“…Consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11 (Amplified)
In Galatians, Paul instructs us to live in the Spirit, which means to live in the sphere of the Spirit. We are to surrender to the envelopment of the Holy Spirit. This is where we are to live or to be positioned, and how we are to walk or to conduct ourselves. If we live to God, living submitted to His sphere of authority and relationship, we first must leave the sphere of sin and death that we once were immersed in and a part of.
The way we live victoriously, as in walking uprightly, comes from the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot take the credit because it is not by our power or our own placement. It is a gift from God. He has made us new and pure in our spirit, but the body and soul have not been made new. The sinful cravings of our body and our soul are known as the “flesh.” When we choose to yield to God, we are choosing to live (walk) in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome when we choose to surrender. This is how we overcome, by making the decision to be held and wrapped up in the power of the Holy Spirit.
There are two kinds of righteousness; one is our position in the Spirit, and the other is our living (behavior) in the Spirit. Romans 6 is a powerful chapter that explains living to God and dying to sin. We see this meaning in water baptism. We die to our old life, shown by going under water. Then we are raised in life, not by our own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not only does the Spirit resurrect us to a position in His life, but He also causes us to live, or the walk, in that life. It is a righteous position that has the capability of causing us to live a righteous lifestyle.
Sin has a controlling and addictive factor. It was once our master, and we felt compelled to obey its cravings. Jesus redeemed us, meaning he brought us out of slavery to sin. Our redemption was a change in masters. We were bought out of a house of slavery and placed in a house of freedom. The power of the Holy Spirit breaks those chains. If you choose not to live by the power of the Holy Spirit, your flesh will dominate you. Sin will not necessarily change your position in the family of God, but it will cause heartache, bondage, and broken fellowship in your relationship with God and others. The Holy Spirit will not go against your will. You must choose to yield to Him. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than the power of any sin. Be free!
Application: Read Romans 6. Remember that self-control is a fruit of living in the Holy Spirit, not a result of your own control. Surrender.