"9 But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. "Romans 8: 9
Source
To live in the Spirit, you have to be aware that the Spirit of God dwells in you. When there is no condemnation in your life, you can understand that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Understand that there is no condemnation, there is no separation, and the day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit moved within you, and resides permanently in your life. At one point, Jacob awoke from a dream, and said: Surely, Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it. In the Old Testament times, the Spirit was outside; but after Jesus died for us on the cross of Calvary, he said he was going to send another who was our Helper, our Comforter, the Holy Spirit. For Jacob, it was impressive; He said: How terrible is this place! It is the house of God and the door of heaven. And outside of it, he could feel the presence of the Spirit that you have permanently residing in you. And you must have the experience that Jacob had, of getting to say: How terrible is the Spirit that dwells within me!
To explain what life in the Spirit is, there are 3 spiritual and emotional states that we must examine. The first are those that are controlled.
"14 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold to sin. 15 For what I do, I do not understand; I do not do what I want, but what I hate, I do. 16 And if what I do not want, this I do, I approve that the law is good. 17 So it is no longer I who do that, but the sin that dwells in me. 18 And I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, good does not dwell; because wanting good is in me, but not doing it. 19 Because I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want, that's what I do. 20 And if I do what I do not want, I do not do it, but the sin that dwells in me. "Romans 7: 14-20
In this state, you are controlled by sin. You have the best intentions; You do not want to lie, but you're used to it and you see it as an easy way out of some problems. You want to leave those things in the world that are harmful; drinking, smoking, relationships and things that are not convenient; you stop doing it for a while, and suddenly you fall into those problems; that is an emotional state in which you are controlled by these things. But there is a second emotional state that is worse; there are those who are dominated by sin. One of our goals is for us to take control over sin. And that you reach, when you reach the third emotional state, that of being guided.
"14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God." Romans 8:14
When you understand that there is no condemnation or separation, that the Holy Spirit lives within you, then you have the freedom and the tools to convince yourself that the Holy Spirit can guide your life. And when the Holy Spirit guides your life, you are not controlled or dominated by the things of the world and the flesh. The great victory in your life is that you understand that you can be guided by the Holy Spirit, and that we who are led by the Holy Spirit are children of God.
Be clear about your relationship with God. There are 3 ways to have a relationship with God. First, through rules. The Pharisees and scribes lived by the rules. You had to give them laws to follow them. And there are people who need to live like that. Second, through strategies. Paul describes this group as those who were constantly seeking human wisdom. There are people who do not need rules, but they do need a strategy, a formula, a 1-2-3, they need steps to follow. Third, through experiences. They are those who ask God that the pastor speak directly to them, ask for specific signs for them to know that it is from God, they ask for angels, visions, dreams. They depend on God knocking them off a horse and leaving them blind. At some point, you have had some experience that reminds you of your relationship with God, but your relationship with God can not depend on those experiences.
The most powerful way in which you can walk with God is not with rules, nor strategies, nor experiences, but with a relationship; and having it, brings results in your life:
A new way of thinking. Romans 8 says that those who are of the flesh think of the things of the flesh, but those of the Spirit think of the things of the Spirit. You have to think differently. You have to know that the Spirit is in you; that you are connected to God, through the Spirit; that there is no separation. You do not have to want to forget all your mistakes; you have to think that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus.
A new nature - You do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you ... If Christ is in you, the body in truth is dead because of sin, but the spirit lives. (Romans 8: 9-10) If we let ourselves be carried away by what we feel in our body, we would not think that the Holy Spirit dwells in us; but we have to go about that. In you there is a new nature, your body was vivified with Christ Jesus because the Spirit of God dwells in you. That is the guarantee. Those who, having been diagnosed with a serious illness, understand this great truth, understand that they have victory over the diagnoses of the world. The Spirit of God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that is in you.
A new identity - Because all who are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. Son of God is not a title without meaning. When you are the son of a king, that has all the meaning of the world. For you have not received the spirit of slavery to be in fear again, but you have received the spirit of adoption, by which we cry: Abba, Father!
Decide today to live by the revelation that you have a new identity, a new thought and a new nature that says that you are a child of God.
