This week’s Good Word has been written by David McGrew
“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Romans 8 :10 & 11, American Standard Version.
No matter which bible we prefer, we are all impacted by the religion and theology of those who translated or paraphrased our favourites. Added to that, every Christian brings their own beliefs and biases into the process every time they pick up the book to read it again. It’s a testimony to the wisdom and grace of God that we’re able to get past all of that natural-mindedness and arrive at some awareness of the eternal truths of God, but thanks be to God, we do.
The above passage is no exception, and for that matter, neither am I. I do want to say, though, that this particular Bible (ASV) was translated to the highest standards and by the most qualified scholars, in an era when such standards were well valued.
Disclaimer aside then: did you notice that the first use of ‘spirit’ in verse 10, where ‘the spirit is life,’ is with a small “s”? The translators are trying to let the language do its work, and they’re telling us that it is the human spirit, our inner man, that brings life to us. That’s a profound thought.
Our spirit is touched by righteousness, which we know to be true, because, failing as we often do, we all still try our best to live and do right. It’s instinctive to us as Christians. As important as arrival at righteousness is, here, it’s the journey that proves the statement’s truth. Our spirit is the vessel God uses to pour life into us.
Verse 11, starting with ‘But,’ graduates to an even larger thought. Beyond what life lives within us, verse 11 says that the Spirit (big ’S’) is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and performs the same kind of resurrection within us.
Let’s get this straight. I am alive. And somehow, God’s Spirit lives inside of my spirit. When the verse says that He gives life to our mortal bodies, he is not referring to eternal life on the great day of resurrection. He can’t mean that, because on that day, he won’t be living inside of me or you. This is a truth for today.
The Holy Spirit of God Himself, the great creative and resurrecting life of God Himself, lives within every born-again believer, and he does so for so many reasons that it’s not possible to touch them all here or now.
What we can say now, from the verses above, is that He is ever-present and waiting upon our faith to invite Him, as the life-giving, resurrecting part of our life to keep us moving forward, to accomplish His work.