Outline:
- The condemnation of sin in the flesh (vv. 1-4).
- Christ in you (vv. 5-11).
- The spirit of sonship: our new relationship with God (vv. 12-17).
- Present sufferings and future glory (vv. 18-25).
- Intercession and predestination: our place in God's plan (vv. 26-30).
- "Super-conquerors": our security in Christ (vv. 31-39).
THEREFORE: How far back does this "Therefore" reach? Is it a reference back to Romans 7:25, or perhaps to Romans 5:1,2? It may even be the inference from everything that Paul has written since the beginning of the Letter. Just as Romans 3:20 shows the "therefore" of condemnation, so Romans 8:1 gives the "therefore" of no condemnation! The Law, strictly applied, may condemn; but the believer has a new relationship to his Lord, and thus a new relationship to the Law. Therefore, while he stands in Christ, he stands above condemnation, and beyond its reach.
THERE IS NOW NO CONDEMNATION: That is, there is no condemnation in this age, that is, since Christ's death and resurrection. And no condemnation under these changed circumstances, which his life and death and resurrection have introduced into the world. All this is in contrast to man's condition in Adam (Rom 5:12), as well as under the Mosaic Law (Rom 7:10,11), where "Condemnation" reigned supreme, like a monarch equal in power to "King Sin".
NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS: "Condemnation" is from a word which signifies 'to pronounce sentence against', as would a judge. This same point is stressed again in verses 33 and 34: God does not bring any charge against His elect; neither does His Son Christ Jesus condemn them. Instead, "Sin" is condemned (v 3), so that those "in Christ" will not be condemned!
What, precisely, does Paul mean when he says there is now, for us in Christ, no condemnation?
Robert Roberts writes,
There is a present freedom, certainly, but not from the death inherited from Adam; for that will as assuredly send us into the grave, if the Lord delay his coming, as if we had never heard of the gospel. The freedom we have, is freedom from our sins as obstacles to a future life, and from our alienship as an obstacle to future incorporation in the glorified house of God.
The Resurrection to Condemnation, p. 23
Thomas Williams has a slightly different view, putting stress primarily on the new believer's change of status in the eyes of God:
We believe that in baptism there is a transition from a state of alienation in Adam to a state of citizenship in Christ, and that through it we shall ultimately be freed from the physical effects of Adam's sin — mortality. We are not personally responsible for Adam's personal sin, and are not therefore baptized for it in that sense; but federally we are all under Adam's sin and are baptized to remove the condemnation which came thereby, and to place us in Christ reconciled to God… Adamic condemnation brings a physical disability inherited from Adam. We are freed from this federal condemnation and reconciled to God at baptism, but we are not freed from physical disability till the change of body.
"Adamic Condemnation", from Selected Works, pp. 450,451
The believer in Christ may exult in the fact that, even now, his sins cannot condemn him, because — through his one Mediator — he has the assurance of the forgiveness of those sins. This is Roberts' point.
Williams also agrees that there is, even now, no condemnation — particularly so because the true believer, at baptism, has moved from a state of alienation into a state of reconciliation to God. In this sense (of a new relationship with God) we are freed from condemnation with the "old man", Adam, even now.
A detailed look at the remainder of Romans 8 should give us the fullest picture of "no condemnation in Christ" in all its aspects. In this writer's opinion, such a study will confirm the truth of what both Robert Roberts and Thomas Williams have to say on the subject.
WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS: Who are those "in Christ"? It must be stated that being "in Christ" means much more than knowing Christ, or being dependent upon him, or even following him. Being "in Christ" is nothing less than a union with him. We should be in Christ as he is in us, and (awesome as it may seem) as he is in his Father (John 14:19,20). The beautiful symbol of the true vine and its branches abiding in one another provides an insight into the picture. It should go without saying, then, that those truly "in Christ" are only those who walk after the spirit, and not after the flesh (Rom 8:1,4).
It must be emphasized that our ultimate salvation is not assured; it is conditional. (Proof-texts for this, such as Romans 2:6,7 and 1 Corinthians 9:27, are but two among many.) No person instructed in the first principles of Truth could ever wish to deny such a fundamental doctrine. But, having admitted this, we should not shy away from this teaching of "no condemnation". We should rather find room for its teaching in our view of the Truth. What, after all, does it really mean?
The central theme of Paul's letter to the Romans is justification by faith. Believers are declared righteous; they are made righteous; they have righteousness imputed or reckoned to them through their faith in Christ and his redemptive work. This, then, is justification by faith. It is equally true, as James was careful to show, that our faith is demonstrated by our works, and that therefore we are also justified by our works. Somehow, perhaps as a healthy reaction to the evangelical 'orthodox' doctrine of 'faith alone' and 'only believe!', we Christadelphians have come to lean quite strongly toward the 'works' side of the scale. In doing this we run the risk of teaching (by unintended implication if not by word) that our salvation is in our hands alone; that what we do will guarantee us salvation; and, conversely (and perhaps by implication), that God is just waiting to condemn us for one shortcoming.
This is just not so. Some have labored under a forlorn assumption, a fatalistic attitude, a mumbling, downcast pessimism best expressed by the sad admission: 'I don't think I'm good enough to get into the kingdom.' It is precisely here that we must ask ourselves: 'Do we really believe what Paul tells us in Romans 8:1?'
Let us not water it down as a mere legal or prospective justification. It is much more. It happens now, and it is real. And all of Romans 8 enhances the view that, for the believer, justification and righteousness and sonship are present possessions, assuming the believer remains truly "in Christ".
The KJV adds, at the end of Romans 8:1, the words "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit". This is put in a footnote in the NIV.
On this the NET Notes make this comment:
The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts… have no additional words for verse 1. Later scribes… added the words 'who do not walk according to the flesh', while even later ones added "but [who do walk] according to the Spirit". Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from verse 4) to insulate Paul's gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading.
Properly understood, the verse reads as well without the additional phrases. If the verse is read with the additional phrases included, as the KJV has it, then it should not be taken to mean that there are two classes of those "in Christ", i.e.,
- those 'in Christ, who do walk after the flesh', and
- those 'in Christ, who do not walk after the flesh'.
Instead, if the verse is read with the additions, then it should be understood that those "in Christ" are — only — "those who do not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit". The point is: There is no other kind of believer. A believer "in Christ", by definition, walks after the Spirit, meaning (as we shall see) that he follows Christ. He does not do so perfectly, of course, but he does so as a matter of course, and continues therein, to the best of his ability.
BECAUSE THROUGH CHRIST JESUS: In this case, "through" is the Greek "en", which means "in" — the same word as in verse 1: "those who are in Christ Jesus". It's useful to think of "in Christ" here, because the "in" emphasizes that this is describing a place rather than a process. To enter 'into Christ' is to enter into a place of refuge, protection and safety. Christ Jesus is the 'place' where Paul was liberated by "the law of the Spirit of life", or "the principle of the spirit-life".
THE LAW: Or "principle": the Greek is "nomos" (translated "law" in the KJV). Here it signifies a system and operation — not a code of laws.
OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE: Or "spirit-life", or "spiritual life". The conjunction of these two words anticipates the main theme of verses 5-11: the "spirit", the attitude, the mind-set, of God and of His Son must become the "spirit" of believers. This is what it means to be "in Christ Jesus".
SET ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH: "Set free" is "liberated", related to the word in verse 21. The "principle of the spirit-life", as displayed by Christ, has liberated us from the ruling impulses of the "flesh". While it is true that "the clogging effects of human nature hinder the full expression of the life the believer now tries to live" (Carter, p. 81) (which is what Paul tells us in Romans 7), nevertheless in a very real sense we are free. We are free from worry; we are free from fear. Now we do not have to serve the flesh. We can choose to follow Christ. Of the effect of freedom from condemnation Paul wrote more particularly:
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again " (2 Cor 5:14,15).
And, more succinctly:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20).
Those who have “died” with Christ in baptism have thereby gotten rid of the condemnation which attached to their former lives. They have become "new creatures", or parts of a "new creation". Instead of bondage there is now freedom; instead of condemnation, there is now justification. It is all part of the 'package deal': a new life with a new Lord and Master.
The liberty of the gospel
Paul says, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal 5:1). "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom 8:2). The Gospel is not ethical precept — it is enabling power: not an impossible ideal — but a redeeming grace. For "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" [Rom 8:11]. To Paul the gospel was freedom from the slavery to law, a deliverance from the social and moral standards and conventions to which we can all become slaves by mere conformity to the ambition, the self-seeking and the materialism of our world.
The gospel is also redemption — freedom from debt, from inadequacy, from frustration, from failure. "Ye are bought with a price" [ 1 Cor 6:20]. Our feelings of shame, inhibitions, complexes, envies, jealousies, obsessions, which spring from an inner sense of unwantedness, insufficiency or inferiority, can fade before the awareness of the love of God, to whom we are of value, who wants us and loves us in a deep and personal way, without comparison or competition. Before God each one stands alone, in the quiet, precious moments of communion with Him, when we feel the infinite comfort of what it means to have a Father in heaven.
Moreover, the Gospel is conversion — freedom from self and all its weaknesses and limitations. For "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new" (2 Cor 5:17). "We… beholding… the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Cor 3:18). As we look at Jesus with open hearts, we may be changed little by little "to be conformed to the image of God's Son" [Rom 8:29]. This is the glorious liberty of the children of God, a losing of self in him. For says Paul, "For me to live is Christ" [Phil 1:21].
Sheila Harris, The Christadelphian, Vol. 106 (1969), p. 495
While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved like the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.
"Still it has the heart of an eagle," replied the naturalist, "and can surely be taught to fly." He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly."
The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again.
The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly."
But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and the world, and jumped down once more for the chicken food. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly."
The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens.
It may be that the eagle still remembers the chickens with nostalgia. It may even be that he occasionally revisits the barnyard. But as far as anyone knows, he has never returned to lead the life of a chicken.
The eagle was no longer condemned to live out his days as a "chicken". His vision of something higher and better has set him free from his old way of life.
FOR WHAT THE LAW WAS POWERLESS TO DO IN THAT IT WAS WEAKENED BY THE SINFUL NATURE: "Weakened" is "astheneo", which signifies to be weak, feeble or ill (cp. Rom 5:6). This weakness is not in the Law itself, but in those who endeavor to keep it; it is the weakness of our sin-prone or fleshly natures (see v. 26, "our weakness").
GOD DID BY SENDING HIS OWN SON IN THE LIKENESS OF SINFUL MAN: "Likeness" is the Greek "homoioma", from the Greek "homoiousios": for more detail and background, see the Appendices, "Homoiousios" ('likeness') and "Homoousios" ('of the same substance').
The KJV has "the likeness of sinful flesh". The phrase "the likeness of" (KJV and NIV) should be omitted as unnecessary to the sense. The word "homoioma" was added by Paul to indicate Christ's complete identity with our nature, but its presence in the text has been used by some Christians to suggest that Jesus bore no more than a partial and imperfect "likeness" to human beings. "Flesh of sin" is the more literal rendering of the KJV's "sinful flesh" and the NIV's "sinful nature".
TO BE A SIN OFFERING: The RSV margin has the same translation. This is permissible, and certainly fitting in the context. The Greek, however, is "peri hamartias": 'concerning sin', 'having to do with sin'. Taking this into account, the KJV has "for sin", the RSV itself has "and to deal with sin", and the Emphatic Diaglott has "on account of sin".
All of these translations are reasonable, and express separate but applicable aspects of Jesus Christ's relation to our sinful natures. He was born of a woman, under the law (Gal 4:4), and thus made in all points like his brethren whom he came to save, so that he might be tempted in every way, just as they have been (Heb 2:14; 4:15). By this means he was specially prepared by his Heavenly Father "for sin", "to deal with sin" in the only effective way. He was required to fight his own battle against sin and secure the victory (on behalf of himself and all who belong to him), in the same 'arena', i.e., human nature, the dominion over which King Sin had ruled. Ultimately, this required that he be offered as "a sin offering", the only true and lasting sacrifice for sins, and consequently the fateful and fatal blow to the power of sin in the place where it resided (Gen 3:15).
"It is obvious that the Lord must have been related to sin in the flesh in order for it to have been thus condemned. What was this relationship? Scripture teaches that the Lord, by nature, inherited the same propensities which have led to sin in Adam and all his descendants, excepting only the Son of God. The principle of evil, which is identified with the flesh, has been inseparable from human nature since the Fall. To condemn sin, as Paul uses the term here, was to condemn sin in an active sense, and human nature as the source of sin. This was done before the eyes of all men in the crucifixion of Christ.
"Thus, his work demonstrated that the 'flesh profits nothing' (John 6:63), and literally set forth that which all must figuratively do if they would gain eternal redemption (see Gal 5:24; Rom 6:3). Christ conquered in life by repressing the flesh with its lusts, and he conquered in death because his perfect obedience and sacrifice ensured his resurrection to eternal life (Acts 2:24). His conquest proclaimed the sentence of condemnation on 'sin in the flesh', for all 'in him' can now conquer through the forgiveness of sins that is obtainable through him. A person only becomes 'in him' by figuratively dying to the flesh, and rising to newness of life (Col 3:3; Rom 6:3). By such means he figuratively 'condemns' sin with his Lord, and his sins are blotted out.
"The law could not do this. It could only pronounce judgment against man and inflict penalty, but could not dethrone that which is the cause of sin. In fact, the law gave existence and life to sin by revealing its power and dominance (Rom 7:7,8). But Christ's conquest of sin removed its power, leaving it as a condemned criminal awaiting the moment of final execution. This will occur when 'this mortal' (the physical sin-prone condition of our nature) will be replaced with immortality in those who have continued to challenge the influence of sin in their lives. Ultimately, at the end of the millennium, sin itself will be destroyed and vanquished forever in the final judgment (Rev 20:12-14).
"Thus, whereas the law condemned sinners and sentenced them to death (Rom 7:9), in Christ sin is covered and a way of life opened up. Christ's offering passed judgment on the flesh, which is the seat of sin" Christadelphian Expositor
AND SO HE CONDEMNED SIN IN SINFUL MAN: Or, as the NIV margin and KJV put it, "sin in the flesh". It was "sin" which was condemned (a reference back to the allegory of 'King Sin' in Romans 6:12-18). The phrase "in the flesh [Greek 'sarx']" describes the 'place' or the 'arena' where Christ condemned 'King Sin'.
It can scarcely be stressed too much, for it is one of the fundamentals of the gospel, the intelligent acceptance of which sets us apart from practically every other Christian church: It was necessary that Christ should challenge and defeat "Sin" in the arena where it reigned supreme, that is, in the flesh — which he himself, along with all the rest of mankind, possessed.
The crucifixion of Christ, as a declaration of the righteousness of God and a condemnation of sin in the flesh, exhibited to the world the righteous treatment of sin. It was as though it was proclaimed to all the world, when the body was nailed to the cross: 'This is how condemned human nature should be treated according to the righteousness of God; it is fit only for destruction.' The shedding of the blood was the ritual symbol of that truth; for the shedding of the blood was the taking away of the life. Such a declaration of the righteousness of God could only be made in the very nature concerned; a body under the dominion of death because of sin. It would not have been a declaration of the righteousness of God to have crucified an angel or a new man made fresh from the ground. There would have been confusion in such an operation.
Robert Roberts, The Blood of Christ, p. 21
The teaching of verse 3 as to the identity of Christ's nature with ours is matched by a parallel passage from Hebrews, already alluded to above:
"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil" (Heb 2:14).
The relation of "sin" in Romans 8:3 and "the devil" in Hebrews 2:14 is quite useful in any Scriptural exposition of the Devil and Satan (see the chart below: Jesus destroys the "devil").
"Sin in the flesh" is that spirit or principle of disobedience naturally inherited by all mankind, including Christ. It is an evil principle which can never be satisfied according to law. Extending to every part of the flesh, the nature and the life of every human being, it is the cause of all the evil we do and the disease we suffer. It has the power of death which is its wages (Rom 6:23), and became a fixture in the flesh through the first transgression of Adam and Eve. By one man's disobedience many were made sinners (Rom 5:12).
The flesh is therefore sinful flesh, or flesh full of sin because it is impregnated with this evil principle, which is as defiling as the sentence passed in Eden (Gen 3:19), becoming a physical law of our first parents' being. "It is no longer I myself who do it, but is sin living in me. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out" (Rom 7:17,18).
In the beginning our first parents were free from death; there seems to have been no principle of sin imbedded in their bodies. But now there is such a principle, called "the spirit which is now at work in those who are disobedient" (Eph 2:2). How did it come to be an integral part of our human constitutions? The answer, given in Genesis, is that the original transgression caused its appearance and fixation in the flesh. The serpent's deceitful suggestions were accepted and acted upon by our first parents, and thus a bias or inclination to oppose God's law was introduced into their natures. This may be called 'sin in the flesh', or 'the spirit of disobedience', or even 'the diabolos, or devil'.
"The word 'sin' is used in two principal acceptations in the Scripture. It signifies in the first place the transgression of law, and in the next it represents that physical principle of the animal nature, which is the cause of all its diseases, death and resolution into dust. It is that in the flesh which has the power of death, and it is called sin because the development or fixation of this evil in the flesh was the result of transgression. Inasmuch as this evil principle pervades every part of the flesh the animal nature is styled sinful flesh, that is flesh full of sin; so that sin in the sacred style [i.e., in God's way of expressing things] came to stand for the substance called man. In human flesh dwells no good thing (Rom 7:17,18), and all the evil a man does is the result of this principle dwelling in him.”
John Thomas, Elpis Israel, p. 113
This second aspect of "sin" in the Bible, alluded to by John Thomas above, is sometimes called 'sin by metonymy'. Metonymy is defined as a figure of speech in which an attribute of something is used to stand for the thing itself, such as 'brass' when it stands for 'military officers'. In this case, ordinary human nature may be called "sin" because such a nature, inclining toward sin and now also dying, resulted from sin in the Garden of Eden.
"Metonymy", therefore, is not an alternate to reality. It is simply the extension of one term to include a related aspect of the same entity. To say something is called something 'by metonymy' doesn't brush it away as a fact. It simply introduces a second, and more figurative, way of speaking of the subject. Sin, literally and primarily, is transgression of God's law. That is the root meaning, from which others flow. The term "sin" is Scripturally extended by this process called "metonymy" also to include the evil, corrupt, death-bringing principle in every cell and particle of human flesh — the "diabolos" or Bible "devil" — that causes all diseases and death and disharmony with God. Left unchecked, without direct Divine intervention, this principle will inevitably bring forth its fruits of actual transgression.
This evil principle in the flesh is both the result of sin, and the cause of sin, and therefore the Scriptures go to the root of the matter, and give the name "sin" to it (just as they call hate, "murder"; and lust, "adultery") — and they deal with all sin as an inseparable totality.
Actual transgression, and the evil principle that Paul calls "the Law of sin in the members", (or "Sin in the flesh", or the diabolos) — are inseparable parts of the total sin constitution that Christ came to destroy and abolish. Therefore the Scriptures, which deal with roots and realities, and not mere superficial appearances, gives the same name to all: Sin.
"Metonymy" is not a magic word to change a Yes to a No, or a fact into something that is not a fact. It is simply a description of a process, illustrated in this case by the Scriptures grouping together everything to do with sin under the name Sin.
When you see "metonymy", just remember "another name" — that's what it means — and in this case, a Scriptural, God-given name. To say it is "metonymy" doesn't change the fact that God (the Supreme and All-Wise Authority) gave the name "SIN" to the evil principle in all human flesh. G.V. Growcott
When Paul speaks of Jesus as coming "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (or flesh of sin), or "in the likeness of men" [Phil 2:7], he cannot be understood as meaning that Jesus' make-up resembled these things, but was in reality different. In both cases he clearly means that, though our human nature left to itself had failed to overcome sin, when God sent His own Son born in the same human nature the victory was achieved. That the Lord's fleshly nature was that of Adam after he fell, is seen in the fact that he offered up prayers "with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death: and was heard in that he feared. Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" [Heb 5:7,8].
There is no need to rush to the Lord's defense as though there were any discredit to him in having been born with a nature prone to sin. This was his lot, which he accepted and overcame. Far greater was the triumph of battling against sin in a body where a fallen nature was entrenched, than would have been the case had he commenced in innocence with a human nature unspoiled by heritage from Adam. And far greater was his brotherhood in affliction, and now in mediation, with his brethren, when we acknowledge that he conquered that very nature, with all its urge to turn away from God, which we know in our own consciences so well. There is real meaning in the words "to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" [Heb 9:26] when this is acknowledged; and in the fullest possible sense he destroyed the devil through death on the cross when, after the pattern of the serpent which Moses lifted up in the wilderness [John 3:14; Num 21:9], he finally put away the power of sin from himself, and became the priest who can lead us in ultimate victory over the same power.
The Christadelphian Magazine Publishing Association, For Whom Christ Died
How does Jesus destroy "the devil"?
Passage Subject Action Object Location Romans 8:3 God (Christ)… Condemned… Sin… In "sinful man", literally, i.e., in the body or in the flesh, of Christ. Hebrews 2:14 Christ… Destroyed… The devil (the power of death: cp Rom 6:23; James 1:13-15)… Flesh and blood (humanity). Hebrews 9:26 Christ… Did away with… Sin… By the sacrifice of himself. 1 John 3:5,8; 4:2 Son of God… Took away or destroyed… Our sins, or the works of the devil… "Appeared": where? In the flesh ( 1 John 4:2). Ephesians 2:15,16 Christ… Abolished, or put to death… Hostility, or enmity… "In his flesh".
Points:
1. Christ was made flesh in order to destroy the devil — i.e., sin in the flesh (Heb 2:14; 9:26; Rom 8:3).
2. Sin is that which has the power of death, and sin arises from inside us (Rom 6:23; 7:13, 20; 1 Cor 15:56).
3. The relationship of flesh and blood, sin, and the devil are outlined above:
- Hebrews 2:14 (Christ partook of flesh and blood, in order that through his death, he might destroy the devil);
- Romans 8:3 (Christ was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and died as an offering for sin, and so condemned sin in the flesh); and
- Ephesians 2:15,16 (Christ, in his flesh, reconciled us by his death on the cross, and so slew the enmity which is in our flesh).
See the Study, "Homoousion".
IN ORDER THAT THE RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW: The law of Moses righteously required death as a punishment for sin. All men have sinned (Rom 3:23), and death has passed upon all men (Rom 5:12). The law of Moses, being holy and just and good (Rom 7:12), righteously required death as a punishment for sin (Rom 8:4).
MIGHT BE FULLY MET IN US: Not 'by us', but "in us" by Christ. The requirement of death has been satisfied by Christ on our behalf, if we are truly "in Christ" (v 1). This righteous requirement was satisfied by Christ for those in him. None of us is, naturally speaking, righteous (Rom 3:10, 23). But we all may be declared righteous through Christ's obedience (Rom 5:19), coupled with our faith (Rom 5:1) in his blood, that is, in his life and death of sacrifice (Rom 5:9).
WHO DO NOT LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE: "Live" is literally "walk" (KJV). But of course "walk" is not used here to mean simply putting one foot in front of another in succession. "To walk", Scripturally, means to "live". Charles Hodge writes: "To walk means to regulate the inward and outward life. It includes, therefore, the determination of the judgments, the feelings, the purposes, as well as the external conduct. The controlling principle in believers is not the flesh, i.e., the corrupt nature, but the Holy Spirit which dwells in them, as the source of knowledge, of holiness, of strength, of peace and love."
" 'To walk according to the flesh', then, is to have one's life determined and directed by the values of 'this world', of the world in rebellion against God. It is a lifestyle that is purely 'human' in its orientation. To 'walk according to the Spirit', on the other hand, is to live under the control, and according to the values, of the 'new age', created and dominated by God's Spirit" (Douglas J. Moo, New International Commentary of the New Testament).
BUT ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT: Even though the righteous requirements of the Law have been fully met by Christ on our behalf, our "walk" in the spirit-principles of Christ's life is required of us (Rom 8:4), not so that we may 'earn' salvation — that is impossible! — but to demonstrate our faith in Christ's monumental work of redemption, and our own commitment to that person and that life.
The order of verses in this first part of Romans 8 is significant: first, Paul explains that "there is no condemnation" (vv. 1-4), and only then does he discuss the mind and life of the spirit (vv. 5-11). The Scriptural order is not: 'We live righteously so that we will not be condemned.' Rather it is: 'We are justified. Our condemnation has been removed. Therefore we must, and we shall, now live righteously!'
THOSE WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE 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: "Phroneo" indicates the mind with a mental and moral emphasis; not mere animal instinct. The NET translates, both times here, "have their outlook shaped by…" Newell paraphrases: "Now all those according to flesh cherish, desire, are occupied with, and absorbed in, talk of, think of, follow after, the things of flesh; those according to Spirit, likewise discern, value, love, are absorbed in, the things of Spirit."
Paul has an equivalent phrase in Philippians 3:17-19: Of those who live as enemies of the cross of Christ, he writes, "Their mind is on earthly things" (NET). Or, as the Lord warned Peter at a certain point in Matthew 16:23: "Get behind me [to follow me?]… you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
By contrast, those whose minds are set on spiritual things will endeavor to develop in their lives those virtues enumerated in Galatians 5:22-25 and 2 Peter 1:5-8, for they are the teachings of the Word of God's Spirit, and they have the seeds of eternal life within them (1 Pet 1:23). As John Carter puts it, "There is a change in tastes and aims. The disposition is altered. Thoughts are brought into line with God's thoughts."
SINFUL NATURE… SPIRIT: More literally, "flesh" and "spirit", as in KJV. The new way of life, the way of justification, is described as a life inclined towards the "spirit". John Carter writes that "In these verses the apostle takes up and expands the ideas involved in the statement of verse 4. By giving the words a different meaning from that of Paul, much needless difficulty has been found in them. The doctrine that the Holy Spirit is a person is responsible for much confusion. So also is the idea that 'spirit' refers to an immortal soul within man. Others, limiting the meaning of the word 'spirit' to the power of God, look for a present indwelling of that power, and with such a belief in their minds have been led to mistake the excitement of an emotional assembly for the operation of the power of God. But the context always helps us to fix the meaning of the words used. Every occurrence of the word in verses 5-11 has the same meaning. As 'flesh' does not describe the material body, but denotes the thoughts and ways in which flesh expresses itself, so 'spirit' indicates that mental and moral development which has its ultimate source in God, Who is Spirit, and Who has revealed His purpose by His power, which is also called Spirit."
As verse 5 makes clear, inclination of one's life in one direction or the other does not happen miraculously or by chance. The inclination is the result of consciously setting one's mind upon a set of principles and a course of life. So Paul elsewhere exhorts us:
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Col 3:1,2).
We gradually learn to recognize more quickly when the mind of the flesh is resisting the mind of the Spirit. This battle never ends until life is over, but what does happen, ideally, is that the mind of the Spirit gradually becomes stronger than the mind of the flesh. We cannot weaken the flesh; it will retain its wayward power to the end of life. What we can and must do is strengthen the spiritual mind and heart, so that it will subdue and control the flesh. By the power of God's Word we actually do develop new spiritual minds that instinctively react differently in all situations.
THE MIND OF SINFUL MAN IS DEATH, BUT THE MIND CONTROLLED BY THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE: In verse 6 Paul tells us what we must already know, indeed, what is supremely self-evident. Yet it bears repeating, often and forcefully, precisely because we can never, as we are now constituted, be fully free of the flesh's influences: "The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the spirit is life." The first, and simplest, way to understand this passage is to read "mind" as 'outlook, way of thinking, or mindset'. The second thing is to read "is" as 'leads to'. A mind firmly set in one way leads to one outcome; a mind set in another way leads to a very different outcome.
"Paul makes it very clear in these words that there are two ways of living, two kinds of character and disposition, the natural and the spiritual; and further, that one leads to death and one to life. One way takes no effort, no knowledge, no ability. It is just acting naturally, pleasing ourselves, doing what we want to do, following nature. Because men's interests and capacities and backgrounds differ, the way of the flesh takes a wide range of courses, some far worse than others; some, in fact, very good and commendable from a natural point of view. But all come under the general heading of the will of the flesh, and all end in eternal death at last. The other way is to realize, from the Word of God, that the whole range of the way of the flesh, from worst to best, leads only to death, and to thankfully accept the life-giving way of the Spirit. This way involves setting the whole life to the task of learning and applying the instructions God has given, and constantly seeking His help in absorbing and fulfilling them; constantly examining ourselves: our hearts, our motives, our desires" (Growcott, "Mortify the Deeds of the Body", Berean Christadelphian, Vol. 582, p. 70)
In another sense, also, it may be said that the mind of the flesh is death, even now, and that the mind of the spirit even now is life. Paul wrote elsewhere that the woman who lives "for pleasure", foolish, selfish, and self-seeking, is dead while she lives (1 Tim 5:6). The whole world that lives at enmity with God is "dead in transgressions and sins" (Eph 2:1,5). And John says that he who does not love his brother is dwelling in death (1 John 3:14). In other words, those who think and act and live in the way of the flesh are as good as dead already. They are dead men walking!
Conversely, the words of Jesus describe those who exemplify the spirit-life: "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24; cp. 1 John 5:11-13). So powerfully and certainly is our redemption pictured, that it is as though a mind firmly set on the proper goal, glorifying God in His Kingdom forever, has practically arrived!
Elsewhere, Paul writes: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:5). Again, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Col 3:2,3). The apostle can write such things because he appreciates a fundamental truth, one we may lose sight of from time to time: The Word of God has been designed not so much to convey information (though, of course, that can be very important) as to change us by the power of its influence and to develop within us a unique divine attitude to life: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things" (Phil 4:8).
"Keep telling yourself that, over and over. It is vital! It is for your life. To be fleshly-minded takes absolutely no effort, no study, no thought. It not only just comes naturally — it comes powerfully, and almost irresistibly. To be spiritually-minded is the very opposite. It does take great effort, and study, and thought. And even that's not enough. It takes constant prayer and constant Divine help. It will never come naturally just by being in the Truth, and 'doing the readings', and 'attending the meetings'. Baptism of itself is a passport to nothing except a glorious opportunity to give ourselves joyfully to God, and be accepted by Him. To be spiritually-minded is a constant struggle, a constant self-examination and self-discipline, a constant refreshing and re-cleaning in the water of the Word and the blood of the Lamb. But it alone is 'life and peace', intensity of Life forevermore, and perfect peace now and forever, to the depth of the soul" (Growcott).
THE SINFUL MIND IS HOSTILE TO GOD. IT DOES NOT SUBMIT TO GOD'S LAW, NOR CAN IT DO SO: The contrasting lifestyles of "flesh" and "spirit" are also considered by Paul in some detail in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 5:16-25). The spirit-life requires certain actions; it is a "walk" (v. 16, KJV; cp. Rom 8:4). The two ways of life are "contrary" to, "in conflict with", "hostile to", or "at enmity with" one another (v. 17; cp. Rom 8:7). The "flesh" is characterized by "works" (v 19), as it is in Romans by "wages" (Rom 6:23), such as a slave (Rom 8:15) might receive. But the spirit-life is characterized by "fruit" (Gal 5:22) and a "gift" (Rom 6:23), such as children would expect by virtue of their family standing (Rom 8:14-16). In these simple contrasts may be seen the diametrically opposite qualities and standards of the "flesh" and the "spirit".
HOSTILE: "Exthra" (KJV "enmity") is used also in the Septuagint of Genesis 3:15, describing the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Such an enmity, like a state of war or rebellion, is the precise opposite of the "peace" that is the companion of life and results from a mind firmly set on spiritual things. Such peace is achieved by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, where he removed the hostility between God and man, as well as that between Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:14,16).
IT DOES NOT SUBMIT: The Greek "hupotasso" is a military term, meaning to assume a rank under another, or to become subordinate. The primary duty of a good soldier is to obey commands without question. To become disobedient, or insubordinate, is to commit treason.
THOSE CONTROLLED BY THE SINFUL NATURE: The Greek is, simply, "in the flesh", which is a proper rendering of verses 8,9, judged simply on the Greek words alone. But the context and meaning require that "in the flesh" means, not simply 'having flesh, or human nature', but (as in vv. 5-7) having a mind 'inclined towards the flesh, or human nature'. In the same way Paul writes of the time "when we were in the flesh" (Rom 7:5) as though that state had been left behind, while, of course, in the literal sense it has not… yet.
CANNOT PLEASE GOD: The Greek "aresko" generally means to be pleasing, or acceptable to any one (1 Cor 7:32; Gal 1:10). Not to be pleasing to God, is to become objects of His displeasure (1 Thes 2:15), and possibly subjects of His enmity or wrath.
Paul uses many equivalent phrases in this chapter to add emphasis to what he is saying. To summarize verses 9-11, Paul says we are "inclined toward the spirit" if:
- the spirit of God,
- the spirit of Christ,
- Christ, and
- the spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead…
— all these terms being practically synonymous — dwell in us.
Other passages from Paul's writings show that it is the Word, and the mind, of Christ and God which must dwell in us. When God's inspired Word is allowed free rein in our minds, and our lives, then God's "power" is there (Rom 1:16,17), a power which tends toward salvation. Then God and His Son are dwelling with us, and we with them (Rom 8:9-11).
YOU, HOWEVER, ARE CONTROLLED NOT BY THE SINFUL NATURE BUT BY THE SPIRIT, IF THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU: "Controlled not by the sinful nature" is, literally, "are not in the flesh" (as the KJV), but see verse 8 and notes there. Though plainly a paraphrase, the NIV here is a very good translation, since it captures the meaning for modern readers much better than the more literal KJV rendering.
AND IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST: The spirit of Christ is the mind developed by the Word of God, or the Spirit-Word (vv. 5,6). We understand that the word "spirit" often means the disposition or mindset of a person, and only in a few places in the New Testament is it used to represent the miracle-working of God's Holy Spirit through apostles and specially-gifted believers. Here the use of the phrase "the spirit of Christ" emphasizes that it is the whole outlook of Christ which is required.
The fact that Paul is describing the ideal state of the believer, and thus a state to which he must aspire, explains the need for the exhortation that follows (vv. 10-13). If the highest ideals are not accompanied by the strongest practical measures, then they perish at last in the desert of natural apathy.
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness: The believer, whose life is inclined towards God's Spirit-Word, is both "dead" and "alive" at the same time. By baptism into Christ he has become dead to his former way of life, "dead to sin" (Rom 6:2), and dead to "the human nature with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24). By that same baptism, and the compelling influence it has upon the devout mind, the believer becomes truly "alive" for the first time — "alive" to righteousness, walking in "newness of life" (Rom 6:4), being himself "a new creation" (2 Cor 5:17). Christ lives in him (Gal 2:20). The life which he now lives in Christ is a 'spiritual' life, a life lived on a different plane of existence. It is lived in the presence, and recognized to be in the presence, of God.
The "yet" or "but" (NET) which separates the two phrases here is a very strong term. According to the NET Notes, "the Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English."
YOUR SPIRIT IS ALIVE: Literally, "The spirit (or Spirit) GIVES life." It has been well said that, wherever we see a believer living the Christ-directed life, we are witnessing a true miracle of 'creation' and 'resurrection'. Those who are inclined to think that our age is one lacking in miracles may not quite understand what an extraordinary thing it is to see a previously naturally-inclined life transformed into a true spiritual life, with a completely new meaning and direction.
When Jesus observed some of his followers beginning to doubt the power of his ministry, he reminded them of what they were hearing and seeing:
"The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor" (Matt 11:5).
There is a special detail in Jesus' catalogue of "miracles" performed, and it is found in the last point on his list. Strangely, the climax of his list is not that "the dead are raised", but that "the good news is preached to the poor"; it is — by its pride of place at the very end — the greatest miracle of all! Why is that so? Because the last type of "miracle" lifts Jesus' work out of the physical realm and puts it into the spiritual.
Moreover, the last miracle, the preaching of the gospel to the poor and lost, comprehends all the other "miracles" in itself. The gospel, heard and believed, does — in the most meaningful sense — give sight to the spiritually blind, strength to the spiritually weak, cleanness to those who were "leprous" with sin, hearing to the spiritually deaf, and a true "resurrection" of the spirit to those who were dead in their indifference and their sins. Here, then, is Jesus' way of lifting his work out of the ordinary (if any miracles can be considered ordinary!) and putting it on the highest level: The greatest "miracle" (and such miracles are occurring all around us even today) is a life changed by true belief in Jesus Christ. Which means… the greatest work of God's Holy Spirit has never ceased from among men, and never will, so long as sinners hear the Word of God, repent, and yearn and pray for His coming Kingdom.
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: "The idea of the dwelling together of God and man has a long Scriptural background; it does not arise in the New Testament, as for the first time, with a special mystical meaning understood only since Pentecost. There is, in fact, no inherent mystical meaning to the word 'dwelling' itself; it is used frequently in both Testaments in describing the relationship between God and His people. It is an ordinary 'family' word in English, and the equivalent words in Hebrew and Greek carry much the same ordinary, household meaning. Dwelling means living in the same house or household as another; the implication in Scripture is that those who dwell together belong to the same family — even when one of the dwellers is God Himself, or His Son.”
Ray Walker, "Romans: The Indwelling Spirit", Bible Student 7:5:148,149).
HIS SPIRIT, WHO LIVES IN YOU: The KJV has "his Spirit that dwelleth in you". We might prefer that "who" here be replaced by "that" or "which", but it scarcely makes any difference. The Holy Spirit, considered as a power only, may appear totally impersonal to us. But when we reorient ourselves ever so slightly, to think of the Holy Spirit as being the Power of God Himself, and absolutely subject to His will, then to use the personal pronoun can truly cause no problem. It is God, personally, who dwells in us through the power of His own Spirit, however it might be conveyed.
"Who will deliver me?"
"What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Rom 7:24).
The question at the close of the previous chapter — 'Who?' — is now abundantly answered here in Romans 8:11: God through Christ has delivered us, not only from guilt by the shed blood of Christ, but also from the overriding "principle of sin" in our bodies, over which even our renewed wills and consciences are impotent. The Eternal Father and His only-begotten Son have delivered us from a mind that tends only to death, into the mind and walk of the new Spirit life, a mind that tends toward "life and peace". And even further, now, we find that God, by that same Spirit, will deliver, from the grave, our mortal, corruptible bodies, now dead to God, and subject to death, and that He will lead us forth to walk in that newness of eternal life in Christ for which our inner spirits have groaned and cried out!
" 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" ( 1 Cor 15:55-57).
The Law of Moses not only condemned man, as was seen in Romans 7, but it also enslaved him. The work of Christ removes the condemnation (Rom 8:1), replacing it with justification which leads to righteousness. And it also frees us so that, no longer slaves, we may become sons (v 15).
This section (vv. 12-17) follows logically from the previous one (vv. 5-11). It continues the parable employed by Paul in Romans 6, in which those who live lives inclined toward the flesh (Rom 8:5,8) are pictured as slaves of Sin. Sin is personified as a mighty king who demands and exacts absolute obedience from his servants, and in the end rewards them with the 'wages' of death (Rom 6:16-23). But, as Paul continues, Christ has come into the 'slave market', and has redeemed us, or bought us out of that wretched place. This is the exact significance of the Greek "exagorazo", translated "redeem(ed)" in Galatians 3:13; 4:5. Now, he says, we need no longer live lives of degradation and fear (Rom 8:15). Now we have become slaves of Christ, and slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:16, 18, 22), which — while sharing some characteristics with other forms of slavery — is equivalent to being sons of God (Rom 8:15, 17).
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation — but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it: "Therefore" refers back to verses 5-11, and perhaps also to everything from Romans 6:1 forward. "There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: 'consequently therefore', emphasizing the conclusion of what [Paul] has been arguing" (NET Notes).
Living according to the dictates of the mind of the flesh can only be expected to earn death. Therefore there is no reason to follow such a course.
BROTHERS: Usually, this stands in Greek for those of both genders: "brothers and sisters".
OBLIGATION: The Greek "opheiletes" is a debtor (Matt 6:12), and one who is under obligation (e.g., Paul in Rom 1:14) to preach to the world. In Galatians 5:3 it expresses the obligation to keep the whole law if one practices circumcision. By contrast, Romans 8:12 speaks of believers who "are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh", and Romans 15:27 of the debt in Christian giving. A related word, "opheile", denotes monetary debt in Matthew 18:32, civil dues in Romans 13:7, and the command to fulfill one's marital duties in 1 Corinthians 7:3.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die: The verb here carries the meaning: 'You will most certainly die', or 'You will inevitably die.' Presumably, this is more than a mere natural death, because the second phrase here seems to contradict the inevitably of death. Thus we should probably read: 'If you live according to the sinful nature, you will certainly experience a spiritual death, but if you put to death the sins in your own flesh, you will most certainly experience a spiritual life.'
but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live: For "put to death" the KJV has "mortify". Christ by his sacrifice "condemned sin in the flesh" (v 3). Those in Christ imitate his work by seeking to carry out that sentence of death against the sin in their own flesh, or human natures:
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" (Col 3:5).
Notice that the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, did not make believers righteous by putting to death the sinful natures (i.e., the deeds of the body). The believers themselves were asked to do that through the Spirit — that is, through acquiring and developing a spiritual mind. They would accomplish this through their delight and meditation in the Spirit-word, not through any miraculously-conferred gift of the Holy Spirit.
Paul reminds believers that, if they do not continue to put to death their evil desires and evil works, then they will die. This "if", writes Newell, is "one of the great red lights by which God keeps His elect out of fatal paths (cp. 1 Cor 15:2; Col 1:23)… We must note most carefully that a holy life is to be lived by us. It is not that we have any power — we have none. But God's Spirit dwells in us for the express object of [encouraging us] 'to put to death the doings of the body'. Self-control ['temperance': KJV] is one of that sweet cluster called 'the fruit of the Spirit', in Galatians 5:22,23."
Sanctified initially through the redeeming work of Christ, the believer must embark upon a course of progressive sanctification through Christ. Perhaps this is best described in Peter's opening exhortation of his second epistle:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."
"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 1:3-11).
"Take pleasure in being holy, pure, clean, godly. It is much more satisfying and enjoyable than being dirty, once the mind is properly enlightened and adjusted. The natural man is dirty in all his thoughts and operations; 'dirty' from God's point of view, for all is of the flesh, from top to bottom — and the natural works of the flesh are all uncleanness. Man is like an untaught small child, loving mud and filth. To the human point of view, some natural works of the flesh seem more perverted than others, because natural man as a society has, from age to age, certain self-imposed and varying 'standards' — largely as a result of some faint residue of light from original divine instructions. Greece and Rome had lost all this, and were vile. 'Christianity' brought a glimmer back to society, at least on the surface, up to recent times. Today 'standards' of decency and morality are practically non-existent: and mankind is rapidly going back to total filth and defilement. But to God, these natural distinctions of society are minor. To Him, all that is natural is unclean. He calls man out of the natural filth to the wholesome joy and beauty and glory of true, clean, eternally-satisfying holiness. Those who truly try it are ceaselessly thankful for their redemption, and appalled at what they formerly approved" (Growcott).
BECAUSE THOSE WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT: This must be considered synonymous with "inclined toward the spirit" (v. 5), "the mind of the spirit" (v. 6), and the "indwelling" of the spirit — whether it is called the spirit of God or the spirit of Christ (vv. 9-11).
Note that the believer is "led" by the "spirit" (teaching, character, example) of God and His Son. He is not carried or dragged along by it, against his will. Nor does he walk wherever he pleases, choosing of his own accord where to go. But, rather, he is "led" — meaning that someone else walks ahead, and he follows — like a servant led by his master, or a sheep led by its shepherd, or a son led by his father.
It must be admitted that there is a mystery in this partnership between our spirits and 'the Spirit (of God and/or of Christ)'. How do the two "spirits", ours and God's (through His Son), work together? It is plain that the impetus for righteousness in our lives cannot come altogether from within ourselves, nor even from our having been given the Bible, God's "Spirit-Word", at the beginning, as if God had said, 'Here are My instructions; now you are all on your own!'
On the other hand, it is equally certain that all the impetus for righteousness cannot come from some mystical divine spirit which takes over our minds and acts upon us continually, apart from our own will and free choice. We know this cannot be true because the New Testament so often emphasizes that there are things which we must do for ourselves.
However, in between these two extremes, we ought to be assured — even while we read and pray, and exercise ourselves in and toward personal righteousness — that, in ways we cannot know perfectly, the Lord works for good in and around and through us. How this happens, exactly, is another matter:
- By providential means, such as the altering of situations and circumstances around us — the sorts of things that Robert Roberts outlines in his wonderful book, The Ways of Providence? Certainly.
- By angelic visitation, even though we never can be sure that it happens, because — as we are told — such things, when they happen, come upon us "unawares", or "without [our] knowing it" (Heb 13:2)? Quite possibly.
- By other, more direct means? Perhaps, although we can fall into a real trap if we attempt to guess if and when such things happen, because then we may presume to put aside our intellects altogether and rely upon such nebulous 'revelations', assuming that 'The Lord told me!' If we do this, then we may cross over into the area of delusion, where we believe ourselves to be 'inspired' by the Holy Spirit, and incapable of doing wrong.
The safest course is, surely:
- to recognize that "the Spirit" (of God, and/or of Christ) does act in and with and through us, while at the same time
- to acknowledge that we can never know how and when that Spirit is working, and
- to realize that no "Spirit" of God which might be acting in our lives permits us to suspend our own intellect, moral judgment, conscience, or sense of personal responsibility for all the choices we make in life.
The old cliché, about having one's head in the clouds but one's feet firmly planted on the ground, is useful to remember here. It aptly characterizes the balance in the believer's life, between what the Lord God does for us and what we ought to do for ourselves — between faith and works, 'inspiration' and perspiration, and perhaps also, as discussed later in Romans 8, "predestination" and free will.
ARE SONS OF GOD: Greek "huios", sons or daughters, with special reference to the relationship with the parent.
The term "huios", in such connections, expresses one or another of three main ideas, and sometimes all of them together:
- Possessing a similarity of disposition or character (Matt 5:9,45).
- Becoming the object of special affection (Rom 9:26; 2 Cor 6:18).
- Obtaining a claim or title to some special advantage, or inheritance (Gal 3:8,27-29; John 1:12; 1 John 3:2).
In this chapter (Romans 8), we note that Jesus was the Son ("huios") of God (v. 3). Those who are guided by God's spirit become sons of God. God "gave up" His own Son, Jesus, for us all (v 32), so that we might be revealed as His sons also (v. 19). This word for "son" is also related to "huiothesis" (vv. 15, 23), meaning "sonship" or "adoption" (KJV).
Compare Luke 3:21,22 with Luke 4:1, where Jesus was first baptized, and then led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness, to be tempted — and then to defeat — the "devil", or the desires of the world that dwelt in his human nature.
FOR YOU DID NOT RECEIVE A SPIRIT THAT MAKES YOU A SLAVE AGAIN TO FEAR: Literally, "a spirit of slavery". "Slavery" is "douleia", from a root word meaning 'to bind'. That which binds, or enslaves, a person.
Compare the similar phrases: "a whip", which many slaves have feared, as contrasted with "love and… a gentle spirit" (1 Cor 4:21), and "a spirit of timidity ['fear': KJV]" as contrasted with "a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim 1:7).
Also consider the contrasting circumstances Paul uses in his allegory of Galatians 3 and 4: The "slave" (and even the small child) is virtually a prisoner, locked up and in bondage, subject to the authority of others, including the authority of the law (Gal 3:23; 4:1-3). On the other hand, the mature "children" are given new garments and a new status, including full claims to an inheritance (Gal 3:26-29; 4:5-7).
BUT YOU RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF SONSHIP: This is the Greek "huiothesis", from "huios" (son) and "thesis" (to place or set). The word describes the bestowal of a legal relationship, common under Roman law, as distinct from the relationship of birth. In Galatians 4:5 those who are under the law are redeemed from the law to receive the gift of "sonship". In Ephesians 1:5 we have been "predestinated" unto sonship (KJV "adoption"). Under Roman law, "huiothesis" meant the severing of all past connections, becoming a 'new man', and having a new family. This situation was accompanied by the cancellation of all debts, and a new right of inheritance.
Those who have followed the Spirit of God and His Son have (or should have) left behind the attitudes of a slave, which include anxiety and fear. These feelings have been replaced by those of affection, respect and confidence — exactly those attitudes that good children have toward good parents. In other words, the attitudes described in the contrasts mentioned above, in 1 Corinthians 4:21 (love and gentleness) and 2 Timothy 1:7 (power, love, and self-discipline).
The figure of speech may be heightened as we put ourselves into the heart of a story. Let us imagine an eastern bazaar, meeting-place of the ancient world, the center of commerce, entertainment, news, opinions, and social interaction. And, always, there is the slave-market, with its auction-block. As one approaches, the brutality, callousness and fear can be felt, and seen. Here are women destined to be slaves to the basest passions of other men, and men doomed to lifelong slavery to satisfy the greed of their fellow men. Here are wasted, broken lives, and dashed hopes, families soon to be torn apart forever. The Roman slave-market is a parable of our own world, where many forces — media, advertising, peer pressures — act as masters to enslave the unsuspecting.
Into this scene comes a man who is obviously apart. Striding up to one man, he speaks forcefully: "I have bought you; come, follow me!" There are no chains, no threats, no blows. Just a simple command.
The disciple follows the man through the streets and the crowds until they reach the house of his Father. There the disciple is given a place far surpassing the slave quarters he had known before. And, then, he has scarcely cast himself down to rest before the man is back again. He has brought water to wash the disciple's feet. He has brought healing oil to soothe the cruel wounds inflicted by the former master, Sin. He has brought him a new, clean garment to wear. 'Now you are as I am', he tells him; 'You are no longer a slave. You are now a son in my Father's house.'
A lifetime of fear and hate has been washed away, miraculously, and in its place is the joyful cry of a man set free:
"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father'. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir" (Gal 4:6,7).
This is the change, then, implicit in the Greek word "huiothesis", a word very inadequately translated in the KJV as "adoption". The RSV (followed here) more correctly renders it as "sonship". "Adoption" gives the unfortunate idea, to some modern minds at least, of a distinctly second-class relationship — i.e., not a real son but merely an adopted one. It is a word which in no way does justice to the blessed state to which God has elevated us. In one sense there is, of course, only one "only begotten" Son. But in a broader sense we are all "begotten" by the Word of God to be His sons, and no son of God is 'second class'. But then again, in the very fullest sense, there is only one Son of God, for we are all sons only in that we have become part of the body of Christ.
The "sonship" and inheritance delineated by Paul is based upon the Roman law. Jewish law did not permit daughters to inherit along with sons; the firstborn son received double. But under Roman law sons and daughters all inherited equally, and adopted sons and daughters, upon whom such an honor was conferred, were treated on an identical basis with the others. To this Paul alluded:
"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:27-29).
John Carter has expressed similarly this contrast between slaves and sons:
At our baptism we did not enter a household as slaves to serve with fear. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants… but I have called you friends" (John 15:14,15). And how often God says to His children: "Fear not." As the child takes the hand of its father in the dark, and finds courage in the sound of the parent's voice, sometimes not knowing that the parent shares the fear, so with perfect confidence the child of God may trust the Father in heaven; much more so knowing that all circumstances are subject to His control. "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim 1:7).
Paul's Letter to the Romans, p. 80
AND BY HIM WE CRY, "ABBA": This is the Aramaic word for "father". It was especially a name by which God was addressed in prayer. The word occurs only three times in the New Testament text: Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; and Galatians 4:6. But this Aramaic term may lie behind numerous references to God as Father where only the Greek equivalent, "Pater", is given in the New Testament.
"FATHER": The Greek word "Pater" is a more formal expression than "Abba", signifying respect and a mature appreciation of the family relationship, such as grown offspring might more commonly use.
Together, "Abba" and "Pater" (Rom 8:15) epitomize, respectively, affection and respect. This joint title (the two appear together in Mark 14:36 and Galatians 4:6 as well) expresses a fullness which neither word alone can.
There is Abba, the love and trust that a little child ("teknon": vv. 16,17,21) feels for a father, an intimate and tender affection.
Then there is the Pater of an adult son or daughter ("huios", "huiothesis": vv. 14,15,19,23,29), the intelligent apprehension of the status, dignity, and honor due to the Head of the family. The combination of Hebrew and Greek words suggests also the mixed character of the Divine family: "neither Jew nor Greek… ye are all one in Christ" (Gal 3:28).
The cry of "Father" gives a sublime and vastly satisfying meaning to Romans 8:31-33:
"If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies."
There is assurance almost beyond expression in these words, for those who are still wracked with fear. What do we have to fear? God is our Father, and He is for us! He loved us so much that He purposefully gave up His own Son in death on our behalf. Will the One who has already gone so far in love for us turn back now? Will He bring charges against us at a judgment seat, when He has already taken steps, painful, sacrificial steps at that, to remove our condemnation (v 1), and to declare us righteous (v. 33)? To ask such questions is to know the answers.
The love of the Father for us as dear children is vividly portrayed by the prophet Hosea: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son… It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms… I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them… How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?… all my compassion is aroused" (Hos 11:1,3,4,8).
How, indeed, shall the Eternal Father give up His children, who cry to Him, in the name of tenderness and affection and deepest respect, "Abba, Father"?
THE SPIRIT HIMSELF: First, we may notice the more common explanation, from a Christadelphian standpoint, as fairly represented by the following: "The Spirit-Word within us develops an emotional regard for the Father (1 John 4:19) as true sons, which will reflect in our actions the Image of Him, and therefore witness that we are sons. The Spirit-Word and its reflection in us, mutually witness to our sonship. Moffatt renders this verse: 'It is this spirit, testifying along with our own spirit that we are the children of God' " (P.E. Pickering on Romans, 176).
In my opinion there is more to the verse than this, and it is not far-fetched to consider that "the Spirit itself" (KJV), or "the Spirit himself" (NIV), may be personal because it refers to the spirit of Christ.
The rendering "itself" in the KJV is solely due to the neuter gender of the noun "pneuma". So if in fact "pneuma" refers to Christ, then the "itself" may be changed to "himself" quite legitimately.
There are other instances of Christ being clearly referred to as "the Spirit”:
- When Paul wrote what "the Spirit clearly says" about a latter-day apostasy (1 Tim 4:1-3), he most probably had in mind Christ's great prophecy on the Mount of Olives (esp. Matt 24:4,5,10-12,24).
- The messages to the seven ecclesias in Asia are sent from the one described variously as holding the seven stars in his right hand (Rev 2:1), having been dead and yet now being alive (v 8), and the "Son of God" (v 18). But they are also described as "what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, etc).
- Paul refers to Christ, after his resurrection and glorification, as a "quickening (i.e., life-giving) spirit" (1 Cor 15:45).
So, why did Paul not simply say 'Christ' instead of resorting to the phrase 'the Spirit himself'? The reasoning behind my suggestion, and the explanation for an apparent circumlocution, is this: From where does the Christlike "spirit" come? It is no nebulous thing, created out of the air. It is demonstrated in the life of Christ himself. His exemplary life, even viewed 'second-hand' by modern disciples in the pages of the Bible, has an awesome power to change their lives. However and wherever that spirit or mind of Christ is truly manifested through others, it is still Christ himself who influences us. He is, therefore, in a sort of Biblical shorthand, "the Spirit himself". (If this still seems difficult to accept, consider Romans 8:26, with its notes, below.)
TESTIFIES WITH OUR SPIRIT: "Summarturei": to agree, or testify, along with. This is the first of four "with" words, words of partnership and sharing, in this verse and the next, which indicate what Christ shares with his brothers and sisters.
"What standing has our spirit in this matter? Of itself it surely has no right at all to testify to our being sons of God" (C.E.B. Cranfield). In other words, "our spirit" only has standing or privilege in such a matter because it is affiliated with the "spirit of Christ". We have been taken under his wing; he has vouched for us, because he has died for us.
THAT WE ARE GOD'S CHILDREN: God's DEAR children! The Greek word is "teknon", from a root word meaning 'to bear'; that which is born, and borne, i.e., a baby, a dear child. This word appears also in this chapter in verses 17 and 21. It expresses not just a future hope, but a present reality (1 John 3:2; 5:1; Rom 8:1,2; Gal 3:26; 4:6).
Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ: "Co-heirs" is "sunkleronomoi", one of three words in this verse alone, words which express a joint relationship between Christ and the saints.
The concepts of heirs and inheritance have been mentioned above. Various passages, from among many, might be cited here to supplement this point:
"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise… So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir" (Gal 3:29; 4:7).
"You know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward" (Col 3:24).
"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance — now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant" (Heb 9:15).
"Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, which is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory" (Eph 1:13,14).
If indeed we share in his sufferings: To share in sufferings is "sumpascho": to share a passion — all one word in the Greek.
We do not so much choose to suffer with Christ, as we choose to belong to Christ. Thus, having become part of the Christ-body of believers, we find that "If one part [of the body] suffers, every part suffers with ['sumpascho': the same word] it" (1 Cor 12:26). Suffering is not a voluntary matter, and certainly not an innately enjoyable one, but it is a matter necessitated by the relationship.
in order that we may also share in his glory: To share in glory is "sundoxasthomen" — again, one word in the Greek. "Doxa" signifies the honor resulting from a high opinion of another; or, to be correctly held in great esteem. It is used very often of God and His works. God's glory becomes Christ's glory and finally, in measure, our glory also.
These are but some of the 'with' words in Romans 8, which testify as to what we are and what we do jointly with Christ. This sharing with Christ gives all the weight to Paul's arguments and exhortations throughout this lofty chapter. It is not enough that believers suffer; they must suffer with Christ: there must be a conscious, intelligent understanding and imitation of him. It is not enough that the saints will one day be glorified; they must be glorified with (and through and because of) Christ, otherwise there is no meaning. So this expresses how "the Spirit himself" testifies along with our "spirit" (which is singular here, because all true believers share the same spirit), bearing witness that we are all (all together, Christ and us!) God's dear children.
When we choose a relationship with Christ, then that relationship makes us subject to both the difficult and the pleasurable parts of Christ's experience — "the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow" (1 Pet 1:11), or as here, "our present sufferings [and] the glory that will be revealed in us" (Rom 8:18). We cannot disavow the first part, and still expect to receive the second.
Elsewhere, Paul also writes: "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him" (2 Tim 2:10-12).
The order of Paul's presentation continues to be important. To recapitulate: First of all, he describes the gift of God: no condemnation (vv. 1-4). Therefore believers should live righteous, that is, "spirit"-directed, lives (vv. 5-11).
Again, we are no longer slaves, but now sons (vv. 12-17). Therefore we are required to endure present sufferings because of frailty, and to 'labor' as participants in the ongoing miracle of a new "birth" (vv. 18-25).
The change must be followed by the challenge. Carefully, logically, Paul lays the doctrinal foundation before he makes the moral appeal. 'Here is what God has done for you; now, this is what you must do for God.' We are God's "sons" (v 14), and no longer "slaves" (v 15). We need not "fear" any more (v 15). Now we can come into God's presence through Christ, to cry "Abba, Pater" (v 15). Christ himself shares with us our sonship, our inheritance, and our future glory (v 17).
However, as Paul made clear in verse 17, this necessitates that "we share in his sufferings also". This may seem burdensome, but it is reasonable: Even as our Lord endured sufferings on his way to the glory conferred upon him by the Father, so we who profess to walk in his footsteps will do the same. Our sufferings may not (quite likely, will not) be very much like his; nevertheless, they are of a similar nature. Just as Christ's sufferings led to his glory, so our sufferings, even if slight or short-lived by comparison to his, will lead us to our ultimate glory, with him, in the Father's Kingdom.
This section (vv. 18-25) concludes with two more 'with' words (cp vv 16,17), descriptive of the fellowship and sharing between Christ and those in Christ. "Sustenazo" (sighing together) in verse 22 anticipates the 'sighing' of Christ ("the Spirit himself") of verse 26. "Sunodino" (to give birth together) in verse 22 speaks of the joint efforts, in heaven and on earth, for the final 'birth' of the one new man, the redeemed body of Christ. It is a great comfort to know that in our individual travail (Rom 7:4) as well as our travail for one another (Gal 4:19), Christ sighs and groans and travails with us.
I CONSIDER THAT OUR PRESENT SUFFERINGS ARE NOT WORTH COMPARING WITH THE GLORY THAT WILL BE REVEALED IN US: The word "sufferings" thus links together this and the preceding verse. Now Paul shows the need for suffering in the life of the believer, with a wider perspective of God's plan of redemption. In the light of eternity we should view the cost of suffering with Jesus Christ now (in whatever form it takes) as insignificant in view of the glory that lies ahead for us (2 Cor 4:17).
OUR PRESENT SUFFERINGS: Our "sharing" with Christ, as part of his Body, necessitates that take up our crosses and follow him, and that "we share in his sufferings" (vv. 17,18). This is not an 'elective', or an option; it is a 'required subject'. Our exalted position now requires that we faithfully endure present sufferings in preparation for future glory. Our trials enable us to know the fellowship of Christ's sufferings (Phil 3:10), to "complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24, RSV), to comfort others who themselves are afflicted (2 Cor 1:3-7), and to trust in God alone rather than ourselves (2 Cor 1:9).
Whatever form our individual sufferings may take, they cannot be ignored. The victorious life in Christ does not rule out sufferings; rather, it necessitates them. They must be faced rationally, examined, and accepted. But no matter how severe they seem now, they are not to be compared with the future glory (Rom 8:18). Here is the key to the faithful endurance of our trials. In the same measure as our sufferings increase, our hope in the future glory must increase also. Rather than complain to God because of our trials, we must rejoice and thank Him (Rom 5:3), realizing that He is doing us a benefit. That which reminds us most firmly of our own weaknesses serves to draw us nearer to the only One Who is truly strong. Helpless children we may be, but we have a wise and loving and omnipotent Father: "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust… from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children — with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts" (Psa 103:13,14,17,18).
GLORY: A glory to be shared with Christ (v. 17) because we are all God's dear children (v. 21).
THAT WILL BE REVEALED IN US: "Revealed" is "apokalupto", an uncovering, as in the drawing aside of a veil. It refers often to the return of Christ (Luke 17:30; 1 Cor 1:7; 2 Thes 1:7; 1 Pet 1:7, 13; 4:13).
The Greek for "in" (in "in us" here) is "eis". It can be translated as either "in us" (KJV, NIV) or "to us" (ASV, NASB, RSV, NET), and probably includes both ideas, in view of the expansiveness of the divine glory that will cover the earth in the day of which Paul writes (Num 14:21; Hab 2:14; Isa 11:9). When the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord in the millennial age, then all the resurrected saints will have that glory revealed "to" them, before their very eyes. At the same time, because they have been raised to share in that glory, it will also be revealed "in" and through them to the rest of the world.
Hebrews 2 supplies lovely parallels to Romans 8, in which the relationship between sufferings and glory — augmented by the ideas of slavery and sonship — is explored in some detail. This set of parallels can best be shown in tabular form:
Hebrews 2 Romans 8 7. "A little lower than the angels" 20. Subjected to frustration (vanity, frailty, or futility) 9. "Suffered death [leads to] crowned with glory and honor" 17,18,21. Present sufferings [lead to] future glory and freedom 10. God, "for whom and through whom everything exists" 19-23. The new creation, to be born, in the redemption of our bodies 10. "Bringing many sons unto glory" 14,16,17,30. Sons… share in glory… 13. "The children God has given me" 16,17,21. God's dear children 14. Christ shared in our humanity (partook of the same flesh and blood) 3. God sent His Son in the flesh of sin (i.e., human nature) 14. "Him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil" 2,3. The principle of sin and death… sin in the flesh 15. "Held in slavery by their fear of death" 15,21. Spirit of slavery… flesh… bondage to decay
THE CREATION: The Greek is "ktisis", which describes both the act of making (especially by God), and that which is made. It is translated "creature" in the KJV), but also "creation" in practically every other translation (NIV, RV, ASV, RSV, and NET, etc.).
The word "ktisis" can refer to the creation of the world and everything in it (Mark 13:19; Rom 1:20, 25), or to mankind alone (Mark 16:15), or — most often in the New Testament — to the new spiritual "creation" in Christ (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15; Eph 2:15; 4:24; Col 1:15; 3:10).
What is the "creation" of verses 19-22, which endures present sufferings (vv. 18,22) in eager longing for future glory (vv. 19,21)? The correct answer to this question is crucial to the understanding of this section. The most common view is briefly expressed in the following quotations:
- "By a very striking and impressive personification, Paul in these verses represents creation as looking and waiting for the culmination of the Divine plan… There is incompleteness about man's world that cannot be the end of God's purpose with it. And just as Isaiah, in his picture of millennial peace, says that the wild creatures 'shall not hurt in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea' (Isa 11:9), so Paul attributes to creation an expectation of this time of restoration which is bound up with the manifestation of the sons of God. And as it was subjected by God to its present vanity, not of its own will or fault, but because of man's sin, so it will experience a deliverance from its bondage and share the liberty pertaining to the glory of the children of God" (John Carter, p. 92).
- "It is the whole creation which unconsciously yearns for the manifestation of the sons of God to bring release from the present evil" (P.E. Pickering, Romans 179).
However, I would strongly favor a second possible interpretation, hinted at above and outlined in the following:
- "Now it does not seem to me that the 'creation' which groans and travails is the whole earth. Redemption has never been a general thing. It has always been conditional on the acceptance of suffering and death, and those who refuse to accept this have no part in redemption. They do not travail, because they have no seed of God within them. They are never born again. It seems to me that the 'creation' which has groaned and travailed throughout all ages is the new creation of God which has always existed alongside the old creation, and has waited in faith, 'earnestly expecting' the final revelation of the resurrection birth. It contains men of faith of all ages, but none of the seed of the serpent, to whom travail means nothing" (Ray Walker, "Suffering and Glory", Bible Student 8:1:4).
- This idea has also been suggested and elaborated upon by Harry Whittaker: "It is generally agreed that the word 'creature' in this passage [Rom 8:19-22] should be read as 'creation'. The interpretation commonly put upon this remarkable passage is that 'by a very striking and impressive personification, Paul in these verses represents creation as looking and waiting for the culmination of the Divine plan' [here he quotes from John Carter; see above]. Some commentators restrict the 'creation' to mean the human race, enlightened and ignorant, 'Christian' and pagan; but others — the majority — suggest that here Paul's thought takes a grand poetic sweep to include every thing in the universe, animate and inanimate, as though it all had a deep unexpressed longing for the grand climax of the divine purpose in Christ. This study will suggest that such a view tangles up the exegesis of Romans 8 with too many difficulties; and more positively, it will be argued that throughout this passage Paul has in view the New Creation, the church of the redeemed in Christ" ("The Groaning of Creation in Romans 8:19-22", Bible Studies).
Some of Harry Whittaker's ideas are incorporated into the notes which follow here.
"Creation" in the New Testament
Following the lead of this second suggestion, we should allow Paul to interpret himself as to the meaning of "ktisis" (creation) in this passage under consideration. Putting aside Romans 8, most of the other occurrences of "ktisis" and its related verb ("ktizo") in Paul's writings (11 out of 18) clearly pertain to the new, or spiritual, "creation". (And a few of the other instances, not so obviously relevant, may be better interpreted along these lines also.) And they do so in ways very much parallel to his usage in Romans 8:
- 2 Corinthians 5:14-17: "Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died… So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation [the KJV 'new creatures' obscures the 'creation' connection]; the old has gone, the new has come!" In language reminiscent of Romans 8 Paul speaks of God in Christ reconciling unto Himself those who had been separated, and thereby beginning to bring order back to a frail, futile world. That this second "creation" is patterned after the first is clearly shown by the larger context: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6).
- Galatians 6:15: "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation [again, 'a new creature': KJV]." This is in a context that includes 'sowing to the flesh' and 'sowing to the spirit' (v. 8; cp Rom 8:5-13).
- Ephesians 2:1-10: In a passage with extended and extensive parallels to Romans 8, Paul speaks of Christ as the creator: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (v 10). The phrase "to do good works" is a telling connection with our study. It defines the purpose for which we have been created. This is the correct order: salvation is not "by ['ek': from, or out of] works" (Eph 2:9), but it is "to do, or unto ['epi': for] good works" (v 10). Works are not the means of salvation, but the result of the influence of the gospel message of salvation. Thus, in Romans 8, the "no condemnation" and "liberty" (vv. 1,2) logically precede the walking after the spirit (vv. 5-11).
- Ephesians 4:22-24: The "old self" or "old man" (KJV), with his corrupt way of life, must be put off. We must be renewed in the spirit of our minds (Romans 8 words), so as to put on the "new self" or "the new man", who is created ("ktizo") after the image of God's Son (Rom 8:29).
- Colossians 1:15-18: Christ is the "image" and the "firstborn" (the language of Romans 8:29) of all creation ("every creature": KJV) (v 15), because all are created by him (v 16). This must be the "new creation", since Christ is "before all" (v 17), and all are made out of him (v. 17). These figurative expressions are explained by the more literal ones of verse 18: "he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead." The broader context — "redemption and forgiveness" (v. 14), "reconcile" (v 20) — also makes plain that here is a sort of creation which involves personal salvation.
- Colossians 3:9,10: "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator ('ktizo')."
That this interpretation fits the text of Romans 8 is self-evident. While Scriptural language can sometimes be highly figurative, there is no reason to take any given text as more figurative than necessary. To speak of all natural creation, inanimate and animate, godless as well as godly, waiting with eager longing, sighing as in childbirth, and hoping for the revelation of God's sons, is clearly to stretch figurative speech to the breaking point.
It is, of course, not disputed that all creation will benefit from the removal of the Edenic curse. But that is a different matter.
Also, to say that inanimate creation has been subject to frailty "not willingly" (or "not by their own choice") is a meaningless selection of words. And when it is realized that verses 19-22 elaborate upon verses 16-18, where the present sufferings and future glory pertain of course to God's dear children, the case should be considered proven.
WAITS: "Apekdechomai" occurs three times in this section (here, and vv 23, 25). It signifies eager expectation, and generally has clear reference to the return of Christ ( 1 Cor 1:7; Gal 5:5; Heb 9:28).
IN EAGER EXPECTATION: Greek "apokaradokia", which signifies a watching with the head erect and outstretched, an earnest waiting in suspense, an eager anticipation which can scarcely contain itself. It occurs also in Philippians 1:20: "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed."
FOR THE SONS OF GOD TO BE REVEALED: The Greek "apokalupsis" is related to the word in verse 18. "Revealed" (NIV) is simpler and easier to understand; "manifest(ed)" or "manifestation" obscure this connection.
The "revealing" will be something of an unveiling, when those who groan and are burdened in their fleshly "tabernacle", will find them instantaneously clothed upon with new and glorious heavenly bodies: "What is mortal will be swallowed up in life" (2 Cor 5:1-4). Or when, as Paul expresses it again, those who have God's Word written on the fleshly tablets of their hearts, who have the treasure of God's glory encased in jars of clay, will find their obscuring veils removed and their old coverings shed, so that the light of God's glory will shine out for all the world to see. Then they will, "with unveiled faces… reflect the Lord's glory… being transformed into his likeness" (2 Cor 3:18).
FOR THE CREATION WAS SUBJECTED TO FRUSTRATION: “Subjected is the Greek "hupotasso", a military term meaning to rank under. Since the mind of the flesh is not "subject to" God's principles (v. 7), all mankind has been "subjected to" frailty.
FRUSTRATION: "Mataiotees" signifies 'empty as to results'. Various possible translations are "frailty", "vanity" (KJV), "futility" (RSV), and "frustration" (NIV), all of which have some merit. The vanity, or frailty, of mankind is the subject of Ecclesiastes 1:2,13,14, etc. Much of that Bible book is about the emptiness of human life, apart from God.
The word "frailty" of verse 20 establishes immediate links between Romans 8 and the garden of Eden: In both there is “condemnation” (Rom 8:1); "subjection" of all creation, but especially of Adam and Eve (God's 'spiritual' creation); and travail in childbirth (cp. Gen 3:16 with Rom 8:22). Links with the Preacher's description of the "vanity" of human life are also obvious (Eccl 1:2-14).
NOT BY ITS OWN CHOICE, BUT BY THE WILL OF THE ONE WHO SUBJECTED IT: Of course it is God who has subjected the new creation to vanity or frailty. It is just possible, however, that Paul may be referring to Adam, whose sin was the first cause of man's fall and subjection.
[IN HOPE…] THAT THE CREATION ITSELF WOULD BE LIBERATED: "Liberated" is contrasted with "subjected to" in verse 20. The new creation has been liberated — past tense — from the principle of sin and death (v. 2), and will be liberated — future tense — from the slavery of decay.
FROM ITS BONDAGE TO DECAY: "Bondage" is "slavery": The same word as verse 15. The new creation has been delivered from the "slavery" of the spirit or mind (v. 15; KJV "spirit of bondage"), and will be delivered from the "slavery" of the flesh.
INTO THE GLORIOUS FREEDOM: "Freedom" comes from the same root word as "liberated" in verses 2 and 21. More literally, this phrase in the Greek is "the liberty of the glory". The "liberty" of verse 2 is from sin and death (that is, prospectively or legally, by forgiveness of sins, as well as a change in relationship with God), but it does not include the liberty of glory (which can only come with immortality: vv. 17,18,30). This "glory" is still in the future, though we can be so assured of it that it may be spoken of in the past tense (v. 30).
OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD: "Children" is better translated "dear children": the Greek is "teknon" (vv. 16,17). By becoming "dear children" of God, believers also become His heirs (v. 17).
WE KNOW THAT THE WHOLE CREATION HAS BEEN GROANING: To groan or sigh, either with grief or compassion. Similar words appear in verses 23 and 26. The word here is "sustenazo", 'to sigh together with', another example of the sharing, or 'with' words (cp vv. 16,17). Believers may "sigh" (i.e., here; v. 23; Acts 7:34; 2 Cor 5:2, 4), even as Christ "sighed" (Mark 7:34; 8:12) and still sighs (Rom 8:26).
AS IN THE PAINS OF CHILDBIRTH: Greek "sunodino" signifies 'to give birth together'. It appears only this once. "Odino" by itself refers to labor in childbirth, sometimes figuratively: Matthew 24:8 ("sorrows"); Acts 2:24 ("pains"); 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ("travail"); and Galatians 4:19,27 ("travail").
RIGHT UP THE TO THE PRESENT TIME: In other words, even now (Paul writes) we are still longing for something more, something far above and beyond what we are now privileged to know in Christ. This thought is developed in the next verse.
NOT ONLY SO, BUT WE OURSELVES, WHO HAVE THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, GROAN INWARDLY AS WE WAIT EAGERLY FOR OUR ADOPTION AS SONS, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES: God commanded the Israelites to present a portion of their harvest which ripened first, their "firstfruits", as an offering to Him (Exod 23:19; Neh 10:35). This offering acknowledged that the whole harvest actually belonged to Him. It was an offering that the Israelites made in faith, confident that the rest of the harvest would follow. This last point explains Paul's use of the word "firstfruits" here.
Also, in the initial conquest of the Land of Promise, God blessed Israel with a foretaste of what they might find in that Land:
"In order to encourage the Israelites to sustain the difficulties that presented themselves to their entry into Canaan, God sent them of the fruits of the land while they were still in the desert [Num 13:21-27]. Our blessed Lord, too, permitted some of his disciples to witness his transfiguration, when his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as light. This was calculated to inspire them with an ardent desire to behold that… glory, of which, on that occasion, they had a transient glimpse, and to render them more patient in sustaining the troubles they were about to encounter. Allowing them to enjoy a measure of that peace which passeth all understanding [Phil 4:7], [God] favors them with some foretastes of the glory to be revealed.” Robert Haldane
God's gift of the Holy Spirit, given to some at the very beginning of the Christian church (Acts 2), was His guarantee and pledge that He would complete the process of salvation begun in the life, death and resurrection of His Son. Even though the Lord has redeemed us and made us the sons of God, there will be a final, future aspect of redemption, which Paul called "the day of redemption" (Eph 1:13,14; 4:30), or "the redemption of our bodies" (here). At this time, faithful believers will "be like him [Christ], for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). This will be when they will receive the gift of immortality (Phil 3:20,21; 1 Cor 15:44; 2 Cor 5:10).
And so, to paraphrase Romans 8:23, 'Even we who have experienced the firstfruits of the Spirit-power, in initial gifts of the Holy Spirit, realize how much more wonderful the full gift of the Spirit will be, in the conferring of immortal, glorious bodies at the return of Christ. Even we are not now freed from the same urgent longing, a sighing as in the travail of childbirth, for the full experience of Divine glory.'
Hence the "groaning inwardly" of the saints. They realize something of what the future holds for the faithful in Christ, but they know also that, in this life, such peace and joy cannot yet be found:
"Thou hidden love of God, whose height, Whose depth unfathomed no one knows, I see from far thy beauteous light, And inly sigh for thy repose; My heart is pained, nor can it be At rest, till it finds rest in thee."
In the article previously cited, Harry Whittaker writes:
"The strongest objection which can be made to the interpretation now being argued for [i.e., that 'creation' in this passage refers to the 'NEW creation'] rests on the italicized word in verse 23: 'and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit…', as though a distinction is implied between the 'creation' already spoken about and 'ourselves'. Instead, read: 'And not only so, but ourselves also…' now with special reference to the ecclesial leaders endowed with special Holy Spirit gifts for the guidance of the church. Read thus, the words become an intensification of the argument already developed, as though Paul is now saying: 'Not only is the entire church of Christ filled with this intense longing for deliverance, but even those who are most spiritual and have already tasted the powers of the world to come are filled with this same eager expectation of the coming day of deliverance; indeed, they most of all!' "
FOR OUR ADOPTION AS SONS: Here is the completion, or full maturing of the "sonship" process. The "spirit" of sonship ("huiothesis") in verse 15 describes the first steps in this process, but the final step is when "sonship" is perfected in the "redemption" or release of the body from every effect of sin and death.
THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES: "Redemption" is the Greek "apolutrosis": to be redeemed out of, or bought away from…
FOR IN THIS HOPE: "Hope" is "elpis" and/or "elpizo", which can mean any or all of the following:
- the happy anticipation of what is good;
- the factual ground upon which the hope is based; and/or
- the object upon which the hope is fixed.
Paul does not speak of hope in general, as if it were some vague longing for something better in a shadowy future. Instead, he speaks of "the hope", with the definite article, a very specific hope, which is nothing less than the gospel message, of both Old and New Testaments. This we see from other usages of the word in the New Testament. Among other things, "hope" is coupled with:
- the resurrection (Acts 23:6),
- the promise to the fathers (Acts 26:6,7),
- Israel (Acts 28:20),
- the gospel (Col 1:23),
- the glory of God (Rom 5:2),
- the appearing of Christ (Titus 2:13),
- salvation (1 Thes 5:8), and
- eternal life (Titus 1:2; 3:7).
It is easy enough to see that, if we merely ask ourselves, 'What does each particular "hope" mean in Bible terms?' and then combine the answers, we will have constructed a very reasonable (and practically complete) definition of the gospel.
It was the recognition of what Paul meant by "the hope" here that led John Thomas into a much better appreciation of the good news of the Bible. As he considered this verse, he came to realize that salvation was inexorably bound up in a full and correct hope, based on an understanding of the fundamental promises of God. This discovery led him to sever his connections with other denominations, and begin to lay the foundations of what became the community of believers known as Christadelphians.
WE WERE SAVED: This salvation is an ongoing process. It is:
- begun when the gospel message is heard;
- advanced in baptism;
- further advanced in a patient, hopeful 'working out'; and
- finally completed in "the release of our bodies" (v 23).
It is not a single extraordinary action that changes everything forever. Instead, it is an ongoing process — a continuing "creation" — that results, at last, in "the redemption of our bodies". This is proven by the many means, outlined in the New Testament, whereby we are "saved":
What saves us? According to the New Testament, we are saved by:
- grace (Eph 2:8,9);
- hope (Rom 8:24);
- belief (Mark 16:15);
- baptism (1 Pet 3:21);
- the gospel, and its memory ( 1 Cor 15:1,2);
- the blood of Christ ( 1 John 1:7);
- faith (Rom 5:1);
- works (James 2:24);
- ourselves (Acts 2:40); and/or
- endurance (Matt 10:22).
This second list, like the one above involving "hope", may — if considered carefully — supplement the answer to the question asked above. 'If I am to be saved by the hope, what exactly is that hope, and how exactly am I to be saved by it?'
"The question as to which single characteristic saves the man is an abstraction. An illustration is helpful. A man who has fallen into the river screams for help. A man on the bank runs with a rope and throws it to the man in the river. He catches hold and is pulled to safety. What saved him? Was it his scream? Was it the rope? Was it the man on the bank? Did he save himself? Or was it all of these working together?" (Ron Abel, Wrested Scriptures).
BUT HOPE THAT IS SEEN IS NO HOPE AT ALL. WHO HOPES FOR WHAT HE ALREADY HAS?: The point of these two verses is that the attitude of hope, so characteristic and even distinctive of the Christian believer, implies that there is more in store for him than anything which he possesses already. To say this is not to disparage in any way the blessings of this life, which are many, but to realize — with heartfelt gratitude — that, for those who have faith, not only is all life made more meaningful by hope, but also 'the best in yet to come.'
A Redeemer for this Body
How consoling and cheering is it, then, amid all the evils of the present state, that God hath found a ransom, who is willing and able to deliver us from the power of the grave; and not only so, but that "at the manifestation of the sons of God" (Rom 8:17-25), when he shall appear in power and great glory, "we shall be like him; because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). Then will the saints be "changed into the same image of glory… even as the Lord" himself was changed, when he became "the spirit-giving-life", or "a quickening spirit". John Thomas
BUT IF WE HOPE FOR WHAT WE DO NOT YET HAVE, WE WAIT FOR IT PATIENTLY: "Patiently" is the Greek "hupomone", suggesting perseverance, or endurance. "Patiently" (as the KJV also) strikes us modern readers as quite passive, whereas "with perseverance" is much more active — going forth in the struggle, and continuing therein, without slacking. The Divine description of Gideon and his small army of faithful men is apt here: "Gideon and his three hundred men… exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit" (Judges 8:4), or "faint, yet pursuing" (KJV).
A Scheme Marked with Great Wisdom
The world is a wilderness in which brambles tear the feet of the pilgrim, but this is not always to be so. God never intended that the fine sensibilities which pertain to the creature formed after the type of the Elohim should forever be violated. It is no plan of His that hearts shall always be torn and souls always withered by the hot breath of the desert. It was never intended that the world should always be the scene of that "inhumanity to man" which "makes countless thousands mourn", or that the meek of the earth, seeking after God, should always go thirsting for comfort never to be found. Such a state of things is of itself the best proof that it is abnormal. The very spectacle of man everywhere seeking, seeking, seeking, and never finding, is a proof of something out of joint.
With the Scriptures in our hands we see what it is. With the Scriptures out of our hands we cannot account for it; for, away from the source of information, there is no explanation of the mystery that the principal work of nature should be the greatest failure. The Scriptures explain everything. The Almighty, ever-living One, who always has been, and whose wisdom, and power, and goodness, and justice are above the reach of our intellects, though not beyond the flight of our faith, is working out, on this little part of His unlimited dominion, a scheme or purpose marked with great wisdom, and pregnant with great goodness, and joy, and glory, to all connected with that purpose in its ultimate form.
We see Adam placed in the Garden of Eden, under the law of obedience. We see him disobedient, and we see and feel the consequences. God exiled man from His society and friendship. He drove him out to do for himself, and the race is now in that driven-off state. We are not under the divine guardianship that Adam enjoyed. We are outside of the state represented by the literal Garden of Eden. We are not in communion with the Almighty. We are not living under His shadow. Human society is not constituted in harmony with His deep, eternal and perfect laws. But this will soon be changed, for the day of Christ, the second Adam, is about to dawn!
Robert Roberts
The threads of thought leading into this section are clear. If we suffer with Christ, being conformed now to the pattern of his life, then we will also be glorified with him (vv. 17,18). In this we hope, and our continuance in this hope, through the changes and trials of life, develops patience (vv. 19-25). Now, in this section, Paul gives his readers various reasons and encouragements to endure faithfully whatever difficulties befall them. There are at least three reasons:
- Christ our intercessor shares our trials with us, understands our weaknesses, and powerfully intercedes for us with the Father (vv. 26,27).
- No matter what happens, day by day, to those who live in hope, they can be assured that their experiences are designed by God for their ultimate good (v 28).
- The greatest reason of all is that the Lord God has marked us out, personally and individually, for glory (vv. 29,30).
THE SPIRIT… THE SPIRIT HIMSELF": Compare verse 16 and notes, where the KJV's "the Spirit itself" is translated "the Spirit himself" by the NIV. In fact, here in verse 26, the RV, RSV and NET as well as the NIV all agree in translating as "himself". Once again, there should be no problem in reading "the Spirit" as having personality here, because here at least it is equivalent to the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
IN THE SAME WAY THE SPIRIT HELPS US: "Sunantilambanetai": to take hold of a heavy burden together with others so as to assist them. "Shares with us". The prefix ("sun") marks this as another one of the 'together', or 'with', words (vv. 16,17,22), identifying what Christ shares with us. The identical word is used in Luke 10:40, where Martha requests Jesus to bid her sister Mary to "help" her. This word suggests a partnership in work; there is no encouragement to passivity here. Christ has promised to help us bear our burdens, but not to do everything for us.
IN OUR WEAKNESS: "Astheneia" has the same root as "powerless" ("weak", KJV) in verse 3. The identical word is used in Matthew 8:17 (cp. Luke 8:2), where Christ's healing of the sick fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:4: "Surely he took up our infirmities ['astheneia'] and carried our sorrows, or diseases."
WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE OUGHT TO PRAY FOR: The KJV and the NIV understand Paul as saying: 'We do not what to pray for.' The NASB, NET, NEB, and RSV understand him to say, 'We do not know how we ought to pray.' The first possibility ("what") implies ignorance regarding the content and subjects of our prayers. The second ("how") implies ignorance regarding the proper method and procedure. We are told that the Greek text permits either interpretation, though it tends to favor the NASB, NET, etc. Jesus gave instruction to his disciples about both content and method (Matt 6:9-15; Luke 11:2-4).
Constable writes: "Perhaps what Paul meant was this. We know how to approach God in prayer and the general subjects that we should pray about. Still we struggle with exactly how to pray most effectively and with exactly what to pray for. The basic principle of effective praying is that it must be in harmony with the will of God to be effective (1 John 5:14,15; John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23,24)."
Since we are far from infallible in our knowledge, it is often true that we do not know the will of God perfectly — and especially so as regards our own lives and circumstances. So we cannot expect ourselves to know what is the very best thing for which to pray, although we can be assured that the Lord himself knows.
BUT THE SPIRIT HIMSELF INTERCEDES FOR US: "Entugchano": to meet, to fall in with, to talk to. It is connected with "huper" (in this verse only) to signify 'to speak with one on behalf of another'. Of the six occurrences of "entugchano" three are in Romans 8 (vv. 26,27,34), and the others are in Acts 25:24; Romans 11:2; and Hebrews 7:25.
WITH GROANS: "Sighs of compassion", related to "groans" in verse 22 and "groan" in verse 23. Christ's groans, or sighs, are compared with those of the believers.
We should not confuse these "groans" with praying in tongues. This passage promises help to all believers, not just to those few in the first century who had the Holy Spirit gift of tongues. Furthermore, the "Holy Spirit" seems to be praying FOR us, not necessarily through us. (Bear in mind that, at this point, we have yet to consider what it means that the "Holy Spirit" prays for us.)
THAT WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS: Or "in words we cannot hear". This word "alaletois" (literally, 'not spoken') is poorly translated by the KJV as "which cannot be uttered". It does not mean inarticulate words or sounds, but rather speech that cannot be expressed or uttered to us, for it is a private communication which passes only between Christ and God. Compare the thoughts in 2 Corinthians 12:4: "inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell"; and John 12:28,29: "Then a voice came from heaven… The crowd… heard it [and] said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him."
"It is a matter to be received by faith that though our inner man may be overwhelmed by the incapacities of the flesh, the Spirit [i.e., Christ himself: verse 34] reflects to the eternal throne the inner aspirations and affections of the mind which can only be expressed on our part by inarticulate groanings. Before the throne stands the Lord Jesus whose part it is to focalize these transmitted distress signals and make intercession with the Father on our behalf.” Robert Roberts
As already mentioned, most modern versions render "the Spirit himself" (RV, RSV, NIV, NEB, NET) instead of "the Spirit itself", and there seems to be no textual reason why the newer rendering should not be allowed. (As in Romans 8:16, "itself" is explained by the neuter gender of the original Greek word "pneuma".) The only problem in this translation would be the implicit support for the personality of the Holy Spirit, and the belief in a three-person 'Trinity'. But when it is perceived that "the Spirit" here may refer to Christ after all, then the "himself" is perfectly natural.
Reasons for the second view, that "the Spirit himself" is another way of referring to Christ, are as follows:
- Verse 26 would then closely match verse 16, already considered earlier. Each verse also contains one of the "with" words (cp. vv. 17,22) — expressive of those experiences which believers share with Christ.
- Christ is called "Spirit" in other New Testament passages, such as 1 Corinthians 15:45. It is to this verse John Thomas refers when he writes of Christ, who "as the Quickening Spirit, makes intercession for (believers) according to the Divine Will — Romans 8:26,27" (Eureka Vol. 2, p. 356).
- In the letters to the seven ecclesias in Asia Minor (e.g., Rev 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22) Christ refers to himself repeatedly as "the Spirit" (also cp, Rev 14:13; 19:10; 22:17).
- Verse 26, in which "the Spirit" intercedes for believers, is parallel to verses 27 and 34, where Christ is undoubtedly meant as the intercessor (C.C. Walker, "The Spirit Who Maketh Intercession"; Christadelphian 41:501). Christ is the one and only intercessor (Heb 7:25; 1 Tim 2:5,6) (A.H. Nicholls, "The Evangelical Revival: Sharing God's Guidance", Christadelphian 118:85). The Holy Spirit can no more be the intercessor for believers than can the Virgin, idealized by Roman Catholics, as 'Mary, Mother of God'.
- The "sighs of compassion" are a reflection of Christ's humanity and intense fellow-feeling with us: "There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk… Then [Jesus] spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him… 'Be opened!' " (Mark 7:32-34). "The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply" (Mark 8:11,12).
Now the phrase "groans that words cannot express" ("with groanings that cannot be uttered": KJV) becomes clear: "The Greek word 'alaletos'… does not here refer to inarticulate speech on the part of the intercessor, but to the fact that we ourselves are not able to know or repeat what is said, since the communication is not between God and ourselves but between God and Christ 'who maketh intercession for us', 'when we know not what we should pray for as we ought' " (Alfred Nicholls, The Christadelphian, Vol. 118, pp. 86).
In all of the above we must recognize a great sustaining comfort and hope. Now Christ speaks to God for us, although we cannot hear him, although we do not know precisely what words pass between them. There can be no greater assurance than this, of salvation for those who love God. Truly there are unnumbered comforts bestowed upon us, of which we can never be aware this side of the Kingdom. "Cast all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you" (1 Pet 5:7).
"As the priest arranged upon the altar the sacrifices of men, so our Lord rearranges our feeble utterances so that they are in accordance with the will of God — if in faith we pray through him" (Cyril Tennant).
Indecorous Prayers
C.C. Walker has this to say about what he calls "indecorous [i.e., inappropriate or unacceptable] prayers".
"We know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit helpeth our infirmities" [Rom 8:26].
It is an apostolic saying. Who has not suffered from indecorous prayers? The disciples felt their inability so much that they asked the Lord to teach them to pray. And He taught them "the Lord's Prayer". In English it takes only about sixty words. "God is in heaven and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few" [Eccl 5:2]. So said Solomon; and the "Greater than Solomon" upholds it. His own examples are marvels of chaste brevity and simplicity.
All acceptable prayer is based upon faith and obedience, coupled with brevity, simplicity and suitability.
Thanks for the bread and wine should be carefully confined to the subject. A closing prayer should not epitomize a lecture or exhortation. Prayers that God "will make us" thus and so, without our honest endeavor, are hypocrisy. "The Lord make us truly thankful" is an indecorous prayer. "Father, I thank Thee", is the Christ model. Prayer that God will save all the audience in the Kingdom of God is not in harmony with Christ's declaration: "Many are called, but few chosen" [Matt 22:14].
"Words few — deeds true", and the Lord will have mercy upon us and "help our infirmities".
AND HE WHO SEARCHES OUR HEARTS: This can only be Christ: "Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds" (Rev 2:23).
There is probably a time in every believer's life when the idea that Christ searches and knows our hearts is a frightening thing, for — like Adam and Eve in the Garden — we may wish to hide ourselves from the searching gaze of the God Himself (or, in this case, His Son). But here for Paul there is, instead, a great comfort in the thought that Christ searches those same hearts, and knows their innermost workings, since this allows him better to communicate to the Father, and allows them both better to decide how to respond to the heart which is in need, and which yearns to express, but cannot truly express, those needs to the Throne of Grace.
KNOWS THE MIND OF THE SPIRIT: Compare verses 5-7. Christ knows the mind of the Spirit because it is, after all, his mind!
BECAUSE THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR THE SAINTS: Compare verse 26 and notes there.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD'S WILL: While continuing and amplifying Paul's thoughts in the previous verse, verse 27 offers another point worth exploring. Christ's intercession for us is always "according to God's will". It is noteworthy that it is not God's will that His dear children escape all sufferings, but it is certainly His will that such sufferings work for our ultimate spiritual good (v 28).
This may be the idea behind "we do not know what we ought to pray for" — that is, whether we should pray for deliverance from trials, or for strength to endure them. In fact, this was Paul's own dilemma exactly, as he recounts in his second letter to the Corinthians:
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh… to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:7-10).
So even the great apostle found himself attempting to pray for something that was not, at that time, "in accordance with God's will". His prayers had to be 'translated' by the Lord when presented to the Father, and Paul had to come to know, and accept, that his Lord Jesus Christ knew better than he what was best for his servant.
It may be God's will that we be spared certain sufferings, but it may just as well be, in individual cases, as He chooses, that we endure certain trials. So we must leave it to Christ, acting in unison with the Father, for he searches our hearts, he knows our limitations, and he knows our potentials. Our redeemer and mediator will surely do what is best for us.
How often do we pray, 'Father, let me be an instrument of Thy will'; and then add, as a private aside, 'But, please, Lord, don't let it hurt too much!' Instead, we should pray, courageously, in the words of our hymn:
Should Thy wisdom, Lord, decree Trials long and sharp for me, Pain or sorrow, care or shame — Father, glorify Thy name!
In this we would more nearly follow the examples of Christ, who in a dark garden, with tears on his cheeks, prayed, "Not my will, but Yours be done"; and Paul, beset by that thorn in the flesh, who prayed for deliverance, but then learned that God's strength is perfected in man's weakness.
AND WE KNOW THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD WORKS FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen 1:31). The physical "good" of His physical "creation", expressed in Genesis 1, prefigures the spiritual "good" of His spiritual "creation". Compare the references to "creation" in verses 19-23.
IN ALL THINGS GOD WORKS: There is some manuscript evidence that "God" should be the subject of this sentence, as in the NIV and the RSV. It is God, having perfect knowledge, who "works together [Greek 'synergo'] with all things” — not "all things" that work somehow, without feeling or foresight, but just by falling into place as if by chance.
Nevertheless, the KJV ("All things work for good": cf. ASV, NET, NRSV also) also has manuscript support, and may adequately express the same idea, if read with an appropriate recognition of the part which God plays. In other words, 'those who love God' will know 'that all things work together for good' only because God and not random chance is working to that end.
The problem with the passive approach is that any worldly, unspiritual person might say, in times of trouble, 'This will all work out… somehow.' For the believer, it is much better to think, and say: 'God works, in all things, for good…' A great, unfathomable Mind is always awake and at work, taking in hand "all things" of our lives — even adversities (vv. 17,18) and sufferings (v. 35) — and using them, every one, as tools to shape and polish, and at last to "create" His finished work, minds and characters and lives which glorify Him.
So if we prefer the passive translation, it must be recognized that the subject is clearly implied. For one thing, God is the subject in the verses that immediately follow (i.e., vv. 29,30). And for another, He is the only One who could ever arrange "all things" to a purposeful end. Either way, as Cranfield puts it, "What is expressed is a truly Biblical confidence in the sovereignty of God."
This verse does not specifically say that God causes 'all things', period. Instead, it implies that He permits 'all things', but that is much different from initiating them. When trouble or even tragedy touches a believer, we should not conclude that God has caused it. Troubles are caused by many things: by the hurtful actions of others, by our own sinful desires, by our ignorance, or our poor choices. This verse does give a wonderful assurance: No matter how it came to be that we find ourselves ensnared in troubles, or falling under the worst tragedies, even if it is because of our own sins, still our loving heavenly Father can and will bring good out of such things, for those who continue to love Him.
ALL THINGS… FOR GOOD: What is included in the "all things"? Newell writes that they include "dark things, and bright things; happy things, and sad things; sweet things, and bitter things; times of prosperity, as well as times of adversity." Then he adds a brief comment, referring to 2 Kings 4: There, the "great woman", the Shunammite, with her child lying at home already dead, responds to Elisha's question, "Is your child is all right?" with the answer: "Yes, everything is all right" (v 26). Even the death of a beloved child can work for good, to those who love the Lord. God.
To this we could add the words of Mary the sister of Lazarus, whose brother had lain dead in his tomb for four days. When her beloved Jesus arrived, Mary said: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask" (John 11:21,22).
These two women, knowing the deepest grief that can come upon us in this life, yet knowing also the Lord God and His care for them, could summon the faith to say, in effect, 'Our God can, and will, work even in these the worst of times. He can work in all things that I can possibly experience, so that — ultimately — they will prove to have been "for good" in my life.'
This is why this very verse, Romans 8:28, has been called "a soft pillow for a tired and sorrowful heart". God does work, in all things, even the saddest we can possibly imagine, for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
When sorrowing o'er some stone I bend Which covers all that was a friend; And from his hand, his voice, his smile, Divides me for a little while, My Saviour knows the tears I shed; For he did weep o'er Lazarus dead.
And O when I have safely passed Through every conflict but the last, Still may he keep a watch beside My bed of death, for he has died, And close my eyes in hope and trust Of rising glorious from the dust.
WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE: This purpose is outlined in the two verses that follow.
Having established that Christ intercedes for us, but that intercession does not always produce our physical and material comfort, Paul now stresses that in all things, even sufferings (vv. 17,18,35), God works for our good (v 28). This we must believe and accept, or otherwise we will be like the seeds planted in shallow earth, and at the first blast of summer 'heat' we will wither away (Matt 13:5,6,20,21; Mark 4:5,6,16,17). So Paul, following his own advice, was able to write:
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:8,9,16,17).
Do we believe this? Can we presume to live as did Paul? Do we ever grumble, or doubt, or worry, or despair? If we do then we must, as did Paul, look at Christ crucified. It is only through patient bearing up under our trials that we will ever come to know "the fellowship of his sufferings" (Phil 3:10), and this we must know. What a privilege it is to suffer with Christ (Rom 8:17)! It is both a proof of our family relationship (Heb 12:7,8) and a guarantee of our future glory (Rom 8:17,18).
Always think positively. You cannot always control your circumstances. But you can control your own thoughts. There is nothing either good or bad, only your thinking makes it so. Things seem to turn out best for those people who can make the best out of the way things turn out. It is not the situation, it's your reaction to the situation. The reality of your life may result from many outside factors, none of which you can control. Your attitude, however, reflects the ways in which you deal with what is happening to you. Life at any time can become difficult. Life at any time can become easy. It all depends upon how you adjust yourself to life. What you see in your mind is what you get out of life.
Morarji Desai
Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel [the place at the rear of an open boat, behind the rowers' bench] when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world's tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That reassuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, "It is I, be not afraid." He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, 'If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could fall to me if God ordains it.' "We know that God works in all things for good to them that love Him." The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the scalpel have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer's heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, 'Send me what Thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from Thee; never came there an ill portion from Thy table to any of Thy children.'
Charles Spurgeon
This last section (vv. 29,30) provides an outline of God's purpose referred to in verse 28. God's purpose with those who love Him consists of five steps:
- foreknowledge,
- predetermination,
- calling,
- justification (or declaring righteous), and
- glorification.
The first four, already realities for believers now, guarantee the fifth and final step (vv. 17,18,21). All this may be said without meaning to imply that there is no chance of 'falling away', for there is. But believers must learn to dwell as much as possible on the positive aspects. Only such an attitude will sustain us through the trials and doubts that inevitably buffet us. Only such a positive attitude can do justice to the love of God shown in His great work for our salvation. Against the backdrop of His supreme mercy, fear and despair are nothing but offenses to Him who has repeatedly told us, "Fear not."
FOR THOSE GOD FOREKNEW: "Foreknew" ("foreordained": KJV) is the Greek "proginosko" = to know in advance. The apostle Peter uses the same work in a helpful context:
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen ['proginosko'] before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake" (1 Pet 1:18-20).
Note the Passover connection; this will prove quite relevant as we proceed.
HE ALSO PREDESTINED: "He determined beforehand": this is the KJV "did predestinate". The Greek "proorizo" signifies to set bounds, or ordain, beforehand. "Pro" means 'before, ahead of time'. And "horizo" (like horizon in English) marks the point, or line of sight, beyond which the sun cannot go, that is, the line of demarcation between earth and sky. "Proorizo" appears here and in verse 30, and in Ephesians 1:5, 11, where the righteous are "sealed" (separated and marked out for special care). Also, the same word occurs in Acts 4:28 and 1 Corinthians 2:7.
We probably all have a pretty good idea what "predestination" is not. It is not 'eternal security'; it is not 'once saved, always saved'. But… the question here is: What does it mean? Consider the following:
Let us now return to the context in 1 Peter 1:18-20, mentioned above. The purpose of the Passover lamb's blood was to put a limit, in advance, upon the work of the Destroying Angel. Those who had faith sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. In doing so they were marked out ahead of time (Exod 12) — "predestined", we might say — and thus were saved out of Egypt. All around the Jews and their households there were other "firstborns"; these were not marked out to be spared, but rather marked out ("predestined") to perish, including the firstborn of Pharaoh (see Rom 9:17).
We see that the verse before us at this moment, Romans 8:29, also has a "firstborn" connection: "that [Christ] might be the firstborn among many brothers". And there are other Passover connections as well, in the immediate context:
- Romans 8:32, compared with Genesis 22: the ram as a special offering, and
- Romans 8:36, compared with Psalm 44:22: believers are as sheep to be slaughtered.
Did the Lord, all on His own and by Divine fiat, "predestine" certain Jewish families in Egypt to be saved, while "predestining" others to be condemned? Of course not. He did not necessarily select, one by one, every person, Jew or Gentile, who would fall under the Divine provision. What the Lord did was provide the command regarding the Passover lambs. The Jews were required, by their own free wills, to choose whether they would put the blood on their houses, and then they had to choose whether they would remain in those houses during the night. They had to act in faith upon the principles and promises which God had given them. If they did, then they were "predestined" (marked out beforehand) to be spared or saved, even while others around them, who chose differently, were "predestined" to perish.
Of course, those who chose to be saved out of Egypt had to continue to remember God and His promises, and continue to keep the Passover, as a reminder of what God had done for them, and (we may presume) as an act of faith in the greater "Passover lamb" to come, who would truly take away the sins of the world.
But it was still God's "predestination" in the first place. 'I have marked out a place where you will be safe from the death that will be visited upon the world. That place is one of absolute security. But you need to go there, do what I say, and above all, to remain there. Otherwise, you will not be "marked out" for My Glory!'
So we may be sure that, whatever is expressed by this word "predestination", it should not rule out or neutralize the free will of individuals to choose and obey. Any exhaustive attempt to balance what appear, on the surface, to be contradictory concepts will probably be dull at best and confusing at worst. So we shall hope to avoid this as much as possible by referring to a couple of summarizing statements and then passing on.
"God predestinates to eternal life those who become conformable to the heavenly family likeness presented in Christ Jesus. When we come to consider the plan upon which the principles of predestination are worked out we shall see that only such as do become conformable to Christ's image can rightly be considered as coming within the scope of predestination, and therefore should any enter its initial stages and become abortive, they drop out of the apostle's idea of foreordination.
"Those predestinated in Paul's survey in Romans 8 are said to love God and are called according to His purpose; and it is upon this principle their glorification is assured. It is most important we should keep this in mind, or we can never understand the principle of predestination. It is this fact that is omitted in the doctrine which contends that men are born to eternal life or eternal damnation" (G.S. Sherry, "Whom He Did Foreknow", Christadelphian 72:209,210).
"How did God predestinate? By establishing the way, the truth, and the life; the line and demarcation that we must follow… In God's purpose man is predestinated upon the basis of God's will and man's character. We are informed in Ephesians 1:5: 'Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will'…
"Without our own volition or mind or disposition, in working out our own salvation? No! This very epistle [Ephesians], like all the epistles, is full of instruction concerning what we must do to obtain salvation, and warning against what we must put aside if we would escape rejection. This is meaningless according to the common view of 'predestination'.
"It is clear… that the predestination of which Paul speaks is dependent upon faithful conformity with the way of life of which he speaks" (W.J. Pickford, "Predestination", The Christadelphian Berean, Vol. 53, p. 32).
TO BE CONFORMED: "Summorphos": to be conformed together. Christ was made of a woman, under the law, and thus made to possess human (sinful) flesh, along with all of us. Thus he was "conformed" to our likeness. Likewise, in faith and baptism and obedience, we seek to become "conformed" to his likeness, in a spiritual and moral way.
TO THE LIKENESS OF HIS SON: “Likeness”: this is Greek "eikon"; and it involves the two ideas of representation and manifestation. In the New Testament, the word is used of a coin (Matt 22:20; Mark 12:16; Luke 20:24), and an idol or statue (Rom 1:23; Rev 13:14,15; 14:9). The sons of Adam bear his image (1 Cor 15:49). Christ bears the image of God (1 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). And we hope to bear the image of Christ (1 Cor 15:49; Col 3:10).
God has "predestinated" those who love Him, not just to be saved, but especially — along the way — to become "conformed" to a particular pattern. Specifically, to be conformed to the pattern of His Son. Once again, this argues — not for a cookie-cutter process, where the passive dough is shaped without its own will — but rather for an active working partnership, between God and the believer. In this partnership, both parties work for the transformation of the believer into the representation, and the imitation, of the Saviour. Predestination is something in which we believers must participate; it is hard work. It may be the gift of God to us, but it requires us to open the 'gift', and 'assemble' its parts, so as to make it work in our lives, every day!
THAT HE MIGHT BE THE FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BROTHERS: "Firstborn" is "prototokos": from "proto" (first) and "tikto" (to bear). The word may signify that which is earliest as to time, or preeminent as to position. Christ is the "firstborn" from the dead (Col 1:18; Rev 1:5), in the sense of being the first to realize, and experience, all that resurrection was intended to achieve. He is also the "firstborn" of the new creation, pointing and showing the way for others to follow (Col 1:15).
AND THOSE HE PREDESTINED, HE ALSO CALLED: Looking at the ways in which the New Testament uses "kaleo" (to call), it almost always refers to those who go on to be baptized. While the calling of men and women to God has to do with hearing the gospel being preached, it evidently means more than that. Some may hear the Word of God being preached, and presumably even understand what it is saying, and know it to be true — yet still not truly be "called" in the New Testament sense. But where to draw the line between those who have been "called" and those who have not, is certainly beyond our power; it ought to be left to God (1 Thes 2:12; Col 3:15; Rom 8:28; 9:23,24; Eph 4:1; Jude 1:1).
THOSE HE CALLED, HE ALSO JUSTIFIED: "Justified" is "declared righteous". Putting it this way helps to recognize the intended link with verses 4,10, and 33. Christ, by his death, fulfilled in himself (and on behalf of us) the righteous requirement of the law (v. 4), becoming truly "righteous" himself, so that those of us who are in him might be declared righteous, and go on to live spirit-lives of righteousness (v 10).
THOSE HE JUSTIFIED, HE ALSO GLORIFIED: This chapter points out that this is the glory which we will share with Christ (v. 17); a glory not to be compared with our present sufferings (v. 18); a glory reserved for God's dear children, when they have escaped the slavery of bondage and decay (v. 21). This glory is spoken of here in the past tense, not because it is actually a present possession, but because its future possession has been assured for us by the work of God in Christ.
Conclusion
The key idea of this section (vv. 26-30) is this: God has marked us out for glory. He has taken all the steps necessary for our salvation. There is now no condemnation. We are free, we are sons, we are dear children! Paul purposefully disregards the possibility of failure, and concentrates solely upon the glorious steps of salvation, building to a climax in the final section of Romans 8 (vv. 31-39).
Nothing stands between us and eternal glory except our own loss of faith:
- not our sins, for they are forgiven;
- not our nature — shared with Christ, it can (and will) be changed in a moment;
- not the law — it was satisfied in the death of Christ; and
- not our trials, for they are specially designed by our Father for our benefit.
With these exalted, and exalting, assurances Paul prepares his readers to become " 'super-conquerors' through him who loved us".
'What can we add to all this?' In this chapter, so far, we have already seen:
- acquittal from sin,
- justification,
- freedom from slavery,
- the blessings of sonship,
- the hope of a "new creation" in glory,
- Christ as our intercessor, and
- the assurance that God works in all things for our ultimate glory.
In the conclusion of Romans 8, the Holy Spirit through Paul draws together all these golden threads into a confession of faith; the personal profession of hope and trust which is the foundation and core of every believer's life. The believer may take Romans 8, and say: 'Here is where I stand. I can do nothing else. God will help me.'
WHAT, THEN, SHALL WE SAY IN RESPONSE TO THIS? IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?: Paul is now completely and passionately convinced of his salvation and ours. All creation is being divided into two camps, and we, who are in Christ, are on the winning side. As has been pointed out before, Paul is not here contradicting his statements elsewhere (e.g., Romans 2:6,7 and 1 Corinthians 9:27) to the effect that salvation is conditional on "well doing" and that we can become "castaways".
Instead., he is purposefully unmindful of the possibility of failure, for he is concentrating solely on the glories of salvation.
This is the Scriptural viewpoint, and it can scarcely be stressed too much. As Christadelphians we must resist the non-Biblical idea expressed in the simplistic phrase 'once saved, always saved', as well as the blindly optimistic supposition that 'Christ has done it all.' The danger arises, however, that too much effort expended disproving these assertions, to ourselves and others, may engross us in the contemplation of the negative side of things. And so, when troubles come, we may find ourselves suddenly trapped in an impotent pessimism and a paralyzing fear.
To this we might add F.W. Turner's thoughts:
"We may be in danger, because of our constant recognition of the difficulties of the way and of the possibility of failure in the day of Christ, of conceiving the idea that the bestowal of the reward must necessarily be a matter of grave concern and even of hesitating doubt. We need have no such fears. The Scriptures assure us that if we succeed in overcoming there will be no limitation of Divine graciousness in the reward of faithfulness. 'Fear not little flock,' says Christ to his disciples, 'for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom' [Luke 12:32]. These gracious words supply wonderful encouragement to greater endeavor. Do we sometimes think, even if we allow the possibility of success in the day of Christ, of ourselves being grudgingly admitted to the Kingdom 'by the skin of our teeth'? Peter has a higher conception of the Divine grace and lifts our earthbound thoughts to a loftier plane: 'For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly unto the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' [2Pet 1:11]. There is no limit to God's grace, no suggestion of frugality or economy: these belong to men, not to the Creator of heaven and earth."
"Who has not felt the effect of cheering words in times of danger and distress? Sometimes, alas! they are nothing more than words, because the speaker of them is a man, and speaks perhaps against hope, for the mere sake of preventing despondency, without power in his hand to alter evil. But consider the cheer contained in a divine summons to 'fear not'. 'If God be for us, who can be against us?' He knows we are prone to fear. He knoweth our frame; He remembereth we are dust. He knows we can only see things as they appear to mortal sense, and not as they are to His all penetrating eyes. He knows that the cloud and the immensity and the silence appear greater to our feeble faculties than He appears who fills all, holding even the ocean in the hollow of His hand. He knows we walk by faith and not by sight, and He knows that, though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Therefore He recognizes the tendency of our poor hearts to flutter and quail [tremble with fear], and He says, 'Fear not' " (Robert Roberts, The Ways of Providence, p. 24).
HE WHO DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, BUT GAVE HIM UP FOR US ALL: Paul presents one of the greatest assurances of God's concern for our salvation. If God gave us His only-begotten Son, how could He possibly hold back anything? The greatest possible gift assures all the lesser ones that follow. This verse is in fact a conscious reference to God's commendation of Abraham in the offering of his son Isaac: "…because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son…" (Gen 22:16).
In the Septuagint the phrase is virtually identical (Whittaker, Abraham: Father of the Faithful, p. 108). This suggests the astounding thought that here Abraham is typical of God Himself, in that his sacrifice of Isaac foreshadowed the Father's sacrifice of His only Son. Abraham and his son both participated in the offering: this must be the significance of Genesis 22:6,8: "The two of them went on together." Thus Abraham, who personally "bound his son… and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood" (v 9), suffered along with (perhaps even more than) his son Isaac in the anticipation of the sacrifice. But the outcome of their dedication was the promise of blessing to all nations (Gen 22:17,18).
The analogy, then, is that God participated in the offering of His Son (Isa 53:10; Acts 2:23). In a sense, it was God's "pleasure" to do so, because it would bring eternal blessings to others (John 3:16). Nevertheless, the effort involved a sacrifice and an affliction on God's part. Here is a side of God's character hinted at in such passages as Isaiah 63:9: "In all their [Israel's] distress ['afflictions': KJV] he too was distressed ['afflicted': KJV]."
In Genesis 22, the ultimate act of sacrificial love from God's viewpoint was portrayed by Abraham on the human level. And we have been privileged that our heavenly Father, in this scene, has pulled back the curtain, and allowed us a glimpse of His own private and personal feelings.
Can God sorrow? Can God feel pain? Can God be compassionate? Can He love? The Greek 'gods' supposedly sat on Mount Olympus, mocking and scorning poor feeble men. But the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, is no such God. He is simply a Father; a Father who piteously loves His children, finding boundless joy in their smallest faltering steps toward understanding and obedience of Him; a Father Who has provided and will provide all things we shall ever need for our salvation.
HOW WILL HE NOT ALSO, ALONG WITH HIM, GRACIOUSLY GIVE US ALL THINGS?: That is, along with Christ. "Sunauto" ("along with him") is the last of the impressive list of 'sharing' references in this chapter (cp. vv. 16,17,22,26,29) — a list that highlights the wonderful blessings of belonging to Jesus Christ's divine family.
GRACIOUSLY: "Graciously" is "freely" in the KJV. It refers to that which is given freely, without a charge, and with no expectation of receiving an appropriate recompense.
These two verses take us into a courtroom. In similar Old Testament scenes both Jews and Gentiles found themselves lacking at God's bar of justice (Isa 41:21-24; 43:8-11; 44:7; 45:20,21). Here, of course, the position of all men before God is portrayed, without Christ: they are "under sin… and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:9, 23). But another event has altered the scales. Another man has now stood before the Divine Judge of all the earth:
"Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me?" (Isa 50:7-9).
In these verses (Rom 8:33,34) we stand with Christ. As none could condemn him, so none will condemn us (v. 1). God will not condemn us (v. 33), because it is He who has arranged all things (including the death of His beloved Son) for our benefit. Christ will not condemn us (v. 34), because to do so would be to deny the value of his own blood, and to act contrary to all he has previously done, and all he is doing now as an intercessor.
There is no doubt that, if we were judged solely on the basis of our own deeds, we would all fail, and fail miserably. The omniscient eye of God has caught each of us "in the very act" (John 8:4). But the only man who can righteously condemn us, being himself without sin, refuses to do so: "Neither do I condemn you" (John 8:11). "There is therefore now no condemnation" (Rom 8:1).
WHO WILL BRING ANY CHARGE AGAINST THOSE WHOM GOD HAS CHOSEN? IT IS GOD WHO JUSTIFIES: Or, possibly as a question, "Is it God who justifies?" In Bible times it was customary to write Hebrew and Greek manuscripts with few, if any, marks of punctuation. So naturally the opinions of translators as to appropriate punctuation, by modern standards, will sometimes differ (see Study, Punctuation in the Bible Text).
This verse alludes to Isaiah 50:8:
"He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!"
This chapter in Isaiah culminates the series of courtroom scenes in Isaiah (see the references above, to Isaiah 41 and 43-45), in which the Lord God is pictured as sitting in judgment of men, and of Israel especially. But the prophet, a man of God, no matter what happens to him in the short term, need not fear such a judgment. In faith he knows that the One who may judge others is the same One who will vindicate him, that is, defend and protect him, and at the same time declare him righteous.
WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNS?: For those who do not believe, or have turned away from their faith, the Judgment Seat will be a true "courtroom", where one's sins are offered in evidence and judgment (i.e., condemnation) is passed.
But for those who believe (no matter how well or how feebly they have served their Master — the desire and the commitment is accepted for the actions, surely!), for those who have truly believed, who have truly had faith… there will be no "charge" against them. (Perhaps, if sins are actually remembered, it will be temporary and for "instructional" purposes only.) Instead, the One who might bring such charge of condemnation (God Himself) sits on the bench prepared to "justify" them (i.e., pronounce them righteous, or acquitted, or not guilty).
In fact, you might say, the whole trial has been rigged in our favor. First, there is no prosecuting attorney. Secondly, the Judge (God Himself) has appointed His own Son, whom He loves more than anyone or anything else, as the special defense attorney.
Or, to put another way, as Paul writes, who will "condemn" them? Will there be a "prosecuting attorney" ready to produce evidence to condemn them? No! Instead, Christ, who might have filled that role, will be "interceding" for them. There is no prosecuting attorney; look, that seat is empty! And the One who might have sat there has instead taken over the role of defense attorney. Now he is pleading, to a sympathetic Judge (his own Father!) — the mitigating circumstances that negate the sins of the "defendant". Let's read the transcript of that trial; here's his final argument:
'Your Honor, whatever this woman did or did not do that fell short of Your glory, she believed in You through me. In that faith she cast herself upon Your mercy, and trusted in Your promises. She followed my example, and did what she could, given the limitations of the nature she possessed, and the body of weakness which she lived in. Now, Father, she leans upon me for what she could not do. I personally vouch for her love, and her sincerity. She's part of our family too! For my sake, O Lord, and for the glory of Your Holy Name, in Your great mercy and Your everlasting love, declare this my sister and Your daughter "righteous"!'
CHRIST JESUS, WHO DIED: Or, as a question, "Is it Christ, who died?" Compare verse 33, notes.
MORE THAN THAT, WHO WAS RAISED TO LIFE — IS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD AND IS ALSO INTERCEDING FOR US: The primary work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as he sits on the right hand of the Father, is to intercede on behalf of all his brothers and sisters. This has been mentioned earlier (in Rom 8:16), and it is, of course, a key element of the teaching of the Letter to the Hebrews:
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb 4:14-16).
"Therefore [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them" (Heb 7:25).
The beauties of this passage (Romans 8:35-37) are manifold:
- First of all, no hardship (no matter how severe) can separate us from the love of Christ. Do we need to rage against even the "sword" that may kill us? No… because we have the love of Christ, which is stronger than death!
- Even if we are lined up and slaughtered like sheep… then we are only walking in the footsteps of our Master, who was the Passover lamb led to slaughter. And he opened not his mouth to protest, but committed himself totally into his Father's care, asking forgiveness for his murderers. Stephen did the same, as he was being stoned at the instigation of that vicious killer, Saul of Tarsus! Where would we be if Stephen had prayed for vengeance on his enemies, and if God had listened? (I suppose we wouldn't be reading Romans today, for one thing.)
- But… saving the best for last: "In all these things (i.e., persecution and danger and even death) we are more than conquerors!" How can we be greater than a conqueror? There is only one thing greater than conquering your enemy, and that is converting your enemy to be your friend, bringing him over to your 'side'! The love of Christ is strong enough to do that. Thereby you have not only 'destroyed' your enemy, but you have also gained another friend at the same time. "Go, and do likewise!" (Luke 10:37).
WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST: Some manuscripts have the longer phrase, "the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus", but that is probably borrowed from verse 39.
SHALL TROUBLE: "Thlipsis" — pressure, affliction, or "trials". This word is used almost exclusively by Paul in the sense of the oppression or tribulation that is caused by outward circumstances or events (e.g., Rom 2:9; 5:3; 8:35; 12:12; 1 Cor 7:28; 2 Cor 1:8; 4:17; 6:4; 7:4,5; 8:2; Phil 4:14; 1 Thes 1:6; 3:3, 7; 2 Thes 1:4, 6). It is applied to the coming tribulations of the Last Days (Matt 24:8, 21, 30; Mark 13:19).
OR HARDSHIP: "Distress". "Stenochoria" — narrowness of place, anguish of mind, in which there seems to be no way out of the situation, and no room to maneuver. This word and its variations are used half a dozen times in the New Testament (here; Rom 2:9; 2 Cor 4:8; 6:4,12; 12:10).
OR PERSECUTION: "Diogmos" — to be pressured or pursued, to be put to flight or driven away. It refers to an unrelenting active opposition, when believers must bear the rage and malice of persecutors (cf, Acts 8:1; cp, Matt 5:11).
OR FAMINE: Greek "limnos", a scarcity of food. Many have been exposed to famine as the natural result of being driven from their homes, and to wander amidst strangers, seeking refuge in deserts and desolate places.
OR NAKEDNESS: "Gumnos" is literally nakedness. But in a material context, the word can mean "poverty" also: bareness, bitter need, and/or extreme poverty (cp. 2 Cor 11:27). It can also be extended to mean a spiritual 'poverty' in an unfavorable sense: "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Rev 3:17,18).
OR DANGER: "Kindynos" appears eight times in 2 Corinthians 11:26, where it is translated "dangers" or "perils", those difficulties encountered and overcome by the apostle as he went about the Roman Empire preaching the gospel (see the references in the catalogues below).
OR SWORD?: "Machaira" refers to an assassin's dagger, or short sword, probably used in executions. It occurs in a number of places (Matt 10:34; 26:47, 51, 55; Mark 14:43, 47; Luke 21:24; 22:36, 38, 49, 52; John 18:10; Acts 12:2; 16:27; Rom 13:4; Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12; 11:34, 37; Rev 6:4; 13:10, 14). Whether the "sword" refers to acts of violence, or the threat of violence in a violent world, not even its sharp blade can separate the believer from the love of Christ.
The "tribulation catalogues"
Some commentators speak of what they call the "tribulation catalogues" in Paul's writings. These lists make instructive, though perhaps difficult, reading. They certainly help us put our own distresses in proper perspective. Other than this verse, the "tribulation catalogues" include the following:
- 1 Corinthians 4:10-13: "We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world."
- 2 Corinthians 4:8,9: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
- 2 Corinthians 6:4-10: "Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."
- 2 Corinthians 11:23-33: "Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands."
- 2 Corinthians 12:10: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
- Philippians 4:12: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
AS IT IS WRITTEN: "FOR YOUR SAKE WE FACE DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED": This is cited from Psalm 44:22. What is there about a psalm from the days of Hezekiah that bears upon Paul's subject here? The psalm was set in the time of Sennacherib's invasion, a time of severe testing for all Israel, including the faithful remnant. 'Why do we suffer?' they were asking (Psa 44:9); 'we have not forgotten You' (v 17).
Verse 21 in the psalm brings the answer: God was searching their hearts, and knew the secrets of those hearts (cp Rom 8:27); their trials were for their spiritual development and benefit. And thus the answer, and the key, is in Psalm 44:22: "For your sake we face death." Not even undeserved suffering can separate us from God. Though we are "considered as sheep to be slaughtered", still there was one who above all others suffered undeservedly, as the lamb of God led to the slaughter (Isa 53:6,7). If so for him, then it must be also for us. If we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him (Rom 8:17,18).
NO, IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US: No! Paul cries. Nothing can separate us from Christ's love. In all our trials we are "super-conquerors" through him who loved us. Through Christ we have won a victory which is more than a victory. We do not simply overcome, or outlast, or 'muscle through' our trials with a superhuman strength. Instead, we live as though our trials are not our adversaries, as though they are something entirely different. Our 'enemies' become our 'allies' when we recognize God's providential hand in all our lives. And so we use, and God uses, each experience of our lives, no matter how painful for the present, for our ultimate benefit. The "all these things" of verse 37 are simply the "all things" of verse 28, working together for our good. In measure as we see this, and understand it, and embrace it, we purge out all fear and doubt from our lives, and allow the mind of Christ to develop in us.
MORE THAN CONQUERORS: "Hupernikao", from "huper" (over, or above) and "nikao" (to overcome). Literally, "super-conquerors". Those who are victorious in a surpassing, abounding way. The word appears only here.
LOVED: The aorist verb tense indicates one past act; one great, all-surpassing act of love. There was one such time, especially and more powerfully than all the others that preceded or followed it, and that was when the Lord made the absolute decision to lay down his life for us. He loved us, even unto death, thereby showing us "the full extent of his love" (John 13:1).
The last two verses express with minute precision the full assurance of faith which is, or should be, the possession of those who have been declared righteous in Christ. No physical condition, no power of any sort, no dimension of time or space, no other part of God's ("new"?) creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ. We must believe this.
And what if Paul were writing to us today? What would he say? Here, in this beautiful chapter, he has surely left us a message too, and a guideline: Neither depression, nor recession, nor inflation, nor bankruptcy, nor unemployment, nor race riot, nor crime in the streets, nor cancer, nor heart disease, nor arthritis, nor diabetes, nor old age, nor nuclear holocaust, nor international terrorism… can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Here is the victorious life in Christ. Do we have the courage to live it? Let us find those stumbling blocks in our lives, those delusions, which hinder us and leave us in the mire of fear and uncertainty. And let us put them firmly and irrevocably to the side, and choose this instead. If we do, the Father Who cannot forget us, and the Son who has engraved us on the palms of his hands (Isa 49:16), will rejoice at our faith, and will justify us from all iniquity.
FOR I AM CONVINCED: "Absolutely convinced": the KJV "persuaded" is not strong enough; neither is the NIV "convinced". The Greek expresses full assurance, absolute conviction.
THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE: God will continue to love us when we die, and He will continue to love us whatever may befall us now. He loves us on both sides of death. Long after they had died, God was pleased to call Himself "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38; cf. also Exod 3:16; Acts 3:13; Acts 7:32), because those who have died in faith will live again, forever.
NEITHER ANGELS: Would the angels of God ever separate believers from "the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"? Of course not. But the arguments of the Judaizers may shed some light on this phrase. Their argument might have gone something like this:
'The Law of Moses was brought from God by His angels. Would an angel of God teach men something that was wrong? Of course not. Therefore it is necessary for us to continue to keep the Law…'
And their argument might proceed to their intended consequence:
'…and it is also necessary for us to reject the claims of Jesus and his followers.'
Given this scenario, Paul's reference to angels here might imply, 'If the Judaizers are right in their assertions, then that is exactly what the angels would be doing: separating believers from God and His Son! But since that idea is perfectly ridiculous, then I am convinced that not even the Judaizers' clever arguments can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
NOR DEMONS: "Demons" seems inappropriate here. The Greek word "arche" simply refers to rulers, powers, and/or authorities. The KJV has "principalities", and the NET has "heavenly rulers" (which might be better if simply "rulers", like the NRSV).
Even the powers in this world — whether 'spiritual' or political or military or social, those powers that seemingly work against God's purpose — cannot separate us from His love. In fact, the Lord God controls those powers too, wherever they might be, and whatever they might do. Their "power" is actually His power, and never exceeds what He is willing to allow. When the time is right, the Lord's power will prevail, and will be seen to prevail.
NEITHER THE PRESENT NOR THE FUTURE: Nothing that the present or future may hold can separate us from God's love. Nothing found in time, and nothing existing in eternity, can separate us from God's love. No force of any kind can remove us from His loving care.
NOR ANY POWERS: To paraphrase Paul: 'And if there be any other conceivable powers, which do not fall into these categories… if there is something which is neither of the present nor the future; if there is something which is neither in heaven above or on earth beneath; if there is something which is not of this life, neither pertaining to the death-state; in short, if there be some remotely imaginable circumstance or situation that I, Paul, have not yet covered… then, even there — wherever "there" will be — that "power" will not be able either to separate us from the love of God!'
NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH: Space cannot separate us from God's loving care either.
NOR ANYTHING ELSE IN ALL CREATION: "Any other creation". In the four previous occurrences of "ktisis" ("creation") in Romans 8, the spiritual, or new, creation is intended (vv. 19-22). Perhaps then, this is a reference to other parts of God's new creation, as if to say that not even our own brethren can do anything to separate us from Christ. Sometimes this thought, especially, can be a great comfort to us.
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord: Two different "pairs" are each inseparable from one another:
- God's love and Jesus Christ, and
- God's love and us.
And it is precisely because we have become "one" with our Lord Jesus that we will never be separated from God's love in him.
"Nowhere has the feeling of Paul been displayed in such overflowing measure, and yet the thread of logical deduction is not broken for an instant. This passage sums up, as we have seen, all that Paul has hitherto expounded in this epistle" (Frederick Godet).
"The results of justification are thus fully presented (Romans 5 to 8). No one has ever set them forth so compactly and so profoundly, in a way that is so stimulating, effective, and uplifting" (Richard Lenski).