Did You Catch That Last Part?

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:9)

Did you catch that last part? If any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Ghost in them, then Jesus has nothing to do with that person.

You believe in Jesus, but have you received His Spirit? Think about it. Remember James tells us that the devils believed in God and trembled! But they had no faith in Him and certainly had not received the Spirit of Christ into their heart. There is a heaven and hell difference between believing and receiving Jesus Christ.

“If any man have not the Spirit of Christ - the mind that was in him, produced there by the power of the Holy Ghost - he is none of his; he does not belong to the kingdom, flock, or family of God. This is an awful conclusion! Reader, lay it to heart” (Adam Clarke).

“The reign of the Spirit is the abolition of the flesh. Those in whom the Spirit reigns not, belong not to Christ; then they are not Christians who serve the flesh; for they who separate Christ from his own Spirit make him like a dead image or a carcase” (John Calvin).

“All the saints have flesh and spirit in them but to be in the flesh and to be in the Spirit are contrary. It denotes our being overcome and subdued by one of these principles. As we say, A man is in love, or in drink, that is, overcome by it. Now the great question is whether we are in the flesh or in the Spirit and how may we come to know it? Why, by enquiring whether the Spirit of God dwell in us. The Spirit dwelling in us is the best evidence of our being in the Spirit, for the indwelling is mutual” (Matthew Henry).

The only way to the Father is through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). We must not only believe in Christ, but must also receive His Spirit. Otherwise we are unable to receive the promise of Christ and will remain separated from God.

Bill Hitchcock