In the Flesh or In the Spirit
In the Flesh or In the Spirit
In 1 John 3:9 (NASB 2020) we read that, “No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.”
Notice first that 1 John (in the NASB 2020) says that believers do not “practice sin” and that they cannot sin “continually.” This is not an error in translation rather, it reflects the verb tense in the underlying Greek. These verb tenses indicate an ongoing action. Over the long term you cannot live in a manner inconsistent with who you are. Who you are is a holy, blameless, saint of God.
The key to understanding this is found in Romans 8:9 (NASB 2020) “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Notice here that you are told that if the Spirit is within you “you are not in the flesh” rather, you are “in the Spirit.”
As a Christ-one, you can live according to the flesh, but at all times you are still in the Spirit. It may be that for a long time you had attitudes and actions that were inconsistent with who Jesus made you at rebirth. It may have seemed to you and to others that you were indistinguishable from an unbeliever. But the Spirit within you is bringing you to a place where you see that. Consequently, you are changing because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
When you lived according to the flesh, you did it because you still believed some of the enemy’s lies. To you, it seemed that you were still in bondage to sin, still required to “live right.” When you didn’t, you had fear, doubt, and guilt. All that came from the world and from the enemy who was doing everything he could to keep you from understanding the real Truth of the Gospel.
None of those ungodly attitudes or actions changed Father’s view of you. Father reconciled you to Himself in Christ and is not counting your sins against you. Because you are in Christ, ungodly choices cannot change your status as a holy blameless, and righteous child of the Most High.
You can safely rest in the knowledge that “you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.” You can know this because you know that you meet the condition, “the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Since He is in you, you are always in the Spirit—even when you behave as if you are in the flesh.
