Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (6) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, (7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (9) Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, (11) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul affirmed that Jesus eternally has been and is God. He did not cease to be God in any sense but added to His divine nature a true human nature. Jesus was without sin although His human body was subject to the results of the fall such as aging and death – in every visible way Jesus was completely human. Any teaching which diminishes or denies the deity of Jesus goes against the prophets and apostolic witness. Jesus Christ did not give up any of His divine attributes but limited them while on earth. To honor Jesus is to honor the Father. Because Jesus is God. God’s glory is the aim of His eternal purpose in Christ and if people are not willing to give glory to God in this life they will do so against their will for all eternity.

Christ laid aside His outward glory all for our sake. He completely submitted Himself to the will of the Father and the direction of the Spirit. . He redeemed us by His blood and called us to fellowship – His way is to become our way as Christians. We are to follow Him in the path of true humility and self denial and true obedience. The self is at the heart of relationship problems – we don’t need to build our self esteem but to grow in humility with Christ as our pattern. Christ was highly exalted: God raised Him from the dead and gave Him great glory to show acceptance of His death as satisfaction of the penalty for our sins. In Him the faithful also have obtained an inheritance. We shall see Him as He is and shall be like Him.

The crucified, risen and ascended Christ Jesus is in the place of supremacy over all creation. Ultimately the entire intelligent universe is called to acknowledge and worship Jesus Christ as Lord. This includes angels in heaven, spirits of the redeemed, obedient believers on earth, disobedient rebels on earth, demons and lost humanity in hell. Willingly and blessedly, unwillingly and painfully, all must bow and confess Christ Jesus as Lord. This passage does not teach that all the lost will be saved.

So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Gods dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (10) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you

The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul. Earlier in chapter 8, Paul explains the unbelieving mind which is hostile toward God – not capable of pleasing God – spiritually incapable of even trusting in Christ for salvation. For God’s salvation, His Spirit must raise them from spiritual death to life. In our verses today, Paul now turns to those who live in faith in Christ as reborn. The bodies of the faithful will die but the indwelling Spirit gives believers life because we are righteous in Christ. So Paul divides all people into two categories; those “in the flesh” and “those in the Spirit.” Being a Christian is not a matter of going to church, or believing certain doctrines of Christian faith, or trying to live by certain moral standards but the vital thing is to be born again in faith in Christ. At that moment the Spirit imparts new life to the faithful and dwells in us. It’s a matter of spiritual life or death.

There are consequences of the unbelieving mind governed by flesh – a corrupt nature not remedied by Christ’s sacrifice. They are objects of the wrath of God. Those in Christ are subject to life and peace. He/she who has the Son has the Father also. The body is infected with the principle of decay which renders dissolution inevitable but the soul in which the Spirit dwells is possessed of a principle which secures its immortality and blessed existence. The very possession of the Spirit, which is the source of life, is the pledge and security that our bodies will rise again and the resurrection of Christ secures the resurrection of those that are His. Our bodies are to die but are not to continue under the power of death.

The standing of a believer before God is always in Christ – our failures and shortcomings can never affect our standing before God in Christ. C.S.Lewis writes “Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” “Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (6) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should boast. (10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul. He has just finished describing the natural state of men as alienated by sin from God and now unfolds the manner in which those to whom he writes will be delivered from that terrible condition. Believers are saved by God’s grace alone when He made us alive together with Christ. God and nothing else is the cause of salvation; the believers are totally identified with Christ. Christ, who knew no sin, made full atonement on the cross for us. God has made all who believe on Him sharers of His life and nature. We are saved by grace through faith.

The spiritual death from which the Christian is delivered includes condemnation (judicial death), pollution, misery. The state of man was one of helplessness in spiritual death. Man neither deserved to be saved nor could men redeem themselves. God and not man was the author of change. This rebirth in faith in Christ is not because of any good in natural man but is all of the Lord. Believers are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. They are freed from condemnation of the law, the dominion of Satan, from lethargy and the pollution of spiritual death. In Christ they are reconciled with God, made partakers of His Spirit and as a principle of everlasting life they are adopted in Christ in God’s family.

Justification is by faith, not by works – The simple act of accepting Christ justifies the believer. Now as a result of the Word of God in the gospel believers are made new creatures in Christ. In an AA meeting I attended last week it was said that in our faith what we are doing is walking each other home.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God…….(5) Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (6) For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet for a good man someone would even dare to die. (8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul is discussing the blessings of justification. In Adam we were spiritually dead; our hopeless spiritual condition outside of Christ. We were unable to save ourselves; we were unable to see the light of the gospel; were unable to understand or feel spiritual truth. We were not seeking God and were not able to submit to God’s law. We were totally unable and/or unwilling to do anything about reconciling with God. But God’s love took the initiative to save us when there was nothing about us that was lovable. God love sent Christ to us at a time when it fitted God’s eternal purpose – Christ’s substitutionary death resulted in so many blessings because believers were at peace with God. This peace is not a state of mind but a real relation and access to God. Because of Christ true believers have hope that is certain and will never disappoint.

The love of God is not an external revelation of divine love but it is in our hearts and minds. There is an inward persuasion that we are the objects of God’s love produced by the inward dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Christ, the Son of God, died for us and is represented in Scripture as the highest proof of God’s love for us. Far too often it is taken in a subjective sense and apart from justification that has been done for us through Christ Jesus there is no peace between God and man. Mankind is always quite ready to forget that and bypass Jesus Christ, seeing no need for Him. They seem to believe they can go directly to God without mentioning Christ and all His work.

When man/woman have a true grasp of doctrine of justification in faith in Christ alone, he/she no longer has a fear of death – no longer a fear if judgment, having been justified by faith. This means the “supreme thing” has been done once and for all because God has imputed Christ’s righteousness to believers. He has already punished our sins in Christ. God pronounces believers to be just once and forever.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (33) Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. (34) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses, Paul raises the question of “so what” with reference to the truths he just unfolded in verses 28-30. “What shall we say to these things” – and the answer is we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. The reason for this is from first to last our salvation is of the Lord. If God’s purpose is to glorify the Son then our salvation is secure. In Christ in faith God is for us. God has done the greatest thing for us by sending His own Son which means He will supply believers with all we need for godliness and life. Christ’s death was substitutionary – a divinely ordained solution to our sin and guilt. To make God be for us we must make sure our hope for escaping God’s wrath and judgment does not lie in our good works but only in Christ’s death on our behalf.

Paul considered all things as loss in light of the surpassing value of knowing Christ as our Lord – all Paul’s arguments for the security of believers trace back to the great source of certain hope and security in the unchanging and unmerited love of God for the faithful in Christ Jesus. The benefit secured by a sacrifice is secured by substitution and God will certainly give us the Holy Spirit to render that gift effectual. The security of believers is provided for by the plan of redemption. There is nothing to be dreaded but sin. If our sins be pardoned and remembered no more there is nothing left to fear. By the death of Christ as atonement for our sins all grounds of condemnation are removed in faith. We know that those who love God and are called to His purpose will be justified in Christ. Scripture states that God will have all men to be saved but not all are saved because they believe not.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans, 8:1. – “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.