NOTES ON ROMANS
VOLUME 3
CHAPTERS 6-8
ROMANS 6-8
Chapter 6:
Principle of Sanctification (Righteousness Imparted) V. 6:1-8:39
1. In salvation we have assurance of life. In sanctification we have attainment of life.
2. First comes the Christian message = condemnation upon all mankind (heathen, hypocrite, & Hebrew with their perverted, pretended, and powerless religion) and justification for all who come with saving faith, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Then comes the Christian life = the byproduct of sanctification.
4. Sanctification is of three types:
A. Positional = occurs at the moment the Lord saves you; you are positioned in Christ for time and eternity; this corresponds to justification; saved from the penalty of sin.
B. Progressive = starts the moment you are saved; this is the Christian life; can be defined as, the walk of progression towards perfection which will be gained at the first resurrection; saved from the power of sin; in no way does it mean to live above sin or without sin but means to have victory day by day over sin in a Christian's life by the aid of the Holy Spirit who lives within; this is the type of sanctification we will deal with in this section of Romans.
C. Promised = refers to the rapture when all saints will have a body like unto our Lord Jesus, which is glorified; this corresponds to glorification; saved from the presence of sin.
5. "Sanctification" = to set apart; separation from evil things and evil ways, but separated unto the Lord so that He can guide, direct, control, and empower our life so we can have victory over sin right now, day by day because of:
1. Our New Position In Christ V. 1‑23
1) Dead To The Principle Of Sin V. 1-14
V. 1
1. Paul asks two questions, but he did not expect an outward answer. He did not ask for information because he already knew the answer.
2. These questions were voicing the mind of the legalist and those who did not understand grace as they questioned the statement in Rom. 5:20.
3. Their thoughts to this verse: "Paul, do you mean to tell us that God is willing to forgive a person's sin as often as he commits them?"
4. The answer would be: "Yes, because of grace."
5. Then they would respond: "Well, if that is the case shall we Christians keep on habitually (continue) sinning in order that God may have opportunity to forgive us and thus display His grace?"
V. 2
1. Paul's answer to that: "God forbid" = perish the thought; may such a thing never occur.
2. He then answers the first question with another question.
3. "How" = how is it possible; he is declaring the impossibility of such a thing.
4. "We" = refers to saints to whom this book was written.
5. "Dead" = separation; positionally saints are separated from the power of the sinful nature.
6. "Sin" = refers to the principle and nature of sin.
7. Since a saint is dead to sin (separated from the power of the sinful nature) how can he live (continue to live) a continuous lifestyle in sin? If saved, one really cannot because of their new position in Christ. (II Cor. 5:17; I John 3:9) The reasons being:
A. They know something or at least they should. (V. 3‑10)
B. They reckon (count; take an inventory) themselves to be dead to sin. (V. 11)
C. They yield themselves to another who gives power to have victory. (V. 12‑23)
a. First Step To Victory = Know V. 3‑10
V. 3
1. "Know ye not" = one word in the Greek; means not to know through lack of information or ignorance; this is a polite way for the Holy Spirit to speak of their ignorance; they did not know even though they should have.
2. "So many of us" = refers to the saints.
3. "Baptized" = the introduction or placing of a person or thing into a new environment or into union with something or someone else so as to alter its condition or its relationship to its previous environment or condition.
4. "Into Jesus" = this clarifies what baptism Paul is referring to, that of Holy Spirit baptism; water baptism does not place you into Christ, but in the Lord's church which is a type of Christ; water baptism does not save you but the Lord does, and at the point of justification that individual is placed into Christ; this takes a work of Holy Spirit conviction bringing one to obey the gospel by repenting and believing (saving faith) thus being baptized (placed into union with someone else; alter his condition; new creature in Christ) into Jesus; fully stated: it refers to the act of God introducing a believing sinner into vital union with Jesus Christ, in order that that believer might have the power of his sinful nature broken and the divine nature implanted through his identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, thus altering the condition and relationship of that sinner with regard to his previous state and environment, bringing him into a new environment, the kingdom of God.
5. "Baptized into his death" = means we died with Him when we got saved; died to self; separated from sin and positioned in Christ.
V. 4
1. "Therefore" = in view of the fact that the saints were placed into Jesus at the time they were saved, the following action was taken.
2. "Are buried" = were buried; refers to water baptism by immersion.
3. "With him by baptism" = pictures publicly the union we profess with Christ by being immersed in water.
4. "That like as" = in a similar manner.
5. "From" = out from among the dead.
6. "By the glory" = through the glorious display of the Father's omnipotence (power).
7. "Even so" = as He rose to new life so should we by walking in newness of life.
8. "Walk" = to order one's behavior; to conduct one's self.
9. "Newness of life" = renewal of life, a life of holiness.
10. This refers to the saints living a resurrected life which is the power of the resurrected life of Christ being lived again in our lives.
11. Water baptism is a picture which portrays to others what in reality happened to the Lord Jesus Christ and to us at the point we believed unto salvation. It points backward to the gospel of Christ, the death, burial, and resurrection and to our death to sin. At the same time it points forward to our new life, day by day, and our own future resurrection from the grave.
A. Immersion = death.
B. Submersion = burial; sprinkling and pouring do not picture a burial.
C. Emersion = resurrection.
12. Note what we say while one is being baptized, "Buried with Christ in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life."
V. 5
1. "If" = in view of the fact; since; refers to a fulfilled condition; saints have been planted together with Him.
2. "Planted together" = joined together; intimately connected; speaks of that vital union of the believing sinner and the Lord Jesus (baptized into Jesus Christ; verse 3); engrafted; a graft is the union of part of one plant placed into another to make a single plant which allows the graft to produce fruit due to the life giving sap flowing from the roots of the plant in which the graft was placed. (John 15:5)
3. "Likeness" = resemblance; similitude; Christ died for sin on a cruel cross, of which we can never do; when we believed, we died to sin, therefore, both deaths had to do with sin (likeness) but from different aspects.
4. "We have been" = perfect tense; speaks of a past complete act with abiding results.
5. "We shall be" = what follows; speaks of a certainty at present not just only in the future; in context Paul is dealing with sanctification not glorification.
6. "Also in the likeness of his resurrection" = "also of the resurrection" since the words in italics are not in the original but implied; just as He rose from the tomb and lived, even so shall we rise from sin and live a new life; our Lord's resurrection life is being lived in a new sphere, and so is the Christian's.
V. 6
1. "Knowing" = to know by experience; all saints are supposed to know this, because they experienced this = that which follows.
2. "Old man" = old corrupt sin nature, what you were before you were saved; refers to our former self, the unregenerate son of Adam.
3. "Is crucified with him" = "Him" is supplied, because the Greek construction demands it; implies being put to death as if on a cross; man can kill himself by a lot of different methods, but he cannot crucify himself; therefore, the Holy Ghost must perform His work of reproval (John 16:8‑11) before one will allow Him, the executioner, to crucify our old man (self); the tense is a one time action and will not be repeated nor does it need to be.
4. "The body of sin" = the body of which sin has taken possession; denotes the physical body as the instrument of sin; refers to the mastery of sin over the body as Eph. 2:1‑2 brings out; the unsaved order their behavior and regulate their lives within a circle of trespasses and sins; not one of their acts ever gets outside the circle of sin; this condition exists with every man until the body of sin is destroyed.
5. "Destroyed" = to render idle, inactive, inoperative, or powerless; to cause to cease; sin is not destroyed, but is robbed of its power.
6. "Henceforth" = no longer.
7. "Should not serve" = should not be a slave to sin; the idea is that before this we were slaves of sin, but were made free from this bondage as verse 7 brings out.
8. "Sin" = is personified as a master that had dominion over us.
V. 7
1. "Freed from" = a law term; to acquit of a charge; set free from master, sin; stands justified; word is used clearly in the sense of setting at liberty, or destroying the power or dominion of sin; the tense is perfect, thus a past completed act with abiding or existing results.
2. Death breaks all ties and cancels all obligations since this is also a once for all action.
3. Note: Freed from sin not in sin; man is never freed or justified in sin.
V. 8
1. "Now" = in view of the fact that we died with Christ, we believe something (know by experience).
2. "If" = since; a fulfilled condition.
3. "Believe" = to have faith; persuaded; the tense denotes the actual reality of present faith, not saving faith, but living faith, sanctifying faith. (Rom. 1:17)
4. "Shall live" = even though this is future tense, it does not refer to the resurrection of the body and living with him in heaven even though that is true and will be the case; refers to the present future indicating that day by day throughout our lives we shall live with Him.
5. "With" = means we will live by means of Him; the believer derives his spiritual life from Christ.
V. 9
1. "Knowing" = to have an absolute knowledge and understanding the facts.
2. "From" = out from among the dead.
3. "Being raised" = having been raised; the tense is point action, thus, raised once forever to live; therefore, He "dieth no more;" why? because death hath no more dominion over Him.
4. "Dieth no more" = the tense refers to continuous action; no matter how long time is for man, Christ will never die again; Moses found out this fact when he broke the type by striking the rock the second time and died a premature death (a sin unto death) as a result; this refutes the Catholics practice of the "sacrificial" character of the "mass."
5. "Dominion over" = rules over; death no longer exercises lordship over our Lord; therefore, he will die no more.
V. 10
1. "Died unto sin once" = speaks of Jesus paying the penalty for our sins on the cross; He died once for all, not only for everyone but once for all time. (Heb. 10:10‑12;14)
2. "Once" = once for all; this is an adverb implying that it will not be done again.
3. "In that he liveth" = the object and design of His living.
4. "Liveth unto God" = lives His life with respect to God; lives only to advance the glory of God.
5. "God" = plural indicating the trinity; also has an article in front designating Him as the only God for there is none other.
6. These things we need to know if we are going to have victory. Paul knew something. (II Tim. 1:12)
7. Our Lord's death not only paid the penalty of human sin, but His death also was used by God to break the power of indwelling sin in the believer's life.
b. Second Step To Victory = Reckon V. 11
V. 11
1. "Likewise" = in like manner; reveals a progression in Paul's writing.
2. "Reckon" = count; to take an inventory; to take into account; to consider.
3. If one is to have victory in their daily lives, they must know (experience) their new position in Christ and then must reckon by faith it to be true in their daily lives.
4. Reckoning is simply that step of faith (living faith) that says, "What God says about me in the Bible is now true in my life."
5. Reckoning is faith in action, resting on the Word of God and the witness of the Holy Spirit in spite of circumstances and feelings.
6. Reckoning is that simple step of faith that believes what God's Word says, then acts on it. This is not referring to Word only (name it and claim it). (II Cor. 3:6; I Thess. 1:5)
7. You need to reckon two things:
A. That the old man has died and the sinful nature has been rendered powerless.
B. That we are alive unto God, because new life has been imparted to us.
8. He is alive. Therefore, we are alive and life giving sap continues to flow from Him to us.
9. We need to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God, but reckoning it so does not make it so. It takes more.
c. Third Step To Victory = Yield V. 12-14
V. 12
1. "Let not" = a command forbidding an action going on.
2. "Sin" = the principle of sin.
3. "Therefore" = in view of the fact that a Christian knows his position in Christ and has reckoned himself to be dead to sin and alive in Christ, he should not allow sin to reign.
4. "Reign" = to exercise kingly power; to rule; the believer has the responsibility of keeping sin from mounting upon the throne of his heart, a place which the Lord Jesus should occupy.
5. "Mortal body" = subject to death; refers to the flesh.
6. "Obey" = to hear, heed, and conform to a command or authority.
7. "It" = refers to the body; the old man is crucified (Gal. 2:20; the tense is perfect, which means a past completed action with existing results, thus the old man died and is still dead); the flesh must be dealt with on a continuous basis. (Rom. 8:13)
8. "Lusts" = a longing for what is forbidden.
V. 13
1. "Neither" = but; shows contrasts between the negative in verse 12 and the positive in this verse.
2. "Yield" = to place beside or near; present; to put at one's disposable.
3. "Members" = refers to the members of the body‑‑the hands, feet, tongue, and etc.; every part of our body.
4. "Instruments" = refers to weapons.
5. "Unrighteousness" = any act that destroys the character of fellowman.
6. "Unto sin" = the principle of sin.
7. "Yield" = to put at one's disposal; give or devote yourself to God; the tense commands a once for all action to be done at once, completely.
8. The Greek construction says that saints are to stop putting the members of their body at the disposal of sin, but devote themselves to God at once, completely.
9. "As those that are alive from the dead" = this shows the reason for yielding unto God‑‑those in Christ are living as having risen from the dead; those genuinely saved cannot present their members to sin habitually but will live for the Lord.
10. "Righteousness" = right actions; the sum total requirement of God; byproduct of forgiveness.
11. Our bodies are our means of expression and communication. God deals with us with an inward impression, then an outward expression toward others, using our members. There is a battle for your body. To whom does your body belong‑‑sin, devil, world, self, or the Lord. It should belong to the Lord; therefore, we have no right to dress, groom, or use our bodies like we want.
12. Example: If two live in one house and have one car, before one uses it, he should check to see if the other is going to use it. One's mission may be more important than the other's. God lives inside the saint's body and it is just a vehicle; therefore, we need to find out how He wants to use it. His mission is more important.
V. 14
1. "For" = because.
2. "Sin" = principle of sin.
3. "Shall not have dominion" = rule; tense is future; does not refer to heaven but to the immediate future; denotes the strong conviction of Paul that sin would not have this dominion (rule) over Christians referring to a continuous lifestyle. (I John 3:9)
4. "Under law" = refers to an unsaved person who attempts to live in obedience to the law of God.
5. "Under grace" = refers to a saved person who has had the power of the sinful nature broken and the divine nature implanted.
6. This verse is a summary of V. 1‑14‑‑under grace not law‑‑therefore, dead to the principle of sin.
7. These three steps of victory must be kept in order:
A. The Christian cannot yield himself to God unless he reckons himself to be dead to sin and alive in Christ.
B. Also a Christian cannot reckon himself dead unless he knows his position in Christ.
8. Keep in mind that these three steps to victory represent a daily attitude of life and not emergency measures we use when special temptations and trials come along.
2) Dead To The Practice Of Sin V. 15‑23
a. Grace does not encourage sin. V. 15
V. 15
1. Paul states a question which he knew his readers would have and then answers his own question.
2. "Shall we sin" = occasional acts of sin as opposed to the life of sin as found in verse 1.
3. The question could be stated: "Since grace makes it impossible for the believer to sin habitually like he did before he was saved, may we Christians live a life of occasional sin since we are not under the uncompromising rule of law but under the lenient sceptre of grace?"
4. Paul's answer: "God forbid" = may it not be so; horrors to think such a thing; if one can think like that, he simply does not know grace; being under grace is not a license to sin. (Gal. 5:13)
5. Law is uncompromising, but grace is never lenient. It is far stricter than law could ever be. Grace is a greater deterrent of evil than law ever was.
6. Example: Law put up signs on the highway saying 55 MPH. When you pass by the sign (the law) basically nothing happens. But when you see a patrol car, your heart increases its rate. You check your speedometer and slow down and keep watching the rearview mirror to see if those blue lights come on. Which had the greater influence? The law or patrol car?
7. The Holy Ghost indwells the believer and takes notice of the slightest sin and convicts him of it, where the law could act only generally and then only when the conscience of the individual cooperated with it. The Holy Ghost patrols our heart.
8. Law penalizes the trangressor, but grace prevents their being transgressors. Law warns of danger, but grace bridges the danger.
9. Grace not only forgives but teaches. (Titus 3:11‑14)
b. Ye are the servants of whom ye serve. V. 16
V. 16
1. "Know" = absolute positive knowledge; this is a different word from verse 3; speaks of a knowledge grounded in personal experience.
2. "Yield" = to put at one's disposal.
3. "Servant" = a slave; refers to one who is in servitude to another, with his will totally consumed in the will of the master who has absolute power and authority in commanding him to subjection.
4. "Obey" = noun; implies compliance, submission, and obedience.
5. Second "obey" = a verb; tense refers to continuous action.
6. "Sin" = principle of sin; the master, which brings forth "death"; two applications:
A. Lost = separation from God in the lake of fire (hell). (Rom. 6:23)
B. Saved = separation of soul and spirit from one's body prematurely = sin unto death for a child of God. (I John 5:16)
7. "Righteousness" = the sum total of God's requirement; refers to right acts toward fellowman because of one yielding to God, thus obedience which will produce righteousness; has a definite article in the Greek, thus it refers to the righteousness of God (not man) who is our Lord (I Cor. 1:30); eternal life is also implied here, because of the contrast between death; choose the right master. (Deut. 30:19)
c. Ye are the servants of righteousness. V. 17‑18
V. 17
1. "God be thanked" = gratitude to God, not that they had been servants of sin, but that they had been set free from that bondage.
2. "Were" = speaks of them before they got saved.
3. "Obeyed" = to hear, heed, and conform to a command or authority.
4. "From the heart" = the center and seat of spiritual life; one must obey with the heart for the head (intellect) is not good enough. (Rom. 10:9‑10)
5. "Form" = refers to a mold into which molten metal is poured to be fashioned into a desired shape; the believer is the molten material and the gospel is the mold which delivers from sin and fashions character.
6. "Doctrine" = instruction communicated; that which is taught.
7. "Which" = "whom" because the Greek word is masculine; the correct wording is "into whom."
8. "Was delivered you" = "you were delivered" = to surrender; entrust.
9. The Greek reads: "You have obeyed that form of doctrine into whom you were delivered." It is true that the doctrine of grace was delivered to us and we by the grace of God believed, but Paul is not talking about the form of doctrine which was delivered to the Romans, but a doctrine (the gospel) into whom they were delivered or cast, as in a mold.
10. The gospel is really Christ (whom) not just words or ink on paper. The message must be obeyed which can only be done by the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost who brings one to a point where he can obey by repenting and believing. (I Peter 1:2) Not to obey results is everlasting destruction. (II Thess. 1:7‑10)
11. This verse reinforces truth in three ways:
A. Salvation is of the Lord. One can only be delivered into Christ by a work of the Holy Spirit.
B. Jesus Christ must be Lord at point one is saved, because obedience requires submission to the Lord Jesus Christ (into whom).
C. Eternal security, because the tense of the verse "have obeyed" and "were delivered," carry the idea of once for all time.
V. 18
1. "Then" = speaks of a point, place, and time in the past; the point salvation occurred two things happened:
A. You were set free from sin.
B. Became servants of righteousness.
2. "Being made free" = to liberate; set free from bondage; to set at liberty; sin was no longer their master.
3. "Righteousness" = "the righteousness" = has a definite article in the Greek, thus refers to the righteousness of God (not man) who is our Lord. (I Cor. 1:30)
4. At the instant of salvation, one changes masters from sin, with the devil behind it, to the Lord Jesus Christ (righteousness).
5. Freed from the slavery of sin, the believer has a glorious freedom enjoying a higher slavery, a slave (one who serves another to the disregard of his own interest) of the Lord.
d. Serve righteousness as faithfully as you did sin.
V. 19
1. "Speak after the manner of men" = speak as men usually speak in human terms; Paul drew an illustration from common life in order to make you better understand; he spoke in such terms because of the infirmity of your flesh.
2. "Infirmity" = weakness; feebleness; refers to their defective spiritual insight due to moral defects of the flesh.
3. "For as ye have" = you used to; refers to their life before they were saved.
4. "Yielded" = to place beside or near; present; to put at one's disposal.
5. "Members" = refers to the members of the body‑‑the hands, feet, tongue, etc.; every part of our body.
6. "Servants" = a slave; refers to one who is in servitude to another with his will totally consumed in the will of the master who has absolute power and authority in commanding him to subjection.
7. "Uncleanness" = impurity; refers to impurity of life in any form and to the degraded passions that were common among the heathen.
8. "Iniquity" = transgression of the law; lawlessness; contempt of law, a condition or action not simply without law, but contrary to law.
9. "Iniquity unto iniquity" = refers to transgression of the law for the purpose of committing iniquity; implies that they had done it in an excessive degree.
10. "Even so now" = now that you are saved, yield the members of your body to righteousness in the same determination as you use to yield them to uncleanness.
11. "Righteousness" = the sum total of God's requirement; refers to right acts toward fellow man, because of one yielding to God, thus obedience which will produce righteousness; has a definite article in the Greek, thus it refers to our Lord. (I Cor. 1:30)
12. "Holiness" = sanctification; set apart unto God; purification; the Greek refers to surrendering your members to righteousness (the Lord) in order to practice holiness; this is also (like righteousness) a byproduct of forgiveness; a necessity to see God. (Heb. 12:14; I Thess. 4:7)
13. Basically, this verse is saying, "Now that you are saved, serve God with as much zeal as you did the devil.
e. The fruit of the Christian does not shame.
V. 20‑22
V. 20
1. "Were free" = were free in regard to the possession of righteousness; were not at all under the influence of righteousness; they were entirely devoted to sin; thus a strong expression of total depravity.
2. "Righteousness" has a definite article which denotes this as the righteousness of God and not of man, imputed and not personal.
3. One slavery always brings freedom from the other.
V. 21
1. "Fruit" = refers to deeds and conduct.
2. "Had" = the tense refers to their past life when they were salves to their master‑‑sin.
3. "Whereof" = refers to their past deeds (fruit).
4. "Ashamed" = to feel shame (a painful feeling brought about by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, or disgrace) for those past evil deeds of conduct (sins); the tense reveals a continuous action; the fruit is past but the shame is present. (Eph. 5:12)
5. "The end" = the result or outcome.
6. "Death" = refers to the second death; separation from God in the lake of fire (hell).
7. Thank the Lord, Jesus paid that death for all who will come to Him God's way, the faith way.
V. 22
1. "But now" = contrast; the new life is different.
2. "Being made free" = having been set free; the tense is point action, one time for all time which occurred when saved.
3. "Sin" = principle of sin.
4. "Become servants" = having become servants (slaves); the tense is point action, one time for all time which occurred when saved; the tense refers to eternal security.
5. "Ye have" = you are having; the tense is continuous action; have fruit now and will continue to have; this refers to the perseverance of the saints. (Heb. 3:6,14; Mat. 24:24)
6. "Fruit" = deeds and conduct.
7. "Unto holiness" = sanctification; set apart unto God; refers to a practice coming from one's heart (attitude of heart).
8. "The end" = result or outcome.
9. "Everlasting life" = life without end.
10. The wicked glory in sin, but the redeemed glory only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal. 6:14)
f. Summary. V. 23
V. 23
1. "Wages" = pay; allowance; denotes the allowance or rations to a soldier such as bread, meat, and salt or that which sustains bare existence; pay which the solder earned that was due him and could not be taken from him.
2. "Death" = second death; eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (hell) forever.
3. Sin never pays well‑‑just enough to entice the sinner to keep working for the deadly wage. But sin pays faithfully, promptly, and eagerly with death. In reality, in the end, the dying sinners do the paying by being separated from God in the lake of fire (hell) forever. (James 1:15)
4. "But" = contrast.
5. "Gift of God" = something not due one as the wages were dues rendered; grace which is not wages nor pay, but a gift‑‑abounding where there is no merit.
6. "Eternal life" = life without end; refers to one being saved by grace through faith.
7. "Through" = in. (II Cor. 5:17)
8. "Jesus" = Saviour; name given to Lord when He was born to denote His humanity. (Mat. 1:21)
9. "Christ" = the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah"; the anointed one.
10. "Lord" = controller; supreme in authority; Master; the Greek has the definite article "the" thus meaning "the Lord" and there is none other.
11. "Our" = a pronoun denoting possession; Paul's way of saying that He is Lord of the lives of all saints; He becomes Lord at the instant one is saved not sometime later in life.
12. Some one has said, "When you work for God, He pays; when you work for the devil, you pay."
13. Because of our new position in Christ, we are dead to the principle and practice of sin.
CHAPTER 7:
2. Our New Problem In The Flesh
1. Chapter 7 deals with three levels of man and his relationship to the law.
A. The spiritual man is delivered from the law. V. 1‑6
B. The natural man is doomed by the law. V. 7‑13
C. The carnal man is defeated by the law. V. 14‑25
2. People like to build split‑level homes (the dining room on one level and the bedroom on another) and some people want to live a split‑level life (live one way on Sunday and another way during the week).
1) The Spiritual Man Is Delivered From The Law V. 1‑6
V. 1
1. "Know ye not" = do you not understand; are you ignorant; Paul is not trying to be smart, but emphasizing to those to whom he is writing that they know the law, at least at face value.
2. "Brethren" = from the same womb; refers to the saints in Rome for the most part dispersed Jews who knew the law.
3. "Know" = to know by experience.
4. "Law" = refers not only to the OT law of Moses, but any kind of legislation (even tradition) that the believer uses to curb sin or attain holiness; too many professing Christians are burdened down with religious rules, regulations, and "good" resolution, not realizing that it is impossible to legislate holiness.
5. "Hath dominion" = rules over; exercises lordship.
6. "Over a man" = over the man who is under law or married to the law. (Gal. 3:23)
7. "As long as he liveth" = means that death releases a man from the laws by which he was bound in life.
V. 2‑3
1. Paul uses an example of a husband and wife to illustrate what he had just said.
2. "Bound by the law" = the binding of the marriage vows (law) as far as God is concerned (Mat. 19:6); those vows (law) are "till death do us part" and only God can asunder (part) a marriage and that only if one of the parties die.
3. If the husband died, he would be dead physically to the marriage vow (law) they took at the altar. But she would be dead to the vow (law) legally, because his death broke the marriage contract legally to her as much as it did to him physically; therefore, she could be married to another without being an adulteress.
4. "Adulteress" = one who commits adultery; one who is married (only by the law of the land) to another while her husband liveth. (Mat. 5:32; continuous action verb)
5. "Called" = used in the sense of being so regarded.
6. Note: he is still called her husband (for so he is in the sight of God) and not her first husband.
7. "Free" = released from; exempt from obligation.
V. 4
1. "Wherefore ye also" = in view of the illustration concerning marriage, there is an application to the saints concerning the law.
2. "Are become dead" = were made dead; one word in the Greek; tense is point action and refers to the time (instant) the saints were saved; crucified with Him. (Rom. 6:6)
3. "By the body of Christ" = refers to the sacrifice Christ made in His body on the cross of Calvary; this sacrifice would not have been possible had not Jesus fulfilled the law. (Mat. 5:17)
4. "Married to another" = refers to time (instant) the saints were saved; at that point they were married to the Lord, "even Him who is raised from (out from among) the dead."
5. This is why it takes time for many to be saved and why they struggle with unbelief, because they do not want to die. Many had rather "do" and "don't" (sign a card; pray a prayer; turn over a new leaf) than they had to die. One cannot marry another (Lord Jesus) till they die to the one they are now married to (Law). The Lord Jesus will not marry you till you are free to marry and this takes death of the old man who was bound to the law.
6. "That" = reveals the purpose of this new marriage = "to bring forth fruit unto God."
7. "Fruit unto God" = deeds and conduct that bring glory and honor to our Lord, thus fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. (Isa. 43:7)
8. Marriage is a beautiful picture of salvation and eternal security we have in Christ. But the laws of our land have ruined this picture (type), because they allow divorce and re-marriage that teaches you can be saved, lost, and then saved again which is foreign to the scripture. (John 10:27‑29; Rom. 8:35, 37‑39)
V. 5
1. "We were in the flesh" = refers to the saint's lost condition before they were saved; unconverted; subject to the controlling passions of a corrupt nature.
2. "Motions of sins" = the passions; the evil affections, the corrupt desires; refers to the inclinations of the unrenewed heart.
3. "Which were by the law" = does not mean they were created by the law nor originated by the law, but they were excited, called up, and inflamed by the law, which forbids their indulgence; aroused by the law.
4. "Did work" = to be active; tense refers to continuous action past time (before saved).
5. "In our members" = refers to the members of our body; implies both mentally and physically.
6. "Fruit" = deeds and conduct.
7. "Unto death" = "unto the death" = refers to the second death; separation from God in the lake of fire (hell).
V. 6
1. "But now" = contrast; refers to their new condition (saved).
2. "Are delivered" = released; discharged.
3. "Being dead" = having died; the law did not die, but the saints died who were held in bondage to the law.
4. "Wherein we were held" = picture of our former state as captives or as slaves; the tense speaks of our being constantly held down; we were helpless to free ourselves.
5. "Serve" = to be a slave to; implies obeying; tense refers to habitually rendering a bondslave's obedience.
6. "Newness of spirit" = refers to a new and spiritual manner; Spirit led and Spirit controlled.
7. "Oldness of the letter" = refers to the law; in place of legalism that enforces rules and regulations, there is a spirit of love and dedication. (II Cor. 3:6)
8. This verse does not suggest that Christians have no obligation to obey God. Actually our obligations are now greater since we know Christ and belong to God's family. The NT demands are far more severe than the OT law, because the NT (the Sermon on the Mount, for example) deals with inward attitudes and not outward actions only. Our motivation in obeying is different: we are not simply mechanically obeying a set of rules; we are lovingly, from the heart, obeying the Spirit of God Who fulfills the righteousness of the law in us. (Rom. 8:4) Our obedience to God is not that of a slave fearing a master, but of a bride lovingly trying to please her Bridegroom.
9. Because the spiritual man has been delivered from the law through death, he is dead to:
A. The principle of sin.
B. The practice of sin.
C. The power of sin.
10. That is victory the Lord wants you to have and you can have, if you know, reckon, yield, and obey.
2) The Natural Man Is Doomed By Law. V. 7‑13
a. Law reveals our sinful nature. V. 7‑10
V. 7
1. Paul, referring to verse 5 where he stated the fact that the desires or impulses in our sinful nature were stirred into activity by the law, asks two questions.
2. Paul's first answer: "God forbid" = may it not be so; how awful to think such a thing as that.
3. His second answer: "Nay" = contrariwise; in fact, it is just the opposite of what you think.
4. First "known" = to be conscience of by experience.
5. "Sin" = refers to the principle of sin. (Rom. 3:20)
6. Second "known" = to have absolute knowledge of the facts; to be conscience of by revelation.
7. "Lust" = a passionate craving in an evil, unbridled desire; a longing for what is forbidden.
8. "Covet" = to set the heart upon; this is the verb form of the word translated "lust" in this verse; tenth commandment. (Exo. 20:17)
9. The law is like a mirror. (James 1:23‑25) It does not make anybody a sinner, but reveals sin as the Holy Ghost takes the mirror of the law and reveals sin and what we are. Just as a mirror does not make your face dirty, but reveals it is dirty; so the law does not make you a sinner but just reveals sin in you. Mirrors do not clean faces and neither does the law clean you up and make you a saint. It does not forgive but reveals sin.
10. Covetousness is the mother of sin and the tenth commandment causes you to break the other nine.
V. 8
1. "Taking occasion" = a starting place from which to rush into acts of sin; excuses for doing what they wanted to do; an opportunity; a base of operations; means that the law was the exciting cause of sin or that which called the sinful principle of the heart into exercise.
2. "Commandment" = refers to all law appointed to restrain and control the mind.
3. "Wrought" = produced; worked.
4. "Concupiscence" = a passionate craving in an evil, unbridled desire; a longing for what is forbidden; same word is translated "lust" in verse 7.
5. "All manner" = every species of unlawful desire.
6. Sin using the law as a base of operation, carried to a conclusion all manner of unbridled desires.
7. "Without the law" = before it was given.
8. "Sin was dead" = it was inoperative, inactive, unexcited; men's passions and desires would exist, but without law they would not be known to be evil.
9. Paul is saying that without law, sin is not apparent to us. It takes a carpenter's level to make clear how far from level a wall really is.
V. 9
1. "For I" = Paul, no doubt, is referring to his own past experience.
2. "Was alive" = means he had a certain kind of peace; he deemed himself secure; he was free from the convictions of conscience and the agitations of alarm.
3. "Without the law" = refers to that period of time before Paul reached the "knowledge of accountability"; when he did not understand the true purpose of the law (could apply to an adult as well as a child) before the law was applied to his heart in its spiritual meaning and with power; this is not referring to the time before the giving of the law to Moses.
4. "But" = contrast.
5. "The commandment" = when it was applied to the heart and conscience; this came by the revelation of God in:
A. Creation ( Rom. 1:20; Psa. 19:1‑3)
B. The written Word. (verse 7)
C. His conscience as pricked by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 2:15)
6. "Sin revived" = lived again; refers to the fact sin was dormant but was now quickened into new life. (verse 8)
7. "I died" = spiritually dead; refers to him reaching the "knowledge of accountability" at which point he entered the sphere of trespasses and sins of which he had not been accountable but now was (Eph. 2:1); before that point he was "safe", covered by the blood of Jesus.
V. 10
1. "Which was ordained to life" = which he thought was intended to produce life and happiness.
2. "Life" = peace; eternal bliss.
3. "I found" = it produced this effect‑‑"death" = produced aggravated guilt and condemnation.
4. The commandment not only made clear the sinfulness of desiring that which is forbidden, but also told him how to live. But it gave no power nor ability to live such; therefore, all Paul could find was death.
5. The law (commandment) does not give life but instead administers condemnation and death.
b. Law reveals the nature of sin. V. 11
V. 11
1. This verse is a repetition, with a little variation, of verse 8.
2. "Taking occasion" = a starting point; an opportunity; a base of operations; means that the law was the exciting cause of sin or that which called the sinful principle of the heart into exercise.
3. "Commandment" = refers to all law appointed to restrain and control the mind.
4. "Deceived" = to seduce wholly from the right way; cause to err from the way of virtue; to completely make one lose one's way; sin leads one to confusion and lostness; to completely lose the way.
5. "Slew me" = "killed me off" = made a clean job of it; same as "I died" in verse 9.
6. Sin here is personified as the tempter, thus like the tempter before Eve, took the commandment for a starting point and deceived Paul.
7. Law reveals the nature of sin and the seriousness of sin. It contains precepts or mandates but it also contains punishment. Sin will deceive you by showing the precepts and blinding you to the punishment. There is nothing wrong with those precepts, but the law does not reward for keeping it but it does punish for breaking it-‑death penalty in this life (for every one under the law is dead) and there will be eternal punishment in the next life if you remain under law. (James 1:15)
c. Law reveals the sinfulness of sin. V. 12‑13
V. 12
1. "Wherefore" = refers to a conclusion to which Paul has come‑‑the law is not to be blamed though death is its effect under existing circumstances.
2. "Holy" = sacred and pure like God; blameless; moral aspect revealing man is a sinner; the law and commandment are synonymous and both are holy in the sense they are not sin but pure in their nature.
3. "Just" = righteous in its claims and penalties; spiritual aspect revealing Christ alone is the solution.
4. "Good" = denotes the law was in itself good; social aspect revealing the believer's way of life.
V. 13
1. The sin and condemnation of the guilty is not the fault of the law as Paul's question and answer bring out.
2. "God forbid" = let not this thought be; horrors to even think such a thing.
3. "But" = shows contrast; it was not the law, but sin that brought death, even though sin will try to make you think it was the law; sin is personified as the tempter.
4. "Appear" = to lighten; to show; to reveal; the sinfulness of sin is revealed in its violations of God's law.
5. "Working" = to work fully; accomplished; to finish; this is done by the law which administered condemnation and death.
6. "Exceeding" = a throwing beyond; in an excessive degree; to the utmost possible extent; this is a strong expression; the law reveals the sinfulness of sin.
7. Some say, "It was just a little sin!" How is there such a thing as a little sin when all sin is against a big God? Therefore, all sin is big and the law came to reveal the sinfulness of sin. The natural man is doomed by the law but the law is still holy, just, and good, because it hems a person in a corner and they think there is no hope. But then the Holy Ghost steps in and points you to the Door who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
8. The law administers death but Christ gives life.
3) The Carnal Man Is Defeated By The Law. V. 14‑25
V. 14
1. "Know" = to know by revelation; to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts.
2. "Spiritual" = Spirit given; denotes that which is pure and holy, in opposition to that which is fleshly or carnal.
3. "Carnal" = fleshly, sensual; opposed to spiritual.
4. "Sold under sin" = dispose of into slavery; refers to Paul operating according to his flesh after being saved; denotes his being a slave to his flesh; that to which you yield you become it's slave (Rom. 6:16); this is the result of a saved man trying to live by his own power without the help of the Holy Ghost. (Gal. 3:3)
5. This is a definite experience in Paul's life. When and where this occurred we do not know or have a record except here. It may have been during the time he was in Arabia, right after he was saved (Gal. 1:17‑18), during which time he allowed his flesh to mount upon the throne of his life.
6. In this section, Paul tells of being defeated as a carnal man by the law and then how he gained victory.
a. Conflict Paul had. V. 15-21
V. 15
1. There are three different Greek words translated "do" in this verse.
A. First "do" = to work fully; accomplish; refers to carrying something to a conclusion.
B. Second "do" = to practice or perform repeatedly and habitually.
C. Third "do" = to pursue a course of action.
2. Connected to the first "do" is the word "allow" = to know by experience; to understand; negated by not; Paul is saying, "For that which I do or carry to its conclusion (while in this carnal state), I do not understand why I go ahead and do it."
3. Connected to the second "do" is the word "would" = desire; will; Paul is saying, "What the new nature in me (imparted when he was saved) desires, I do not practice or perform as I should."
4. Connected to the third "do" is the word "hate" = detest; disapprove of; things contrary to one's judgement; Paul is saying, "Those things contrary to my judgment which I really detest, I find myself pursuing that course of action."
5. This pictures the conflict of the flesh against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. Paul spoke from experience as he stated this to the Galatians in Gal. 5:17.
V. 16
1. "Do" = pursue a course of action.
2. "Would" = desire; negated by "not."
3. "Consent" = to agree with.
4. "Good" = valuable; virtuous.
5. Paul is saying, "My desire to do the opposite of what I do proves my acceptance of God's law as good (virtuous)."
V. 17
1. "I" = refers to the new man; the saved man; the divine nature imparted by the new birth.
2. "Sin" = corrupt flesh.
3. "Dwelleth" = to occupy a house; remain; when one is saved the flesh is not done away with; the tense is continuous action which means we will have to continue dealing with our flesh until we receive our new body.
4. Paul is not waiving responsibility or making excuses, but simply recognizing that when he depends upon his flesh he is defeated, but we know he came to the place in his life where he found victory. (Phil. 4:13)
V. 18
1. "Know" = to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts; to know by revelation.
2. "Me" = flesh as he identified in parenthesis.
3. "Dwelleth" = to occupy a house; remain; inhabit; the tense is continuous action; evil had taken entire possession of his flesh (wholly occupied with evil).
4. "No good thing" = not one good thing in our flesh; totally depraved (corrupted); flesh is selfish, lustful, and it is a channel for the devil to use to tempt us to sin. (I John 2:15-16)
5. "To will" = desire; to purpose or intend to do good; tense is continuous action; this is present due to God's work in salvation.
6. "Present" = to lie near; be at hand; implies the desire was constantly before him as the tense of "to will" brings out.
7. "But" = contrast.
8. "How" = in italics thus not in the originals but supplied by the translators; the difficulty was not in the mode (how) of performing it, but to perform the thing (good) itself.
9. "Perform" = to work out; to accomplish.
10. "I find not" = refers to Paul not being able to find it in his own power, instead he found strong obstacles which caused him to fail (this was as long as he was trying to do good in his own power and ability).
V. 19
1. This is basically a repetition of what is said in verse 15 with the exception of the word "evil."
2. "Evil" = worthless; injurious; wickedness; refers to those activities (sin) that he was doing and well aware of.
V. 20
1. This verse is also a repetition of what was said in verses 16‑17.
2. This repetition reveals that Paul had guilt and was well aware of his responsibility.
V. 21
1. "Find" = perceive.
2. "Law" = any rule or principle expected to be observed; the law he found was the law of sin. (verse 23)
3. "Would" = desire.
4. "Do" = pursue a course of action.
5. "Good" = valuable; virtuous; refers to that which is right.
6. "Evil" = worthless; depraved; injurious; refers to that which is wrong; some corrupt desire or improper feeling.
7. "Present" = near; at hand; refers to the fact that evil never leaves us (because flesh never does) and is always ready to turn us aside from doing good.
b. Desire Paul had.
8. "Would" = desire; tense is continuous action; this desire is expressed by the same Greek word in:
A. Verse 15 by the word "would" = his desire to do right (good).
B. Verse 16 by the word "would" = his desire not to do evil.
C. Verse 18 by the word "will" = his desire to do right (good).
D. Verse 19 by the word "would" = used two times first for his desire to do right and second for his desire not to do evil.
E. Verse 20 by the word "would" = his desire not to do evil.
9. These words indicates not only desiring, but also pressing on to action. Paul was constantly desiring to do God's will because of the divine nature that was inside as a result of being saved. One can have a desire to do good, because of his upbringing, discipline, and instructions he had as a child. But this type of desire will not give you the victory that Paul experienced and tells us about. He was constantly desirous of doing God's will.
c. Delight Paul had. V. 22
V. 22
1. "Delight" = to rejoice in; have great pleasure in; feel satisfaction concerning; the tense is continuous action. (I John 5:3)
2. "Law of God" = the moral law written or unwritten.
3. "Inward man" = the new man; refers to divine nature implanted at salvation; used in opposition to the flesh.
4. This verse is a spiritually healthy response to the law of God.
d. Captivity Paul was in. V. 23
V. 23
1. "But" = contrast; even though one has a desire and delight, he does have a conflict and can end up in captivity.
2. "Another" = of a different kind.
3. "Members" = flesh; refers to the different parts of the body.
4. "Warring against" = attacking and fighting against.
5. "Law of my mind" = denotes the desires and purposes of a renewed heart; same as was expressed by the phrase "inward man."
6. "Bringing me into captivity" = one word in the Greek; making me a prisoner or captive; trying to make me a servant (bondslave) of sin again.
7. The human flesh, apart from the strength of the Holy Spirit is destined to fail under pressure. The carnal believer is trying to do the impossible‑‑to serve two masters at the same time. He is allowing sin to dwell in him when he has actually been set free. (Rom. 6:16,18)
8. The three steps to victory in chapter six are know, reckon, and yield. When one is saved, he must reckon (count it so) that he has been set free from sin or he will allow sin to bring him in captivity again.
9. After the civil war, there were some slaves who lived on in slavery, because they did not know they were free.
10. Paul is not saying you do not know your position in Christ, but he is making a strong statement concerning the flesh‑‑sin in the members is a powerful force.
11. If a saved person tries to live in the energy of the flesh after they are saved, they will get worn out, frustrated, and confused. In fact, the harder one tries to do so, seemingly the further they get from God until they get so miserable inside that they cry out!
e. The crying out Paul made. V. 24
V. 24
1. "O wretched man that I am!" = a heart rending cry from the depths of despair; result of the painful conflict.
2. "Wretched" = miserable; afflicted; enduring trials and trouble, due to the conflict; word carries the thought of being wretched through the exhaustion of hard labor (self‑effort).
3. "I am" = Paul was not placing blame upon anyone but himself; he recognized his sin and knew he needed help from above, because he was unable to get out of the conflict he was in by himself.
4. "Deliver" = rescue.
5. "The body of this death" = refers to the flesh; the phrase may be referring to an ancient custom from the days of horrible tyranny; at times a convicted criminal was bound face‑to‑face, hand‑to‑hand, leg‑to‑leg, to the corpse of his victim and forced to carry it until he died of disease passed from the putrid, decaying body; as it rotted it would rot his flesh and he would get miserable and cry out (verse 24).
6. Paul cried out due to his wretched condition as a result of the conflict he had just described: "Who can rescue me"; "who can save me"; who can set me free?"
f. Victory Paul had. V. 25
V. 25
1. "Thank" = express gratitude towards; to be grateful; the tense is continuous which reveals Paul continued to be thankful for his deliverance from the conflict he was in.
2. "Through" = deliverance comes through Jesus Christ through yielding to the Holy Spirit whose work is to conform us to the Lord's image. (Rom. 8:29)
3. "So then" = as the result of all Paul had just said he comes to this conclusion‑‑that stated in the rest of this verse.
4. "Mind" = refers to the new nature; new creature in Christ (saved).
5. "I myself" = the same person you saw in the conflict, but now acting in a different manner = victory.
6. "Serve the law of God" = refers to the fact that he honored it as a just and holy law.
7. "Flesh" = in the members of his body when he allowed flesh to reign then he served the principles of sin.
8. Paul found victory over the power of sin in his life by mortifying the deeds of the flesh (Rom. 8:13; tense is continuous action) and by buffeting his body and leading it captive ("keep under" in I Cor. 9:27; the tense is continuous action).
9. When a carnal saved person gets sick of being defeated by the law and sick of serving the law of sin and cries out from the depth of his heart, there is help on the way.
10. Victory, Victory, Victory, and that is only through our Lord Jesus Christ!!!
Chapter 8:
3. Our New Power In The Spirit V. 1-39
1) New Law V. 1‑4
V. 1
1. This verse is the height of Romans‑‑the apex or the point of the crown jewel.
2. "Therefore" = in view of what was stated in Chapter 7 where we saw:
A. The activity of sin in the lost man that tries to make him think that the law was the problem when it was sin which the law revealed.
B. The activity of self in the carnal person trying to do something without God.
C. In this chapter, God wants us to see the activity of the Spirit in His children.
3. We would put this another way:
A. In chapter 6 we saw the machinery‑‑the mechanics of the Spirit filled life‑‑the inner workings of the machinery set‑up, which God brings into being when He saves a sinner‑‑that is the power of indwelling sin broken and the divine nature implanted.
B. But in chapter 7, we saw the monkey wrench of self dependence, which when dropped into the inner workings of the machinery stops the works, preventing the Holy Spirit from giving the believer victory over the flesh and producing His own fruit. (Gal. 5:22‑23)
C. Now in Chapter 8, we will see the machinery in good working order‑‑oiled by the Holy Spirit‑‑a Spirit filled life‑‑victory.
a) What‑‑no condemnation.
4. "Condemnation" = an adverse sentence; the verdict; dictionary defines: to declare guilty of wrong doing; this is not speaking of final judgment even though that too can be included; this is written to saints thus dealing with sanctification.
5. "No" = not even one; none from any cause, person, or source.
A. No cause within us for we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ thus "in Christ Jesus." For a saint to be condemned Jesus would have to be condemned. (John 3:18; 5:24)
B. No person can condemn us for God has justified us. (Rom. 8:33)
C. No source of condemnation because we are dead to the law of sin and death. (verse 2)
b) Who‑‑saints to whom written. (Rom. 1:7)
c) Why‑‑two requirements to be free of
condemnation.
6. "In Christ Jesus" = saved.
7. "Walking after the Spirit" = Spirit filled.
A. "Walk" = to conduct oneself; to order one's behavior.
B. "Flesh" = refers to the passions of human nature.
C. Our behavior should be ordered by the Holy Spirit and not by our flesh. To walk after the Spirit is to be Spirit led.
d) When--now.
8. In this present life we can have rest, peace, and enjoy our liberty in Christ Jesus (Gal. 5:1), because of the activity of the Spirit in the saints life that brings a new law.
a. Nature of the new law‑‑written in our hearts.
V. 2
1. The new law in "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." (II Cor. 3:6)
2. "Law of the Spirit of life" = means that rule, command, or influence which the Spirit of life produces; to be ruled or governed by the Holy Spirit; not a written law as the ten commandments, but principles written in our hearts because the Holy Spirit lives there and exercises control over the life of a believer.
3. "Hath made free" = to be delivered from the dominating influence and control of sin; pardoned; tense denotes once for all time.
4. "The law of sin and death" = refers to the controlling influence of sin which leads to death and condemnation.
b. Sphere of the new law‑‑in Christ Jesus.
V. 3
1. "Law" = law of God; the moral law; also Mosaic law referring to offering animal sacrifices.
2. "Could not do" = unable; impossible.
3. "In that" = because.
4. "Weak" = to be feeble; could not accomplish it; powerless; double words describe the ineffectiveness of the law.
5. "The flesh" = human nature, dominated by the desires of the sinful, lower side of man's nature.
6. The law could do nothing with the flesh except stir it up. (Rom. 7:7‑13) It could condemn the sinner (Rom. 3:19) but it could not stop his sinning.
7. "Sending" = to dispatch; God did or accomplished what the law could not do by sending His son in the likeness of sinful flesh.
8. "Likeness" = form; resemblance; Christ was robed in flesh through a virgin's womb after He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, therefore, He did not receive Adam's sinful nature. (John 1:1,14; Luke 1:30‑35; Phil. 2:5‑8)
9. "Sinful flesh" = refers to man's corrupted nature received from Adam of which Christ did not receive (Heb. 2:14); therefore, He was sent in the "likeness" (form) of sinful flesh for there was no sin in Him. (II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15)
10. "For sin" = by a sacrifice for sin; expresses the whole relation of the mission of Christ to sin: to atone, to destroy, to save, and sanctify its victims.
11. "Condemned sin in the flesh" = the flesh is regarded as the source of sin (Rom. 7:18), thus being the seat and origin of transgression, the atoning sacrifice was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, that thus He might meet sin, as it were, on its own ground, and destroy it; this he did at Calvary. (Mat. 5:17)
c. Power of the new law‑‑righteousness might be
fulfilled in us.
V. 4
1. "That" = shows the result of Calvary.
2. "Righteousness" = that which is deemed right; ordinance; refers to the righteous requirements of the law.
3. "Might be fulfilled" = filled full; full accomplishment; refers to the saint's obedience and compliance with its demands.
4. "Walk" = to conduct oneself; to order one's behavior; not after the flesh (passions of human nature) but after the Spirit (Holy Spirit's leading).
5. Walking in the Spirit means to be controlled and motivated by the Holy Spirit. A Marine sergeant counts cadence and those Marines under him follows. The Holy Spirit counts cadence and we need to walk to His tune, not where we think we should go or what we think we should do, but to the cadence of the Holy Spirit. (Isa. 30:21)
6. A mule which follows the bits leading will not have his mouth torn by the bits.
7. When we walk in the Spirit, there is no condemnation, no handicaps. When a handicapped person plays ball he puts forth 10,000 times more effort than a person without a handicap and still cannot play very well. When we walk in the flesh, we are handicapped and it takes more effort and still we cannot have the victory we need. But when we begin to follow the Holy Spirit's leading, the handicap falls off and there is victory. (Pro. 3:5-6)
8. Now the machinery is in good working order, oiled properly by the Holy Spirit. This is because of the activity of the Spirit in the saints life.
9. Example: The law of gravity is in operation when a jet airplane engines are not revved up, thus the plane sets on the ground. But when its engines get revved up the law of aerodynamics overcome the law of gravity and the plane flies. The pilots do not do away with the law of gravity but overcome it. The new law of the Spirit of life does not do away with the old law of sin and death but just overcomes it‑‑victory.
2) New Lord V. 5‑13
a. Need to let the Lord control our mind. V. 5‑8
V. 5
1. "Do mind" = to exercise the mind; to direct the mind to something; to seek or strive after things whether it be flesh or Spirit as this verse brings out.
2. Two classes of men are in contrast‑‑those who are after the flesh and those who are after the Spirit.
3. "After" = to be habitually dominated and controlled.
4. "After the flesh" = refers to those that are under the influence of the corrupt and sinful desires of the human nature; refers to those who are unrenewed, not saved. (I John 3:9)
5. "Do mind the things of the flesh" = they are supremely devoted to the gratification of their corrupt desires.
6. "After the Spirit" = refers to those who are under the influence of the Spirit and are led by the Spirit.
7. "The things of the Spirit" = refers to the Spirit's leading and those things He produces. (Gal. 5:22‑23)
V. 6
1. "Carnally" = flesh; human nature; here refers to lost man.
2. "Carnally minded" = the mind of the flesh; means the pattern of thought and motive, the interest and aims; a mind dominated by the flesh.
3. "Death" = the penalty of transgression; condemnation and eternal ruin; separation from God one day in the lake of fire (hell).
4. "Spiritually minded" = the minding of the Spirit; refers to making the Spirit the object of the mind, the end and aims of one's actions, to cultivate the graces of the Spirit, to submit to His influence, and follow His leading; the result of such is "life and peace."
5. "Life" = eternal life; contrasted to death.
6. "Peace" = to bind together that which has been separated; refers to the believing sinner bound together with God and His life after having been separated by sin in Adam (Rom. 5:1); a person (Eph. 2:14); tranquility of soul and spirit based on the consciousness of a right relation with God.
V. 7
1. "Because" = given as a reason for what is said in verse 6.
2. "Carnal" = fleshly.
3. "Enmity" = hostility; hatred; opposite of "agape" = God kind of love.
4. "Against God" = towards God, or in regard to Him.
5. "Subject" = military term for subjection to orders; negated by "not;" also means "to arrange in order under" a commanding general, for instance; the carnal mind is not marshalled under the command of God, but of Satan. (Eph. 2:2)
6. "Neither indeed can be" = this is absolute and certain; it is impossible that it should be; this proves that a supreme regard to the things of the flesh is utterly inconsistent with the law of God and can never be reconciled with it (within themselves).
V. 8
1. "So then" = it follows; it leads to this conclusion.
2. "They that are in the flesh" = those who are unrenewed sinners, not saved; those who are following habitually the desires of the flesh.
3. "Cannot" = does not have the capacity to (Rom. 5:6; without strength); is not able or possible.
4. "Please" = to be agreeable; means to actually satisfy God and behave properly toward God; negated by "not" therefore those who are in the flesh cannot be agreeable with God, satisfy God, nor behave properly toward God.
5. These verses ought to cause us to examine ourselves to see if we have a new Lord and whether or not He is controlling our mind.
6. The problem is there are too many in this world today that are doubleminded‑‑claiming to be a Christian, saved, in other words "of the Spirit," but they are controlled by the flesh. What does the Bible say about them?
A. Unstable (unsettled; unsteady) in all his ways. (James 1:8)
B. Sweet water and bitter water cannot come forth from the same mouth. (James 3:11‑17)
C. Jesus called them "hypocrites" (an actor under a mask impersonating someone else). (Mat. 23:25‑28)
b. Need to let the Lord control our motives. V. 9-10
V. 9
1. "Ye" = emphatic pronoun; you who are saved; saints; Christians to whom Paul was writing.
2. "Not in the flesh" = not under the full influence of corrupt desires and passions.
3. "In the Spirit" = spiritually minded; under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit.
4. "If so be" = provided that; assuming that; used of something that is assumed to be true; Paul always referred to those who said they were saved as "saints" thus here he is not doubting their profession but giving them criteria by which they could examine themselves whether they were saved or not.
5. "Spirit of God" = Holy Ghost.
6. "Dwell" = to occupy a house; reside; inhabit; denotes intimacy; the Holy Ghost (Spirit) indwells every believer.
7. "Spirit of Christ" = Holy Ghost; Comforter (another of the same kind as the Lord Jesus Christ; John 14:16‑18).
8. "Is none of his" = is not a Christian; does not belong to Christ; is not saved; this is a plain, self explanatory statement.
9. The fact that the Spirit is called the "Spirit of God" and then the "Spirit of Christ" shows that the Father and the Son are related to the Spirit in the same way‑‑all are God and each a part of the Trinity.
V. 10
1. "And" = but; contrast those who have not the Spirit of Christ (verse 9) with those who do in this verse.
2. "Christ in you" = strong figurative language; used again in Col. 1:27 and Eph. 3:16‑17; refers to the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of Christ (verse 9) in every believer thus having Christ's spirit, Christ's principles, and Christ's influence dwelling in every believer; speaks of the reality of God in the life of a Christian.
3. "Body" = the believer's human body.
4. "Is dead" = in the sense that it has the sentence of death in it because of sin; Adam died spiritually the day he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; even though he lived 930 years physically, the day he ate of the tree the sentence of death came upon his body.
5. "Because of" = on account of; by means of.
6. "Sin" = Adam's sins which brought death to each member of the human race (Rom. 5:12); refers to sinful passions and appetites.
7. There is a word in the Greek which was not translated, "men" = indeed; truly; it is indeed true that the unrenewed nature, the man before conversion under the influence of the flesh, is spiritually dead.
8. "Spirit" = not the Holy Spirit thus should not be capitalized; refers to man's spirit that has been quickened, made alive by the Spirit of Christ (Holy Spirit).
9. "Life" = eternal life; God‑begotten, God‑sustained life.
10. "Because of" = on account of.
11. "Righteousness" = refers to imputed righteousness; that gracious gift of God to men whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God.
12. Christ our new Lord is at home in believers, in the person of the Holy Spirit, controlling our motives. He is our:
A. Inner witness (I John 5:8, 10; Rom. 8:16); "witness" = to give a first hand detailed account; to give evidence of; the Spirit, blood, and water (Word) agree = give same opinion.
B. Inner teacher. (I John 2:27; Titus 2:11‑13)
C. Inner drive (Rom. 12:2); to do God's will and not the will of self.
13. Need to let our new Lord control our mind, then our motives will be right.
c. Need to let the Lord control our members.
V. 11‑13
V. 11
1. "Spirit of him" = Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of God.
2. "Raised up Jesus from the dead" = refers to the bodily resurrection of our Lord after three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (His soul and spirit was in paradise while His body was in the tomb).
3. "Dwell" = inhabit; reside; to occupy; tense is continuous.
4. "From" = out from among.
5. He that had power to restore Christ to life has power to give you (saints; believers) life. He that did, in fact, restore Him to life, will also restore you.
6. "Shall also quicken" = to revitalize; to cause to live; make alive; give life; refers to the future resurrection of the believer's body as the context and the word "also" indicate.
7. "Mortal" = liable to die; subject to death.
8. "Bodies" = refers to the physical body by nature under the reign of death and therefore mortal.
9. "By" = through.
10. "His Spirit" = Holy Spirit.
11. "Dwelleth" = inhabit.
12. The dead saint's body will be raised out from among the dead and the living saint's body will be changed from mortality to immortality at the time of the Rapture through the power of the Holy Spirit. (I Thess. 4:16‑17; I Cor. 15:51‑53)
V. 12
1. "Therefore" = in view of what had just been said in verse 11.
2. "Brethren" = from the same womb; refers to the saved who are all from the womb of God (Godly sorrow, Holy Ghost conviction).
3. "Debtors" = a person under obligation; duty bound.
4. "Flesh" = refers to the corrupt desires and passions.
5. "Live" = refers to lifestyle.
6. "After" = habitually dominated.
7. Since the saint is not within the sphere of the evil nature (because its power has been broken; dead to the principle of sin) and since he is within the sphere of the Holy Spirit, he is under no obligation to the evil nature (flesh) to live under its dominion.
8. Instead the saint is debtor to God:
A. The Father for sending His Son to die in our place. (John 3:16)
B. The Son for His finished work on Calvary in my stead. This includes the resurrection as well.
C. The Holy Spirit because it was He who:
1) Worked in darkness positioning me to receive light.
2) Convicted me and caused me to see my need.
3) Caused me to seek.
4) Worked godly sorrow, repentance, and faith so I could repent and believe.
5) Quickened me and put a new nature inside.
6) Daily witnesses within and one day will change this old mortal body.
7) Daily endures our selfishness.
8) Daily is grieved by our sin, yet He still loves us and remains in us as the seal of God and the earnest of our inheritance.
9. Therefore we are in debt to Him not the flesh.
V. 13
1. "If ye live after the flesh" = have a lifestyle dominated by corrupt desires; the tense refers to continuous habitual action.
2. "Ye shall die" = refers to separation from God in the lake of fire (hell) forever.
3. The first clause in this verse is a good example of Paul's writings. He called everyone who made a profession of faith a saint or believer. Yet in all his writings he gives the admonition for every person to examine himself whether he be in the faith. (II Cor. 13:5) This is exactly what he is doing here even though the word "examine" is not used. The word "if" should cause one to examine.
4. "But" = contrast the saved with the lost (those who live after the flesh).
5. "Through" = by the aid of; case of instrumentality; what is required of us can only be accomplished by the aid of the Holy Spirit. (Phil. 4:13)
6. "Mortify" = put to death; subdue; destroy; render extinct; the tense is habitual continuous action.
7. "Deeds" = works; refers to evil practices.
8. "Ye shall live" = refers to eternal life.
9. The person who lives habitually under the dominion of the flesh (evil nature) is an unsaved person and is on the way to final death in the Lake of fire. But the person who puts to death the deeds of the body by the aid of the Holy Spirit is a saved person and will have eternal life. That person will have fellowship with Christ here, and shall live a life of glory with Him hereafter. (I Cor. 9:27)
10. We are in debt to our new Lord; therefore, we should allow the Holy Spirit to aid us in controlling our members, referring to our hands, feet, ears, eyes, and etc.
3) New Life V. 14‑39
1. The saint's new life gives many privileges, special advantages, special favors, and special blessings.
a. The Spirit's leadership.
V. 14
1. "Many" = whosoever; all who are thus led; refers to those who allow themselves to be led.
2. "Are led" = are being led as the Greek construction brings out; the tense is continuous action; refers to those who submit to the Holy Spirit's influence and control.
3. The Holy Spirit is our guide. (John 16:13) We do not have the original scriptures, but we have the originator, the Holy Spirit and He will guide us into all truth. (II Peter 1:21; John 10:27,5)
b. Being a Son.
4. "Sons" = word is used of a mature child of God in legal standing; refers to those who acting as a son show maturity; a different Greek word is used in verse 16 for "children" = refers to those who are born of God, who are babes, not mature.
5. Those who are led by the Spirit have the privilege of being classified as a mature son. The same Greek word is used in Mat. 5:44‑45, therefore, our Lord is not implying works for salvation, but those who do those things will be called a mature son.
c. Spirit of adoption.
V. 15
1. "Adoption" = to place the born again one (the children of God) as adult sons before God; this is speaking in a legal sense; under Roman law when this was written a father could disown his own flesh and blood son and take away his inheritance, but he could not do that to an adopted son.
2. "Spirit of adoption" = refers to the feeling of affection, love, and confidence which pertains to children produced by the Holy Spirit.
3. "Bondage" = servitude; a state opposite to liberty; the state of all unsaved under law.
4. "Spirit of bondage" = refers to a disposition or attitude of servitude.
5. "Fear" = alarm or fright.
6. "Whereby" = by which; the Spirit of adoption enables us to cry, "Abba, Father."
7. "Cry" = to call aloud; speaks of a loud cry, expressing deep emotion; denotes an internal affection of soul and an outward calling upon God as a Father with confidence.
8. "Abba" = an Aramaic (language which the Jews spoke in the first century in Palestine) word not translated meaning "father."
9. "Father" = translated from the Greek.
10. The two words used together speaks of closeness. In English this could be "Father, Father" or even like many today close to their daddy would say when in great need or when really wanting to get his attention, "Daddy, Daddy" and He hears.
11. Saints have this privilege to repeat such terms of affection because of the Spirit of adoption.
d. Spirit giving assurance.
V. 16
1. "The Spirit" = Holy Spirit.
2. "Itself" = Himself; the translators followed a strict method of translation instead of translating according to sense; the Holy Spirit is a person not a force nor an "it," thus "Himself."
3. "Beareth witness" = to testify jointly; to strengthen, confirm, and support by evidence. (I John 5:13, 10; 3:24; 4:13)
4. "Our spirit" = the dead spirit of man made alive by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 2:1)
5. "With" = signifies two involved, the Holy Spirit and our spirit jointly testify that we are the children of God.
6. "Children" = born again ones.
7. This verse is usually misquoted by saying, "My spirit bears witness with your spirit." No. His Spirit bears witness with my spirit and He does so by:
A. His enlightening the eyes of understanding.
B. His stirring us up to prayer.
C. His reproof of our sins.
D. His comforting us.
E. Producing His fruit in us. (Gal. 5:22‑23)
F. His drawing us to works of love.
G. His drawing us to bear testimony before the world.
8. Thus having much assurance all alone forever. (I Thess. 1:5; Isa. 32:17)
e. Sharing with Christ.
V. 17
1. "If" = since; introduces a fulfilled condition.
2. "Children" = born again ones.
3. "Heirs" = one who inherits something that he did not earn or deserve.
4. "Heirs of God" = this phrase means that we shall be partakers of that inheritance which God confers on His people, that of His favor here and eternal life hereafter; the Greek word "men" which means "indeed, truly" was left out of this phrase by the translators, thus "heirs indeed of God."
5. "Joint‑heirs" = one who participates in the same lot.
6. "With" = not through Christ but with Him; does not mean that I will get a portion and you will get a portion, but I will have all and you will have all at the same time.
7. If you are saved, that inheritance is certain because you are in Christ. He is certain, because He ever liveth, and He gave promises that cannot and will not be broken. (John 14:1‑3) You may not have as many crowns and rewards as you would like, but you will inherit eternal life.
f. Suffering with Him.
8. "If so be" = if indeed; this phrase should cause one to examine whether or not he is genuinely saved, because the believers' joint‑heirship with Christ includes suffering with Him in this present time as well as glory with Him at His return.
9. Suffering is a privilege, and Paul knew it was necessary if he was to ever know His power and glory. (Phil. 3:10)
10. "Suffer with" = to experience pain jointly; implies persecution (II Tim. 3:12) and tribulation (grievous affliction or distress). (Acts 14:22; James 1:2; Rom. 5:3); the tense is continuous action.
11. Sometimes our suffering is of our own doing, but if we are saved, we will suffer with Christ. The experience of suffering precedes the experience of glory.
12. "Glorified together" = to exalt to dignity in company with; the tense is point action thus referring to the rapture when all saints whether dead or alive will receive their glorified body like unto Jesus and be saved from the presence of sin; this is salvation completed. (I Thess. 4:16‑17; I Cor. 15:51‑53; I John 3:2)
13. You may ask, "Is suffering with Christ a privilege?" Peter said it was in Acts 5:40‑42. Paul said it was in this next verse.
V. 18
1. "Reckon" = to take an inventory; to compute; calculate; implies reasoning; refers to a process of reasoning which results in the arriving at a conclusion.
2. "Sufferings" = something undergone as a hardship or pain; refers to afflictions, persecutions, sickness, and etc.; refers to all that believers are called to endure for the cause of Christ.
3. "Of this present time" = time in which the apostle lived; applies to afflictions of all times and in all places.
4. "Worthy" = worth as much; comparable; negated by "not."
5. "To be compared" = in italics, thus supplied by the translators to help define "worthy."
6. "Glory" = manifestation of that which brings forth praise; refers to the future happiness and honor of the saints in heaven.
7. "Shall be revealed" = to take off the cover; to bring to light.
8. "In" = implies motion into or towards us; refers to time after the resurrection when the glory reflected from our Lord in His glory will make the saints radiant when they return to the earth with the Lord Jesus in Revelation 19.
9. Our sufferings may seem great, but we need to remember they are nothing in comparison with future glory. They are nothing in:
A. Degree = for they are light compared with that eternal weight of glory which they shall work out. (II Cor. 4:17)
B. Duration = for these suffering are but for a moment while the glory shall be eternal.
10. Paul knew what he was talking about, because he was chosen to suffer, experienced suffering, even stoned and left for dead, and saw the glory on the other side, but could not tell about it. (Acts 9:15‑16; II Cor. 11:23b‑28; 12:1‑4)
11. We have to suffer to be conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29) and that brings forth glory.
a) Creation groans.
V. 19
1. "Creature" = creation; original formation; speaks of the sum total of what was created; this old earth and all on it and in it.
2. "Earnest expectation" = intense anticipation; waiting in suspense as if looking for, with the neck stretched out and the head thrust forward.
3. "Waiteth" = to expect fully; to look for the manifestation of the sons of God.
4. "Sons" = mature sons; refers to the resurrection when all saints will be like Jesus. (I John 3:2)
5. "Manifestation" = an uncovering; unveiling; refers to the time of the coming of our Lord when they will have full possession of all their privileges as the children of God.
V. 20
1. "For" = indicates the reason creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
2. "Was made subject" = to arrange in order under; put in subjection.
3. "Vanity" = depravity; resultless; aimless; all creation was marred by the sin of Adam: man was cursed, women was cursed, the animals were cursed, and the earth was cursed. (Gen. 3:14‑19)
4. "Willingly" = voluntary; negated by "not"; it was not a matter of choice.
5. "By reason" = on account of.
6. "Him" = God; it is the appointment of God who chose to place His creation in this condition.
7. "Subjected" = to arrange in order under; to put in subjection.
8. "In hope" = upon the basis of hope.
9. "Hope" = the desire of some good with the expectation of obtaining it; refers to a future day when the curse will be removed; this is the hope of creation not of the Creator; creation possesses in the midst of her unmerited suffering, a hope‑‑an expectation of her future deliverance.
V. 21
1. "Because" = reveals the reason for creation's hope, the promise of God in this verse.
2. "Also" = indicates that all creation will be delivered from the curse just as the sons of God have been.
3. "Shall be delivered" = liberated; to set free; future tense; refers to the time the Lord comes back to earth and sets up His kingdom.
4. "Bondage" = slavery; servitude.
5. "Corruption" = decay; ruin.
6. "Liberty" = freedom; freedom from sin, corruption, evil desires, calamity, and death; described as "glorious" = speaks of the glory of verse 18 = resurrection glory.
V. 22
1. "For" = introduces the proof of the hope of verse 20.
2. "Know" = to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts; to know by revelation.
3. "Groaneth" = to groan together; to moan jointly; refers to the common groaning of all the elements of creation.
4. "Travaileth together" = to have pangs in company with; refers to the common pangs of all the elements of creation.
5. "Until now" = in Paul's day it had been about 4060 years; today it has been almost 6000 years and this old earth (creation) is still groaning = earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, sink holes, and etc.
6. The whole creation is now on "tiptoe" (earnest expectation) awaiting the completion of redemption. When God's sons are unveiled, the whole creation, now groaning under the bondage of sin, will be redeemed. Dominion over a renewed creation, lost in Adam, will be restored to the redeemed race.
b) Christians groan.
V. 23
1. "They" = refers to creation in general.
2. "Ourselves" = Christians; the saved.
3. "Firstfruits of the Spirit." = refers to the Spirit who is the earnest of our redemption (Eph. 1:13‑14) and to the changes and blessings that the Spirit has already produced in the lives of believers.
4. "Groan" = sigh; pray inaudibly.
5. "Groan within ourselves" = refers to saints sighing for deliverance; denotes strong internal desires; the deep anguish of spirit when the heart is oppressed with anguish, and earnestly desires deliverance; also an application can be made of the body and its groaning with arthritis, migraine headaches, aches, and pains of all kinds.
6. "Waiting" = to expect fully.
7. "Adoption" = the placing as a son; refers to the full blessings of the adoption which is the redemption of our body; saints have already received adoption, and as led by the Spirit are sons of God, but only when their mortal bodies have been quickened, and the corruptible will have put on incorruption, will they possess all that sonship involves; for this they wait and sigh, and the inextinguishable hope, born of the Spirit dwelling in them, guarantees its own fulfillment.
8. "To wit" = to know; in italics not in the originals but supplied by the translators.
9. "Redemption of the body" = the complete recovery of the body from death and corruption; called glorification and occurs at the rapture; the release of the body from sin and finiteness (existing or enduring for a limited time only), the pressure of which we constantly feel as long as we have our mortal body.
V. 24
1. "Saved" = kept; preserved; sustained; protected; not talking about being justified because this is being written to saints thus already "saved" as far as being delivered from sin.
2. "By hope" = a complex emotion made up of an earnest desire, and an expectation of obtaining an object; hope sustains the soul in the midst of trials, and enables it to bear them without murmuring; has reference to that which is at present unseen; refers to the object of hope, the thing hoped for.
3. "Seen" = used here in the sense of possessing or enjoying; what a man already possesses, he cannot be said to hope for.
4. "Why" = how; what a man actually possesses, how can he look forward to it with anticipation?
V. 25
1. "Patience" = cheerful endurance; constancy; refers to the quality that does not surrender to circumstances or succumb under trials.
2. "Wait" = to expect fully.
3. If we expect that we see not then we endure, not to surrender, but wait expecting hope to become a reality and it will at the resurrection. But until then, the Christian is going to groan together with the creation.
4. Complete deliverance through redemption will be accomplished only when "this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality." (I Cor. 15:54) That is the "hope which is laid up" (Col. 1:5) and "the hope set before us." (Heb. 6:18) It is the "Blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) and "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:27)
5. The following poem is appropriate.
DON'T QUIT
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about,
When He might have won had He stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow‑‑
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit‑‑
Its when things seem worst, that you mustn't quit!
Author not known
6. The Lord is faithful. (Phil. 1:6)
g. The Spirit's Intercession.
V. 26
1. "Likewise" = in same manner; the same Spirit which dwells in us (verse 9), by whom we are led (verse 14), who is the Spirit of adoption to us (verse 15), who has witnessed to our spirits (verse 16), whose first fruits we have received (verse 23), also helpeth our infirmities.
2. "Helpeth" = to sustain with us; to aid us by supporting; speaks of the action of the Holy Spirit coming to our aid by taking hold of the spiritual load that we cannot bear by ourselves; He lends a helping hand; the tense is continuous which means He is always there to help.
3. "Infirmities" = feebleness; spiritual weakness, not physical; refers to the spiritual weaknesses to which we are subject and to our various trials in this life. 4. "Know" = to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts; to know by revelation; negated by "not."
5. "Pray" = speaks of prayer directed to God with a definite aim.
6. "As we ought" = as it is necessary.
7. We know not what to pray for because:
A. We really do not know what is best for us.
B. We do not know what God might be willing to grant us.
C. We, to a great extent, are ignorant of the character of God.
D. We are often in real, deep perplexity, compassed with trials, exposed to temptations, feeble because of disease, subject to calamities, and if these circumstances were left alone we would neither be able to bear our trials nor know what to ask from God.
8. "But" = shows contrast; we have help.
9. "The Spirit" = Holy Spirit.
10. "Itself" = Himself; the translators followed a strict method of translation instead of translating according to sense; the Holy Spirit is a person not a force nor an "it," thus "Himself."
11. "Maketh intercession" = to intercede in behalf of; speaks of rescue by one who "happens on" one who is in trouble; simply means that the Holy Spirit greatly assists or aids us, not by praying for us, but in our prayers and infirmities; the tense is continuous action.
12. "Groanings" = sighs; refers to that deep feeling and intense anxiety which exists in the oppressed and burdened heart of the Christian.
13. "Which cannot be uttered" = unspeakable; inexpressable.
14. The Spirit is not the one who groans but He produces a burden which causes us to groan, and we are unable to put into words our prayer, because we do not know what to pray for. But the Spirit aids and assists us while we groan, and when we get off our knees we feel as if our prayers have been answered. Why? Because the Holy Spirit maketh intercession for us.
V. 27
1. First "he" = God.
2. "Searcheth" = to seek; to investigate.
3. "Hearts" = the center and seat of moral nature and spiritual life; to search the heart is one of God's attributes and only He can do that. (Jer. 17:9‑10)
4. "Knoweth" = to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts; God has all knowledge.
5. "Mind" = thought and purpose.
6. "Spirit" = Holy Spirit; God knows the thoughts and purpose of the Spirit because they are one and they agree; He does not need those deep emotions to be expressed in words; He (God) sees the anxious feelings of the soul and is ready to aid and bless.
7. Second "he" = Holy Spirit.
8. "Maketh intercession for the saints" = aids and directs Christians.
9. "The will of" = in italics, thus not in the originals, but supplied by the translators to give us a better understanding of the Greek.
10. "According to God" = that which is according to God's will; the desires and burdens which the Holy Spirit stirs in a saint's heart are according to God's will; thus when the saints groan and do not utter a word, God knows, hears, and answers all because the Holy Spirit maketh intercession (aids and directs) for the saints.
h. The Lord being in control.
a) All sufficient promise.
V. 28
1. "Know" = to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts; refers to the saints knowing without doubt the truth of this statement.
2. "All things" = every; any; the whole; all our afflictions, trials, persecutions, calamities, temptations, circumstances, prosperity, and material blessings; good things and bad things.
3. "Work together" = to be a fellow-worker; cooperate; it is the sovereign (chief; supreme; above all other) God who makes this happen; the tense is continuous action.
4. "For good" = ultimate good; spiritual good; each ingredient may not be good within itself, but when all ingredients are worked together, the ultimate outcome is good.
A. Example: Each ingredient in buttermilk biscuits may not taste good by itself, but when worked together and baked, the biscuits are good.
B. Example: Joseph may have thought the pit, Potiphar's house, and prison were bad, but when he got to the palace, the ultimate good, he could say all things (all those places) worked together for good. (Gen. 50:20)
5. How do all things work together for good?
A. They take our affections from the world.
B. They teach us the truth about our true condition.
C. They lead us to look to God for strength and to heaven for our final home.
D. They produce a subdued spirit, a humble temper, and a patient, tender, and kind disposition.
E. Therefore, at the end of life (like Joseph) all saints will be able to say it was good for them to be afflicted. (Psa. 119:67, 71)
6. This promise is given to:
A. "Them that love God."
1) "Love" = agape love; God kind of love produced in the heart of every saint by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 5:5)
2) Thus in context this is referring to Christians.
B. "Them who are called according to his purpose."
1) "Called" = the call of God and of Jesus Christ by special grace from darkness to light, from bondage to liberty, from the company of sinful men to fellowship with Christ, from a trust in their own righteousness to a dependence on His righteousness, to grace here, and glory hereafter.
2) "According" = refers to the end aim or purpose.
3) "Purpose" = a setting forth; proposition; a laying down anything in view of others; a plan of mind; implies that God has a plan, purpose, or intention, in regard to all who become a Christian; they are not saved by chance or haphazard; God does not convert men without design and His designs are not new, but eternal; what He does, He always meant to do, and what He always meant to do, is His purpose or plan.
4) Salvation is traced entirely to the Lord.
5) Those that are called are called because of God's good pleasure and not because of men deserving it. There is nothing in man to turn God's heart toward him, but there is enough to turn God's stomach.
7. Even though, in context, this is written to the saints, there is a sense that it also applies to the lost. Jesus referred to "lost sheep" (those not yet saved) in Mat. 15:24 and "other sheep" not of this fold (Gentiles not saved) in John 10:16. God began a "good work" in us before we ever knew we needed a good work. (Rom. 5:6; Phil. 1:6) Therefore, the promise of this verse applies to all who will be called unto salvation even though some of them do not as yet recognize God's working. The time when, the place where, and the means whereby persons are called, are all settled and determined by God according to His purpose.
b) The Eternal Purpose.
V. 29
1. The eternal purpose of God, although connected, is two‑fold:
A. That God's Son might be the first born among many brethren.
1) The first born among the Hebrew had many privileges.
2) God's Son is the firstborn of all creation. (Col. 1:15)
3) He is the only one ever born in the manner He was. (John 1:1, 14)
4) He is the first born from the dead (Col. 1:18; I Cor. 15:23)
5) He is the first born with respect to saints. He humbled Himself but God has highly exalted Him. (Phil. 2:5‑9)
6) "Many" = really few when compared to human race (Mat. 7:13‑14; Luke 13:24); yet it was God's desire that many would be saved. (II Peter 3:9)
7) "Brethren" = from the same womb; being related to the same father; regenerated by the same grace; taken into the same family; heirs of the same glory.
B. That the saints would be conformed to the image of His Son.
1) "Conformed" = made similar; to render alike; to bring to the same form with; refers to the outward expression of an inward essence or nature; in the process of sanctification, the saint is transformed in his inner heart to resemble the Lord Jesus; inner change results in a change of outward expression that reflects the beauty of the Lord Jesus.
2) "Image" = a derived likeness; resemblance but more; to be drawn from; Example: someone says, "That child is a spitting image of his father;" he resembles him, because he is derived from his father.
3) We are born of Christ, and God is in the process of making us like His Son. That is sanctification.
2. This eternal purpose is brought about by five steps of grace.
A. Foreknowledge.
1) "Foreknow" = to perceive or recognize beforehand; foresee; translated "foreordained" in I Peter 1:20; included in this word are the words "chosen" and "elect"; has to do with the wisdom of God and deals with persons.
2) "Chosen" = to select; (Eph. 1:4) root word for "elect"; based upon three things: (I Peter 1:2; II Thess. 2:13)
a. "Foreknowledge" = He sees and knows what He can do in one's heart. (I Sam. 16:7)
b. "Sanctification of the Spirit" = refers to the setting apart work of the Holy Spirit called "godly sorrow" (II Cor. 7:10), "Holy Ghost conviction" or "reproval" (John 16:8‑11) whereby the Holy Spirit brings one out of the kingdom of darkness and sphere of the Devil's control into the kingdom of light and the sphere of God's control; this works repentance and produces faith in the sinner.
c. "Obedience" = point when repentance and faith are worked then a sinner can repent and believe unto salvation, thus obedience; man must repent and believe to be saved. (Luke 13:3; Acts 16:31)
3) God does not chose some to the rejection of others. But just as God chose Israel out from among all other nations to be a light to the other nations whereby they could come through Israel and be saved; God chose men not to the rejection of others, but to be a light to others whereby they could see the Lord Jesus, repent, believe, be saved, and find out they were chosen too.
B. Predestination.
1) "Predestinate" = to determine or decree beforehand; to put limits or boundaries upon before hand; has to do with the will of God and deals with a purpose.
2) You cannot have predestination operating without foreknowledge. Look at these examples:
a. God knew Adam would sin and need a Saviour before the world ever existed; therefore, He chose (wisdom and person) His only begotten Son, and determined beforehand (will and purpose) that Jesus would die for man's sin. (I Peter 1:20)
b. God knew there would be a famine in Egypt; therefore, He chose (wisdom and person) Joseph to be the deliverer and predestinated (will and purpose) him to the pit, Potiphar's house, and prison so that he might be in the palace to deliver the nation of Israel.
c. God knew we would need an example of one who suffered to help us through our suffering; therefore, He chose (wisdom and person) Job and predestinated (will and purpose) him to suffer and become the ideal sufferer for all mankind.
d. God knew the Pharisees would be bound with tradition; therefore, God chose (wisdom and person) a child and predestinated (will and purpose) him to be born blind (John 9) so that he could be used to break the tradition of the Pharisees.
3) God foreknew those that would be saved and predetermined them to be placed as adult sons (Eph. 1:4‑5) and be conformed to the image of God's Son (this verse). Therefore, he works all things together for good (verse 28).
C. Called.
V. 30
1) "Called" = to summon; to invite; speaks of the divine invitation to salvation; called to partake of the blessings of redemption; refers to the effectual (capable of producing the desired effect; in this case‑‑justification) call.
2) There is a general call of which many receive but only those who have the sanctifying work of the Spirit completed receive the effectual call. (Mat. 22:14) "Chosen" of Mat. 22:14 and "called" of this verse imply the same thing.
D. Justification.
1) "Justified" = to render just or innocent.
2) God takes away the penalty and guilt of the sins of those justified, and bestows upon them a positive righteousness, even Jesus Christ Himself (I Cor. 1:30), in whom the believer stands forever, innocent, uncondemned, and righteous as far as the law is concerned.
E. Glorification.
1) "Glorified" = to render glorious; refers to the act of God transforming the believer's body (whether in the grave or alive) at the rapture into a body like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus; saved from the presence of sin; the tense is past tense, stated as already consummated though still future in the fullest sense.
2) The scripture style concerning things decreed is that they are spoken of in past tense. This means it is both complete and certain in divine counsels. (Phil. 1:6) Another example of this is Jesus' saying on the cross, "It is finished."
3) This proves the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
3. As we travel these steps of grace, God works all things together for good, thereby fulfilling His eternal purpose.
c) A question asked and answered by questions.
V. 31
1. "Say" = to utter; speak.
2. "These things" = refers to all the things working together in the steps of grace revealing the certainty of final sanctification of the sons of God; also includes the suffering of verses 17‑18.
3. In answer to this first question, Paul ask five more questions.
4. "If" = since; in view of the fact; conditional particle of a fulfilled condition; God is for us (saints).
5. "Be" and "can be" = in italics; means they are not in the original text but supplied by the translators in an effort to fill out the thought.
6. "If God be for us" = be on our side or is our friend as He has shown Himself to be by adopting us (verse 15), by granting to us His Spirit (verse 16, 26‑27), and by His gracious purpose to save us and conform us to His Son's image. (verses 29‑30)
7. "Who can be against us" = who is or could be against us, so as to do us harm; they can be against us but what difference does it matter if He is for us.
8. You have heard it said, "God and I make a majority." Listen, God is a majority all by Himself. (I John 4:4; Psa. 118:6)
9. Example: In baseball you can tag a man all you want, but if he is on base you cannot put him out. If you are saved, you are on base, just as safe as if in heaven. Who can be against us to cause us harm?
V. 32
1. "Spared not" = abstained not; did not retain or keep His own Son from suffering and death.
2. "Own" = one's own peculiar, private possession; our Lord is the Father's very own, private possession, very dear to Him.
3. "Delivered him up" = gave Him into the hands of man and to a cruel death. (Acts 2:23)
4. "For" = in behalf of; in place of; a preposition of replacement; God delivered up His Son in our place.
5. "Us all" = all Christians; all believers; not just for the apostles, the rich, and the great, but for all.
6. "Freely give" = without money and without price; to grant as a favor.
7. "All things" = all things that may be needful for our welfare, physically and spiritually.
8. "How shall he not with him" = refers to the fact that since God (He) has given Him (His Son) for us, will He not give along with that great gift all we need. (Phil. 4:19; Psa. 37:4)
9. Who can hinder God from giving us all things since He spared not His Son.
V. 33
1. "Lay anything to the charge" = to bring an accusation against; this expression is taken from courts of law and means who shall accuse, or condemn, or so charge with crime before the court of God as to cause their condemnation? (Rom. 4:6‑8; impute = to charge with)
2. "Elect" = chosen ones; saved; see verse 29 for complete definition; as they are chosen of God, they are dear to Him; and as He purposed to save them, He will do it in such a way that none can bring against them a charge that would condemn them.
3. "Justifieth" = to render just or innocent; God is the one who pardoned them and admitted them to His favor and pronounced them just in His sight and it is impossible for anyone to condemn them again. (John 5:24)
V. 34
1. "Condemneth" = to pass sentence on.
2. "It is" = in italics; therefore, not in the original text but supplied by the translators; would have been good to have supplied "shall"; shall Christ, who died for us condemn us?
3. "Died" = cross.
4. "Risen again" = resurrection of Christ.
5. "Right hand of God" = for God to place Christ at His right hand means He was satisfied with the sacrifice His Son offered.
6. "Maketh intercession" = to plead the cause of another; to aid and assist another; to present our interest before the mercy seat in heaven. (Heb. 7:25)
7. "For us" = on our behalf.
8. There are four great truths in this verse:
A. Christ died for our sins. He is our propitiation. (Rom. 3:25; I John 2:2)
B. He is risen again for our justification. (Rom. 4:25) We are "saved by His life." (Rom. 5:10)
C. At the right hand of God, He is our representative.
D. Making intercession, He is our Advocate pleading our case. (I John 2:1)
9. Our Advocate paid the debt for our sins with His blood. The score is settled. We are free of condemnation. (Rom. 8:1)
10. Who can condemn? No one. No man, no angel, the devil nor even God can condemn those who have been washed in our Lord's precious blood.
V. 35
1. "Separate" = to make room between; to put distance between; the Greek construction refers to being finally or entirely separated.
2. "Love of Christ" = in context it may refers to Christ's love for us; some believe it means our love for Him which is so strong, that it will surmount and survive all opposition and all trials; both could be correct; no one can cause Him to cease loving us and no power can cause us to cease loving Him; this thinking is contrary to a lot of teaching today such as the doctrine of being backslidden for years and then getting right with God; such a one has never been saved.
3. "Who" = person; Paul asks who and then lists seven "things"; the thought: can man, devil, or angel (who) use these seven difficulties (things) to separate us from the love of Christ?
A. "Tribulation" = pressure; grievous affliction or distress; pressure or burden upon the spirit. (Acts 14:22)
B. "Distress" = a narrow confined place; speaks of being surrounded by difficult circumstances until one is literally in a tight squeeze; denotes affliction arising from cramping circumstances; corresponds to the phrase, "between a rock and hard place."
C. "Persecution" = to afflict constantly so as to injure or distress. (II Tim. 3:12)
D. "Famine" = a scarcity of food; we know little of this in America, but in other countries millions suffer and die because of this.
E. "Nakedness" = does not refer to immodest, immoral dress, but to the fact of not having sufficient clothing and no means of securing any.
F. "Peril" = exposed to danger or risk.
G. "Sword" = symbol of death or being exposed to death; refers to martyrdom.
V. 36
1. "It is written" = tense is perfect which means in time past it was written down and is still on record today; Paul is quoting Psa. 44:22.
2. "For thy sake" = on account of attachment to thee.
3. "We are killed" = we are subject to or exposed to death; we endure suffering equivalent to dying.
4. "All the day long" = continually; constantly; there is no intermission to our danger and to our exposure to death.
5. "Accounted" = reckoned; thought of; regarded; dealt with; that is, our enemies judge that we ought to die, and think us appropriate subjects of slaughter, with little concern or remorse as if our lives are as the lives of sheep as they are slaughtered.
6. God's children, down through the ages, have been hated and despised by the world, by the enemies of God, and by the children of the devil. (Heb. 11:32‑37)
V. 37
1. "Nay" = contrariwise; the answer to the question in verse 35.
2. "These things" = seven things listed in verse 35.
3. "In" = in the very midst of them.
4. "We are more than conquerors" = super victors; to gain a decisive victory; instead of being defeated these things have:
A. Caused the name of Christ to be lifted up.
B. Not only patiently been endured but caused the saints to glory in them. (Rom. 5:3)
C. Caused faith and joy to be increased.
D. Established the saints deeper in the love of God and in the things of Christ.
E. Caused the church to become pure and powerful.
5. "Through" = a preposition denoting the channel; means on account of Him that loved us. (Phil. 4:13)
6. The Christ who conquered every foe, because of His love for us, imparts His grace and strength to make us more than conquerors.
7. Paul knew what he was talking about. (I Cor. 4:11‑13; II Cor. 11:23b‑28) He experienced all of these things yet he was not separated from the live of Christ, but a super victor.
V. 38
1. "Am persuaded" = convinced; to have a strong and unwavering confidence; the expression implies unwavering certainty; Paul is saying that he had come through a process to a settled conclusion and that all these ten things cannot separate him from the love of God.
2. In verse 35, Paul dealt with things of the visible world, now he deals with ten things, some of which are of the invisible world.
A. "Death" = physical death; death in any form; physical death cannot alter the believers spiritual union with Christ; it can only enhance the reality of His presence. (II Cor. 5:6)
B. "Life" = physical life; even the trials of life will not separate one (Phil 1:21); whether in life or death the redeemed are the subjects of God's love. (Rom. 14:8)
C. "Angels" = created beings; demons; refers to the fallen angels, not the heavenly ministers as they serve the redeemed ones. (Heb.1:14)
D. "Principalities" = chief; refers to the devil and his high ranking fallen angels. (Eph. 6:12)
E. "Powers" = miraculous power; refers to the hostility in the spirit world; this type will be manifested by the Antichrist but can only operate as God, a higher power, allows.
F. "Things present" = calamities and persecutions to which we are now subject.
G. "Things to come" = trials to which we may be yet exposed; even refers to anything beyond death; these last two phrases speaks of time and eternity, neither of which can separate one.
V. 39
H. "Height" = stars at their highest; refers to the endless proportions of space; it takes 10,000 light years to get out of our galaxy and 2,000,000 light years to get to the next galaxy; whatever might be out there cannot separate one.
I. "Depth" = refers to anything in the heart of the earth.
J. "Any other creature" = created thing; even if there was another creation after this, it could not separate one.
3. "Shall be able" = shall have power to separate one.
4. "Separate" = to place room between; to put distance between; the Greek construction refers to being finally or entirely separated.
5. "The love of God" = may apply both to His love for us and our love for Him.
6. "Which is in Christ Jesus" = which is produced and secured by His work; it is in and through Him alone that men love God.
7. "Lord" = controller; supreme in authority; becomes "our Lord" at salvation, not years later.
8. Because we have a new Lord, we have new life and neither things nor anyone (not even ourselves) can separate us from the love of God. (I John 10:27‑29)
9. We are safe, secure, and we will be conformed to the image of our Lord.
10. Thank the Lord for daily working in our lives, in the person of the Holy Spirit, sanctifying (the walk of progression towards perfection which will be gained at the first resurrection) us. Therefore we are being saved day by day from the power of sin.
11. TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!