9 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. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 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. Romans 8:9-11
This passage draws a hard line between those who are in the flesh and those who are in the Spirit. It’s not about church attendance or moral effort; it’s about the presence of the Spirit of God being in you or not. Paul says, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” That’s the test. Not whether I feel spiritual, not whether I’ve had a good week, but whether the Spirit of God lives in me.
And here’s the thing: if the Spirit dwells in me, everything changes. My identity shifts. My power source shifts. My future shifts. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in me. That’s not metaphor, it’s resurrection power. And that power doesn’t just give me hope for the future, it gives me strength for today. It gives life to my mortal body, even in the middle of weakness, temptation, and fatigue.
I talk about this test because the Lord has shown this to me. His work in my life, through His Spirit, is quantifiable. When I surrendered my all, my life, my future, and everything I am to God, that released my own expected power and allowed God to take control. His voice through His word, His conviction of my heart when I am tempted to sin, the sensitivity of my heart to the suffering of others, and the new lens I have that sees His hand in even the most challenging circumstances is overwhelming evidence of His presence in my life. I am eternally secure and there is no greater hope I have than that.
APPLICATION
Today, I don’t measure my spiritual life by how I feel, I measure it by who lives in me. That’s the true test. And because the Spirit of Christ dwells in me, I’m not stuck. I’m not powerless. I’m not alone. I have resurrection life pulsing through me. So, I walk like someone alive. I fight sin like someone empowered. I face discouragement like someone indwelt. Because I am. And that truth steadies me when everything else feels shaky.