If Any Man Hath Not The Spirit of Christ by Raymond C. Kelcy
IF ANY MAN HATH NOT THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST
By RAYMOND C. KELCY
OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION:
Meaning of the expression, "Spirit of Christ," in Romans 8:9. In this lesson we are to consider the consequences of a failure to have the Spirit. What shall be said of any man who "hath not the Spirit of Christ"?
I. He has not availed himself of many promises.
II. He has not God nor Christ.
III. He lacks one of the very strongest motivations for Christian Living.
IV. He lacks a source of spiritual strength.
V. He does not have the earnest of the eternal inheritance.
VI. He does not belong to Christ.
"But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9).
The expressions "Spirit of God" and "Spirit of Christ" both seem to refer to the Holy Spirit. Christ spoke of the Holy Spirit as being one "whom the Father will send in my name (John 14:26), and he also spoke of the Spirit as being one whom he himself would send (John 16:7). Since therefore the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son we can see why he would be spoken of either as the Spirit of God or as the Spirit of Christ. The word "spirit" is often used to mean "temper" or "disposition," and this passage has been used to show that Christians are to have the disposition which Christ had. Barnes says that may possibly be the meaning here but maintains that the context seems to demand that it be understood, to refer to the Holy Spirit. Eardman, believes it refers to the Holy Spirit and says, "To speak of a Christian who has not the presence of the Holy Spirit is a contradiction in terms." Lenski takes the same position and says "The Spirit is equally God's and Christ's; and by naming him thus, all his saving power is indicated." David Lipscomb identifies the Spirit of Christ with the Holy Spirit and says, "The pos-session of the Holy Spirit is declared to be absolutely necessary to our being acceptable to God." R. L. Whiteside, Moses E. Lard, and practically all other commentators make the same identification. That the Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit seems to be generally held and seems to be the view more in keeping with the context. In this lesson we are concerned with that one who does not have the Spirit of Christ or the Holy Spirit. What about such a person?
HE HAS NOT AVAILED HIMSELF OF MANY PROMISES
If God has not promised the Holy Spirit to that one who becomes his child, it would be difficult to imagine how he could have conveyed such a promise had he so desired. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said that those who would repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The same apostle later declared that God has given the Holy Spirit "to them that obey him" (Acts 5:32). Paul said to the Galatians: "And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6). Again, Paul declared, "He therefore that despiseth despiseth not man, but God, who bath also given unto us his Holy Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 4:8). The gift of the Holy Spirit is one of the precious promises of the Word of God, but it is a conditional promise. It is promised only to those who become children of God. No one can, in harmony with God's word, expect to receive the Holy Spirit before he has obeyed the gospel. Here, then, is a wonderful promise which has not been appropriated by him who has not the Spirit of Christ.
HE HAS NOT GOD NOR CHRIST
God dwells in the Christian and so also does Christ. The apostle of love declared, "Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:9). That to have either Christ or God one must have the other is also emphasized by Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians: "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). While Jesus was on the earth he promised the abiding presence of himself and of his Father in the hearts of his disciples: "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). How comforting the thought that it is possible to have both God and Christ dwelling within us! But how sad to contemplate the condition of that person in whom God does not dwell! But God dwells in Christians through the Holy Spirit. In his epistle to Ephesus Paul thinks of Christians as constituting a house, a temple, and says, "Ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). Paul tells the Corinthians that they are the temple of God and then proceeds to say that "the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16). Of the same people he asks: "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). God surely does not dwell in a person unless the Holy Spirit dwells in that person, and the Spirit within the Christian is the assurance he has that God does dwell in him. "Hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us because he hath given us of his Spirit" (1 John 4:13).
HE LACKS ONE OF THE VERY STRONGEST MOTIVATIONS FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING In a passage already cited (1 Corinthians 3:16) in which Paul reminds the Christians at Corinth that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, he is discussing fornication as a sin against the body. He reminds them that their bodies are temples of the Spirit in order to motivate them to purity of life. When one comes to realize that the Spirit dwells within him, he will surely wish to yield his body to righteous-ness and to glorify God in his body and in his spirit, both of which belong to God.
Further, Paul sees praise and worship as a natural expression of a Spirit-filled heart. "And be not drunk with wine, where-in is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things . . ." (Ephesians 5:18-20). Riotous and boisterous noisemaking will characterize the person who is filled with wine; praise and thanksgiving will come from him who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
HE LACKS A SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL STRENGTH
Paul insists that it is through the Spirit that we "mortify the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13). Here is real help in Christian living. In Paul's great prayer for the Ephesians he prays that they may be "strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man" (Ephesians 3:16). The Holy Spirit is a source of strength to the Christian as he deals with the problems, the burdens, and the duties of life.
To realize that the Holy Spirit helps in prayer is a strength to the child of God. "And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27). When the Christian is going through dark days and knows that he has great needs, yet does not know how to express his feelings, the Holy Spirit translates these groanings of the heart to God who understands.
HE DOES NOT HAVE THE EARNEST OF THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE
Earnest money is that which is paid in advance as a pledge that the full amount shall be paid at a later time. The Holy Spirit in the believer is an earnest of the eternal inheritance which he is later to receive. Paul affirms that God "also sealed us and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:21). Again, he says that Christians are "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Chris-tian even in this life has a foretaste of heaven and a down payment which assures him that he can expect God to be faithful in fulfilling that which he has promised.
HE DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST
The text with which we began this study asserts that "if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). He has not been sealed as being the property of God and so does not belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the same as saying that he is not a Christian. One of the great joys the Christian experiences is that of contemplating stand-ing before Christ in judgment and being owned by him there. But if we are not his, we shall not be owned. To such he will say, "Depart, I know you not." How important it is that we have the Spirit of Christ!
QUESTIONS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION 1. Name the various usages of the. word "spirit" in the New Testament.
2. Do you feel that the expression "Spirit of Christ" in Romans 8:9 indicates that Christians are to have the disposition such as Christ manifested or that it indicates Christians are to have the Holy Spirit? Give reasons for your answer.
3. Which of the two above-mentioned views do commentators whom you have consulted seem to favor?
4. Prove by scriptural citations that one does not receive the Holy Spirit until he becomes a child of God.
5. Show from New Testament passages that one cannot have either God, Christ, or the Holy. Spirit without having all three.
6. Show that Christ thought of the Holy Spirit's coming to the apostles as his own coming.
7. Where is the passage that speaks of God's dwelling through the Spirit?
8. Discuss how Paul used the fact of the Spirit's indwelling as a motivation for right conduct.
9. What contrast does Paul make between one who is drunk with wine and one who is filled with the Holy Spirit?
10. Discuss the work of the Spirit in making intercession for the Christian. In, Romans 8:26-27, are the "groanings" those of the Spirit or those of the Christian?
1. How can we maintain that there is one mediator between God and men, as 1 Timothy 2:5 teaches, since the Holy Spirit makes intercession?
2. Discuss fully the significance of the Holy Spirit as "an earnest of our inheritance." Is there any way that a transaction can fail to take place after an earnest payment has been made?
3. What is the significance of being sealed with the Holy Spirit?
4. What reply would you make to a person who might say that you should be able to work miracles if you have the Holy Spirit?