How do we know that the Spirit will give us life if we are in Christ? Because the Spirit has already given life to Christ and we are now in Christ. Romans 8:11 says:
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 because of his Spirit who lives in you.
When God created the first man he formed him from the dust. He held, as it were, in his hand a perfectly formed human being. But it was a lifeless form. It was like a shop mannequin. But then we read: ‘the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.’ (Genesis 2:7) The word ‘breath’ or ‘wind’ in both Hebrew and Greek is the same as the word ‘Spirit’. God breathed his breath or his Spirit, the breath of life or Spirit of life, into the nostrils of the inert human form and it became alive.
And on the first Easter Day God did it again. There before him, as it were, was an inert human form, the dead body of Jesus. ‘Dust to dust’ we say at funerals. The body of Jesus was returning to the dust from which it had come. But once again God breathed his breath or his Spirit, the breath of life, the Spirit of life, into the nostrils of the dead human form and it became alive. And this is not a metaphor. There really was a moment in history when this happened.
That breath of life, that Spirit of life, is in you. And one day it will give life to your mortal body. This mortal body that is decaying will be resurrected to eternal life.
But notice, too, that the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is already ‘living in you’. It is not just that you will experience the resurrection power of the Spirit in the future. You already experience that resurrection power right here, right now.
- When you have faith in Christ then you are experiencing the Spirit.
- When you have any repulsion from sin then you are experiencing the Spirit.
- When you willingly serve God then you are experiencing the Spirit.
- When you joyfully sacrifice for Christ then you are experiencing the Spirit.
- When you have any affection for your life group then you are experiencing the Spirit.
The God who raised Christ from the dead is living in you by his Spirit. The Spirit who breathed life into the rotting flesh of Jesus is the Spirit who breathes life into your heart.
There is nothing that God expects you to do that you cannot do. The sin that defeats you need not defeat you. The fears that consume you need not consume you. The people who terrify you need not terrify you.
