Romans 8:9

But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. "But" -'You can please God, for you are not in the flesh'. Note: 'In the flesh', means something different than being subject to temptation or having the tendency to sin, for Christians still experience that. (1 Corinthians 10:23; 1 John 1:8) 'In the flesh' is the 'mind set on the flesh', i.e. serving the flesh, letting the flesh be your master.

"but in the Spirit" -a mind set on spiritual things, the things revealed by the Holy Spirit.

"if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you"Dwelleth" -this verse brings up the topic of the 'indwelling of the Spirit'. Specifically 'how' does the Spirit dwell in one? Many advocate. 'personal indwelling'. And yet, we need to recognize that all of Deity is said to 'dwell' in the Christian (Romans 8:10 'if Christ is in you'; John 14:23. Commenting on John 14:23. Robert Turner says, 'Does this necessitate the conclusion that after we have loved the Lord, and kept His words, then, as. third happening, the indwelling takes place? Could not the love, the obedience, and the indwelling be inseparable?', i.e. doesn't God 'dwell' in the faithful when His word is influencing the way they live? Compare Ephesians 5:18 'filled with the Spirit'; and Colossians 3:16 'Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you'.

"but if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ" -this verse confirms to me that the "in-dwelling" in the context is to be understood as the person who is allowing themselves to be influenced and regulated by the message from God. For the man that hath the 'Spirit of Christ' in the context is the man who is minding the things of the Spirit, who has his mind set on spiritual things. The man whose God's word has. place in (John 8:37) But if the 'in-dwelling' is personal, something apart from the Word of God, then some serious questions arise:"When we conceive of the Spirit "directing, leading or influencing" apart from the word. sinner or saint, there is more at stake than differing opinions of "good men". Does the Holy Spirit direct regardless of the human will? i.e., is man left free to accept or reject that "direction"? Is the "influence" irresistible, or can man say "No"! to the Spirit? If the leading is irresistible then free agency has been shot down. If the alien can resist, because of the 'old man' "in" him, but the saint cannot resist the indwelling Holy Spirit...then the spirit of Satan is stronger than the Spirit of God. How strongly do we believe in free will or free agency? But that isn't all. If we hold to the free will of man then the "leading" of the Spirit must come in some way EXTERNAL to the mind of man. Man must be able to approach the "lead" objectively, understand it, and respond positively or negatively. That "leading" or "influence" then becomes. form of teaching--in essence, revelation of divine will in addition to the written word. Certainly we should not allow indwelling concepts to contradict clearly taught Bible truth.' (Plain Talk, Robert Turner)

This all brings us back to the written word of God, the all-sufficient revelation that God has given (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:3; Judges 1:3). Deity is said to 'dwell' in me when. am allowing the message from God to rule my life.