Every True Christian (part 2)

Let’s go back to Galatians again. I want to finish the message I started this morning, finishing up Galatians 5, and then we are going to look at 1 Corinthians and have a bit of a second sermon as we prepare to take the Lord’s Supper.

Let’s get started, as we did this morning, by reading Galatians 5:16-26

”[This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

This morning I focused on verse 24:

”And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

It’s a short verse, but there is a ton of doctrine in that verse and there was a lot to unpack. So just by way of review for the people who were in nursery or children’s church this morning:

The two things that this verse teaches us is:

1. Every true believer belongs to Christ. Remember, “they that are Christ’s” is a statement of possession. It’s saying that Jesus owns us, we are His and we said that that means two things:
   • First, it means we are his responsibility.
   • Second, it means we are at his disposal.
2. Every true believer has had the power of their sin killed through the Cross. The phrase “have crucified the flesh” is discussing something that has already happened. Our sin nature has been taken care of by Jesus on the cross. So I talked this morning about how the Cross dealt with our sin.
   • First, he removed the penalty of sin.
   • Second, he removes the power of your sin..
   • Third, he is going to remove the presence of your sin.

And ultimately, what this means is we don’t have to listen to our flesh anymore. It’s like an old boss that has gone away, we don’t have to obey it anymore, we have a new boss.

Now, let’s look at verse 25 and I want to give you two more things that should be true of every Believer.

Verse 25 says

”If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

That’s even shorter than verse 24, but there is probably MORE doctrine here in this verse than there is in verse 25. There is a lot of layers here.

But I’ve got two main points it teaches us. First, (or third depending on if you are continuing from this morning)…

3. Every believers lives in the Holy Spirit

Now the phrase “if we live in the Spirit” is actually a bit of a rhetorical question. The answer is supposed to be obvious. Paul is assuming that we know that we live in the Spirit.

To be Christ’s is to be a person who lives in the Spirit. In other words, every Christian lives in the Spirit.

If this confuses you, you aren’t alone. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of the least known doctrines among believers. I think the devil has sown more discord on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit than he has on almost any other doctrine.

But it’s actually pretty simple. Basically, the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit does three things for every believer:

First,

The Holy Spirit lives in us.

Let’s look at some scriptures on this. I hope you brought your sword-drill fingers tonight because we are going to use them. Let’s start here in Galatians and go back to chapter 4 and verse 6.

”And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6)

Ok, ready for another one. Romans 8:9 -> Go.

”But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:9)

So look. We have “the spirit of his Son” in our hearts. We have “the Spirit of God” dwelling in us. And it goes even further, if we don’t have the Spirit, then we aren’t Christ’s. Pretty strong.

Keep reading here and look at verse 14-16.

”[Rom 8:14-16 KJV] 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”

So look, if you are a believer, then you have the Holy Spirit living in you. You either have the Holy Spirit living in you, or you aren’t a believer. There isn’t a third option.

So that’s the first thing the Holy Spirit does for every believer, the second is…

The Holy Spirit seals us.

Got those sword-drill fingers ready? Ok, Ephesians 1:13 -> Go.

”In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13)

Ok, let’s look at a one more:

Ephesians 4:30

”And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

So not only are we indwelled but we are sealed.

In the ancient world, if you were an important person, you had your own seal and when you wrote a document, you would drip wax on it and press your seal into the wax. This would do two things: First, it would ensure that no one opened the document before they were supposed to. Second, it would let the person know that this document really came from the important person.

So think about this, the Holy Spirit is sealing us. He’s keeping us. This means two things:

First, it means that no one is going to get to us until it’s God’s time. Again, this is a wonderful teaching on the security of a believer in Christ. We’ve been sealed.

Second, it means that we really belong to Jesus. We’ve been sealed, we have that seal of the Holy Spirit on us.

So the Holy Spirit lives in us and seals us. One more thing the Holy Spirit does for every believer:

The Holy Spirit is our Downpayment of Heaven

Ready for one more “sword drill?” Ephesians 1:14 -> Go.

”Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:14)

2 Corinthians 1:22 -> Go.

”Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” (2 Corinthians 1:22)

2 Corinthians 5:5 -> Go.

”Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 5:5)

Ok. So obviously the key word in these verses is “earnest.” The word “earnest” is another word we don’t use much anymore. It means “downpayment.”

When you put a downpayment on a big purchase, what you are saying is “I mean business here and I’m going to finish what I started.” And that’s another wonderful purpose of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It’s as if Jesus is saying “This guy isn’t finished yet. He still has sin. He’s not perfect, but I’ve put a downpayment down on Him and someday He’s going to be perfectly and wholly mine.”

Let me just stop here before I go any further and say this: The modern day Charismatic Movement has taught a lot of things about the Holy Spirit that are just confusing. The job of the Holy Spirit is to point to Jesus, but the Charismatics make the Holy Spirit a show off. The job of the Holy Spirit is to confirm our salvation and to bring assurance, and the Charismatics make it a huge source of doubting our salvation.

4. Every believer should walk in the Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit is the opposite of walking in the flesh. (vv. 16)

Walking in the Spirit means you don’t have to be under the law (vv. 18)

Walking in the Spirit will produce fruit in your life (vv. 22-23)

Walking in the Spirit is a decision Christians have to make.

”If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (25)

Lord’s Supper

REFLECTIONS FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-22 Purposes and features as set forth by Paul:

1. It is a time to remember (11:23-25)

”[1Co 11:23-25 KJV] 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me.”

We remember the life and the death of Jesus, as we take the Lord’s Supper. It is an object lesson that uses all five of our senses to remind us what our Lord actually went through as He was broken and He bled for us on the cross.

2. It is a time to shew (11:26)

”For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come”

The word “shew” means “To announce, declare, promulgate, make known, proclaim publicly, publish.”

• We shew the Lord’s first coming and death.
• We shew the Lord’s resurrection and second coming.

Shewing is a declaration and its supposed to be a public one, that we believe.

3. It is a time to relect (11:27-34)

”[1Co 11:27-34 KJV] 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.”