“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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:5–13)
The Bible describes that there are only two kinds of people in the world. Scripture does not sort humanity primarily by personality, politics, race, or social class. Biblical categories are more fundamental than that. From God’s perspective every person belongs to one of two realms. Romans 8:5 names them: “those who live according to the flesh,” and “those who live according to the Spirit.” Or to state it even more plainly, there are those who possess the Spirit of Christ and those who don’t. Paul says it with striking clarity: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9).
This means that Christianity is not first defined by church involvement, morality, religious vocabulary, or some past experience of being baptized or praying a prayer. Those things can be important, but they do not constitute true spiritual life. The defining mark of a Christian, Paul says here, is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. A Christian is someone who has been made alive by the Spirit, inhabited by the Spirit, and is being increasingly shaped by the Spirit. If the Spirit does not dwell in a person, Paul says that person does not belong to Christ.
In Romans 8:5-13, Paul is pressing for two responses. For believers, it offers deep assurance and comfort: the Spirit who has taken residence within you is evidence that you belong to Jesus, and his presence guarantees future resurrection life! For others, this passage functions as a merciful warning. It calls for honest self examination (2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10). It is possible to identify as ‘Christian’ while remaining spiritually lifeless, unaffected by the Spirit’s renewing work. Paul will not allow us to rest in a merely external religion.
To understand these verses, it helps to remember the broader structure of the entire chapter of Romans 8. The chapter begins with “no condemnation” (Rom 8:1) and it ends with “no separation” (Rom 8:39). These are the great “bookends” of Christian security. In between them though, Paul repeatedly returns, again and again, to the work of the Spirit. The Christian life is not a natural achievement; it is a supernatural reality. God not only declares sinners to be righteous in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9-10), he also gives the Spirit who sanctifies, assures, and preserves them. Yet, remarkably, Paul also includes a sober warning here in 8:13: “If you live according to the flesh you will die.” The tension is intentional. True security does not cancel the necessity of sanctification. Justification is the root, sanctification is the fruit. No rather, security produces sanctification through the Spirit.
Paul develops his argument in three movements.
Paul begins by describing two kinds of people and the different “mindsets” that reveal their true nature: “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” (Rom 8:5). Here “mind” is not merely one’s intellect. It includes the orientation of the whole person: this is the pattern of desires, priorities, affections, and will. It is a person’s governing disposition.
We must also define “the flesh.” Paul is not referring simply to the physical body. In Romans, “the flesh” often means our fallen human nature as corrupted by sin and, as a result, is oriented away from God. It is humanity left to itself, curved inward, self-ruled. The flesh is not only about obvious immorally gross sins. It is also the deeper posture of one’s hostility toward and independence from God, without reference to His glory and rule.
From that starting point, Paul traces three consequences.
First, the flesh and Spirit produce different mindsets (Rom 8:5). The flesh-oriented person is preoccupied with the world: earthly ambitions, self preservation, comfort, and pleasure. The Spirit oriented person, however, has an “absorbing interest” in the things of God: Christ, Scripture, the gospel, prayer, holiness, worship, and the advance of God’s kingdom. This does not mean believers are sinless or that they never get distracted. But it does mean that the basic direction of life has changed.
Second, the flesh and Spirit produce different spiritual states (Rom 8:6): “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Paul is describing objective realities, not merely subjective moods. “Death” means spiritual lifelessness now and judgment later in eternity. “Life and peace” mean reconciliation with God, new spiritual vitality, and eternal life to come.
Third, the flesh and Spirit produce different attitudes toward God (Rom 8:7–8). Paul’s language is strong: the fleshly mind is “hostile to God.” It “does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” Those who are in the flesh “cannot please God.” This is not saying every unbeliever feels constant conscious hatred toward God. No, hostility often expresses itself as indifference. The “fleshly mind” ignores God, resists His authority, and will not render him the love, worship, and glory that He deserves. The problem is not lack of information but a heart that does not want God.
This is why the gospel must be supernatural in its origin! If our natural condition is death, only God can make us alive, only he can change our hearts!
Paul now turns directly to believers: “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom 8:9). Paul is speaking now to Christians who possess the Spirit of God. The “if” here is not meant to create doubt, but rather to state a defining truth. To be a Christian isto possess the Holy Spirit dwelling within you.
Paul speaks of “the Spirit,” “the Spirit of God,” “the Spirit of Christ,” and even “Christ in you.” He is not confusing the persons of the Trinity. Rather, he is highlighting the inseparable unity of God’s saving presence. The Spirit that indwells believers is the way in which the risen Christ is present with his people.
Four realities stand out here:
First, believers are indwelt by the Spirit (Rom 8:9). The Spirit does not visit temporarily. He takes up residence. At the moment of salvation, He makes the believer His home.
Second, believers are governed by the Spirit (Rom 8:9). To be “in the Spirit” means to live under the Spirit’s decisive influence. If the Spirit lives in you, the Spirit will direct you. The Christian’s life is now shaped by a new power.
Believers belong to Christ (Rom 8:9). The Spirit’s presence is the mark of ownership (Gal 4:6-7; Eph 1:13-14). “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him,” Paul says here. There is no category of a “Christian without indwelling, governing, empowering Spirit.”
Believers possess resurrection life, both now and in the future (Rom 8:10–11). Though the body remains subject to death in a fallen world, the Spirit brings life because of righteousness. And the Spirit who raised Jesus will also give life to our mortal bodies. “Indwelling” is therefore a kind of guarantee. The Spirit is the “down payment” of the coming resurrection.
Paul concludes with a sobering exhortation: “We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh” (Rom 8:12). Christians owe the flesh nothing. Sin is no longer our master. Yet we must actively resist it: “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13).
This is where Paul’s warning lands with force. A life characterized by the flesh leads to death, eternal death. A life characterized by Spirit-empowered mortification (an old Puritan word for “killing sin”) leads to life. This does not mean we earn salvation by putting sin to death in our lives. Rather, it means the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives necessarily produces a new war against sin. Where the Spirit dwells, repentance and putting off the old self happens. John Owen famously summarized it:
The application of Romans 8:5-13 is searching, convicting, and encouraging.
First, remember who you were. If you are in Christ, you were once “in the flesh,” spiritually dead, indifferent to God. But the Spirit, by grace made you alive! Worship Him for that mercy!
Second, examine yourself. Do you have the Spirit of Christ? Is your life marked by a new orientation toward God, however imperfect it may be? Remember, it isn’t about perfection, but about directon. What is the direction of your life? Is sanctificaiton happeing? Are you putting sin to death and seeking to walk in holiness? Do you grieve sin and fight it?
Third, take up the fight. You are not obligated to the flesh. In Christ you are free. By the Spirit, put sin to death and set your mind on the things of the Spirit. Remember, Paul says, “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13) It is only by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that you can put to death sin, but it is our “Spirit-empowered” effort that is essential. That is life in the Spirit! And that is what we will see more of next week…
