When we talk about our "spirit," what comes to mind? It’s that inner part of you—the real you. It’s your thoughts, feelings, values, and what makes you unique. Picture it as the spark that defines who you are deep down. There’s the you everyone sees, your flesh, and the you that no one can see except for you, your spirit. So, what’s your spirit like? What do you care about? What drives you? That’s where we’re headed today as we dive into Romans 8:9-17. We’ve been talking a lot about change, but our goal in today’s study is to understand how God changes us from the inside. This is the heart of what it means to be a Christian.

Romans 8:9–11 (ESV) — 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Paul says, “You’re not in the flesh.” In other words, “You aren’t controlled by your old sinful self anymore, but by the Spirit, if God’s Spirit lives in you.” Notice a few things here. 1. Most believe he is talking about the Holy Spirit, hence the capital S in your translations. 2. To say the Holy Spirit lives in you is still about giving control or rule to God. 3. The lower case “s” works just as well, if not better. This way of thinking actually fits well with the greater context.

Notice Paul starts out saying, “The Spirit of God.” Then, he says “the Spirit of Christ.” Then, “The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead.” Finally, “His Spirit.” Why do that and why say, “If Christ is in you? Why call the Holy Spirit all these things instead of just saying the Holy Spirit? What if that’s because he’s not speaking literally about the person of the Holy Spirit, but metaphorically about the type of spirit God has? When it says God has put His Spirit inside of us, that could be the same thing as someone telling you, “You have the spirit of your dad in you.” It’s not about having your dad’s actual spirit inside of you, but it’s about having the same feelings, thoughts, emotions, values, and passions. It’s about having the heart with desires like your dad’s. The old spirit that was in us was of the flesh, full of selfishness, sin, and death. It was a broken spirit that was lost in the flesh. The new spirit is powerful and full of righteousness and life.

This works so well because this is a text about our spirit being transformed. It is rooted in Old Testament prophecy. To help us with this, we have to read Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 36:23–27 (ESV) — 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

This prophecy is the basis for everything we are reading in Romans 8. God did not save us to forgive us and to have a forgiven people. He saved us to transform our hearts and spirits into the image bearers we were always called to be. We have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but God has done something amazing to, not only cleanse us but, change our hearts. In Ezekiel, God makes a promise that He will put a new heart and a new spirit within us. We will go from a heart of stone, a rebellious heart that doesn’t change or listen to the truth, to a heart of flesh, meaning a tender heart that is open and respectfully caring about the will of God. He also says we will be given a new spirit and, “I will put my spirit within you.” What does that mean? Notice the explanation. He says, “And cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

So, when we go to Romans 8:9-11. It’s important for us to look at this text in its context, and understand what it means for God to put his Spirit inside of us. It means we have a new spirit that is careful to obey God’s commands instead of continuing in sin.

So, it is akin to the valley of dry bones, and us receiving new life and a new and living spirit, but it’s also about changing our hearts and our desires in life. Notice that he continues by explaining what type of spirit is this that God has given to us? This is what Paul will explain in the following two sections we will look at.

Romans 8:12-14 (ESV) — 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

One might assume we have the same kind of broken enslaved spirit. In Chapter 6, he kind of laid this out as though we have just switched masters. We are still crushed with the debt of paying back what we owe, so our spirit didn’t really change all that much. We are still focused on working really hard to put the deeds of the body to death! But, notice the difference. He says we are debtors, who are putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

What does this mean? We are doing the same thing, but we have a different spirit. Our old spirit tried to fix sin on its own, relying on self-effort. That led to pride when we succeeded or despair when we failed. But the new spirit works differently. It’s about trusting God’s grace, believing the gospel, and letting His love guide us. We still fight sin, but not out of fear or guilt. Instead, God’s love pushes us to change and live for Him.

The spirit inside of us is a spirit of repentance, and it’s a spirit constantly thinking about, focused on, and motivated by the gospel. What God has done is driving us to change and become more like God out of love instead of obligation.

But that’s not all. At the end of verse 14, he takes this one step further. You want to know what kind of spirit God has put inside of us? It’s the spirit of a son! He says all who are led by the Spirit (putting to death sin by faith in God’s sacrifice) are sons of God. Consider what kind of spirit an adopted son has.

Romans 8:15–17 (ESV) — 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

This image is so important for us as Christians. We are not sons of God by our own doing anymore than I can make myself Elon Musk’s son. God has chosen to make us His sons and daughters through adoption. Think about an adopted child: they might start out scared, used to fending for themselves. But in God’s family, they learn they’re safe, loved, and don’t have to fear. The Holy Spirit, himself, seals this deal, signing the adoption papers, so to speak. So we have assurance that we belong to God. He sees our heart—our desire to please Him—and that’s a comfort when we’re struggling. God’s cheering us on, like a dad rooting for his kids to grow and become like Jesus.

We are sons and daughters of our creator. Think about the assurance that provides you. When you were growing up, you might have had a pretty bad father. But how bad did you have to be for him to kick you out? When our child sins against us, we don’t kick him out on the street. We are rooting for them to grow and develop and become better than us. In this case, becoming like God and Christ is the ultimate goal.

What’s the spirit inside you like? How do you feel about sin? About righteousness? Has Jesus changed how you think and live? Paul puts it beautifully in Galatians 2:20: “I’ve been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

This new spirit is about becoming like Jesus—not to earn God’s love, but because we’re already loved. Feed that spirit with God’s Word. Let it grow. Live like Christ every day, knowing God’s in your corner, rooting for you like a proud father.

This isn’t about hearing voices or chasing mystical vibes. It’s about God transforming your heart to reflect Jesus. It’s about living with the confidence that you can call God “Abba! Father!” because you’re His.