This chapter of the Apostle Paul deals with how to overcome the conflict of good and evil that was presented in chapter seven.
Verses 1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
The Greek word translated as “condemnation” is “katakrima” and it means condemnation (very strong disapproval, censure, or the act of condemning someone to a punishment), or damnatory sentence. So for the Christian, there is no condemning to Hell because of sin because of being in Christ Jesus. Again, how is one IN Christ Jesus? By being baptized INTO Christ Jesus. Not by being baptized into a church or denomination. The only way to be baptized INTO Christ Jesus is to be baptized IN His name. At that point His Spirit, the Holy Ghost, enters the one being baptized and so he/she is now IN Christ Jesus. The Holy Ghost/Spirit removes the fleshly desire for the things of this world and the Christian then walks after the things of God. So the Christian is under the law of grace or the law of the Spirit and is not subject to the Law that cannot be kept, making Christians free from the law of sin and death which is the penalty for breaking the Law.
Application: There are a lot of people in churches today who are not IN Christ Jesus but are simply believers on Christ Jesus. And there are a lot of people IN Christ Jesus who are not in the churches. Why? Because most mainstream, organized evangelical establishment churches are not baptizing in the name of the LORD Jesus Christ and so the congregants are not Christians as they do not have His Holy Ghost/Spirit dwelling in them. These churches have been infiltrated by Catholicism and they baptize by using titles (father, son, holy spirit) and not by using the name as commanded in Acts chapter two and as shown by example throughout the New Testament. “Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:17 So the LORD wants His people, those who are called and chosen, to get out of these churches, especially the big ones, because they are deceiving many by refusing to baptize people properly and then convincing them that they are indeed saved and will have everlasting life. Furthermore, these churches teach people that sinning a little is to be expected, but just repent and ask forgiveness. So people battle the flesh, the world, and the Devil by their own strength and they fail. They need the presence of the Holy Ghost/Spirit in order to be saved and to stop sinning. They cannot, in their own strength, “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world”. 1 John 2:15
Verses 3-4 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: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The law could not save anyone from sin, death, and Hell. Why? Because mankind operating in the flesh could not keep the Law perfectly, and to break one part of the Law is to break all of it. So to fix the problem, God sent Jesus Christ “in the likeness of sinful flesh”. Jesus was/is both man and God. But His flesh was in the likeness of mankind’s sinful flesh, but He had no sin. He was tempted in all points as we are and yet did not sin.
Application: Most people seem to think that the reason Jesus Christ was able to resist sin was because He was also God manifested in the flesh and so He used His power as God to resist sin. However, Scripture does not teach this. He conquered sin by overcoming it as a man. Had He overcome sin because of being God, then His sacrifice would not have saved mankind from sin, death, and Hell. It was because He overcame it as a man of flesh that He could be the Saviour, the sacrificial Lamb. God is Spirit and cannot bleed and die. But the flesh of God is what bled and died for mankind’s sins. And it was the Holy Ghost/Spirit that Jesus Christ as man gave up when His flesh died on the cross, and now this manifestation of God dwells in all those who are called and chosen to be His children, so that the Law fulfilled by Jesus becomes part of Christians spiritually making it possible for them to walk after the Spirit of God and not after the sinful flesh of mankind.
Verses 5-6 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 to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Those people who do not have the LORD Jesus Christ focus on the things of the flesh and the world. They seek pleasure and entertainment. They never give Biblical spiritual things a thought. They live for the now. The true Christian, in contrast, focuses on spiritual things and on how to worship, praise, and serve the LORD Jesus Christ, and they live now for the hope of eternity in Heaven. As a result, the Christian has life and peace, whereas the non-Christian only has death.
Application: The verses above present two opposite things: the carnally minded and the spiritually minded. One cannot lust after the world and walk in the Spirit at the same time. If people claiming to be Christian are lusting after the world, the question can be asked, “Are they born again Christians?” To be spiritually minded means to be focused on the things of God. How does one become spiritually minded? By recognizing that one becomes whatever one puts in his/her brain or mind. The old computer saying holds true for the mind. Garbage in results in garbage out. Scripture states this clearly. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7 So to be spiritually minded the Christian must be careful of what he/she programs into the mind. By absorbing the word of God, by praying and thinking on the things of God one becomes a spiritual person. It is necessary to put spiritual things in the mind, to not forget to assemble with God’s people, and to let the LORD “feed” one’s mind with His Word. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
Verses 7-8 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
The definition of enmity is “the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.” So the carnally minded work against the LORD and they do not put themselves under the Law of God. They are so hostile to anything of God that it is often impossible to witness to them or share the Gospel message with them. They never give sin a serious thought as lying or cheating or living in adultery and other lusts of the flesh are just a way of life for them. They will be judged on judgement day and punished according to their sins and the LORD’s righteous judgement. They live in the flesh and so they cannot please God and so God has not called them to be His children.
Verse 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
The Apostle Paul is writing these words to people who are already baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Spirit. One does not belong to God without the indwelling of His Spirit.
Verses 10-11 And if Christ be in you, 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 Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
When the Holy Ghost/Spirit lives inside of people, their bodies will still get old or get sick and die because of the results of living in a sinful world, but their spirits live on because they have the righteousness of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And therefore, just as Jesus was bodily raised from the dead by the Holy Ghost, so will the physical bodies of all Christians be raised from the dead to dwell forever in Heaven.
Application: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. But he spake of the temple of his body.” John 2:19 and 21 This is a proof text that shows that Jesus Christ was/is God. The body of flesh God inhabited while ministering on this Earth named Jesus was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit who is also Jesus. Jesus stated, “I will raise it up”. So there are not three persons in the godhead or trinity, a word not found in the King James Bible that means ‘three’s. There is only ONE God who manifests or shows Himself in three different ways. Why does this writer keep stating this fact throughout this web site? Because most people feel they cannot understand the godhead and continue to be thoroughly confused. Most pagan religions have three main gods. The Norse people worshipped Odin, the king of the gods, Thor, the god of thunder, and Freyr, the god of fertility and prosperity. The Egyptians worshipped Ra, the sun god, Osiris, the god of the afterlife, and Isis, the goddess of magic and fertility. The Babylonians had three main gods, Marduk, Anu, and Ea. The Romans also had three main gods. They were Jupiter, the king of the gods, Juno, the goddess of marriage, and Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. For well meaning Christians to believe in three persons is reverting back to paganism. Only Christianity has ONE God. Plain and simple.
Application: The presence of the Holy Ghost/Spirit causes the things of the world to not have a drawing effect on Christians and so they are dead to the world. Christianity is not just an ideology, but is something that the LORD does in people’s lives. They are changed and become Christ-like when true repentance occurs followed by baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost/Spirit.
Verses 12-13 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
To mortify something means to kill it or put it to death. So the Holy Ghost/Spirit enables Christians to kill all the desires for wickedness. As a result, everlasting life is promised to the children of the LORD. Christians are debtors to the LORD Jesus Christ whose sacrifice on the cross provides salvation from sin, death, and Hell. Christians do not have to be controlled or in bondage by the lusts of the flesh or the things of this world as they are set free from the bondage of sin and death.
Verse 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
So who are the sons of God? All the men and women down through time to today who have died to self, yielded to God, and allowed the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, to guide and direct them through this life on Earth. Remember that the Bible is written in the masculine tense because God does not make a distinction between male and female. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians3:28 In the beginning God created man, created woman, and together they make up mankind.
Verses 15-17 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Application: The Greek word translated as “bondage” is “douleia” and it means slavery or the condition of a slave. Notice that there is a spirit associated with this slavery. People without Jesus Christ are in bondage to all kinds of things and, especially in these last days, they are in bondage to fear. Another name for this state of fear is anxiety. The sale of mood altering prescription drugs and the consumption of alcohol all demonstrate the emotional and mental state of many people. The condition of the world seems so uncertain with wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes (both geological and political/social), pestilence, disease and infirmity, financial distress, food insecurity, weather warfare, crime, and so forth that people are living in fear which is a form of spiritual slavery. Even Christians can become caught up in this spirit if they take their eyes off of the LORD Jesus for even a short time
The Apostle Paul is comparing adoption in the natural sense to how people who follow the Gospel become sons of God. Prospective parents go through a complicated process to adopt orphaned children. The children do not chose the parents, but the parents chose the children. And when those adopted children are part of a family, they have a new last name, a new identity, and become heirs of the estate of their adopted parents. The world is metaphorically a spiritual orphanage. Likewise, people do not chose God. He chooses people and pulls them out of the orphanage of the world and makes them His children. He calls people out by His Spirit. When that happens, the adopted ones know in their heart that they are in His kingdom and that they are His children as their life is changed which proves they have been called and chosen. They then have a spiritual family, a new name recorded in Heaven, a new identity as a Christian, and they are then “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.” The New Testament is the last will and testament of Jesus Christ which became effective at the death of the testator, His death on the cross. Christians are named in that will and have all the promises therein. Christians will be resurrected from the grave and be glorified with Jesus Christ and have everlasting life with the LORD.
Verses 18-21 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 creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Verses 22-23 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth 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 body.
Verses 24-25 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he 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 helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh 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 to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn 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 any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh 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 Nay, 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. (Romans 8)