ROMANS 8:11

“But 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.”

One day this old mortal body of mine will give out. I’ve always told people that my heart only has so many good heartbeats, so I don’t want to waste any of them exercising. Lol. Seriously, I know my physical body is getting older. I simply can’t do what I used could do. I know my limitations physically. There is nothing I can do to stop the fact that I will die one day. That doesn’t bother me because I am ready to meet my Lord.

Why all the doom and gloom? Well, I don’t mean it to sound that way. Paul’s verse today speaks of the Spirit resurrecting Jesus from the dead. That’s great news, right? The even better news is that the same Spirit Who dwells within us will not only resurrect our mortal bodies one day, but He gives life to us right now. My body got a spiritual recharging when I received the Spirit of Christ through salvation.

APPLICATION

There are two very different schools of thought on this verse. Some say it refers to our resurrected bodies when Christ raptures the church. Our mortal bodies will be changed in an instant. Paul refers to this in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. “16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” I’m ready for that, are you?

The other thought on this verse doesn’t ignore that, but they think this verse is mainly referring to the supernatural life-giving change that takes place in our mortal bodies now. Since God sees us not only as we are but also as we will be (glorified), we even now live in resurrected bodies. Sure, these mortal bodies are still subject to sin and death, but our spirit is unified with the Spirit of Christ who raised Jesus from the dead. That’s real power.

The Greek word for “mortal” is only used six times in the New Testament. The word is thnétos which means “liable to die.” This physical body will succumb to the grave at some point unless Jesus returns before then. Paul uses this word in 2 Corinthians 4:11 which gives us a view of this thought our resurrection exists also now. “For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.” We must allow the life of Jesus to be revealed now if we are followers of Jesus. Live a resurrected life today.

Thank You, Lord, for the power of Your resurrection in my life today.

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