Christ in You — What Galatians 5 and Romans 8:10 Really Mean

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Good to see everybody. My, we got a good crowd in today for another taping session. And we always like to let our television audience know that we tape four programs right in succession. And so for those of us in the studio, it's once a month. But anyway, we like to remind people because I know they've asked me more than once and they'll look at you and they'll think, well, those people only have one set of clothes for a whole month. But it's just simply because we're taping four programs right in succession. And again, we always like to let the folk in the Tulsa area and eastern Oklahoma know that if you'd like to come in, be a part of the taping session and give us a call or call the studio, we'd love to have you. We got room for a few more yet. So if you're interested, you come on in. We're just an informal Bible study. We're non-denominational. There's nobody underwriting us. We're not associated with any group. As we started this program, God's people just picked it up and started supporting it. And we have come a lot further than we ever thought we'd be able to come. Remember, too, that all the past programs are available on videotapes and they are now transcribed into print. And we have a lot of folk that are really getting involved with using the tapes and the books in various ways and various ministries. Sunday school teaching, prisons, and what have you. And we're just thankful to the Lord for that. All right, now we're going to get right into the book because after all, that's what this program is all about, is Bible study. I've always said I'm not a preacher. I'm a non-evangelist. But I do feel that the Lord has given me the ability to teach the Word in a way that ordinary people can understand it. In fact, as the lady here was just expressing to me that she had heard from a relative clear out on the West Coast how this teaching in Romans had just totally opened her eyes to a lot of things she'd never heard before. And so I realize that we're teaching things that are not normally taught. We're getting a little deeper and we just feel that this is what the Christian community needs today. We have to get into the doctrines of what God has revealed and what He's revealed the Scripture says. He expects us to hang on to it, to believe it, and to trust in it. So we're going to pick right up where we left off at the end of our last program and that would be down in the area verse 10-11. So let's just go back up to all about verse 5, because I don't like to just jump in on a verse. I like to pick up the flow. So we'll read from verse 5 and then pick up the commenting on it in about verse 10. For they who are after the flesh... Now remember Paul always writes to the believer. Paul never writes to the unbelieving world. And the reason all these things are being written is so that we have a real... What shall I say? A real reason for living as believers or as Christians. Now of course the word Christian has been so mangled and has been so degenerated that I don't like to use it by itself. But if you're a Bible believing, born again, work of the Spirit of God, then that of course is what the name Christian really means. But of course not everybody who claims to be a Christian is one. But nevertheless, Paul does write to the believer to enhance our belief, our faith, and to give us roots that as he says in another place, that will not be tossed about with every wind of doctrine. And oh, they're coming at us from every direction. I've stressed it on the program and I did in my classes here in Oklahoma for several weeks in a row last summer. That when the disciples asked the Lord Jesus what are the signs of His coming in the end of the age, the first thing He said, do not be deceived. And so we know that the deception, the false teaching that is flooding our country is part and parcel of the end times scenario. So these things are written to us who believe, but of course it's also going to have an impact on those who do not as yet believe. And as I stressed to some of my classes this last week, I'm getting more and more of a burden for lost people than I've ever had before, because I'm realizing now how many, even church people, have never had a real salvation experience. Alright, so verse 5. Now then again, For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. Now the word flesh here of course is another word for the old Adamic nature. And they that are after the Spirit are those who have experienced new birth and are now a child of God. They're going to mind the things of the Spirit. Verse 6. For to be carnally, that's another word for fleshly again. For to be fleshly mind that is death, spiritual death, eternal doom. But to be spiritually mind that is life and peace. And of course that life is eternal life, that which we will have forever and ever. Verse 7. Because the carnal mind, that mind we're born with, that mind that we've inherited from Adam, is enmity against God. And I pointed that out in our last program. Most people don't realize that they're an enemy of God. And after I taped that program, I was reading a footnote in some Bible teacher's book of a bygone day. And he was referring to a great revival that had taken place on the campus of Yale University. Now this goes back quite a ways naturally. And a lot of the students were experiencing salvation. And there was really a revival taking place on the campus. And there had been this one young lady who was just so benevolent. She would help anybody under any kind of a circumstance. She was just everybody's friend. But as yet she had shown no interest. So some of the girls that had found salvation in the revival were talking to her one day and inviting her to come to the meetings. And she wouldn't respond. And finally in desperation one of the girls said, but please come because God loves you. He wants to save you. Whereupon her temper flared, and she stamped her pretty little foot and said, I hate God. Well you see, that's just exactly what I've been talking about. People can keep old Adam under control, but when he's prodded, out it comes. And I thought that was the perfect example of what a lot of times we're up against. Or they can put on a good veneer, but when they're really confronted with the demands of a loving God, then they show their true colors. I hate God. And they do, they're enemies. And that's exactly what this Scripture is talking about. So the lost person, whether he realizes it or not, whether he wants to admit it or not, is an enemy of God. He's an enmity. And he is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. And we referred to all that in our last program. So then they who are in the flesh, who are under control of old Adam, cannot please God. But Paul says, you, as believers, you're not in the flesh. But you're in the Spirit. You're a whole new person. You've been born into the very family of God, as we'll see when we get up to verse 14 and 15. If so be, see here's the criteria, here's the proof. Does the Holy Spirit dwell within you? If He doesn't, then you're on pretty thin ice. If He does, you're solid. So if the Spirit of God dwell in you, continuing on in verse 9, Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Now this is scary, I know it is. And yet I think sometimes people have to be scared a little bit. They have to be shook up and realize that you cannot just take these things in one ear and out the other and dress it up a little bit on Sunday morning for an hour and then hope to spend eternity in the presence of your Creator. It's just not going to happen. And Paul makes several warnings that have scared me over the years, not for myself, but for the sake of people who are living an illusion. In fact the verse just comes to mind. I didn't intend to use this. Honey, turn over to Galatians. Galatians chapter 5. Now we've dealt with this before I think on the program. I know I have over and over in my classes here in Oklahoma. But I think sometimes people have to be shook up a little bit. Now I don't mean get angry, but they have to be faced with some of these Biblical truths because one day they're going to be. Paul says that in the day when Jesus Christ will judge all men according to what? His Gospel. Everybody is going to either stand as lost or saved by what they've done with Paul's Gospel. And that is of course that Christ died, was buried and rose again. Now we've got Galatians chapter 5. The admonition here is again to the Galatian believers not to fall victim to the legalizers who were making inroads into the congregations that Paul had established in Asia Minor. And so now Paul writes, Galatians 5. 1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Which of course is legalism, the law, Judaism. And then verse 2, and when I first saw this some 15-20 years ago, it just shook me up, because I could understand that there are millions of people that this verse is talking to. And what does he say? "...Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised..." Now he's talking about salvation. If they're going to depend on something that they can do in the flesh for their salvation, then read on. "...Christ shall profit you..." How much? Nothing! And the first time I saw that, it just scared me to death. How many millions of good people, church members, who wouldn't dream of missing a Sunday morning service, and yet they're depending on something of the flesh that they have done, rather than just rely totally on the finished work of the cross. And this is any one thing, plus the cross. You cancel it. You cancel the work of the cross. And listen, we've got to warn people. Like I said, I'm not a preacher, and I'm not an evangelist, and I'm not here to scare people, but on the other hand, I think we have to realize what the Word says. And it says that if you be circumcised, if you do anything in the energy of the flesh, Christ shall profit you nothing. And then he goes on, and he goes even one step further, and he says, "...I testify again to every man that is circumcised, who has done something..." Now circumcision, of course, was the big deal back then, because it was the Jewish people that were bringing this in amongst the Gentile churches. But I've always pointed out, this can be anything that you can do in the energy of the flesh. Joining the church, being baptized, taking the Lord's Supper, good works, as long as you tie it to salvation, you're canceling the work of the cross, because God is adamant that He finished it. He did everything that needed to be done. And if we're not satisfied with that, He's not accepting us. And that's why Paul is repeating it. "...I testify again to every person that is circumcised, that then you become a debtor to do the whole law." Now there's only been one person that has walked this planet that has been able to do that. That was Christ Himself. So it's an utter impossibility to keep the whole law. Then he puts the cap on it in verse 4. "...Christ is become of..." What? No effect. See? Now what does that mean? He can't even touch us as long as we try to do something in the energy of the flesh. "...He is become of no effect unto you, whosoever you are justified by the law, or by legalism, or by doing something that you can do in the energy of the flesh." And then he says, "...you've fallen from grace." Now that doesn't mean they've been saved and they fell out. It just means that they have turned their back on that which God has provided. Let's come back to Romans chapter 8 quickly. Reading on then, verse 10. "...and if Christ be in you..." Now I've made a lot of Paul, and I make no apology for it, because Paul claims to be the Apostle of the Gentiles. It's within Paul's writings that most of Christendom gets its basic doctrine and everything else, but yet they'll never give him the credit it seems. And I think I've mentioned on the program that I've had people come up to me over the years who said, well, I've had a Sunday school teacher, or I've had a preacher who just detests Paul's writings, and they can't even see why it's in our Bible. And I'd share some of my classes, and lo and behold, the other night a lady in one of my classes here in Oklahoma, she said, Les, I never could quite believe you when you said that people didn't think Paul should be in their Bible, but she said today I heard it with my own ears. She said, someone, when I mentioned what Paul had said, how in the world, this lady said, can you believe anything that Paul writes? He shouldn't even be in our Bible. Well, you see, that's probably putting it a little stronger than most, but that's basically the subconscious feeling with a lot of people. This guy is so far out, don't pay attention to him, but yet it is foundational to our salvation and to our Christian experience that we realize what this Apostle is saying. And so this is a Pauline doctrine, this whole idea of Christ in dwelling, especially the Gentile believer. Well, let's look at another one, Ephesians. Maybe someday, if the Lord tarries, we may even teach Ephesians on the air. I haven't decided yet, but go to Colossians chapter 1. And drop down to verse 27, Colossians 1 verse 27. And like I said, you won't find statements like this back in the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You won't find statements like this back in the Old Testament. You won't find statements like this in any of the rest of the Bible except these epistles of Paul. Now look what he says, "...to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, or this secret, among the Gentiles." Now you know the fact that God had been dealing with Israel for over 2,000 years before Christ came on the scene. That was one thing, but now that He's dealing with Gentiles, this had never been heard of before. And so he says that this secret among the Gentiles, and this is part of the overall body of truth that we call the mysteries, this particular one is that Christ is in you. And that gives us what? The hope of glory. Christ is in you, the hope of glory. Now back to Romans chapter 8. Reading on in verse 10. So if Christ be in you, the body, that is the old Adam again, the body is dead because of sin. In other words, Adam and the flesh were all under the curse, this body is going to die if the Lord doesn't come to translate us, and it's all part of the fall of man, that death came in, and so all men have to die. Alright, reading on. But the Spirit, and that's capitalized, so it's the Holy Spirit, so the Holy Spirit is life. And again, I think Paul is referring to eternal life, that life which will never end because of righteousness. Now verse 11. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead. Now here we have the implication again of the Trinity. God the Father used the power of the Holy Spirit to raise the Son. See how clear that comes out? And so Paul is using all three persons of the Trinity now, of which we also become a part. And so if the Holy Spirit of the God of the Father raised up Jesus from the dead, if He dwells in you, then that same power that raised Christ from the dead is going to raise us from that position that Adam made us fall into. And so if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, then He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken or make alive your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Now let's look at another cross reference, because after all I think that's where we to study the Scripture is to use more than just one verse at a time. Now flip over to Ephesians chapter 2, and he has almost the same identical language. Ephesians chapter 2. Now like I said when I started this series on Romans, I've always noticed over the years that it's no problem getting people excited and interested when you teach Genesis, and it's no problem keeping people excited and interested when you teach Revelation. But when you get into Paul's letters, and you get into the here and now where we are today, it's kind of tough getting people interested. But I hope we're succeeding, because we're getting a lot of response from the program, and like I said what Alice just said a little bit ago, that she's hearing that people are finally realizing that here is where we have to get our basic doctrines. In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, I'm sure most of you know the verse. And you have he made alive, who were dead, and that's where the whole human race, so far as God is concerned, is alive. They are dead in trespasses and sins, and so were we if we were a believer today. We too were dead in trespasses and sins. Verse 2. "...wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world." We were like everybody else. As a believer hopefully we're different, but before we became a believer we were no different. And I've experienced it from so many people. When something will be going on. Oh just the other night something was going on in one of the cities when we had our Bible class, and we had to find our way through the crowd. And the gentleman who was walking with me said, now you know a few years ago he said, I'd been there with a crowd and I wouldn't have even dreamed of going to a Bible study. But now he says it's exactly opposite. I wouldn't dream of being out there with them. He said I'd rather be here and studying the Word. Well we've heard that over and over, and this is exactly the way it has to work. "...that wherein in times past." Yes, we all did. We walked. "...according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." And we were part and parcel of that. And then verse 5. "...even when we were dead." See how often Paul brings this up? "...even when we were dead in sins." Now that's plural. In other words, I've pointed out now since we've been in Roman. The word sin deals with that old Adamic nature. But when it's plural, it's the results of that Adamic nature. See? I always like to use the old whiskey still as an example. The still is one thing, but what it produces is what bends people's mind. You see that? The still is out there. It's the producer. But the still itself doesn't cause people to get drunk or have their minds bent and so forth. But it's what the still produces. And it's the same way with old Adam. Adam is just like that old still. And it produces sins. Plural. All right? So he says, when we were dead in the activity that was prompted by old Adam, he has quickened us. See how he used that word over and over? He has made us alive. How? Together with Christ. And by grace it's been all accomplished, not by works. Now let's move on back to Romans. Then come down to verse 12. Romans 8. Romans 8. God said, Therefore brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if you are going to live after the flesh, you will die. And that of course was the first admonition to Adam and Eve in the garden, that the day they ate of, they should surely die, and it hasn�t changed. But if you through the Spirit do put to death, or mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live." Yes the Christian life does involve discipline, but as I�ve stressed so often, you aren�t going to give things up that you just love to do, because the things you once loved you begin to hate and vice versa. So it�s not a matter of giving it up, it�s just a matter of having a change of appetites. Now in the closing moments of this half hour I�d like to make comment on these next three or four verses. I�d like to be ready for verse 18 in one of our next programs. Now in verse 14, so he says, Ephesians 1.14a "...as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they hope to be..." No they aren�t, it�s definite. You see again most of Christendom today feels that if you do everything right, if you can hang on, if this and if that, you might make it. But this book never says that. This book says today you are in one of two categories. You are either lost and hell bound, or you�re saved and heaven bound. It�s that simple. Now I�m no more narrow than the book, because this is what the book declares. There are only two classes of people in the world. You�re either in Christ, or you�re out. There�s no halfway in between. So he says, if you�re led by the Spirit, then you are the sons of God. In other words, we are born of God. The Greek word is technon, the born ones. Ephesians 1.14a "...for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Now the word adoption, as Paul uses it, does not mean as we do in our culture, take a child that was born to someone else, and then legally adopt them into our family. But the word adoption goes back to the Greek and Roman practice of putting the eldest son under tutors, completely under their control, until he reached the age where he was now fully educated, and he could step right in side by side with the father. When that son had reached that age, and he was now ready for that position with the father, they went through the rites of adoption. So what the word really means is that we are placed as a full son, not just as one that�s born into the family, not as one who has been taken legally from another family, but as a son who has gone through the training years, he has been prepared, he�s been tutored, and now he is placed as a full partner with the Father. Now the glory of all this is the moment we�re saved, yes we�re now born into the family of God, but immediately what does God do? He also places us as the full heir with Jesus Christ. You don�t have to work for 20 years like poor old Jacob had to for his wives, no we don�t have to strive and strain, hoping that we can attain this position the moment we believe. And that�s why we can say Abba Father as it is here in verse 15. So get these basic doctrinal truths straight, that yes at salvation we are born into the family of God by the work of the Holy Spirit, but there comes another act of God that places us then as a full heir. Now let�s read on down to verse 17. So if we�re children, then we�re what? Heirs, and not just an heir down the line someplace who�s going to hope for maybe a little bit of the inheritance, but we�re a what? We are a joint heir. Now even in our own culture what does a joint heir imply? Equality. What�s His is Hers, and vice versa. And so it is as we come in then as being born into the family of God, as being placed equal as a full grown son, and we are placed in that position by adoption, we become joint heirs. Boy don�t forget that, joint heirs with Jesus Christ. 1. Box 760, Kinta, OK 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.