“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature 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.” Romans 8:9

Paul reminds us that we are not under the control of the sinful nature; rather, our lives are under the direction of the indwelling Spirit of God. The word “if” is better translated “since.” This is a confirmation of his words in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase (you cannot out sin God’s grace)? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” A person who has the Spirit of Christ belongs to Christ; and, God has given us his Spirit that “we know that we live in him and he in us” (1 John 4:13).