. If you were to ask most preachers what sanctification is, the answers would vary from A to Z. Let us say it very clearly and plainly, sanctification is the work of The Holy Spirit in the heart and life of the believer, bringing our condition up to our position in Christ. The moment the believing sinner comes to Christ, at that moment, the believing sinner is fully and perfectly sanctified by The Lord. In fact, Scripture says, "And such were some of you (before conversion): but ye are washed (refers to the blood of Jesus cleansing from all sin), but ye are sanctified (one's position in Christ), but ye are justified (declared not guilty) in the name of the Lord Jesus (refers to Christ and what He did at The Cross in order that we might be saved), and by the Spirit of our God (proclaims the third person of the triune Godhead as the mechanic in this great work of grace)" (1 Corinthians 6:11). Then, once we are saved, we enter into what is referred to progressive sanctification (1 Thessalonians 5:23) this means that The Holy Spirit now begins to work in us, with us, by us, and for us, bringing our condition, which is far below our position, up to that status. In fact, it is a lifelong project. The Holy Spirit is greatly hindered when our faith is in something other than Christ and The Cross. If one will notice as one studies The Word of God, The Holy Spirit never directs praise to Himself, but always to Christ. That is because Jesus is The One Who paid the price at Calvary's Cross. In fact, faith in Christ and The Cross is the only faith that God will recognize. In the last 75 years, we have heard more about faith than all the balance of Christianity put together. Regrettably, almost all of it is wrong. Our faith must ever be in Christ and what He did for us at The Cross. That's not a one-time thing, but as I have already quoted you from Luke 9:23, it must be on a daily basis. This is the way The Holy Spirit works, and as previously stated, He will not work any other way. To be sure, and thankfully so, The Holy Spirit does not desert us whenever we do wrong or we think wrong, etc. Still, He is hindered greatly by our faith in that which He cannot honor. This is the reason that The Cross of Christ is an offense (Galatians 5:11). The Cross of Christ lays waste all of man's efforts no matter how noble they may be. This does not sit well with religious man. Anything other than The Cross always glorifies man's ability, which God can never accept. It is The Cross alone which glorifies Christ. That's the reason Paul said, "But God forbid that I should glory (boast), save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (what the opponents of Paul sought to escape at the price of insincerity is the apostle's only basis of exultation), by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (the only way we can overcome the world, and I mean the only way, is by placing our faith exclusively in The Cross of Christ and keeping it there, understanding that this is the manner in which The Holy Spirit works)" (Galatians 6:14). 


I am thine, O Lord; I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

And be closer drawn to Thee.


Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the power of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope

And my will be lost in Thine.


O the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer and with Thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend!


There are depths of love that I cannot know

Till I cross the narrow sea;

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Till I rest in peace with thee


Draw me nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord,

To The Cross where Thou has died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.


























“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10).


And If Christ Be In You

The fall made it impossible for the flesh to do anything that God can accept. It is The Holy Spirit who does the doing, which is made possible by The Cross of Calvary. The heading refers to a person having accepted Jesus as his own personal Savior. Consequently, the divine nature, which is the nature of God, is instantly deposited to the new believer (2 Peter 1:4). As well, at that time, The Holy Spirit also takes up residence within the child of God. It might be called the doctrine of "interpenetration." The idea is that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. Jesus said, "At that day(after the resurrection and the coming of The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost) ye shall know that I am in my Father(speaks of Deity; Jesus is God), and ye in me(has to do with our salvation by faith), and I in you(enables us to live a victorious life [Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:3-5])" (John 14:20).



The Body Is Dead Because Of Sin

This speaks of the human body. Paul says it this way in order that the believer knows and understands that he must not try to gain victory over sin by means of his own physical body – self-will, personal efforts, one's own strength, etc. The believer's human body is dead in a sense that it has death in it because of sin, which speaks of original sin – Adam's sin that brought forth spiritual and physical death to each member of the race. In view of that, and as Paul has already adequately explained, one's willpower alone, which has to do with the human body, simply cannot bring about the needed results but actually can only hinder what The Spirit of God can do. So, Paul is saying that one is foolish to resort to these pitiful measures when he already has tremendous firepower, so to speak, within his heart and life in the form of Christ and The Holy Spirit in order to bring about what is needed.



But The Spirit Is Life Because Of Righteousness

Paul is speaking here of The Holy Spirit, which is obvious. He is God and, as a result, can do anything. In other words, He is almighty. So, one is not to think that his situation is so bad that The Holy Spirit is insufficient. I remind the reader that this is the same spirit of God Who "...moved upon the face of the waters" in Genesis 1:2. The earth, at that time, "...was without form, and void..." And, in six days' time, The Holy Spirit brought it back to a habitable state, as well as created all animals, fowls, fish, and human beings. Understanding that, I think that The Holy Spirit has the power to do whatever is necessary.



The Spirit Is Life

The Holy Spirit has life and is actually, through Christ, the source of life. Man has no spiritual life within him due to his spiritual death. Even the life that the believer has is that which is imparted by The Holy Spirit. So, to attempt to bring life out of death (the physical body of the human being) is a futile effort. All life is in The Spirit, and all life emanates from The Spirit. It is obtained by faith in Christ and what He did for humanity at Calvary and the resurrection. In other words, The Cross makes everything possible.



Righteousness

The "righteousness" addressed here is the righteousness of God, which is given to any sinner upon faith in Christ, and it is given instantly. Within himself, man has no righteousness, despite the fact that he attempts constantly  to manufacture such, which the Bible calls self-righteousness (Luke 18:9-14). The righteousness of God is defined as "moral perfection." It is right because it is God's way. Consequently, it is absolutely devoid of any type of wrongdoing. As well, it is the standard set by God and not by man. It is the only righteousness that God recognizes. As such, He is instantly angry at man's efforts at self-righteousness, which God calls wicked (Psalms 7:11; Romans 1:18). One might say that  righteousness is simply that which is right. However, it is God's definition of what is right and not man's. Within himself, man has no righteousness, can have no righteousness, and, because of the fall, man is depraved. However, upon simple faith in Christ, The Lord imputes a perfect, unsullied, spotless righteousness called "the righteousness of God", which is made possible by The Cross and our faith in that finished work.



But If The Spirit Of Him Who Raised Up Jesus From The Dead Dwell In You...

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11). The same power of The Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in believers and is available for our use. This is what Paul is saying. The idea is that there is no temptation or sin so black, so binding, or so destructive but that The Spirit of God can handle it, that is, if we know the truth respecting the finished work of Calvary. That same resurrecting power is available to all believers. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us, and that we must understand. To think of such power is beyond comprehension and amazing to realize that it is at our disposal. However, for that power to be manifested on our behalf (and it is intended to be), The Holy Spirit demands one thing in particular and that is that our faith be in the correct object. What is the correct object? That which must be the object of our faith at all times is Christ and The Cross (Galatians 6:14; Colossians 2:10-15; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:2). The believer must understand that The Cross opened the door for The Lord to give us anything and everything that we need. It is so simply because all sin was atoned at The Cross, and I mean all sin – past, present, and future – at least for all who will believe (John 3:16). Somehow, most Christians have a problem believing what I 've just said and, above all, doing what I've just said, which is to anchor their faith in Christ and The Cross. Why? Perhaps the reasons are many, but I think the greatest reason of all comes twofold. First is unbelief, meaning that the believer simply does not believe what I've said about Christ, The Cross, and The Holy Spirit. Second, The Cross of Christ exposes all the efforts of man and makes them look foolish, which does not sit well with religion. In other words, it exposes the flesh.



He Who Raised Up Christ From The Dead Shall Also Quicken Your Mortal Bodies By His Spirit That Dwells In You

Many erroneously believe that Paul is speaking here of the coming resurrection. That is incorrect. By using the word mortal, this means that he is speaking of our present experience in Christ. In other words, The Holy Spirit will impart whatever power is needed to our present physical bodies (mortal) in order that we may have victory in any and every capacity of life. In the Greek, the word quicken is zoopoieo, and it means "to cause to live; make alive; give life". So, He will infuse spiritual life into these physical bodies, which always takes precedence over the death that is already there due to Adam's fall. Paul is dealing here not only with the fact of sin that we face every day in our physical bodies but also in the fact of original sin, which is the cause of the problem in the first place. The Holy Spirit imparts enough life into these physical bodies to overcome death and give us strength to say yes to Christ in whatever capacity that He requires. Even though this of which we have stated is the thrust of Paul's statement, nevertheless, he also, in a secondary sense, is speaking of the coming resurrection of life when The Holy Spirit will also, at that time, give every believer a glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:38, 51-57).



Therefore, Brethren

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh" (Romans 8:12). If the believer will maintain his faith in Christ and The Cross, whatever else happens, the grace of God will continue to come to him in an uninterrupted flow. This provides the greatest life and living that man could ever know. The two words, "Therefore, brethren," portray the fact that Paul is addressing his statements to believers and not unbelievers, as should be obvious. Unbelievers have no interest in the Bible, do not care what it says, and really do not believe what it says. So, the Bible is for believers. Concerning that, the Scripture says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Actually, the entirety of the the Bible, all the way from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 is the story of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Some expositors claim that the carnally minded and those who are in the flesh pertain to the unsaved. Not so. Paul is speaking to believers, hence him saying "brethren".



We Are Debtors

The heading refers to that which we owe The Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek, the word debtors is opheiletes and means "one held by an obligation", in this case, obligated to Christ. It is our Lord Who paid the price at Calvary's Cross, giving Himself as the perfect sacrifice in order that all sin would be atoned and that believers could walk in victory. We owe everything to Him. We do not owe anything to the world of religion or any other human being or philosophy, etc. We owe it all to Jesus, and the reason is simple. It is because Jesus is the One who has paid the price.



Not To The Flesh

The heading means that the believer does not owe anything in that direction and, in fact, has done nothing but suffer from that means. We continue to speak of the flesh. To be sure, Paul's statement, although directed to the subject at hand, covers far more territory than meets the eye. It has to do not only with the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, but it all spreads out to include religious men who would attempt to force the believer to abide in their manmade religious laws. All of this is of the flesh just as much as anything else one could name. The idea is that I, as a believer, do not owe anything to another Christian, even as Paul will later say, except to love him (Romans 13:8). There, Paul said, "Owe no man any thing,..." or, in other words, "I am not a debtor to any man to obey him in anything as far as believers are concerned, except to love him in Christ." Consequently, this shoots down all religious, man-devised hierarchies.



To Live After The Flesh

As a child of God, I must order my life after The Holy Spirit, Who will always guide me according to the Truth, i.e., The Word of God. As a believer, I owe the flesh nothing and must not allow it to intrude in any part of my daily living before The Lord. Sin is to no longer control me in any capacity because its dominion is broken. I am not to be guided by fleshly lusts or ungodly passionate desires. My hope alone is in Christ and what He did for me at The Cross. In Him, I find all I need and far more than I could ever need. As a result, I do not guide my life after the conventional wisdom of the world, nor do I flow with its current. Its interests are not my interests; its goals are not my goals. I am not moved by what moves it, nor do I respond to its appeal. There is a reason for all of that, which Paul beautifully gives us in the next verse. One other thing: for preachers who try to tell you to do things that you as a believer know is of the flesh, you do not owe them anything. In other words, don't do it, whatever it is. Please understand that if it's not faith in Christ and The Cross, irrespective as to what it might be or or how religious it might sound, do not get involved. You do not owe such anything.



For If You Live After The Flesh, You Shall Die

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:13). The unbelief of mankind is truly something that makes one marvel, especially considering the insurmountable proof otherwise. All goodness that proceeds from our flesh is rejected by God. Once again, this has a far greater meaning that meets the eye. The thrust of the subject as it is given by Paul is that a person who lives habitually under the domination of the evil nature (referring to believers) could ultimately lose his soul. Consequently, this shatters the unscriptural doctrine of unconditional eternal security. Whenever the word die is used in this fashion, it actually refers to the final death in the lake of fire, which is one dying but never knowing the relief that death brings (Revelation 20:11-15). This speaks of the believer who does not avail himself of what Christ did at Calvary, therefore continuing to live habitually under the dominion of sin. God will always be patient, loving, longsuffering, and compassionate, and He will forgive any time and every time, irrespective of the sin or the frequency, if the person is truly sincere (1 John 1:9). Still, the danger is that the individual will begin to make allowances for his sin, quit seeking forgiveness, and lose his way totally. No one can live with habitual sin without reaping its bitter results, irrespective of the forgiving grace of God. Sin always takes a deadly toll. In fact, it greatly weakens one's faith, and that is the great danger. The only answer for sin, and I mean the only answer, is what Jesus did at Calvary in atoning for all sin, at least for all who will believe. If one wants to know how bad sin is, one only has to look at The Cross and then one should say, "My sin did this."



The World's System

Paul's statement speaks, as well, of believers playing loose with the world, actually becoming a part of the world, i.e., living after the flesh. Even though Paul is not here and now addressing this particular subject, the analogy, nevertheless, holds true. The world's system is antagonistic to the child of God. In other words, it is hostile to the believer's faith. That's the reason Paul said, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you," (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1). If there is not a separation from that system, as well, the believer who is constantly associating himself accordingly could ultimately die, i.e., lose one's soul. 



But If You Through The Spirit Do Mortify The Deeds Of The Body, You Shall Live

First of all, one can only mortify the deeds of the body by and through The Holy Spirit. It cannot be done any other way. It is obvious here that Paul is speaking to believers because He is placing the choice before the believer. How in the world can an unsaved person expect anything from The Spirit of God when he doesn't even know The Spirit of God and, above all, does not have The Spirit of God? No, Paul is speaking to believers, thereby, warning believers. We are told that it is only through The Spirit of God that we can overcome the sin nature. However, I remind the reader that this is done on the basis of the believer knowing and understanding what Jesus has done for us at The Cross and our faith maintained in that finished work. If we leave out The Cross, we have, in effect, left out The Holy Spirit (Romans 8:2). 



The Cross Of Christ

Again, we say, even at the risk of being overly repetitive, that the presence of The Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer is potential in nature. His presence does not guarantee anything without the full cooperation of the believer. He has been sent to help us, not to treat us as a slave (John 16:7). We are not to come to terms with the "deeds of the body", i.e., the sin nature, but rather, "mortify them". In the Greek, the word mortify is thanatoo and means "to kill; put to death". We are not to kill the body but, rather, the deeds of the flesh, which have their expression in the body, i.e., physical body. This which Paul says is not a suggestion or a request but, rather, an ultimatum. We destroy, by The Spirit, the effectiveness of the flesh, or it destroys us. Considering the results of not doing so – which is the loss of one's soul for all eternity - I think we should take these statements very seriously. 



​The Holy Spirit

If The Holy Spirit is given latitude, He will do these great things within our lives. Not only will he destroy the evil deeds of the body, as well, He will also give the believer life, i.e., "ye shall live". It functions in this capacity, if the believer insists upon being after the flesh – allowing the flesh free course – then more and more sin will be added, with the situation ultimately becoming desperate. However, if the believer allows The Holy Spirit His complete latitude, more and more life will be the result, which, in fact, will never end. Death never stops while life, as well, never stops. We must remember that we are speaking here of eternal things. As such, we should realize the seriousness of this that Paul is telling us. One might say that if the believer does not kill sin, then sin will kill him. In effect, the believer cannot kill sin, but he has received the power that can make dead all the passions of sin in the body, and that is the power of The Holy Spirit, which is made available to us by and through The Cross of Christ.  



For As Many As Are Led By The Spirit Of God

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14). Do you believe that The Cross of Christ is the only answer for sin? Do you believe that The Holy Spirit works exclusively by and through The Cross of Christ? The heading proclaims that which The Spirit wants to do. He wants to lead us according to the will of God. As such, He will lead us out of this domination by the sin nature and lead us into total victory in Christ. That is where He has been instructed to lead us, and that is where He is leading us, providing we cooperate with Him. One cannot be led by The Spirit of God unless his faith is exclusively in Christ and The Cross. This is a must. Considering that The Holy Spirit works entirely within the parameters of the finished work of Christ and will not work outside of those parameters, it is incumbent upon us to place our faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintain it exclusively in Christ and The Cross. This is the only way in which we can be led by The Spirit of God. If we attempt this in any other way or manner, it will always and without exception lead to trouble. 



They Are The Sons Of God

The phrase, "they are the sons of God," pertains to what the sons of God do – they are led of The Spirit of God. In addressing the Corinthians, Paul said, "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led" (1 Corinthians 12:2). As is obvious, he was speaking of the Corinthians before they gave their hearts to God. They were actually led, at that time, by demon spirits, but now they are led by The Spirit of God. Of course, the same is apropos for all believers and for all time. There are so many privileges attached to being a follower of Christ that it is very difficult to properly enumerate them. However, being led by The Spirit of God has to be one of the greatest attributes and blessings afforded a believer. 



​What Does It Mean To Be Led By The Spirit Of God?

First of all, if one truly has Christ, i.e., is born again at the same time one has The Holy Spirit, it is impossible to be otherwise. One cannot be united with Christ except through The Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). One cannot share Christ's sonship without sharing The Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:6). And one cannot be a member of the body of Christ except by being baptized into the body, and we are not speaking of water baptism but that which takes place at conversion (1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6:1-5). As stated, this is not a baptism into water and neither is it a baptism into the Spirit as the Scripture seems to indicate on the surface but, rather, into the body of Christ (Romans 6). The body of Christ here is the element one is baptized into, which takes place, as stated, at conversion. The Holy Spirit is the agent Who does the baptizing into the body. The believer is the candidate. If it were The Spirit baptism (Acts 2:4), Christ would be the agent (Matthew 3:11), but at conversion, The Holy Spirit is the agent baptizing the believing sinner into Christ, which, of course, is not physical but, rather, spiritual (John 3:6-8). As such, The Spirit from above is the power affecting the new birth (John 3:3-8; 1 John 3:9). For The Spirit is the life giver (John 6:63) like a river of living water flowing from Christ, bringing life to him who comes and believes (John 7:37-39). All of this is done – or one might say is able to be done – because of what Jesus did at The Cross. 



Three Baptisms

There are three baptisms in which every believer should be engaged:

  1. ​The baptism into Christ: This takes place at conversion, and, as we have just mentioned, it is not a physical thing, as should be obvious, but totally spiritual (Romans 6:3-5).
  2. The baptism into water (Matthew 28:19): Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward work that has already been accomplished. It does not save and neither is it meant to save; it is meant to portray the fact that salvation has already been experienced.
  3. The baptism with The Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4): As stated, at salvation, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believing sinner into Christ. In the baptism with The Spirit, The Lord Jesus baptizes the believer into The Spirit (Matthew 3:11).



The Spirit Of God And Divine Power

It is important to realize that, for the first Christians in the early church, The Spirit was thought of in terms of divine power clearly manifested by its affects on the life and in the life of the recipient. The impact of The Spirit did not leave individuals or onlookers much doubt that a significant change had taken place in them by divine agency. Paul refers his readers back to their initial experience of The Holy Spirit again and again. For some, it had been an overwhelming experience of God's love (Romans 5:5). For others, joy (1 Thessalonians 1:6). For others, illumination (2 Corinthians 3:14-17). For others, liberation (Romans 8:2; 2 Corinthians 3:17). For others, moral transformation (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). And for others, various spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:4-7; Galatians 3:5). Actually, in the book of Acts is the most regularly mentioned manifestation of The Spirit – speaking with other tongues, prophecy  and praise, and bold utterance of the Word of God (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 10:46; 13:9-11; 19:6). Overall, speaking with other tongues is the initial physical evidence that one has been baptized with The Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). All of these things put together tell us why the possession of The Spirit, as such, can be singled out as the defining characteristic of The Christian (Romans 8:9; 1 John 3:24; 4:13) and why the question of Acts 19:2 could expect a straightforward answer (Galatians 3:2). The Holy Spirit, as such, might be invisible, but His presence is readily detectable (John 3:8). 



​The Gift Of The Holy Spirit

The gift of the Holy Spirit was thus not simply a corollary or deduction drawn from baptism or laying on of hands but a vivid event for the first Christians, and it continues to be such unto this hour. It is probably the impact of this experience to which Paul refers directly in passages like 1 Corinthians 6:11; 12:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13. According to the book of Acts, the first Christians adapted their way of doing, their way of being, and their way of worship in accordance with The Spirit rather than vice versa (Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-48; 11:15-18; 18:25-19:6). 



The Spirit As The Power Of The New Life

According to Paul, the gift of The Spirit is also a beginning that looks to final fulfilment (Galatians 3:3; Philippians 1:6), the beginning and first installment of a lifelong process of transformation into the image of Christ, which only achieves its end in the resurrection of the body that is yet to come (2 Corinthians 1:22; 3:18; 4:16 - 5:5; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). The Spirit is the firstfruits of the harvest of resurrection whereby God begins to exercise His claim over the whole man (Romans 8:11; 23; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 15:45-48; Galatians 5:16-23). 



Life For The Believer

Life for the believer is, therefore, qualitatively different from what it was prior to faith. Our daily living becomes our means of responding to The Spirit's claim enabled by The Spirit's power, which is what it means to be led by The Spirit (Romans 8:4-6, 14; Galatians 5:16; 18, 25; 6:8). In other words, The Holy Spirit becomes the guide into all truth, the leader of everything which is always toward Christ, and the final word concerning every decision in the life of the Christian, which is always according to The Word of God. Actually, this was the decisive difference between Bible Christianity and Rabbinic  Judaism for Paul. The Jew lived by law, the deposit of The Spirit's revelatory work in past generations. It was an attitude that led invariably to inflexibility and a direct block to anything that God was now doing since revelation from the past is not always immediately appropriate to the needs of the present. Regrettably, this applies to every single modern religious denomination that discounts the baptism with The Holy Spirit, claiming that all is received at conversion. However, The Spirit of God brings an immediate, personal relationship with God, which actually fulfills all the great hopes of the past and which makes worship and obedience something much freer, more vital, and more spontaneous than mere ritual (Romans 2:28; 7:6; 8:2-4; 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6-8; 14-18; Ephesians 2:18; Philippians 3:3). 



A Final Fulfillment?

At the same time, because The Spirit is only a beginning of final salvation in this life, there can be no final fulfillment of His work in the believer as long as this life lasts. In other words, The Holy Spirit never really gets through with molding and making us into the image of Christ. The idea is that the man of The Spirit is no longer dependent on this world and its standards for his meaning and satisfaction, but he is still a man of human appetites and frailty and part of human society. Consequently, to have The Holy Spirit is to experience tension and conflict between the old life and the new and between the flesh and the Spirit exactly as we are studying here (Romans 7:14-15; 8:10, 12; Galatians 5:16; Hebrews 10:29). Strangely enough, to those who saw the characteristic life of the Spirit in terms of visions, revelations, and the like, Paul replied that grace comes to its full expression only in and through weakness (Romans 8:26; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10). However, in all things in which The Spirit leads us and in all things that The Spirit does for us, we must never forget that The Holy Spirit is that person and power Who bears witness of Christ – always to Christ and what He did for us at The Cross (John 15:26; Acts 1:8; 5:32; Hebrews 2:4; 1 Peter 1:12; 1 John 5:6-8; Revelation 19:10; 1 Corinthians 1:17, 18, 23, 2:2; Galatians 6:14; Colossians 2:10-15). 



​His Operation In Every Believer

A distinguishing feature of The Holy Spirit is that He is experienced by all and works through all, not just a select few (Acts 2:17; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11; Hebrews 6:4; 1 John 2:20). We must also understand that The Holy Spirit works exclusively by and through the finished work (The Cross) of Christ. In fact, He will not work outside of those parameters. Before The Cross, The Holy Spirit could not abide in the hearts and lives of anyone except a few prophets to help them carry out their work. When that work was ended, He left. As far as believers were concerned, while The Holy Spirit was with them, He was not in them, and that is a vast difference. Since Jesus paid the price on Calvary's Cross, thereby addressing all sin for the believing sinner, The Holy Spirit now instantly comes into the heart and life of every believer at conversion. Now, do not mistake that for the baptism with The Holy Spirit, for that is not what we are speaking of. What we are addressing is the Spirit of regeneration. This enables us to be saved. As well, before The Cross, when believers died, they did not go into Heaven but, rather, down into paradise where they were actually held captive by Satan. The evil one could not hurt them, but their salvation and deliverance depended totally ad completely upon The Cross. When Jesus died, thereby paying the price for all sin, Satan lost his ability to hold anyone captive who trusted in Christ, with them now becoming the captives of The Lord Jesus (Ephesians 4:8). Christ then led all of these pre-Cross saints out of paradise and into heaven itself. Since The Cross, when believers die, they instantly go to be with The Lord Jesus Christ in the portals of glory. In fact, the place that was once called paradise, which was in the heart of the earth, is now empty. It will probably be expanded into the lake of fire at the Great White Throne Judgment. Consequently, to have the work of The Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives on a continuing basis, which means 24/7, we must understand that The Holy Spirit works exclusively by and through The Cross of Christ (Romans 8:2; Colossians 2:10-15; 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, 23; 2:2). In fact, we must be ever conscious of His manner of work. This means that our faith must be exclusively in Christ and The Cross, and I mean exclusively. I was reading the other day behind a particular scholar, and he mentioned that every morning, saints of God should pray that The Holy Spirit would have His way on that particular day, etc. While, of course, that's what we want, that's really not the way to obtain it. We must place our faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintain it exclusively in Christ and The Cross, which then enables The Holy Spirit, Who works exclusively within that domain, to work on our behalf and to work grandly and never stop working. The great fault of the modern church is that it does not know how The Holy Spirit works. They do not understand that He works exclusively by and through The Cross of Christ. And how does that work? Before The Cross, it was sin that hindered The Holy Spirit. Due to the fact that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, the terrible fraction was still there, which greatly hindered The Holy Spirit. Since The Cross, which answered for all sin, The Holy Spirit now has free course. That is something we must understand. 



The Cross Of Christ And Sin

The believer must understand that the only place for sin is The Cross. This is the fault of the church. It keeps trying to address sin in all the wrong ways. That did not begin yesterday. It actually began at the dawn of time when Cain and Abel offered up sacrifices. Cain offered up a sacrifice of the work and labor of his own hands, refusing to obey God to offer up a sacrifice of blood. His sacrifice was rejected. Abel offered up a sacrifice that God demanded, for the situation did not address itself to how beautiful the sacrifice was but what it represented. When an innocent victim shed blood, which the lamb did as it was killed and put on the altar, Abel was saying that he was a sinner and needed a Savior, of which the sacrifice was a symbol. God accepted it. Cain, in essence, was saying that he was not a sinner and did not need a Savior. That is the problem of the church – offering up the wrong sacrifice. No doubt, the sacrifice of Cain was beautiful, and, as a result, millions today gather around the sacrifice of Cain, so to speak. The sacrifice of Abel was not beautiful. In fact, it was ugly, revolting, after a sense, seeing the little lamb slain, and, consequently, precious few are gathered around that sacrifice, but it is the only sacrifice that God accepts. I read where preachers tell people to fast for so many days and they will have victory over their problems. They will not. While fasting is Scriptural – if it is done in the wrong way – it will not give one victory over sin. The Cross and The Cross alone gives victory over sin. In fact, every believer should, morning and night, state to The Lord that his faith and trust is in Him exclusively and what He did for us at The Cross and not in ourselves or any other human being. That's what Jesus was talking about when He said "...If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (deny our own strength and ability), and take up his cross daily (please notice the daily), and follow me"​ (Luke 9:23). Then, Jesus said, "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). So, we are speaking here of something that is extremely significant, as I think would be obvious. Most believers have precious little help from The Holy Spirit because their faith is in something other than Christ and The Cross. Because it's so important, let me repeat myself and say it again. The Holy Spirit works exclusively, and I mean exclusively, through Christ and The Cross. In other words, what Jesus did at The Cross gives The Holy Spirit the legal means to do all that He does. Please read the following very carefully. ​"For the law  (that which we are about to give is a law of God devised by The Godhead in eternity past [1 Peter 1:18-20]; this law, in fact, is 'God's prescribed order of victory') of the Spirit (The Holy Spirit, i.e. 'the way The Spirit works') of life (all life comes from Christ but through The Holy Spirit [John 16:13-14]) in Christ Jesus (any time Paul uses this term or one of its derivatives, He is, without fail, referring to what Christ did at The Cross, which makes this 'life' possible) hath made me free (given me total victory) from the law of sin and death (these are the two most powerful laws in the universe 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' alone is stronger than the 'law of sin and death'; this means that if the believer attempts to live for God by any other manner other than faith in Christ and The Cross, he is doomed to failure)"(Romans 8:2).



Sanctification

What we have just described to you regarding how The Holy Spirit works is really the definition of sanctification. Once again, sanctification is a process which is extremely important but which most of the modern church knows nothing about. If you were to ask most preachers what sanctification is, the answers would vary from A to Z. Let us say it very clearly and plainly, sanctification is the work of The Holy Spirit in the heart and life of the believer, bringing our condition up to our position in Christ. The moment the believing sinner comes to Christ, at that moment, the believing sinner is fully and perfectly sanctified by The Lord. In fact, Scripture says, "And such were some of you (before conversion): but ye are washed (refers to the blood of Jesus cleansing from all sin), but ye are sanctified (one's position in Christ), but ye are justified (declared not guilty) in the name of the Lord Jesus (refers to Christ and what He did at The Cross in order that we might be saved), and by the Spirit of our God (proclaims the third person of the Triune Godhead as the mechanic in this great work of grace)" (1 Corinthians 6:11). Then, once we are saved, we enter into what is referred to progressive sanctification (1 Thessalonians 5:23) this means that The Holy Spirit now begins to work in us, with us, by us, and for us, bringing our condition, which is far below our position, up to that status. In fact, it is a lifelong project. The Holy Spirit is greatly hindered when our faith is in something other than Christ and The Cross. If one will notice as one studies The Word of God, The Holy Spirit never directs praise to Himself, but always to Christ. That is because Jesus is The One Who paid the price at Calvary's Cross. In fact, faith in Christ and The Cross is the only faith that God will recognize. In the last 75 years, we have heard more about faith than all the balance of Christianity put together. Regrettably, almost all of it is wrong. Our faith must ever be in Christ and what He did for us at The Cross. That's not a one-time thing, but as I have already quoted you from Luke 9:23, it must be on a daily basis. This is the way The Holy Spirit works, and as previously stated, He will not work any other way. To be sure, and thankfully so, The Holy Spirit does not desert us whenever we do wrong or we think wrong, etc. Still, He is hindered greatly by our faith in that which He cannot honor. This is the reason that The Cross of Christ is an offense (Galatians 5:11). The Cross of Christ lays waste all of man's efforts no matter how noble they may be. This does not sit well with religious man. Anything other than The Cross always glorifies man's ability, which God can never accept. It is The Cross alone which glorifies Christ. That's the reason Paul said, "But God forbid that I should glory (boast), save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (what the opponents of Paul sought to escape at the price of insincerity is the apostle's only basis of exultation), by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (the only way we can overcome the world, and I mean the only way, is by placing our faith exclusively in The Cross of Christ and keeping it there, understanding that this is the manner in which The Holy Spirit works)" (Galatians 6:14). 


I am thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

And be closer drawn to Thee.


Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the power of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope

And my will be lost in Thine.


O the pure delight of a singled out (single hour?)

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer and with Thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend!


There are depths of love that I cannot know

Till I cross the narrow sea;

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Till I rest in peace with thee


Draw me nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord,

To The Cross where Thou has died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.