King James Version
Romans 8
39 verses with commentary
Life in the Spirit
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus</strong> (οὐδὲν κατάκριμα, <em>ouden katakrima</em>)—The "therefore" (<em>ara</em>) links back to chapter 7's struggle with sin and forward to the Spirit's triumph. <em>Katakrima</em> denotes judicial condemnation, the death sentence sin deserves. For those <strong>in Christ Jesus</strong> (<em>en Christō Iēsou</em>)—...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1-11) A result is thus attained which the law of Moses could not accomplish, but which is accomplished in the gospel. The Christian is entirely freed from the law of sin and death, and from the condemnation that it entails. But he is so upon the condition that this freedom is for him a reality—that it really proceeds from the indwelling Spirit of Christ.
(1) **Therefore.**—The Apostle had already...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25-29. For circumcision--**that is, One's being within the covenant of which circumcision was the outward sign and seal.
**verily profiteth, if thou keep the law--**if the inward reality correspond to the outward sign.
**but if, &c.--**that is, "Otherwise, thou art no better than the uncircumcised heathen."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death</strong>—Paul contrasts two "laws" (governing principles): <em>ho nomos tou pneumatos</em> (the law of the Spirit) versus <em>ho nomos tēs hamartias</em> (the law of sin). The Spirit's "law" is not legal code but the life-giving principle that operates through union with Christ. The verb <em>ē...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) A statement of the great antithesis, of which the rest of the section is a development, between the law of the Spirit of life and the law of sin and of death.
**The law of the Spirit of life.**—A phrase defining more fully the mode in which the union with Christ becomes operative in the believer. It begins by imparting to him the Spirit of Christ; this Spirit creates within him a law; and the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25-29. For circumcision--**that is, One's being within the covenant of which circumcision was the outward sign and seal.
**verily profiteth, if thou keep the law--**if the inward reality correspond to the outward sign.
**but if, &c.--**that is, "Otherwise, thou art no better than the uncircumcised heathen."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: for sin: or, by a sacrifice for sin
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh</strong>—The law's inability (<em>to adunaton tou nomou</em>) was not intrinsic defect but human incapacity. <em>Astheneō</em> ("weak") describes the flesh's moral impotence, not the law's inadequacy. God's solution: <strong>sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh</strong> (<em>en homoiōmati sarkos hamartias</...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) How was I freed? Thus. Precisely on that very point where the law of Moses showed its impotence—viz., in the attempt to get rid of sin, which it failed to do because of the counteracting influence of the flesh—precisely on this very point God interposed by sending His Son in a body of flesh similar to that in which sin resides, and as an offering to expiate human sin, and so dethroned and got ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us</strong> (<em>hina to dikaiōma tou nomou plērōthē en hēmin</em>)—The <em>hina</em> clause indicates divine purpose: Christ's work aimed at producing practical righteousness in believers. <em>Dikaiōma</em> refers to the law's righteous requirement (singular), likely summarized in love for God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 1...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) The consequence of this was a great change. Hitherto the Law could not be kept because of the antagonistic influence of the flesh; henceforth it may be kept for the reason that this influence has ceased and that its place is taken by the influence of the Spirit.
**The righteousness.**—The just requirement of the Law, its due and rightful claims.
**Might be fulfilled in us.**—That we might be e...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 3 Ro 3:1-8. Jewish Objections Answered.
**1-2. What advantage then hath the Jew?--**that is, "If the final judgment will turn solely on the state of the heart, and this may be as good in the Gentile without, as in the Jew within, the sacred enclosure of God's covenant, what better are we Jews for all our advantages?"
Answer:
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh</strong> (<em>hoi kata sarka phronousin ta tēs sarkos</em>)—The verb <em>phroneō</em> means to set one's mind on, to be intent upon, to cherish certain thoughts and desires. This is not occasional sin but life-orientation. Those "after the flesh" are characterized by self-centered thinking, finding identity and satisfaction ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5-8) Further description of the antithesis between flesh and spirit in regard to (1) their object, Romans 8:5; (2) their nature, Romans 8:7-8; (3) their end, Romans 8:6.
(5) **They that are** **. . .**—Those who not only walk (direct their conduct) according to the promptings of the flesh, but who are in themselves and in the whole bent of their dispositions the slaves of these promptings.
**Do m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 3 Ro 3:1-8. Jewish Objections Answered.
**1-2. What advantage then hath the Jew?--**that is, "If the final judgment will turn solely on the state of the heart, and this may be as good in the Gentile without, as in the Jew within, the sacred enclosure of God's covenant, what better are we Jews for all our advantages?"
Answer:
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. to be carnally: Gr. the minding of the flesh to be spiritually: Gr. the minding of the Spirit
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For to be carnally minded is death</strong> (<em>to phronēma tēs sarkos thanatos</em>)—<em>Phronēma</em> denotes not just individual thoughts but the mind-set, the comprehensive disposition. The present tense "is" indicates death not just as future consequence but present reality—spiritual deadness, separation from God who is life (Ephesians 2:1). The carnal mind is death because it is fun...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) Translate, *For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.* To think of nothing but the gratification of the senses, is in itself death—that dead condition of the soul which issues in eternal death; and, on the other hand, to have the thoughts and affections governed solely by the Spirit, brings with it that healthful, vital harmony of all the functions of th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-4. For what if some did not believe?--**It is the unbelief of the great body of the nation which the apostle points at; but as it sufficed for his argument to put the supposition thus gently, he uses this word "some" to soften prejudice.
**shall their unbelief make the faith of God--**or, "faithfulness of God."
**of none effect?--**"nullify," "invalidate" it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. the carnal: Gr. the minding of the flesh
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because the carnal mind is enmity against God</strong> (<em>to phronēma tēs sarkos echthra eis theon</em>)—<em>Echthra</em> means active hostility, not mere indifference. The flesh-oriented mind is God's enemy, in a state of war against His character and claims. This echoes James 4:4: "friendship with the world is enmity with God." The present tense "is" indicates an abiding state, not occ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) The carnal mind is death—because it implies enmity with God, and enmity with God *is* death.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-4. For what if some did not believe?--**It is the unbelief of the great body of the nation which the apostle points at; but as it sufficed for his argument to put the supposition thus gently, he uses this word "some" to soften prejudice.
**shall their unbelief make the faith of God--**or, "faithfulness of God."
**of none effect?--**"nullify," "invalidate" it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God</strong> (<em>hoi en sarki ontes theō aresai ou dunantai</em>)—Paul draws the unavoidable conclusion (<em>ara</em>, "so then"): those characterized by flesh-orientation are unable (<em>ou dunantai</em>) to please God. This is not about occasional failure but categorical impossibility. The present participle <em>ontes</em> ("being") indic...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **So then** **. . .**—Rather, *and.* Neither can it be expected that those who are absorbed in the things of sense should be able to please God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. But if, &c.--**Another objection: "It would appear, then, that the more faithless we are, so much the more illustrious will the fidelity of God appear; and in that case, for Him to take vengeance on us for our unfaithfulness would be (to speak as men profanely do) unrighteousness in God."
Answer:
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you</strong>—The strong adversative <em>de</em> ("but") marks the contrast: the Roman believers are not <em>en sarki</em> (in the flesh) but <em>en pneumati</em> (in the Spirit). This is positional truth, not perfectionist claim—they still struggle with sin (7:14-25) but are no longer defined by it. Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) Such is not your case—if at least the Spirit of God and of Christ dwells in you, as it should in every Christian.
**The Spirit of God** **. . .** **the Spirit of Christ.**—It is to be observed that these two terms are used as convertible. The Spirit of Christ is indeed the presence of Christ Himself in the soul. (Comp. John 14:16; John 14:18; John 14:20, “I will pray the Father, and He shall g...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. But if, &c.--**Another objection: "It would appear, then, that the more faithless we are, so much the more illustrious will the fidelity of God appear; and in that case, for Him to take vengeance on us for our unfaithfulness would be (to speak as men profanely do) unrighteousness in God."
Answer:
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
The freedom of believers from condemnation.(1-9)
Their privileges as being the children of God.(10-17)
Their hopeful prospects under tribulations.(18-25)
Their assistance from the Spirit in prayer.(26-27)
Their interest in the love of God.(28-31)
Their final triumph, through Christ.(32-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Believers may be chastened of the ...
Read full commentary →And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin</strong> (<em>ei de Christos en humin, to sōma nekron dia hamartian</em>)—Paul shifts from Spirit in you (v. 9) to Christ in you, again demonstrating Trinitarian unity. "The body is dead" doesn't mean physical death but mortality—<em>nekron</em> indicates the body's death-bound condition. <em>Dia hamartian</em> ("because of sin") poi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) The results of the presence of Christ in the soul.
**The body is dead because of sin.**—Here the word is evidently used of physical death. The doom entailed by sin still, indeed, attaches to the body—but only to the body. The body, indeed, must die, but there the hold of sin upon the Christian ends; it cannot touch him farther.
**The Spirit is life because of righteousness.**—But turn to anot...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-8. For if the truth of God, &c.--**A further illustration of the same sentiment: that is, "Such reasoning amounts to this--which indeed we who preach salvation by free grace are slanderously accused of teaching--that the more evil we do, the more glory will redound to God; a damnable principle." (Thus the apostle, instead of refuting this principle, thinks it enough to hold it up to execra...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. by: or, because of
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you</strong>—Paul identifies the Spirit by His greatest work: raising Jesus from death. The same <em>pneuma</em> who generated resurrection life in Christ's crucified body dwells in believers. This is God the Father acting through God the Spirit—clear Trinitarian action. The present tense "dwell" (<em>oikei</em>) indicate...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) And this vitality extends beyond the grave. It will even react upon that material body which had just been spoken of as given over to death. Die it must; but the same Spirit to which the soul owes its life will also reinfuse life into the dead body, just as the body of Christ of Himself was raised from the dead.
**By his** **Spirit** **. . .**—The balance of authority is in favour of the read...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-8. For if the truth of God, &c.--**A further illustration of the same sentiment: that is, "Such reasoning amounts to this--which indeed we who preach salvation by free grace are slanderously accused of teaching--that the more evil we do, the more glory will redound to God; a damnable principle." (Thus the apostle, instead of refuting this principle, thinks it enough to hold it up to execra...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →Therefore , brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh</strong> (<em>ara oun, adelphoi, opheiletai esmen ou tē sarki tou kata sarka zēn</em>)—The "therefore" draws ethical implications from theological truth (vv. 1-11). <em>Opheiletai</em> means "debtors," those under obligation. Paul's statement is rhetorically powerful: we are debtors, yes—but <em>not to the flesh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12-17) These verses form a hortatory application of the foregoing, with further development of the idea to live after and in the Spirit.
(12) **We are debtors.**—*We are under an obligation.* Observe that in the lively sequence of thought the second clause of the antithesis is suppressed, “We are under an obligation, not to the flesh (but to the Spirit).”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ro 3:9-20. That the Jew Is Shut Up under Like Condemnation with the Gentile Is Proved by His Own Scripture.
**9. are we better than they?--**"do we excel them?"
**No, in no wise--**Better off the Jews certainly were, for having the oracles of God to teach them better; but as they were no better, that only aggravated their guilt.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die</strong> (<em>ei kata sarka zēte, mellete apothnēskein</em>)—The present tense "live" (<em>zēte</em>) indicates habitual pattern, not occasional failure. The future "shall die" (<em>mellete apothnēskein</em>) points to eternal death, the second death (Revelation 20:14). Paul warns professing believers: flesh-dominated life proves unregenerate st...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **If ye through the Spirit** **. . .**—If under the influence of the Spirit you reduce to a condition of deadness and atrophy all those practices to which the impulses of your material nature would prompt you.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-12. As it is written, &c.--**(Psa 14:1-3; 53:1-3). These statements of the Psalmist were indeed suggested by particular manifestations of human depravity occurring under his own eye; but as this only showed what man, when unrestrained, is in his present condition, they were quite pertinent to the apostle's purpose.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God</strong> (<em>hosoi pneumati theou agontai, houtoi huioi theou eisin</em>)—<em>Agō</em> ("led") is present passive: being led is ongoing, not once-for-all. This is not mechanical control but willing guidance—sheep following the Shepherd (John 10:4, 27). The Spirit leads through Scripture, providence, conscience renewed b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14-17) This life in the Spirit implies a special relation to God—that of sons. I say of sons; for when you first received the Holy Ghost it was no spirit of bondage and reign of terror to which you were admitted, but rather the closest filial relation to God. This filial relation is attested by the Divine Spirit endorsing the evidence of our own consciousness, and it includes all that such a rela...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-12. As it is written, &c.--**(Psa 14:1-3; 53:1-3). These statements of the Psalmist were indeed suggested by particular manifestations of human depravity occurring under his own eye; but as this only showed what man, when unrestrained, is in his present condition, they were quite pertinent to the apostle's purpose.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear</strong> (<em>ou elabete pneuma douleias palin eis phobon</em>)—<em>Pneuma douleias</em> ("spirit of bondage") likely refers to the Mosaic economy which couldn't liberate from sin's power and produced fear through curse-threats (Galatians 3:10; Hebrews 2:15). <em>Palin</em> ("again") suggests returning to pre-Christian slavery, w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Spirit of bondage.**—The Greek corresponds very nearly to what we should naturally understand by the English phrase, “such a spirit as would be found in slaves.” The word “spirit” varies much in meaning in these verses. Here it is the “dominant habit or frame of mind;” in the next verse it is used both for the Spirit of God and the spirit of man.
**Again to fear.**—So as to take you back un...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-12. As it is written, &c.--**(Psa 14:1-3; 53:1-3). These statements of the Psalmist were indeed suggested by particular manifestations of human depravity occurring under his own eye; but as this only showed what man, when unrestrained, is in his present condition, they were quite pertinent to the apostle's purpose.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God</strong> (<em>auto to pneuma summarturei tō pneumati hēmōn hoti esmen tekna theou</em>)—<em>Summarturei</em> means "testifies together with," indicating two witnesses: God's Spirit and our regenerated human spirit. This isn't the Spirit whispering audibly but the internal conviction produced by the Spirit's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The Spirit itself beareth witness.**—What is the nature of this concurrent testimony? It would seem to be something of this kind. The self-consciousness of the believer assures him of his sonship. The relation in which he feels that he stands to God he knows to be that of a son. But, besides this he is aware of an eternal objective cause for this feeling. That cause is the influence of the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-18. Their, &c.--**From generals, the apostle here comes to particulars, culling from different parts of Scripture passages which speak of depravity as it affects the different members of the body; as if to show more affectingly how "from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness" in us.
**throat is an open sepulchre--**(Psa 5:9); that is, "What proceeds out of their he...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →And if children, then heirs; heirs of God , and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ</strong> (<em>ei tekna, kai klēronomoi; klēronomoi men theou, sugklēronomoi de Christou</em>)—The logic is inexorable: children means heirs. <em>Klēronomoi</em> refers to legal inheritance rights. Believers are <em>theou klēronomoi</em> (God's heirs), inheriting not created blessings merely but God Himself as infinite t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) One characteristic of the son is that he is his father’s heir. So it is with the Christian. He, too, has an inheritance—an inheritance of glory which he will share with Christ. But he must not be surprised if, before sharing the glory, he also shares the sufferings.
**Suffer with him.**—All who suffer for the sake of the gospel are regarded as suffering with Christ. They “drink of the cup” th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-18. Their, &c.--**From generals, the apostle here comes to particulars, culling from different parts of Scripture passages which speak of depravity as it affects the different members of the body; as if to show more affectingly how "from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness" in us.
**throat is an open sepulchre--**(Psa 5:9); that is, "What proceeds out of their he...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-17**
If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If...
Read full commentary →Future Glory
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us</strong> (<em>logizomai hoti ouk axia ta pathēmata tou nun kairou pros tēn mellousan doxan apokalupthēnai eis hēmas</em>)—<em>Logizomai</em> ("I reckon") is accounting terminology: Paul has calculated the comparison and reached a verdict. <em>Ouk axia</em> ("not ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18-25) The mention of “suffering” and of “glory” recalls the Apostle to a sense of his own position—what he had to go through, and what was the hope that he had to animate and encourage him. A vivid impression of the stormy life of the Apostle at this period is given by Acts 19:23-41; 2Corinthians 6:4-5; 2Corinthians 11:23-28. But he counted it as nothing (Philippians 3:8) as compared with his tr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-18. Their, &c.--**From generals, the apostle here comes to particulars, culling from different parts of Scripture passages which speak of depravity as it affects the different members of the body; as if to show more affectingly how "from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness" in us.
**throat is an open sepulchre--**(Psa 5:9); that is, "What proceeds out of their he...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God</strong> (<em>hē apokaradokia tēs ktiseōs tēn apokalupsin tōn huiōn tou theou apekdechetai</em>)—<em>Apokaradokia</em> is vivid: <em>apo</em> (from) + <em>kara</em> (head) + <em>dokia</em> (watching), picturing someone craning their neck, straining to see. <em>Ktisis</em> ("creature/creation") like...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) Nor is ours a merely isolated hope; we have our place—
“Mid onward sloping motions infinite,
Making for one sure goal.”
The whole creation is looking earnestly and intently for the same manifestation of glory as ourselves.
**Earnest expectation**—A single word in the Greek, and a very striking one. It means, literally, a straining forward with outstretched head, just as we might imagine the c...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-18. Their, &c.--**From generals, the apostle here comes to particulars, culling from different parts of Scripture passages which speak of depravity as it affects the different members of the body; as if to show more affectingly how "from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness" in us.
**throat is an open sepulchre--**(Psa 5:9); that is, "What proceeds out of their he...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope</strong> (<em>tē mataiótēti hē ktisis hupetágē, ouch hekoúsa allá diá ton hupotáxanta</em>)—<em>Mataiotēs</em> ("vanity") means futility, frustration, inability to achieve intended purpose. Creation was <em>hupetágē</em> ("subjected," aorist passive), pointing to Genesis 3:1...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **For the creature.**—The Apostle gives the reason for this earnest expectation in the present state of nature; pointing out what creation *is.* If creation were perfect, and were fulfilling the noblest possible purpose, there would be no cause for looking forward hopefully to the future.
**Was made subject to vanity.**—“Vanity” = “emptiness” or “nothingness.” Creation is fulfilling an unwort...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-18. Their, &c.--**From generals, the apostle here comes to particulars, culling from different parts of Scripture passages which speak of depravity as it affects the different members of the body; as if to show more affectingly how "from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness" in us.
**throat is an open sepulchre--**(Psa 5:9); that is, "What proceeds out of their he...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God</strong> (<em>hoti kai autḗ hē ktísis eleutherōthḗsetai apó tēs douleías tēs phthorâs eis tḕn eleuthería tēs dóxēs tōn téknon toû theoû</em>)—The future passive <em>eleutherōthḗsetai</em> ("shall be delivered") is divine promise: God will liberate creation. <e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Because the creature.**—The reason for the hope which survives through the degradation of nature; what creation *is to be.*
**Because.**—Perhaps rather “that,” to be joined on to the end of the last verse, “in hope that creation, also,” &c. So Meyer and Ellicott.
**Delivered from the bondage of corruption.**—The state of decay and ruin into which the world by nature has fallen, is regarded ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-18. Their, &c.--**From generals, the apostle here comes to particulars, culling from different parts of Scripture passages which speak of depravity as it affects the different members of the body; as if to show more affectingly how "from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness" in us.
**throat is an open sepulchre--**(Psa 5:9); that is, "What proceeds out of their he...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. the: or, every creature
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now</strong> (<em>oidamen hoti pâsa hē ktísis sustená̱zei kai sunōdínei áchri toû nûn</em>)—<em>Oidamen</em> ("we know") is shared apostolic and experiential knowledge—observable reality. <em>Pâsa hē ktísis</em> ("the whole creation") is comprehensive: every part of the sub-human created order. <em>Sustenáze...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Groaneth and travaileth.**—In view of the physical evil and misery prevalent in the world, the Apostle attributes a human consciousness of pain to the rest of creation. It groans and travails *together, i.e.,* every member of it in common with its kind. The idea of travailing, as in childbirth, has reference to the future prospect of joyful delivery. (Comp. John 16:21.)
**Until now.**—This ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. Now we know that what ... the law--**that is, the Scriptures, considered as a law of duty.
**saith, it saith to them that are under the law--**of course, therefore, to the Jews.
**that every mouth--**opened in self-justification.
**may be stopped, and all the world may become--**that is, be seen to be, and own itself.
**guilty--**and so condemned
before God.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves</strong> (<em>ou mónon, allà kai autoì tḕn aparchḕn toû pneúmatos échontes, kaì hēmeîs autoì en heautoîs stenázomen</em>)—Believers join creation's groaning. <em>Aparchḕn toû pneúmatos</em> ("firstfruits of the Spirit") indicates the Spirit is down payment, guarantee of...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) Nor is it only the rest of creation that groans. We Christians, too, though we possess the firstfruits of the Spirit, nevertheless inwardly groan, sighing for the time when our adoption as the sons of God will be complete, and even our mortal bodies will be transfigured.
**Which have the firstfruits of the Spirit.**—Though we have received the first partial outpouring of the Spirit, as oppose...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. Therefore by the deeds of--**obedience to
**the law there shall no flesh be justified--**that is, be held and treated as righteous; as is plain from the whole scope and strain of the argument.
**in his sight--**at His bar (Psa 143:2).
**for by the law is the knowledge of sin--**(See on Ro 4:15; Ro 7:7; and 1Jo 3:4).
**Note, How broad and deep does the apostle in this section lay the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For we are saved by hope</strong> (<em>tē gàr elpídi esṓthēmen</em>)—The dative <em>elpídi</em> could be instrumental ("by hope") or sphere ("in hope"). The aorist <em>esṓthēmen</em> ("we were saved") points to past justification, but salvation includes future glorification. We are saved (past), being saved (present sanctification), and will be saved (future glorification). Hope bridges pr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) Why do I say that we “wait for the adoption?” Because hope in the future is of the very essence of the Christian’s life. It was by hope that he was saved. Hope, at the time when he first believed, made him realise his salvation, though it is still in the future. This is, indeed, implied in the very nature of hope. Its proper object is that which is future and unseen.
**By hope.**—It is usuall...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ro 3:21-26. God's Justifying Righteousness through Faith in Jesus Christ, Alike Adapted to Our Necessities and Worthy of Himself.
**21-23. But now the righteousness of God--**(See on Ro 1:17).
**without the law--**that is, a righteousness to which our obedience to the law contributes nothing whatever (Ro 3:28; Ga 2:16).
**is manifested, being witnessed--**attested.
**by the law and the prop...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it</strong> (<em>ei de hò ou blépomen elpízomen, di' hupomonēs apekdechómetha</em>)—The condition assumes reality: we do hope for unseen realities. <em>Hupomonḗ</em> ("patience") is not passive resignation but active endurance, steadfast perseverance under trial. It combines <em>hupó</em> ("under") and <em>ménō</em> ("re...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) If salvation were something that could be seen, something that could be grasped by sight, then there would be no room for hope. As it is we do *not* see it; we *do* hope for it; and, therefore, we patiently endure the sufferings that lie upon the road to it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ro 3:21-26. God's Justifying Righteousness through Faith in Jesus Christ, Alike Adapted to Our Necessities and Worthy of Himself.
**21-23. But now the righteousness of God--**(See on Ro 1:17).
**without the law--**that is, a righteousness to which our obedience to the law contributes nothing whatever (Ro 3:28; Ga 2:16).
**is manifested, being witnessed--**attested.
**by the law and the prop...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the childr...
Read full commentary →Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities</strong> (<em>Hōsaútōs dè kaì tò pneûma sunantilambanétai tē̂ asthenéia hēmōn</em>)—<em>Sunantilambanétai</em> is compound: <em>sun</em> ("with") + <em>anti</em> ("against") + <em>lambanō</em> ("take hold")—the Spirit takes hold with us against our weakness. <em>Asthenéia</em> ("infirmities") is comprehensive weakness, including spiritual in...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26, 27) A second reason for the patience of the Christian under suffering. The Spirit helps his weakness and joins in his prayers.
(26) **Likewise.**—While on the one hand the prospect of salvation sustains him, so on the other hand the Divine Spirit interposes to aid him. The one source of encouragement is human (his own human consciousness of the certainty of salvation), the other is divine.
**...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ro 3:21-26. God's Justifying Righteousness through Faith in Jesus Christ, Alike Adapted to Our Necessities and Worthy of Himself.
**21-23. But now the righteousness of God--**(See on Ro 1:17).
**without the law--**that is, a righteousness to which our obedience to the law contributes nothing whatever (Ro 3:28; Ga 2:16).
**is manifested, being witnessed--**attested.
**by the law and the prop...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-27**
Though the infirmities of Christians are many and great, so that they would be overpowered if left to themselves, yet the Holy Spirit supports them. The Spirit, as an enlightening Spirit, teaches us what to pray for; as a sanctifying Spirit, works and stirs up praying graces; as a comforting Spirit, silences our fears, and helps us over all discouragements. The Holy Spirit is ...
Read full commentary →And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. because: or, that
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit</strong> (<em>ho dè ereunōn tàs kardías oîden tí tò phrónēma toû pneúmatos</em>)—<em>Ho ereunōn tàs kardías</em> ("he who searches hearts") is God the Father (1 Chronicles 28:9; Jeremiah 17:10; Revelation 2:23). God knows <em>tò phrónēma toû pneúmatos</em> ("the mind of the Spirit")—the Spirit's intention in His interc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) God recognises the voice of His own Spirit, because the prayers that the Spirit prompts are in strict accordance with His will.
**What is the mind of the Spirit.**—What are the thoughts of the Spirit, and therefore what is the echo of those thoughts in the prayers that are offered to Him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. justified freely--**without anything done on our part to deserve.
**by his grace--**His free love.
**through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus--**a most important clause; teaching us that though justification is quite gratuitous, it is not a mere fiat of the divine will, but based on a "Redemption," that is, "the payment of a Ransom," in Christ's death. That this is the sense of the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-27**
Though the infirmities of Christians are many and great, so that they would be overpowered if left to themselves, yet the Holy Spirit supports them. The Spirit, as an enlightening Spirit, teaches us what to pray for; as a sanctifying Spirit, works and stirs up praying graces; as a comforting Spirit, silences our fears, and helps us over all discouragements. The Holy Spirit is ...
Read full commentary →God's Love in Christ Jesus
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God</strong> (<em>oídamen hóti toîs agapōsin tòn theòn pánta sunergeî eis agathón</em>)—<em>Oídamen</em> ("we know") is confident certainty. <em>Pánta</em> ("all things")—not some things, not most things, but all things. <em>Sunergeî</em> ("work together") indicates cooperative action: all events, even evil and suffering,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28-30) These verses contain a third reason for the patience of the Christian. He knows that whatever happens, all things are really working together for good to him.
(28) **All things.**—Persecution and suffering included.
**Work together.**—Contribute.
There is a rather remarkable reading here, found in the Vatican and Alexandrian MSS., and in Origen, inserting “God” as the subject of the verb, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25-26. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation--**or "propitiatory sacrifice."
**through faith in his blood--**Some of the best interpreters, observing that "faith upon" is the usual phrase in Greek, not "faith in" Christ, would place a "comma" after "faith," and understand the words as if written thus: "to be a propitiation, in His blood, through faith." But "faith in Christ" is used in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-31**
That is good for the saints which does their souls good. Every providence tends to the spiritual good of those that love God; in breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from the world, and fitting them for heaven. When the saints act out of character, corrections will be employed to bring them back again. And here is the order of the causes of our...
Read full commentary →For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son</strong> (<em>hóti hoùs proégnō, kaì proṓrisen summórphous tēs eikónos toû huioû autoû</em>)—<em>Proégnō</em> ("foreknew") isn't mere awareness but electing love—God set His affection on specific individuals before creation (1 Peter 1:2, 20; Amos 3:2 uses "know" for covenant love). <em>Proṓrisen</em>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29, 30) F**or whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate.**—The process already summed up under these two phrases is now resolved more fully and exactly into its parts, with the inference suggested that to those who are under the divine guidance at every step in their career nothing can act but for good. The two phrases indicate two distinct steps. God, in His infinite foreknowledge, knew tha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25-26. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation--**or "propitiatory sacrifice."
**through faith in his blood--**Some of the best interpreters, observing that "faith upon" is the usual phrase in Greek, not "faith in" Christ, would place a "comma" after "faith," and understand the words as if written thus: "to be a propitiation, in His blood, through faith." But "faith in Christ" is used in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-31**
That is good for the saints which does their souls good. Every providence tends to the spiritual good of those that love God; in breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from the world, and fitting them for heaven. When the saints act out of character, corrections will be employed to bring them back again. And here is the order of the causes of our...
Read full commentary →Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified</strong> (<em>hoùs dè proṓrisen, toútous kaì ekálesen; kaì hoùs ekálesen, toútous kaì edikáiōsen; hoùs dè edikáiōsen, toútous kaì edóxasen</em>)—The golden chain: foreknowledge (v. 29) → predestination → calling → justification → glorification. E...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Predestinate.**—This is the term which seems most to interfere with human free-will. Foreknowledge does not interfere with free-will, because the foreknowledge, though prior in point of time, is posterior in the order of causation to the act of choice. A man does not choose a certain action because it is foreknown, but it is foreknown because he will choose it. Predestination (the word is n...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27-28. Where is boasting then? ... excluded. By what law?--**on what principle or scheme?.
of works? Nay; but by the law of faith.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-31**
That is good for the saints which does their souls good. Every providence tends to the spiritual good of those that love God; in breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from the world, and fitting them for heaven. When the saints act out of character, corrections will be employed to bring them back again. And here is the order of the causes of our...
Read full commentary →What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What shall we then say to these things?</strong> (<em>Tí oûn eroûmen pròs taûta</em>)—<em>Taûta</em> ("these things") references vv. 1-30, especially the golden chain of redemption. Paul asks rhetorically: given God's sovereign, comprehensive salvation—foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification—what conclusion must we draw? This introduces the triumphant finale (v...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31-39) Now follows the sublime and triumphant conclusion from the foregoing—expressed with passionate energy and with the most intense consciousness of the reality of a Christian belief in penetrating and sustaining the mind in all outward trials, however severe.
Erasmus remarks on this, that “Cicero never said anything grander.” It is needless to add that, setting aside other considerations, Cic...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27-28. Where is boasting then? ... excluded. By what law?--**on what principle or scheme?.
of works? Nay; but by the law of faith.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-31**
That is good for the saints which does their souls good. Every providence tends to the spiritual good of those that love God; in breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from the world, and fitting them for heaven. When the saints act out of character, corrections will be employed to bring them back again. And here is the order of the causes of our...
Read full commentary →He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all</strong> (<em>hós ge toû idíou huioû ouk epheísato, allà hypèr hēmōn pántōn parédōken autón</em>)—<em>Toû idíou huioû</em> ("his own Son") emphasizes intimacy and preciousness—not a created being but the eternally beloved Son. <em>Ouk epheísato</em> ("spared not") recalls Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:12, 16 LXX: "you have not...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29. Is he the God of the Jews only? &c.--**The way of salvation must be one equally suited to the whole family of fallen man: but the doctrine of justification by faith is the only one that lays the basis of a Universal Religion; this therefore is another mark of its truth.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?</strong> (<em>Tís enkaleséi katà eklektōn theoû</em>)—<em>Enkaleséi</em> is legal terminology: bring charges, accuse in court. <em>Eklektōn theoû</em> ("God's elect") are those chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Who can successfully accuse them? Satan is "the accuser" (Revelation 12:10), conscience accuses (1 Joh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33, 34) **Who shall lay any thing** **. . .?**—The punctuation and arrangement of these clauses are somewhat difficult. It seems best on the whole to connect together the two clauses at the end of Romans 8:33, and beginning of Romans 8:34. The whole passage to the end of the chapter will then form a continuous proof of the certainty that all things shall be freely given to the Christian. Nothing ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. it is one God who shall justify--**"has unchangeably fixed that He shall justify."
**the circumcision by--**"of"
**faith, and the uncircumcision through faith--**probably this is but a varied statement of the same truth for greater emphasis (see Ro 3:22); though Bengel thinks that the justification of the Jews, as the born heirs of the promise, may be here purposely said to be "of faith,...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather , that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again</strong> (<em>Tís ho katakrinōn? Christòs ho apothanṓn, mâllon dè egerthéis</em>)—<em>Katakrinō</em> ("condemn") means pronounce guilty, sentence to punishment. Who can condemn? Christ Himself is the answer—but He died to remove condemnation! <em>Apothanṓn</em> (aorist: "died") emphasizes the completed sacri...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **It is Christ** **. . .**—The remainder of this verse is to be closely connected with the opening of the next. “He that died, rose, &c., is Christ: who then shall separate us from His love?” The two questions, “Who is he that condemneth?” and “Who shall separate us?” are really parts of the reply to the main question thrown into an interrogative form. At another moment the sentence would pro...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. Do we then make void the law through faith?--**"Does this doctrine of justification by faith, then, dissolve the obligation of the law? If so, it cannot be of God. But away with such a thought, for it does just the reverse."
**God forbid: yea, we establish the law--**It will be observed here, that, important as was this objection, and opening up as it did so noble a field for the illustrat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?</strong> (<em>Tís hēmâs chōrísei apò tēs agápēs toû Christoû</em>)—<em>Chōrízō</em> means separate, divide, put space between. Paul asks: what can sever believers from Christ's love? The question shifts from legal standing (vv. 31-34) to relational union. Christ's love isn't mere affection but covenant commitment, electing grace that chose us ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **The love of Christ.**—That is to say, the love which Christ has for us, not that which we have for Christ.
**Shall tribulation**?—Comp. 2Corinthians 6:4; 2Corinthians 11:23. The Apostle is speaking from his own actual experience.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter</strong> (<em>kathṑs gégraptai hóti Hénekén sou thanathoúmetha hólēn tḕn hēméran, elogísthēmen hōs próbata sphagēs</em>)—Paul quotes Psalm 44:22, where Israel laments persecution despite covenant faithfulness. <em>Hénekén sou</em> ("for your sake") indicates suffering because of alleg...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) **For thy sake we are killed.**—The quotation is taken from Psalm 44:22, which was apparently written at some period of great national distress, at what precise period the *data* do not enable us to say, but probably not earlier than Josiah. The sufferings of God’s people at all times are typical of each other. There is the further reason for the application in the text that the Psalm does no...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 4 Ro 4:1-25. The Foregoing Doctrine of Justification by Faith Illustrated from the Old Testament.
First: Abraham was justified by faith.
**1-3. What shall we say then that Abraham, our father as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?--**that is, (as the order in the original shows), "hath found, as pertaining to ('according to,' or 'through') the flesh"; meaning, "by all his natural effo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us</strong> (<em>All' en toútois pâsin hupernikōmen dià toû agapḗsantos hēmâs</em>)—<em>All'</em> ("Nay") rejects the implied threat that trials separate from love. <em>En toútois pâsin</em> ("in all these things")—the very trials of vv. 35-36 become the arena of victory. <em>Hupernikōmen</em> is emphatic: <em>hypé...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **Nay.**—*Yet,* or *But.* So far from being vanquished, we are conquerors: when we are weak then are we strong.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 4 Ro 4:1-25. The Foregoing Doctrine of Justification by Faith Illustrated from the Old Testament.
First: Abraham was justified by faith.
**1-3. What shall we say then that Abraham, our father as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?--**that is, (as the order in the original shows), "hath found, as pertaining to ('according to,' or 'through') the flesh"; meaning, "by all his natural effo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life</strong> (<em>pépeismai gàr hóti oúte thánatos oúte zōḕ</em>)—<em>Pépeismai</em> is perfect tense passive: "I have been persuaded and remain persuaded"—settled conviction, not wishful hope. Paul begins listing potential separators: <em>thánatos</em> (death, the last enemy, 1 Corinthians 15:26) and <em>zōḗ</em> (life, with its trials and temp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **Neither death, nor life** **. . .**—The enumeration that follows is intended to include (poetically rather than logically) every possible category of being, especially those unseen powers of evil against which the warfare of the Christian was more particularly directed.
**Nor principalities.**—Comp. Ephesians 6:12, “We wrestle . . . against principalities, against powers;” terms belonging t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 4 Ro 4:1-25. The Foregoing Doctrine of Justification by Faith Illustrated from the Old Testament.
First: Abraham was justified by faith.
**1-3. What shall we say then that Abraham, our father as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?--**that is, (as the order in the original shows), "hath found, as pertaining to ('according to,' or 'through') the flesh"; meaning, "by all his natural effo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord</strong> (<em>oúte húpsōma oúte báthos oúte tis ktísis hetéra dynḗsetai hēmâs chōrísai apò tēs agápēs toû theoû tēs en Christō̂ Iēsoû tō̂ kyríō̂ hēmōn</em>)—<em>Húpsōma</em> (height) and <em>báthos</em> (depth) may refer to astronomical/astrological terms (cel...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **Nor height, nor depth.**—No remoteness in space. (Comp. Psalm 139:8 *et seq.* “If I ascend up into heaven,” &c.)
**Any other creature.**—Any other created thing.
**The love of God.**—It is to be observed that for the shorter phrase, “the love of Christ,” the Apostle now substitutes the fuller but, as it would seem, equivalent phrase, “the love of God *in* Christ.”
Ellicott's Commentary for ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4-5. Now to him that worketh--**as a servant for wages.
**is the reward not reckoned of grace--**as a matter of favor.
**but of debt--**as a matter of right.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-39**
All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for...
Read full commentary →