ESOCS Devotional 10 June 2024 – Christ is Our Environment
MEMORY VERSE: ““There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1
TEXT: ROMANS 8:1-17
here is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
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.
12 Therefore, brethren, 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 as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[e] 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 joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
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The speaking dictionary app defines environment in the following ways: the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates. And, the totality of surrounding conditions. Following this definition, we can see that everyone and everything on earth and in this world operates and functions in one environment or the other, and that we cannot actually function without doing so in an environment. We can even say that the nature of the environment determines who we become. It also affects our effectiveness positively or negatively.
However, it is also true that we can be in an environment without being influenced by it. This can be possible if we are immune to its conditions and do not interact with its unhealthy or unhygienic surroundings. It is possible not to be affected by where we are if we draw our inspiration from another environment through observation and knowledge. It is also true that we can influence our environment, if we carry an experience and knowledge from another environment, which can be applicable where we are.
Brethren, we are in the world, which is an environment. This world has its prevailing lifestyle of sin and wickedness. This makes anyone who is influenced by the world guilty and condemned before God. However, there are those who are in the world but are not influenced by the world’s lifestyle and belief system. These are those who are in Christ Jesus. These crop of persons function in Christ. Their lifestyle is conditioned by Christlikeness. So, we can say that Christ is their environment. In that environment, they bear no guilt. They have the life of God; they excel spiritually and otherwise here on earth because they carry the influence of God in their lives. So, they influence the wicked world rather than allow the wicked world to influence them. This is because they are very conscious of their place in Christ.
Such people use their belief in Christ to regulate their activities on earth and their interactions with the world. These ones are experiencing the freedom from sin, which the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus gives to those in Him. Christ is our environment and we live in Him by faith. To experience the reality of this Christ our environment – 1. You must be spiritually minded through Jesus Christ. 2. Allow His Spirit to lead you in this world. 3. Use His Word as your principles of life. 4. Always confess to yourself, “I am in Christ Jesus therefore I function here on earth from there”
- How do you live your life on earth, worldly or Christlike? Are you influenced by the world or are you influencing the world? Do you know you are in Christ and should function from there, though you live in the world?
- Father, thank you for birthing me in Christ Jesus. Lord, give me the grace to function in Christ all the days of my life here on earth, in Jesus name. Amen.
Further Reading: 2 Kings 20:1-20; Joel 2:28-end; Romans 8:31-end
ESOCS Devotional 10 June 2024
