Thomas Aquinas Commentary Romans 8:1-6

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:" — Romans 8:1-6 (ASV)

1. After showing that we are freed from sin and the law through Christ’s grace, the Apostle now shows that through the same grace we are freed from damnation.

   He demonstrates this in two parts. First, he shows that through the grace of Christ we are freed from the damnation of guilt. Second, he shows we are freed from the damnation of punishment, beginning with the words, and if Christ is in you (Romans 8:10).

   Regarding the first point, he does two things:

   1. He sets forth his intention.
   2. He proves his proposition, beginning at for the law of the spirit of life.

2. Concerning the first point, he first mentions the benefit that grace confers, drawing a conclusion from the preceding discussion. Since the grace of God through Jesus Christ has freed us from the body of this death, which is our redemption, it follows that there is now therefore no damnation left. The damnation has been removed regarding both guilt and punishment. As it is written, it is he himself who grants peace; who is there who will condemn? (Job 34:29).

   Second, he shows to whom this benefit is granted, mentioning two required conditions. The first is stated when he says, to those who are in Christ Jesus, meaning those incorporated into Him by faith, love, and the sacraments of faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27); as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (John 15:4). For those who are not in Christ, however, damnation is due. Hence, John continues: if a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered together, thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6).

   He then sets out the second condition, saying, who do not walk according to the flesh, meaning those who do not follow the desires of the flesh: for though we walk in the flesh, we do not make war according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 10:3).

3. From these words, some have tried to infer that for unbelievers who are not in Christ Jesus, the initial movements of sinful desire are mortal sins, even without consent. They argue this is what is meant by walking according to the flesh. Their reasoning is as follows: if serving the law of sin in the flesh through these initial movements is not damnable for those in Christ Jesus, then by contrast, it must be damnable for those who are not in Christ Jesus.

   They also offer this argument: an act is necessarily damnable if it proceeds from the habit of a damnable sin. Original sin is damnable because it deprives a person of eternal life, and the habit of this sin remains in an unbeliever whose original sin has not been forgiven. Therefore, they conclude, any movements of desire arising from original sin are mortal sins for such a person.

4. First, it is necessary to show that this position is false.

   The reason the first movement of desire is not a mortal sin is that it does not involve reason, where the full nature of sin is realized. This capacity for reason is present even in unbelievers; therefore, the initial stirrings of desire in unbelievers cannot be mortal sins.

   Furthermore, for the same type of sin, a believer sins more gravely than an unbeliever: how much more punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God and profaned the blood of the covenant? (Hebrews 10:29). Therefore, if the initial stirrings in unbelievers were mortal sins, they would be even more so in believers.

5. Second, it is necessary to respond to their arguments.

   To begin with, they cannot derive this position from the Apostle’s words. The Apostle does not say that the only thing that is not damnable for those in Christ Jesus is that they serve the law of sin in their flesh through movements of desire. Rather, he says there is no condemnation at all for them. For those who are not in Christ Jesus, their very state of being outside of Christ is damnable.

   Furthermore, if this passage refers to the initial movements experienced by those not in Christ Jesus, such stirrings are damnable according to the condemnation due to original sin, which still remains in them. Those in Christ Jesus have been freed from this. But this does not mean that a new condemnation is added on account of such stirrings.

   Their second argument also does not necessarily lead to their intended conclusion. It is not true that any act proceeding from the habit of a damnable sin is itself damnable. Rather, an act is damnable only when it is perfected by the consent of reason. For example, if the habit of adultery is present in a person, the stirring of adulterous desire, which is an imperfect act, is not a mortal sin. Only the perfect act, which exists by the consent of reason, is a mortal sin. Moreover, an act proceeding from such a habit does not add a new reason for condemnation beyond the condemnation of the habit itself. Accordingly, the initial stirrings in unbelievers, inasmuch as they proceed from original sin, do not incur the condemnation due to mortal sin but only that due to original sin.

6. Then, when he says, for the law, he proves what he had said.

   First, he proves it in regard to the first condition: that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

   Second, he proves it in regard to the second condition: for those who do not walk according to the flesh, which he addresses at who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.

   Regarding the first, he does two things:

   1. He presents a proof.
   2. He explains his presupposition by showing its cause, beginning at for what was impossible for the law.

7. Regarding the first point, he presents this argument: The law of the Spirit frees a person from sin and death. But the law of the Spirit is in Christ Jesus. Therefore, by being in Christ Jesus, one is freed from sin and death.

   He proves that the law of the Spirit frees from sin and death in this way: The law of the Spirit is the cause of life. But sin and death, which is an effect of sin, are excluded by life, for sin itself is spiritual death for the soul. Therefore, the law of the Spirit frees a person from sin and death. Since damnation comes only through sin and death, nothing of damnation exists in those who are in Christ Jesus.

   This, therefore, is what he means by for the law of the spirit of life.

8. This law can be understood in one way as the Holy Spirit, so that the law of the spirit means the law which is the Spirit.

   A law is given to lead people to the good; hence, the Philosopher says in Ethics II that the lawgiver's intention is to make citizens good. Human law does this by merely indicating what ought to be done. The Holy Spirit dwelling in the mind, however, not only teaches what is to be done by instructing the intellect but also inclines the affections to act correctly. As Jesus said, but the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things (referring to instruction), and suggest to you all things (referring to inclination), all that I have said to you (John 14:26).

9. In another way, the law of the spirit can be the proper effect of the Holy Spirit, namely, faith working through love. This faith teaches what is to be done (his anointing teaches you about everything, 1 John 2:27) and inclines the affections to act (the love of Christ controls us, 2 Corinthians 5:14).

   This law of the spirit is called the new law, which is either the Holy Spirit himself or something the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). In contrast, when he spoke about the old law, he said only that it is spiritual, meaning given by the Holy Spirit.

10. Considering what has been said, we find four laws mentioned by the Apostle:

    1. The law of Moses, about which he says, I am delighted with the law of God according to the inner man (Romans 7:22).
    2. The law of inclination to sin: I see in my members another law (Romans 7:23).
    3. The natural law (in one sense of the term), about which he adds, fighting against the law of my mind (Romans 7:23).
    4. The new law, when he says, the law of the spirit.

11. He adds, of life, because just as the natural spirit produces the life of nature, so the divine Spirit produces the life of grace: it is the Spirit that gives life (John 4:63); the Spirit of life was in the wheels (Ezekiel 1:2).

    He adds, in Christ Jesus, because this Spirit is given only to those who are in Christ Jesus. For just as the natural spirit does not reach a member not connected to the head, so the Holy Spirit does not reach a person not joined to Christ, the head: by this we know that he abides in us, because he gave us of his own Spirit (1 John 3:24); the Holy Spirit whom God has given those who obey him (Acts 5:32).

    This law, he says, since it is in Christ Jesus, has delivered me. As Jesus said, If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:38). It has delivered me from the law of sin, that is, from the law of evil inclinations, which inclines one to sin. Or, it can mean from consenting to and committing sin, which holds a person bound like a law. For sin is forgiven by the Holy Spirit: receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven (John 20:22). He also says it delivers us from the law of death, not only spiritual but also bodily death, as will be proved later. This is because He is the Spirit of life: come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live (Ezekiel 37:9).

12. Then when he says, for what was impossible, he explains what he had said, namely, that the law of life, which is in Christ Jesus, frees a person from sin. He proves this with an argument from the resurrection of Christ, and it will be proved later that it also frees from death.

    In this regard, he mentions three things:

    1. The need for the Incarnation.
    2. The mode of the Incarnation, at God, sending his own Son.
    3. The fruit of the Incarnation, at and of sin.

    To make the explanation easier, we will take the second point first, then the third, and finally the first.

13. I am correct in saying that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees from sin, for God, the Father, did this by sending his own Son. This means His own consubstantial and co-eternal Son: he said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you’ (Psalms 2:7). By sending, he does not mean creating or making Him, but that He sent Him as one already existing: afterward he sent his Son to them (Matthew 21:37).

    He sent Him not to exist where He previously did not, because as it is said, he was in the world (John 1:10), but to exist in a way He had not existed before: visibly, by means of the flesh He assumed. Hence, the same passage continues, and the Word became flesh... and we have beheld his glory (John 1:14); and also, afterwards he appeared upon earth .

14. Therefore, he adds, in the likeness of sinful flesh. This should not be taken to mean that Christ had only the likeness of flesh and not true flesh, as if it were imaginary, which is what the Manicheans claim. The Lord Himself says, a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have (Luke 24:40). For this reason, the Apostle does not merely say "in the likeness of flesh," but in the likeness of sinful flesh.

    Christ did not have sinful flesh, meaning flesh conceived with sin, because His flesh was conceived by the Holy Spirit who takes away sin: that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). Hence a psalm says, I have entered in my innocence (Psalms 25:11), that is, entered into the world. But He did have the likeness of sinful flesh, meaning He was like sinful flesh in that He was able to suffer. Before sin, man’s flesh was not subject to suffering. Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren, so that he might be made merciful (Hebrews 2:17).

15. Next, he mentions the two effects of the Incarnation. The first is the removal of sin, which he sets out when he says, and of sin has condemned sin in the flesh.

    This can be read as: of sin, meaning, on account of the sin committed against the flesh of Christ by His executioners at the devil’s instigation, God condemned, that is, destroyed, sin. Because the devil conspired to deliver to death an innocent person over whom he had no rights, it was just that he lose his power. Therefore, by His passion and death, Christ is said to have destroyed sin: He disarmed, namely on the cross, the principalities and powers, triumphing over them in him (Colossians 2:15).

    However, it is better to interpret it this way: God condemned sin in the flesh, meaning He weakened the inclination to sin in our flesh. He did this of sin, that is, through the power of His passion and death, which is called "sin" either because of its likeness to sin or because through it He was made a victim for sin. In Sacred Scripture, such a victim is called sin: they feed on the sin of my people (Hosea 4:8). Hence, him who did not know sin for our sake God made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), meaning a victim for sin. And so by satisfying for our sin, He took away the sins of the world: behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

16. He sets out the second effect when he says, that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us. This means that the justice which the law promised, and which some hoped to obtain from the law, would be made perfect in us, who exist in Christ Jesus. The gentiles who did not pursue justice have attained the justice which is through faith (Romans 9:30). And in 2 Corinthians, after saying, him who did not know sin for our sake he made to be sin, he adds, so that in him we might be made the justice of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

17. This could only be done through Christ. Therefore, he prefaced this passage by saying that Christ was able to condemn sin in the flesh and enact justification, which was something the law could not do. As it is written, for the law made nothing perfect (Hebrews 7:19).

    The reason the law could not do this was not due to a shortcoming in the law itself, but because it was weak through the flesh. This refers to a weakness in human beings due to the corruption of our sinful inclination, which resulted in people being overcome by sinful desire despite the law: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). As he says elsewhere, I am speaking in natural terms on account of the weakness of the flesh (Romans 6:19).

    From this it is clear that it was necessary for Christ to be incarnated. For it is said, if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no reason (Galatians 2:21). Therefore, it was necessary for Christ to be incarnated, because the law could not justify.

18. Then when he says, who do not walk according to the flesh, he proves his point regarding the second condition and shows that to avoid condemnation, one must not walk according to the flesh.

    In this regard, he does three things:

    1. He states his proposition.
    2. He proves it, beginning at for they who are according to the flesh.
    3. He clarifies something he had presupposed in the proof, beginning at because the wisdom of the flesh (Romans 8:7).

19. First, therefore, he says: we have stated that the justification of the law is fulfilled in us who not only are in Christ Jesus but also do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. This means we do not follow the desires of the flesh but the prompting of the Spirit: walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

20. Then when he says, for they who are according to the flesh, he proves what he had said.

    He brings in two syllogisms. One is from the side of the flesh and runs like this: All who follow the prudence of the flesh are brought to death. But those who walk according to the flesh follow the prudence of the flesh. Therefore, all who walk according to the flesh are brought to death.

    He sets out the other syllogism from the side of the Spirit, and it runs like this: All who follow the prudence of the Spirit obtain life and peace. But those who walk according to the Spirit follow the prudence of the Spirit. Therefore, all who walk according to the Spirit obtain life and peace.

    And so it is clear that those who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, are freed from the law of sin and death.

21. First, therefore, he states the minor premise of the first syllogism, saying, for they who are according to the flesh, that is, who obey the flesh as though subject to it. Of such people it is said, such men serve not the Lord but their own belly (Romans 16:18). They savor the things of the flesh—which is to say, they have the wisdom of the flesh.

    For to savor the things of the flesh is to approve and judge as good that which is according to the flesh: you savor not the things of God but of men (Matthew 16:23); they are skilled in doing evil (Jeremiah 4:22).

22. Second, he states the minor premise of the second syllogism, saying, but they who are according to the spirit, that is, who follow the Holy Spirit and are led according to Him. This is in accord with Galatians: if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:18). Such people mind the things that are of the spirit, meaning they have a right sense in spiritual matters: think concerning the Lord with uprightness .

    The reason for this, as the Philosopher says in Ethics III, is that as a person is, so the end seems to him. Hence a person whose soul is formed by a good or bad habit will judge his goal according to the demands of that habit.

23. Third, he states the major premise of the first syllogism, saying, for the prudence of the flesh is death.

    To understand this, it should be noted that prudence is right reason concerning things that can be done, as the Philosopher says in Ethics IV. Right reason concerning actions presupposes one thing and does three things. It presupposes a goal that functions as a principle in human actions, just as speculative reason presupposes principles from which it proceeds to demonstration. Then, right reason does three things: first, it plans correctly; second, it judges correctly about those plans; and third, it correctly and firmly commands what was planned.

    Hence, for there to be prudence of the flesh, a person must presuppose a pleasure of the flesh as his goal and then plan, judge, and command whatever leads to this end. That is why such prudence is death, meaning it is the cause of eternal death: he who sows in the flesh will from the flesh reap corruption (Galatians 6:8).

24. Fourth, he states the major premise of the second syllogism, saying, but the prudence of the spirit is life and peace.

    According to what has just been said, there is prudence of the spirit when someone, presupposing a spiritual good as the goal, plans, judges, and commands the things that are suitably ordered to that goal. Hence such prudence is life, meaning it is the cause of grace and glory: he who sows in the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life (Galatians 6:8). And it is peace, meaning the cause of peace, for peace is caused by the Holy Spirit: great peace have those who love your law (Psalms 119:165); the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22).