8

The Greek word here for “condemnation” is Strong's G2631 - katakrima and it means a “damnatory sentence” and is a word for the final condemnation or judgement. It is irrevocable and has eternal consequence. This is something the believer does not have. Compare this in contrast with James 5:12 where the word condemnation is Strong's G5272 - hypokrisis and means “hypocrisy or to conceal the truth/deception”, something a believer can fall into.

He “condemned sin” in the “flesh” of Jesus His Son on the cross for us. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Paul says the same thing in Galatians 5:25 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. When we walk in the Spirit we fulfill the law as we love God and love our neighbor.

As verse 3 states God made a way for us to walk in righteouness. It was not possible in our flesh, our old man. But now in the Spirit we are free from the power of sin Romans 6:6-7 says “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” and Romans 6:7 “For he that is dead is freed from sin.”

We are not only saved from the penalty of sin but also from the power and one day the presence. But for now, we must choose to not walk after the flesh and it’s sinful desires (Galatians 5:16-17).

Believers can be carnally minded

We know a person without Christ has a carnal mind but Christians, also called brethren by Paul, can choose to walk in their carnal minds which they still have as clearly shown in the following verses:

1. Paul explicitly calls believers “carnal” when they act according to envy, strife, or division, showing that carnality is not limited to unbelievers.

   1 Corinthians 3:1-4 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat...For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”

2. Even Paul, a mature believer, acknowledges the struggle of the flesh. Believers retain the potential to be carnal, and the choice to walk in the Spirit or in the flesh remains.

   Romans 7:14-15 ”For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal...”

Carnally vs spiritually minded is a daily choice

Both unbelievers and believers can live according to a carnal mindset, resulting in a present state of “death” or “life and peace” in daily life. Paul contrasts this with being spiritually minded, which produces life and peace. Romans 8:6 is speaking in the present tense, “is” death, “is” life and peace”, it addresses current experience, not what happens after physical death. Numerous Scriptures corroborate this (see below). Therefore, believers are exhorted to continually choose spiritual mindedness.

1. Carnal mind lives in death

   1. 1 Timothy 5:6 “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.”

   2. Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

   3. Ephesians 4:22-24 “put off… the old man, which is corrupt… and be renewed in the spirit of your mind”

   4. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul tells the believers their carnally minded and this was resulting in a lack of peace as 1 Corinthians 1:11 says “there are contentions among you”.

2. Spiritually minded lives in peace and life

   1. Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.”

   2. Philipians 4:6-7 “...by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds...”

   3. Ephesians 4:22-24 “put off… the old man, which is corrupt… and be renewed in the spirit of your mind”

   4. John 10:10 “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Extrabiblical support

Scripture’s depiction of spiritual-mindedness producing life and peace is also reflected in empirical studies. Research shows that people who engage in religious practice or hold a strong faith experience longer life expectancy, greater happiness, and improved well-being. While studies cannot prove causation, they align with the biblical principle that a life focused on God overall produces well-being. A few examples:

1. “Religious people only live longer in religious cultural contexts: A gravestone analysis” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32039617/

2. “Why Do People of Faith Live Longer?” https://www.apu.edu/articles/why-do-religious-people-live-longer/

3. “Are religious people happier? The science is pretty clear” https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2024/03/23/religion-effect-on-happiness/

These findings correlate with the biblical teaching that spiritual-mindedness, walking in the Spirit and focusing on God, produces life, peace, and well-being in daily experience (cf. Rom 8:6; Isa 26:3; Phil 4:6–7).

The carnal mind can desire God

Even though the carnal mind is enmity against and not subejct to the law of God, it can recognize God’s law, desire righteousness, and want to obey, even though it cannot carry it out. This shows that desire for God can exist within the flesh, even though the flesh alone cannot produce obedience:

1. Romans 7:18 “in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

Many unregenerate examples of people seeking God while still in a state of having a carnal mind:

1. Cornelius (Acts 10:2, 31–33) “A devout man…gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always…he was instructed to send for Peter, and he did so.”

2. David (Psalm 42:1–2, 63:1) “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God…my soul thirsteth for God, for the living God.”

3. Job (Job 1:1, 1:5) “There was a man in the land of Uz, perfect and upright, and one that feared God”

4. Nineveh (Jonah 3:5–10) “The people of Nineveh…believed God, and proclaimed a fast…they turned from their evil ways.”

The struggle with the carnal mind

In the last chapter, Romans 7, Paul explains that his carnal self, recognizes that the law is spiritual and good, but in his flesh it has no power to stop sinning. He makes the same point in Galatians 5:

1. Romans 7:14-15 ”For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”

2. Romans 7:18 “in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

3. Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

Paul goes on in Romans 7:25: “with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Here, Paul is contrasting the carnal mind in the flesh with the mind that belongs to God in the Spirit. He is emphasizing the same principle: the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be. The solution is Jesus and walking in His Spirit:

1. Romans 7:25 “who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

2. Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

The born-again mind can serve God

Once we are born again, we receive a new mind that can now obey God: 1 Corinthians 2:16 says “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.” Paul says this allows us to serve the law of God with our mind (Romans 7:25)

1. The Old Testament prophets spoke of a new mind and heart that would be subject to the law of God:

   Ezekiel 11:19-20 “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

This shows that the new mind and Spirit enable obedience, unlike the carnal flesh, which can desire God but cannot perform righteousness on its own. Believers possess the mind of Christ and are in the Spirit, yet they can still walk according to the carnal mind or be carnally minded in daily life.

Those that are in the flesh are non-believer's, we are in one of two states, flesh or the Spirit:

1. In the very next verse Paul says if you are saved, meaning you have the Holy Spirit you are not in the flesh. Notice he isn’t saying if you walk in the flesh. Paul is speaking of a state of being. We are either in Adam (before salvation) or in Christ (after salvation). When we are born into this world we are in Adam which means we are “in the flesh” Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”. This is why we must be born again as Jesus says in John 3:3. In order to be saved we must be “in Christ” (Philippians 3:9, Ephesians 3:6).

The writer of Hebrews tell us the same thing, the only way man can please God is by faith. Once a man believes, he can finally start to please God:

1. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

A believer can walk in the flesh and also then not please God, the flesh or walking in the flesh never pleases God:

1. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh...” Galatians 5:16-17

2. Once a believer, we now live in the Spirit, we have a change of state Galatians 5 5:25 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. We are not in the flesh any longer but notice there are two things happening here, our new state and then us choosing to walk in this new state.

Faith or believing is not a work

Paul is not saying that humans cannot please God because faith would be a work. Rather, faith is the means by which God begins to count us righteous, distinct from any meritorious act.

1. “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:4-5

Here Paul places faith in direct contrast to working. Believing is not a righteous deed that earns God’s favor, but tshe instrument through which the ungodly are justified and can begin to please God. Just as the prodigal son received his father’s welcome without merit, so faith receives God’s grace. Faith is a response, not a work, and it is through faith that a man is taken out of the flesh and made able to please God.

So how does one get faith?

Simply be hearing, having ears to hear:

1. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

2. “...Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” John 6:45

Once a man is in Christ, he can please God

God commands all to repent and believe because He wants humans to please Him, but this is only possible once a man is no longer in the flesh:

1. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” Acts 17:30

2. “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 3:23

3. “While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” John 12:36

Faith is the gateway into Christ, the new state of being in the Spirit, and thus the starting point for pleasing God. Once a person believes, he or she is no longer bound by the flesh in the sense of Romans 8:8; only then can obedience and walking in the Spirit be pleasing to God.

Paul tells us since the Spirit raised up Jesus from the dead then the Spirit will also raise us up “quicken your mortal bodies” since the Spirit is in us.

Paul has already made clear that salvation is a free gift with zero effort on our end:

1. Romans 5:16 “the free gift is of many offences unto justification.”

2. Romans 5:18 “the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life”

3. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works...”

Debt is the opposite of a free gift by grace, therefore we have no debt for our salvation:

1. Romans 4:4 “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”

But because the Spirit is in us, we have a debt or an obligation to deny our flesh and to live after the Spirit to please God.

1. Ephesians 5:8–10 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.”

2. Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Paul is saying: because we now belong to God (positional reality in Christ), we are obligated to live according to the Spirit, not the flesh. The “debt” is motivated by love, gratitude and identity, not fear of losing salvation.

Keeping context in mind

Paul just got done telling us some amazing truths: “ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit” (v.9) and “the Spirit is life” (v.10). Since the Spirit raised Jesus, we too will be resurrected from death in the future: “he shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit” (v.11). Because all this is true, Paul then commands: “don’t live after the flesh” (v.12). If we do, our current verse warns: “ye shall die”. The question may arise: is this spiritual death or physical? Context helps us decide:

1. Physical bodies are in context

   Romans 8 anchors everything to the physical body. Paul literally just said mortal bodies.

   1. v10 – body is dead

   2. v11 – quicken your mortal bodies

   3. v13 – ye shall die

2. Present spiritual life is already given

   Paul tells us believers already have life in the present tense in Romans 8:10: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life”. Other Scriptures teach the same truth: spiritually, we have already passed from death to being “made alive” or “quickened” as the KJV reads:

   1. 1 John 3:14 “we have passed from death unto life”

   2. Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead...”

   3. Colossians 2:13 “And you, being dead in your sins… hath he quickened”

   Since believers already possess spiritual life in union with Christ and are no longer ‘in the flesh but in the Spirit,’ (Romans 8:9), Romans 8:13 cannot be teaching that they gain and lose spiritual life based on their level of mortifying sin. ‘Ye shall live’ is best read as the Spirit‑empowered living and final fruition of the physical life God has already given, not as a self-effort mechanism for remaining saved.

3. Spiritual life is not something you can work for as clearly taught throughout scripture (Romans 5:16, 17, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5).

4. Therefore, “Ye shall die” is a warning for the physical body, not the spirit

   Paul just told us in verse 12 we have a debt to the Spirit, and now he warns that disobedience carries consequences. Once you believe, you no longer own your body (1 Corinthians 6:19–20); God’s investment in us is serious, and He expects obedience, disciplining accordingly. Physical death can serve as a divine warning and result in missed opportunities, such as storing up treasure as Jesus commanded:

   1. Hebrews 12:6–7 “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth… if ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.”

   2. 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 ”and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord”

Biblical examples of fleshly living leading to death

When the Bible speaks of life and death, it is not always in a spiritual sense. Context determines the meaning, so we should not always view it solely through the lens of eternal salvation. For example, Deuteronomy 30:19 clearly refers to physical life and death: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”. Scripture is clear, fleshly living without mortifying the deeds of the body leads to early death for the believer:

1. If the Corinthians had not lived after their flesh, they would have lived; instead, some died:

   1 Corinthians 11:21,30 “and one is hungry, and another is drunken...many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep”

2. A believer living after his flesh can sin unto death

   1 John 5:16–17 “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”

   See also James 5:19-20

3. Sin leading to death, yet the person is saved:

   1 Corinthians 5:5 “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord [a]Jesus.”

   See also David’s child (2 Samuel 12:15–18), Ananias & Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11)

4. More examples:

   1. Proverbs 7:2 “Keep my commandments, and live;”

   2. 1 Peter 3:10 “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil…

   3. Ephesians 6:2–3 “...and thou mayest live long on the earth”

This principle applies to non-believers too

If a saved person or even a non-believer lives after the flesh the end result can lead to an early “death” in many different facets. For example, this can be seen in the lives of people around us drinking (killing their body), fornicating (STDs, emotional damage), drugs (overdosing unto death) and many more. The Bible speaks of this here are several scriptures:

1. A shorter physical life, interesting the world even has a name “the 27 club” for this. Turning from sin amounts to a longer life:

   1. Proverbs 10:27 says “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”

   2. Ezekiel 18:26-27 “for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die...he considereth, and turneth away...he shall surely live, he shall not die.”

2. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

The Spirit of adoption, not adoption

It is important to recognize Paul’s wording here regarding adoption. Notice he says we have the “Spirit of adoption.” We do not yet have the adoption fully realized, as we are still waiting for it (Romans 8:23).

We are sons now, crying “Abba, Father”

Paul uses the same language stating we cry, “Abba, Father” in Galatians 4:5-6 “To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”

1. We are already considered sons, but this is by the Spirit of adoption. 1 John 3:2 also confirms this tension between our present sonship and the future fulfillment where we are changed.

Waiting for the full adoption: the “firstfruits”

As Paul tells us further in this chapter, we are waiting for the actual adoption. We do not yet have it; we only have the Spirit of adoption. The Spirit in us serves as a foretaste, a guarantee, or “firstfruits” of what is to come. Paul says this in

Romans 8:23 “which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption”

In summary, the Spirit shows us the beginning stage of our adoption, a foretaste of the full redemption of our bodies and our complete glorification as God’s children.

We are God’s children, His sons now but yet not fully realized. We are waiting for the adoption as verse 23 below says. 1 John 3:2 makes it clear that this “manifestation of the sons” is something yet to come where we “will be like him” “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

We didn’t choose to be in this fallen state, “not willingly” God had a reason. But even so, God also gives us hope, to look forward to the day we are out of this vanity.

Here is the “hope” we are promised, to be freed from our body of sin, aging and decay. As children of God, we have this to look forward to, it will be glorious and such freedom.

Along with humans all creation is under the curse of sin. Not only do humans suffer in this world but animals also get sick, get eaten by one another, trees decay, so on and so forth.

What is this adoption?

In 2 Corinthians 5:4, Paul also parallels his teaching here and also says that we groan, explaining why: “For we that are in this tabernacle do groan...that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

Then, in the verses here in Romans 8, Paul speaks of creation groaning and travailing specifically “groan within ourselves” here in verse 23, waiting for something to come. He clearly identifies this as “the redemption of our body.” We are waiting for our adoption, our new bodies, when we become immortal; this has not yet happened, which is why he says we are “waiting for the adoption.”

1. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:53: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

   1. And again in his second letter, 2 Corinthians 5:4: “...that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

Adoption in Ephesians 1

In Ephesians 1, Paul also speaks about “the adoption” and says it is something destined to come. This is something believers have to look forward to. Notice this is not talking about lost people (being predestined to salvation, as some teach), but rather us as Christians, those who have the “firstfruits of the Spirit,” the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (Romans 8:9). We are the ones who wait for this adoption; it has not yet happened. It is not salvation itself, but rather something that occurs after a person is saved:

1. Ephesians 1:5 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”

Summary

Together, these passages show that adoption, in Paul’s teaching, is a future, promised reality for believers, something we eagerly await, when our bodies will be redeemed and we will fully enter the life God has prepared for us.

The text here says the intercessions the Spirit makes “cannot be uttered” so this is not the gift of tongues. This is not an audible language that we can hear.

God did all these things, who can say a bad word about a Christian and try to condemn them? No one, because a Christian is someone who was called and, the key point, responded. Therefore, since they did God went ahead and justified them. Now they are God’s so what can the devil or man say? Nothing, for the Christian doesn’t justify himself. The Creator does and if the Creator does, what can one of His Creatures say? Nothing for if they do they rail agains the Creator.

Paul goes on, on top of that Christ works on our behalf. How pointless for someone to try and condemn, Paul asks “who is he”, like where is he at? We should see no one standing up for again, it means nothing and bares no weight to God.

When Paul says "any other creature" in Romans 8:39, he is emphasizing the inseparable nature of God's love for those who are in Christ Jesus. The Greek word used for "creature" is Strong's G2937 - ktisis, which means "anything created" encompassing both human and non-human, as well as living and non-living entities. This phrase is inclusive of every possible entity within creation. In this context, "any other creature" can be understood as a way of saying, "Nothing within creation, not even yourself or your sin, can separate you from God's love."

There is no way to properly interpret this text and exclude the individual believer Paul is addressing. Each person is a creation or creature of God. To say that nothing can separate us from God’s love, but then add a caveat that we can separate ourselves by our own free will, would be imposing meaning onto the verse that simply isn’t there and ignoring the word “any” in referencing what God made (for you are God’s creation too and you can’t be excluded). Jesus also says a similar idea in the following verses that no man, which would again include yourself, can remove you from God:

1. John 10:28 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

2. John 10:29 “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”

Is this love for the whole world, or is it specifically for believers? Considering the context in the preceding verses particularly Romans 8:36 ("counted as sheep for the slaughter"), Romans 8:37 ("more than conquerors"), and especially the phrase "in Christ Jesus" in this verse it seems clear that the love being discussed is directed only toward believers. After all, only a believer can be in Christ and identified as one of His sheep or a conqueror.

This love, then, is a love that is found only in Christ, and non-believers do not have access to it in the same way. Furthermore, Hebrews 12:6-8 makes it clear that God’s love, in terms of His discipline and care, is reserved for His children. It is not a universal love for all people in the same sense. This illustrates that God has two types of love: one that is universal, extended to the whole world for salvation, and another that is particular, reserved for His family His adopted children in Christ to make us holy.