Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 8

We are hardly prepared by the contents of ch. 7 for the glorious pronouncement that there is no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus, and we find it hard to associate the “therefore” with anything in the immediately preceding context. The connection must thus be sought in the entire sweep of the thought as developed from ch. 3 on. The natural antithesis to condemnation is justification. Justification is such a basic truth to Paul that he brings it even into his discussion of the Christian life (8:33–34; cf. 8:10). It is the basis and starting point for sanctification. Believers must be assured of acceptance with God before they can grow in grace and conformity to Christ.

Furthermore, the construction of vv.2–4 carries us beyond the thought of freedom from condemnation to the application of the redeeming work of Christ by the Spirit to the believer’s life in such a way that the dominion of sin is broken and the reign of godliness assured. The noun “condemnation” has its counterpart in the verb “condemned” (v.3), which is followed immediately, not by a statement about the legal standing of believers, but by one concerning their manner of life (v.4). Thus, there is both a forensic and a practical force in “no condemnation.” Verse 2 immediately picks up this practical, dynamic aspect by concentrating on the freedom from the imperious rule of sin and death, a freedom now available to believers through the operation of the Spirit. The word “law” is used figuratively here in the sense of “principle” (cf. 7:21, 23). Clearly it would be impossible for Paul to refer to the law of Moses as “the law of sin and death,” even though it provokes sin (7:7–8) and produces death (7:9–11; 2 Corinthians 3:6–7); the Mosaic law in itself is holy (7:12). In the present passage, therefore, “law” indicates the certainty and regularity of operation that characterizes sin (which leads to death) and the Spirit (which leads to life). “Life” (GK 2437) emphasizes both supernaturalness and spontaneity—hence the superiority of the Spirit’s operation over that of sin. The Spirit gives us freedom from the enslaving power of sin.

We are hardly prepared by the contents of ch. 7 for the glorious pronouncement that there is no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus, and we find it hard to associate the “therefore” with anything in the immediately preceding context. The connection must thus be sought in the entire sweep of the thought as developed from ch. 3 on. The natural antithesis to condemnation is justification. Justification is such a basic truth to Paul that he brings it even into his discussion of the Christian life (8:33–34; cf. 8:10). It is the basis and starting point for sanctification. Believers must be assured of acceptance with God before they can grow in grace and conformity to Christ.

Furthermore, the construction of vv.2–4 carries us beyond the thought of freedom from condemnation to the application of the redeeming work of Christ by the Spirit to the believer’s life in such a way that the dominion of sin is broken and the reign of godliness assured. The noun “condemnation” has its counterpart in the verb “condemned” (v.3), which is followed immediately, not by a statement about the legal standing of believers, but by one concerning their manner of life (v.4). Thus, there is both a forensic and a practical force in “no condemnation.” Verse 2 immediately picks up this practical, dynamic aspect by concentrating on the freedom from the imperious rule of sin and death, a freedom now available to believers through the operation of the Spirit. The word “law” is used figuratively here in the sense of “principle” (cf. 7:21, 23). Clearly it would be impossible for Paul to refer to the law of Moses as “the law of sin and death,” even though it provokes sin (7:7–8) and produces death (7:9–11; 2 Corinthians 3:6–7); the Mosaic law in itself is holy (7:12). In the present passage, therefore, “law” indicates the certainty and regularity of operation that characterizes sin (which leads to death) and the Spirit (which leads to life). “Life” (GK 2437) emphasizes both supernaturalness and spontaneity—hence the superiority of the Spirit’s operation over that of sin. The Spirit gives us freedom from the enslaving power of sin.

But how was this freedom gained (v.3)? The opening statement about the powerlessness of the law because of the weakness of the sinful nature to which its commands are addressed is an obvious reminder of the major thrust of ch. 7. The law makes demands and condemns when those demands are not met, but it cannot overcome sin. This inability of the law required the personal action of God in Christ. He sent “his own Son.” This mission could not be entrusted to anyone else or anyone less than his Son. While the preexistence of the Son is not formally taught here, it is implied (cf. Jn 3:17; 7:33; 17:18; 20:21). When vv.2–3 are taken together, they bear a close resemblance to Gal 4:4–6, where Father, Son, and Spirit are pictured as involved in the mission of Christ.

The Son was sent “in the likeness of sinful man” (“man” is literally “flesh”; GK 4922). Observe with what care Paul states the incarnation. He does not say “in sinful flesh,” lest the Son’s sinlessness be compromised, nor “in the likeness of flesh,” which would convey a docetic idea and thereby deny the reality of the humanity of our Lord. Paul’s terminology here fully agrees with Php 2:7: “being made in human likeness.” What about the work of Christ? The purpose of his coming was “to be a sin offering” (lit., “for sin”). Christ’s mission was to deal effectively with sin, making possible among his people the type of life presented in the following verse. Included in that mission was the expiation of sin, which he accomplished through his sacrifice on the cross (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21).

“So he condemned sin in sinful man” (“sinful man” is literally “flesh”). It is possible that “in the flesh” is intended to be correlated with “through the flesh” at the beginning of the verse, in which case the NIV translation is justified. However, since “flesh” can be used of Christ apart from any sinful connotation (e.g., “physical body” in Col 1:22), it is also possible to refer the phrase to our Savior rather than to sinful humanity; in that case, Paul is saying that God condemned sin in the same sort of (human) nature that, in everyone else, is dominated by sin. This brings the teaching in line with 6:5–11.

The purpose of the incarnation, so far as the believer’s life is concerned, is stated in v.4 in such a way as to indicate that the apostle has not allowed the agonizing struggle of ch. 7 to fade from view. There the law was pictured as faultless in itself, but agonizingly elusive for those who try to keep it in their own strength. The self-satisfied will minimize the law’s demands by magnifying their own achievement, whereas the conscientious will end up in despair. In God’s plan, however, the law must be honored not simply in lip service or in desire but in reality. Its righteous requirements must be fully met. This can be done only by living according to the divine aid of the Spirit rather than according to the sinful human nature (cf. “Spirit of life” in v.2).

One should observe the balance in this passage between the divine and human elements in the Christian life. Paul recognizes that believers are not robots, but persons accountable for their redeemed lives. At the same time Paul pictures the requirement of the law as fulfilled (passive) in believers, not by them, as though to remind them that the redeemed do not possess spiritual power that they can control and utilize on their own. Rather, the Spirit is always channeling that power and never releases it to those in whom he lives for them to use independently of him. The power to keep the law resides in the Spirit.

It would be a mistake, however, to ground the Christian “walk” solely on the enabling ministry of the Spirit. The close connection with v.3 demands that we include the saving work of Christ (cf. 6:4, where Paul has observed that identification with the Savior in his death and resurrection has this very objective, that “we too may live [lit., walk; GK 4344] a new life”).

But how was this freedom gained (v.3)? The opening statement about the powerlessness of the law because of the weakness of the sinful nature to which its commands are addressed is an obvious reminder of the major thrust of ch. 7. The law makes demands and condemns when those demands are not met, but it cannot overcome sin. This inability of the law required the personal action of God in Christ. He sent “his own Son.” This mission could not be entrusted to anyone else or anyone less than his Son. While the preexistence of the Son is not formally taught here, it is implied (cf. Jn 3:17; 7:33; 17:18; 20:21). When vv.2–3 are taken together, they bear a close resemblance to Gal 4:4–6, where Father, Son, and Spirit are pictured as involved in the mission of Christ.

The Son was sent “in the likeness of sinful man” (“man” is literally “flesh”; GK 4922). Observe with what care Paul states the incarnation. He does not say “in sinful flesh,” lest the Son’s sinlessness be compromised, nor “in the likeness of flesh,” which would convey a docetic idea and thereby deny the reality of the humanity of our Lord. Paul’s terminology here fully agrees with Php 2:7: “being made in human likeness.” What about the work of Christ? The purpose of his coming was “to be a sin offering” (lit., “for sin”). Christ’s mission was to deal effectively with sin, making possible among his people the type of life presented in the following verse. Included in that mission was the expiation of sin, which he accomplished through his sacrifice on the cross (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21).

“So he condemned sin in sinful man” (“sinful man” is literally “flesh”). It is possible that “in the flesh” is intended to be correlated with “through the flesh” at the beginning of the verse, in which case the NIV translation is justified. However, since “flesh” can be used of Christ apart from any sinful connotation (e.g., “physical body” in Col 1:22), it is also possible to refer the phrase to our Savior rather than to sinful humanity; in that case, Paul is saying that God condemned sin in the same sort of (human) nature that, in everyone else, is dominated by sin. This brings the teaching in line with 6:5–11.

The purpose of the incarnation, so far as the believer’s life is concerned, is stated in v.4 in such a way as to indicate that the apostle has not allowed the agonizing struggle of ch. 7 to fade from view. There the law was pictured as faultless in itself, but agonizingly elusive for those who try to keep it in their own strength. The self-satisfied will minimize the law’s demands by magnifying their own achievement, whereas the conscientious will end up in despair. In God’s plan, however, the law must be honored not simply in lip service or in desire but in reality. Its righteous requirements must be fully met. This can be done only by living according to the divine aid of the Spirit rather than according to the sinful human nature (cf. “Spirit of life” in v.2).

One should observe the balance in this passage between the divine and human elements in the Christian life. Paul recognizes that believers are not robots, but persons accountable for their redeemed lives. At the same time Paul pictures the requirement of the law as fulfilled (passive) in believers, not by them, as though to remind them that the redeemed do not possess spiritual power that they can control and utilize on their own. Rather, the Spirit is always channeling that power and never releases it to those in whom he lives for them to use independently of him. The power to keep the law resides in the Spirit.

It would be a mistake, however, to ground the Christian “walk” solely on the enabling ministry of the Spirit. The close connection with v.3 demands that we include the saving work of Christ (cf. 6:4, where Paul has observed that identification with the Savior in his death and resurrection has this very objective, that “we too may live [lit., walk; GK 4344] a new life”).

At this point Paul launches upon a fairly extended statement contrasting the terms “sinful nature” (lit., “flesh”) and “Spirit,” which he has used in v.4. Both terms are difficult because they can have more than one meaning (for “flesh,” see comment on 7:4–6). To be in the flesh, as the word is used here, is to be in the unregenerate state. To “be [NIV live] according to” the flesh (v.5) is to have the sinful nature as the regulating principle of one’s life. To “walk [NIV live] according to” the flesh (v.4) is to carry out in conduct those things dictated by the sinful human nature.

Less complicated is the use of “Spirit” (pneuma; GK 4460), but even here there is some question as to whether or not this word as used in contrast to “flesh” perhaps refers to the (redeemed) human spirit. This much is clear: in the passage under consideration pneuma does not mean “spirit” simply as an element in the constitution of a person (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:3). The problem is to determine whether pneuma in this passage means the divine life-principle (the new spiritual nature communicated to the believer) or whether it means the Spirit of God.

Two considerations strongly favor the view that this is a reference to the Holy Spirit. (1) This chapter has begun with an obvious allusion to the divine Spirit (v.2), so that unless there is clear indication to the contrary, one should expect this to be the intended meaning of pneuma in the verses that follow. (2) In stating the ground of Christian victory over sin, the apostle would likely assign the basis of that victory to the highest source possible rather than to a lower, intermediate factor.

The statements in vv.5–8 about the sinful nature refer to the unregenerate person, especially judging by the care with which Paul excludes his readers in v.9. This is not sufficient ground, however, for claiming that the Christian has nothing to do with the sinful flesh. The warning of 8:12ff. would be meaningless if that were the case. But for the moment Paul wishes to expose the flesh in its stark reality as totally alien to God and his holy purposes. He insists that there is a correspondence between one’s essential being and what interests that person. The fleshly are occupied with fleshly things, whereas those who possess the Spirit and are controlled by him are concerned with the things of the Spirit (see also 1 Corinthians 2:14). The expression “have their minds set on” denotes far more than a mental process, for it also includes one’s inner desires (cf. Php 2:5ff.; Colossians 3:2).

The same root word appears again (v.6), only in the noun form: “The mind of sinful man is death.” The unsaved are cut off from God, and this amounts to death in the sense of separation from God. Those who are spiritual, on the contrary, enjoy life from God (cf. v.2) and the peace such life affords (cf. 14:17). The dead state of the natural man, both present and future, is then traced to the inveterate hostility to God that characterizes “flesh,” a hostility that manifests itself in opposition to the law of God. Such people refuse to obey it and thereby are in rebellion against God. In summary, Paul names four characteristics of the sinful unregenerate person: hostility toward God, insubordination to his law, failure to please God, and death. It is no wonder that when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of “the flesh,” he went on to declare, “You must be born again” .