Are You “His”?

Identity politics are popular today, and often not in a good way.  We tend to label “who we are” by what party we affiliate with and in the minds of many it seems that this sets our identity.  I suppose that is true to some extent as it reflects our beliefs and values but it’s not always helpful.  However, our identity is very important relating to our identity in Jesus Christ.  Here are verses 8-11 of Romans chapter 8:  “⁹ But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God 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.”  Notice the emphasis on “the Spirit” in this passage.  The Holy Spirit dwells in every believer, every person who has received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  If the Spirit of Christ does not dwell in you than you are “not His”. The Spirit is the guarantee, the deposit, of eternal life in all of us and if you don’t have the Spirit then you don’t have real “life”.  When the Spirit is alive in you, you are “dead” to sin and the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will one day raise you and this Spirit also empowers you to live a “resurrected” life right now.  These verses contain glorious truth about our identity in Jesus Christ.  If you don’t feel like you are living the life God desires for you, it could be that you are not “His”.  Would you consider that this morning?  Would you spend a few minutes talking with God about your identity?  If you are “His” then spend a few minutes worshiping the God who identifies as your Father and celebrating your identity in Christ.