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“In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Romans 8:4-8
The Apostle Paul shows us a three part cycle that leads to a life of fullness in the Spirit, in contrast with a life of frustration and futility in the flesh. In Ephesians 5:18 believers are commanded to “be filled with the Spirit.” Here in Romans 8 Paul shows us how.
A.I.M. – Activity. Identity. Mindset.
It’s interesting to me that Paul starts with ACTIVITY. He makes it clear that the goal of God’s work in the gospel (v. 3) is the fulfillment of God’s righteous requirement in us (v. 4). We could never fully obey the Law of God on our own, but through the regenerating work of Jesus giving us a new heart with new desires and with the Holy Spirit filling, guiding and empowering us, we now do have the ability to obey God’s Law.
Notice that Paul says God’s righteous requirements now can be fulfilled in us who walk… He doesn’t phrase it as a command but as a new reality. Ephesians 4 and 5 make it a command: “Therefore, walk…” But here Paul expresses it as the natural result of God’s transforming work in us to forgive our sins and set us free from the law of sin and death. We will walk differently. Our activity will be transformed as our hearts have been transformed.
And that’s exactly what verse 5 communicates: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” The wording there is different with less focus on behavior and more focus on identity. Literally it could be translated “For those who ARE BEING according to the flesh… but those who ARE BEING according to the Spirit set their minds…”
The point is not the order but the connection between behavior, identity and mindset. What you do shapes what you think about which forms your self-perception and eventually your character. Correspondingly, your inner identity influences what you focus on which directs your actions.
This cycle works positively, for growth in Christ. But it also works negatively, toward greater control by the sinful flesh. Paul very intentionally makes this whole section a contrast between the two powers – the Holy Spirit and the flesh. The Spirit is trying to grow the character of Christ in us. The flesh is trying to tear that down.
Romans 1 describes “the whirlpool of death.” Three times people exchange the things of God for the things of this world and three times God “gave them over” to their own sinful desires. It’s a downward spiral until “they were filled” with all manner of evil and wickedness.
| “They exchanged the glory of God for images” (v. 23) | “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts” (v. 24) |
| “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (v. 25) | “God gave them up to dishonorable passions” (v. 26) |
| “They exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones” (v. 26-27) | “God gave them up to a debased mind” (v. 28) |
This is why Paul sums up the issue like this: “to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (v. 6). It’s how Moses concluded his speech in Deuteronomy setting before God’s people life and blessing on one hand and death and curses on the other. There is a way to life and fullness in the Holy Spirit. The other alternative is the path to death and destruction in the flesh.
What is your A.I.M. right now?
- Is your ACTIVITY guided by the Spirit and directed toward God’s glory and kingdom?
- Is your IDENTITY increasingly defined by your relationship with Jesus?
- Is your MIND continually filled with love for the Lord and devotion to His purposes?
Click here for more on revival and renewal in the Spirit. Come Sunday (1/21/24) to be encouraged in your pursuit of the fullness of the Spirit!
Check out the promise if we regularly experience the love of Jesus:
“To know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Eph. 3:19-21