Charles Spurgeon Commentary Romans 8:9

"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 (ASV)

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 may have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

O beloved, we each need to put ourselves in this scale! Come, preacher, do not be too sure of your own salvation.

Come, church-member, do not be too certain of your own regeneration. Come, Christian, put yourself in this scale: If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. If he does not have the Holy Ghost really dwelling in him—guiding him, directing him, teaching him, comforting him, supporting him—he is not Christ's.

And if we do not exhibit the Spirit of Christ in our character—if we do not have gentleness, meekness, purity, holiness, benevolence—we are not Christ's.

Ah, this will take some of your flimsy Christians to pieces! Half of your professors, we fear, will at the last be found not to have had the Spirit of Christ. It is one thing to profess religion, beloved; it is quite another thing to possess vital godliness. We may sit down at the communion table, but oh! if we never had the Spirit of Christ, we are none of his.

We may plead our own goodness before the throne of God at the last; but Jesus Christ will say, "You do not have my Spirit; you are not mine." And then, however much we may have striven to serve God, unless we have the Spirit of Christ, there will be nothing for us but the fearful curse, Depart! depart! depart! O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Let us ask him for his Spirit; let us plead with him for his grace. And though some of you have never had it, yet if you now ask for it, our God is a gracious God, full of mercy, and exceedingly compassionate. Whosoever calleth upon his name shall be saved. And though you may be the chief of sinners, if you sincerely ask for pardon and for grace, you will receive it from his hand. The Lord help you so to pray, for Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

You saints of Rome to whom Paul was writing, and you who believe in Christ now: 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.

If Christ's Spirit has not made you alive, you do not belong to Christ. Some ministers preach a very general sort of gospel in which everybody has a share, but the Bible knows nothing of that sort of gospel. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Do you know what it is to have the Spirit of Christ? If not, my listener, do not deceive yourself you are none of his. If any man — whether he is a prince or magistrate, a member of Parliament, or a doctor of divinity — if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

Oh! this is a very wonderful fact, that the Spirit of God should dwell in us. I have often said to you that I never know which of two mysteries most to admire – God incarnate in Christ, or the Holy Spirit indwelling in man; they are two marvelous things, miracles of miracles.

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.

It does not matter what he calls himself; he may be a preacher, he may be a bishop; but if he does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his; and if he has the Spirit of Christ, though he may be the most obscure person on earth, he belongs to Christ.