You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
As members of the fallen race of humanity, we were born with a fallen nature and a carnal mind that can never, ever please God, for the thoughts and the intention of man’s fallen nature are only evil continuously. There is nothing in fallen man that can ever please God, and even good deeds that impress other people are not pleasing to the Lord…for the unbeliever has a fallen, carnal nature. As born again believers, we are given a new nature…which is the very life of Christ…we trust in Him for salvation. And although we are still able to carry out ‘good’ works through our sinful flesh which may impress others, they do not and cannot please God. Our mission and ministry as God’s children, is to be spiritually minded Christians and not carnally minded believers. For to be spiritually minded is life and peace, but the carnal mind continues to be at animosity against our Heavenly Father. The fallen nature of fallen man is an insurgent against God and cannot ever please Him. However, Paul makes a big distinction between those that are saved by grace and the unsaved natural man. For those that are spiritually minded carry out their good works from their new born again nature, rather than reverting back to their old, carnal nature which was inherited from Adam…a fallen, sinful nature is the birth-right of all humanity. “However,” Paul reminds us, “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.” The major difference between the unsaved sinner and the saved saint is that the Christian has been given the indwelling Holy Spirit and a new, Christlike nature. The new nature is to grow in grace while the old sin nature is to remain nailed to the Cross, in the place of death. The unsaved man does not have the Spirit of Christ and can only function from the carnal nature which cannot please God. The old sin nature remains a temptation in the life of a believer, but it must remain nailed to the Cross for it can do nothing to please God. As believers, we have been lifted out of the fleshly realm and placed into the heavenly sphere. As believers, we are not in the flesh but in the spirit. As believers, we have the permanently, indwelling Spirit of God, Who has been given to us to lead and to guide our new nature in Christ so that we can be conformed into Christ’s image and likeness. As believers, we belong to Him and should not allow the flesh to usurp our privileged position in Christ. Rather, we should walk in spirit and truth so that we may grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Steve 