Romans 8 - The Best of the Best
Anytime you don't know where else to turn in life, turn to Romans 8 and God will speak to you through it. Know it well.
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Romans 8 (ESV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For
the law of the Spirit of life
has set you free
in Christ Jesus
from the law of sin and death.
3 For God has done what the law,
weakened by the flesh,
could not do.
By sending
his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin,
he condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not according to the flesh
but according to the Spirit.
5 For
those who live according to the flesh
set their minds on the things of the flesh,
but those who live according to the Spirit
set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For
to set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh
is hostile to God,
for
it does not submit to God’s law; indeed,
it cannot.
8 Those who
are in the flesh
cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Anyone who
does not have the Spirit of Christ
does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If
the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you,
he
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors,
not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live
according to the flesh
you will die,
but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.
14 For all who
are led by the Spirit of God
are sons of God.
15 For
you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you have received
the Spirit of adoption as sons,
by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself
bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children,
then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
18 For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the creation
waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility,
not willingly,
but because of him who subjected it,
in hope
21 that the creation itself
will be set free from its bondage to corruption
and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
23 And not only the creation,
but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved.
Now hope that is seen
is not hope.
For who hopes for what he sees?
25 But if we hope
for what we do not see,
we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
For we do not know what to pray for as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes for us
with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he
who searches hearts
knows what is the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
according to the will of God.
28 And we know that
for those who love God
all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For those whom
he foreknew
he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined
he also called,
and those whom he called he also justified,
and those whom he justified
he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
32 He who
did not spare his own Son
but gave him up for us all,
how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?
It is God who justifies.
34 Who is to condemn?
Christ Jesus
is the one who died—
more than that, who was raised—
who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed is interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that
neither
death nor life,
nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Watch previous DIG DEEPER video post
Romans 8 Summary
We've covered a ton of doctrine in the first 7 chapters. With the first word of chapter 8 - Therefore - Paul slows down, takes a big breath, and says, "Ok, here's why this is so important."
We've already made the claim that Romans 5 is the most important chapter in the Bible, in that it provides the theological foundation that Christianity is built on. Since that's the case, Romans 8 is the most magnificent chapter, since it gives voice to everything that's built on the foundation.
This chapter divides into five subparts:
The difference between those who live in Christ and those who live according to Sarx (who we read about yesterday).
How grace has redefined our identity. We are now sons of God (v14).
This chapter helps us to understand the tension in which we live. We already have full salvation, and our new life in Christ has already begun. But we've not yet fully realized that salvation in every aspect of life; we experience present sufferings in a creation subjected to frustration, while we patiently wait for the hope we have to be fully revealed.
In an amazing promise, we read that the Spirit is interceding for you at all times!
The final section should be very familiar. If they're not, do what you need to do to make them familiar.
Dig Deeper
The book of Romans summarizes the whole Bible, and Romans 8 summarizes the book of Romans.
You live in a world dominated by lies and fear mongering in which you are under constant attack and emotional manipulation. What a blessing to have a passage like Romans 8 to be able to re-center yourself on the life changing truth of God's Word. Come back to it often.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our sovereign God who controls all things for our good
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Know that the Spirit is interceding for you as you pray, aligning your will with God's (v26-27)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
