Chapter 8
8:1-2- As we will see throughout this chapter, Paul now comes to the hope we have in the Spirit. Chapter 6 and 7 focus so much on sin, the law and death. Chapter 8 focuses on hope and victory! Whereas “Law” is a word found over 20 times in chapter 6 and 7, In chapter 8, “Spirit” is mentioned 20 times! Verse 1 starts off with an amazing truth. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. The qualifier that we should not fail to notice is that this truth of no condemnation is available to those who are in Christ. As we’ve seen in Romans, Christ atoned for our sins so that justice could be upheld and now God justifies anyone who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:23-26). We are no longer condemned under God’s wrath. This is an objective reality that should also serve to affect our subjective experience (feeling gratitude for being forgiven rather than feeling as though we are still under condemnation). The context in which Paul uses the word “law” in verse 2 means “principle” (i.e. the ‘law’ of gravity) and is not referring to the Law of Moses. In other words, the reality of being in Christ results in life. This is an objective principle. The reality of sin results in another objective principle, death. We have been set free from the reality of being in bondage to sin and the death that results! The depressing and seemingly defeatist language of chapter 7 finds its solution and hope in these verses and this chapter as a whole. Indeed, even as believers in Christ, we are hopeless to live holy lives by the strength of our own power. It is by the power of God’s Holy Spirit that we wage war against the flesh for apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5)!
8:3- Verse 3 reiterates a principle Paul has already made clear in Romans. The Law (in this context, The Law of Moses) could not justify us due to the weakness of our sinful flesh. Again, God’s law gives us a holy and righteous standard, but not the ability to meet that standard. Our sin nature makes it impossible to ever measure up to the standard. In this way, the Law is powerless to save us. In fact, it serves to condemn us! In the same way a law against murder is inherently good, if someone does commit murder, the “good” law does not save them from the punishment they deserve, it stands to condemn them! So it is for God’s law. It is wholly good, but only stands to condemn us and thus is powerless to save us. God’s solution to the fact that we could never measure up to His righteous standard was to send His own Son to share in our humanity, measure up to His standard on our behalf then pay for our sins as the ultimate atoning sacrifice! Paul chooses his words carefully when he states: “sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.”
Paul does not say that Christ came in sinful flesh. This would have implicated that sin was in Jesus. Nor does he say that He came in the “likeness of flesh.” Omitting “sinful” would imply that Jesus wasn’t fully human. Christ shared in our flesh and was fully human, even though He was sinless. It was Christ in the flesh that was a sacrifice for our sins. This meant that God righteously condemned sin through the incarnation of Jesus. Robert Mounce comments: “That is where God condemned sin. It was in the person of the incarnate Son that the Father brought an end to the power of sin. God’s redemptive action in Christ was so that what the law justly demanded of us might be fully satisfied.” And Grant Osborne sums up: “God as a result of Jesus’ sin offering both condemned sin and justified the believer. In so doing, the power of sin was broken.”
8:4- The truth of verse 3 means that the righteous requirement of the law can be met “in us” because of Jesus’ perfect life and sacrifice on the cross. F.F. Bruce puts it best when he states: “But what the law was powerless to do has been done by God. Now that God’s own Son, sent to earth ‘in the likeness of sinful flesh,’ has given up His life as a sin-offering on His people’s behalf, the death sentence has been passed on indwelling sin. It found no foothold in the life of Jesus; it was effectively overcome in His death; and the fruits of that victory are now made good to all who are ‘in Him.’” There is also a hint of something more in verse 4 as well though. Namely, that of sanctification. There is a sense in which we aren’t passive recipients in fulfilling the requirements of the Law. This is now possible on a practical level by the indwelling of the Spirit in our lives. As we will see in the rest of chapter 8 (and as Paul discussed in ch. 6), we are to die to sin and live to God. This means choosing the Spirit over the flesh; walking in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5). This doesn’t mean sinless perfection (as ch. 7 makes clear), however, the point is that we can experience progressive sanctification (growth in righteous living) when we live “according to the Spirit.”
8:5-8- There is a close connection here with what Paul lays out in Gal. 5:16-25. I think that passage actually does a good job of interpreting these verses in Romans. Paul lays out that there are two contrasting ways of living. We are either living for the desires of our flesh and sin nature or living for the Spirit of God in us (Gal. 6:8). The former cannot please God and is a life hostile towards Him. This very much harkens back to what we see in Rom. 1:18-32 and illustrated for us in Gal. 5:19-21 (ESV), “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The latter leads to life and peace and ultimately a life pleasing to God. Gal. 5:22-25 (ESV), “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Broad is the road that leads to destruction (living for the flesh), narrow is the road that leads to life (living by the Spirit).
8:9- Paul is addressing these believers in a “matter of fact” statement and presupposing that they have the indwelling of the Spirit, thus true converts. The contrast of two positions or status is asserted. Paul states that if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ in them, they do not belong to Him. Those who belong to God have the indwelling of His Spirit. “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” -1 John 4:13. Those whom Paul is addressing have the “antidote” to the flesh.
8:10-11- Though we still exist in these mortal bodies that will experience death, because the Spirit of the living God dwells within us, we will have eternal life and be resurrected in the same way that death could not keep our Lord and Savior under its power. Paul connects the resurrection of Christ to Christ’s followers on multiple occasions (1 Cor. 6:14, 2 Cor. 4:14, 1 Thess. 4:14) and in these verses connects the resurrecting power specifically with God’s Spirit which dwells in us. These verses should give us so much comfort as believers in Christ. Knowing what is impossible with man (being raised from the dead), is possible with God (Luke 18:27). Knowing that we don’t worship a God who is dead, but who is alive gives us assurance that the same life giving and sustaining Spirit lives in us!
8:12-14- With that being said, Paul states that we are under obligation not to the flesh. The Greek word translated “obligation” is opheiletēs meaning someone who is indebted to another or who is bound by an obligation to someone. We are not indebted to our sin nature, but the inverse is to be inferred as the chapter bares out (and as Paul speaks of in ch. 6). We are under obligation to live by the Holy Spirit’s dictates. Everett Harrison comments: “If we do not have obligation to live in terms of the sinful nature, the conclusion must be that our obligation is to live and serve God in terms of the Spirit. It is tremendously important to grasp the import of v. 12, because it teaches beyond all question that the believer still has the sinful nature within himself, despite having been crucified with Christ. The flesh has not been eradicated. But we are obliged not “to live according to it.”
Paul warns in verse 13 that if one does live according to the flesh, death is the only result. The second part of the verse is closely connected with verse 14. If, by the Holy Spirit in us, we are “putting to death” the deeds of the body (sin), we will live. There is a real sense in which we have an active role in our sanctification; our walk towards righteousness and holiness that leads away from our old sin nature. The weapon we’ve been given to slay the sinful flesh is The Spirit. We must employ that weapon! As indicated in verse 13, this is an ongoing process. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” -Luke 9:23. As Christ teaches by hyperbole in Matt. 5:29-30 and Mark 9:43-48, if your eye or hand is leading you into sin, get rid of them! Or, in Paul’s language, “put them to death.” According to both Jesus and Paul, by doing so, you will not die an eternal death, but will live unto eternal life! Thus comments Thomas Schreiner on verse 13, “Those who give their lives over to the flesh will face eternal death, but those who slay the desires of the flesh through the power of the Spirit will enjoy eternal life. God and believers each have a role in sanctification. It must be led by the Spirit and his power, but you put to death shows that one must take an active role in battling sinful habits.”
Verse 14 makes very clear that to be “sons of God” requires being led by His Spirit. This stands in stark contrast to those being led by their flesh (sinful nature). Being led by the Spirit does not mean being “guided” in every account of trivial decision making, but rather a leading or guiding into righteousness. Again, Gal. 5:15-25 illustrates what this means and looks like. “Walking in the Spirit,” “Being led by the Spirit,” “Keeping in step with the Spirit” all relate to producing fruit over and against producing the death of the flesh (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control vs. sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these). Being led by the Spirit in this way means letting Him dominate your thoughts and actions to live righteously unto God (Rom. 6:17-18, 22).
8:15- Paul points out the difference of being under the bondage of sin vs. being led by the Spirit. The Spirit leads and guides us as the shepherd leads the sheep. It serves to follow that if we are led by God’s own Spirit, we are sons (in status) of God and therefore are adopted as God’s children as opposed to sons of the devil (John 8:44, 1 John 3:10). This now implies an intimate relationship with our Creator! Paul uses the Aramaic word for father, “Abba” as he also does in Gal. 4:6, followed by the Greek translation for father, “patēr.” The only other occurrence of “Abba” is in Mark 14:36 as Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus being recorded by Mark as addressing God as “Abba” (father) would have been unique to Him as Jews in that day did not address God as father. This illustrates the “other than” relationship Jesus had with the Father compared to the Jews at that time. This obviously carries big implications for those who possess the Holy Spirit as Paul is trying to indicate.
I think the NET Bible’s translation note on 8:15 sheds light on the term Abba: “The term “Abba” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic אַבָּא (’abba’), literally meaning “my father” but taken over simply as “father,” used in prayer and in the family circle, and later taken over by the early Greek-speaking Christians (BDAG 1 s.v. ἀββα).sn This Aramaic word is found three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6), and in each case is followed by its Greek equivalent, which is translated “father.” It is a term expressing warm affection and filial confidence. It has no perfect equivalent in English. It has passed into European languages as an ecclesiastical term, “abbot.” Over the past fifty years a lot has been written about this term and Jesus’ use of it. Joachim Jeremias argued that Jesus routinely addressed God using this Aramaic word, and he also noted this was a “child’s word,” leading many to conclude its modern equivalent was ‘Daddy.’ This conclusion Jeremias soon modified (the term on occasion is used of an adult son addressing his father) but the simplistic equation of abba with “Daddy” is still heard in some circles today. Nevertheless, the term does express a high degree of closeness with reverence, and in addition to the family circle could be used by disciples of a much loved and revered teacher.”
8:16-17- This spirit of adoption that leads us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” is evidence that we are children of God. It follows that if we are indeed children of God, we are His heirs! This is a glorious fact and should make our heart leap for joy! We are full members of the eternal family of God who will bestow an eternal inheritance upon us! There is a sense in which Paul goes on in the following verses to explain this inheritance in an eschatological context. Grant Obsorne notes that this inheritance theme is not unique to Paul and is seen all throughout Scripture. The land of Canaan was Israel’s inheritance (Gen. 15:7, Num. 34:2, Deut. 1:7-8, 38, Josh. 23:4; Ps. 78:55). Israel becomes God’s inheritance/possession (Isa. 19:25, Jer. 10:16, 16:18, 51:19) and God Himself becomes Israel’s inheritance (Ezek. 44:28). Paul says that we are “fellow heirs” or “co-heirs” with Christ. To quote Osborne, “Yet we are not only heirs of God but also co-heirs with Christ. In the Roman world, the adopted child’s inheritance depended to some extent on the willingness of the natural heir to include the adopted child. This means that Christ as well as the Father gives us our inheritance.” The last half of the verse speaks of suffering with Christ, but if we suffer with Christ, we will be glorified with Him! As Heb. 5:8 says of Jesus, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” Obviously we don’t share in the type of redemptive suffering that He experienced on the cross, but Robert Mounce writes, “we do share in the consequences in terms of opposition from the world He came to save (cf. Phil. 3:10; 1 Peter 4:13). As members of the same family we share in the trails of life as well as the benefits.”
Jesus taught on the cost of discipleship, but also the inevitable reward (Luke 14:25-33, Mk. 10:29-30, Matt. 5:10-11, Matt. 16:24-25). Jesus directly tells his disciples in John 16:33 that in this world, they would have tribulation. Suffering is a necessary part of being a believer and is not always in the context of being persecuted. Paul’s “thorn” that was tormenting him was allowed to stay by God despite Paul praying three times that it would be taken from him. This was not arbitrary though. God allowed this for a purpose and that was to grow his character, specifically in humility and trust in Christ (2 Cor. 12:7-10). And indeed, we’ve already looked at Rom. 5:3-5 in which Paul states that tribulation brings about perseverance and growth in character. “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” -Heb. 12:7
8:18-22- Coming off the mention of suffering, Paul writes that the sufferings of this present age can’t even compare with the glory that will be revealed to us in the age to come. Thus Matthew Henry comments: “The sufferings are small and short, and concern the body only; but the glory is rich and great and concerns the soul, and is eternal.” Paul echoes this sentiment in 2 Cor. 4:17 when he writes, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (ESV). What exactly is meant by “momentary affliction” is not vague as we know from passages like 2 Cor. 6:4-5, 11:23-28 that Paul endured hardships of every kind (beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonment, hunger, etc). Paul recognized that the hardships to be endured in this life can’t even be compared to eternity. It would be to compare the volume of a glass of water to the volume of all the oceans on earth. The insignificance of one compared to the magnitude of the other is staggering and overwhelming.
Verses 19-22 are interesting. Here we have teaching and further insight into the effect that “the fall” had on not just mankind, but all of creation. Creation was corrupted by man’s sin, God subjected it to futility as a result. But like the children of God who will be set free into the glory of God, so also will all of creation be restored. What Paul is teaching here is a future, eschatological restoration in which creation will be set free from the bondage to corruption and decay. So F.F. Bruce says: “Just as man at present falls short of the glory of God, so creation as a whole cannot attain the full end for which she was brought into being. Like man, creation must be redeemed because, like man, creation has been subject to a fall. This doctrine of the cosmic fall is implicit in the biblical record from Genesis 3 (where the ground is cursed for man’s sake) to Revelation 22 (where ‘there shall be no more curse’); and is demanded by any world-outlook which endeavors to do justice to the biblical doctrine and the facts of life as we know them.”
It was not Adam or Satan who subjected all of creation to a curse, rather it was a sovereign God. A God who rightly imparts the just consequences of man’s action. Man was given dominion over the earth by God. Man was responsible for it. As Adam went, so went the creation he was responsible for. God was not helpless to stop his creation from descending into a fallen state, but rather it was His very pronouncement of judgement as punishment for Adam’s sin (Gen. 3:14-19). To put it in very simplistic terms, when a CEO makes a decision so bad that it bankrupts a large company, the thousands of employee’s below him suffer the consequences as well. So as Paul states in these verses, all of creation is longing for the consummation of God’s redemptive plan when all will be restored.
James Denney explains: “It was on account of Him–His righteousness might be shown in the punishment of sin–that the sentence fell upon man, carrying the consequences which extend to the whole realm intended originally for his dominion. The sentence on man, however, was not hopeless, and creation shared in his hope as in his doom. When the curse is completely removed from man, as it will be when the sons of God are revealed, it will pass from creation also; and for this, creation sighs.”
This hope which creation longs for is the restoration of all things. 2 Peter 3:13, Rev. 21:1-5, 22:1-5 are some other New Testament passages that speak to this, but one can’t help but also think of Isaiah 11:6-9, in which, speaking of the Messianic reign, Isaiah envisions a type of paradise where natural enemies in the animal kingdom will now live in harmony together and “dangerous” animals like wolves and cobra’s will no longer harm vulnerable children. Creation will be at peace and harmony. As Rev. 21:4 mentions, “there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
8:23- Likewise, we also long for a redemption from this broken world, the decay of our bodies and the sin that corrupts us. This “groaning” can be characterized as an extreme desire to see the moral corruption and injustice along with the physical infirmities in this world restored and made right. However, Paul says that we have the “first fruits” of the Spirit as we wait for our adoption as sons. In 2 Cor. 5, Paul speaks about this very same topic. That is, a desire to leave our perishable, corrupted bodies behind in order to put on our “heavenly bodies.” Paul states in 5:5 that God has prepared this very thing for us and “has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” And in Eph. 1:13-14 (ESV), “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” This concept of the Holy Spirit being a “pledge” or “down payment” of a future promise is found multiple times in the New Testament. Mounce writes that “the Spirit is evidence that at the present time we are sons of God (vv. 14, 16). He is also the “down payment” (the term aparchēn, “firstfruits,’ having essentially the same meaning here as arrabōn in 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14) on the inheritance that will be ours as members of the family of God.”
The Apostle Peter speaks to this future inheritance contrasted to present trials in 1 Peter 1:3-9, saying in verse 4-5: “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (ESV). Warren Wiersbe simply sums up these verses in Romans by writing, “The soul has been redeemed, but not the body. We wait in hope, however, because the indwelling Spirit is given as “the firstfruits” of the deliverance God has for us in the future. Even if we die, the Spirit who has sealed us unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13-14) will raise our body to life (v.11).”
8:24-25- Our hope is in the Lord. We, as children of God, have hope in our heavenly Father that one day all will be restored and our salvation will be complete. Titus 3:7 says “so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” and 1 Thess. 5:8 specifies that the helmet we put on as part of the armor of God is “the hope of salvation.” This hope is not in something we can see, but it is in the unseen (2 Cor. 4:18). Grant Osborne writes: “By its very nature, hope is not a present reality, so Paul is preparing them for the (perhaps lengthy) interim period before it is realized. So while we groan in the midst of this troubled life, we do so in expectation and hope.”
8:26-27- On some level there is a bit of a mystery to these verses. Right off the bat, we need to establish that these verses are not dealing with the charismatic gift of tongues (glōssa), but rather “groanings too deep for words.” What is translated as “too deep for words,” “wordless groans,” “which cannot be uttered” (depending on the translation), is the Greek word alalētos, which literally means “not to be uttered, not to be expressed in words.” Furthermore, these verses describe something that happens within all believers, whereas the gift of “tongues” (glōssa) is not possessed by every Christian (1 Cor. 12:8-11, esp. 12:29-30) and these “groans” are noted as the Spirit’s, not our own. So Douglas Moo writes: “Paul is not here describing the gift of speaking in tongues; it is not even clear that he denotes an audible process at all, since the Spirit’s groans may be metaphorical (see v.22). Rather, he is probably describing an intercessory ministry of the Spirit in the heart of the believer that occurs without even our knowledge.”
In verse 27, Paul says that He (God) knows the mind of the Spirit as intercession is made according to the will of God. Paul says nothing of language or audible words here, but rather an intimate connection between the Father and His Spirit within us. With that said, these are incredibly encouraging verses to the believer, especially in the context with the connection to the previous verses. When we are in times of trials or simply don’t know how to pray, or maybe our prayers seem inadequate, the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us according to the perfect will of God. Osborne notes: “Our own prayers are insufficient, for they are finite and ignorant of God’s true plan. But that is the very source of our greatest comfort. While we do not know, the Spirit does, and He is praying for us more deeply than we are praying ourselves.” It’s comforting to know that God knows the deepest parts of our hearts, even when our ability to articulate our thoughts, emotions and desires fall short, God understands what we need and the Spirit is interceding according to His perfect will. Mounce also provides great commentary when he writes, “The Spirit comes to the aid of believers baffled by the perplexity of prayer and takes their concerns to God with an intensity far greater than we could ever imagine. Our groans (v. 23) become His (v. 26) as he intercedes on our behalf.”
8:28- This is understandably one of the most comforting verses in Scripture for those who love God. I fear some read this verse out of context and draw inferences that Paul is not implying. It’s easy to see the word “good” and insert what we believe “good” means for us. As we see throughout Romans and even in the following verses, the greatest context to which God is working all things for “good” (for those that love Him and have been called according to His purpose) is ultimately to be conformed to the image of His Son (v.29). This, for us, is the ultimate “good” in which our lives move. Those that would take this verse as promising material wealth or perfect health entirely miss the point and focus their mind on temporal matters rather than eternal (Col. 3:2, 2 Cor. 5:1-11). We tend to want the blessings of God to mean that we have abundant health, wealth and happiness in this life, but we often fail to realize how childlike we can be in this regard. My daughter would love nothing more than to eat all the candy and chocolate she wants. It tastes amazing, feels good and is very satisfying. However, I as a parent know that limiting her sugar intake not only will keep her from becoming sick in the short term, but will ultimately keep her healthy in the long term. Withholding what she perceives is “only a good thing” seems cruel and she simply cannot understand why there should be a limit. Similar sentiments can be said for discipline. The unpleasant discipline is actually a method of working things together for her good (growth in character), despite it being unpleasant.
As in Heb. 12:4-11, God uses trials, tribulations, sufferings, etc. ultimately for our good; to share in His holiness and to yield a harvest of righteousness. Consider the Psalmist in Psalm 119:71 when he proclaims, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” In the same way Paul states in Rom. 5:3-5 (and especially in light of 8:31-39), that tribulations bring about good (perseverance that in turn brings about proven character), this is God working all things to the good of those who love Him and have been called by Him. This is ultimately so comforting to the believer. Rest assured that whatever comes upon us, God can use it to ultimately benefit us as we conform to Christ (see 8:31-39). Robert Mounce writes: “The ‘good’ of which Paul spoke is not necessarily what we think is best, but as the following verse implies, the good is conformity to the likeness of Christ. With this in mind, it is easier to see how our difficulties are part of God’s total plan for changing us from what we are by nature to what He intends us to be. Moral advance utilizes hardship more often than not.”
And Ben Witherington III adds that this verse “does not grant exception from the hardships of life, as Paul will go on to suggest when he lists such things later in this chapter. With panta (“all things”) Paul probably has particularly in mind the sufferings of the present age. Paul believes that God can use such things, weaving them into his plan for a person’s life, using all things to a good end (cf. 13:4)-- namely to the eventual end of the redemption of believers’ bodies. The point is that all things can be made to serve the end of our redemption, not necessarily our earthly comfort or convenience.” As this is a passage of encouragement (as opposed to a warning), the phrase “to those who love God” is meant to comfort. That is, it is not based on merit (i.e. it only works for Christians when they love God), rather it is meant in a sense that by nature, those in Christ love God. This promise is for those who have the Holy Spirit within them (8:15-17)! Further reinforcing this point is the phrase “to those who are called according to His purpose.” It is specifically those who love God who are called according to His purpose. “The purpose” is being made like Christ! Those who do not love God and who reject Him will not share in this calling or predestination of conformity to Christ.
8:29- Those who were called according to His purpose He foreknew. God’s foreknowledge kicks off a chain of actions by Him in these verses. The Greek word proginōskō translated as “foreknowledge” simply means “to have knowledge of beforehand.” Some scholars try to go beyond the definition and usage of this Greek word and link it with the Hebrew word yāḏaʿ (to know) which is commonly used as a euphemism in the OT and even has causal implications (so Bruce), but others point out that this is not how the Greek word is used. Proginōskō is “knowledge of something” and has nothing to do with “causing” anything. Ben Witherington III comments, “Paul distinguishes between what God knows and what God wills or destines in advance. Knowing and willing are not one and the same. The proof of this is of course that God knows very well about human sin but does not will it or destine it to happen.” God’s foreknowledge is something Scripture consistently affirms about His nature (Ps. 139:4 , Acts 2:23, 1 Peter 1:2). The question is, who are these people that God foreknows in 8:29? As discussed previously, those who have come to Him in faith; those who love Him (8:28).
As it says in Psalms 91:14-16, “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. “With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.” Witherington III adds: “Hous ‘Whom’ at the beginning of v.29 must refer back to ‘those who love God,’ that is, Christians, in v.28. The discussion that follows is about the future of believers.” God predestined that those who love Him would be “conformed to the image of His Son.” According to Heb. 5:8, as a Son, Jesus “learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” We should expect the same if we are to share in His sonship and be conformed to His image, as has been predestined for us; and that is exactly the object of what has been predestined in the context of this verse. That is, conformity to Christ. Robert Mounce writes, “God has foreordained that believers be brought into moral conformity to the likeness of His Son.”
“Firstborn among many brethren” refers to the incarnate Christ’s supremacy in rank and status among humans (see Col. 1:15-18, Heb. 1:6, Rev. 1:5). So Craig Keener states: “God’s children will all be conformed to the image of the firstborn of the new creation, the new Adam (Rom. 5:12-21).”
8:30- In verse 30, we see that because of this foreknowledge, God, true to the promises of His word, then predestined, called, justified and glorified those whom He had knowledge of in eternity. These past tense actions Paul cities here are divine decrees. As in, God sees those who will place their faith in Him and decrees that they shall be predestined to conform to Christ Jesus, called for a purpose, justified and glorified with Christ in the last days. Much in the same way that Isaiah states the work of the Suffering Servant in a prophetic past tense: i.e. “he was pierced,” “he was crushed,” “the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” Those that love God are then called (for the purpose of holiness and good works, i.e. 1 Thess. 4:7, Eph. 2:10, 1 Peter 1:15-17), justified (made right with God, Rom. 3:21-26) and glorified (sharing in the future glory of the resurrection, Rom. 8:16-23).
As mentioned earlier, It’s important to keep in mind that Paul is describing the believer’s victory in Christ and how God is involved in the redemption process for those that love Him. Romans 8 in general stresses God’s providence and good plan for those that place their faith in Christ (8:1). This stands in stark contrast to the first several chapters and the outcome of those who choose not to repent and love God (2:5-10). In verses 28-30, Paul is not all of a sudden providing these Christians with doctrines of “how” they became Christians, but rather to share with them the encouraging facts that “because” they are Christians, God therefore has their ultimate good in store for them!
As Paul makes clear in 8:31-39, no matter what they go through, if they are in Christ, they have a glorious destiny that is predetermined by God! Paul, as he was reassuring the believers in 1 Thess. 5:9, writes, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” D. Michael Martin says of this verse, “A fate “appointed” by God is a reality, even if the full reception of that reality is not yet seen.” Again, for those in Christ, we are destined to certain glorious promises!
8:31-32- In this chapter Paul has taught that we as believers are children of God adopted into His family (v.15), we are co heirs with Christ (v.17), we have the “firstfruits” of this redemption plan (the Holy Spirit, v. 23), that same Spirit within us intercedes on our behalf (v. 26), we are now justified (made right) before God (v.30), and will be glorified in the age to come (v. 18, 23, 30). Paul then asks what we should now conclude from all these truths. What we should infer from these things is that as believers who love God, He is for us, not against us!
The point is made abundantly clear by what Paul says in verse 32. If God went to such great lengths as to provide His “One and only Son” as a sacrifice for us, it stands to reason that all the aforementioned promises are not empty and hollow! The very magnitude of what Jesus did on the cross displays the incredible love of God for us. Would God go to such great lengths just to abandon us? Would He give His life as a ransom to leave those who love Him to rot in the grave? The answer is an unequivocal, “Of course not!” This point is crucial to keep in mind as Paul closes out the rest of this chapter. It should be stressed again that given the context, Paul is not speaking of material wealth and the like. The entire context of Romans is around justification, living a life of freedom in the Spirit, service unto Christ and the hope of future glorification. As J.I. Packer writes, “For Paul, ‘all things’ is not a plethora of material possessions, and the passion for possessions has to be cast out of us in order to let the ‘all things’ in. For this phrase has to do with knowing and enjoying God, and not with anything else.” And Witherington III remarks, “Again, this is not a promise of continual good health or that believers will never suffer or die, but rather that no third party or power or force or circumstance or lesser supernatural being will be able to separate the believer from the love of God in Christ.”
8:33-34- If God Almighty is the one who declares that we are justified, who can possibly bring a charge against His children? And just the same, if Christ Jesus is our advocate, is there some higher authority that can come along and condemn us? Absolutely not! Though we know that Satan stands accusing believers day and night of the sin committed against God (Rev. 12:10, Psalm 51:4), these verses make clear that because of the sacrifice of Christ and our faith in Him, these accusations will be rendered ineffective before the Judge and the accuser will be tossed out of the courtroom! The one to whom we sin against (God) has accepted the payment for our sins in the atoning sacrifice of Christ’s death on the cross! We cling to our advocate, our Savior! We rest assured that because of the work Christ has done, we are justified before God and not even Satan can win the case against us. The highest court in the universe declares us free from the guilty sentence of death and we are made to be righteous! “He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.” -Isaiah 50:8-9 (NIV)
8:35-36- Knowing all this, is there anything we experience in this life that will separate us from the love of Christ? Does tribulation, or persecution, or material lack (destitution), or even being put to death by the sword mean that Christ doesn’t love us? Far from it! Paul reinforces his point by quoting Psalm 44:22 in verse 36. This is very much a Psalm of lament in which the people of Israel felt they had been rejected by God after a defeat in battle. So much was their shame that they felt abandoned by God, like they had been “sold” to their enemies and a laughingstock (Vv. 9, 12, 14). Yet, as the Psalmist says in verse 17-18, “All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You, And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, And our steps have not deviated from Your way,” before coming to the verse that Paul quotes, “But for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
What Paul is trying to illustrate with this verse is, as Mounce puts it, that “the troubles to be faced by the Christian are nothing new, but have always been the experience of God’s people.” I also find Everett Harrison’s comment on this helpful as well when he writes: “The quotation from Psalm 44:22 (v.36) reminds believers that suffering has always been the lot of the godly, and therefore their own situation is not peculiar. Whereas the people of God in the OT were often perplexed about the reason for their trials, the saints of the NT times can trace their sufferings back to identification with Christ and rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer for his name (cf. Acts 5:41).” A brief canvassing of the OT can reveal this truth. One can think of faithful prophets who were persecuted like Elijah and Jeremiah. Even Job, who was described as someone faithful to God, had extreme hardship fall upon him and was never given a reason why. The author of Hebrews points this very thing out in Hebrews 11 (see especially: 11:36-40). For Paul’s part, he is very candid about the hardships he endured for Christ (1 Cor. 4:9-13, 2 Cor. 4:8-11; 11:23-27).
8:37-39- Paul states that in all these things, the Christian is not a defeated foe, but an “overwhelming” conqueror specifically because of Christ! This is simply because God can turn suffering, even death into good! Victory! Verses 38-39 contain probably the most glorious and comforting thought for the believer in Christ. From spiritual beings to death itself, nothing can separate those who love God from God’s love. No external force can pluck us from the Father’s hand. God has extended His arm of salvation to rescue us from drowning in the water. If we accept His hand of salvation, there is no one stronger that can come along and rip us out of His saving hand, nor will He let us go. “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” -1 Thess. 5:24. I’ll end with quoting from Witherington III again as I find his remarks particularly apt: “Believers truly know the love of God only in Christ Jesus and experience it in Him. No natural or supernatural malevolent forces, even if they are capable of taking the believer’s life, can separate the believer from God’s love. Indeed, to take a believer’s life is to send him directly into the presence of Jesus. No experience, present or potential, can separate the believer from God’s love.”
Bibliography (Works Cited):
-Robert H. Mounce: Romans, NAC, 1995
-Grant R. Osborne: Romans, IVPNTC, 2004
-F.F. Bruce: The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, TNTC, 1983
-Everett F. Harrison: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 10, Romans, 1976
-Thomas Schreiner: ESV Study Bible, Romans
-Translation note on Romans 8:15: New English Translation (NET) Bible
-Matthew Henry: Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible
-James Denney: The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Romans)
-Warren Wiersbe: Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on The New Testament, Romans
-Douglas J. Moo: New Bible Commentary, Romans
-Ben Witherington III: Paul’s Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
-Craig Keener: The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament (Romans)
-D. Michael Martin: 1, 2 Thessalonians, NAC, 1995
-J.I. Packer: Knowing God, p. 349