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But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Romans 8:9 · King James Version · underlined terms are tappable
Parallel translations
  • WEB But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.
  • BSB 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.
  • NKJV 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.
  • NASB However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
  • NLT But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Believers are in the Spirit, not the flesh, because God's Spirit dwells in them; anyone without Christ's Spirit does not belong to Him. The indwelling Spirit marks who truly belongs to Christ.

Overview

Paul assures believers that they are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit, evidenced by the Spirit's indwelling. The Spirit is called both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, underscoring His full deity and the unity of the Trinity. To lack this Spirit is to be outside of Christ altogether, making the Spirit's presence the mark of genuine faith.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Gal 4:6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
  • 1 Cor 3:16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
  • 2 Tim 1:14That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
  • 1 Cor 6:19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
  • John 14:17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
  • Rom 8:11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
  • Gal 5:24And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
  • Eph 1:13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
  • Rom 8:2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
  • John 3:6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
  • Ezek 36:26–27A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
  • Eph 2:22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
  • 1 Jn 4:13Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
  • 1 Jn 4:4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
  • Phil 1:19For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
  • Ezek 11:19And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
  • 1 Jn 3:24And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
  • John 17:9–10I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
  • Luke 11:13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
  • 2 Cor 6:16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  • 1 Cor 15:23But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
  • John 3:34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
  • Eph 1:17–18That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
  • Jude 1:19–21These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
  • 1 Pet 1:11Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
  • 1 Cor 3:21–23Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
  • 2 Cor 10:7Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s.
  • Rev 13:8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
  • Rev 20:15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 8:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 8:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.