Romans 8
Romans 8 is the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It was authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis, Tertius, who added his own greeting in Romans 16:22.
Chapter 8 concerns "the Christian's spiritual life". The reformer Martin Luther stated that this chapter is where Paul comforts "spiritual fighters" who are involved in an inner struggle between spirit and flesh:
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 39 verses.Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:Old Testament references
- Romans 8:36 references Psalm 44:22
New Testament references
- Romans 8:23 references
The Spirit of life (verses 1–13)
This section of Pauls' letter deals with the Christian's deliverance from condemnation, which is the penalty of death because of the sin people are living under, by virtue of the believer's union with Christ.Verse 1
The discourse in the previous chapter continues in Romans 8:1 with the illative word, generally translated as 'so' or 'therefore', or 'consequently' in Thayer's Greek Lexicon. The vocabulary and the content of verse 1 point back to the end of chapter 5 as the basis of the conclusion which Paul starts with 'therefore'. Paul argues that Christians are set free from the condemnation caused by Adam because they have been joined to Jesus Christ. In Douglas Moo's analysis, Paul resumes his teaching after a digression in chapters 6–7, while Methodist founder John Wesley suggests that Paul "resumes the thread of his discourse" from Romans 7:1–7, following a digression in Romans 7:8–25 regarding sin and the Mosaic Law:Theologians Heinrich Meyer and Harold Buls are content to link the inference with the immediately preceding text:
Buls explains that Paul's "real self" serving God is his mind and not his flesh.
Meyer goes on to distinguish between two alternative readings of "There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus":
- "now, after Christ, has interposed, there is no condemnation..." or
- "one must be in Christ, in order to get rid of every condemnation".
Verse 4
The Greek refers to το δικαιωμα του νομου in the singular to emphasise that the law's multiple requirements "are essentially a unity".The Spirit of adoption (verses 14–17)
Continuing the theme of 'life' in verses 1–13, the following paragraph deals with 'sonship', describing "the wonderful and comforting truth that Christians have been adopted into God's own family, so God's Spirit can confer life on us and we can be with a glorious prospect for the future ". Thus, this short passage provides a transition between the previous and the next part.The Spirit of glory (verses 18–30)
In verses 18–30, Paul further develops his whole theme of Christian assurance, which he started in chapter 5, elaborating on the Christian's hope of glory, based on the knowledge that "God has determined to bring us though to our inheritance", providentially working on behalf of his children and having given his Spirit as the guarantee for their final redemption.Verse 28
Verse 28 can be seen in the context of verses 29–30 that "those who love God" are not promised to only experience good things, but would also suffer the woes and persecution of the present age, yet God can use all these to his divine purpose, and he has everything under control.Verse 29
- "Image" : alluding to the creation account of Genesis 1:26, that the believers will share the character of Christ.
Verse 30
- "Justified": as in Romans 1:16, 'justification' here in a combination of two ideas: that "God credits to believers the status of righteousness" and that "God empowers believers to live righteously"; both are stated in verse 29, so the believers will share the future glory.
God's everlasting love (verses 31–39)
Anglican Bishop Charles Ellicott describes the final section of chapter 8 as "a sublime and triumphant conclusion", and Erasmus of Rotterdam remarks that "Cicero never said anything grander".Verse 31
Greek New Testament:- "These things" : The Living Bible translates as 'these wonderful things'. By "these things", according to William Reed Newell, "Paul evidently indicates not only the whole process of our salvation by Christ, from chapter three onward, with that great deliverance by the help of the Holy Spirit set forth in this eighth chapter but also what he has been telling us of the purpose of God: "Whom He foreknew, foreordained, called, justified, glorified!"
It is an aria for Soprano in Handel's Messiah.
Verse 32
- "Spared": translated from the Greek word. Hill regards this verse 32 "especially poignant* as it borrows the language from the account of the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22, but God made the sacrifice, that even Abraham was spared.
Verse 35
The first part of verse 35, either in its full form or shortened as Quis separabit?, is often used as a motto. The list of "hardship or sword" recalls the real afflictions that the people of Israel experienced in history, as summarized in the quote in verse 36.Verse 36
The citation from Psalm 44:22 in Greek is exactly as in the Septuagint.More than conquerors
Verse 37
- "We are more than conquerors" translated from a single Greek word, a word probably coined by Paul himself, "who loves compounds with ". The Vulgate renders it in Latin as superamus, but Cyprian supervincimus. Later Greek writers distinguish and, and justify the current rendering. To define in what the "more" consists, the answer must be sought on the line indicated in the note on in verse 36, that is, these trials not only do not cut the believers off from Christ's love, but actually give them "more intimate and thrilling experiences" from it.