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,
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