Bible Studies

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The Letters
Romans 8:6-11 - Alive Within
Key Verses: (MSG)

• 6: "Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life." - Obsession is a form of worship. When everything we do is focused on our self and the meeting of our needs and desires, then death is the result. A focus on God on the other hand…
  
  
• 9a: "But if God Himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of Him." - There is no comparison. Once God becomes your focus it becomes easy to become humble in Spirit and focused on His glory.
  
  
• 9b-10: "Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. ¹⁰But for you who welcome Him, in whom He dwells--even though you still experience all the limitations of sin--you yourself experience life on God's terms." - Coming in contact with the Holy Spirit opens the doors to life that had previously been closed.
  
  
• 11: "It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, He'll do the same thing in you that He did in Jesus, bringing you alive to Himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and He does, as surely as He did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With His Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!" - The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, entered His heart, led Him into the wilderness, and guided into the paths of righteousness - all of this is available for each of us.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• What are your obsessions? Do you worry and fret about your future? Are you focused on how your needs will be met? Do you wonder if you will be loved? Or if you will be popular? Are your actions controlled by how you think others will respond? Do you become angry or irritated when you don't get your way or when your ideas do not receive the respect they are due? How would a focus on God change all of this? Would a worship-based lifestyle that is focused on His glory help you set aside your worries and concerns over issues that may be of little consequence in the context of His love? Will you choose to make God first in all things?
  
  
• Has "God Himself has taken up residence in your life"? How can you tell? Paul indicates when this occurs that you are thinking more of God then you are of yourself. Is your God an out-there, aloof, far-away, sitting-in-the-clouds type of God? Is your relationship with Him based your ability to find Him or on certain actions you take? Are you waiting in line or in search of an intercessor in order to gain access to God? How will your life change with the knowledge that "God Himself has taken up residence in your life"? Will feeling His closeness and immediacy of His love bring about change in your life? Will it calm your fears?
  
  
• Are you alive in Christ? If the Spirit of God, the Christ, has entered your heart, what is there to keep you from being like Jesus? Do you feel Him living and breathing in you just as He did with Jesus? Have you been delivered from a dead life? Does the concept of the breath of God, the same one which brought life into the Risen Savior, living within you fill you with awe and amazement? Doesn't cause you to want to experience as much of His Spirit as possible? Are you fully ready to experience life on God's terms?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

Our relationship with God is not about us. Yes, God has filled our lives with grace and forgiveness. Yes, He has sacrificed His only Son in order to break the bonds of sin that keep us apart. Yes, He loves us immeasurably. As we focus on these amazing gifts, it is easy to fall into the what-has-God-done-for-me-lately trap. God becomes a product of our creation. He only exists to serve our needs, to fill our empty lives, and to save our souls. In this ego-centric world, the God we create would be like that. He would bless us with rich bounty, keep us safe from all harm, and provide for our every need. But as long as we filter God through a me-me-me set of eyes then we end up not fully experiencing His love. As we turn our focus towards Him and away from selfish pursuits we suddenly become aware that He has created us, not the reverse. We not only grow in our understanding of His amazing love, but we feel His Spirit. Christ lives within us and through Him we become as alive as Jesus Himself.

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