Romans 8:8-14 The Spirit of Easter WC McCarter
Introduction
If we
were to do a study in the New Testament about the resurrection of Christ, we
would quickly see that all the persons of the Triune God—Father, Son,
Spirit—all had something to do with raising Jesus from the dead. For our brief moments in the Scripture this
morning, I would like for us to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit. You will remember that toward the beginning
of the Gospel story, the angel Gabriel visited Mary with news that she would
conceive and give birth to a son. The
boy would be called Jesus and would reign forever over the house of Jacob. Mary had never known a man, so she asked how
these things would be. Gabriel told her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will
overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called
the Son of God.” At the beginning of
Jesus’ ministry, He went to John the Baptizer at the Jordan River, and the
Scripture says, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”
The Spirit is the One who drove Christ into the wilderness for
tempting. When He returned and started
His ministry, He did so “in the power of the Spirit.” Jesus said that He cast out demons by the
Spirit of God. He also said that He
proclaimed Good News by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was involved in Jesus’ life and
ministry from the beginning to the end—even the very end.
The
Scripture also teaches that the Spirit entered the tomb where Jesus had been
buried and raised Him to life on the third day.
That is what we have gathered to celebrate today. I would like to take you to Romans 8 and
discuss the Spirit of Easter for just a few minutes.
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
The Flesh (8)
There
are two categories in which people can function: in the flesh or in the
Spirit. The “flesh” is the way of the world,
the way of this present, wicked age. It
is selfish and sinful. It is called the
“Adamic” nature because we have inherited it from our first father, Adam, who
sinned in Garden in the beginning. When
we set our minds on the things of this world, we set our minds on things that
will soon pass away. This world and the
things of this world do not last forever.
When we pursue the things of this world, they may seem gratifying but
only for a brief moment. There is no
lasting joy for you in the things of this age.
There is certainly no approval or blessings from God when you are in the
flesh. You cannot please God in any
way. In fact, those who operate in the
flesh, which is most people, have made themselves enemies of God by their own
wicked works. Those who are in the flesh
have set themselves up against almighty God.
There is no hope for those who persist in the flesh.
The Spirit (9-10)
Yet,
there is hope for those who forsake the flesh, turn to God by faith in Christ,
and trust in Christ’s accomplishments on the cross. Those achievements at Calvary have been
approved by God which is seen is the resurrection. God accepted Christ’s sacrifice to atone for
the sins of the world, and He has declared this truth powerfully in the raising
of His Son. God has done all the
work. All we have to do is turn
and trust.
When
you do put your faith in Christ, you are born-again. This is not some fundamentalist way of saying
that you are obeying some religious system.
Rather, to be born-again is to be born from above. It is to experience a spiritual rebirth by
the power of God’s Holy Spirit. It is to
experience a spiritual resurrection because apart from Christ you are dead. When you are born again, the Spirit comes to
dwell in you and you are made alive! So,
here is the thing, if you do not have the Spirit of Christ in you—you have not
been born again—and you do not belong to Christ.
Yet,
if you have been born again, although your body is dead because of sin, you
will be brought to life. Your spirit has
been made alive and your body will also be raised from the dead. God is the God of resurrection. He is the God of life. In fact, Jesus said, “I AM the Resurrection
and the Life.”
The Spirit of Easter (11)
Now,
let’s focus in on verse eleven. Our
spirits have been made alive, and we have the promise that our bodies will be
made alive as well. But, how can we be
so sure? Our confident hope may be based
on the Spirit who indwells us. That same
Spirit that raised Jesus to life is the One who indwells us and will also give
life to our mortal bodies. Christ’s
resurrection is the firstfruit of ours.
His is the basis of our hope. His
is the forerunner and guarantee of resurrection life for all those who are
united with Him. And the resurrection
power that the Spirit wields is not just to resuscitate our regular, ol’
bodies. His power raises us and
transforms us. We are given bodies that
do not die.
Led by the Spirit (12-14)
Not
much else needs to be said this Resurrection Sunday. But look at the last three verses today. We are called debtors. What is the debt that we ought to pay? We should forsake the flesh, which only leads
to death anyway, and pursue righteousness.
Our obligation is to live in Spirit-destroying power. By the Spirit we put to death the sinful
deeds of the body. Our obligation is to
live righteously knowing that we have already been saved.
Conclusion: There is Good News. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. The same Spirit who raised Him from the dead
has given us new spiritual birth, indwells us, empowers us for holy living, and
guarantees life for our mortal bodies.
Live in the power and promise of the Spirit of Easter!