Paul anticipates some questions here from people in the church in Rome who can't tell if they're filled with the Holy Spirit and can't tell if they're children of God. Paul writes that God's spirit that dwells within us acts together with our own spirit to answer that question for us.

Paul deepens his explanation of our becoming sons of God here in verse 15 by likening it to adoption. We talk about adoption in Rome and how the metaphor fits our relationship to God.

Here in verse 14, Paul introduces the concept of those who live by the Spirit becoming sons of God. We talk about how Jesus invited all of us to join Him in that Holy title.

Verse 13 gives the recipe for putting sin to death, and it includes one important phrase that is absent from the problem Paul explains in chapter seven. That added phrase is living life "by the Spirit."

Paul transitions here in verse 12 by concluding that because we are alive in Christ, we are in debt to Christ for that life. But Paul is sure to clarify that such debt is to the Spirit, and not to the flesh.

The Spirit isn't just a different way of thinking; it's powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead. And it lives in you. It's lived in you since you first believed, and will always live in you.

Paul expands on verse nine here in verse ten by making clear that the believers have life in the spirit because they are made right with God.

Paul gives us perhaps the key verse in this section here in verse nine, assuring those reading his words that they are not in the flesh if the Spirit of God dwells within them. We talk about how we know whether the Spirit of God dwells within them.

Paul writes a simple verse here by stating plainly that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. That's an important concept, and so we explore what does and does not please God.

Paul expands his point even more in verse seven, writing that those who keep their minds on the flesh are living lives hostile to God. We talk about how that lines up with points made by James as well.