Romans
8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Deliverance
from Bondage
8
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For
the law of the Spirit of life [a]in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law
of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, [b]weak as it was through
the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of [c]sinful flesh and
as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the
requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to
the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according
to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is
death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set
on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law
of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.
9
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of
God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does
not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of
sin, yet the spirit is [d]alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit
of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus
from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [e]through His Spirit
who dwells in you.
12
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according
to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you [f]must die;
but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will
live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery [g]leading to fear again, but
you have received [h]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba!
Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children
of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with
Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious
longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him
who subjected it, [i]in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free
from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of
God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of
childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves,
having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who
hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with
perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Our
Victory in Christ
26
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to
pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too
deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the
Spirit is, because He intercedes for the [j]saints according to the will of
God.
28
And we know that [k]God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those
whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His
Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom
He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified;
and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
31
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will
He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge
against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who
condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was [l]raised, who is at
the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from
the love of [m]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“For
Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We
were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these
things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any
other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Whom shall I fear, Chris Tomlin
NIV
Application Commentary
In
this time of expectant suffering, the Spirit’s intercession is one great
support. Another is the providence of God. “Providence” is the word we use to
describe God’s beneficial rule over all the events of life. The famous promise
of 8:28 is one of the great biblical descriptions of providence. Translations,
affected by a textual variant, differ considerably. Three questions must be
answered. (1) What is the subject of “work”? The Spirit (the subject in vv.
26–27; see reb)? God (the subject of the last clause of v. 27; see niv; nasb)?
Or “all things” (nrsv)? The most natural way to read the verse is with “all
things” as the subject. In the last analysis, however, the identity of the
grammatical subject does not make much difference, for it is only God, through
his Spirit, who can cause “all things” to work for our good.
(2)
Another question is whether the verb (synergeo) should be translated “works
together” (most translations) or simply “works” (niv). The niv is probably
correct here. So we would translate, “We know that all things work toward the
good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” In this
context, the “good” is especially the final glory to which God has destined us.
But it also includes the benefits of being a child of God in this life (see
Contemporary Significance section).
(3)
Finally, for whom is this promise valid? All believers. Paul defines Christians
from a human direction (“those who love [God]”) and from the divine direction
(“who have been called according to his purpose”). “Those who love God” is
simply a way of describing God’s people (see 1 Cor. 2:9; 8:3; Eph. 6:24); it is
not a qualification of the promise, as if Paul means that God only works good
if believers love God enough.
Paul
concludes his celebration of God’s love for us in Christ with his own personal
testimony: “I am persuaded.…” The list following is arranged in four pairs,
with “powers” thrown in between the third and fourth pair. We can easily
“overinterpret” such a list, insisting on a precision of definitions that
misses the point of Paul’s rhetoric. In general, however, “death” and “life”
refer to the two basic states of human existence. “Angels” and “demons”
(archai, i.e., “rulers,” which Paul uses to denote evil spiritual beings [see
Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15]) summarize the entirety of the spiritual world.
A
few interpreters take “present things” and “coming things” (lit. trans.) as
spiritual beings too, but evidence is lacking for these as such titles.
Probably Paul chooses to summarize all of history, along with the people and
events it contains, in a temporal perspective. It is not clear why Paul
disrupts his neat parallelism with the word “powers” at this point, but the
word refers again to spiritual beings (1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21).
“Height”
and “depth” are the most difficult of the pairs of terms to identify. Since
these words were applied to the space above and below the horizon, and since
ancient people often invested celestial phenomena with spiritual significance,
Paul may be referring to spiritual beings again. Yet Paul uses similar language
in Ephesians 3:18 in a simple spatial sense. Thus, perhaps, he chooses yet
another way of trying to help us understand that there is nothing in all the
world—whether we are dead or alive, whether they are things we now face or
things we will face in the future, whether they are above us or below us—that
can separate us from the “love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As the
chapter began with “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1), so it ends with the bookends
of “no separation” (8:35, 39).
Warren
Wiersbe BE Bible Study Series
(5)
Christ loves us (vv. 35-39). In Romans 8:31-34 Paul proved that God cannot fail
us, but is it possible that we can fail Him? Suppose some great trial or
temptation comes, and we fail? Then what? Paul deals with that problem in this
final section and explains that nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus
Christ.
To
begin with, God does not shelter us from the difficulties of life because we
need them for our spiritual growth (Rom. 5:3-5). In Romans 8:28 God assures us
that the difficulties of life are working for us and not against us. God
permits trials to come that we might use them for our good and His glory. We
endure trials for His sake (Rom. 8:36), and since we do, do you think that He
will desert us? Of course not! Instead, He is closer to us when we go through
the difficulties of life.
Furthermore,
He gives us the power to conquer (Rom. 8:37). We are “more than conquerors,”
literally, “we are superconquerors” through Jesus Christ. He gives us victory
and more victory! We need not fear life or death, things present or things to
come, because Jesus Christ loves us and gives us the victory. This is not a
promise with conditions attached: “If you do this, God will do that.” This
security in Christ is an established fact, and we claim it for ourselves
because we are in Christ. Nothing can separate you from His love! Believe
it–and rejoice in it!
A
review of this wonderful chapter shows that the Christian is completely
victorious. We are free from judgment because Christ died for us and we have
His righteousness. We are free from defeat because Christ lives in us by His
Spirit and we share His life. We are free from discouragement because Christ is
coming for us and we shall share His glory. We are free from fear because
Christ intercedes for us and we cannot be separated from His love.
No
condemnation! No obligation! No frustration! No separation!
If
God be for us, who can be against us?
Questions
for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
What was Paul’s message to the believers in
Romans 8:1-39? How does this relate to Romans 7?
What is the believer’s new relationship to
the law?
What are the four spiritual freedoms
summarized by Wiersbe? How do these freedoms affect your life?
What three statements did Paul make that
add up to “no condemnation”? Do you live as if this is true?
What are the four contrasts mentioned
concerning freedom from defeat?
What is the root of sin? In what area of
your life do you see most evidence of this?
According to Romans 8:18-30, who is
“groaning”? When will the groaning end?
What can truly give believers freedom from
discouragement?
How can you prove that there will be no
separation between the believer and the Lord?
How can you personally apply one or more of
these freedoms to the way you view your life with God?
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.
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
6660
freedom, through Jesus Christ
Jesus
Christ, the promised deliverer, sets his people free from the present effects
of sin and from the power of sin and will finally deliver them completely from
its presence.
The
OT points ahead to a new and greater freedom and to a new deliverer
The
OT predicts Jesus Christ as the deliverer Isa 61:1 See also Isa 42:6-7
The
redemption of the exodus foreshadows the redemption achieved by Jesus Christ
Col 1:13-14 See also 1Co 10:1-4
Jesus
Christ fulfils the OT predictions of him as deliverer Lk 4:18-19 See also Ro
11:26; Isa 59:20
The
freedom that comes through Jesus Christ
Jn
8:32-36 See also Mt 1:21
Jesus
Christ sets his people free from the penalty of sin 1Th 1:10 See also Jn 3:36;
Ro 8:1-2; Heb 9:15; Rev 1:5
Jesus
Christ sets his people free from the spiritual death that accompanies sin Ro
6:1-7 See also Eph 2:1-5; Heb 9:14
Jesus
Christ sets his people free from the fear of death Heb 2:14-15
Jesus
Christ will finally set his people free from death itself 1Co 15:22-23 See also
Ro 5:12-17; Ro 7:24
Jesus
Christ sets his people free from the power of sin Ro 6:11-14 See also Ro
6:22-23
Jesus
Christ sets his people free from the pollution of sin 2Pe 1:2-4 See also Gal
1:3-4
Jesus
Christ sets his people free from the power of Satan Col 1:13-14 See also Mk
3:27 The strong man is, by implication, Jesus Christ; Ac 26:17-18
Jesus
Christ will set his people free from the presence of sin Php 3:21 See also Eph
5:27; Col 1:22; 1Th 3:13; 1Th 5:23; Rev 21:4
Freedom
as the result of being rescued from trials by Jesus Christ
2Ti
3:11 See also Ac 26:17; 2Ti 4:18; 2Pe 2:9
Yours
by His Grace for the sake of His Church and Kingdom.
Blair
Humphreys
Southport,
Merseyside, England
