Romans 8:9-10 (NET) You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness.
Dayo found it impossible to resist the urge to indulge in certain sinful harmful habits to his body. But after he was delivered from the four Spirits responsible for those habits, he now had the ability to resist.
People would always behave according to the nature of the spirit that is in them. This is also true for those filled with the Holy Spirit.
What it means to be in the flesh is to be dominated and controlled by the fleshly sinful nature, but what it means to be in the spirit is to be controlled by the spiritual nature of righteousness that only those who have accepted Christ as Lord can receive through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, it means that that person truly belongs to Christ. The Holy Spirit can only dwell within a person by that person’s permission. Those who belong to Christ are those who have willfully submitted to Christ’s Lordship, and the Holy Spirit is given to them to administer the Lordship of Christ in their lives. That’s why He convicts us whenever we do things contrary to the lordship of Christ, and those who desire to continue to fellowship with Him would repent and forsake their sins. Anyone who is not willing to be ruled by the lordship of Christ cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who belongs to Christ(who Christ is their Lord and owner) has the spirit of God dwelling within them.
You may be wondering about believers today who live contrary to the will of the Holy Spirit but still speak in tongues ‘by the Holy Spirit’? But the truth about this is in the last verse of today’s scripture. If the spirit of Christ is in anyone, he will be dead to sin and alive to righteousness by the Spirit. The proof that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit is in their fruits, not their gifts( see Matthew 7:15-20)
Go into today remembering that a person cannot be truly filled with the Holy Spirit and continue to be unholy. A person takes on the nature of the spirit that possesses him. And by a person’s habits and disciplines, he can inadvertently invite spirits into his life. Those who by obedience to the word of God seek to live holy lives would be filled with the Holy Spirit who would come to assist them to be holy.
Prayer: Lord, help me live a spirit-filled life. Amen.
-Abraham Damilola Arigi
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Bible in 1 Year: Proverbs 5-6 (in today’s audio)
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