Romans 8:5-11 – The nature of a Spirit saturated life

Essentially there are two patterns in every believer’s life. We can adopt one or the other. We either follow the dictates of the Spirit or the dictates of the flesh. What causes us to choose one over the other depends largely on what we feed our mind. Then our frame of mind will determine how we behave.

In Romans 8:5-8, Paul contrasted for us the two categories of believers. There are those who are dominated by the flesh and there are also those who are dominated by the Spirit. The fleshly-minded tends to bend toward the flesh and that accounts for their ungodly lifestyles. The spiritual-minded will bend toward the desire of the Spirit with a determination to glorify God. 

Paul then went on in Romans 8:6 to differentiate the two natures. He said that the nature governs by carnal-minded is death while that governs by the spiritual-minded is life and peace. Death is seen here not as a consequence but a condition for following the dictates of the flesh. On the other hand, the life of God will flow in and through those whose minds are set on the things of the Spirit and resulting in an experience of peace.

In Romans 8:7-8, Paul described the limitation of a life that is in the flesh. Firstly, it cannot submit to God because it is hostile toward the desires of God stipulated in His law. Secondly, it cannot satisfy God and thus can never please God. In Romans 8:9-11, Paul showed the three blessings of being led by the Spirit: firstly, believers are assured of their status as children of God. Secondly, believers’ spirits are made sensitive and alert to God. And finally the believers’ physical bodies are strengthened and renewed by the power of the indwelling Spirit.

Let’s sum up what Paul is saying to us. Living a life in the Spirit ensures that we have a new mind-set resulting in life and peace. This in fact is true liberty! Secondly we will find that this life in the Spirit also gives us a life that is saturated by the personality of Christ. We experience something of the disposition of Jesus Christ. We experience his kindness, his gentle care, his love in our lives. And with that we will find life becoming more and more just like the way Jesus had experienced it. Through the Spirit we can have a sense of new life now and an assurance of eternal life in the Resurrection. The Holy Spirit will heighten and intensify our assurance of immortality.