SPIRIT OF GOD … SPIRIT OF CHRIST

The doctrine of the deity of Christ is not simply attested in some ‘proof texts’, important and significant as they may be. Rather, the believer finds this truth implicit in a variety of ways in the New Testament. Romans chapter 8 supplies a good example in the apostle’s easy transitions in describing the Holy Spirit variously as the Spirit, vv. 4, 5, and 9, the Spirit of Christ, v. 9, the Spirit of God, vv. 9, and 14. Other noteworthy references associating the Spirit with Christ include Acts 16. 7 RV; Gal. 4. 6; Phil. 1.19; 1 Pet. 1.11.

In Romans chapter 8 verses 5 to 8, possession of the Spirit of Christ marks the vital distinction between the unbeliever and the Christian. The one is dominated by the flesh; the other, born of the Spirit, characteristically sets his or her mind on the things of the Spirit. Verses 9 to 11 then unfold what life in the Spirit means for the believer.

The believer is both ‘in the Spirit’ and indwelt by the Spirit, v. 9. Having the Spirit is, in fact, the test of whether we are truly Christ’s. The next verse teaches that having the Spirit of Christ is equivalent to Christ dwelling in us; that is, the Spirit mediates Christ’s presence within the believer. The believer’s own spirit is divinely alive; moreover, the power put forth by the Father in raising His Son will also impart life to ‘our mortal bodies’, through the power of the same indwelling Spirit. Note the great emphasis on ‘life’, ‘alive’, ‘quicken’, in these verses; the saint enjoys the eternal, abundant life through the gift of the Spirit - the Spirit which is life, v. 10.

Several important truths are evident in these few verses. The fact that the Spirit indwells the believer is a distinctive mark of the present gospel age. ‘In-dwelling’ denotes permanence and reminds us of the glorious yet solemn truth that our bodies are temples sanctified by God’s presence. Moreover, in what is for Paul a familiar theme, the possession of the Spirit in the present is the guarantee of our eternal blessedness, 2 Cor. 5. 5; Eph. 1.13, 14. Happily, our security results from the joint workings of the Trinity: the Spirit, v. 9, Christ, v. 10, and the Father’s resurrection power, v. 11.