| 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. |
The reason that we can live free from condemnation is because
we do not have to be ruled by the law of sin and death. |
| 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, |
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| 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. |
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| 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. |
Four things called the "law".
- Law of Moses
- Law of sin and death
- Law of the Spirit of life
- Law of the mind
The mind is called a "law" (see 7:23). Ultimately, it is the
mind that will determine the kind of life you live. Nothing can work without
the mind. "As a man thinketh, so is he." The mind can be set on
three laws: 1. Law of Moses, 2. Law of sin, and 3. Law of the Spirit.
Setting your mind on the Law of Moses will make you a Legalist. Setting your
mind on the Law of sin will make you a Hedonist. However, setting your mind
on the Law of the Spirit will make you an Overcomer. |
| 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; |
life and peace. The result of being spiritually minded
is twofold:
- Life—abundant life.
- Peace—tranquility, guiltless.
When a person loses enjoyment of life or is tormented in his soul, then you
can be sure that they are living according to the flesh. |
| 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. |
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| 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. |
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| 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. |
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| 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. |
body is dead. A dead person can neither sin nor do
well.
your spirit is alive. It is the reborn spirit that causes us to
live righteously. Spirit is alive is the New Birth. |
| 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. |
raised Jesus from the dead. Holiness is
supernatural.
mortal bodies. This is also a great scripture to claim for divine
health. Say, "The Spirit of resurrection is making alive my mortal
body."
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| 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-- but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. |
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| 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, |
misdeeds. The Greek word is Praxis. We derive
our word "practice" from this word. Practice makes habits. We are
creatures of habit, not creatures of discipline. Discipline is only meant to
create better habits. Ultimately, in order to live holy, you must create
better habits through practice. |
| 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. |
led by the Spirit of God. Led means the Spirit will
guide and lead the way, you still must choose to follow. For an in-depth
teaching on being led by the Spirit of God, click
here.
sons of God. Sons of God mean "mature" sons of God.
Maturity is based on spirit leading. Babes in Christ are mostly led by other
people including prophets. |
| 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." |
slave again to fear. We do not follow the Spirit in a
sense of fear or hoping to belong to God. We are already God’s children,
and we already have the spirit testify that we belong to God. |
| 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. |
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| 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. |
co-heirs with Christ. To be a joint heir means that
the father sees me in the same way as He sees Christ and will treat me as an
equal. Whoever Christ is, so are we. Whatever Christ can do, so can we.
Whatever Christ has, so do we. |
| 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. |
present sufferings. Our sufferings seem to contradict
our inheritance, but Paul recognizes our sufferings and says that our glory
will far exceed our sufferings. |
| 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. |
Creation is waiting for the unveiling of the sons of God. |
| 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope |
creation. This speaks of the non-believers. Believers
are "new" creations (2 Cor 5:17).
frustration. It is the Greek word mataiotes (mat-ah-yot'-ace)
which mean inutility. Inutility describes a product that no longer works.
The product is called "out of service". Humanity was created to
have dominion, so for humanity to not be able to exercise dominion, they
become inutile or out of service. This is not true for the believer. He
"reigns in life."
will of the one. Adam. Since it was man that subjected creation
to frustration, it will be man that liberates creation from frustration.
That man is Christ Jesus! |
| 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. |
freedom of the children of God. Children of God should
not be frustrated or out of service or without dominion. We should rule. |
| 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. |
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| 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. |
we ourselves...groan inwardly. We do not groan in the
same way as the rest of creation. Our groaning is in the Spirit, which is a
form of prayer.
redemption of our bodies. In our spirits we are sons of God, now
we wait for our bodies to be made like our spirits. |
| 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? |
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| 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. |
we wait for it patiently. In this life, we do not
receive everything that God has ever planned for us. We wait for the
resurrection, new earth and new heaven, seeing Christ face to face,
experiencing a sinless life, ect. |
| 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. |
Weakness feebleness of mind. In our minds, we can get
frustrated or discouraged especially when we face "sufferings" so
the Spirit will take over and help us to pray.
We do not know what we should pray for. "What" is an
interrogative pronoun meaning "what, which, who". It includes
everything that we pray for.
for us means "with us." He helps. He does not pray
in our place, but helps us to pray.
groans that words cannot express. Inarticulate speech. This could be
a reference to tongues. It is also a description of how we pray when we
suffer. see Acts 7:34. |
| 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. |
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| 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. |
all things God works for the good. You cannot read and
claim this promise if you are not allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through
you. |
| 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. |
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| 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. |
There is a progression of God's action.
- Foreknew—with the mind.
- Predestined—with the will.
- Called—with the mouth.
- Justified—with the blood.
- Glorified—with the Spirit.
predestined. It is God’s plan that he has foreknown and
predestinated, and not the individual conformity of free wills to the plan.
He has called all men and all are free to accept or reject the plan. There
is no requirement in this passage to insist on double predestination. |
| 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? |
What, then, shall we say in response to this?
Because of the great aforementioned doctrines, we know that God is for us.
For you means…
- Desires your happiness.
- Works to help you reach your desired ends.
Others may not desire or work to help you, but that does not matter when God
is for you. You and God make a majority. |
| 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? |
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| 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. |
Many will actually work against you, but their plans shall
fail. |
| 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. |
Four redemptive acts of Christ:
- Died for our sins
- Rose from the dead.
- Sat at God’s right hand.
- Is interceding for us.
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| 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? |
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| 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." |
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| 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. |
more than conquerors. Do not look at your
sufferings to determine if God loves you and whether or not you are more
than a conqueror. |
| 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, |
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| 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
Eternal security is not contingent on any outside force. There
has been an election. God has voted for you; Satan has voted against you.
Only your vote can break the tiebreaker. |
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