“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
In this passage the apostle Paul issues a solemn warning to those seeking salvation. Unless they allow the spirit of Christ to dwell in them they have no part with Christ, and consequently are out of the way of salvation. Due to the very nature of this statement, it is of the utmost importance that we thoroughly understand just what the apostle meant by his reference to the spirit of Christ. Did he, as many claim, intend for us to understand that the spirit of Christ is equivalent to the Holy Spirit, or some Divine phase of it ? If this is what Paul meant, it is quite obvious that the vast majority of the brethren of Christ will find themselves without hope of life, for there are relatively few of those in the faith that take this stand.
Although Jesus did state in John 6:44, “No man cometh unto me, except the Father draw him,” it does not naturally follow that this “drawing” is due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, It is quite true that Yahweh performs His will by means of His Spirit, but again, it does not necessitate the giving of that Spirit to the one moved. God exercised a strong influence on Pharoah in the emancipation of Israel from Egypt, but none would assert that Pharoah was in possession of God’s Spirit.
Cyrus, the Persian, even called the shepherd of Yahweh, and Lord’s anointed, was moved by the Spirit of God to act as Judah’s liberator in the destruction of Babylon. Even so, Isaiah records the fact that Cyrus didn’t know the Lord. (Isa. 45:4) These are but two of the many examples in the scriptures that illustrate how God could move, influence or even draw certain individuals without allowing His Spirit to dwell in them. Many of us can look back on our introduction to the Truth and see the providential hand of God at work, before we were even aware that we were being influenced, or that certain events were being developed to direct us to Christ.
To insist that the Holy Spirit dwells within those being exercised by it as outlined above would lead us to the conclusion that one could be in complete ignorance of its existence and still possess it. Historically this hasn’t been true. Those instances, when God has granted His power to men, involved their knowledge of and desire for it. The example of the new converts in Samaria, springing from the preaching of Philip will suffice to illustrate this point.
It was necessary for the apostles to send them Peter and John in order that the Holy Spirit might come upon them. Considering this case, it at once becomes apparent that the “Spirit of Christ” of Romans 8:9, could not possibly be some phase of the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans who believed the gospel preached by Philip, and who rendered obedience to it by being baptized were as much in the way of salvation as after they received the Spirit under the hands of Peter and John.
How, then, are we to understand the language of Paul as he insists on the presence of Christ’s spirit in those who are to be saved ? As we read the eighth chapter of Romans where the apostle introduces this phrase, it will be noticed that through the use of several antithetical sayings, he strikes a contrast between those who obey the impulses of the flesh and those who are obedient to the Spirit. The antithesis may be constructed as follows:
| verse 5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, |
verse 5 but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” |
| verse 6 “For to be carnally minded (fleshly minded) is death; |
verse 6 but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” |
| verse 8 “So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” |
verse 9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you.” |
| verse 13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: |
verse 13 but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” |
| verse 14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” |
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| verse 15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; |
verse 15 but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” |
From this breakdown it is quite obvious that Paul is endeavoring to emphasize the urgent need of abandoning the flesh; not literally, of course, for the apostle plainly teaches that we can be flesh and blood and still walk “after” or “in” the spirit. The “old man of the flesh” is shortened to simply the “flesh,” While the development of Christ in the believer, characterized by the new mode of thinking, is now called “spirit.”
These terms are used in much the same way in Galatians 5:16-18; “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Paul defines those who are in the “flesh” as those who live after and mind (obey) the things (propensities) of the flesh. Those who allow themselves to be influenced by these animal-like instincts are said to be carnally minded, and exist under the bondage of sin.
On the other hand, those who are spiritually minded are those who “through the spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body.” These are they who have obeyed the voice of the Spirit and are said to be “after the spirit.” Having had their minds exercised and influenced by the Spirit word, and having rendered their members to God as instruments of righteousness, they are said by Paul to no longer exist “in the flesh.” Those who allow themselves to be thus governed by the word, brought about and recorded through the Spirit manifestation, walk “in the spirit.” If we keep in mind that the origin of the “new man” lies with God, who is Spirit, (John 4:24) it will help us to comprehend the language of the apostle as he describes those, who “through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body” as possessing the spirit of Christ.
Paul uses many phrases in this chapter synonymously to add emphasis to what he is saying. In verse 9, the “spirit of God” is equivalent to the “spirit of Christ in the same verse, and simply “Christ in you” in the next. In Phil. 2:5, the apostle declares, “Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, etc. . . .” Likewise, in Col. 3:16, he admonishes the believers to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,” and in Ephes. 3:17 “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” To allow the word of Christ to dwell in us, is, in effect to receive the spirit of Christ, for in John 6:63, Jesus announced, “the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life.”
With these facts before us, there is no danger of being misled into supposing that present possession of the Holy Spirit is some mysterious form left over from the apostolic age is necessary for salvation. Keeping in view the fact that possession of the Spirit in the days of the apostles in no way prohibited them from sinning or aided in the development of God-likeness within them, will help us to grasp the meaning of Paul’s remarks in the eighth chapter of Romans. The Spirit of Christ is clearly the mind, disposition and character of Jesus, just as the “spirit of man” of 1 Cor. 2:11 is the fleshly reasoning of the unenlightened alien, or natural man. To accept and put into practical use the teachings of Christ is actually to receive the spirit of Christ.
The reasoning of the flesh with its accompanying impulses and inordinate affections, if allowed to reign unchecked will lead to certain death. In the true sons of God, these lusts have been crucified. Having been made free from sin through the rite of baptism, they have “received the spirit of adoption whereby they cry ‘Abba Father’.” Hence, Paul in describing the new way of life into which baptism has introduced him cries, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20)
The full development of Christ in the heart of the believer can only take place where the flesh has been put to death through neglect. It is quite out of the question for one to be saved who has not allowed the teachings of Jesus to become an integral part of his life. Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, is, himself, the image to which we must conform if we are to follow him into immortality. The adaptation to this image will permit Christ to be reflected in our thoughts, actions and deeds and will stamp us as the true children of God in whom the spirit of Christ dwells.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One