Category: Romans 8

Romans 8:9 – Are You Sealed?

Posted on by Will

But 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 is not His.

Truth to Learn

If you are saved, you are sealed and your life should show it.

 

Behind the Words

“Dwells” is translated from the Greek verb oikeō, which means “to reside, to dwell, or to remain in a house.”

 

Meaning Explained

In verse eight Paul summarized the preceding three verses by stating, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” We mentioned in that verse that the expression, “those who are in the flesh,” refers to unregenerate people, that is, those who are unsaved; they are not Christians. Part of the reason for this conclusion is what Paul says in the current verse.

“But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.” This is a contrasting statement to the previous one indicating that those who are in the flesh cannot also be in the spirit. You are either one or the other. But how do we know who is in the flesh and who is in the spirit? Paul explains this in the next phrase. He says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Paul explains this in Ephesians 1:13,14  where he says,

in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Those who are saved are sealed with the Holy Spirit and He is our guarantee. This guarantee is a token given as a promise that a transaction will be completed. If for some reason the transaction is not completed, the guarantee is retained by the recipient. Hence, if God were not to grant us our inheritance at the end of the age as He promised, then He would have to leave the Holy Spirit (our guarantee) with us, thus causing light to be united with darkness, which He tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 cannot happen. Hence, once we are saved and have the Holy Spirit, we cannot lose that salvation! It is guaranteed!

What Paul tells us in today’s verse is that the one who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him (or her) is not in the flesh; he (or she) is in the Spirit. Now, just to make sure he is understood, Paul then says, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” In other words, if you don’t have the guarantee, you are not saved and do not belong to Christ.

Those who aren’t saved don’t have the Spirit of God and, therefore, are in the flesh. They are controlled by their sinful fleshly desires. However, those who are saved have the Holy Spirit living in them and should not be controlled by the flesh. Notice I said “should not.” As we have said before, Christians have a free will to obey God or not. Sometimes we let our flesh control us, causing us to sin. We have a choice: to be controlled by our flesh or to be submitted to God. The unsaved can’t make this choice. They do not have a free will; they are bound by the law of sin to obey their sinful desires because they are “in the flesh.”

 

Challenge

So, I ask you again, are you in the flesh or are you in the Spirit? What would the people who know you best say? Would they say that there is clear evidence that you are “in the Spirit?”

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:8 – Please God!

Posted on by Will

But those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

Truth to Learn

Only those who are walking in the Spirit can please God.

 

Behind the Words

“Are not able” is translated from “ou dounanti.” Ou expresses absolute negation (there is a different word, me, which implies conditional or hypothetical negation). Dounanti is a form of dounamai, meaning “to be able” or “to have the power to do something.” In other words, those who are in the flesh do not have the ability or the power to please God.

The word “please” is from areskō, which is thought to be derived from an old verb arō, meaning “to fit, adapt, or please.” The notion of areskō is “to be content with” or “to soften one’s heart toward” someone else. Those who are in the flesh are not able to soften God’s heart toward themselves.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now takes this argument one step further. He has just said that the person who is fleshly minded, the one who is preoccupied with and controlled by the desires of the flesh, is openly hostile toward God and is not subject to His laws. Therefore, He says, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Now we have to ask ourselves, “What does Paul mean by the expression, “in the flesh?” He is not talking about everyone who has a body of flesh. That would be all of us. He is talking about those who are fleshly minded. Their every waking moment is occupied with satisfying the desires and needs of the flesh. This is a description of unregenerate mankind, those who are not saved. We know this because in the following verse he will contrast them with the Roman Christians who are saved.

Paul is telling us that unsaved people, who are controlled by their own flesh, cannot possibly please God. It doesn’t matter how many “Hail Mary’s” they say, and it doesn’t matter how many good works they do “for God.” It doesn’t matter how often they pray or read their Bible. It doesn’t matter how many years they have been a member of a church or how regularly they attend the services. If they are not genuinely saved, it is not possible for them to please God, and they are, therefore, God’s enemies.

In the previous chapter Paul bemoaned the fact that he didn’t always do the things that please God. He told us that the law is spiritual but that he is carnal (fleshly). He then opened this chapter with:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus,

His point is that unsaved people are always controlled by their sin nature (their flesh) and are not able to please God. Those who are saved, however, can please God, but we don’t do it all the time. When we are walking “in the Spirit” we are pleasing to God, but when we are walking “in the flesh,” we are not pleasing to God.

 

Application

We should always strive to be pleasing to God, so our aim should be to walk in the spirit. Let’s all recommit ourselves to spending more time walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:7 – Submission or Rebellion?

Posted on by Will

Because the carnal mind is enmity toward God; for it is not submitted to the law of God, indeed it can’t be.

Truth to Learn

When we’re controlled by our flesh, we’re not submitted to God, we’re in open rebellion to Him.

 

Behind the Words

This current verse starts off with the Greek word dioti, which is a compound word made up of dia, meaning “through” and hoti, meaning “that.” So, literally it means, “through that” or “because of the fact that.” In other words, this verse explains why it is true that “to be carnally minded is death.”

The word translated “enmity” is the Greek word echthra, which means “the hatred and hostility openly displayed against one’s enemy.” It is most often translated as “enmity,” although in Galatians 5:20 it is translated as “hatred.”

“Submitted” is from the Greek word hupotassō, which is made up of hupo (or hypo), meaning “under” and tassō, meaning “to arrange in an orderly manner” or “to rank.” It is a military term meaning to place in rank under someone else’s authority.

 

Meaning Explained

The current verse answers the first half of the previous verse:

For to be carnally minded is death

The reason, according to Paul, is:

Because the carnal mind is enmity toward God

The reason that being fleshly minded is death is because it is in open hostility to God. Therefore, it cannot be in submission to God or His law. When we place ourselves in a position of submission to another, we are by definition at peace with them and recognize their authority over us. When we refuse to be in submission, we rise up in revolt and are by definition in open hostility and rebellion against their authority. They are opposite ends of the spectrum and are mutually exclusive. That is, you can’t be both in submission and in rebellion. You are either one or the other. In fact, Paul goes on to tell us that when we are being controlled by our flesh, we cannot place ourselves in submission to God. It’s impossible!

When we are being carnally minded, when we are allowing our fleshly lusts to control our thoughts and actions, we are not being submissive to God and we are, in fact, in open rebellion to His will. When we are in open rebellion to God, we have separated ourselves from Him. This, by definition, means that we are dead to God; we have broken fellowship with Him and we are not at peace.

 

Application

Do you have those times when you feel lifeless and totally separated from God? That’s the effect of sin. It breaks our fellowship with God. Were it not for the grace of God through the blood of Christ, we could never restore that fellowship. But because of what Christ did for us, we can come to the throne of grace, confessing our sins and having our fellowship restored because God has declared us righteous.

Do you feel lifeless and separated from God right now? Do you? Be honest with yourself!

If you do, get down on your knees and do something about it!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:6 – Guarding Our Peace

Posted on by Will

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Truth to Learn

Guarding our thoughts keeps us at peace with God.

 

Behind the Words

We saw in the previous verse that the verb translated “minds” is phroneō, which means “to think or have a mindset.” In the current verse Paul uses the word phronema, a noun form of the same word. Here it is translated “minded.” The Greek suffix ma on this word indicates that it is the result of one's thinking. Thus it refers to the condition of a person who is constantly thinking of such things.

The word translated “carnally” in the current verse is the same exact word (sarx) that was translated “flesh” in the previous verse. But, in the current verse it has the definite article, so it means, “the flesh.” Putting these two together we see that Paul is saying that “mindedness of the flesh is death.”

“Death” is from the Greek word thanatos, which is based on the verb thaneskō, meaning “to die.” Thanatos refers to physical death (the death of our physical bodies) as well as spiritual death (exclusion from the presence and favor of God). The base meaning of this word implies separation. Regarding physical death, it is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body. With respect to spiritual death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the presence and favor of God. In the current verse it indicates the separation of fellowship with God.

 

Meaning Explained

This verse is tightly coupled with the preceding and the following verses. Putting all three together we have:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace  because the carnal mind is enmity toward God; for it is not submitted to the law of God, indeed it can’t be.

What Paul is saying is that a mind that is constantly focused on the flesh, on self-gratification, the mind that is always “looking out for number one,” is dead. As we pointed out in “Behind the Words,” since death implies separation, the notion is that those who are fleshly minded are separated from God. But God has promised all believers, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you,” so what does Paul mean? The simplest way to understand this is to recognize that when we are acting fleshly we are separated from the fellowship of God who cannot tolerate the presence of sin, but we are not separated from the presence of God. Our fellowship is restored when we confess our sins.

The second half of this verse describes the state of the mind that is focused on the Spirit of God. He says “to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” In other words, the person who is focused on the things of God is characterized as not being separated from God, but in fellowship with Him and at peace. In the next verse Paul will explain why fleshly mindedness results in death.

 

Application

Let’s all strive for fellowship with God and the peace that it produces by keeping our thoughts fixed on the things of God!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:5 – What Do You Think?

Posted on by Will

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Truth to Learn

What we think about is demonstrated by our actions.

 

Behind the Words

The words “who live” come from a form of the Greek word eimi. This is the verb of existence or being (I am, you are, he or she is, etc.) 

“According to” is the translation of the Greek word kata, which technically means “down” and is often used as an emphatic to intensify the meaning of another word. It is also used metaphorically, as it is here, to express the relation in which one thing stands with respect to another. In such a case it is translated as “in the manner of, according to, or characterized by.”

The phrase “set their minds on” is from phroneō, which means “to think, have a mindset, or be minded.” The activity represented by this word refers to our thought processes and it involves our will, our affections, and our conscience.

 

Meaning Explained

This verse is an explanation of the last part of the previous verse which said, “… who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” That phrase is a repetition of what we saw in verse 1. In some of the oldest manuscripts, however, this phrase only exists in verse four and not in verse one, so some translations leave it out of verse one. It rightly belongs to verse four, however, and the current verse now explains it.

Paul said that we conduct our manner of life either “according to our flesh” or “according to the Spirit.” So, if we are “walking according to the flesh,” it means that we are walking through life in a manner that is characterized by the things of the flesh. If we are “walking according to the Spirit,” it means that we are walking through life in a manner that is characterized by things of the Spirit of God.

Notice, however, that Paul does not talk about “those who walk” in this verse, but “those who live.” A person’s walk is the outward evidence of how he or she lives his or her life. If we live according to the flesh, then we will walk according to the flesh. But, if we live a life controlled by the Spirit of God, then the way we act will also be controlled by the Spirit.

Now, by way of explaining that phrase further, Paul says that those who walk according to flesh “set their minds on the things of flesh.” That is, those who live according to flesh are continually thinking about fleshly things; their thoughts are about how to please self. Those who live according to the Spirit, however, are continually thinking about spiritual things; their thoughts are about how to please God.

 

Application

In what realm do you spend most of your time? Do you spend more time thinking about spiritual things and about how you can please God, or do you spend more time thinking about how you can please yourself? In other words, are you living according to the flesh or according to the Spirit? Ouch!

Let us all commit to spending more time thinking about spiritual things and less time thinking about our own desires!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:4 – Fulfilled Through Him

Posted on by Will

that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Truth to Learn

The righteousness that God demands of us is fulfilled for us through the righteousness of Christ.

 

Behind the Words

The words “righteous requirements” are a translation of the Greek word dikiōma, which is from the verb dikaioō, meaning “to render as just, righteous, or innocent.” Dikaiōma refers to “an equitable deed” and by implication to “a decision or statute.”

“Fulfilled” is from the Greek word plēroō, which means “to fill-up completely” or “to make complete.” As it is used in this verse it means “to completely satisfy.”

The word “walk” is translated from peripateō, which is made up of peri, meaning “around” and pateō, meaning “to walk.” Hence, it literally means “to walk around.” Metaphorically, it refers to the manner in which we live our life.

 

Meaning Explained

In order to get the full impact of this verse we have to go back and join it with the second half of the previous:

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 The reason that God sent His son was to fulfill the Law and to make a judgment against sin so that the righteousness of the Law might be completely satisfied in us.

But, how does Christ’s fulfilling the Law translate into the righteousness of the law being fulfilled in us? Back in Romans 3:21-28 Paul talked about the righteousness that is imputed by grace upon all those who believe, and he concluded:

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.

The only way that God can satisfy his own justice, which requires that sin be penalized (and we know that the wages of sin is death), is for someone who has perfectly fulfilled the righteousness of the Law to then offer His life as a substitution for ours. This is precisely what Christ did when he came in the “likeness of sinful flesh.” And, it is by faith that we receive the grace of God through which He credits Christ’s righteousness to our account. By faith we believe that Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins, and by grace God then imputes Christ’s righteousness to us. Hence, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

The final phrase of this verse is a statement of fact, not a condition. It is a description of Christians, we who have received that grace and, therefore, walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 

Application

Let us demonstrate the righteousness that has been imputed unto us by living our lives characterized by things of the Sprit of God rather than the things of our flesh. After all, we have been bought with a price, the precious blood of the sinless Lamb of God!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:3 – Righteous Through Him

Posted on by Will

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

Truth to Learn

Jesus Christ perfectly kept the law, thus demonstrating His righteousness, and God grants us His righteousness through faith in His sacrificial death.

 

Behind the Words

The words “could not do” are translated from a single Greek word. It is adunatos, which is a compound word made up of the privative a, meaning “without” or “not” and dunatos, meaning “powerful, able, or capable.” Hence, adunatos means “without power” or “unable.”

“Weak” is from the verb astheneō, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “without” and sthenos, meaning “strength.” Thus, it means “to be without strength” or “to be weak.”

The Greek word homoiōma is translated here as “likeness.” This word is derived from homos, which means “one and the same.” Homoiōma means “having the same form.”

The word translated “condemned” is the Greek word katakrino, which is the verb form of a word we looked at just two verses back. It means “to proclaim a judgment of condemnation against someone or something.”

 

Meaning Explained

This is another potentially very confusing verse so let’s look at it one phrase at a time. “For what the Law could not do” is a reference to what Paul has said in the seventh chapter of this letter. The Law cannot produce righteousness in man. Why? “In that it was weak through the flesh” says that the reason the law could not produce righteousness is because man tried to produce righteousness through acts of the flesh. But the flesh is weak because of the sin nature and cannot satisfy the law; therefore, the law could not produce this righteousness.

But, what the Law could not do, Paul says God sent his son to do for us: “God did by having sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.” In other words, even though Christ took on human flesh, he did not take on sinful human flesh. He had the appearance of sinful flesh (that form which every member of the human race has), but He was not sinful human flesh. For emphasis, let me restate that this passage says that Christ took on human flesh, but he did not take on sinful human flesh.

God the Father sent Jesus in the form of sinful human flesh, “on account of sin;” that is, Christ came to earth and took on human flesh in order to deal with sin. He dealt with sin by living a sinless life that was then freely offered for sinful lives. Because he perfectly fulfilled the Law and committed no sin, He “condemned sin in the flesh.” In other words, in human flesh Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law and therefore made a judgment of condemnation against sin.

 

Application

Paul has been teaching us that a person cannot be justified by trying to obey the law. We have a sin nature that causes us to sin, and with a single sin we lose the righteousness that perfectly keeping the law would have provided. As a result, God had to create a way for sinful man to receive His righteousness, which can only come by faith in the blood of Christ. Thank you, God, for giving me your righteousness through faith in the sacrifice of Your perfect Son.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:2 – His Faithful Spirit

Posted on by Will

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set me free from the law of sin and death.

Truth to Learn

The Holy Spirit is continually working in Christians.

 

Behind the Words

This verse starts with “For,” a translation of the Greek article gar, which is “a causative particle expressing the reason for what has been before.” In other words, the expression that follows is an explanation as to why “there is now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus.”

The word translated “in” is the Greek preposition en, which refers to “a fixed position in place or time,” but by implication here it means “instrumentality.” In other words, the law of the Spirit of life is brought about through the work of Christ.

“Set me free” is translated from eleutheroō, which means “to liberate from the power and punishment of a master.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense, indicating action that occurred at a point in time in the past. In other words, it was not a gradual act of liberation but one that occurred immediately. This liberation occurred the moment we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul is explaining why there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. It is because, “the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set me free from the law of sin and death.” The expression, “the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” refers not to a written law but a natural law as we discussed back in Romans 7:21. The Spirit of life mentioned in this verse refers to the Holy Spirit who brings life.

Paul is telling us that there is no condemnation against those of us who are saved because the natural law (supernatural law in this case) of the Holy Spirit, providing life through our faith in Jesus Christ, made us free from the control of sin and the death which results from that sin. We were set free from the law of sin and death at the moment we were saved.

It is because we believe God’s message about the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross that God’s grace has been bestowed on us and the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a seal of our salvation. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives us both eternal life and the ability to overcome our own sin nature. Hence, we have free will to obey God or not. Before we were saved, we did not have this free will, we were slaves to sin.

Why, then was Paul so frustrated back in Romans 7:15? It is because having a free will does not mean that we always do what is right. It means that we have the choice to sin or not to sin, and when we choose to sin we are convicted by our conscience (and by the Holy Spirit) and we regret doing it. This sin that separates us from fellowship with God requires confession to restore that fellowship and to restore our peace. Unsaved people don’t have this free will; they are under the dominion of their sin nature without the ability to resist.

 

Application

It’s easy to believe that because we have been declared righteous by God we can sin and not suffer the consequence of sin. However, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and prompts us to confess our sin. Thank you, Lord, for the freedom to obey and for the work of the Holy Spirit in us when we don’t obey!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:1 – No Condemnation

Posted on by Will

Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus,

Truth to Learn

There is no condemnation declared against born-again Christians; instead, we are declared as righteous.

 

Behind the Words

This word “condemnation” is an interesting word. The Greek word is katakrima, which means, “the result of a legal judgment in which there is a condemnatory ruling against someone.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the last verse of chapter seven the Apostle Paul was thanking God for the fact that with his mind he serves the Law of God even though with the flesh he serves the law of sin. He has spent most of the past three chapters discussing the doctrine of justification by grace through faith and then describing the fact that sin has had dominion over us and describing the battle that exists between the sin nature and the intellect.

In this verse he proclaims the great truth about these past three chapters. Even though sin has dominion over us in the flesh, because we have been declared as righteous by God, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Even though our sin nature still causes us to fall and commit sin and, as Paul said back in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death,” he also said in that same verse, “the gift of God is eternal life.” Because God declared us righteous and gave us eternal life, there is no condemnation on us.

Back in chapter four, Paul talked about the fact that righteousness was reckoned, or imputed, to us by grace. This reckoning, or crediting, is a legal term that means that righteousness is declared and placed in one’s account where righteousness did not exist before. Since we have been declared righteous, there can be no condemnatory ruling against us.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Some translations have “who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” added to the end of this verse. This phrase is omitted in the best transcripts. It is possible that the scribe who copied this letter included this from the end of verse four. But, what if Paul did actually add this here as well as in verse four? If he did, then this is a statement of fact, not a condition. He is NOT saying that there is no condemnation to those “who are in Christ Jesus” on the condition that they “do not walk according to the flesh.” He is saying that a characteristic of those who are in Christ Jesus is the fact that they do not walk according to flesh but according to spirit. One of the signs of a true Christian is that they have a manner of life that is characterized by things of the spirit and one that is not characterized by fleshly things.

 

 

Application

I have had people ask me, “What do you think about Christians who get saved and then go back to living the same way they did before they got saved?” The only logical answer to this question, according to what Paul teaches us here and in verse four is, “They never really got saved!” Jesus, during his earthly ministry, taught his disciples, “Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits, nor can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17, 18)

What does your fruit say about you? Are you in Christ Jesus?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved