According to Romans 8.5-11, there are two kinds of people in the world: fleshly people and spiritual people. Which are you?

Paul draws a sharp contrast between flesh and Spirit. Hereâ..s what he says in verses 5-8:

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

Please do not misunderstand Paulâ..s meaning. When he contrasts the flesh and the Spirit, he is not contrasting the physical and non-physical aspects of human being. For one thing, the word Spirit has a capital S, as in, the Holy Spirit, not the human spirit. For another thing, flesh does not mean skin and bones. Rather, it means something like â..sinful nature,â. which is how the New International Version translates the word flesh in this passage.

Consider the differences (explicit and implicit) between the person whose mind is set on the flesh and whose mind is set on the Spirit: death vs. life, hostility to God vs. peace, obedience to God vs. disobedience, inability to obey or please God vs. ability to please him. What accounts for this stark contrast between the fleshly person and the spiritual person? According to verses 9-11, the reason for the contrast is whether Christ is in you:

You, however, are controlled not by the flesh but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

According to verses 9-11, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, â..your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.â. Righteousness, here, is the gracious gift of a right relationship with God. On the Day of Judgment, because of that right relationship, God will raise your body from the dead for eternal life with him. How? Through the power of the Holy Spirit who also â..raised Christ from the dead.â. But the Spiritâ..s work is not just future, it is present. Right now, â..the Spirit of God lives in you,â. if you put your faith in Jesus Christ.

Think of that! The very same Spirit whose power raised Jesus from the dead is presently at work in your life to change the way you live. You have a choice, then, to set your mind on the flesh or on the Spirit. When you see the stark contrast between the two, isnâ..t the choice obvious?