Romans Bible Study, Chapter 8

 

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Therefore

Because of what came before in Rom. 7:24-25, Paul tells us that Jesus will set us free from the body of our death.

No condemnation

The word ‘condemnation’ is κατάκριμα katákrima. It occurs only three times in the New Testament, all in the book of Romans.

Rom. 5:16, “The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.”
Rom. 5:18, “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.”
Rom. 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

In Christ Jesus

Because we are in Christ Jesus (Federal headship), and because He died and is thus freed from the Law (Romans 7:4), then we are also freed from the Law and, as a result, free from condemnation. Furthermore, because of the imputed righteousness of Christ to us (Rom. 5:1; Phil. 3:9;), we are declared righteous. Because we are declared righteous we have passed out of condemnation.

Rom. 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Phil. 3:9, “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

Because of the work of Christ, we can have the confidence to know that our eternal salvation is guaranteed. As Christians, we have the righteousness of Christ.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus

Our life is due to His death.
It is the gospel that ensures the work of the Spirit in us.
The Holy Spirit indwells us and sets us free from the death wrought by our inner corruption – against which we still struggle.
The Holy Spirit regenerates us.

Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

The law of sin and of death

The law of sin and death is the power and dominion that sin is due to the Law of God.
The gospel has set us free from the Law of sin and death.

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

This verse is full of profound truth. It contains all the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the fullness of the Gospel.
The Law could not save us because of our flesh – which works against the truth of God’s Law.
The Law is good because it reflects God’s character. But it is weak because it cannot enable us to fulfill it.
But God fulfilled the Law completely and totally in the person of Jesus. It was only He who condemned sin in the flesh by never sinning (1 Pet. 2:22).

1 Pet. 2:22, “who committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth.”
Heb. 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus lived under that Law, perfectly. He died as a sin offering in His flesh.

2 Cor. 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
1 Peter 1:18–19, “the knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Because in Christ, and because Christ fulfilled the Law, then God the Father sees us as having fulfilled the Law. This is, yet again, the truth of Federal Headship!
who do not walk according to the flesh

“walk” is a present participle. This addresses the lack of continuous action of walking in the flesh – of obeying and being subject to the law of sin and us.

But according to the Spirit

The Holy Spirit, who lives in us, enables us to work to please God. He enables us to see the truth found in the righteousness of Christ and awakens our hearts to be able to follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

You either serve your flesh along with its sins, or you serve Christ. You cannot serve both at the same time. This is obvious and a repeated truth. But it is still something we must remember.
If your focus is on the flesh along with its desires, then that is where your heart will be. You will manifest pride, self-centeredness, self-righteousness, etc.

Gal. 5:19–21, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

On the other hand, if you focus on the work of the Spirit, then that is where your heart will be. We behave based on where our heart is.

Gal. 5:22–23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

The mind, the noun, φρόνημα phrónēma, occurs 3 times in the NT, all right here in this chapter, vv. 6, 7, and 27

Rom. 8:27, “and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Set your mind, φρονέω phronéō, as a verb, occurs 38 times.

Setting your mind on God’s interests (Matt. 16:23; Mark 8:33). To have an opinion (Acts 28:22), a topic of focus (Rom. 8:5; Phil. 3:19; Phil. 4:10), conceit (Rom. 11:20), to think (Rom. 12:3; 1 Cor. 13:11), an attitude (Rom. 12:16; 15:52 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 3:15), to observe (Rom. 15:6), adopt a view (Gal. 5:10; Phil. 2:2, 5); to think/feel about something (Phil. 1:7), live in harmony (Phil. 4:2), to be concerned for (Phil. 4:10)

Notice the emphasis on the mind.
Rom. 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Mind in Rom. 12:2 is νοῦς noús and occurs 24 times. This word deals more with mental conception, having a presence of mind, reason, etc.

because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,

When we are convinced of something that is contrary to God, then we become hostile toward God, because God reveals truth and we are not following His truth.
Many people in cults, political movements, and spiritual deception have their minds dedicated to those systems. That is natural. They justify their set of beliefs and often deny logic, facts, and truth to maintain their beliefs.
When someone’s mind is set on the flesh, it is an attitude and dedication to the service of the flesh. We must be careful to avoid this and not adopt ‘fleshlyness’ little by little. We need to be wary. We need to keep ourselves in the word and prayer.
This is why it is so important to have our minds transformed by God’s revelation. We ought to study it in depth and learn as much of its truths as possible.

and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

To be in the flesh is to live with an attitude of self-pleasure and self-fulfillment.
That is antithetical to the other-centeredness of God’s love that manifested in sacrificing Himself on our behalf.

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Notice that the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are used interchangeably. This is due, in part, to the nature of the Trinity and the ontological essence shared among all the members of the Godhead.

Divine simplicity is the teaching that God is one thing, one pure triune essence.

If we are indwelt by God, then we are not in the flesh. That is, we are not in the mode and attitude of self-service and self-gratification. But, of course, this is hard, as Paul mentioned in the previous chapter.

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

Sometimes people deny that Jesus is God in the flesh. In such cases, I ask how it is possible for Christ to live in us. After all, in John 14:23, Jesus and the Father live in His people. So this is a declaration of the deity of Christ.
Here Paul continues to contrast the body and the spirit.
As Christians, we are alive in the spirit. That is, our innermost being is alive because of the work of Christ.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

This is one of the verses used to establish the deity of the Holy Spirit since it implies that the Holy Spirit was involved in the resurrection of Christ.
Paul tells us that if God can raise Jesus from the dead, He will also raise your bodies to newness, to the glorified state spoken of in 1 Cor. 15:35-45.
This is a guarantee for us because of the work of Christ and His resurrection.
As hard as it might be to believe sometimes (because we live by faith), it is true.