1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
In the last verse of the previous chapter, Paul said, “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” He said, “I myself” in the most emphatic way possible in Greek. He both used the pronoun (“I”), which is not necessary in Greek since it is understood from the verb, and he intensified it by saying, “myself.” By emphasizing “I myself,” Paul was telling us that this is what the Christian life would be like if we had to do it in our own strength.
The first verse of chapter 8 seems like a radical change. Paul goes from a definitive statement of abject failure at the end of chapter 7 to a declaration of assurance of salvation and of change of life, seemingly without transition. His doing this fits with what he is about to say.
Verse 1 of chapter 8 begins with a conclusion about condemnation. Paul last spoke about condemnation in 5:16,18 concerning the condemnation which came to all of Adam’s descendants. This opening to chapter 8 tells us that Paul is about to talk about the distinction between the lost and the saved. He begins by saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The latter part of this verse, though not included in some translations, is found in the majority of the Greek manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus. Paul repeats those words in verse 4. In verse 4, he makes it clear that the description “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” is true of all believers. It is a criterion of the distinction between the lost and the saved. It is true of all believers because we are “in Christ Jesus.”
In verse 2, Paul answers his own statement of defeat at the end of chapter 7. He says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” In verse 23 of chapter 7, Paul said, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” He used the word “law” there to mean “dictating principle.” Sin, our old husband, is still present in us, trying to tempt us to disobey God. But verse 2 of chapter 8 says that another, stronger dictating principle exists in our lives as believers. God’s Holy Spirit who both lives and gives life has entered our house and set us free from the tyranny of the old husband. That is what changed. The first word in verse 2 is “for.” The life-giving, freeing presence of the Holy Spirit in us is what guarantees that the life of a saved person will be different from that of a lost person. Paul repeats in verse 2 that this truth is for those who are “in Christ Jesus.”
In verse 3, Paul tells again how God saved us, but this time he relates that salvation to our problem of indwelling sin. The Law could tell us what is right and what is wrong, but it could not give us strength to prevail against our heritage as descendants of Adam. The Law could not give us strength not to sin. God saved us by sending His own Son in a body like that of the descendants of Adam but without sin so that He might take the death for their sins. When Christ did that, God passed sentence on sin, our old husband. Sin is still in our house for now, but we need to know that God has issued the eviction notice against it.
Verse 4 says that God sent His Son and condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteousness of the Law be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. The “us, who” part of that sentence in Greek clearly says that we are those who walk that way. The verse starts with “in order that,” a statement of purpose. It is God’s intent that the righteousness of the Law be fulfilled in us. God will accomplish His intent. The verse does not say that the Law will be fulfilled in us. It says that the righteousness of the Law will be fulfilled in us. That goes deep, all the way to God’s intended meaning of the Law and to our thoughts and motivations. How will God accomplish His intent? He will make us people who walk according to His Spirit.
Galatians 5:24 says, And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Again, this statement is a universal description of all believers. This is what happened when we believed in Christ as our Savior. We entered into His work. By the obedience of faith, we became possessors of the results that Paul is talking about in Romans 8.
So how are we to link chapters 7 and 8 ? What is Paul’s message? Looking back to chapter 7, we see that when Adam died spiritually, sin became a tenant in the bodies of all his descendants. Sin reigns in death, so Satan began to reign in the bodies and lives of all the people on planet earth except Jesus, because Jesus was not a son of Adam. Coming to chapter 8, we see that Christ came in a body like ours to die for Adam’s sin and ours. When Christ died, the sin which indwells us was condemned and served notice that it will be eradicated, but sin will continue to have presence in us as long as we are in our present bodies. To solve our dilemma, God has given His Holy Spirit to indwell us and to give us victory over sin. So now, even while we are still in our old bodies, God will make us people who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Paul opened this chapter with the words “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus....” By that introduction, he indicated that the main topic of the verses ahead would be the distinction between the lost and the saved. In verses 1 and 4 Paul emphasized the outworking of salvation: those who are in Christ “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Then, in verses 5-11, he will emphasize the essential being of the lost and of the saved. In verse 5, he speaks of two groups: those who “are” according to the flesh and those who “are” according to the Spirit. Those in the first group have a mindset that is focused on the flesh. Those in the second group have a mindset that is focused on the Spirit. Verse 6 tells us that the mindset that is focused on the flesh is one of death, whereas the mindset that is focused on the Spirit is one of life and peace.
In verse 7, Paul says that the mindset that is focused on the flesh stands at enmity with God. It does not and cannot subject itself to God’s Law. If we compare this statement with what Paul said in 7:22 and in 7:25, we must conclude with certainty that in those verses he was describing himself as a believer.
In verse 8, Paul uses again the terminology that he used in 7:5, where he said, “when we were in the flesh....” Those who are “in the flesh” cannot please God. As he makes clear in verse 9, the lost are those who are “in the flesh.” Believers are “in the Spirit.” The unvarying criterion of distinction between the two groups is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This indwelling is at the individual level. Pauls says that any individual who does not have the Spirit of Christ “is none of his.”
In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit was given in three stages: first to believing Jews at Pentecost in chapter 2, then to believers of Samaria (part Jew, part Gentile) in chapter 8, and then to Gentiles in chapter 10. There was also one instance in chapter 19 in which there were Old Testament believers who learned that Christ had come and who then received the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 tells us that today the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is universal to all believers. This verse makes clear that there can be no interval between the time when a person puts their faith in Christ and the time when that person receives the Holy Spirit. Even if a new believer has no awareness of having received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit has begun to indwell that believer.
10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Verse 10 describes the present condition of every believer in Christ. Paul says that our physical bodies are dead on account of sin. That’s why the bodies of believers age, get sick, and die. Our bodies are not yet redeemed (verse 23). Our bodies are a remnant of our heritage as descendants of Adam. The body of every believer is infected by sin. As Paul explained in 7:1-6, our old husband, sin, did not die. Rather, God accounted us to be dead in Christ and thus free from the tyranny of that old husband. God has pronounced a sentence of condemnation on the sin in us (8:3), but sin is not yet eradicated (7:17,20,23).
Verse 10 also says that, unlike our bodies, “the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” The Greek text does not tell us whether “Spirit” is capitalized or not. Probably “spirit” in verse 10 refers to our human spirit in contrast to our body. Our human spirit is alive because of the righteousness that has been accounted to us in Christ.
Verse 10 describes our present, but verse 11 describes our future. Paul says that if the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells in us, then God will give life to our mortal bodies also. That means that in the future, God will raise us from death with a body that is without sin. The manuscript evidence in this verse is divided as to whether this will be “through” or “on account of” His Spirit who indwells us. In Ephesians 1:14, Paul says that the Spirit within us is God’s guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Verse 9 speaks of “the Spirit of God” dwelling in us and of a person’s having “the Spirit of Christ.” Verse 10 speaks of Christ in us. Verse 11 speaks of “the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead” dwelling in us. All of these are descriptions of the same Divine Person. We see clearly here the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
In verse 12, Paul says that we are debtors. God sent His Son to save us, and He has given His Spirit to indwell us. We owe nothing to our heritage from Adam; that only brought us death. We owe our all to God who saved us.
In verses 9-11, the conditional word “if” is found four times. If a person really belongs to Christ, that person is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Paul addresses his readers as “brethren” in verse 12, but the next two verses contain warnings that tell us that he is not sure that all of his readers really belong to Christ. He says, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Those who are indwelt by the Spirit of God will be led by the Spirit of God in terminating the acts of sin which they were doing before they believed. Every believer still has the same body with the same sin inside, but now the Holy Spirit is present to bring change. A person who is not a real believer will continue in sin. That person is not a true son of God and faces eternal death.
In verse 2, Paul said, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” The Holy Spirit in every believer has set that person free from having to sin. God has also taken away the fear of future condemnation for us. Hebrews 2:14-15 says concerning Christ, Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
The Spirit of Christ in us is the Spirit of adoption. We have been spiritually baptized into God’s Son. In Him, we have the privileges of sonship. Believers don’t have to be taught to call God “Father” when they pray. We just “know” that it’s right to call him “Father.” New believers may struggle to have emotional assurance of their salvation. Sometimes that’s because of religious background, insecure family relationships, or personal emotional inclinations. But as a believer continues to focus on God’s salvation promises, the Holy Spirit increasingly gives that believer assurance that he or she is a child of God.
In verse 17, Paul says that being God’s children means being God’s heirs. Hebrews 1:2 says that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has been appointed heir of all things. Amazingly, we will be joint heirs with Him. It’s part of the relationship. It’s part of our being in Him. But, the last clause of verse 17 brings our minds back to the difficulties of being a Christian in an un-Christian world. Paul wrote, “if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Being a child of God means being one of God’s heirs, so our inheritance is sure; we will be glorified with Christ. But that means that suffering with Christ is also sure. For example, verse 35 speaks of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword. In the coming verses, Paul will give encouragement about the sufferings of these days.
18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
In verse 17, Paul said that we are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” His words anticipate that all believers will suffer with Christ. His words from this point until the end of the chapter are to give us encouragement concerning what we face. In verse 18, his first word of encouragement is that the sufferings of this time are small in comparison to the glory that will be revealed to us. Then, in verses 19-25, he talks about that glory.
The glory that will be revealed to us will also bring blessing for the whole of the physical creation because the coming of that glory will mean the removal of the curse against Adam’s sin. In verse 19, Paul personifies the creation as one who is eagerly anticipating the coming blessing. When Adam sinned, God said, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Genesis 3:17-19). As a judgment on Adam, the earth itself “was made subject to vanity.” But even this was done in a context of hope because God had just said to the serpent, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15). God had just promised that there would come a seed of the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent. There would come a Savior. The Savior’s heel would be bruised as He stepped on the head of the serpent, but the Savior’s bruise would get well. The serpent would die. The curse of thorns for the ground and of death for Adam and his descendants would be removed. At the cross, as Jesus wore a crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29), He took on Himself all the consequences of Adam’s sin.
The earth today is subject to droughts, plant diseases, fires, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tidal waves, and other natural disasters. There is also no peace for the animals. But Isaiah spoke of a day when The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox (Isaiah 11:6-7). The curse which subjected the created world to vanity and corruption will be removed.
We, as Adam’s descendants, also agonize because of the effects of the curse. Our bodies age, get sick, and die. We struggle with sin within us. In verse 23, Paul said that we eagerly await “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” He spoke of this redemption also in Ephesians 4:30, where he wrote, And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. In Philippians 3:20-21, Paul said that we eagerly await the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.... In these days we wait in expectant hope for what we cannot yet see. That is faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It produces endurance during this time while we wait for the glory that is to come.
26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
In verse 17, Paul said that we would suffer with Christ. In verses 18-25, he gave a word of encouragement to us about what we face. He said that the sufferings of this time are small in comparison to the glory that will be revealed to us. Now, in verses 26-27, he gives another word of encouragement. He says that God’s Holy Spirit intercedes for us. We don’t know how to pray as we should, but God knows the thoughts of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit cares about us so much that He even groans, as we and the created world around us groan. His groanings of intercession are not spoken, but God hears them because the Holy Spirit always pleads for us according to the will of God.
28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
In these verses, Paul gives a third word of encouragement to us as we anticipate suffering with Christ. He says that all things work together for good to those who love God. He further describes those who love God as being people who are called according to God’s plan. Surely the good that Paul spoke of in verse 28 is connected with the fulfillment of God’s plan in the next verse.
In explaining God’s plan, Paul first said, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” According to these words, the first step in this process was God’s knowing beforehand those He would save. Not that He knew about them, but that He knew them. He also determined beforehand that those whom He foreknew would become conformed to the image of His Son. His Son would be the Firstborn, the One of highest rank, among many brothers and sisters.
In verse 30, there are three more steps. God called, justified, and glorified those whom He had determined beforehand to become conformed to the image of His Son. The wording in verses 29 and 30 makes clear that all whom God foreknew were also determined conformed to Christ, were called, were justified, and were glorified. It is signficant that the five verbs used are all in the past tense. God’s perfect plan will be completely carried out. Some believers may wonder if they can lose their salvation. These verses make clear that every person that God justifies, He also glorifies. No one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior can be lost. God is the One who saves. The calling in verse 30 is surely the same as that which Paul referred to in his introduction to this book in 1:1,6,7. It is God’s effectual call to bring a lost person to faith in Christ.
When Paul said in verse 28 that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” surely he meant that all things work to conform us to the image of Christ.
Verse 28 is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible, but verses 29 and 30 are not so often quoted. Perhaps that is because many people, even believers, don’t find these verses encouraging. But, if we remember the words in 3:11, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God,” we understand that unless God steps in, no one will be saved. There is no one who of himself or of herself seeks God in harmony with His revelation in His word. We also remember the words in 5:8, that “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God gave His Son to pay the highest price that could be paid to save people who were at enmity with Himself. He did this because of His love. He shuts out no one who is willing to believe in His Son. It should be of great encouragement to us that anyone who responds to His love will be taken all the way to glory. And along the way, God will make all the hard things work for good.
31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The words “for us” are used three times in these verses. God is for us (verse 31), He delivered up His own Son for us all (verse 32), and Christ makes intercession for us (verse 34). The questions and implied answers in these verses are similar to those found in Isaiah 50:8-9, where the Servant of Yahweh speaks. Isaiah prophetically reveals the thoughts of the Lord Jesus as He is unjustly accused and condemned: He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. That Paul should use such similar words concerning us tells us again that God has identified us with Christ.
In verse 31, Paul says, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” We know that Satan is our adversary, but Satan cannot successfully oppose God. Verse 32 says that if God has not withheld even His own Son to save us, then certainly He will give us all the blessings of that salvation. No one can bring a charge against God’s chosen ones because it is God who is our Justifier. No one can condemn us because it is the One who died for our sins and is raised from the dead who intercedes for us at God’s right hand. The author of Hebrews wrote: Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
In verse 35, Paul raises the question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” In context, that question would imply, “Who can stop Christ from interceding for us?” Then Paul offers a list of possibilities: “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” It seems significant that during Jesus’ earthly life, time of testing in the wilderness, arrest, trial, and crucifixion, He suffered all of these things. In verse 17, Paul said that our suffering with Him is as sure as our being glorified with Him. The things in Paul’s list are things that believers suffer. Then, in verse 36, he quotes Psalm 44:22. His choice of these words is significant because this psalm records the voice of believers who are suffering, but the psalm indicates that those suffering are innocent.
In verse 37, Paul says that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” The words “him that loved us” use the past tense. Christ’s love for us was supremely demonstrated when He died for us at a point of time in the past. Yet, in the present time we “more than conquer” through Him. He is alive and with us today. In verses 38 and 39, Paul closes this chapter with another list, this time a varied list of circumstances, angelic beings, times, and dimensions. The “principalites” and “powers” he mentions probably refer to angels who have a particular rank, as he spoke of the principalities and powers in heavenly places in Ephesians 3:10. Peter wrote that Jesus is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him (I Peter 3:22). Paul says that nothing in that varied list will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
At the end of Paul’s list, he leaves space for other things when he says, “nor any other creature.” Since everything in the universe is created, including our own wills, there is nothing that will stop Christ from interceding for those who have believed in Him. Indeed, if “life” is in the list, then that must include all the effects of life on a believer. We might ask, “What if the problems of life cause a true believer to hit what seems like rock bottom in his or her faith?” Can that believer lose his or her salvation? Jesus told Peter before Peter denied Him, I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not (Luke 22:32). Paul said that neither what life brings nor the deepest of places can separate us from the love of our Savior. Our salvation is secure because the intercession of the One whose blood was shed for us is absolutely and eternally effective.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.