Romans 8

Continuing on with Romans. This is NKJV, comments in >>blue.
Occasional NLT version in red:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
>>This follows Romans 7 in which Paul laid out how that he wanted to do right and follow the law of God, yet he often failed and sinned, explaining that the flesh still has the sin nature in it. Paul makes it clear that there is no condemnation for us who are "in" Christ Jesus. He defines that a little bit by describing those who "walk" according to the Spirit. What is your walk? It is how you are traveling through life and specifically, what you are walking after, as in following. What is your mind on? What are you consciously putting your efforts towards?

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
>>Again Paul describes a governing attribute in life as a "law". It is a foregone conclusion that if you are one with the Spirit of God, then you are free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
NLT :3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
>>Because of our fleshy, carnal nature, the law could not do anything for us, as in save us or make us holy. Sin actually used the law to condemn us. The law required payment for the sin in us, and God sent His Son to represent us and be the payment for us. The law was like a contract on our lives and Jesus fulfilled the contract and gives us that new start free from the debt.

4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
>>So the law/contract is fulfilled in us, those who are following the Spirit. We actually owe Christ Jesus big time. Luckily, He is not a heavy-handed overlord. He made it a free gift. We should be forever thankful.
 
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So very, very true! Thank you for this study! Thank you for not being a heavy-handed overlord, and that your mercies are new each morning!
 
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
NLT: 5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
>>So, where is your mind? What dominates your thinking. Life demands get in the way all the time. In Romans 12:2, we are directed to renew our minds. Reset your mind on the Spirit so your approach to things comes from a loving attitude.
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
>>Let's detour to Galatians 5:16-25
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

>>To be led by the Spirit, to live in the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit; that is the goal. The works of the flesh are compared to the fruits of the Spirit. Which ones show up more in our life?
Paul makes a great point about the fruits of the Spirit: there is no law against them.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
>>The carnal mind is against all things God, including His laws. The woke agenda obviously fits this description.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
>>Is pleasing God a priority for us?
 
These first 8 verses about carnal mind versus the spirit filled mind goes well with Ephesians 4:
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, thold man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

If you are new to Christ, does that change feel "new"?
For those of us who have been saved for many years, do we still feel new? How much of a battle is it to stay in or with the Spirit? Our understanding isn't darkened anymore, so shouldn't it get easier? Or do the challenges become stronger?
Verse 17 says the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, the KJV uses the vanity of their mind. That is interesting that two words which mean somewhat different things can really relay the meaning of this idea. Vanity is futility. Nothing good comes from vain, all about me thinking. It is futile, a waste, nothing useful.
This is a resistance to your instincts. That first thought, the first reaction; to love and care about others as ourselves.
Also in Philippians 4 we find:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

This is a purposeful meditation or thinking about the good things, virtue, the right thing to do. The Spirit leads us to it so it becomes part of us.

In verse 12, Paul is conveying more direction for us to learn, receive, hear and see of him. In all situations, be at peace in your heart whether to have or to need, to be up or down, in good times and bad. Christ strengthens us.
 
Back to Romans 8:
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
>>I read this many times and always get stuck on the "if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you". That is a big "IF" isn't it? So many don't know for sure. How do we know? Go back to that Galatians quote from earlier:
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control.
Now you don't have to have all of the works of the flesh to tell, although the fruits of the Spirit you should have all, but which are you led to? It is confusing because many of us were raised in a Christian culture where these fruits of the Spirit were engrained in us. So even a person raised in a non-Christian household but surrounded by the Christian culture will know the advantages of living according to moral and virtuous laws. Before the Bible based Judeo-Christian laws pervaded all western countries, the idea of what was right and lawful changed often based upon who held power in the kingdom or empire. You need go no further for evidence than Herod and Pharaoh both looking to kill all male babies to stop a perceived threat to their power. No one said, "Hang on there. Let's see if a judge thinks this is lawful." What a king ordered was law. No matter how crazy it was.


10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
>>Since the body is dead, it should have no power over your decisions.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
>>There is POWER in the Spirit.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
>>We owe the Spirit our loyalty.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
 
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
>>I read this many times and always get stuck on the "if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you". That is a big "IF" isn't it?
What if that IF is a descriptive IF, in this case meaning 'since'?
 
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
>>Are we looking for or sensing that leading of the Spirit? Stay in contact with the Spirit and you are a son or daughter of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
>>As we learned earlier in Romans, the bondage of sin is a slavery of fear and death. We are actually adopted into the family of God. Not cousins or nieces or nephews, but the immediate family of God, sons and daughters. And we can call him Dad, Daddy or whatever your term of endearment is for your loving father. That is what Abba is.
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
>>The Spirit is a person, not an "it". The Spirit of God claims us as family.
17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
>>There is an inheritance we receive from God our Father. We are heirs along with Christ. This reads like we are only heirs if we suffer with Christ. The "if indeed we suffer" goes with the next phrase, not the prior phrase. Here is the NLT version:
17
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
>>So any suffering for Christ's sake will result in sharing Christ's glory from God.

I recently saw a short video of the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin describing to a college basketball team the concept of leaning into the uncomfortable to realize real growth. He is using it for sports purposes, but one can imagine how this ties in with this idea of suffering with Christ. Here is a link to the short video on twitter:


<Commit to being uncomfortable>
 
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In the video, Tomlin expresses the idea that for real growth, we have to be uncomfortable or do the uncomfortable things. If you want stronger muscles, then you need to work them out. Sitting in your Lazy Boy recliner will not give you stronger muscles. Same thing for Christian growth. Without getting into the uncomfortable parts of the Bible or putting in the work of studying the Bible, we won't grow stronger in our faith. If we don't contact the unbelievers (which can be uncomfortable) where they are, like maybe prison or at a shelter or at your place of work, then you won't grow in those abilities and others can't become believers. Suffering can result from engaging others.
 
Uncomfortable doesn't mean you won't enjoy it. Even in suffering, Paul said that he could abound, or find joy, even while suffering. We can always look to the outcomes that are beneficial for us and the body of Christ.
 
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
>>Paul considers the sufferings of this life to be a small, tiny things compared to what we will receive in the afterlife. It is interesting how this is phrased: "the glory which shall be revealed in us." This glory is hidden yet, but when revealed, it will be in us, not on us or around us. We will receive glorified bodies.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
>>All of creation anticipates day the children of God will be a finished work and made new.
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.
>>Creation is also waiting to be remade to leave corruption behind. The futility here is the constant growth only to decay into a death each and every season or life cycle. Hope is mentioned here again. This shows the importance of hope in our lives, the looking forward to the great things to come. Hope helps us keep from falling into a depressed state.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
>>All of creation is seen here as a woman going through childbirth, with the pains and struggles of birthing a child. Something to think about, all of God's creation is here for our benefit of learning and growth to develop our faith.
23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
>>The firstfruits are the best quality production from the Spirit for our benefit. Take advantage of having that Spirit, trusting in His power to bolster all we do. And the hope we have is going with our looking forward to that day we are redeemed.
24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
>>This hope we have is in the coming grace we have received and will receive, the glorification of our new bodies. Since we don't experience the outcome of that hope now, it remains hope because of the expectation. If it were here already, then we wouldn't still hope for it. We have only experienced some of this hope by being connected to the Spirit. We all have the "door" to this hope; we just have to open it.
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
>>Maintain the expectation so we have the perseverance to continue when things get difficult.
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 Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
>>Thank God we have the Spirit to help us with maintaining this hope. Here we have the promise that no matter how screwed up our prayers are or how we ask for the wrong thing or have suspect intentions, the Spirit prays with us fixing our errors and makes proper intercession for us.
 
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.
>>It is great to know that the Holy Spirit is connected to our hearts and makes intercession for us in God's will.
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.
>>One of the most famous and loved passages from the Bible. I find many people who quote this verse miss the "the" before "called", as in "who are called according ...". You might say that this could be a nick-name for us Christians, "The Called". The next few verses reference our group, the called. This verse, 28, is one of the most comforting verses for those experiencing difficult times. It is a great verse to meditate on as well.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
>>This verse seems to say that we were known ahead of time that we would become brothers and sisters with Christ, which would mean we were created for that purpose. But this also seems to say one of two things: that some, if not most, people God did not foreknow, by saying "For whom He foreknew", there were others He didn't foreknow and therefore not predestined; or that He foreknew everyone and everyone is predestined to have the opportunity to become part of the brethren. It is verboten to discuss predestination on this site, so that is about all that can be said about this.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
>>This seems to say, if you are predestined, then you are called, which means you are justified and then also glorified. We know not all are going to be justified or glorified, so then this means that not all are predestined. These verses should not be taken alone to create some sort of doctrine. Mainly because other verses in the Bible need to be used to balance these verses to gain context. Just two chapters from this chapter, Chapter 10, we find these:
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

>>Clearly, we see that to believe in Jesus you have to have heard about Jesus. And if you haven't heard about Jesus, then how can you believe, hence, even call on Jesus to be saved? Are those "predestined" filled at birth with the knowledge of Jesus? Or are the "predestined" guaranteed to be placed in a family or situation where they will hear about Jesus and heed the "call"? This is where the arguments start over this subject. One thing is sure, that :
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
(1 Timothy 2:3-4)
What comes next, in my opinion, is some of the greatest content, most poetic and beautiful written words ever put to ink. I will not interrupt any of it with commentary, as I feel it should be enjoyed all together. I encourage you to read it many times over, as it can fill you with all kinds of joy and encouragement as it does to me.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 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?
33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, 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 Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

>>Amen. Amen. And Amen.
 
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