Tag: oikeo

Romans 8:9 – Are You Sealed?

Posted on by Will

But 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 is not His.

Truth to Learn

If you are saved, you are sealed and your life should show it.

 

Behind the Words

“Dwells” is translated from the Greek verb oikeō, which means “to reside, to dwell, or to remain in a house.”

 

Meaning Explained

In verse eight Paul summarized the preceding three verses by stating, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” We mentioned in that verse that the expression, “those who are in the flesh,” refers to unregenerate people, that is, those who are unsaved; they are not Christians. Part of the reason for this conclusion is what Paul says in the current verse.

“But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.” This is a contrasting statement to the previous one indicating that those who are in the flesh cannot also be in the spirit. You are either one or the other. But how do we know who is in the flesh and who is in the spirit? Paul explains this in the next phrase. He says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Paul explains this in Ephesians 1:13,14  where he says,

in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Those who are saved are sealed with the Holy Spirit and He is our guarantee. This guarantee is a token given as a promise that a transaction will be completed. If for some reason the transaction is not completed, the guarantee is retained by the recipient. Hence, if God were not to grant us our inheritance at the end of the age as He promised, then He would have to leave the Holy Spirit (our guarantee) with us, thus causing light to be united with darkness, which He tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 cannot happen. Hence, once we are saved and have the Holy Spirit, we cannot lose that salvation! It is guaranteed!

What Paul tells us in today’s verse is that the one who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him (or her) is not in the flesh; he (or she) is in the Spirit. Now, just to make sure he is understood, Paul then says, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” In other words, if you don’t have the guarantee, you are not saved and do not belong to Christ.

Those who aren’t saved don’t have the Spirit of God and, therefore, are in the flesh. They are controlled by their sinful fleshly desires. However, those who are saved have the Holy Spirit living in them and should not be controlled by the flesh. Notice I said “should not.” As we have said before, Christians have a free will to obey God or not. Sometimes we let our flesh control us, causing us to sin. We have a choice: to be controlled by our flesh or to be submitted to God. The unsaved can’t make this choice. They do not have a free will; they are bound by the law of sin to obey their sinful desires because they are “in the flesh.”

 

Challenge

So, I ask you again, are you in the flesh or are you in the Spirit? What would the people who know you best say? Would they say that there is clear evidence that you are “in the Spirit?”

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 7:20 – Living on our Knees

Posted on by Will

Now if I do what I determine not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin dwelling in me.

Truth to Learn

When we lose a battle against our sin nature we simply need to confess our sin and God removes it from us.

 

Behind the Words

The word “do” (in the expression “I who do it”) is from the Greek word katergadzomai, which we saw back in verse fifteen, meaning “to work fully, to finish, or to fully accomplish.”

“Dwells” is also a word that we have looked at before. It is the word oikeō, which means “living somewhere as a permanent residence, as opposed to a temporary residence.”

 

Meaning Explained

This verse is very similar to verse seventeen, in which Paul identifies the sin dwelling in him as the reason that he does things that he hates. He now states a very similar fact, that it is the sin which has taken up permanent residence in him which fully accomplishes that which he has determined not to do.

According to Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, Paul is saying;

My will is against it; my reason and conscience condemn it. But it is the sin that dwells in me – the principle of sin, [the sin nature] which has possessed itself of all my carnal appetites and passions, and thus subjects my reason and domineers over my soul. Thus I am in perpetual contradiction to myself. Two principles are continually contending in me for the mastery: my reason, on which the light of God shines, to show what is evil; and my passions, in which the principle of sin works, to bring forth fruit unto death.

It is this contention between the Spirit of life within us and the sin nature within us which produces the daily battle that all Christians face: the wholesome desire to obey and please God versus the lustful desires of the sin nature that drag us into sin and guilt.

We will not leave this battleground until the day that we are taken to glory. We need to learn how to do battle effectively. We do that by submitting our will to God and learning repeatedly how to fall to our knees when our sinful tendencies win out over our desire to do good. Remember:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just so that He might forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:8, 9)

Also, keep in mind that when He forgives our sins, He removes them from us, as David said in the Psalms:

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:11-12)

 

Application

Even though we are in a constant battle with our sin nature, and frequently loose the battle, we know that through confession our sins are forgiven and sent away from us as far as the east is from the west. Lord, help us to learn the necessity of living on our knees!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 7:17 – Victory Through Surrender

Posted on by Will

But now, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that is living in me.

Truth to Learn

There is a battle going on within us that requires surrender.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “living” is the Greek word oikeō, which is a participial form of oikos, meaning “a dwelling place or a house.” Oikeō means “living somewhere as a permanent residence, as opposed to a temporary residence.”

 

Meaning Explained

Two verses back Paul lamented, “For that which I am determined to do I don’t always do but, on the other hand, that which I hate to do I keep on doing.” In the current verse he appears to absolve himself of any responsibility. What does he mean when he says, “I am no longer the one doint it”? We have to refer back to verse fifteen to answer this. There he said, “For what I want to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” You see that it is Paul’s desirous will (determination to do good) versus his actions that he is talking about. So, in the current verse he says that in his inner most self, his greatest desire is to do good, but this gets overpowered by the sin that dwells in him.

Now, what does he mean when he says that sin “dwells in me?” Paul is telling us that sin has taken up a permanent residence in him (and us); therefore, the natural propensity to sin is a permanent part of our human bodies. We can’t get away from it and we can’t overcome it. So we’re not responsible when we sin, right? Wrong!

Before we were saved, this was true; we had no choice but to sin. But now that we have been saved, we have someone else living inside us. Romans 8:9 says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells (oikeō) in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” Also in 1 Corinthians 3:16 he says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells (oikeō) in you?”

When we were saved, a marvelous thing happened. God the Father gave us a token to guarantee His promise to redeem us, a seal of our salvation (see Ephesians 1:13, 14) . That token, that seal, that guarantee, is the 3rd person of the Godhead, God the Holy Spirit. God is permanently dwelling in us. That’s one reason that we are told that God will never leave us nor forsake us. He will always be with us because He has taken up permanent residence in us.

Now consider this, of the two that dwell within us, our sin nature (which Paul has been talking about here) and God, which do you think is stronger?  “Well, that’s obvious!” you say. “God is stronger!”

You are absolutely correct. As we yield ourselves to God, as we surrender our will to His, He has control and He overcomes our sin nature. But, when we take the reins of our own lives, when it is our will that is calling the shots, our sin nature takes control because it is stronger than we are.

 

Application

He (or she) who desires to please God must continually surrender his or her will to God. That is the only way we can live a victorious life!

Is your will completely surrendered to God today?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Corinthians 3:16 – We Are God’s Temple

Posted on by Will

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Truth to Learn

The body of Christ (the church) is the Temple of God.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “know” is eidō, which means “to see.” However, it is often used metaphorically to mean “to perceive,” that is “to know.” It is written here as s second person, plural verb. Therefore it means “you (plural) know.”

Eimi is the verb translated “you are.” It is written as a second person plural verb meaning “you (plural) are.”

“Temple” is from naos, which literally means “a dwelling place.” There is another word translated “temple.” It is hieron, which refers to the entire temple complex. Naos, however refers specifically to the central, most significant portion of the temple. In the Jewish temple, the naos was the building that housed the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies). This is where the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat were located, and it was at the Mercy Seat where God was said to dwell.

The word translated “dwell” is oikeō, meaning “to reside” or “to dwell.” It is derived from the noun oikos, meaning “a house” or “a dwelling place.”

The final word in this verse, “you,” is from the Greek second person, plural pronoun meaning “you (plural).”

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse is one of the most frequently misapplied verses in the Bible. Have you ever heard someone say something like, “Don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol, or don’t engage in immoral physical activities because when you do you are harming your body, which is the temple of God.” Most often, such people use today’s verse as the proof text. However, this verse does not say that our individual physical bodies are each a temple of God. Neither does this verse say that the Holy Spirit lives within our individual physical bodies. What it says is that the body of Christ (the local church or the church universal) is the temple of God and that the Holy Spirit dwells in the church (not the building, but the people). And – as if that doesn’t ruffle enough feathers, did you know that nowhere in the entire Bible does it say that the Holy Spirit indwells you (singular).

Consider the following verses: 1 Peter 2:5; Ephesians 2:22; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; 2 Corinthians 6:16; and Galatians 4:6. In every one of these passages, the English words “you” and “your” are translated from the second person plural pronoun in Greek (you, plural). Also, in 2 Timothy 1:14, and James 4:5, we are told that the Spirit dwells in “us.”

This may shed some new light on Jesus’ comment:

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)

We are not saying that Christianity is not an individual, personal relationship with God, for that is the crux of the Christian walk. What today’s verse does teach us is the importance of being part of a local church and working together to build the body of Christ, the Temple of God!

Application

Are you just a Sunday morning Christian, or does your life revolve around serving God and building up God’s Temple?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2013 Will Krause. All rights reserved

 

Romans 8:9 – Are You Sealed?

Posted on by Will

Romans 8:9

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Truth to Learn

If you are saved, you are sealed and your life should show it.

Behind the Words

“Dwells” is from oikeō, which means “to reside in a house.”

Meaning Explained

In verse eight Paul summarized the preceding three verses by stating, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” We mentioned in that verse that the expression, “those who are in the flesh,” refers to unregenerate people, that is, those who are unsaved; they are not Christians. Part of the reason for this conclusion is what Paul says in the current verse.

“But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.” This is a contrasting statement to the previous one indicating that those who are in the flesh cannot also be in the spirit. You are either one or the other. But how do we know who is in the flesh and who is in the spirit? Paul explains this in the next phrase. He says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Paul explains this in Ephesians 1:13,14 where he says,

in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Those who are saved are sealed with the Holy Spirit and He is our guarantee. This guarantee is a token given as a promise that a transaction will be completed. If for some reason the transaction is not completed, the guarantee is retained by the recipient. Hence, if God were not to grant us our inheritance at the end of the age as He promised, then He would have to leave the Holy Spirit (our guarantee) with us, thus causing light to be united with darkness, which He tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 cannot happen. Hence, once we are saved and have the Holy Spirit, we cannot lose that salvation! It is guaranteed!

What Paul tells us in today’s verse is that the one who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him (or her) is not in the flesh; he (or she) is in the Spirit. Now, just to make sure he is understood, Paul then says, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” In other words, if you don’t have the guarantee, you are not saved and do not belong to Christ.

Those who aren’t saved don’t have the Spirit of God and, therefore, are in the flesh. They are controlled by their sinful fleshly desires. However, those who are saved have the Holy Spirit living in them and should not be controlled by the flesh. Notice I said “should not.” As we have said before, Christians have a free will to obey God or not. Sometimes we let our flesh control us, causing us to sin. We have a choice: to be controlled by our flesh or to be submitted to God. The unsaved can’t make this choice. They do not have a free will; they are bound by the law of sin to obey their sinful desires because they are “in the flesh.”

Challenge

So, I ask you again, are you in the flesh or are you in the Spirit? What would the people who know you best say? Would they say that there is clear evidence that you are “in the Spirit?”

In God’s service, for His glory,

signature

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to:e-mail address

Romans 7:20 – Living on our Knees

Posted on by Will

Romans 7:20

Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Truth to Learn

When we lose a battle against our sin nature we simply need to confess our sin and God removes it from us.

Behind the Words

The word “do” (in the expression “I who do it”) is from the Greek word katergadzomai, which we saw back in verse fifteen, meaning “to work fully, to finish, or to fully accomplish.”

“Dwells” is also a word that we have looked at before. It is the word oikeō, which means “living somewhere as a permanent residence, as opposed to a temporary residence.”

Meaning Explained

This verse is very similar to verse seventeen, in which Paul identifies the sin dwelling in him as the reason that he does things that he hates. He now states a very similar fact, that it is the sin which has taken up permanent residence in him which fully accomplishes that which he has determined not to do.

According to Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, Paul is saying;

My will is against it; my reason and conscience condemn it. But it is the sin that dwells in me – the principle of sin, [the sin nature] which has possessed itself of all my carnal appetites and passions, and thus subjects my reason and domineers over my soul. Thus I am in perpetual contradiction to myself. Two principles are continually contending in me for the mastery: my reason, on which the light of God shines, to show what is evil; and my passions, in which the principle of sin works, to bring forth fruit unto death.

It is this contention between the Spirit of life within us and the sin nature within us which produces the daily battle that all Christians face: the wholesome desire to obey and please God versus the lustful desires of the sin nature that drag us into sin and guilt.

We will not leave this battleground until the day that we are taken to glory. We need to learn how to do battle effectively and that is by submitting our will to God and learning repeatedly how to fall to our knees when our sinful tendencies win out over our desire to do good. Remember:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:8, 9)

Also, keep in mind that when he forgives our sins, he removes them from us, as David said in the Psalms:

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:11-12)

Application

Even though we are in a constant battle with our sin nature, and frequently loose the battle, we know that through confession our sins are forgiven and sent away from us as far as the east is from the west. Lord, help us to learn the necessity of living on our knees!

In God’s service, for His glory,

signature

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to:e-mail address