9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Now
To keep to the main point of the argument, Paul reiterated the idea that a change of dominion is the issue. The change of dominion for the believer has to do with possession of the Spirit of Christ. Believers receive this possession of the Spirit by being placed into the same status that Jesus has before God, which is described as being “in Christ.”
if [since] anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
Beginning with this verse, Paul now shifted to the other dimension of the problem dealing with the “Spirit of Christ.” Up to this point the issue has been the non-believer who dwells in the “flesh.”
“Spirit of Christ” is not a common expression in the Bible. Note the interchange of titles “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” in this verse. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit identifies the believer as in Christ. The Lord Jesus in the believer (“Spirit of Christ”) is the criterion for determining the reality of being a Christian. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are inseparable concepts and integrated, but not identical.
Ro 8:10, And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
1 Jn 3:24, Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him [Christ], and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
The word “have” in the phrase “does not have the Spirit of Christ” indicates possession. The Christian possesses the Spirit of Christ as a power working from within. It is clearly perceptible in his life and it determines his course of life.
he is not His.
Those in the flesh do not have belongingness to God but to the world system. The contrast is either we are wholly God’s or wholly the world’s. Only those whose lives demonstrate that the Spirit is directing their character and conduct are truly Christians. The essential element is that the indwelling Spirit demonstrates the Spirit of Christ in our lives.
PRINCIPLE:
God ties our relationship to the Spirit to our relationship to Christ.
APPLICATION:
The dynamic of the Spirit in the life of the believer as a mind-set gives him an orientation to God. This does not mean that Christians will not quench the Spirit (1 Th 5:19) or grieve the Spirit (Ep 4:30) or that it is not possible for a Christian to sin. However, it is patently obvious that a person who has the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot be the same in the attitudes toward God.
The indwelling Christ is the guarantee of God’s power in us. The resurrection life of Christ in us is the power for living the Christian life.
Ga 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Php 3:10, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
