Romans
8 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
Life
through the Spirit
8
Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law
of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b]
God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin
offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh
desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set
on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the
mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh
is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those
who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the
Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have
the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you,
then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives
life[d] because of righteousness. 11 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 because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.
12
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the
flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you
will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you
will live.
14
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The
Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again;
rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And
by him we cry, ‘Abba,[g] Father.’ 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our
spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs
– heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings
in order that we may also share in his glory.
Present
suffering and future glory
18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for
the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to
frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected
it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage
to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth
right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption
to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.
But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we
ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless
groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because
the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he
also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also
called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also
glorified.
More
than conquerors
31
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can
be against us? 32 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? 33 Who
will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who
justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died –
more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is
also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or
sword? 36 As it is written:
‘For
your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.’[j]
37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5597
victory, as an act of God Dictionary of Bible Themes
God
is the source of all victory, which he grants to those who obey his commands
and put their confidence in him. This principle holds true in all believers’ conflicts,
whether physical or spiritual.
God
is the source of all victory
Dt
20:1-4 See also 2Ch 20:15; Ps 18:35; 1Co 15:57; 2Co 2:14
Victory
is achieved by God, not people
Ps
20:7-8 See also 1Sa 17:45-47; Ps 44:3-7; Ps 60:11-12; Ps 146:3; Pr 21:31
Victory
should be ascribed to God
Ps
118:15 See also Ex 15:1; Ps 21:1; 1Co 15:57; Rev 19:1-2
Victory
depends on faithfulness
God
grants victory to those who are faithful to him 1Ch 22:13 See also Ex 23:20-23;
Ps 112:8; Pr 2:7
Unfaithfulness
to God brings defeat Nu 14:41-43 See also Dt 28:15,25; 2Ch 24:20
Examples
of God giving victory
Ex
17:8-15 to Israel over the Amalekites To Joshua at Jericho: Jos 6:2-5,20
Jdg
7:15-22 to Gideon over the Midianites; Jdg 15:12-19 to Samson over 1,000
Philistines; 1Sa 7:7-12 to the Israelites at Mizpah; 1Sa 17:38-50 to David over
Goliath; 1Ki 18:36-39 to Elijah at Mount Carmel; 1Ch 11:4-9 when David
conquered Jerusalem
God
is able to work through defeat
Ge
50:20 See also Jdg 16:24,30; Ro 8:28; 2Co 4:7-12; 2Co 12:7-10
God
is able to fulfil his purposes through the victory of unbelievers
Isa
44:28-45:4 See also Isa 41:25; Isa 45:13; Eze 33:27-29 This is how Ezekiel is
to explain Babylon’s victory over Jerusalem; Ac 2:36; Ac 3:17-18
The
Bible Panorama
Romans
8
V
1–8: CONDEMNATION Although every sinner deserves condemnation for his sin,
there is ‘therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’. The
evidence of being in Christ is a new walk according to the Spirit, which also
produces liberty and freedom from the law. This means that spiritual-mindedness
replaces a carnal following of ‘the things of the flesh’. Such a carnal mindset
reveals enmity with God, whereas a spiritually renewed mind shows
reconciliation with and justification by God. Without this mindset we cannot
please God.
V
9–11: CHRIST Because Christ lives within the believer, he is possessed by
Christ and possesses the ‘Spirit of Christ’, also identified as the ‘Spirit of
God’. No person can rightly claim to belong to Christ unless He has the Spirit
of Christ. The benefits springing from this relationship are spiritual
righteousness through Christ, and sharing His resurrection life. The wonderful
and indivisible union in the Trinity is seen here as the Holy Spirit is
interchangeably described as the ‘Spirit of God’, the ‘Spirit of Christ’, the
‘Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead’, and ‘His Spirit who dwells in
you’.
V
12–17: CO-HEIRS Because of this new relationship, liberty, and indwelling
Spirit, we are the Spirit-led children of God and therefore His heirs, and
co-heirs with Christ. If we suffer with Him here below, we need to remember
that we will be glorified with Him one day!
V 18–25: CREATED Until that final state of
affairs in glory, we are not the only ones who groan because of our sufferings,
which are light in comparison with the glory to come. The whole creation groans
to be delivered from the ‘bondage of corruption’. One day there will be a new
heaven and a new earth, as well as completely renewed believers to enjoy them,
in worshipping and having fellowship with their justifying God. Believers
eagerly and patiently wait for that.
V
26–27: COMFORT In our groanings and problems within, we have the help of God’s
Spirit in our weakness, who intercedes for us ‘according to the will of God’.
V
28–30: CALLED Those whom God has called can be absolutely certain that, in
God’s sovereign purpose, everything will work together for their good. Their
salvation is not an accident. God planned it in eternity, performed it in time,
works it out in time, and will eventually perfect it in eternity. Our standing
in Christ is absolutely watertight because of who He is and because He has
chosen us and planned our way.
V 31–39: CONQUERORS A whole range of problems,
trials, disappointments, and suffering will come against the child of God. In
all this he is to remember that God ‘did not spare His own Son’ but freely gave
Him for us, and freely gives us all other things that we need. With God on our
side as our Justifier, our Intercessor, our Lover, and our Keeper, we are more
than conquerors ‘through Him who loved us’. Once saved by Christ, nothing at
all in the past, present or future, and nothing on this earth or anywhere else
is able to ‘separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord’. We conquer because we have the Conqueror living within and working for
us.
Yours in His Grace
Blair Humphreys
Southport, Merseyside, England,UK
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