Supernatural Living

Romans chapter 8 verse 1 to 17

Romans 8:1–17

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,

God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.

And so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us,

who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires,

but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.

The sinful mind is hostile to God.

It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit.

If the Spirit of God lives in you,

and if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin,

yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,

he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation,

but it is not to the sinful nature to live according to it.

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,

you will live,

because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear,

but you received the Spirit of sonship,

and by him we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs,

heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,

if indeed we share in his sufferings,

in order that we may also share in his glory.

Thanks very much, Joe.

Sorry, there's notes.

If anybody would like to take notes,

there's pens and a sheet there,

just put up your hands,

and they will be passed to you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So we're looking at supernatural people,

how the gospel works in us.

Well, there's a real fascination with the supernatural.

For years, people have explored,

and they've tried to understand the strange happenings

that science and natural laws of physics can't explain.

Everything from books to documentaries

have tried to portray what they understand to be the supernatural.

So what is the supernatural?

Well, for many, it's something dark and sinister

and associated more with the occult,

such as the cult series on TV called Supernatural,

which is all about two brothers fighting demons

and the devil himself.

Now, why we don't deny the reality of demons and the devil,

for our purposes this morning,

the supernatural is this,

and I've got it up on the overhead, the screen.

A supernatural act is a God intervention

which is not explicable by natural or scientific laws.

And that simply means that everyone who is a Christian

is a supernatural person.

Go back to chapter 7, verse 6.

But now, by dying to what once bound us,

we have been released from the law

so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit

and not in the old way of the written code.

Chapter 8, verse 9.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature,

but by the Spirit.

You see, if we are Christians,

if we're followers of the Lord Jesus,

God has intervened into our lives by His Holy Spirit,

enabling us to live a new kind of life

that we naturally can't do ourselves.

It is nothing less than a miracle.

And having spent chapters 6 and 7

explaining our ongoing battle with sin

and our failure to keep all the laws

and all the rules to make us better people,

chapter 8 is this intervention

to introduce us to the supernatural life

that enables us to live God's way.

Now, this life, this supernatural life,

is only possible by the Holy Spirit.

Now, before we get into this chapter in more detail,

we must understand who and what the Holy Spirit does

because there's a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit

and there's a lot of confusion.

And while Romans 8 doesn't give us all the answers,

it does give us some very important foundations.

So, three things about the Spirit

before we get stuck into the passage.

First, the Spirit is not a thing or an it.

The Holy Spirit is a person,

the person of Christ.

Look at verse 9.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature,

but by the Spirit,

if the Spirit of God lives in you.

And if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ,

he doesn't belong to Christ.

So, the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ.

He is not some unidentified mystery or force.

He is the person of Christ in Spirit.

Second, the Spirit is not a roaming power

that we have to somehow try and capture in a jar

and bring it home with us.

The Holy Spirit is present.

Look at verse 10.

If Christ is in you,

and verse 11.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead

is living in you,

the Spirit is in you.

In fact, it's stronger than that.

He lives in you.

And when we believe Christ,

when we trust Christ,

he takes up residence in our life.

Our life becomes home to the Holy Spirit.

So, he is personal.

He is present.

And then third,

the Spirit is not just an emotional feeling

to help us along every day.

The Holy Spirit is a power.

Verse 11.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead

is living in you,

he who raised Christ from the dead

will also give life to your mortal bodies

through his Spirit who lives in you.

So, the Spirit which raised Christ from the dead

is in you.

Christ who was dead

and who came to life again

did so by the Holy Spirit.

And that Spirit is within us

giving us new and eternal life.

So, if we are believers,

we are supernatural people.

The Spirit of Christ

living in us

giving us life.

Remember the big idea of Romans,

the whole big picture

of what it's all about.

The purpose of Romans

is to unite his people together

to be partners

in God's global mission.

Now, none of us are going to get anywhere near that

without the Holy Spirit at work.

And that's what the Spirit does.

He is God's giving life,

his power to his people

to enable us to live the kind of life

that he has called us to

so that we can be united

to be partners

in God's global mission.

Well, with that background,

let's get a bit further into the text

and see what this supernatural life

looks like in reality.

The first thing is

is that we are freed by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

applies the finished

and completed work of Christ

to our lives.

Let's read from verse 1.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus

because through Christ Jesus

the law of the Spirit of life

set me free

from the law of sin and death.

Condemnation

is the opposite to justification.

If you're under condemnation

it means to be under the sentence

or judgment of God

because of our disobedience.

And the natural way

that we try to deal with that

is to up our performance,

to become better people,

to add more rules

and laws to our life

and to try and change ourselves.

But as we've seen over the weeks,

we haven't got the power to change us.

It doesn't matter how many rules

you put in place,

it just means we've got more rules to break.

It doesn't change us.

Verse 3.

For what the law was powerless to do

in that it was weakened by our sinful nature,

God did by sending his own Son

in the likeness of sinful man

to be a sin offering

and so he condemned sin in sinful man.

It's telling us that Christ came

and exchanged places with us.

He takes on all of our disobedience

disobedience

and he suffers our judgment.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation

for those who trust in Christ.

Well, you're asking,

where does the Spirit fit into all of this?

Well, look at verse 2.

It tells us,

through Christ Jesus,

the law of the Spirit of life

sets us free

from the law of sin and death.

The Spirit,

His work is to take the finished

and completed work of Christ

and to apply it to our lives.

He takes the work of Christ on the cross

and He makes it a reality

in our lives.

He opens up our minds

so that we can see

how Christ has transformed us.

But not only that,

it's not just an intellectual fact,

it is something that is experienced

in our life each and every day.

It means that every time I fail and fall,

which I do,

and you do as well,

all of our disobedience

has been, past tense,

been dealt with by Christ.

And the Spirit continually applies

the work of Christ to our lives

so that we are forever free

from His condemnation.

We will never, ever be condemned

because the Spirit continually

and has done,

applied the work of Christ to our life.

But it doesn't stop there.

We're free from condemnation

for a purpose.

Look at verse 4.

We're free to obey.

All this was done in order

that the righteous requirements of the law

might be fully met in us

who do not live according

to the sinful nature,

but according to the Spirit.

So not only does Christ

take my disobedience

and deal with it,

but He actually gives me

His obedience into our lives.

So rather than being treated

as a condemned sinner,

I am now treated

as a treasured child.

And this new obedience

that Christ has given to us

isn't just a status

or a position.

It is that,

but it's more than that.

It's a daily reality.

Look what it says

at the end of verse 4.

We do not live

according to the sinful nature.

We don't obey that,

but we live according

to the Spirit.

So it's the Spirit again

at work in our lives,

freeing us from a life

of disobedience

and enabling and equipping us

to live a life of obedience.

And of course,

all of this

shouldn't have been

a surprise to the people

who were reading it

for the first time

because it was all

what God had promised to do.

Flick back to Ezekiel,

Ezekiel 36 · chapter mention

chapter 36.

If you've got a page number,

someone can shout it out.

Ezekiel, chapter 36.

Ezekiel 36 · chapter mention

It's on page 867.

Ezekiel 36.

On page 867.

And here is one of God's

wonderful promises.

In verse 26

of Ezekiel 36,

he says,

I will give you a new heart.

I will put a new spirit in you.

I will remove from you

your heart of stone

and give you a heart of flesh.

And here's the big point.

I will put my spirit in you

and move you

to follow my decrees

and to be careful

to keep my laws.

He puts His spirit

in our life

to move us

to follow His laws.

The Holy Spirit

takes the obedience of Christ

and He internalizes it

into our lives.

He changes us

on the inside out.

So rather than reject

God's law,

we love God's law.

Now none of this is natural.

We are not able

to free ourselves

from condemnation.

We are not able

to obey

however we want.

Without the supernatural

work of Christ

and without the supernatural

work of His Spirit

who applies this

to our lives,

we would never be able

to live

as He calls us to.

So the Spirit

frees us

by applying

the work of Christ

to our life.

Well that's the first step

in the supernatural

work.

The second is

that we're told

we are controlled

by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

applies

the good

and perfect

law of Christ

to our lives.

Look at verse 5.

Those who live

according to

the sinful nature

have their minds

set on what

that nature desires.

But those who live

in accordance

with the Spirit

have their minds

set on what

the Spirit desires.

So it's essentially

telling us

there are two ways

to live

or there are two kinds

of people

in this world.

Lots of different

nationalities,

lots of different cultures,

but essentially

two people.

There are unbelievers

who live

according to

their sinful nature

and there are those

who are believers

who live

according to

the Spirit.

They're both

described

and outlined

further.

Look at verse 7.

There are those

who fight

God's law.

Verse 7.

The sinful mind

is hostile

to God.

It doesn't submit

to God's law

and nor

can it do so.

Our natural

response

or attitude

to God's law

is one of

hostility.

We don't like

God telling us

what to do

and how we should

live in this world.

In fact,

if we were to

live by any

kind of rules,

we prefer to

make up our

own rules.

Basically,

that we have

no rules at all

and we can live

however we want.

our sinful

nature

reacts

against God's

law.

We fight it

rather than

submit to it.

Try and think

of it

this way.

Take two

magnets.

I'm sure you've

always played

with magnets.

If you have

two magnets

facing each

other and the

two poles

are facing

each other,

they're going

to react.

the natural

laws of

physics

means that

one pushes

against the

other.

If you hold

one magnet

up and put

the other

one against

it,

it will push

off against

it.

Well,

think of

Christ,

who is the

dominant

law.

And as soon

as we come

close to

Christ,

it's like we

push against

it.

Verse 8,

those controlled

by the sinful

nature cannot

please God.

It doesn't

mean to say

that we

can't do

anything good.

It simply

means that we

have no

natural desire

to please

God.

Our life is

lived primarily

to please

self.

We just

naturally

push away

from God.

So naturally,

without the

Spirit,

we have no

love for

God's law.

But when the

Spirit comes

into our life,

all of that

changes.

We turn from

people who

fight the law

into people

who love

the law.

Because of

the Spirit,

Christians have

a supernatural

power at work

so that we

do love

the law.

Look at

verse 9.

You,

however,

if you're

Christians,

are controlled

not by the

sinful nature,

but by the

Spirit.

Again,

let's think

of those

magnets again.

If we leave

the one magnet

here,

the big

one,

the dominant

one,

and you

take the

other magnet

and then

turn it

around,

immediately

there is a

different reaction.

Rather than

a force that

pushes against

it,

there is a

force that

pulls it

together.

And that's

what happens

to us when

we stop being

the control

center of

our lives.

If we

turn around

in our

lives,

repent,

and put

Christ at

the control

center of

our lives,

then our

whole life

is reorientated

towards

Christ.

Look back

at the end

of verse

five.

Those who

live in

accordance with

the Spirit

have their

minds set

on what the

Spirit desires.

So you see,

once we turn

around to

Christ,

rather than

reject his

law,

rather than

fight it and

be hostile

towards it,

we will love

his law.

We will

want to

do what

God says.

There is a

desire and

a hunger

within us

that we

want to

obey.

Not to

try and

earn God's

favor,

but as an

expression of

our love

towards him.

Now think

about that,

because none

of that is

natural.

We do not

love God's

law by

ourselves.

What we

need is a

supernatural

work of

Christ and

his Spirit

applying,

working that

law out

in our

lives.

Without

the Spirit,

we would

never be

able to

live the

life that

God has

called us

to.

So not

only are we

freed by

the Spirit,

not only are

we controlled

by the

Spirit,

but we are

also people

who are led

by the

Spirit.

Because what

the Spirit

does is he

applies the

right and

the beautiful

way of

Christ to

our lives.

Look at

verse 12.

Therefore,

brothers and

sisters,

we have an

obligation.

In other

words, we

have a

response to

the way in

which God

works.

But it's

not to the

sinful nature

to live

according to

that.

It's telling

us that the

Spirit leads

us in a

completely new

way.

Things that

were once

unnatural for

us now

become natural

part of our

daily living.

And here

are two

things that

should and

ought to be

natural for

us in our

lives.

The first is

killing off

sin.

Look at

verse 13.

For if you

live according

to the sinful

nature, you

will die.

But if by

the Spirit

you put to

death the

misdeeds of

the body,

you will

live.

You see,

before our

faith in

Christ,

before we

turned our

lives around

to him and

reorientated

ourselves around

Christ,

when we were

at the

control center

of our

lives, we

were hostile

to God's

law.

And as a

consequence, we

loved our

sin.

We loved

doing our

own things.

We had no

intention of

fighting sin

or killing

it.

We loved

it.

But now

the Spirit

gives us a

new way.

By the

Spirit, we

now want

to kill

off the

sin in

our lives.

Verse 14.

Because those

who are led

by the

Spirit are

children of

God.

You see, if

we are

children of

God, we

will be

people who

are led

by the

Spirit.

And being

led by the

Spirit doesn't

mean a

particular

direction about

what kind of

job I'm going

to take or

about which

person I'm

going to

marry, no,

being led

by the

Spirit in

verse 14

is connected

to the

putting to

death the

misdeeds of

our lives in

verse 13.

He says,

put to

death the

misdeeds of

your body,

the wrong

actions,

because that's

what being

led by the

Spirit is.

The Spirit

enables us and

equips us to

kill off the

sin, to

fight it, to

put up a

battle against

it.

And on

our own, we

will naturally

want sin.

But with the

Spirit, we

now have a

supernatural

desire and

a determination

to say no

to sin.

Well, you

say, okay, I

get that, I

still have this

Spirit within

me wanting to

say no to

sin, but I

still do

sin.

Well, yes,

that's true, it's

an ongoing

battle, and that's

the tense in

these verses

here.

It is

something that

is continuously

done until we

get to heaven.

But there's

something else

that reminds

us of this

Spirit at

work, this

supernatural work

in our lives.

The Spirit

not only helps

us to kill

off sin, but

in our battle

with sin, he

leads us back

to our

Father.

Look at

verse 15.

He says,

For you

didn't receive

a spirit that

makes you a

slave again to

fear.

but you

receive the

spirit of

sonship, or

of adoption.

You see, once

we did live in

fear of God, we

were under his

condemnation.

But now, because

of Christ, we've

been set free from

his judgment

forever.

That means, even

with my sin, I

can run to

God, and I

can call out to

him as

Father, without

fear, because

he has already

paid the

penalty of

sin.

And here's the

big point in

this.

When we

sin, our

natural tendency

is to hide

from God, to

run away, and

to believe that

we are still

under condemnation.

Isn't that how

we are?

Whenever we

sin, we want

to run and

not tell God

and pretend it

didn't happen.

But the

Spirit moves

us in the

midst of our

struggles to

still cry out

Father, because

he is our

Father.

Verse 16, the

Spirit himself

testifies with

our spirit that

we are God's

children, despite

all of our sin

and all of our

failure and all

of our mess.

The Spirit makes

us aware that we

belong to him, and

we can keep

running back to

him as our

Father, and

there is nothing

to fear.

Again, this is

not natural.

Naturally, we

run to sin, and

we run away from

God.

But by the

supernatural work

of Christ and

his Spirit being

applied into our

lives, we now

have a completely

new way.

We run away

from sin, and

we run towards

our Father.

God.

So we are

people who are

freed by the

Spirit, controlled

by the Spirit, and

we're led by the

Spirit.

We are supernatural

people.

And the big

question is this,

how can this be my

experience each and

every day?

How can I live as a

supernatural person?

Well, as we've seen

as we've gone through

this passage, the

work of Christ and

the Spirit of, sorry,

the work of Christ and

the work of the

Spirit are not

separate from each

other, but they

are dependent on

each other.

The Spirit of

Christ applies the

work of Christ to

make us more like

Christ.

Christ.

So that means if we

are to experience the

supernatural in our

lives, there are two

things that I think we

can do in response to

this.

First, we've got to

remind ourselves that

Christ, what Christ has

done for us.

We must remember the

gospel, remember the

work of Christ.

There's no longer any

condemnation.

There is no longer any

fear for those who are in

Christ.

We must teach

ourselves and remind

ourselves every day of

the gospel of our new

position and our new

status.

And second, we must pray

that God by His Spirit

will apply that work to

our lives, enabling us

to live as someone who

is not condemned, equipping

us to live as someone who

is without fear.

And so we must ask God

continually for the power

of His Holy Spirit to be

at work in our lives, to

live supernaturally, to

live somebody who doesn't

feel the weight of

condemnation, but somebody

who's been set free to

serve God and to live for

Him.

Somebody who's free to

fight sin and be able to

run to our Father without

any fear at all.

We are supernatural

people because the

Spirit of God, the

Spirit of Christ, is

living within us.

We have a resource

within us to live the

kind of life that God

has called us to.

We can't do it by our

own.

It's impossible.

We are powerless.

But with the Spirit of

Christ, we are given

His power.

The Spirit that raised

Christ from the dead,

that power that raised

Him from the grave,

is the same power at

work in us to live His

life.

Let's pray together.

Father, our Father God, we

recognize before You

again our complete

inadequacy, our

hopelessness, our

powerlessness to be able

to change our lives in any

way at all.

Thank You that You have

given us the gift of Your

Holy Spirit to be able to

live supernatural lives, to

be able to fight the

battle of sin so that we

can become more like

Christ.

Thank You that it is You

working in us.

It's not about what we can

do, but what about Christ

has done for us.

We pray that You would fill

us afresh with Your

Spirit.

That we would respond to His

promptings and to His

work.

That we would be people who

go into this week enabled

and equipped, ready to live

for You in this world, to

live supernatural lives, to be

able to do all that You

have called us to.

So we praise You and we

thank You for all that You

have done for us and all

that You have given to us.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

God bless.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.