1 There is therefore
now no condemnation for those in the Messiah Jesus
Paul’s conclusion here precedes his minor premise (v. 2-11)
given the first premise (Israel’s problem was Sin operating with Death through
Torah) in chapter 7. Condemnation is katakrima,
renewing the law-court metaphor from earlier. The incorporative sense of
“Messiah” is enormously important here. Paul’s argument from 7-8 doesn’t make
any sense if you view the escape from Sin and Death as something to be
bargained individually.
2 For the law of the
spirit of life in the Messiah Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and of
death
Here the bifurcated Torah is denoted. The good and just
Torah of life, in the Messiah, is what has freed those en Christo from the condemnation sentence that would be pronounced
by Sin and Death.
3 For with the Torah
unable in the weakness of the flesh, God, sending his own son in the likeness
of sinful flesh and for the sake of sins (as a sin offering), condemned sin in
the flesh
Unable is adunaton.
Peri hamartias is a construct lifted
directly out of the LXX to mean “sin offering,” and probably should not be
translated directly as “for the sake of sins.” As that sin offering, the
Messiah neutralized the katakrima—the
condemnation.
4 That the just requirement
of Torah might be fulfilled in us not walking according to the flesh but
according to the spirit
Walking in the sense of living or being. (peripatousin) The contrast throughout
this section is sarkos (flesh) and pneumatos (spirit).
5 For those being
according to the flesh think of those things of the flesh, but those according
to the spirit those things of the spirit
Or “set their minds to” the things of the flesh. Phronousin doesn’t mind thinking as in
pondering, but denotes the character of the thinking apparatus. This is not a
dualist trap. Paul is not saying that his special gnosis will elevate the mind away from the body and into the
spirit. He is saying that the mind enslaved by the flesh is characterized by
the rule of Sin/Death, but that mind freed and now animated by the spirit will
be transformed into something different.
6 For the mind of the
flesh, Death, but the mind of the spirit, life and shalom
Just as the law was bifurcated and became, though holy and
good itself, the bringer of death to the flesh, so also the flesh’s phronema is subject to Death.
7 Therefore the minds
of the flesh are enemy unto God, for they are not submitted to God’s Torah,
neither are they able.
As long as one is in bondage to the flesh, they are at
enmity with God and his good Torah. Furthermore, they are unable (oude gar dunatai) to be helped.
8 And those being in
the flesh are not able to please God
With the sense of “be pleasing to God.” (aresai)
9 But you are not
yourselves in the flesh but in the spirit, since the spirit of God dwells in
you. But if any does not have the spirit of the Messiah, he is not His
All 2nd person plural. The Messiah’s people live
in the spirit because God’s spirit inhabits them. Paul uses temple language
here. As YHWH’s spirit dwelt in his people’s temple of old, now the spirit
dwells in the bodies/body of his Messiah’s people. The indwelling of the spirit
is the characteristic of the people “for whom there is now no condemnation” and
the proof of their acquittal.
10 But if the Messiah
is in you, then the body is on the one hand dead because of sin and on the
other hand the spirit is alive on account of righteousness
A clunky translation, but there’s no simple way to highlight
the men…de contrast. Because of is dia, not a dative of reference.
Righteousness is dikaoisunen. Body is
soma, not sarx. Not sure whether to read sin as “Sin” or “sin” here, but the
point would be essentially the same.
11 But if the spirit
of him raising Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he raising the Messiah from
the dead will make alive also your mortal bodies through his spirit indwelling
in you
Perhaps my favorite verse in
Romans. If the spirit of YHWH temples/tabernacles in you, the one who began new
creation in his Messiah Jesus will make-alive (zoopoiesei) your mortal somata
through his indwelling—enoikountos.
12 Therefore then,
brothers, we are debtors not in the flesh according to the flesh to live
The language switches in v.12-17 to the language of
inheritance, which might be more evocative for an ancient agrarian community
anyway, not even considering the promises of “inheritance” driving the O.T.
Paul may be continuing his deliberate evocation of the O.T. story as we,
leaving the Red Sea and Sinai, approach the inheritance.
13 For if you might
live according to the flesh, you ought to die. But if by the spirit you put to
death the deeds of the body, you will live.
As your phronemata
(mind, mindset) is now led by the spirit, so are your actions. (praxeis)
14 For such by the
spirit of God are led, these are the sons of God
Not only offered abstract direction, but led in action. (agontai)
15 For you did not
receive a spirit of slavery again unto fear but ye received a spirit of
sonship, in which we cry Abba father
Based on the scholarly work I’ve read I understand the case
for Abba as “Daddy” or some similar intimate term to be overstated, but Pauls’
point stands whether “Daddy” or “Father.” The Father receives not in
oppression, but in sonship. (Huiothesias
might also be the technical term for adoptive sonship.)
16 the same spirit
bears witness in our spirit that we are children of God
Not our flesh (as by circumcision) but our spirit attests
our status of sonship
17 And if children,
also heirs. The heirs of God, and co-heirs with the Messiah, since we suffer
with him that we might also be glorified with him.
Hence the promise in v.11 of resurrection. Proper
understanding of this verse hinges on the belief that the Messiah, in his
ascension to the Father’s right hand, has already been glorified.
18 For I reason that
the sufferings of the present time are not worthy of comparison to the glory to
be revealed in us
Reason is logizomai.
Axia with a genitive of comparison.
The glory to be revealed is not personal aggrandizing or braggadocio, but New
Creation itself.
19 For Creation’s
deep longing awaits the revelation of the sons of God
Not only do God’s people await the New Creation to be
revealed (apokalupsin) but the whole
of old Creation yearns.
20 For the Creation
is subjected to futility, not of its own will but on account of the one
subjecting it, upon hope
Just as God gave over the minds of the impious (ch. 1) to
futility, so also did he risk giving over his whole good creation to Sin, that
by his Messiah’s decisive action against Sin, he should rescue it all. (!)
21 That the Creation
itself also might be freed from decay’s bondage unto glorious freedom of the
children of God
None of this “far-golden-shore” escapism. Creation will be
rescued with us into our shared glorious freedom.
22 For we know that the
whole creation has been groaning together and suffering together until now
Both verbs are present tense—the whole creation is groaning
and suffering until now.
23 and not alone, but
we already having the first-portion of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in
ourselves, awaiting, the redemption of our body.
As Paul goes on to explain, this present suffering, as
modeled in the Messiah, is necessary for we who will be redeemed. New Creation
comes out of suffering.
24 For in this hope
we are saved. But hope seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?
The already/not yet dichotomy of the inaugurated kingdom is
expressed in 23&24—we already have the first portion of the spirit, but we
are a people living in hope.
25 But if what we do
not see we hope, through endurance we await
Endurance is upomones.
26 And likewise also
the spirit fore-co-aids in our weakness. For if we might pray as is necessary
we do not know how, but the spirit intercedes the same with unspeakable groans
There is no simple way to translate sunantilambanetai. Best to read it in the context of vv. 21-25 and
especially in weakness. The verb is
usually translated “intercedes,” as is uperentugchanei
in the later part of the verse. The sense is similar, but not exact.
27 And He searching
our hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, since according to God he
intercedes for the sake of the saints
Understanding the “He” of this verse as God, who accepts the
spirit’s intercession for us, is the key to understanding this otherwise
potentially slippery verse.
28 And we know that
to those beloved God works together all things unto good, to those according to
his purpose being called
“Called” (kletois)
is the first category of the list in v. 29&30, which is Paul’s theological
description of the Christian process
29 Since those he
foreknew, he foresaw sharing-the-likeness of the image of his son, unto his
being firstborn among many brothers
Likeness-sharing is summorphous.
Here begins the summation of Paul’s work so far, the description of how God
through his Messiah has fulfilled his glorious purposes of salvation and
restoration for Israel (through the Messiah) and for his Creation. What follows
in ch. 9 will be the specific problem that Paul wishes to address in light of
this.
30 And those he
foresaw, these he also called; and those he called, these he justified; and
those he justified, these he also will glorify.
Foreseeing (or predestination), Call, Justification
(edikaiosen) and Glorification. These might not be absolutely airtight
theological compartments, but they are distinct, and Paul’s whole corpus is
vivified when read in these categories.
31 What therefore
shall we say to these? If God is for us, who is against us?
What then of the problems of suffering and weakness raised?
32 Which his own son
did not spare but for our sake gave him over, how with him will all things not
be granted to us?
Gave him over is again paredoken.
The “all things” should be read not only in terms of favorable judgment for
eternal life, but that (incredible enough) and all of the covenant purposes
from the O.T.
33 Who will accuse
against God’s called? It is God who justifies
Vv. 34&35 in affirmation of 8:1.
34 Who is he which
condemns? The Messiah [Jesus] which died, and more was raised, and which is at
God’s right hand, and who intercedes for us
Identification of the Messiah with the Spirit, but with yet
another word (entugchanei) for
intercession.
35 What will separate
us from the love of the Messiah? Tribulation or distress or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Expected answer, “no,” of course.
36 Just as it is
written that For thy sake we die the whole day, we are reckoned as sheep of the
slaughter
Here is the paradox of the gospel, that this confidence and
justification comes in and with the imitation of suffering, following the
suffering King.
37 But in all these
we are overconquerors through him loving us
Yet in that suffering we are more than conquerors—hupernikomen.
38 For I am persuaded
that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things
to come nor powers
39 Nor height nor
depth nor any other created thing is able to separate us from the love of God
in the Messiah Jesus our Lord.
Only, Amen.
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