In order to be deeply impressed with the need to abide in Christ by minding the spirit, we need to see even more clearly just what dwells in our flesh and what dwells in our spirit. The word “dwells” is used in 7:17, 18, and 20. In verses 17 and 20 Paul says that sin dwells in him, and in verse 18 he says that in him, that is, in his flesh, nothing good dwells. In Romans 5 through 8 sin is revealed as being the personification of Satan. In a sense, the sin that dwells in our flesh, the fallen body poisoned by the nature of the evil one, is Satan incarnated. Satan as sin is in our flesh. In 7:21 Paul says, “I find then the law that, at my willing to do the good, the evil is present with me.” The word “evil” in this verse denotes the evil nature of Satan. Therefore, Romans 7 reveals that Satan as sin dwells in our flesh.
The Greek word rendered “dwells” in these verses is not the word elsewhere rendered “abide.” Rather, it is a word whose root meaning is “house.” The same word is used in Ephesians 3:17 concerning Christ making His home in our heart. Hence, the meaning here is that sin is making its home in our flesh. We, however, may be blind to this fact. Through experience, Paul discovered that there was something evil, the evil nature of Satan, living and dwelling in his flesh. If the fact of indwelling sin is unveiled to us, we shall see that we have such a terrible thing, the very personification of Satan as sin, making its home in our flesh. How we praise the Lord for revealing this to us!
In contrast to Romans 7 which exposes sin dwelling in our flesh, Romans 8 reveals that something wonderful dwells in our spirit. Verses 10 and 11 say, “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from among the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who indwells you.” If Christ is in us, the spirit is life because of righteousness, even though the fallen body remains dead because of sin. Thus, in verse 10 we have two facts: the first that our body is still dead, and the second that our spirit is life. As long as Christ is in us, our spirit is life. There are no other conditions or qualifications. Nevertheless, our body remains dead because of indwelling sin.
The word “but” at the beginning of verse 11 is very significant; it indicates that something better is coming. This verse speaks about the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwelling in us. Firstly, Christ is in us. This is the initial stage, the beginning. But for Christ as the Spirit to dwell in us, that is, to make His home in us, is the continuation. Because Christ is in us, our spirit is life, although our body remains dead. But if the Christ who is in us is also making His home in us, the indwelling Spirit will give life to our mortal body.
Our body is enlivened by the indwelling Spirit. Whether or not our mortal body is enlivened depends on whether or not we allow the Spirit to make His home in us. Yes, Christ as the Spirit is in you; this causes your spirit to be life. But whether or not the Spirit can make His home in you depends on your attitude. Are you willing for Him to make His home in you, or will you confine Him to a certain corner of your being? Suppose I am invited to the home of a particular brother and sister. However, after I come into their home, they limit me to a small corner of the house; they do not allow me to move freely about and to make myself at home. This means that I do not have the liberty to do anything in their home. Likewise, Christ may be in our spirit, but we may not give Him the liberty to move throughout our being. As a result, the inner circle of our being, our spirit, is life, but the outer circle, our body, is still dead. In order for our mortal body to be enlivened, the indwelling Christ must have free course to spread Himself throughout our being. He must have the liberty to settle Himself in all of our inward parts and to thereby make His home within us. If we allow Him to do this, life will be imparted not only to our spirit but also to our body.
In Romans 7 and 8 we see that two things indwell the believers. In chapter seven we have the indwelling sin, the evil nature of Satan, and in chapter eight we have the indwelling Spirit who is Christ Himself. Sin is the personified nature of Satan indwelling our flesh, and the Spirit is Christ indwelling our spirit. Between the indwelling sin and the indwelling Spirit stands our mind, which represents ourselves. Romans 7:25 says, “So then with the mind I myself serve as a slave the law of God.” Please pay careful attention to the words “…with the mind I myself….” These words indicate that the mind is our representative; it is our very self. When Paul said that with the mind he was serving the law of God, he meant that he himself was trying to keep the law, endeavoring to please God by obeying the law. In attempting to fulfill the requirements of the law, the mind was doing something good, but it was acting independently.
Romans 8:6 gives us another view of the mind: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” We have seen clearly that Satan as sin dwells in our flesh and that Christ as the life-giving Spirit dwells in our spirit. If we make up our mind to do good, the indwelling sin in our flesh will be activated and will defeat us. The law of sin will war against the law of our mind and make us captive in the law of sin in our members (7:23). Thus, we need the revelation of sin in our flesh and of Christ in our spirit. Then we need to see that as independent persons we cannot deal with the sin in our flesh. In order to deal with this, we need to call on the very Lord Jesus who dwells in our spirit and keep our mind set on the spirit. This is not a matter of following a method but of touching a living Person. Time and time again we need to say, “Amen, Lord Jesus, I love You.” When we do this, the indwelling sin is subdued, and Christ becomes everything to us. The Lord Jesus is then wrought into our being to permeate and saturate us with Himself. This is what it means to be sanctified, transformed, and conformed to the image of Christ. This is the experience of abiding in Christ by minding the mingled spirit, as revealed in Romans 8.