9 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. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (Romans 8:9-16 KJV)
Thomas Haweis
Verses 9-16: With comfort the apostle addresses the believers at Rome, confident of their interest in the blessed Spirit of all grace. But ye are not in the flesh, under the dominion and influence of the carnal mind; but in the Spirit, being regenerate and born again; if so be, or seeing that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you, as in his peculiar temple, taking up his abode in your hearts, manifesting there his presence and love, and showing his powerful and perpetual agency. But now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, who is the very God from whom, as from the Father, that one Spirit proceeds, and be not renewed by his grace, and under his guidance and influence, he is none of his; whatever his professions may be, he doth not belong to Christ as a member of his body mystical, he is not a child of his family, nor a subject of his kingdom, and must be eternally disowned by him and separated from him, if he dies in this unregenerate state. And, on the other hand, if Christ be in you by his Spirit dwelling in your hearts, the body indeed is dead because of sin, and must lie down in the dust; but the spirit, the immortal part, is life, because of righteousness, raised from spiritual death in virtue of the Redeemer’s righteousness here, and entitled to eternal life hereafter, and by the divine principle implanted in you, made meet for the inheritance among the saints in light; but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, being one in essence and cooperation with the Father and the Son, (compare 1Co 6:14; Joh 5:28-29) and concurring in the work of raising the body of Jesus, dwell in you as his temple, he that raised up Christ from the dead, as the pledge of our resurrection, and the first-fruits of them that slept, shall quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit which dwelleth in you; your bodies shall by the same indwelling almighty power which raised him, be ransomed from the grave, and become immortal and glorious, fashioned like to your exalted Head. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live after the flesh; we have neither obligation nor inducement to follow the cravings of corrupt nature; but, on the contrary, are under every bond of love and duty to live for God, in the daily and habitual mortification of every vile affection; for if ye live after the flesh, the slaves of corruption, ye shall die eternally; but if ye through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, denying your corrupt affections and sensual appetites, and through the power of the Spirit growing conformed to your crucified Lord, ye shall live with him in glory everlasting. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, under his conduct, enlightened, directed, and supported by him, they are the sons of God, made his children by adoption and grace, and bearing in their renewed minds his image and likeness. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, are not under that slavery to your lusts and passions, which was attended with a fearful looking for of judgment; nor under that legal dispensation which brought the conscience into distress and darkness, exacting an obedience that could not be paid; nor under those horrors which, on the first discoveries of your danger in a state of unregeneracy, seized on your souls; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption; being admitted by God’s sovereign grace into that high relation of children, he hath sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, producing every childlike disposition of filial love, confidence, and delight in him, whereby we are emboldened to approach him with faith and joy, and to cry, Abba, Father, before him. The Spirit itself, in such approaches to God, when in simplicity we offer our hearts unto him, beareth witness with our spirits, shining upon his own work in our souls, and satisfying our consciences that we are the children of God, and may take the comfort of that blessed and honourable relation.