Dear church,
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. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 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
Christians are spiritual people. In fact, we are the only spiritual people. You may know someone who disagrees. It is not uncommon to hear a person say something similar to, “I’m not religious, but I am very spiritual.” In fact, I would mostly agree with this statement when it comes to myself. However, most people making it and I probably disagree significantly over the meaning and intention of their words. They are probably referring to a new-age, alternative understanding of faith and purpose in life. When I think of spirituality, I think of life through God the Holy Spirit.
The Bible teaches that those who place their faith in Jesus Christ are no longer empty shells, but temples of the Holy Spirit. That’s a significant change. It is a change in purpose. It is a change from an inward focus on oneself to an outward focus on God and others. And, mostly importantly, it is a change from death to life. In the verses above, the Apostle Paul says a person without the Spirit lives for the flesh. That is his way of saying they only seek to gratify themselves. However, he says a person who lives by the Spirit glorifies God.
As we continue in our series of Sunday morning messages on our core commitments, this week we will define our commitment to the Spirit. In this commitment, we are claiming both our life through the Spirit and our intention to trust the Spirit for assurance, seek the Spirit for direction, and grow as disciples of Christ through spiritual disciplines. Because God’s Spirit is the only true Spirit and His Spirit brings life, we, as Christians can celebrate being the only true spiritual people. I’m looking forward to celebrating with you this Sunday.
For the sake of His name,
Pastor Adam
