1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. v.8:34; 14:3-4
Anyone who walks after the Spirit and not of the flesh, Jesus(God) finds no guilt in them. Because We no longer want to walk in the lust of the flesh (Gal 5:19-23).
2. But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
The Spirit of Jesus that dwells inside us sets us free from the death penalty of the law of God, which requires Death to all who sin.
3. 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; Acts. 13:39
The law could not bring eternal life because the flesh, in it’s weakness, could not keep the law. However God sent His Word in the flesh to earth, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten Son (John, 1:1-2; John 1:14 ), who left His divinity behind and became flesh in all ways including the sin nature. Yet He never sinned while in the flesh. Through the sacrifice of Christ and His precious blood God washed away all sins past, present and future, condemning sin in the flesh.
4. That the righteousness requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The righteous part of the law for sin was the shed blood of an animal; a bull, a goat or a lamb had to be sacrificed in order to be forgiving by God for our sins. This is the law of God, and He himself carried out this law by sacrificing His only Son for the remission of our sins so that we could be reconciled to Him and be forgiving for our sins past, present and future. Those who have been baptised with the laying on of hands to receive His spirit. if we indeed have His spirit in us we should no longer walk according to the flesh and it’s sinful ways. That is we commit ourselves to walk according to the spirit and keeping sin out of our lives.
5. 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. Gal. 5:22-25
Those that seek the flesh (Sin), obey that which is of the flesh. Those that seek the Spirit obey that which is of the Spirit. (Gal 5:16-26).
6. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Gal. 6:8
Those that are of the flesh and are worldly, will surely die. If the Spirit dwells in you, You will have everlasting life of serenity and harmony.
7. because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can it be. 1 Cor. 2:14; James 4:4
The carnal mind is an enemy of God, and hostile towards Him, for it is not under the authority of God’s law.
8. So then they who are in the flesh cannot please God. Heb. 11:6
To be in the flesh and not in the Spirit is to live a life full of sin, of all kinds, not just those of a sexual nature but all sin, no matter how big or small. and as we have learned by now we know that any transgression of God’s law is sin. Our faith in Christ changes us from being in the flesh to that Of being “in the Spirit” Fighting that carnal mind and deceitful heart, to keep from sinning. (Rom 8:6; Jer. 17:9 – 10),
9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
You cannot be in the flesh and in the Spirit together. You cannot serve God and Mammon, for you will hate one and despise the other (Matt 6:24), and so if you have not the Spirit of Jesus Christ in you, then the Spirit of God is not in you as well, and you cannot be of Christ and God, for the two make one.
10. And if Christ is in you, indeed the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
When you get baptised and receive the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you, then the body (Which is the flesh), dies inside because of its sinful nature. You will begin to live in a just and holy manner, God will account that to us as righteousness and will give us eternal life.
11. But if the Spirit of the One who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised up Christ from the dead shall also make your mortal bodies alive by His Spirit who dwells in you. 1 Cor. 6:14
If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then the Spirit of God who raised Jesus up from the dead, He will also raise you up from the dead, through the Spirit of God that is inside of you.
12. Therefore, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. Rom 6: 7; Rom 6: 14
We don’t owe anything to the flesh, because we don’t live our lives according to the sinful flesh. But according to the Spirit.
13. For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die. But if you through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. Gal. 6:8
If you live in sin you will surely die. This is the law of God. But the Spirit which now lives in you kills all those sinful things of the body you will have life everlasting.
14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Those who are influenced and follow the Spirit of God are the children of God. Just as He planned since the foundation of the world.
15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father! Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:5
The Spirit you received is not one that you should be afraid of. You received the Spirit of acceptance into God’s family, who now I can call Him Father (Dad, Daddy).
16. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Eph. 1:13
God’s Spirit is a testimony that our Spirit comes from God, making us His children.
17. And if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; so that if we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together. Eph. 1:14; Phil. 1:29
Since we are God’s children we will inherit everything from Him just like Jesus. So if we suffer with Jesus Christ, we can also be glorified together with Jesus.
18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed in us.
The trials that we will experience in this life are minuscule, compared to how the Lord will glorify us. Let us be reminded that this letter is meant for the Christians in Rome. Paul has suffered much in his lifetime since he became a follower of Christ. He was taught by Christ Himself for three years, taking up to the third heaven where God dwells. He told us that when he was there he heard unspeakable words which man should not utter (2 Cor 12:4), Paul never did reveal what he saw or heard while in heaven. Maybe in a roundabout way Paul he is telling us what he saw and heard (Without saying it), That the way we will be glorified is so magnificent compared to the trials and tribulations we go through in this earth age, if we only knew.
19. For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Starting with verse nineteen Paul begins giving us a picture of what it will be like when the saints of God will be resurrected into Spirit beings, by using allegory combined with poetry and personification as an imagery of what we are eagerly waiting for. In my research I found that many scholars tie in the Genesis account of creation to these passages and the curse God put on Adam and Eve when they ate of the fruit of the knowledge and good and evil. God cursed the ground at that time and men would have to labor in order to be able to have food to eat. (Gen 3:16-18), God gave man dominion over all the earth to tend to, keep and rule over all creation. (Gen 1:26-28), All this changed when sin entered the world. After learning this I remembered what I had learned over a year ago in the Genesis account of the flood. After the flood God made a covenant with Noah, but not just with Noah but also with the creation itself. God promised all creation (Not just Noah), that he would never destroy all living things upon the earth by flood. God even says that this covenant is between Him and the earth itself. (Gen 9: 11-17 ). When this was first revealed to me I was blessed to see another side of the Father; God cherishes and loves all His creation, not just man, but all his creation: The animal, birds, fish, the plants, mountains, lakes, oceans, all creation. Think about this, you should meditate on this and just how magnificent and wonderful God truly is. I know it brought me closer to understand the Father even more. Because of the evil in the world at the time of Noah the world itself changed completely. As the waters subsided it was a not the same, lakes and canyons formed by the running off the the waters, mountains grew, the continents shifted and formed new boundaries that we see today. Put all this together and yes, the whole creation moans and groans for the earnest expectation of what the sons of God will become, and will have the opportunity to renew the creation to a better state that it is in now, and will become during the tribulation.
20. For the creation was subjected to Futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
21. because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 2 Cor. 3:17
In the beginning, all of God’s creation was made perfect and without sin. On the sixth day of creation the Lord looked and saw everything He had made and said that “It was very good” (Gen 1:31). He did not make creation to be subject to futility, and all of creation did not willingly desire to be subject to it’s futility, with all it’s perverse, decaying, weakness’ that came after Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God and bit into the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. God did not intend for sin to enter the world, but once it did He put a curse on creation, subjecting it in hope, and looking forward to the day when He will glorify us as His sons. In that day the whole creation will be made right again, restoring itself back to the way it was before sin entered the world.
22. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
Paul both personifies and uses poetry to describe to the people back then but also for us christians throughout the years up to this very moment and beyond the way we feel as we eagerly await the transformation of our fleshly bodies to spirit beings. The pains that women go through when delivering a baby I have been told is a very traumatic event, but once the birth has occurred the woman goes from being in excruciating pain to tears of joy and happiness after nine months and carrying the child in her womb until then. The life she just brought into this world overpowers all the pain and suffering she has gone through. So it will be for us on the day that we receive our Spirit bodies. It seems the older we get, the more pain we experience. As we go through life we experience so much pain from divorces, injuries, loss of loved ones, and so many other things that brings pain to not only our bodies but also to our hearts and mind. Paul explains that it is not just us, but all of Gods’ creation suffer with us throughout time. the lakes, rivers, trees, the animals, the birds and fish, everything, we all suffer together.
23. And not only that, but we also who have the first fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Paul gets more specific now; separating us humans, from the rest of His creation. We Christians are the “first fruit of the Spirit” no other creation can be called first fruits. The first fruits are those who have been baptised and have had Elders of the church lay their hands on us in order to receive Gods’ Spirit. Those who call themselves Christians, and have not been baptised nor had hands laid on them to receive His Spirit are not true first fruits. It is the true first fruits Paul is speaking about here. We, by ourselves groan within our flesh are anxiously waiting for the full adoption of our bodies to be redeemed. Even though we have His Spirit in us, our bodies continue to suffer the consequences of sin meaning that day by day we are still dying inside. Once we have the full adoption we won’t have to worry about sin anymore or the death penalty because of the sin in us. O death where is your sting, o grave where is your victory? ( 1 Cor. 15:53-57 ).
24. For we are saved in this hope, But hope that is seen is not hope; for why does anyone still hope for what he sees? Heb. 11:1
25. But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Rom 5:2, 3
Hope and faith go hand in hand, We have faith in God’s word that we are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, and therefore we hope for a better future of life eternal, without the pains and struggles we go through in the present age. If we were already in this present stage then there would be no need for hope, why should we hope for something we already have? So we patiently wait for the kingdom of God to come, and the better days that lie ahead.
26. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
There will be times when we pray to God and don’t know what to say, or how we should talk to Him. The Spirit will take over for us with groanings that words cannot express.
27. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Rom 8:34; Heb. 7:25
Jesus Christ lives in us through the power of Gods’ holy spirit. In verse nine of Romans eight we are told that we are no longer in the flesh but in the spirit of God, we are also told that we must have Christ’s spirit in us as well, otherwise we do not belong to Him. the Two ( God and Jesus Christ), have the same spirit in them and us who are Christians. We have access to the Father through Jesus Christ by this one spirit (Rom 8:9; Eph. 2:18). It is Christ who is able to save us to the full extent when we pray to the Father in His name, He will make intercession for us as our High Priest ( Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25), Christ is the Mediator between us and God, and between God and man (1 Tim 7:25), Therefore Jesus rightly said, “No one comes to the Father but by Me” ( John 14:6 ), Jesus Christ and the Father have the same spirit in them. In turn when we are are baptised and receive Gods’ holy Spirit we now have His spirit in us. without Gods spirit in us we could not know the mind of the spirit. Because Christ makes intercession for us, He tells us through the spirit what we should say when we pray and have a difficult time saying what we ought to. it’s this spirit that sees our faults and convicts us of the sins we commit this leads us to God to confess our sins and repent from doing the same sin again. It is God using His spirit through Jesus Christ who has that same spirit which makes intercession for us to direct us in which way we should go ( 1 Cor 2: 9-16 ).
28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
We know that everything that happens to us (Good and bad), We may not understand some of the things that happen to us in our lives, and so we question them; “How is this or that working for my good?’yet they are working together for our good to bring us to salvation, and a better way of life in the end if we truly love God, and have answered God’s calling through our commitment we made at baptism. This has been Gods plan all along.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the First-born among many brothers. 11:2; Eph. 1:4, 5
We know that God called people before they were even born; He “Foreknew them,” To be called by Him and to eventually be conformed into the image of His only Son Jesus Christ, “The first-born” among many brothers. these were in the likes of Moses, Paul and King David. Then there are some He has predestined now to be conformed into the image of Christ at His return. The whole world is predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ at their appointed time. We can learn more about this by the keeping of His Holy days, studying them, and learning Gods plan of salvation for all people. You can order this free booklet that explains more in greater detail than I can here. Just click on this link God never predestined, or if you will; pre-determined those who will have eternal salvation, and those who are condemned into the lake of fire. No! God desires that none should perish but have everlasting life ( John 3:15 ), There is the second coming of the Lord, these are His first-fruits to be resurrected at that time, and then there is the Great White Throne Judgement when all who are left will be raised from the dead that haven’t yet had their chance for eternal life.
30. But whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, those He also justified. And whom He justified, these He also glorified. 1 Pt. 2:9; 3:9
Us who were created in His likeness and in His image, God determined that we who answered his calling (The gospel message), and believe in Jesus for salvation, would be justified (Forgiven), from our sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and we who are justified (Forgiven), thru His blood would also be glorified just as Jesus was glorified and sits at His right hand to this day, we to will be with God the Father in heaven forever. As long as we stay in the faith and do not let it go.
31. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Num. 14:9
So what conclusion should we draw to all that we just read? With God forgiven us for all our sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who can condemn us? No one! Just trust in God, His promise and wait on him, you will be good. ( Ps. 27:14, Ps 37:34 ).
32. Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 4:25
God who did not hold back His only son, yet sacrificed Him on the cross to free us from our sins, and the death penalty of sin according to His own law. how can we conceive that He should not complete His work and give us all things freely through Jesus Christ?
33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 11:5; 1 Thess. 1:4
Who can condemn us who believe? No one! It is God, and God alone who can condemn those who chose not to follow Him, and it is God Who forgives us for our sins.
34. Who is he condemning? It is Christ who has died, but rather also who is raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Heb. 1:3; 7:25
Who is God condemning then? God condemns sin through Jesus Christ in His death. Sin was symbolically put to death when Christ died for our sins. Yet God also raised Him from death, conquering death, and the penalty for sin.
35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36. As it is written: Ps. 44:22
“For Your sake we are killed all
day long: We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Nothing of the flesh, or of this world can separate us from the love of Christ. Just as Christ was persecuted to, so we, who are followers of Christ will be persecuted for our belief in Him. Some will die, but will still have eternal life.
37. But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us. 1 Cor. 15:57
38. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39. nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In addition to overcoming all things of the flesh and of the world, through His spirit, there is nothing that has ever been created, or will be created that can keep us from the love that God has for us. God revealed His love for us by sacrificing His only son on the cross for our sins (John 3:16-18). He has started a great work in you, and He will complete it. ( Phil 1:6 ).