1:
There is therefore now no condemnation [to those] in Christos Iesous who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit 2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christos
Iesous has made me free from the
law of sin and death 3: For powerless being the law in that it was weak
through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness[1] of
sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh 4: That the
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit. 5: For they that are after the flesh do mind the
things of the flesh but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit
6: For mind of the flesh is death but the mind of the Spirit is life and
peace 7: Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against Theos
for it is not subject to the law Ton Theon neither indeed can be 8:
So then they that are in the flesh have no power to please God 9: But
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of Theon
dwells in you Now if any have not the Spirit of Christos they are none of
his 10: And if Christos be in you indeed the body
is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness 11:
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Iesous from the dead dwell in you he
that raised up Christos from the dead shall also restore to life your mortal bodies
by his Spirit [who] dwells in you[2] 12:
Therefore brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh 13:
For if you live after the flesh you shall die but if you through the Spirit do put
to death the deeds of the body you shall live[3] 14:
For as many as are led by the Spirit [of] Theon they are the children [of] Theon
15: For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but you
have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father 16: The
Spirit herself[4]
bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of Theon 17: And if
children then heirs, heirs of Theo and joint-heirs with Christos
if so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together[5] 18:
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us 19: For the
earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the children
Ton
Theon 20: For the creation was made subject to vanity not
willingly but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope 21:
Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children Ton Theon [of God] 22:
For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until
now 23: And not only they but ourselves also which have the firstfruits
of the Spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption
to wit the redemption of our bodies[6] 24:
For we are saved by hope but hope that is seen is not hope for what one sees
why do they yet hope for 25: But if we hope for that we see not then do
we with patience wait for it 26: Likewise the Spirit also helps our weaknesses
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit herself makes
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered [with articulate
speech] 27: And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of
the Spirit because she makes intercession for the saints according to the will
of God 28: And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose 29:
For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate[7] to
be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn[8]
among many brethren 30: Moreover whom he did predestinate them he also
called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he
also glorified 31: What shall we then say to these things If God be for
us who can be against us 32: He that spared not his own Son but
delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things 33: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect It is God
who justifies 34: Who is he that condemns It is Christ who died yes
rather who is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also makes
intercession for us 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 For thy sake we are killed all the day long
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter 37: No in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him that loved us 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
[1] Jesus was totally and completely human—exactly like us except for the sin. He
was born with Mary’s DNA, but untainted by Adam’s sin. Conversely, Jesus was
also completely and totally God—Jehovah
in the flesh. He was not half god and half human like the Greek gods of old.
[2] The Resurrection of the Just will be a physical resurrection. Jesus’ body did
not see corruption. The Seed of David was raised physically from the dead. Just
as Jesus—as the physical descendant
of David--was raised from the dead, so will believer’s bodies be physically
raised from the dead. A preview of this, can be seen when Jesus died; there was
an earthquake and graves opened. At that time, many that had been dead were
raised and went into the city and were seen and talked to by many. This was a
partial fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “Together with my dead body they
shall rise….”
[3] There are two schools of theology on
salvation, one position teaches that salvation can be lost during periods of sinful
lifestyles (after being born again) but regained through repentance; the other
teaches eternal security, that no amount of sin (in the life of a believer) can
cause eternal life to be lost after one is saved. Both positions base their
conclusions on scripture. Romans 8:13, is a verse that appears to support the
first position. There are other verses that appear to support the latter
position. This writer supports neither
position, believing that both of the other two schools fail to discern between
backsliding and falling away. In rightly discerning the Word of God, and taking
the scriptures as a whole, we find that assurance comforts the faithful 1
John 5:11-13, while Hebrews 6:4-6, Hebrews 10:26-29, and 2 Peter 2:20-22,
serve as warnings to those who would return to that from which they have been
delivered. Sin is progressive—even in the lives of believers—and the scriptures
warn that backsliding (which can be repented of) can lead to falling away
(which cannot be repented of). When is the line between backsliding and falling
away crossed? Only God knows the answer to that. But the scriptures are clear
that sin in the life of a believer, can lead to unbelief—and unbelief is the only sin that can irrevocably separate
from God.
[4] The Holy Spirit is not
an “it.” The Holy Spirit is God. In the Hebrew, the Holy Spirit is called Ruwach. Ruwach, H7307, is a feminine
noun. The Holy Spirit is portrayed as a mother hen in Genesis 1:2. Jesus
confirmed this in Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34. The scriptures say that, God is
not a man Numbers 23:19. Neither is he a woman. But he portrays
himself as both mother and father. Jesus himself is the Father of Eternity. The
angel Gabriel, called the Holy Spirit the father of the Christ child Luke
1:35. We cannot divide God. We can only take him at his Word. The Holy
Spirit is God. In the Hebrew**, the Holy Spirit is feminine. In the Greek, the
word used for Holy Spirit is a neuter noun, which translators choose to render
as “it” or “he.” However, this commentator maintains that “it” is not an
option, and because of the Hebrew testimony, (and the neutrality of the Greek)
the Holy Spirit is accurately addressed as “She.”
English-Translation-Theology
is always a danger, and presents difficulties—to readers and translators
alike—that other languages do not, as English is such a diverse language, with
so many options (more words than any other language) for translators to choose
from. For example, the Hebrew language has a limited vocabulary (only about
3000 words) as compared with the koine
Greek (everyday language spoken by Jesus and his contemporaries). So, we must
appreciate that most every Hebrew word has a variety of applications (some a
very wide variety) and must be translated according to context. Other
applications of ruwach include:
spirit; wind; breath; mind; vain; air; anger; cool; courage. James Strong lists
5,624 koine Greek words in his
original concordance. This would not represent every koine Greek word in the koine
Greek vocabulary—only those which were used in the New Testament of the
Received Text. By comparison, the English language has about 200,000 commonly
used words, not counting scientific words, which approximate another 200,000.
[5] Romans 8:17 was written during a time
when Christians were violently persecuted, often with cruel and painful deaths.
It was a fearful time in Christian history. And without sugar-coating the
reality of the period, Paul encouraged followers of Christ to persevere in
faith and not lose hope in God. The apostle was not teaching a “salvation by
suffering” doctrine. Suffering may indeed accompany salvation, but it does not
produce it, and is not required in order to attain eternal life. Many have
lived and died, and are now in Heaven, without any real suffering taking place
in their lives. Verses like this one, are often used by those who teach that Christians
must go through what is known as The Great Tribulation, which will a time of unprecedented wrath and persecution Matthew
24:15-22 poured out on the enemies of God Psalm 2. Paul later
wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica that believers are not appointed to
wrath but to deliverance. Jesus said to pray that you might be found worthy to
escape that terrible time. John said the faithful will be kept from that hour
of trial which will come upon the whole earth. Those are just a few passages
that speak to the Christian concerning a time that the prophet Joel said to be
very afraid of. The time we now live in (as of the time of this writing), is
called in scripture as, the Age of Grace, the Accepted Time. But a time of
Indignation and Wrath is coming. Isaiah 26:19-20 speaks of three things, a
resurrection of the dead, a “hiding” of the living [this writer believes this
to be a reference to the rapture], and a time of great indignation and wrath.
This is a companion verse of those in 1st and 2nd
Thessalonians where Paul writes about what is commonly referred to as the rapture
and also about the havoc that will be wrought by the Man of Sin after those who
are indwelled by the Holy Spirit are “taken out of the way.” For a detailed
study of Bible Prophecy, read, Redemption:
Bible Prophecy Simplified, by this author.
[6] In Romans 8:23, the redemption of the body, is a reference to the resurrection
of our physical bodies. Our souls are
redeemed when we are Born Again, but our bodies will not be redeemed until the
resurrection of the dead and the catching up of living 1 Corinthians
15:51-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Jesus’ resurrection was a physical one, and so
will the resurrection of believers be a physical one. When He appears, we shall
see Him as He is, for we shall be like Him 1 John 3:2.
[7] Predestination is based solely on God’s foreknowledge. The scriptures are clear that it is God’s will that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. See article by this writer, “Predestination: Committed to Dishonor—Fitted For Destruction”:
http://thehungryheartsbiblecommentary.blogspot.com/2009/06/predestination-committed-to.html
[8] The word “firstborn,”
in this instance, indicates rank and preeminence—not chronological birth order
or order of creation. We have an example of this type of usage in Deuteronomy
21:16. Jesus is the creator, and not a created being. He is the Father of
Eternity, God in the flesh Isaiah 9:6, 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV reads, “GOD was
manifest in the flesh.”).
Additional commentary pending for this
chapter. Questions and comments are welcome.
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