“But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” Romans 8:9 (NRSV). There is something about this verse that is both comforting and troubling. The Spirit of Christ bears the fruit of Christ. If He is in me, so the fruit will be in me (John 15 and Galatians 5). If the fruit is not proceeding from Him through me, then I am not yet fully His. The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ. The Spirit of Christ in us produces Christlikeness through us. Without the workings of the Spirit in us, there is no being like Jesus.
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
About the Author: H. Lamar Smith
Native of Alabama. Graduated from Valley High School, Valley, AL. Graduate of Trevecca Nazarene College, 1966. Graduate of Trevecca Nazarene University, M.A. 1992. Pastored churches in Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Alabama.