The Epistle of Paul to the Romans
Rom 1:11 Paul
Formerly Saul, who persecuted the believers and devastated the church (Acts 7:58—8:1a; 8:3; 9:1). After he was saved, when he went forth to preach the gospel, his name was changed to Paul (Acts 13:9).
Rom 1:12 slave
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 1:12 [1] A slave, according to ancient custom and law, was one who was purchased by his master and over whom his master had absolute rights, even to the extent of terminating his life. Paul was such a slave of Christ. Verbs formed from this word are used several times throughout this book. One is translated serve as a slave in 6:6 and serve in 7:6, 25; 9:12; 12:11; 14:18; and 16:18. Another is translated enslaved in 6:18, 22. The noun slavery, from the same root as slave, is used in 8:15, 21.
Rom 1:12 [2] Paul’s use of this term indicates that he was not a self-appointed apostle or one hired by the Lord; rather, he was one purchased to serve God and minister to His people, not in the natural life but in the regenerated life (see Exo. 12:44; 21:6; note 261 in Matt. 20; note 143 in Matt. 25; and note 171 in Gal. 6).
Rom 1:13 Christ
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 1:13 [1] Christ, equal to Messiah in Hebrew, means the anointed One (John 1:41; Dan. 9:26). This book explains how the individual Christ revealed in the four Gospels could become the corporate Christ revealed in Acts, collectively composed of Himself with all the believers. By means of the facts in the Scriptures and the experience in the Holy Spirit, Paul shows us that God’s New Testament economy is to make sinners sons of God and members of Christ to constitute the Body of Christ to express Him. This book offers a full definition of this, God’s goal, unfolding a general sketch and details of both the Christian life and the church life.
Rom 1:13 [2] This book may be divided into eight sections: introduction, condemnation, justification, sanctification, glorification, selection, transformation, and conclusion. In these eight sections three major structures can be seen: salvation (1:1—5:11; 9:1—11:36), life (5:12—8:39), and building (12:1—16:27).
Rom 1:14 Jesus
Jesus, equal to Joshua in Hebrew, means the salvation of Jehovah, or Jehovah the Savior (Matt. 1:21; Num. 13:16; Heb. 4:8).
Rom 1:15 called
Called includes the thought of being appointed (cf. 1 Cor. 12:28).
Rom 1:16 apostle
I.e., a sent one (see note 13, par. 2, in 1 Cor. 9).
Rom 1:17 separated
Being separated includes being chosen (Acts 9:15), being appointed (1 Tim. 2:7), and being sent (Acts 13:2-4).
Rom 1:18 unto
Or, for the gospel; including the proclamation (1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11) and the defense and confirmation (Phil. 1:7) of the gospel.
Rom 1:19 gospel
Lit., glad tidings, good news (vv. 9, 16; 2:16; 10:16; 11:28; 15:16, 19; 16:25). The gospel of God, as the subject of this book, concerns Christ as the Spirit living within the believers after His resurrection. This is higher and more subjective than what was presented in the Gospels, which concern Christ only in the flesh as He lived among His disciples after His incarnation but before His death and resurrection. This book, however, reveals that Christ has resurrected and has become the life-giving Spirit (8:9-10). He is no longer merely the Christ outside the believers, but He is now the Christ within them. Hence, the gospel in this book is the gospel of the One who is now indwelling His believers as their subjective Savior.
Rom 1:21 Which
Verses 2-6 may be considered a parenthetical word explaining the gospel of God.
Rom 1:22 beforehand
The gospel of God was not something added along the way by accident; it was planned and prepared by God in eternity past and promised by God through His prophets in many ways (Gen. 3:15; 22:18; Gal. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2).
Rom 1:23 holy
The Greek words hagios, hagiosune, hagiazo, and hagiasmos, used in this book, are of the same root, which fundamentally means separated, set apart. Hagios is translated holy in v. 2; 5:5; 7:12; 9:1; 11:16; 12:1; 14:17; 15:13, 16; 16:16, and saints in v. 7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25, 26, 31; 16:15. Hagiosune is translated holiness in v. 4. Hagiazo is a verb used as a participle and is translated sanctified in 15:16. Hagiasmos is translated sanctification in 6:19, 22. Hence, to be holy is to be separated, set apart (to God). The saints are the separated ones, the ones set apart (to God). Holiness is the nature and quality of being holy. Sanctification (to God) is the practical effect, the character in activity, and the consummate state produced by being sanctified.
Rom 1:31 His
The gospel of God concerns the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. This wonderful person has two natures—the divine nature (v. 4) and the human nature (v. 3), divinity and humanity.
Rom 1:32 came
Lit., became.
Rom 1:33 out
Out of, a literal translation of the Greek ek, is used here and again in the next verse, referring to the two sources of Christ’s being: one, the seed of David, the other, the resurrection of the dead.
Rom 1:34a seed Matt. 1:1; 22:42
The seed of David implies Christ’s human nature. By incarnation, the first step of Christ’s process, God was brought into humanity.
Rom 1:35 flesh
In the Bible flesh is not a positive word. Nevertheless, the Bible declares that the Word became flesh (John 1:14). The gospel of God concerns God who became flesh; according to the flesh He became the seed of a man (see note 33 in ch. 8).
Rom 1:41 designated
Or, marked out. Before His incarnation Christ, the divine One, already was the Son of God (John 1:18; Rom. 8:3). By incarnation He put on an element, the human flesh, which had nothing to do with divinity; that part of Him needed to be sanctified and uplifted by passing through death and resurrection. By resurrection His human nature was sanctified, uplifted, and transformed. Hence, by resurrection He was designated the Son of God with His humanity (Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5). His resurrection was His designation. Now, as the Son of God, He possesses humanity as well as divinity. By incarnation He brought God into man; by resurrection He brought man into God, that is, He brought His humanity into the divine sonship. In this way the only begotten Son of God was made the firstborn Son of God, possessing both divinity and humanity. God is using such a Christ, the firstborn Son, who possesses both divinity and humanity, as the producer and as the prototype, the model, to produce His many sons (8:29-30)—we who have believed in and received His Son. We too will be designated and revealed as the sons of God, as He was in the glory of His resurrection (8:19, 21), and with Him we will express God.
Rom 1:42a Son Acts 13:33
This book tells us that God’s full salvation is to make sinners (3:23), even His enemies (5:10), the sons of God (8:14). Through resurrection God designated Christ, who became flesh to be the seed of David, as His Son, that His Son, who is the mingling of divinity and humanity, might be the base and pattern for His making sinners His many sons. It is in the resurrection of His Son, i.e., in the resurrected Son, that God is producing many sons (1 Pet. 1:3) as the many brothers of the Firstborn (8:29), who was resurrected from the dead, and as the members of His Firstborn to constitute the Body of His Firstborn (12:5), which is His fullness (Eph. 1:23), His corporate expression.
Rom 1:43 power
The reality of the power of Christ’s resurrection is the Spirit (see notes in Eph. 1:19-22 and note 102 in Phil. 3).
Rom 1:44 Spirit
The Spirit of holiness here is in contrast to the flesh in v. 3. As the flesh in v. 3 refers to the human nature of Christ in the flesh, so the Spirit in this verse does not refer to the person of the Holy Spirit of God but to the divine essence of Christ. This divine essence of Christ, being God the Spirit Himself (John 4:24), the divinity of Christ, is of holiness, full of the nature and quality of being holy.
Rom 1:45 holiness
See note 23.
Rom 1:46 out
See note 33. Out of here should be linked to designated in the first part of this verse. Christ was designated the Son of God out of the resurrection of the dead.
Rom 1:51 grace
Grace is God in Christ as life and the life supply (see note 146 in John 1). It affords the apostles salvation and life and becomes the capacity and supply for their apostleship (1 Cor. 15:9-10).
Rom 1:52 apostleship
I.e., sending forth, or mission.
Rom 1:53a obedience Rom. 16:26; 10:16; cf. John 16:9
God’s unique commandment in this age, the age of grace, is that man should believe into His Son, the Lord Jesus. Whoever believes into Him will be saved; whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed into Him (John 3:18). The Holy Spirit convicts the world of the sin of not believing into the Lord (John 16:8-9), of not obeying God’s unique commandment. When we believe into the Lord, we have the obedience of faith, and the result is grace and peace (v. 7).
Rom 1:54b faith Rom. 16:26; Acts 6:7; Gal. 3:2; 1 Tim. 1:4
In the New Testament the complete gospel according to God’s New Testament revelation is the content of the faith, with the two natures of Christ, who is both God and man, and the redemptive work accomplished through His death and resurrection as its center (see note 11, par. 2, in 1 Tim. 1). To obey this faith is to turn from all pagan religions and philosophies unto this faith, believing and receiving it.
Rom 1:55 on
Christ’s name denotes His person, Himself. On behalf of His name denotes for Him, for His sake, for His interests.
Rom 1:61 called
God calls us for the purpose of bringing us into Christ that we may belong to Him. All the fullness of God is in Christ (Col. 2:9; 1:19). When we are brought into Him and belong to Him, we partake of all the fullness of God. Of His fullness we have received all that is of God, even grace upon grace (John 1:16). This matter is covered in detail in the first eight chapters of this book (cf. 8:9).
Rom 1:7a called Rom. 8:28; 9:11, 24
Rom 1:72 Grace
Grace is God in Christ as our enjoyment (see John 1:14, 16-17; notes 22 and 171 in Rom. 5); it is the source. Peace is the result of our enjoyment of God in Christ (John 16:33); it is the issue.
Rom 1:7b peace Rom. 15:33; 16:20
Rom 1:8a faith Rom. 1:12, 17; 3:26
Rom 1:91 serve
The Greek word means serve in worship; it is used in Matt. 4:10; 2 Tim. 1:3; Phil. 3:3; and Luke 2:37. Paul considered his preaching of the gospel a worship and service to God, not merely a work.
Rom 1:92 spirit
Not the Spirit of God but Paul’s regenerated spirit. The spirit is different from the heart, soul, mind, emotion, will, or natural life. Christ and the Spirit are with the believers in their regenerated human spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:16). In this book Paul stressed that whatever we are (2:29; 8:5-6, 9), whatever we have (8:10, 16), and whatever we do toward God (v. 9; 7:6; 8:4, 13; 12:11) must be in this spirit. Paul served God in his regenerated spirit by the indwelling Christ, the life-giving Spirit, not in his soul by the power and ability of the soul. This is the first important item in his preaching of the gospel.
Rom 1:11a established Rom. 16:25; 1 Thes. 3:13; 2 Thes. 3:3; 1 Pet. 5:10
Rom 1:121 encouraged
Or, comforted.
Rom 1:13a purposed Acts 19:21
Rom 1:141 barbarians
See note 112 in 1 Cor. 14.
Rom 1:161 power
Denoting a powerful force that can break through any obstacle. This power is the resurrected Christ Himself, who is the life-giving Spirit, and it is unto salvation to everyone who believes.
Rom 1:162 salvation
To save the believing ones not only from God’s condemnation and from eternal perdition but also from their natural life and their self, that they may be sanctified, transformed, and built up with others as the one Body of Christ to be His fullness and expression (Eph. 1:23).
Rom 1:171a righteousness Rom. 3:21; 10:3
In John 3:16 God’s love is the source and motive of God’s salvation. In Eph. 2:5, 8 God’s grace is the means of God’s salvation. Here God’s righteousness is the power of God’s salvation. God’s righteousness, which is solid and steadfast, is the foundation of His throne (Psa. 89:14) and the base on which His kingdom is built (Rom. 14:17). Legally, both love and grace can fluctuate, but righteousness cannot. It is even more so with God’s righteousness. It is God’s righteousness, not ours, that is revealed in the gospel of God. Hence, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.
Rom 1:172 out
Out of faith indicates that faith is the source and the foundation of the revelation of God’s righteousness; to faith indicates that faith is the receiver and container that receives and retains God’s righteousness. If we have this faith, God’s righteousness will be made visible to us and will be laid hold of by us.
Rom 1:17b But Hab. 2:4; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38
Rom 1:173 have
The righteousness of God justifies us that we may have God’s life (5:18) and live by it. In this way this life will sanctify and transform us thoroughly. This book covers mainly our being justified (1:1—5:11; 9:1—11:36), our having life (5:12—8:39), and our living properly by this life (12:1—16:27). Since this verse also stresses these three points, it may be considered an abstract of the entire book.
Rom 1:174 faith
See note 205 in Gal. 2.
Rom 1:181 For
This book begins with man’s fall (in contrast to Ephesians, which begins with God’s selection and predestination in eternity past); continues through Christ’s redemption, God’s justification, sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification; and, finally, touches the mystery of God in eternity past (16:25).
Rom 1:182a wrath Rom. 2:5, 8; 5:9; 9:22
In the preceding verse the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel to faith; here, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This shows a contrast between the revelation of God’s righteousness and the revelation of God’s wrath. Originally, the wrath of God was revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. However, since the gospel of God has come, the scene has changed. Now the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel to our faith.
Rom 1:183 upon
Implying against, or in opposition to.
Rom 1:184 hold
To hold down means to suppress. From the beginning mankind did not respect the truth of God but suppressed it unrighteously.
Rom 1:185 the
The truth here refers to the first true thing, the first reality, concerning man and God in the universe. This reality is the sure fact that God and His existence are proved by the creation, and it is the definite fact that men, being without excuse, can know God by the creation. This great reality, this great truth, should cause men to know God and thereby to glorify Him and thank Him (v. 21). However, instead of dealing properly with this reality, this truth, according to righteousness, in which God delights, men held down the truth in unrighteousness, which God hates, and did not approve of knowing God (v. 28). Therefore, they despised and rejected God, changing the glory of God into idols (vv. 21-23) and casting off self-restraint to fall without limit (vv. 24-32), so that they were given up, abandoned, by God (vv. 24, 26, 28).
Rom 1:191 within
Or, among.
Rom 1:201 divine
Gk. theiotes, denoting God’s attributes, which are the special features, the characteristics, as the outward manifestations of God’s nature or substance. It is different from theotes in Col. 2:9, which denotes God’s Godhead and person. The characteristics of God’s nature can be verified through the created things; however, the created things cannot manifest God’s Godhead and person. Only the living person of Jesus Christ, the Word who is God and who declares God (John 1:1, 18), can express God’s Godhead and person, that is, the very God, God Himself. Here, in this chapter, the apostle Paul speaks of the created things verifying God’s existence, but what is verified are only the attributes and characteristics of God. In Col. 2:9 he speaks of Christ as the embodiment of God, and what is expressed is the Godhead and God’s person, that is, God Himself.
Rom 1:202a being Psa. 19:1-4; Job 12:7-9; Acts 14:17
Man can perceive the invisible things of God by observing the visible things created by Him. Both the eternal power of God and the divine characteristics that express God’s intrinsic nature are manifested in God’s creation. For example, the abundance of light in the universe shows that light is a divine characteristic, a divine attribute of the divine nature (James 1:17). The same is true of beauty and life.
Rom 1:211 they
In this chapter Paul’s presentation of God’s creation and man’s step-by-step fall is undoubtedly based on the historical facts as recorded in Gen. 1—19 and in subsequent books of the Old Testament. First, vv. 19-20 speak concerning God’s creation; then vv. 21-25 cover the fall of Adam and progress through the age of the flood to the worshipping of idols at Babel. Verses 26-27 progress further, from Babel to the shameful lusts of Sodom, and vv. 28-32 go on from Sodom to every kind of wickedness in the Old Testament time.
Rom 1:212 vain
Vain reasonings are the basic element in the daily life of fallen mankind. See note 173 in Eph. 4.
Rom 1:231a changed Jer. 2:11
To change the glory of God into anything else is to forsake Him and to make an idol.
Rom 1:241 gave
The same expression is used also in vv. 26 and 28. The result of man’s giving up God is man’s being given up by Him. Those who give up God force God to give them up. According to this chapter God gives people up to three things: uncleanness (v. 24), passions of dishonor (v. 26), and a disapproved mind (v. 28). The consequence of such a giving up is fornication (vv. 24, 26-27), which violates a governing and controlling principle and brings in confusion. Every kind of evil issues from this fornication (vv. 29-32).
Rom 1:251 truth
The truth of God is the reality of God. God is true and real. What He is, is a reality. But the idols are false. Whatever they are is a lie.
Rom 1:321 righteous
Or, righteous requirement, as in 8:4; that is, the requirement of God’s righteous will. Hence, this phrase also refers to the judgment that is out of God’s will (Rev. 15:4), or to statutes with judgments, that is, ordinances (2:26; Luke 1:6), or to the righteous act that meets God’s requirement (5:18).
Rom 2:11 judges
Meaning to pass judgment, to criticize. So in subsequent verses.
Rom 2:21 judgment
Referring to God’s eternal judgment, which will be carried out mainly at the great white throne, as revealed in Rev. 20:11-15. See note 101 in ch. 14.
Rom 2:22 truth
Truth here and in vv. 8, 20 denotes the reality revealed through the creation and through the Bible concerning God, the universe, man, the relationship between man and God, the relationships among men, and man’s obligation to God. It also refers to the actual situation and condition of man, and it may be the terms of God’s judgment upon man, as indicated in vv. 6-15. According to these terms God will execute His judgment righteously.
Rom 2:31 judgment
See note 21. So in vv. 5, 16.
Rom 2:5a righteous Heb. 9:27; Rev. 20:11-12
Rom 2:71 To
Verses 7-10 give the basic terms of God’s eternal judgment.
Rom 2:121 under
Lit., in law; i.e., in the sphere of law.
Rom 2:141 by
The nature of man, as created by God, was originally good and corresponded with God and with His law. Although it was poisoned by the fall, this good nature remains within man. Hence, if anyone lives according to his nature and does by his nature the things of the law, the evil in him will be restricted.
Rom 2:151 conscience
Man’s conscience corresponds with the God-created human nature and enables man to know what God justifies and what He condemns.
Rom 2:16a through John 5:22; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1
Rom 2:171 But
In this section, which specifically deals with God’s condemnation on the religious, Paul first points out the pitiful condition of the Jews, who represent the religious people. They have only the vanity of their religious rituals, letters, and knowledge; they do not have God as their reality.
Rom 2:172 boast
In the Jewish religion God is known only outwardly and objectively, not inwardly and subjectively. This shows the vanity of human religion.
Rom 2:181 approve
Or, prove the things that differ.
Rom 2:201 babes
The same Greek word as for little children in Eph. 4:14 and child in Gal. 4:1.
Rom 2:211 You
That the religious people practice the same evils as the unreligious exposes the vanity of their religion. See note 171.
Rom 2:261 ordinances
Or, requirements.
Rom 2:281 For
Lit., For the Jew in what is manifest is not a Jew; neither is the circumcision in what is manifest in the flesh circumcision.
Rom 2:28a not Rom. 9:6; John 8:39-40
Rom 2:282 outwardly
Any religious practice, such as circumcision, that is merely an outward form is not real. See note 171.
Rom 2:28b circumcision Gal. 6:15
Rom 2:291 But
Lit., But the Jew in what is hidden is a Jew.
Rom 2:292a in Rom. 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6
I.e., based on. Whatever we are, whatever we do, and whatever we have must be in spirit. This will keep us from the vanity of religion. See note 92 in ch. 1. The reality of all spiritual things depends on the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is in our spirit. Hence, the reality of all spiritual matters depends on our spirit, not on anything apart from our spirit. Whatever is in us is vanity unless it is in our spirit. Everything that God is to us is in our spirit.
Rom 2:293 from
Lit., out of.
Rom 3:41 Absolutely
Lit., May it not happen. So throughout this Epistle.
Rom 3:42 declared
God must first convince us of His righteousness before we can repent and believe into Him. Thus, He is declared righteous by us before we are declared righteous by Him.
Rom 3:71a truthfulness Rom. 15:8
In Greek the same word as for truth (reality). The word here and in 15:8 denotes genuineness, sincerity, honesty, faithfulness, and trustworthiness as one of God’s virtues (see note 66, item 7, in 1 John 1).
Rom 3:81 judgment
The eternal judgment. See note 21 in ch. 2.
Rom 3:10a There Psa. 14:1-3; 53:1-3
Rom 3:121 good
Or, kindness.
Rom 3:13b the Psa. 140:3
Rom 3:171 way
When we were sinners, we did not know the way of peace. Now, however, we have peace toward God (5:1); that is, we are at peace with God.
Rom 3:191 that
God’s purpose in giving the law was to expose man, to subdue man, and to guard or keep God’s chosen ones for Christ that they may be led to Christ (see notes on Gal. 3:23-24).
Rom 3:20b through Rom. 7:7; 5:13, 20
Rom 3:211 apart
God’s righteousness, which is revealed in the gospel (1:17), is the basis and foundation of His dispensing Himself into man in His New Testament economy. This righteousness has nothing to do with the law in His Old Testament economy (see Phil. 3:9 and notes there).
Rom 3:212 righteousness
See note 171 in ch. 1. So in the next verse.
Rom 3:213 manifested
The Jews sought the righteousness of God by keeping the law. However, they did not attain to it, for out of the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before God (v. 20). But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested to us through faith in Christ (1:17).
Rom 3:221 faith
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Rom 3:221 [1] Or, faith in Jesus Christ. This faith refers to the faith of Jesus Christ in us, which has become the faith by which we believe in Him, as in v. 26; Gal. 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph. 3:12; and Phil. 3:9.
Rom 3:221 [2] Faith has an object, and it issues from its object. This object is Jesus, who is God incarnate. When man hears Him, knows Him, appreciates Him, and treasures Him, He causes faith to be generated in man, enabling man to believe in Him. Thus, He becomes the faith in man by which man believes in Him. Hence, this faith becomes the faith in Him, and it is also the faith that belongs to Him.
Rom 3:221 [3] In God’s New Testament economy, God desires that man believe in Jesus, who is God incarnate. If man does not believe in Him, he commits the unique sin before God (John 16:9). However, if man believes in Him, he is righteous to the uttermost before God, and God reckons this faith as his righteousness. At the same time, this faith brings its object, that is, this One who is God incarnate, into those who believe in Him. He is God’s righteousness, and God has given Him as righteousness to those who are indwelt by Him (Jer. 23:6). All this is out of, and depends on, the faith that is in Him and of Him (Heb. 12:2).
Rom 3:231 glory
God’s glory is God expressed. Whenever God is expressed, His glory is seen. Man was made by God in His image that man might express Him for His glory. But man has sinned and has contradicted the holiness and righteousness of God. Instead of expressing God, man expresses sin and his sinful self. Hence, man falls short of God’s glory. This falling short of God’s glory and expression is sin. Sinners are not only under the requirements of God’s holiness and righteousness but also under the demand of God’s glory. All have offended God’s holy being and have broken God’s righteous law, and all are short of God’s glory. Therefore, all are under God’s condemnation.
Rom 3:241 justified
Justification is God’s action whereby He approves people according to His standard of righteousness. God can do this on the basis of the redemption of Christ.
Rom 3:242 freely
Since Christ has paid the price for our sins and in His redemption has fulfilled all God’s requirements on us, God, because He is just, must justify us freely. Such justification is by the grace of God, not by our works.
Rom 3:243 redemption
To redeem is to purchase back at a cost. We originally belonged to God but became lost through sin. The requirements of God’s holiness, righteousness, and glory were so great upon us that it was impossible for us to fulfill them. However, God paid the price for us through Christ, repossessing us at a tremendous cost. Christ died on the cross to redeem us (Gal. 3:13; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18); His blood obtained eternal redemption for us (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
Rom 3:251 set
In the Old Testament, the expiation cover, the lid of the Ark, as a type, was hidden in the Holy of Holies; in the New Testament, Christ as the propitiation place, the reality of the expiation cover, is openly set forth before all men.
Rom 3:252a propitiation Exo. 25:16-22; Lev. 16:12-16; Heb. 9:4-5
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Rom 3:252 [1] The propitiation place is typified in Exo. 25:17 by the sin-covering lid on the Ark. The Ark was the place where God met with people. In the Ark was the law of the Ten Commandments, which by its holy and righteous requirement exposed and condemned the sins of the people who came to contact God. However, by the lid of the Ark, with the propitiating blood sprinkled on it on the Day of Expiation, the entire situation on the sinner’s side was fully covered. Therefore, upon this sin-covering lid God could meet with the people who broke His righteous law, and He could do this without, governmentally, any contradiction to His righteousness, even under the observing of the cherubim that bore His glory and overshadowed the lid of the Ark. Thus, the problem between man and God was appeased, enabling God to forgive and be merciful to man and thereby to give His grace to man. This is a prefigure of Christ as the Lamb of God taking away the sin that caused man to have a problem with God (John 1:29), thus satisfying all the requirements of God’s holiness, righteousness, and glory and appeasing the relationship between man and God. Hence, God could pass over the people’s sins that had previously occurred. And, in order to show forth His righteousness, He had to do this. This is what this verse refers to.
Rom 3:252 [2] The Hebrew word for the lid of the Ark is kapporeth, from a root meaning to cover. In the Septuagint this word is translated hilasterion, which means the place of propitiation (implying to forgive and to give mercy—the word rendered propitious in Heb. 8:12 is the root of hilasterion, and the word rendered propitiated in Luke 18:13 is derived from this root). The King James Version adopts the rendering “mercy seat,” referring to the place where God grants mercy to man. In Heb. 9:5 Paul also used hilasterion for the lid of the Ark. Here, in Rom. 3:25, the same word, hilasterion, is used to show that the lid of the Ark signifies Christ as the propitiation place set forth by God.
Rom 3:252 [3] In addition to hilasterion, two other words derived from the same Greek word as hilasterion are used in the New Testament to show how Christ took away man’s sin to appease the relationship between man and God. One is hilaskomai (Heb. 2:17), which means to propitiate, that is, to appease, to reconcile one by satisfying the other’s demand; the other is hilasmos (1 John 2:2; 4:10), which means that which propitiates, that is, a propitiatory sacrifice. Christ made propitiation for our sins (Heb. 2:17); hence, He has become that which propitiates, the propitiatory sacrifice, between us and God (1 John 2:2; 4:10), and He has also become the place, as typified by the lid of the Ark (Heb. 9:5), where we enjoy propitiation before God and where God gives grace to us.
Rom 3:253 passed
During the Old Testament time, the sins of the people were not taken away but were only covered with the blood of the animal sacrifices, which were types of Christ. God passed over these covered sins until Christ came. He was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world (John 1:29). By His death on the cross and the shedding of His blood for redemption, He carried away all the sins that had been previously covered and passed over. In passing over their sins, God demonstrated His righteousness to the Old Testament saints.
Rom 3:261 justifies
God’s justifying the believers is with a view to the demonstrating of His righteousness to those in the New Testament time who are of the faith of Jesus.
Rom 3:262 faith
Or, faith in Jesus. See note 221.
Rom 3:271 It
Lit., It is completely shut out.
Rom 3:301 out
Faith is the source out of which the circumcision, who already have the position as God’s people, may be justified by God; hence, their justification is out of faith. But as to the uncircumcision, who are positionally far away and are not God’s people, faith is the way for them to reach the position where they can be justified by God; hence, their justification is through faith.
Rom 3:30a uncircumcision Gal. 3:8
Rom 4:11 What
After dealing in ch. 3 with the objective, positional justification accomplished by the death of Christ, Paul in this chapter shows the subjective, dispositional justification carried out by the resurrection of Christ. He uses Abraham as the example to show that adequate, living justification is God’s deeper work in calling fallen people out of everything other than God and bringing them back to Himself, so that they place their full trust in Him rather than in themselves. In Gen. 15 Abraham’s being justified by God was not related to sin; rather, it was for the gaining of a seed to produce a kingdom that will inherit the world (v. 13). Likewise, this chapter indicates that justification is not merely for man to be delivered out of God’s condemnation, but even more for God to gain many sons (8:29-30) to constitute the one Body of Christ (ch. 12) as the kingdom of God (14:17) for the fulfillment of His purpose. The objective, positional justification covered in ch. 3 is related to redemption, through which man may be reconciled to God; the subjective, dispositional justification covered in ch. 4 is related to life, through which men may become heirs for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. This requires that man’s flesh and his natural ability be cut off, circumcised.
Rom 4:12 forefather
Abraham is the forefather of all believers, of both the uncircumcision who have the same faith and the circumcision who walk in the steps of the same faith.
Rom 4:21 works
This refers to Abraham’s doing something for God by himself, as seen in his attempts to have God accept the fruit of his efforts (first Lot, then Eliezer, then Ishmael, who was born through Hagar) as God’s promised seed. The result of Abraham’s being justified, however, was that he eventually stopped his own work for God. This was signified by circumcision (v. 11), which is the cutting off of the flesh. Hence, circumcision became God’s constant reminder to Abraham to stop his own doing and live by faith in God. Justification has nothing to do with the works and accomplishments of the flesh.
Rom 4:3a And Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:9, 22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23
Rom 4:31 believed
Believing God was Abraham’s spontaneous reaction to God’s repeated appearing to him. God appeared to Abraham a number of times (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-7; ch. 18; Acts 7:2), each time transfusing something of His glory, something of Himself, into Abraham. Hence, Abraham’s believing was actually the springing up within him of the very element that God had transfused into him. God’s reaction to Abraham’s believing was to justify him, that is, to account him righteous. This accounting was not out of works but was based on his believing God.
Rom 4:41 one
The natural man always works for God in order to receive compensation (wages). With the natural man there is no grace, faith, or enjoyment (see Exo. 12:45).
Rom 4:42 wages
God’s justification is not a reward (wages) for our good works (labor); it is grace freely given to us through Christ’s redemption. If God’s justification were based on our good works, or if it required our good works, then it would be the wages we earn for our good works; that is, it would be something owed to us, not something freely given by God. Since God’s justification is reckoned according to His grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace (11:6). Our works can by no means replace God’s grace; God’s grace must be absolute.
Rom 4:11a received Gen. 17:10, 23
Rom 4:111 sign
Circumcision was not the reason that Abraham was justified; rather, it was the outward sign and confirmation that God had already justified him. It denoted the cutting off of the natural strength by which he had produced Ishmael in his effort to please God. Abraham was already justified before he was circumcised, and God had already confirmed His covenant with him in Gen. 15. Circumcision was to confirm the covenant from Abraham’s side, to serve as a constant reminder to him that he should no longer use his natural strength and energy to please God.
Rom 4:112 righteousness
See note 132.
Rom 4:121a walk Gal. 6:16; Phil. 3:16
The Greek word means to walk in a regulated, definite way (see notes 252 in Gal. 5 and 164 in Phil. 3). Here it refers to walking in the steps by observing the elements of the faith. If one walks in the steps of Abraham’s faith, Abraham becomes the father of circumcision to him, and this one enters into a life in which he does not trust in himself but in God, with the result that he is justified subjectively and thus becomes His genuine heir.
Rom 4:13a the Rom. 9:8; Gal. 3:16
Rom 4:13b that Gen. 17:4-7; 22:17
Rom 4:131 heir
Justification is for God’s chosen ones to inherit the world that they may exercise God’s dominion on earth (Gen. 1:26).
Rom 4:132 righteousness
The law was God’s temporary economy (dispensation) for man in the Old Testament, since it was added temporarily because of man’s transgressions (Gal. 3:19); the faith is God’s eternal economy (dispensation) for man in the New Testament, because it is based on God’s eternal plan (cf. note 44 in 1 Tim. 1). In the Old Testament God dealt with man according to the law. If, according to that dispensation of God, man would have done what God commanded in the law, he would have obtained righteousness, that is, the righteousness of the law (9:31), the righteousness which is out of the law (10:5; Phil. 3:9). In the New Testament God deals with man according to the faith. If, according to this dispensation of God, man believes in Christ, the One in whom God has ordained that man should believe (1 John 3:23), he will obtain righteousness, that is, the righteousness of faith (v. 11), the righteousness which is out of faith (9:30; 10:6). The faith, which is ordained by God in the New Testament economy and which replaces the law of the Old Testament, did not come until the New Testament time (Gal. 3:23, 25). This faith, which replaces the law, is objective to us. When according to this objective faith we believe subjectively in Christ, in whom God intended that we believe, we receive the righteousness of faith. This righteousness is the Christ whom we possess—whom we receive by our subjective believing according to the objective faith ordained by God—as God’s righteousness received by us (1 Cor. 1:30).
Rom 4:15b where Rom. 3:20; 5:20; 7:7
Rom 4:161 father
As the father of all those called by God, Abraham was the first of a new race chosen by God. We were born into the fallen Adamic race, but we have been reborn into the called-out Abrahamic race. Whoever is of faith, as Abraham was, is a member of this new race and a son of Abraham (Gal. 3:7).
Rom 4:171 believed
Abraham believed God regarding two things: (1) the birth of Isaac, which is related to the God who “calls the things not being as being,” and (2) the offering up and the gaining back of Isaac, which is related to the God who “gives life to the dead.” Abraham believed such a God and applied Him to his situation. Because Abraham had such faith, he believed God’s seemingly impossible word concerning the birth of Isaac, and he also immediately obeyed God’s commandment to offer Isaac, believing that God would raise him from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19).
Rom 4:17b who Heb. 11:19
Rom 4:172 gives
This is God’s great power of resurrection. This great power enables us to eliminate death and overcome all that belongs to death. Abraham experienced this great power of resurrection when he offered Isaac according to God’s command.
Rom 4:173 calls
This is God’s mighty power of creation. As the creating God, He needs no material to work with; He can create something out of nothing simply by speaking: “For He spoke, and it was” (Psa. 33:9).
Rom 4:181 in
Lit., on. Abraham, as the example of one who is justified out of faith, lived by the things hoped for (see note 13 in Heb. 11).
Rom 4:191a already Heb. 11:12
This indicates the termination of Abraham’s natural strength. This termination is related to God’s justifying him subjectively.
Rom 4:19b being Gen. 17:17
Rom 4:19c deadening Gen. 18:11; Heb. 11:11
Rom 4:21a what Gen. 18:14
Rom 4:241 Him
The faith that is accounted to us as righteousness is our believing on God, who righteously judged Christ for our sins, righteously put Him to death in our place, and righteously raised Him from the dead.
Rom 4:251 raised
The death of Christ has fulfilled and fully satisfied God’s righteous requirements; hence, we are justified by God through His death (3:24). His resurrection proves that God’s requirements were satisfied by His death for us, that we are justified by God because of His death, and that in Him, the resurrected One, we are accepted before God. Furthermore, as the resurrected One, He is in us to live for us a life that can be justified by God and is always acceptable to God.
Rom 4:25a for John 16:10
Rom 5:1b peace Rom. 1:7; 8:6; 14:17; 15:13; 16:20
Rom 5:11 toward
Our journey into God through our being justified out of faith has not yet been completed; thus, Paul used the word toward, not with. Grace is for our standing (v. 2), and peace is for our walk.
Rom 5:21 faith
The very faith that justifies us and cuts off the flesh with its natural energy and effort also gives us access into God’s grace. If we remain in the flesh with its natural effort, we will neither know nor enjoy the grace of God; but if we live by faith, we will enter into the full enjoyment of God’s grace.
Rom 5:22a grace Rom. 1:7; 3:24; 5:15, 17, 20, 21; 6:14; 16:20; John 1:14, 16; Eph. 1:6, 7; 2:5, 7, 8; 1 Tim. 1:14; Phil. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:2; 3:7; 4:10; 2 Pet. 3:18; 2 Tim. 2:1; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:9; 13:14; Gal. 5:4; 6:18
Grace is the Triune God Himself, processed that we may enter into Him and enjoy Him. Grace here, in the deepest sense, is the Triune God as our enjoyment. It is more than unmerited favor and more than mere outward blessing. We are not merely under God’s blessing; we are in His grace (see note 23).
Rom 5:23 stand
Faith first gives us access into grace, then, a solid standing in grace.
Rom 5:24 boast
Boast in Greek also has the meaning of exult. This indicates our enjoyment of God. (So in the next verse.)
Rom 5:25b hope Rom. 8:24-25; Col. 1:27; Titus 2:13
Our hope is that we will be brought into the glory of God, that is, into His expression. This will be fully realized in the coming millennial kingdom, where Christ will be revealed as our glory. Today we are in the hope of this coming glory (see note 13 in Heb. 11).
Rom 5:2c glory Rom. 8:17-18; 9:23; 1 Cor. 2:7; Col. 3:4; 1 Thes. 2:12; 1 Pet. 5:10
Rom 5:31 tribulations
Tribulations are part of the “all things” in 8:28 that God causes to work together for good that we might be sanctified, transformed, and conformed to the image of His Son, who has entered into glory. Because of this, we can receive tribulations as the sweet visitation and incarnation of grace and thereby boast in them. Through tribulations the killing effect of the cross of Christ on our natural being is applied in us by the Holy Spirit, making the way for the God of resurrection to add Himself to us (see 2 Cor. 4:16-18).
Rom 5:32 endurance
Meaning persistence. Persistence is the product of patience plus suffering.
Rom 5:41 approvedness
Approvedness is an approved quality or attribute resulting from the enduring and experiencing of tribulation and testing.
Rom 5:51a love Rom. 8:39; 2 Cor. 13:14
The love of God is God Himself (1 John 4:8, 16). God has poured out this love in our hearts with the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, as the motivating power within us, that we may more than conquer in all our tribulations (see note 371 in ch. 8). Therefore, when we endure any kind of tribulation, we are not put to shame.
Rom 5:61 weak
I.e., impotent; unable to please God.
Rom 5:6a died 1 Cor. 15:3
Rom 5:101a reconciled 2 Cor. 5:19-20
Propitiation and forgiveness of sins are adequate for a sinner but not for an enemy. An enemy needs reconciliation, which includes propitiation and forgiveness but goes further, even to resolving the conflict between two parties. Our being reconciled to God is based on Christ’s redemption and was accomplished through God’s justification (3:24; 2 Cor. 5:18-19). Reconciliation is the result of being justified out of faith.
Rom 5:102 much
Verse 10 of this chapter points out that God’s full salvation revealed in this book consists of two sections: one section is the redemption accomplished for us by Christ’s death, and the other section is the saving afforded us by Christ’s life. The first four chapters of this book discourse comprehensively regarding the redemption accomplished by Christ’s death, whereas the last twelve chapters speak in detail concerning the saving afforded by Christ’s life. Before 5:11, Paul shows us that we are saved because we have been redeemed, justified, and reconciled to God. However, we have not yet been saved to the extent of being sanctified, transformed, and conformed to the image of God’s Son. Redemption, justification, and reconciliation, which are accomplished outside of us by the death of Christ, redeem us objectively; sanctification, transformation, and conformation, which are accomplished within us by the working of Christ’s life, save us subjectively. Objective redemption redeems us positionally from condemnation and eternal punishment; subjective salvation saves us dispositionally from our old man, our self, and our natural life.
Rom 5:103 saved
Being reconciled to God through Christ’s death is an accomplished matter, but being saved in His life from so many negative things unto glorification is a daily matter.
Rom 5:104 in
To be saved in Christ’s life is to be saved in Christ Himself as life. He dwells in us, and we are organically one with Him. By the growth of His life in us, we will enjoy His full salvation to the uttermost. Redemption, justification, and reconciliation are for the purpose of bringing us into union with Christ so that He can save us in His life unto glorification (8:30).
Rom 5:105b life Rom. 5:17, 18, 21; 6:4; 8:2, 6, 10; John 10:10
Implying resurrection. After death is spoken of in the first part of this verse, life is mentioned. Christ died that He might be our life in resurrection. We have been saved by Christ’s death from God’s eternal judgment and eternal punishment, but we are still being saved by Christ’s life in His resurrection. The life here, the power in 1:16, and the Spirit in ch. 8 refer to different aspects of the processed Triune God.
Rom 5:111 boasting
To boast in God means to have God as our boast and our exultation, indicating that God is our enjoyment and our rejoicing. See note 24. It is in boasting, in exulting, and in enjoying in this way that we are being saved in the life of Christ.
Rom 5:11a reconciliation See 10a
Rom 5:121a one 1 Cor. 15:21
I.e., Adam, the first man, the father of the entire human race, who brought in death through sin. In contrast to Adam is Christ, the second man (1 Cor. 15:47), who brought in life through righteousness (vv. 17-18).
Rom 5:122b sin Rom. 5:13, 20; 6:1, 2 7, 10, 11, 12, 13,14, 17, 20, 22, 23; 7:7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 20, 23; 8:2, 3, 10
Up to v. 11 sins (plural) have been dealt with. From v. 12 sin (singular) is dealt with. It seems that in chs. 5—8 sin is personified. Sin is not merely an action; it is like a person who can enter (v. 12), reign (v. 21), lord it over people (6:14), deceive and kill people (7:11), and dwell in people and cause them to do things against their will (7:17, 20). It is quite alive (7:9) and exceedingly active; hence, it must be the evil nature of Satan, the evil one, who, having injected himself into man through Adam’s fall, has now become the very sinful nature dwelling, acting, and working in fallen man. This indwelling, personified sinful nature is the root of all the outward sinful acts.
Rom 5:123 world
Or, people of the world; referring to mankind (John 1:29; 3:16).
Rom 5:12c through James 1:15; 1 Cor. 15:55, 56; Heb. 2:14; Rom. 5:14, 17, 21; 6:9, 16, 21, 23; 7:5, 10, 13, 24; 8:2, 6; Heb. 2:9, 15; 1 Cor. 15:54, 26; Rev. 20:14
Rom 5:124 death
Death is the ultimate result of man’s fall. Man’s spirit was deadened first, and eventually his body also died. Death and sin cannot be separated; where one is, the other will be found. Furthermore, death is not only a physical suffering in the future; it is something in which man is involved daily.
Rom 5:124d death 1 Cor. 15:22
See note 124.
Rom 5:131 charged
Sin existed before the law was given, but it was not manifested to man or charged to his account by God before that time.
Rom 5:13a law Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:20; 7:7, 13
Rom 5:141a death Rom. 5:17; 6:9
Death is mentioned many times in chs. 5—8 (vv. 12, 14, 17, 21; 6:9, 16, 21, 23; 7:5, 10, 13, 24; 8:2, 6, 38). Life also is mentioned repeatedly in these chapters (vv. 10, 17-18, 21; 6:4, 22-23; 7:10; 8:2, 6, 10-11, 38). These two key words form two contrasting lines through chs. 5—8, the line of life and the line of death, showing that man is at the center of a triangular situation between God and Satan, life and death. Thus, chs. 5—8 of Romans can be called the kernel of the Bible, showing its entire theme in a concrete and detailed way.
Rom 5:142 Adam
From Adam to Moses was the dispensation before law (without law); from Moses to Christ (John 1:17) was the dispensation of law; from Christ’s first coming to the restoration of all things (Acts 3:20-21) is the dispensation of grace; and from Christ’s second coming to the end of the millennium (Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6) is the dispensation of the kingdom. These dispensations are used by God to accomplish His work of the new creation in the old creation.
Rom 5:143 transgression
In this chapter the words transgression, offense, and disobedience all refer to the fall of Adam, which consisted in his leaving life and choosing death. Adam forsook the tree of life, which denotes God as life, to pursue the tree of knowledge, which signifies Satan as the source of death (Gen. 2:8-9, 17; 3:1-7).
Rom 5:144 type
Adam was the head of the old collective man (mankind). Whatever he did and whatever happened to him is participated in by all mankind. In this respect he is a type of Christ, who is the Head of the new corporate man, the church (Eph. 2:15-16). Whatever He did and whatever happened to Him is participated in by all the members of His Body, the church (Eph. 1:22-23).
Rom 5:151b man 1 Cor. 15:47
Christ our Redeemer was fully a man and was fully God as well (see 9:5). Grace with all its gifts abounded in the humanity of Christ.
Rom 5:152 abounded
Grace not only abounds (v. 17) and multiplies (superabounds—v. 20) but also reigns (v. 21). Only a living person can reign.
Rom 5:161 gift
Referring to the gift of righteousness, which we have received (v. 17). This indicates that the righteousness given to us by God is a gift.
Rom 5:16a justification Rom. 4:25
Rom 5:171 abundance
Those who receive the abundant grace are able to reign in life, for life issues out of the abundance of grace.
Rom 5:172 righteousness
The gift of righteousness erases judgment. Judgment comes from sin, but righteousness comes from grace. Righteousness always accompanies grace and is its result. Subjective righteousness (4:25b) comes from grace (vv. 17, 19), and grace comes from objective righteousness (vv. 1-2).
Rom 5:173 reign
The life we have received does not merely save us from a few things; rather, it enthrones us as kings to reign over all things. This is much higher than being saved in life. We have received righteousness objectively, but we still need to continually receive the abundance of grace so that we can reign in life subjectively. This reigning is defined in chs. 6—16; all the matters expounded there are the issue not of our endeavoring but of our receiving the abundance of grace.
Rom 5:174 life
Life here, and in vv. 10, 18, 21; 6:4; and 8:2, 6, 10, refers to the eternal, divine, uncreated life of God (zoe), which is Christ Himself as life to us (John 11:25; 14:6; Col. 3:4). It is different from both our physical life (bios—Luke 8:14) and our soulish life (psuche—Matt. 16:25-26; John 12:25). This eternal life of God is the main element of the divine grace that has been given to us, and in this eternal life we can reign.
Rom 5:181 righteous
Christ’s righteous act of dying on the cross resulted in justification of life. Verse 21 says that grace reigns through righteousness unto life. These two verses show that life comes as the result of righteousness (see 8:10).
Rom 5:182 life
Life is the goal of God’s salvation; thus, justification is “of life.” Justification is not an end in itself; it is for life. Through justification we have come up to the standard of God’s righteousness and correspond with it, so that now He can impart His life to us. Justification changes our outward position; life changes our inward disposition. Justification unto life indicates that life is the focus of this chapter and that the organic union of life is an issue of justification.
Rom 5:191 constituted
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 5:191 [1] Whether we are sinners or are righteous depends not on our actions but on our inward constitution. Through his fall Adam received an element that was not created by God. This was the satanic nature, which became the constituting essence and main element of fallen man. It is this constituting essence and element that constituted all men sinners. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. Whether we do good or evil, in Adam we have been constituted sinners. This is due to our inward element, not our outward actions.
Rom 5:191 [2] In contrast, Christ constitutes us righteous. When He, the living God, comes into our being as grace, we are constituted righteous. He becomes the constituting essence and element in us that can transform us from sinners into sons of God. He alone is able to accomplish such a reconstituting work.
Rom 5:192 obedience
Christ’s death on the cross was the highest expression of His obedience and was regarded by God a righteous act (v. 18; see Phil. 2:8).
Rom 5:20a law Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 7:7
Rom 5:201 abound
The law causes sin to abound, that is, to become evident and recognizable to man. In this way man’s sinfulness is fully exposed.
Rom 5:211a sin Rom. 6:14
Sin reigns by the authority of death and brings in death by its reign. Thus, a sinner must die.
Rom 5:212 righteousness
Righteousness is the footing, the base, and the means for God to dispense Himself to us as grace. This righteousness gives us the ground to claim Christ as our grace. By giving grace to us, God manifests His righteousness (see 1:17). Furthermore, the power of this grace operates in us and produces subjective righteousness, making us right with God, with others, and even with ourselves; and it not only subdues sin but also overcomes Satan and death in our being. Thus grace reigns through righteousness, resulting in eternal life.
Rom 5:21b eternal Rom. 6:22, 23; John 3:16; 17:2, 3; 1 John 5:11, 20
Rom 6:2a died Rom. 6:11; 1 Pet. 2:24
Rom 6:31a baptized Gal. 3:27
Baptism is not a form or a ritual; it signifies our identification with Christ. Through baptism we are immersed into Christ, taking Him as our realm, that we may be united with Him as one in His death and resurrection.
Rom 6:32 Christ
We were born in the sphere of Adam, the first man (1 Cor. 15:45, 47), but through baptism we have been transferred into the sphere of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 3:27), the second man (1 Cor. 15:47).
Rom 6:33 His
When we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into His death. His death has separated us from the world and the satanic power of darkness and has terminated our natural life, our old nature, our self, our flesh, and even our entire history.
Rom 6:41a buried Col. 2:12
Our old man has been crucified with Christ (v. 6), and it has been buried with Him through baptism into death. In the natural realm, a person first dies and then is buried; but Paul’s word indicates that in the spiritual realm, we are first buried and then die. We do not die directly; we enter into Christ’s death through baptism.
Rom 6:42 baptism
Christ and His death are one. Apart from Him we could never be baptized into His death, for the element of His effective death is found only in Him, the resurrected, all-inclusive One.
Rom 6:4b raised Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:1
Rom 6:43c glory Matt. 16:27; John 11:40
Referring to the manifestation of divinity.
Rom 6:44 walk
After baptism we become a new person in resurrection. Resurrection is not only a future state; it is also a present process. To walk in newness of life means to live today in the realm of resurrection and to reign in life. This kind of living deals with all that is of Adam in us until we are fully transformed and conformed to the image of Christ (8:29).
Rom 6:4d newness Rom. 7:6; 2 Cor. 5:17
Rom 6:4e life Rom. 5:10, 17, 18, 21; 8:2, 6
Rom 6:51 grown
This denotes an organic union in which growth takes place, so that one partakes of the life and characteristics of the other. In the organic union with Christ, whatever Christ passed through has become our history. His death and resurrection are now ours because we are in Him and are organically joined to Him. This is grafting (11:24). Such a grafting (1) discharges all our negative elements, (2) resurrects our God-created faculties, (3) uplifts our faculties, (4) enriches our faculties, and (5) saturates our entire being to transform us.
Rom 6:52 likeness
The likeness of Christ’s death is the baptism mentioned in v. 4; the likeness of Christ’s resurrection is the newness of life mentioned in v. 4.
Rom 6:53 in
This does not refer to a future, objective resurrection but to the present process of growth. When we were baptized, we grew together with Christ in the likeness of His death; now, through His death we are growing into His resurrection. Just as the element of Christ’s death is found only in Him, so the element of Christ’s resurrection is found only in Christ Himself. He Himself is resurrection (John 11:25). After experiencing a proper baptism, we continue to grow in and with Christ in the likeness of His resurrection, that is, to walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:61 Knowing
In Greek, knowing here refers to the outward, objective knowledge; knowing in v. 9 and know in v. 16 refer to the inward, subjective consciousness.
Rom 6:62 old
Referring to the natural life in our soul. The old man is our very being, which was created by God but became fallen through sin, and it is the same as the “I” in Gal. 2:20. It is not the soul itself but the life of the soul, which has been counted by God as hopeless and has been put on the cross and crucified with Christ. Formerly, our soul acted as an independent person, with the old man as its life and personality; now, since the old man has been crucified, our soul should act only as an organ of Christ and should be under the control of our spirit, having Christ as its life.
Rom 6:63a crucified Gal. 2:20
See note 242 in Gal. 5.
Rom 6:64b body cf. Rom. 7:24
The body indwelt, occupied, corrupted, possessed, utilized, and enslaved by sin, so that it does sinful things. This body of sin is very active and full of strength to commit sins; it differs from “the body of this death” mentioned in 7:24, which is weak and powerless in the things of God. The body of sin is not the sinning person but the sinning instrument utilized by the old man to express himself by committing sins, thereby causing the body of sin to become the flesh. Hence, the body of sin in this verse and the flesh of sin in 8:3 refer to the same thing.
Rom 6:65 annulled
Or, unemployed, jobless, inactive. Because the old man has been crucified with Christ, the body that had been utilized by him as the instrument for sinning now has nothing to do; it is unemployed, jobless. Thus, we have been freed from sin (vv. 18-22) and no longer need to be under the bondage of sin to serve sin as slaves.
Rom 6:71 sin
Both the nature of sin with its power and its pain, and the sinful acts with their history and their judgment.
Rom 6:81 with
This again shows our organic union with Christ in His death and His resurrection.
Rom 6:8b live John 14:19; Gal. 2:20
Rom 6:91 no
In His resurrection Christ is transcendent over corruption and death. Since we are one with Him in this resurrection, we also are transcendent over corruption and death.
Rom 6:111 reckon
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 6:111 [1] Or, consider. Reckoning is not a technique but a spontaneous believing, a spontaneous considering, produced by seeing the facts that are revealed in this chapter. We must see and believe the facts, recognize them, and, according to them, reckon ourselves dead to sin and living to God.
Rom 6:111 [2] Reckoning, however, is not the cause of death and cannot by itself execute the death of Christ within us. Only by the enjoyment of the Spirit, who is revealed in ch. 8, will we experience Christ’s all-inclusive and effective death and His resurrection and its power, which are revealed here in this chapter. This chapter shows the objective facts accomplished by Christ for us; these need our believing and reckoning. Chapter 8 shows the subjective work of the Spirit in making the facts accomplished by Christ real in our practical experience; this needs our fellowship with and enjoyment of Him. The facts spoken of in this chapter can become our experience only in the Spirit revealed in ch. 8.
Rom 6:121 Do
This is to reject sin and to cooperate with the Spirit of God.
Rom 6:122 the
Lit., its (referring to body).
Rom 6:13c weapons 2 Cor. 6:7; Rom. 13:12; cf. Rom. 7:23
Rom 6:131 present
Presenting ourselves and our members to God is the result of seeing the facts of our having been crucified and resurrected with Christ and of reckoning ourselves dead and living according to these facts.
Rom 6:132 weapons
Or, instruments. Our members are not merely instruments but are weapons of righteousness to fight the battle in the war between righteousness and unrighteousness.
Rom 6:141 lord
Sin, here personified, lords it over us through the lusts of our body (v. 12).
Rom 6:142 for
That we are not under the law but under grace is the reason sin cannot lord it over us. This gives us the position to reject sin. Sin no longer has any right to make claims upon us, but we have the full right to reject sin and its power. By rejecting sin and taking sides with the resurrected Christ, we present ourselves and our members as slaves to righteousness that the divine life may work within us to sanctify us, not only positionally but also dispositionally, with the holy nature of God.
Rom 6:143 not
This does not make us lawless, as some were during the time of the church’s degradation (Jude 4). The law referred to in this verse is the law given by Moses, which has been replaced by the inward laws in the new covenant (Heb. 10:16). Just as chs. 5 and 6 explain that we are now under grace, chs. 7 and 8 explain how it can be that we are not under the law.
Rom 6:14b grace Rom. 5:2, 15, 17, 20, 21
Rom 6:161 unto
Unto may be interpreted resulting in, and so in the succeeding verses.
Rom 6:181a freed Rom. 6:22; 8:2
This occurred as a result of the crucifixion of the old man (v. 6).
Rom 6:191 unto
Righteousness ushers us into sanctification. If we present ourselves as slaves to righteousness and our members as weapons of righteousness, Christ as the eternal life within us will have the ground to work in us and saturate our inward parts with Himself. Thus we will be sanctified spontaneously; we will be made holy spontaneously in our inward parts by Christ’s saturating.
Rom 6:192b sanctification Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Thes. 4:7
Sanctification (see note 23 in ch. 1) involves not only a change in position, that is, a separation from a common, worldly position to a position for God, as illustrated in Matt. 23:17, 19 and in 1 Tim. 4:3-5; it involves also a transformation in disposition, that is, a transformation from the natural disposition to a spiritual one by Christ as the life-giving Spirit saturating all the inward parts of our being with God’s nature of holiness, as mentioned in 12:2 and 2 Cor. 3:18.
Rom 6:221b sanctification See 19b
See note 192.
Rom 6:22c eternal Rom. 5:21; John 3:16; 1 John 5:11
Rom 6:222 life
The dispositional sanctification spoken of in this chapter not only comes out of life (vv. 4, 23) but also results in life and brings more life to us that we may enjoy the riches of the divine life.
Rom 6:231 wages
Wages are a payment according to righteousness, based on the work that a person performs. In the eyes of God, all man’s behavior apart from God is sin and is man’s work, and the wages it earns is death.
Rom 6:232a death Rom. 5:12; 6:16, 21; 1:32
Death comes from sin and is its result. The death mentioned here, however, is not only physical death and eternal death, but the death in which man is entangled daily. See note 124 in ch. 5.
Rom 6:233b eternal See 22c
Eternal life is the very life of the Triune God Himself. This life has been imparted into us on the basis of our having been justified by God, and it is now spreading throughout our being through sanctification and transformation. This will result in our being conformed to the Lord’s image and our being brought into the Lord’s glory, that we may be made suitable to have a part in the manifestation of His glory (Col. 3:4).
Rom 7:11 law
Verses 1-6 continue 6:14 to explain how it is that we are not under the law. On one hand, the law continues to exist, for God has not recalled, annulled, or abolished it. On the other hand, because of the crucifixion of our old man (6:6), who is the first husband mentioned in these verses, we are no longer under the law and no longer have anything to do with it. Instead, we have become the wife of Christ; that is, we have become those who depend on Christ.
Rom 7:21 law
Because fallen man left his proper position as God’s wife and desired to be the husband (see note 41), God gave him the law, which he cannot possibly keep. The law is intended not for the wife but for the husband, and the law was given not that it might be kept but that the old man might be exposed (v. 5; 3:20; 5:20). Accordingly, this verse refers to the law as “the law regarding the husband.”
Rom 7:22 husband
The husband here (the first husband) is not the flesh or the law but the old man mentioned in 6:6, who has been crucified with Christ. Thus, vv. 1-6 correspond with 6:6.
Rom 7:31 another
Referring to the second husband mentioned in these verses, who is Christ.
Rom 7:41 you
Since our old man, who was the old husband, has been crucified with Christ (6:6), we are freed from his law and are joined to the new Husband, Christ, the ever-living One. As believers, we have two statuses. The first you in this verse refers to us in our old status as the fallen old man, who left the original position of a wife dependent on God and took the self-assuming position of husband and head, independent of God. The second you in this verse refers to us in our new status as the regenerated new man, restored to our original and proper position as the genuine wife to God (Isa. 54:5; 1 Cor. 11:3), dependent on Him and taking Him as our Head. We no longer have the old status of the husband, for we have been crucified. We now have only the new status of the proper wife, in which we take Christ as our Husband, and should no longer live according to the old man, i.e., no longer take the old man as our husband.
Rom 7:4a have Rom. 6:6; Col. 2:20
Rom 7:42 joined
This joining indicates that in our new status as a wife, we have an organic union in person, name, life, and existence with Christ in His resurrection.
Rom 7:4b another 2 Cor. 11:2
Rom 7:43 bear
As the regenerated new man and the wife to Christ, everything we are and do is now related to God, and God is brought forth by us as the fruit, the overflow, of our life. This is in contrast to the fruit born to death (v. 5), which was previously brought forth by us as the old man, the old husband.
Rom 7:61 discharged
Since the old man has been crucified, the regenerated new man is now free from the law of the old man (vv. 2-3; Gal. 2:19). Since the law was given to the old husband, the old man, not to the wife, and since the old husband, the old man, died on the cross, the new man, the wife, has been discharged from his law.
Rom 7:62 serve
Lit., serve as slaves.
Rom 7:63 newness
In 6:4, newness of life issues from our being identified with Christ’s resurrection and is for our walk in our daily life. Here, newness of spirit issues from our being discharged from the law and being joined to the resurrected Christ, and is for our service to God. Thus, both newness of spirit and newness of life are results of the crucifixion of the old man.
Rom 7:64 spirit
Referring to our regenerated human spirit, in which the Lord as the Spirit dwells (2 Tim. 4:22). Everything that is related to our regenerated spirit is new, and everything that comes out of our spirit is new. Our regenerated spirit is a source of newness because the Lord, the life of God, and the Holy Spirit are there (see note 92 in ch. 1).
Rom 7:71 I
In vv. 7-25 Paul used his own experience, which he had before he believed in the Lord, to illustrate the wretchedness of trying to do good under the law in order to please God. Neither the human spirit nor the Spirit of God is mentioned in this section; rather, the will and the mind of the human soul (vv. 19, 23), which attempt to please God with the good of the natural life (vv. 18-19, 21), are referred to. Although this is the situation of an unsaved person, nearly all Christians pass through this kind of experience after they are saved.
Rom 7:7a know Rom. 7:13; 3:20; 5:13, 20
Rom 7:72 law
The law portrays God and defines Him (Lev. 19:2). Accordingly, it places many demands and requirements on fallen man, and in so doing it identifies sin as sin and leads man to the knowledge of sin (3:20; 4:15; 5:20). In this way man is both exposed and subdued by the law (3:19).
Rom 7:73b You Exo. 20:17; Deut. 5:21
The tenth commandment, “You shall not covet,” is not related to outward conduct, but rather to the sin within man, mainly in his thoughts. This shows that man’s problem is with the sin that indwells him, not just with outward sinful acts.
Rom 7:81 sin
This chapter, especially in this verse and in vv. 11, 17, 20, indicates that sin is a person, the embodiment of Satan, and is living and acting within us.
Rom 7:101 death
Referring to our being put to death by the curse and condemnation brought to us, both in our conscience and before God, by sin through the law (4:15; 5:13, 20).
Rom 7:111 through
The law is the instrument through which sin deceives and kills men. The power of sin is the law (1 Cor. 15:56). This fact should warn us not to turn to the law to try to keep it, for in so doing we give sin the opportunity to deceive and kill us.
Rom 7:11b through 1 Cor. 15:56
Rom 7:131 be
Lit., appear.
Rom 7:141 know
The inward, subjective consciousness. See note 61 in ch. 6.
Rom 7:142 spiritual
I.e., the same in essence, nature, and substance as God, who is Spirit (John 4:24).
Rom 7:143 fleshy
Paul saw that he was contrary to all that is portrayed by the law. It is spiritual, holy, righteous, and good; he was fleshy, common and defiled, unjust, and evil. See note 12 in 1 Cor. 3.
Rom 7:151 do
Lit., do not know; i.e., do not acknowledge, do not approve of. Paul did not allow, approve of, or acknowledge his wrong action, for it issued from his flesh, which served the law of sin against his mind and against his will.
Rom 7:17a no cf. Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:10
Rom 7:171 dwells
Lit., houses itself. Sin does not merely abide or remain within us for a time; it makes its home in us.
Rom 7:181 know
The inward, subjective consciousness. See note 61 in ch. 6.
Rom 7:182 flesh
The flesh here is the fallen and corrupted human body with all its lusts. This flesh was not created by God but is a mixture of God’s creature and sin, which is the life of Satan, the evil one. God created man’s body a pure vessel, but this vessel was corrupted and transmuted into the flesh by Satan’s injecting himself into it at the time of the fall. Now Satan as sin personified is in man’s flesh, making his home there and ruling as an illegal master, overruling man and forcing him to do things that he dislikes. It is this indwelling sin, which is the unchangeable evil nature, that constitutes all men sinners (5:19).
Rom 7:183 nothing
Here Paul was careful to say that it is in the flesh, not in man’s whole being, that nothing good dwells. Good does exist in other parts of man’s being. The will desires to please God (vv. 18-21) according to the good law in the mind (vv. 22-23), but it is impossible to perform this good through the body, for the body has become the flesh, where sin dwells.
Rom 7:184 to
To will to do good is to turn to the law. The law of good in our mind (vv. 22-23) corresponds with the law of God and responds to its demands by trying to keep it.
Rom 7:211 the
According to the fact mentioned in v. 20, Paul discovered that the law of sin was the sin that dwelt in him and the evil that was present with him. In v. 23 he realized that this law was the law of sin in his members.
Rom 7:212 evil
The Greek word means that which is evil in character. This must be the evil life, nature, and character of Satan himself, who is the indwelling sin in us. When sin is dormant within us, it is merely sin, but when it is aroused in us by our willing to do the good, it becomes “the evil.”
Rom 7:221 law
Referring to the written law of God.
Rom 7:231 law
There are three different laws in the three different parts of the believer’s being. As revealed in chs. 7 and 8, these three laws derive from the three parties in the universe. The law of sin and death in the believer’s members (v. 23), that is, in his body, derives from Satan, who as sin dwells in the believer’s flesh. The law of good in the believer’s mind (v. 23), that is, in his soul, derives from the natural human life, that is, from man himself. The law of the Spirit of life in the believer’s spirit derives from God, who as the Spirit dwells in his spirit (8:2, 16). These three parties with the three laws are now present in the believer in much the same way that they (God, man, and Satan) were present in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3). In addition to the three laws within the believer, there is the law of God outside of him (vv. 22, 25).
Rom 7:232 warring
The warfare here is between the law of sin in the members of our body and the law of good in the mind of our soul. It is absolutely a matter of sin in our flesh fighting against good in our natural being; it is not at all related to our spirit or the Spirit of God. Hence, it is different from the warfare in Gal. 5:16-25, between our spirit, which is mingled with the Spirit of God, and the flesh.
Rom 7:233 captive
A person who is independent of God cannot deal with the law of sin in the flesh, for this law is the powerful person of Satan himself.
Rom 7:241 Wretched
To attempt to keep the law by the flesh results in death and wretchedness. Man has become fleshy, sold under sin (v. 14). In man’s flesh nothing good dwells (v. 18), and man is unable to master sin (vv. 15-20). If man in such a condition tries to fulfill the law of God, he will surely fail.
Rom 7:242 the
In 6:6 our fallen body is called “the body of sin.” Here it is termed “the body of this death.” The body of sin is strong in sinning against God, but the body of this death is weak in acting to please God. Sin energizes the fallen body to sin, whereas death utterly weakens and disables the corrupted body, so that it cannot keep God’s commandments.
Rom 7:243 this
The death caused by sin through the weapon of the law, the death of being defeated, the death of trying to keep the law to please God but instead being made a captive by the law of sin in our members. This is the death that is working in our flesh this very moment.
Rom 7:25a Thanks 1 Cor. 15:57
Rom 7:251 with
The phrase with the mind I myself indicates that the mind, representing the self, is independently attempting to do good. Although the law of good in the mind (v. 23) gives us the inclination to do good, the mind will be defeated because the law of sin in our members is stronger than the independent mind.
Rom 7:252 serve
Lit., serve as a slave.
Rom 7:253 law
The law of sin, sin, and the evil are synonymous terms, denoting Satan, who dwells in man’s fallen body.
Rom 8:11 now
The phrase now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus is a strong proof that the experience illustrated in ch. 7 is that of a person who is without Christ.
Rom 8:12 condemnation
The condemnation implied in 1:18—3:20 and mentioned in 5:16, 18 is objective, under God’s righteous law, and is the result of our outward sins. The condemnation mentioned here is subjective, in our conscience, and is the result of our being inwardly defeated by the evil law of the indwelling sin, as described in 7:17-18, 20-24. The blood of the crucified Christ is the remedy for objective condemnation (3:25). The Spirit of life, who is Christ processed to be the life-giving Spirit and who is in our spirit, is the remedy for subjective condemnation.
Rom 8:13 in
In this chapter the phrase in Christ refers not only to our standing, our position, in Christ, as mentioned in ch. 6, but also to the reality of our daily walk in our regenerated spirit. Thus, this chapter speaks of being in Christ as a term or a condition. This corresponds with being saved in His life in 5:10.
Rom 8:21 law
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 8:21 [1] The law of the Spirit of life is the subject of this chapter. The Spirit and life are mentioned in this verse, but only in connection with the working of this law. Life is the content and issue of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the ultimate and consummate manifestation of the Triune God after His being processed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection and becoming the indwelling, life-giving Spirit, who is life to all the believers in Christ. The law that has freed us from the law of sin, which is of Satan, who dwells in the members of our fallen body (Rom. 7:23, 17), is of this Spirit of life. It is this law, not God nor the Spirit, that works in us to deliver us from the working of the law of sin in our flesh and to enable us to know God and gain God and thereby live Him out. This law of the Spirit of life is the spontaneous power of the Spirit of life. Such a spontaneous law works automatically under the condition that fulfills its requirements (see note 42).
Rom 8:21 [2] Both Satan and God, after entering into our being and dwelling in us, work within us not by outward, objective activities but by an inward, subjective law. The working of the law of the Spirit of life is the working of the processed Triune God in our spirit; this is also the working of the Triune God in us in His life.
Rom 8:22 Spirit
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 8:22 [1] Here law, the Spirit, and life are in contrast to law, sin, and death. The two laws are in opposition to each other, the Spirit is in opposition to sin, and life is in opposition to death. In ch. 5 grace, which is God embodied in us, is in opposition to sin, which is Satan embodied in us (5:21). In ch. 8 the Spirit, who is God living in us, is in opposition to sin. Thus, the grace in ch. 5 is the Spirit in ch. 8, the very God embodied in us as grace, living and acting in us.
Rom 8:22 [2] In the previous chapters life is mentioned a number of times (1:17; 2:7; 5:10, 17-18, 21; 6:4, 22-23). In this chapter life is joined with the Spirit in the phrase the Spirit of life, showing that everything regarding life in the preceding chapters is included in the Spirit in this chapter. Life belongs to the Spirit, and the Spirit is of life. These two are actually one (John 6:63). The way to experience the divine, eternal, uncreated life is by the Spirit of life.
Rom 8:23 life
The spiritual life revealed in this chapter is fourfold. First, it was the divine life in the Spirit (v. 2). Second, it became life in our spirit through regeneration (v. 10). Then from our spirit it saturates our mind for the transformation of our soul, to which our mind belongs, and becomes the life in our soul (v. 6). Eventually, it will permeate our body and become the life in our body (v. 11), ultimately issuing in the transfiguration of our body (Phil. 3:21), that is, the redemption of our body (v. 23).
Rom 8:24 freed
The major function of the processed Triune God in indwelling our spirit as the law of the Spirit of life is to free us completely from Satan, who dwells in our fallen nature as the law of sin and of death (7:23-25). This freeing is not only for our subjective justification but even more for our dispositional sanctification.
Rom 8:25 me
Some ancient MSS read, you.
Rom 8:26a law Rom. 7:23, 25
The law of sin, the power to commit sin that arises spontaneously in man, causes man to become a slave of sin (John 8:34). Thus, man is helpless, is controlled and manipulated by sin, and does many things against his will. The law of death, the natural power that causes man to become weak, to wither up, and to age and die, dwells in man and causes every part of man to enter into decay and death. On one hand, death disables man; on the other hand, it desensitizes man. It causes man to be disabled when he attempts to do good, and to be insensitive when he commits sins.
Rom 8:31 law
In the flesh nothing good dwells (7:18); only sin dwells in the flesh (7:17). Furthermore, the flesh is of death (7:24). Hence, no man can be justified before God out of the works of the law through the flesh (3:20). Because of such a weak and impotent flesh, there is something that the law could not do.
Rom 8:32 not
On one hand, the law of God outside man is a law in letters, is dead, and lacks the power of life to supply man to meet its demands. On the other hand, man’s body has been corrupted by Satan to become the flesh of death, and as such is incapable of keeping the law. It is because of these two factors that there is “that which the law could not do”; that is, the law is incapable of pleasing God through man’s keeping of it.
Rom 8:3a weak Heb. 7:18; Rom. 7:18
Rom 8:33 likeness
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 8:33 [1] The flesh is of sin, yet the Son of God became flesh (John 1:14; Heb. 2:14; 1 Tim. 3:16). However, He was only in the likeness of the flesh and did not have the sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). This was typified by the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses for the sinful Israelites (Num. 21:9; John 3:14). The bronze serpent was in the form, the likeness, of the actual serpent but did not have its poison. It was such a bronze serpent that bore God’s judgment for the poisoned Israelites and dealt with the serpents that poisoned them.
Rom 8:33 [2] Although Christ did not have the sin of the flesh, He was crucified in the flesh (Col. 1:22; 1 Pet. 3:18). Thus, on the cross He judged Satan, who is related to the flesh, and the world, which hangs on him (John 12:31; 16:11), thereby destroying Satan (Heb. 2:14). At the same time, through Christ’s crucifixion in the flesh, God condemned sin, which was brought by Satan into man’s flesh. As a result, it is possible for us to walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us (v. 4).
Rom 8:41 fulfilled
Not consciously kept by us through our outward endeavoring but spontaneously and unconsciously fulfilled in us by the inward working of the Spirit of life. The Spirit of life is the Spirit of Christ, and Christ corresponds with the law of God. This Spirit within us spontaneously fulfills all the righteous requirements of the law through us when we walk according to Him.
Rom 8:42a walk Gal. 5:16, 25
The Greek word denotes the general walk in our living. See note 161 in Gal. 5. The requirements that we must fulfill in order that the law of the Spirit of life (which has already been installed in us) may work are (1) to walk according to the spirit (v. 4); (2) to mind the things of the Spirit—to set the mind on the spirit (vv. 5-6); (3) to put to death by the Spirit the practices of the body (v. 13); (4) to be led by the Spirit as sons of God (v. 14); (5) to cry to the Father in the spirit of sonship (v. 15); (6) to witness that we are the children of God (v. 16); and (7) to groan for the full sonship, the redemption of our body (v. 23).
Rom 8:43 spirit
It is difficult to discern the word spirit used in this chapter, in Gal. 5, and in other places in the New Testament, unless it is clearly designated to denote God’s Holy Spirit or our regenerated human spirit, as in v. 9 and v. 16 of this chapter. According to the usage in the New Testament, the word spirit, as used in this verse, denotes our regenerated human spirit indwelt by and mingled with the Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God (v. 9). This corresponds with 1 Cor. 6:17, “He who is joined to the Lord [who is the Spirit—2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:45] is one spirit”—one mingled spirit.
Rom 8:51 things
The things of the flesh include anything that is in the realm of the flesh, whether evil or good.
Rom 8:52 according
Not only to walk and have our activities according to the spirit, but to have our entire being according to the spirit. When we are according to the spirit, our walk also is according to the spirit. In this spirit the indwelling law of the Spirit of life, that is, the processed Triune God Himself, works within us spontaneously and frees us from the law of sin and of death.
Rom 8:53 things
The things of the Spirit are the things concerning Christ, which the Spirit receives and declares to us (John 16:14-15). As we exercise ourselves to mind these things, eventually our whole being will be according to the spirit.
Rom 8:61 the
Lit., the mind of the flesh. In vv. 6-8 the crucial item is the mind. The mind is the leading part of the soul, which is man’s personality, his person. The mind thus represents the soul, that is, the person himself. In this chapter the mind is neutral, being between the regenerated mingled spirit and the fallen body, the flesh. Chapters 7 and 8 show that the mind may have two different actions, by which it can cause us to be either in the spirit or in the flesh. If it relies on and attaches itself to the regenerated spirit, which is mingled with the Spirit of God, the mind will bring us into the spirit and into the enjoyment of the divine Spirit as the law of the Spirit of life (v. 2). If the mind attaches itself to the flesh and acts independently, it will bring us into the flesh, causing us to be at enmity with God and to be unable to please Him (vv. 7-8).
Rom 8:62 death
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 8:62 [1] Life and peace result from setting our mind on the spirit. When our mind is set on the spirit, our outward actions are in agreement with our inner man and there is no discrepancy between us and God. He and we are at peace, not at enmity (v. 7). The result is that we feel peaceful within.
Rom 8:62 [2] When our mind is set on the flesh and the things of the flesh, the result is death, which causes us to feel separated from the enjoyment of God. We feel uneasy and deadened instead of peaceful and living. When we are minding the flesh and setting our mind on the things of the flesh, the sense of death should serve as a warning to us, urging us to be delivered from the flesh and to live in the spirit.
Rom 8:63 the
Lit., the mind of the spirit. Setting the mind on the spirit is the same as minding the things of the Spirit in v. 5. Verse 6 and vv. 7-13 show that Christ today is the life of God in the divine Spirit (v. 2) and also the indwelling life of God in God’s people, because God’s Spirit of life has become the indwelling Spirit in us, the Spirit in both aspects being Christ.
Rom 8:62a life Rom. 5:10, 17, 18, 21
See note 62.
Rom 8:6b peace Rom. 1:7; 5:1; 14:17; 16:20
Rom 8:81 those
If we mind the flesh, or set our mind on the flesh, we become those who are in the flesh.
Rom 8:82 in
Verses 8 and 9 emphasize the word in, showing that the stress here is on the condition and experience more than on the source and position.
Rom 8:91 Spirit
This chapter unveils to us how the Triune God—the Father (v. 15), the Son (vv. 3, 29, 32), and the Spirit (vv. 9, 11, 13-14, 16, 23, 26)—dispenses Himself as life (vv. 2, 6, 10, 11) into us, the tripartite men—spirit, soul, and body—to make us His sons (vv. 14-15, 19, 23, 29, 17) for the constituting of the Body of Christ (12:4-5).
Rom 8:92 dwells
I.e., makes home, resides (cf. Eph. 3:17). If we allow the Spirit of the Triune God to make His home in us, that is, to settle Himself in us with adequate room, then in our experience we are in the spirit and are no longer in the flesh. If we are so, the Triune God as the Spirit will be able to spread from our spirit (v. 10) into our soul, represented by our mind (v. 6), and eventually He will even give life to our mortal body (v. 11).
Rom 8:93 if
This shows that our being of Christ depends on His Spirit. If there were no Spirit of Christ, or if Christ were not the Spirit, there would be no way for us to be joined to Him and to belong to Him. However, Christ is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), and He is in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22) and is one spirit with us (1 Cor. 6:17).
Rom 8:94a Spirit 1 Pet. 1:11; cf. Acts 16:7, 6; Phil. 1:19
The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are not two Spirits but one. Paul used these titles interchangeably, indicating that the indwelling Spirit of life in v. 2 is the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit of the entire Triune God. God, the Spirit, and Christ—the three of the Godhead—are all mentioned in this verse. However, there are not three in us; there is only one, the triune Spirit of the Triune God (John 4:24; 2 Cor. 3:17; Rom. 8:11). The Spirit of God implies that this Spirit is of the One who was from eternity past, who created the universe and is the origin of all things. The Spirit of Christ implies that this Spirit is the embodiment and reality of Christ, the incarnated One. This Christ accomplished everything necessary to fulfill God’s plan. He includes not only divinity, which He possessed from eternity, but also humanity, which He obtained through incarnation. He also includes human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. This is the Spirit of Christ in resurrection, that is, Christ Himself dwelling in our spirit (v. 10) to impart Himself, the embodiment of the processed Triune God, into us as resurrection life and power to deal with the death that is in our nature (v. 2). Thus, we may live today in Christ’s resurrection, in Christ Himself, by living in the mingled spirit.
Rom 8:95 of
Referring to the unchangeable source and position rather than to the changeable condition and experience. We have the Spirit of Christ according to the source, the new birth; hence, we are of Christ and belong to Him. In our present experience and spiritual condition, however, we need to be not only of Him but also in Him.
Rom 8:101a Christ 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27
In this verse the Spirit is not mentioned, for here the emphasis is that Christ today is the Spirit and that the Spirit of Christ is the very Christ in us. According to the fact, it is Christ; according to experience, it is the Spirit. In our experience of Him, He is the Spirit; in our worshipping Him, calling on Him, and speaking of Him, He is Christ. We receive Him as our Savior and Redeemer, but He enters into us as the Spirit. As the Redeemer, He has the title Christ; as the Indweller, He has the title the Spirit. These are not two who dwell in us but one Dweller in two aspects.
Rom 8:102 in
“Christ…in you” is the crucial point of the book of Romans. In ch. 3 Christ is on the cross, shedding His blood for our redemption; in ch. 4 He is in resurrection; in ch. 6 we are in Him; now, in ch. 8 He is the Spirit in us.
Rom 8:103 body
Before we believed in the Lord, our spirit within was dead and our body without was alive. Now that we have Christ in us, though our body without is dead because of sin, our spirit within is life because of righteousness. Christ’s coming into us as life exposes the death situation of our body. In our spirit is Christ the Spirit as righteousness, resulting in life; but in our flesh is Satan as sin, resulting in death.
Rom 8:104 dead
Through the fall of man, sin, bringing death with it, entered the human body, causing it to become dead and impotent in the things of God. Although God condemned sin in the flesh (v. 3), this sin has not been uprooted or eradicated from man’s fallen body. Hence, our body is still dead.
Rom 8:105 spirit
The regenerated human spirit, in contrast to the fallen human body. This spirit is not the Spirit of God, for the spirit mentioned here is life only under the condition that Christ is in us. For the Spirit of God to be life, no particular condition is required. Hence, the spirit’s being life because of righteousness can refer only to our human spirit, not to the Spirit of God.
Rom 8:106 life
Our spirit has not only been regenerated and made living; it has become life. When we believed in Christ, He as the divine Spirit of life came into our spirit and mingled Himself with it; the two spirits thereby have become one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Now our spirit is not merely living but is life.
Rom 8:107 righteousness
In God’s justification we have received righteousness, which is the Triune God Himself entering into our being, into our spirit. This righteousness results in life (5:18, 21); hence, our spirit has now become life.
Rom 8:111 Spirit
The objective facts revealed in ch. 6 concerning our death and resurrection in Christ become our subjective experience only when we are in the indwelling Spirit, who is revealed in ch. 8.
Rom 8:112 the
In this verse we have (1) the entire Triune God—“the One who raised Jesus from the dead,” “Christ,” and “His Spirit who indwells you”; (2) the process required for His dispensing, as implied in the words Jesus (emphasizing incarnation), Christ (emphasizing crucifixion and resurrection), and raised (emphasizing resurrection); and (3) His dispensing of Himself into the believers, as shown by the words give life to your mortal bodies, which indicate that the dispensing not only occurs at the center of our being but also reaches to the circumference, to our whole being.
Rom 8:113a dwells 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; John 14:17
See note 92.
Rom 8:114b give John 6:63; 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:6
This does not refer to divine healing but to the result of our allowing the Spirit of God to make His home in us and saturate our entire being with the divine life. In this way He gives His life to our mortal, dying body, not merely to heal it but also that it may be enlivened to carry out His will.
Rom 8:121 live
After we are saved, it is still possible for us to live according to the flesh by setting the mind on the flesh. But when we are in spirit and walk according to the spirit, we are freed from the flesh and are no longer obligated to it as debtors.
Rom 8:131 die
In this verse, to die, to put to death, and to live are spiritual matters, not physical.
Rom 8:132a put Col. 3:5
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 8:132 [1] We must put to death the practices of the body, but we must do it by the Spirit. On one hand, we must take the initiative to put to death the practices of the body; the Spirit does not do it for us. On the other hand, we should not attempt to deal with our body by relying on our own effort without the power of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 8:132 [2] The putting to death here is actually our coordinating with the Spirit who indwells us. Inwardly, we must allow Him to make His home in us that He may give life to our mortal body (v. 11). Outwardly, we must put to death the practices of our body that we may live. When we take the initiative to put to death the practices of our body, the Spirit comes in to apply the effectiveness of Christ’s death to those practices, thus killing them.
Rom 8:133 practices
It is not the body itself but its practices that we must put to death. The body needs to be redeemed (v. 23), but its practices need to be put to death. These practices include not only sinful things but also all things practiced by our body apart from the Spirit.
Rom 8:141 led
The leading by the Spirit is not outward but inward, and is composed of the law of the Spirit of life (v. 2), the Spirit (vv. 9-13), and life (vv. 6-11). This verse speaks of our being led by the Spirit rather than of the Spirit’s leading us, indicating that although the Spirit is ready to lead us, we must take the initiative to be led by Him. This means that we must take Him as our life and everything and that we must put to death everything of the old creation in us. We do not need to seek after the Spirit’s leading, since it is already present within us, dwelling in our regenerated spirit. If we live under this leading, we will walk and behave in a way that proves that we are God’s sons.
Rom 8:142 Spirit
The leading here is not merely an action of the Spirit. It is the Triune God Himself becoming the leading in our spirit. If we would care for Him as a person who indwells us, we will spontaneously be led by Him.
Rom 8:143a sons Gal. 3:26; 4:7
The central thought of the book of Romans is that God’s salvation makes sinners His sons, who have His life and nature so that they can express Him, that they may become members of Christ to constitute the Body of Christ for His expression. Hence, sonship is stressed in this chapter (vv. 15, 23). Sons here indicates a more advanced stage of growth in the divine life than does children in v. 16, yet not as advanced as heirs in v. 17. Children refers to the initial stage of sonship, the stage of regeneration in the human spirit. Sons are the children of God who are in the stage of the transformation of their souls. They not only have been regenerated in their spirit and are growing in the divine life, but they also are living and walking by being led by the Spirit. Heirs are the sons of God who, through the transfiguration of their body in the stage of glorification, will be fully matured in every part of their being. Hence, they will be qualified as the legal heirs to claim the divine inheritance (vv. 17, 23).
Rom 8:151a spirit cf. Gal. 4:6
Our regenerated human spirit, mingled with the Spirit of the Son of God (see note 63 in Gal. 4). Sonship in this spirit includes the life, the position, the living, the enjoyment, the birthright, the inheritance, and the manifestation of a son. Such an all-inclusive sonship is now in our spirit.
Rom 8:152 Abba
An Aramaic word that means father. After being regenerated, we are no longer merely God’s creatures; we are His children. Because we have now been born of God and are related to Him in life, it is very normal and sweet for us to call Him “Father” (see note 64 in Gal. 4).
Rom 8:161 with
It is not only that the Spirit witnesses and our spirit witnesses also. Rather, it is that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. This indicates that our spirit must take the initiative to witness first; then the Spirit will witness with our spirit.
Rom 8:162 our
This reveals that the Spirit of God today, the all-inclusive Spirit of the Triune God, dwells in our regenerated human spirit and works in our spirit. These two spirits are one; they live together, work together, and exist together as one mingled spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). See John 3:6; 4:24; and notes there.
Rom 8:16b spirit Zech. 12:1; Job 32:8; Prov. 20:27; John 4:24; 1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12; Rom. 1:9; 1 Cor. 5:4; 16:18; 2 Tim. 4:22; Gal. 6:18
Rom 8:163 we
This is the witnessing of the Spirit when we cry “Abba, Father” (v. 15). Such a witnessing testifies to us and assures us that we are the children of God, who possess His life; it also limits us and restricts us to a living and walk that are according to this life, in keeping with our being children of God. The Spirit witnesses to our most basic and elementary relationship with God, namely, that we are His children; He does not witness that we are His sons or His heirs. Therefore, this witnessing of the Spirit begins from the time of our spiritual birth, our regeneration.
Rom 8:16c children Rom. 8:21; John 1:12; 1 John 3:1; Rom. 9:8
Rom 8:17a heirs Gal. 4:7; Titus 3:7
Rom 8:171 if
This shows that there is a condition for us to be heirs. It is not that we are heirs simply because we are children of God. Rather, after being born as children, we must grow in life to become sons, and then we must pass through suffering that we may be glorified to become legal heirs.
Rom 8:17b suffer Phil. 3:10; Rev. 1:9
Rom 8:181 consider
I.e., consider after calculating.
Rom 8:18a glory Rom. 5:2; 8:21; 9:23; 1 Cor. 2:7; 2 Cor. 4:17; Eph. 1:18; Col. 1:27; 3:4; 1 Thes. 2:12; 2 Tim. 2:10; Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 1:7; 5:10
Rom 8:182 upon
Lit., into, to.
Rom 8:191 anxious
Lit., watching with head outstretched, with full concentration.
Rom 8:192 revelation
An unveiling or appearing of something previously covered or hidden. Although we are the sons of God, we are veiled, not yet revealed. At the Lord’s second coming, when we will be glorified and our bodies will be fully redeemed, the veil will be lifted. The creation is eagerly awaiting this. This revelation will be the consummation of the process of designation that we are now passing through (see note 41 in ch. 1).
Rom 8:211 freed
At present the creation is enslaved under the law of decay and corruption. Its only hope is to be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God when the sons of God are revealed.
Rom 8:231 the
The firstfruits of the Spirit are simply the Spirit Himself as the firstfruits. The Triune God is our enjoyment; He is everything to us. There will be a harvest of this blessing at the redemption of our body; that will be the full enjoyment. Today the Spirit is the firstfruits of the coming harvest, the foretaste of our full enjoyment of God.
Rom 8:232 groan
Although we have the divine Spirit as the firstfruits in our spirit, our body has not yet been saturated with the divine life. Our body is still the flesh, linked to the old creation, and it is still a body of sin and death that is impotent in the things of God. Hence, we groan together with the creation (vv. 19, 22) and eagerly await the glorious day when we will obtain the full sonship, the redemption and transfiguration of our body, and will be freed from the slavery of corruption.
Rom 8:233a sonship Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5
This sonship began with the regeneration of our spirit, is continuing with the transformation of our soul, and will be consummated with the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:23b redemption Luke 21:28; Eph. 1:14; 4:30; 1 Cor. 1:30
Rom 8:24a hope Rom. 5:2; Eph. 1:12; Col. 1:5, 27; 1 Thes. 5:8; 2 Thes. 2:16; Titus 2:13; 3:7; 1 Pet. 1:3
Rom 8:261 in
In like manner indicates that prior to the help of the Spirit mentioned in this verse, there was already another help of the Spirit, which must be the help rendered to us by the Spirit as the firstfruits mentioned in v. 23. This is confirmed by the fact that both v. 23 and this verse speak of our groaning.
Rom 8:262 weakness
The weakness here is our ignorance of how we should pray. We do not know the kind of prayer God desires, and we are not clear how to pray, according to the burden we feel, for our being conformed to the image of God’s Son; hence, we groan (v. 23). In our groaning the Spirit groans also, interceding for us. His interceding is mainly that we may experience the transformation in life for growth into the maturity of sonship that we may be fully conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Rom 8:26a intercedes Rom. 8:34
Rom 8:271 mind
This is not the mind of the Spirit that is independent of us. It is the mind of the Spirit that has been mingled with our mind (v. 6) and has become a part of our heart. The Spirit not only has mingled Himself with our spirit; He has also mingled His mind with our mind.
Rom 8:272 according
The interceding Spirit prays for us not according to something of God but according to God Himself, that we may be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Rom 8:281 all
Including all persons, all matters, and all things.
Rom 8:282 work
God the Father answers when the Spirit intercedes for us, and He arranges our circumstances, causing all things to work together for good to us.
Rom 8:283 good
According to the context, the good here is not related to physical persons, matters, or things. It refers to our gaining more of Christ, to our having Him wrought into our being, that we may be transformed metabolically and may eventually be conformed to His image, the image of the Son of God (v. 29), that is, that we may be brought into the full sonship.
Rom 8:284 love
Loving God causes us to care for His desire and to be willing to coordinate with Him. God’s working needs our coordination, and our coordinating with God confirms that we are called by God according to His purpose.
Rom 8:28a called Rom. 1:6, 7; 8:30; 1 Cor. 1:2, 24
Rom 8:285 purpose
Referring to the purposeful determination in God’s plan. This is God’s purpose to produce many brothers of His firstborn Son.
Rom 8:291 foreknew
In vv. 29-30 all the steps of God’s work are described using the past tense, indicating that in His eyes all the work has been completed. Because God is the God of eternity, there is no element of time with Him.
Rom 8:292a predestinated Eph. 1:5
God has predestinated us not simply that we may be sanctified, spiritual, and victorious but that we may be fully conformed to the image of His Son. This is our destiny, determined by God in eternity past.
Rom 8:293 conformed
Conformation is the end result of transformation. It includes the changing of our inward essence and nature, and it also includes the changing of our outward form, that we may match the glorified image of Christ, the God-man. He is the prototype and we are the mass production. Both the inward and the outward changes in us, the product, are the result of the operation of the law of the Spirit of life (v. 2) in our being.
Rom 8:29b image 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2
Rom 8:294c Firstborn Heb. 1:6; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 8:294 [1] Christ was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18). When He was sent by God into the world, He was still the only begotten Son of God (1 John 4:9; John 1:14; 3:16). By His passing through death and entering into resurrection, His humanity was uplifted into His divinity. Thus, in His divinity with His humanity that passed through death and resurrection, He was born in resurrection as God’s firstborn Son (Acts 13:33). At the same time, all His believers were raised together with Him in His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3) and were begotten together with Him as the many sons of God. Thus they became His many brothers to constitute His Body and be God’s corporate expression in Him.
Rom 8:294 [2] As the only begotten Son of God, Christ had divinity but not humanity; He was self-existing and ever-existing, as God is. His being the firstborn Son of God, having both divinity and humanity, began with His resurrection. With His firstborn Son as the base, pattern, element, and means, God is producing many sons, and the many sons who are produced are the many believers who believe into God’s firstborn Son and are joined to Him as one. They are exactly like Him in life and nature, and, like Him, they have both humanity and divinity. They are His increase and expression in order that they may express the eternal Triune God for eternity. The church today is a miniature of this expression (Eph. 1:23), and the New Jerusalem in eternity will be the ultimate manifestation of this expression (Rev. 21:11). This book reveals that God’s making sinners His sons is for this expression (12:5) and points to the ultimate manifestation of this expression (Eph. 3:19).
Rom 8:295 many
The purpose of God’s foreknowledge, predestination, and calling is to prepare and produce many brothers for His firstborn Son (see note 172 in John 20) that, on the one hand, they, together with God’s firstborn Son, may be the many sons of God with the divine life and nature for the expression of God, and that, on the other hand, they may be the many members who constitute the Body of God’s firstborn Son as the corporate expression of God in His firstborn Son, which is the fullness of God’s firstborn Son, that is, the fullness of God in His firstborn Son (Eph. 1:23; 3:19).
Rom 8:29d brothers John 20:17; Matt. 28:10; Heb. 2:11-12, cf. Heb. 2:10
Rom 8:301a justified Rom. 3:24
Justification is a bridge that brings sinners, who are redeemed by Christ, from the law’s condemnation (3:19) into God’s acceptance (5:1-2). In this acceptance God works to conform them to the image of His Son until He brings them into His glory (Heb. 2:10).
Rom 8:302b glorified Rom. 8:17; 2 Thes. 1:10
Glorification is the step in God’s complete salvation in which God will completely saturate our body of sin, which is of death and is mortal (7:24; 8:11; 6:6), with the glory of His life and nature according to the principle of His regenerating our spirit through the Spirit. In this way He will transfigure our body, conforming it to the resurrected, glorious body of His Son (Phil. 3:21). This is the ultimate step in God’s complete salvation, wherein God obtains a full expression, which will ultimately be manifested in the New Jerusalem in the coming age.
Rom 8:32b all 1 Cor. 3:21-22
Rom 8:33a charge Rev. 12:10
Rom 8:331 It
Or, Shall God, who justifies?
Rom 8:33b justifies Rom. 3:26, 30
Rom 8:341 It
Or, Shall Christ Jesus, who died…for us?
Rom 8:342c at 1 John 2:1
This verse states that Christ today is at the right hand of God, in the heavens; v. 10, however, states that He is now in us, in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). As the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), He is omnipresent, being both at the right hand of God and in our spirit, both in heaven and on earth.
Rom 8:343d intercedes Rom. 8:26
In this verse it is Christ who intercedes for us, yet in v. 26 it is the Spirit who intercedes for us. These are not two Intercessors but one, the Lord Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). He is interceding for us at two ends. At one end it is the Spirit in us, probably initiating the intercession for us; at the other end it is the Lord Christ at the right hand of God, probably completing the intercession for us, which must be mainly that we will be conformed to His image and brought into His glory.
Rom 8:35a love 2 Cor. 5:14
Rom 8:36a For Psa. 44:22
Rom 8:36b put 2 Cor. 4:10
Rom 8:371 more
Because of God’s unchanging love for us and the fact that Christ has accomplished everything on our behalf, neither tribulation nor persecution can suppress or defeat us; rather, in all these things we more than overcome and conquer through Him who loved us.
Rom 8:391a love Rom. 5:5, 8; 2 Cor. 13:14
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 8:391 [1] The love of God is the source of His eternal salvation. This love is in Christ and has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (5:5). Nothing can separate us from this love of God (vv. 38-39). In God’s salvation this love to us has become the love of Christ (v. 35), which does many marvelous things for us through the grace of Christ until God’s complete salvation is accomplished in us. These marvelous things provoke God’s enemy to attack us with all kinds of sufferings and calamities (vv. 35-36). However, because of our response to the love of God in Christ, these attacks have become benefits to us (v. 28). Hence, we more than conquer in all our afflictions and calamities (v. 37).
Rom 8:391 [2] By the end of ch. 8 this book has covered the first half of God’s salvation in Christ. This salvation has saved us to the extent that, on the one hand, we are in God’s acceptance enjoying the source of this salvation, which is God’s love in Christ, from which we cannot be separated by any person, matter, or thing; and, on the other hand, we are in God’s life being conformed by the Lord Spirit to reach the ultimate goal of this salvation, that is, to enter into the incomparable divine glory and be glorified together with God (vv. 18, 30).
Rom 9:11 I
After covering the first half of God’s salvation in Christ, and before going on to the second half, the section from chs. 9—11 is inserted to explain in detail the selection of God’s chosen people, which was of God Himself.
Rom 9:12 conscience
In 8:16 the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit, whereas in this verse our conscience bears witness with us in the Holy Spirit. This proves that our conscience is in our human spirit.
Rom 9:31 curse
For Paul to wish that Israel would be saved was necessary, but to wish that he himself would be a curse and would be separated from Christ would have been extreme. Paul could wish in this way out of a desperation produced by his intense desire for Israel’s salvation.
Rom 9:41a sonship Exo. 4:22
Sonship here is the right of inheritance.
Rom 9:4b glory Exo. 40:34; 1 Kings 8:11
Rom 9:4c covenants Gen. 17:2; Deut. 29:14; Acts 3:25; Eph. 2:12
Rom 9:4d giving Deut. 4:13; Psa. 147:19
Rom 9:42e service Heb. 9:1, 6
The service in the tabernacle or in the temple, instituted according to the law of Moses.
Rom 9:4f promises Rom. 15:8; Deut. 29:13; Acts 13:32; Eph. 2:12
Rom 9:51a God John 1:1; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20
It is clearly stated here that Christ is God, proving that although Christ was a man (5:15) with flesh who came out of the tribe of Judah, a tribe of Israel, He is also God, who is over all and blessed forever. He is both man and God. He is God the Son, and He is the Triune God.
Rom 9:61a not Rom. 2:28
This shows God’s economy in His selection. All Jews are born of Israel, but not all of them have been selected by God. Only Isaac and a part of his descendants have been selected by God and reckoned as the children of God (vv. 7-8). This selection is not of man’s works but of the Lord who calls and of His mercy (vv. 11, 16).
Rom 9:7a Abraham John 8:39-40; Matt. 3:9
Rom 9:8a children John 1:12; 1 John 3:1
Rom 9:8b children Gal. 3:29; 4:28
Rom 9:10a Rebecca Gen. 25:21
Rom 9:111 purpose
See note 285 in ch. 8.
Rom 9:11a selection Rom. 11:5, 28
Rom 9:11b calls 1 Cor. 1:9; Rom. 11:29
Rom 9:12a The Gen. 25:23
Rom 9:121 serve
Lit., serve as a slave.
Rom 9:151a I Exo. 33:19
This is God’s sovereign authority, which allows Him to have mercy on man according to His desire.
Rom 9:152b mercy Matt. 9:13; Eph. 2:4
Mercy refers mainly to an action taken in response to man’s wretched condition; hence, God’s showing mercy to man is outward. Compassion, however, refers mainly to an inward feeling that is expressed by groanings and tears; hence, God’s having compassion on man is inward. Therefore, compassion is deeper than mercy.
Rom 9:152c compassion Rom. 12:1
See note 152.
Rom 9:21a potter Isa. 64:8; Jer. 18:6
Rom 9:211b vessel 2 Tim. 2:20
This indicates that God chose us that we might be vessels of honor to contain Him. God created man as a vessel to contain Him, and out of the many vessels He chose us to contain Him, the God of honor, that we might be vessels of honor. Finally, He makes known His glory upon us, the vessels, that we might become vessels of His glory (v. 23). All this is out of His mercy and according to His mercy; it cannot be obtained by our efforts. For this reason we must worship Him, and we must worship Him for His mercy!
Rom 9:22a wrath Rom. 1:18; 2:5, 8
Rom 9:23b vessels 2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20
Rom 9:23c mercy Rom. 9:15, 16, 18; 11:31, 32; 15:9
Rom 9:231d glory Rom. 8:18; 1 Cor. 2:7; 1 Thes. 2:12; Col. 3:4; 1 Pet. 5:10; Heb. 2:10
This is the glory in the manifestation of the coming kingdom, in which we, the revealed sons of God, will participate (8:17-23).
Rom 9:24a called 1 Cor. 1:9
Rom 9:26a You Hosea 1:10
Rom 9:27a Though Isa. 10:22-23
Rom 9:29b Sodom Gen. 19:24-25; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 7
Rom 9:32b stone Isa. 8:14; 1 Pet. 2:8
Rom 9:33a Behold Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:6
Rom 10:1a salvation Rom. 11:26
Rom 10:31 establish
The Israelites seek to establish their own righteousness by trying to keep the law, and have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, which is Christ Himself. This is an insult to God, and it causes them to miss the way of God’s salvation.
Rom 10:3a righteousness Rom. 1:17; 3:21
Rom 10:41a end Matt. 5:17
Christ came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17) that He might terminate the law and replace it (8:3-4). Thus, everyone who believes in Him receives God’s righteousness, which is Christ Himself.
Rom 10:6b heaven John 3:13; 6:38
Rom 10:61 bring
This refers to Christ’s incarnation.
Rom 10:71 abyss
The Greek word is used in Luke 8:31 in reference to the dwelling place of the demons; in Rev. 9:1, 2, 11 to denote the place out of which the locusts, whose king is Apollyon (Antichrist), will come; in Rev. 11:7 and 17:8 to signify the place out of which the beast, the Antichrist, will ascend; and in Rev. 20:1, 3 to specify the place into which Satan will be cast and imprisoned during the millennium. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses this word for deep in Gen. 1:2. Here, in this verse, it points to the place Christ visited after His death and before His resurrection, which place, according to Acts 2:24, 27, is Hades; for Acts 2:24, 27 reveals that Christ went into Hades after He died, and rose from that place in His resurrection. Hence, according to biblical usage, the word abyss always refers to the region of death and of Satan’s power of darkness, which is the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9), into which Christ descended after His death, which He conquered, and from which He ascended in His resurrection.
Rom 10:72 bring
This refers to Christ’s resurrection.
Rom 10:81a The Deut. 30:14
Here the word is used interchangeably with Christ (vv. 6-7), indicating that this word is Christ. Christ was incarnated by coming down from heaven and was resurrected by coming up from Hades. Thus, He has become the living Word, the Spirit (Eph. 6:17), to be in our mouth and in our heart, just like the air, the breath, that can be taken into our being. He is near and He is available.
Rom 10:9a confess Phil. 2:11
Rom 10:91 mouth
Christ needs our participation in Him. Since we have been made vessels to contain Him, we need to believe with our heart to receive Him, and to call on Him continually with our mouth to take Him in, thus allowing His riches to fill our empty vessel (9:21-23).
Rom 10:9b Jesus 1 Cor. 12:3; Acts 2:36
Rom 10:92c raised Acts 2:32; Rom. 8:11
Christ’s being raised from the dead was invisible; hence, it requires our believing. Moreover, although Christ’s death has redeemed us, it is His life in resurrection alone that can save us. Therefore, only when we believe in the great miracle that God performed in Him in raising Him from the dead can we be both redeemed and saved.
Rom 10:101 with
To believe with the heart is toward God; to confess with the mouth is toward man. To believe with the heart is to believe in Christ, who was glorified and raised by God from the dead; to confess with the mouth is to confess that Jesus, who was despised and rejected by man, is Lord. Both are conditions for our being justified and saved.
Rom 10:102 unto
I.e., resulting in.
Rom 10:11a Everyone Isa. 28:16
Rom 10:12a Jew Rom. 3:29; 2:10-11
Rom 10:12b Lord Acts 10:36
Rom 10:121c rich Eph. 3:8
This shows that God selects us, redeems us, justifies us, sanctifies us, conforms us, and glorifies us in Christ in order that we may enjoy His unsearchable riches in Christ (Eph. 3:8). The secret to this enjoyment is to call on His name.
Rom 10:12d call Acts 7:59; 9:14; 22:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:22; Gen. 4:26; 12:8; Deut. 4:7; Psa. 99:6; 116:17; 145:18; Isa. 12:2-4; 55:6; 64:7; Lam. 3:55-57
Rom 10:13a whoever Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21
Rom 10:131 calls
Calling on the name of the Lord is the secret not only to our salvation but also to our enjoyment of the Lord’s riches. Beginning with Enosh, the third generation of mankind, and continuing all the way down to the New Testament believers, God’s chosen and redeemed ones enjoyed Christ’s redemption and salvation and all His riches by means of this secret (see note 211 in Acts 2).
Rom 10:132b saved Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:5, 8
To be saved here means to be brought into the enjoyment of the riches of the Lord. The Lord is rich to both Jews and Greeks. All who call on the Lord’s name enjoy this rich Lord; as a result, they are filled with Him and express Him.
Rom 10:141 believed
One who believes into the Lord will surely call on the Lord’s name. Calling on the Lord results in immediate salvation (vv. 10, 13).
Rom 10:142 heard
This implies that believing is through the word and is due to the word (v. 17).
Rom 10:15a How Isa. 52:7
Rom 10:15b feet Eph. 6:15
Rom 10:161a obeyed Rom. 1:5; 16:26
To our human feeling, obeying the gospel is deeper than believing the gospel. Before we believe the gospel, we are first subdued by the Holy Spirit so that we will obey the gospel. Those who do not obey the gospel may become enemies of God’s gospel (11:28), enemies of God Himself.
Rom 10:16b Lord Isa. 53:1
Rom 10:17a hearing John 5:24; Gal. 3:2; Eph. 1:13
Rom 10:17b word Col. 3:16
Rom 10:18a Their Psa. 19:4
Rom 10:19b provoke Rom. 11:11
Rom 10:21a All Isa. 65:2
Rom 11:11 cast
Chapters 9 and 10 may seem to indicate that God, having originally chosen Israel, has now given them up. Here, however, the apostle, using himself and Elijah as examples, proves that this is not the case.
Rom 11:3a Lord 1 Kings 19:10
Rom 11:31 life
Lit., soul.
Rom 11:41b Baal Jer. 19:5; 32:29
Baal, which in Hebrew means master, possessor, was the name of a chief idol of the Phoenicians and Canaanites.
Rom 11:5a selection Rom. 11:28; 9:11
Rom 11:7b hardened Rom. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:14
Rom 11:8a God Deut. 29:4; Isa. 29:10; Matt. 13:13-15
Rom 11:9a Let Psa. 69:22
Rom 11:10a Let Psa. 69:23
Rom 11:111 stumbled
Israel stumbled on the stone of stumbling, Christ (9:32), but did not fall. Rather, they only misstepped in order that God’s salvation might come to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). This is God’s economy in His selection.
Rom 11:16a dough Num. 15:18-21
Rom 11:161 firstfruits
The three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, referred to in v. 28 as “the fathers,” are the firstfruits of the dough, which were offered to God for His satisfaction. They are also the root that supports the branches of God’s cultivated olive tree, Israel.
Rom 11:171 grafted
Grafting produces an organic union (see note 51 in ch. 6). It is not the exchanging of a poor life for a better life. Rather, it is the uniting of two lives as one so that they may share one mingled life and one living. Such a mingling of life takes place when two similar yet different lives pass through death (cutting) and resurrection (growth). This depicts our union with Christ.
Rom 11:172a olive Jer. 11:16
According to the word in Matt. 2:15, “Out of Egypt I called My Son,” a quotation from Hosea 11:1, Christ and the real Israel are one entity. When the Gentile believers are grafted into Christ, they are grafted into Israel, the cultivated olive tree, to become fellow partakers of the fatness (Christ) of the root (the patriarchs—v. 16), the unsearchable riches of God in Christ (Eph. 3:8). They and Israel have become the branches of Christ, the true vine (John 15:1, 5), and with Him the two have become the organism that expresses the Triune God.
Rom 11:20a unbelief Rom. 11:23
Rom 11:22a kindness Rom. 2:4
Rom 11:22b cut cf. John 15:2, 6 and note 1
Rom 11:23a unbelief Rom. 11:20
Rom 11:231 to
This will occur at the Lord’s second coming, when all the remnant of the nation of Israel will repent and turn to believe in Him as their Messiah and be saved (Zech. 12:10; Rom. 11:26).
Rom 11:24a olive Jer. 11:16
Rom 11:25a hardness Rom. 11:7
Rom 11:251 Gentiles
Referring to the repentant and believing Gentiles. The completion of the fullness of the believing Gentiles is different from the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24). The latter denotes the termination of the time of Gentile power.
Rom 11:26a The vv. 26-27: Isa. 59:20-21; 27:9
Rom 11:281 for
This shows clearly God’s economy in His selection. Israel’s unbelief affects their relationship with God. Nevertheless, since the calling that issues out of God’s selection is irrevocable (v. 29), they are still the beloved people of God positionally.
Rom 11:28a selection Rom. 11:5; 9:11
Rom 11:29a gracious Rom. 5:15; 6:23
Rom 11:29b calling Rom. 8:30; 9:11; 1 Cor. 1:9, 24; Eph. 1:18
Rom 11:30a mercy Rom. 9:15, 16, 18, 23; 15:9
Rom 11:32a shut cf. Gal. 3:22
Rom 11:321 show
Man’s disobedience even fulfills God’s mercy.
Rom 11:32b mercy Eph. 2:4; Matt. 9:13
Rom 11:331 Oh
This is a praise to God for His riches, wisdom, and knowledge, which are beyond what man can search and trace, and which God exercised in creating all things and in arranging all things for the fulfillment of the selection of His chosen people. This praise and that in 16:25-27, at the end of this book, are of different sources and have different goals. The former comes out of God’s selection and has the accomplishing of God’s selection as the goal; the latter comes out of God’s mystery in the times of the ages and has the fulfillment of that mystery as the goal. Both result in the giving of glory to God.
Rom 11:33a depth 1 Cor. 2:10; Eph. 3:18
Rom 11:33b riches Rom. 2:4; 9:23; Eph. 1:7; 2:4, 7; Eph. 3:8, 16; Col. 1:27; Phil. 4:19
Rom 11:332c wisdom Eph. 3:10; 1 Cor. 1:21
Wisdom is deeper and higher than knowledge. Wisdom is seen in the initiation of something, whereas knowledge is seen in the practical application of the thing that was initiated by wisdom. God is the unique Initiator, as seen especially here in the matter of His selection. His wisdom in initiating His selection and His knowledge in carrying it out, as described in these chapters, deserve our highest praise!
Rom 11:33d knowledge Psa. 139:1-6; 1 Sam. 2:3
Rom 11:33e unsearchable Job 5:9; 11:7
Rom 11:34a For 1 Cor. 2:16; Isa. 40:13
Rom 11:36a out 1 Cor. 8:6; 11:12; Heb. 2:10
Rom 11:36b through John 1:3; Col. 1:16
Rom 11:36c to Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2
Rom 11:36d To Rom. 16:27; Eph. 3:21; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2 Tim. 4:18; 2 Pet. 3:18; Rev. 1:6; 5:13; 7:12
Rom 12:11 I
After the parenthetical word that explains in detail God’s selection, this book, continuing ch. 8, speaks concerning the latter half of God’s complete salvation in Christ. In this latter half, those who enjoy the first half of God’s complete salvation are members one of another as the Body of Christ (v. 5). Furthermore, they have the living of the Body of Christ on the earth to express Christ in different localities (such as those enumerated in ch. 16) that the Triune God may be expressed in such a living, as taught in the five chapters of the holy Word in this section, which concern the various aspects of this living. The first half of God’s complete salvation, revealed in chs. 1—8, is the procedure by which God achieves His purpose; the second half of God’s complete salvation, revealed in chs. 12—16, is the purpose of God’s complete salvation.
Rom 12:12a exhort Rom. 15:30; 16:17
Or, beg.
Rom 12:13b compassions Rom. 9:15; Lam. 3:22-23
See note 152 in ch. 9. In Greek the compassions referred to here are plural. God has had many kinds of compassion on us, as shown in His selecting us, calling us, saving us, and bringing us into His life that we may enjoy His riches and become His expression. Through these many compassions as the means and the motivating power, the apostle exhorted us to present our bodies to God for the fulfillment of His purpose.
Rom 12:14c present Rom. 6:13, 19
For the church life, the life of the Body of Christ, to be realized, our entire being is needed. Thus, this chapter speaks concerning our body (v. 1), our soul (v. 2), and our spirit (v. 11). Our body must be presented to God for the Body of Christ.
Rom 12:15 living
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 12:15 [1] In ch. 6 the members of our body are to be presented as weapons of righteousness (6:13) for warfare and service. In this chapter, however, our bodies are to be presented as a living sacrifice for the church life. This sacrifice is living because it has life through resurrection; it is not like the sacrifices in the Old Testament, which were all slain. This sacrifice is also holy because, positionally, it has been separated unto God by the blood of Christ from the world and from all persons, matters, and things that are common; and because, dispositionally, the natural life and the old creation have been sanctified and transformed by the Holy Spirit with God’s life and God’s holy nature for God’s satisfaction. Thus, this sacrifice is well pleasing to God.
Rom 12:15 [2] In Greek, bodies here is plural and sacrifice is singular. This indicates that, although many bodies are presented, they become one sacrifice, implying that, although we are many, our service in the Body of Christ should not be many individual services, separated and unrelated. All our service should constitute one whole service, and this service must be unique because it is the service of the one Body of Christ.
Rom 12:1d sacrifice 1 Pet. 2:5; Heb. 13:15-16
Rom 12:1e well Rom. 12:2; 14:18
Rom 12:16 reasonable
Or, intelligent, logical, rational, in harmony with the highest reason.
Rom 12:17f service Rom. 9:4
Service in worship of God. See note 91 in ch. 1. Before this chapter such a service is not mentioned with reference to believers other than the apostle. This indicates that the service of the believers is an issue of the growth in life described in the foregoing chapters. It indicates further that this service must be in the Body, the church. This corresponds with the types in Exodus and Leviticus, which show that the service of the priesthood rendered to God was not established until after the Tent of Meeting was built.
Rom 12:21 not
This means that we should not be assimilated by the world to the extent that we who have been separated from the world unto God have the same image as this age, not caring for the transformation of the Lord Spirit in us with God’s essence to conform us to the Lord’s glorious image (2 Cor. 3:18), which the Spirit carries out by moving and working in us through the divine life and the divine nature.
Rom 12:2a fashioned 1 Pet. 1:14; cf. Rom. 8:29
Rom 12:22 this
This age denotes the present, practical part of the world (see note 42 in Gal. 1), that part which we contact and in which we live; whereas the world, the evil system of Satan (see note 21 in Eph. 2), is the composition of all people, matters, and things outside of God, including religious as well as secular things, as in Gal. 6:14, where the world mentioned is the religious world of Paul’s time. This satanic world is composed of many different ages, each having its own particular pattern, characteristics, fashions, styles, and trends. We cannot forsake the world without forsaking the present age that appears before us.
Rom 12:2b age Eph. 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:4; Gal. 1:4; Titus 2:12
Rom 12:23c transformed 2 Cor. 3:18
Transformation is the inward, metabolic process in which God works to spread His divine life and nature throughout every part of our being, particularly our soul, bringing Christ and His riches into our being as our new element and causing our old, natural element to be gradually discharged. As a result, we will be transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18), that is, conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God as His many brothers (8:29). Thus we will be suitable for the building up of His Body.
Rom 12:24d renewing Eph. 4:23; Titus 3:5
After presenting our body, we need to have our mind renewed. The renewing of the mind, which results from setting the mind on the spirit (8:6), is the base for the transformation of our soul. Our mind is the leading part of our soul, and as it is renewed, our will and emotion automatically follow to be renewed also. To be renewed means that a new element is wrought into our being. This produces an inward metabolic transformation, making us suitable for the building up of the Body of Christ, which is the practice of the church life. All the virtues and the overcoming in chs. 12—16 also are the results of this transformation.
Rom 12:2e mind Rom. 8:6-7; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 4:2; Rom. 15:5; 1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5
Rom 12:25f prove Eph. 5:10; 1 Thes. 5:21; 2 Cor. 8:8, 22; 13:5
I.e., see and discern. Based on the presenting of our bodies and the renewing of our minds, we will see, discern, and prove by testing that the will of God is to obtain a Body for Christ to be His fullness and expression.
Rom 12:26g will Eph. 1:9, 11; 5:17; Col. 1:9; Matt. 6:10; 7:21; Heb. 13:21
In this chapter the will of God is that we whom God has chosen, called, redeemed, justified, sanctified, and conformed unto glorification in the preceding eleven chapters may be members one of another to have the living of the Body of Christ (vv. 3-5). The Body of Christ is the peak of God’s divine revelation. The living of the Body is the issue and goal of the presenting of our bodies, the renewing of our mind, and all the life practices in the foregoing chapters.
Rom 12:3a grace Rom. 1:5; 15:15; Eph. 3:7; 1 Cor. 3:10; 15:10; Gal. 2:9
Rom 12:31 think
I.e., esteem himself. If we are to have the proper church life, the first thing that must be torn down is the high esteem that we have for ourselves, that we may think so as to be sober-minded. This requires that our mind be renewed by having all the negative elements within it swallowed up by the life of Christ. Then we will esteem ourselves according to the faith that God has apportioned to us, that is, according to the measure of God’s element that has been transfused into us.
Rom 12:3b highly Rom. 12:16; Phil. 2:3
Rom 12:3c sober-minded 2 Tim. 1:7
Rom 12:3d measure Eph. 4:7, 16
Rom 12:4a one Eph. 2:16; 4:4; 1 Cor. 12:12, 13
Rom 12:4b many 1 Cor. 12:12,14, 20
Rom 12:4c same 1 Cor. 12:15-17, 21-22
Rom 12:41 function
Function is for service in the Body of Christ (v. 1). In order to function, we must have life, the divine life for the divine expression.
Rom 12:51 in
We are one Body in Christ, having an organic union with Him. This union makes us one in life with Him and with all the other members of His Body. The Body is not an organization or a society but is altogether an organism produced by the union in life that we have with Christ.
Rom 12:52a members Eph. 4:25
The purpose of God’s salvation is to have Christ reproduced in millions of saints that they may become the members of His Body, not separate and complete individual units but parts of a living, functioning, coordinated, corporate whole. Although these parts have different functions, they are not detached from one another. Rather, they are “individually members one of another.” Each member is organically joined to all the others, and each needs the function of all the others. All the members must be coordinated together to practice the Body life that is revealed in this chapter.
Rom 12:61a gifts 1 Cor. 12:4; Eph. 4:7; 1 Pet. 4:10
The gifts are received according to the grace given to us and are a result of our experience of the grace of Christ. This grace is God in Christ as the divine element coming into our being to be our life for our enjoyment. When this grace comes into us, it brings with it the element of certain spiritual skills and abilities, which, accompanying our growth in life, develop into the gifts in life that we may function in the Body of Christ to serve God. The gifts in life here are different from the gifts mentioned in Eph. 4:8, which refer to the gifted persons given by Christ in His ascension to His Body for its building up. The gifts in life here are also different from the miraculous gifts mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 and 14. The gifts in life are developed by the growth in life and by the transformation in life mentioned in v. 2, out of the inward, initial gifts mentioned in 1 Cor. 1:7.
Rom 12:6b grace 1 Pet. 4:10; cf. Eph. 4:7
Rom 12:62c prophecy 1 Cor. 12:10; 14:3, 4
To prophesy is to speak for God and to speak forth God under His direct revelation. Prediction may be included in prophecy, but it is not the main aspect of the prophecy mentioned here. Prophesying brings in God’s revelation for the building up of the church, the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 14:4b). These three—prophecy, teaching (v. 7), and exhortation (v. 8)—are related and coordinate with one another. The one who prophesies speaks what he has received as a direct revelation from God. The one who teaches instructs others, not based on direct revelation but based on what the prophets have spoken. He who exhorts does so according to both the direct speaking under God’s revelation and the teaching that is according to this revelation. These three kinds of speaking are for the building up of the Body. They minister the life supply to the saints that they may grow together by God’s word.
Rom 12:6d proportion Rom. 12:3
Rom 12:71 service
The service of the deacons and deaconesses in the local churches. See 16:1, 1 Tim. 3:8-13, and Phil. 1:1.
Rom 12:7a teaches 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Tim. 5:17
Rom 12:8a exhorts Acts 11:23
Rom 12:81b gives 2 Cor. 9:7
Denoting those who give to supply the needy ones in the church and to take care of the church’s practical needs.
Rom 12:82c leads 1 Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:17
Referring to the leading brothers in the church. In taking the lead the first quality needed is diligence.
Rom 12:83 shows
This refers to those who show mercy by sympathizing and rendering help. The showing of mercy is not a natural generosity but a quality formed by transformation.
Rom 12:91 Let
Verses 9-21 and ch. 13 show the normal Christian life that is the necessary base for the practice of the church life and that matches the church life. This life is described in five aspects: (1) toward others (vv. 9-10, 13, 15-16); (2) toward God (v. 11); (3) toward ourselves (v. 12); (4) toward the persecutor and enemy (vv. 14, 17-21); and (5) in general, before all men (v. 17). A life that is complete and proper in these five aspects is a life of surpassing quality with an excellent issue.
Rom 12:9a love 2 Cor. 6:6; 1 Pet. 1:22
Rom 12:9b cling 1 Thes. 5:21-22
Rom 12:10a Love 1 Thes. 4:9; Heb. 13:1; 2 Pet. 1:7; John 13:34; 15:12; 1 Pet. 1:22
Rom 12:111a burning Acts 18:25
A presented body, a transformed soul, and a burning spirit—all three are indispensable to a proper church life. After we have presented our body for the church life, it is very easy for us to fall into the opinions of our mind in our soul, which results in our being damaged in the church life; therefore, our soul, and particularly the mind of our soul, needs to be transformed. However, once our mind is transformed, we may easily fall into a negative and dormant state. At that time we must be burning in spirit that we may be stirred up and encouraged to go on in the church life in a positive way.
Rom 12:112b serving Rom. 14:18; Acts 20:19
Lit., serving as a slave. See note 12 in ch. 1.
Rom 12:12a endure Rom. 5:3
Rom 12:12b persevere Eph. 6:18
Rom 12:131a Contribute Rom. 15:25; Heb. 6:10
Lit., Have fellowship with. This is to care willingly for the needs of the saints according to our ability. The apostle termed this kind of material care “fellowship,” because in the sharing of material things the grace of the Lord’s life flows among the members of the Body of Christ and is infused into them.
Rom 12:13b hospitality 1 Pet. 4:9; Heb. 13:2
Rom 12:141a Bless Matt. 5:44; 1 Cor. 4:12
As Christians, we are under a blessing. Thus, we should not curse anyone but only bless. The Lord blessed us when we were His enemies (5:10). In the same way, we should bless our enemies and persecutors.
Rom 12:151 Rejoice
To live a normal Christian life for the church life, we need a proper emotion that can rejoice or weep with others. Such an emotion is not a part of our natural life; it is the issue of life through transformation.
Rom 12:16a same Rom. 15:5; Phil. 2:2; 2 Cor. 13:11; 1 Pet. 3:8
Rom 12:16b setting Rom. 12:3
Rom 12:161 lowly
Or, lowly things.
Rom 12:16c wise Prov. 3:7
Rom 12:17a Repay Matt. 5:39
Rom 12:171b take 2 Cor. 8:21
Since we are living not only before God but also before men, we need to take forethought for things honorable in the sight of all men.
Rom 12:18a peace Rom. 14:17, 19; Heb. 12:14; Mark 9:50; Eph. 4:3; Col. 3:15
Rom 12:191 avenge
God is sovereign. We should not avenge ourselves in any way but should leave the whole situation in the sovereign hand of the Lord, giving Him the ground to do whatever He likes.
Rom 12:19a Vengeance Deut. 32:35; Heb. 10:30
Rom 12:20a But Prov. 25:21-22
Rom 13:11 person
Lit., soul.
Rom 13:12a subject Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13
The transformation mentioned in 12:2 also governs the Christian life taught in this chapter. Man’s natural character is rebellious, but a transformed character is submissive. Subjection to authority requires transformation, which results from the growth in life.
Rom 13:13 from
Lit., by. After man’s fall, God authorized man to act as His deputy authority in ruling over man (Gen. 9:6). To be subject to the authorities is to recognize God’s authority and to respect His government over man. Paul’s word here implies that he recognized even those officials appointed by Caesar as rulers ordained by God to be God’s deputy authorities.
Rom 13:14 ordained
God ordains the authorities over man in order to maintain peace and security in human society so that He may have the time and the opportunity to preach the gospel, to save sinners, and to build the church for the spread of His kingdom.
Rom 13:21 judgment
Or, punishment, condemnation.
Rom 13:3a rulers 1 Pet. 2:14
Rom 13:41 servant
The same Greek word as for deacon in 16:1 (there rendered deaconess) and 1 Tim. 3:8.
Rom 13:61 officers
Lit., public servants.
Rom 13:7a Render Matt. 22:21
Rom 13:8a love Rom. 12:10; John 13:34; 15:12
Rom 13:81 loves
Love is not merely an outward behavior but is the expression of the inward life. In order to love people and thus spontaneously fulfill the law, we need the transformation in life and the life supply. We need God’s life and God’s nature of love to transform us and supply us in life, so that in love we may live out this God, who is love, and express His love.
Rom 13:8b fulfilled Rom. 13:10; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8
Rom 13:9a You Exo. 20:13-15, 17; Deut. 5:17-19, 21
Rom 13:9b You Matt. 22:39; Gal. 5:14
Rom 13:10a Love 1 Cor. 13:4-7, 13
Rom 13:10b fulfillment Gal. 5:14; James 2:8
Rom 13:11a time 1 Thes. 5:1; 1 Pet. 4:7
Rom 13:11b raised Eph. 5:14; 1 Thes. 5:6; Mark 13:33
Rom 13:111 salvation
Referring to the final step of salvation, the redemption of our body, the full sonship revealed in 8:19, 21, and 23.
Rom 13:11c nearer Luke 21:28; James 5:8
Rom 13:121 night
The present age is the nighttime. When the Lord Jesus returns, day will dawn. The next age, the kingdom age, will be the daytime.
Rom 13:12a day Heb. 10:25; Rev. 22:10
Rom 13:12b works Eph. 5:11
Rom 13:12c weapons Rom. 6:13; 2 Cor. 6:7; 10:4; Eph. 6:11, 13; 1 Thes. 5:8
Rom 13:13b reveling 1 Pet. 4:3
Rom 13:13c drunkenness Eph. 5:18; Luke 21:34
Rom 13:13d strife Phil. 2:3
Rom 13:13e jealousy Gal. 5:26
Rom 13:141a put Gal. 3:27
Although we have been baptized into Christ and are already in Christ (6:3; Gal. 3:27), we must still put Him on. To put on Christ is to live by Christ (Gal. 2:20) and to live out Christ (Phil. 1:21), thus magnifying Christ (Phil. 1:20). Putting on Christ is the same as putting on the weapons of light (v. 12), indicating that Christ is the weapons of light for the warfare between the Spirit and the lusts. The warfare here is the same as the conflict between the Spirit and the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:17). However, it is different from our wrestling against the devil and his evil forces (Eph. 6:12) and from the warfare between the law of sin and the law of good in us (7:23).
Rom 13:142 provision
Or, arrangement. This word has the same root as the Greek word for take forethought in 12:17. To take forethought includes the meaning to provide. To make no provision for the flesh is to not take any forethought for the flesh or provide the flesh with anything that will support it and make it convenient for it to fulfill its lusts.
Rom 13:14b flesh Gal. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:11
Rom 14:11 Now
This chapter can be considered a supplement to the constitution of the church life. In setting forth every article, the author’s heart was tolerant, his attitude was broad, and his view was noble. In order to practice the church life that he instituted in ch. 12, we must strictly observe the supplement set forth in this chapter. Many saints who love the Lord and seek to live the church life have failed because they were either negligent or mistaken in this matter.
Rom 14:1a weak Rom. 15:1; 1 Cor. 8:9; 9:22
Rom 14:12b receive Rom. 14:3; 15:7
To practice the Body life revealed in ch. 12, we must learn the practical lessons of receiving the believers, as revealed particularly in 14:1—15:13, that the church life may be all-inclusive, able to include all kinds of genuine Christians. Such receiving requires the transformation mentioned in ch. 12; if we remain natural, we will be unable to receive those whose views are different from ours in doctrine or in practice.
Rom 14:13 considerations
I.e., doctrinal considerations. Except in the matters of idol worship (1 John 5:21; 1 Cor. 8:4-7), fornication, rapaciousness, reviling, and other such gross sins (1 Cor. 5:9-11; 6:9-10), division (16:17; Titus 3:10), and the denial of the incarnation of Christ (2 John 7-11), we must learn not to pass judgments on the doctrinal views of others. As long as one is a genuine Christian and has the fundamental faith of the New Testament, we should not exclude him, even though he may differ from us with respect to doctrine; rather, we should receive him in the same one Lord.
Rom 14:31 not
Concerning the receiving of the believers, Paul used eating (vv. 2-3) and the keeping of days (vv. 5-6) as examples. God’s receiving has nothing to do with what we eat or with our keeping of certain days. These are minor, secondary matters that have nothing to do with our salvation and basic faith. Therefore, we should not despise or judge others in these things.
Rom 14:32 God
The basis on which we receive the believers is that God has received them. God receives people according to His Son. When a person receives God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as his Savior, God receives that person immediately and ushers him into the enjoyment of the Triune God and of all He has prepared and accomplished in Christ for us. We should receive people in the same way and should not be more narrow than God. Regardless of how much they differ from us in doctrinal concepts or religious practices, we must receive them. When we receive people according to God and not according to doctrine or practice, we demonstrate and maintain the oneness of the Body of Christ.
Rom 14:5a day Gal. 4:10; Col. 2:16
Rom 14:5b persuaded Rom. 14:23
Rom 14:6a eats 1 Cor. 10:31
Rom 14:6b thanks 1 Cor. 10:30; 1 Tim. 4:3-4
Rom 14:7a lives 2 Cor. 5:15
Rom 14:8a live 1 Thes. 5:10; Luke 20:38
Rom 14:8b Lord’s Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:23
Rom 14:9b Lord Phil. 2:11; Acts 2:36
Rom 14:101a judgment 2 Cor. 5:10
The judgment at the judgment seat of God is different from the eternal judgment of God mentioned in 2:2, 3, 5, 16, and 3:8, which will be carried out mainly at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). The eternal judgment at the great white throne will be (1) after the millennium, (2) to judge all the dead unbelievers, and (3) for eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Since this judgment will be executed upon all the condemned sinners, it is mentioned in this book in the section on condemnation. However, the judgment at the judgment seat of God, or the judgment seat of Christ, will be (1) before the millennium, immediately after Christ’s coming back, (2) to judge all the resurrected and raptured believers, and (3) for reward or punishment in the millennial kingdom. This judgment will take account of the believers’ life and work after they were saved. Since this judgment is very much related to the transformation of the believers, it is mentioned here in this section on transformation.
Rom 14:12a give cf. Matt. 12:36; 1 Pet. 4:5
Rom 14:13a judge Rom. 14:3
Rom 14:14a nothing Rom. 14:20; 1 Tim. 4:3-4
Rom 14:141 unclean
Lit., common.
Rom 14:151 wounded
Or, grieved.
Rom 14:15a walk Eph. 5:2
Rom 14:15b destroy Rom. 14:20; 1 Cor. 8:11
Rom 14:16a good 1 Cor. 10:30
Rom 14:171a kingdom John 3:5; Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 20:25; 28:23, 31; 1 Cor. 4:20; 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; Col. 4:11; Matt. 16:18-19; Rev. 1:9
This verse is a strong proof that the church in the church age is the kingdom of God, because the context here deals with the church life in the present age. The church is a matter of grace and life, whereas the kingdom is a matter of exercise and discipline.
Rom 14:172b righteousness Matt. 5:20
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 14:172 [1] The kingdom of God is the sphere in which God exercises His authority so that He may express His glory for the fulfillment of His purpose. In such a kingdom, what matters is not eating and drinking but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness denotes that which is right and proper. Those who live in the kingdom of God should be right and proper toward others, toward things, and toward God; with them there should be nothing erroneous, improper, crooked, slanted, or biased. This requires that they be strict in dealing with themselves. Peace is the fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12:11 and note). It characterizes the relationship that those who live in the kingdom of God should have with others and with God. If we are righteous, right, and proper toward others, toward things, and toward God, we will have a peaceful relationship with others and with God. Thus, we will have joy in the Holy Spirit and, in particular, before God. In this way we will be filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52) and will live out righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which are the reality of the kingdom of God.
Rom 14:172 [2] According to the context of this chapter, this verse was written for our receiving of the believers. If we receive the believers according to the apostle’s instruction in this chapter, we will be right and proper toward those whom we receive and will have peace with them; thus, we will have joy in the Holy Spirit, proving that we are living in the reality of God’s kingdom and are under God’s rule. Otherwise, we will not be right or proper toward those whom we do not receive and will not have peace with them; thus, we will not have joy in the Holy Spirit before God, proving that we are not subject to God’s authority in the kingdom of God.
Rom 14:17c peace Rom. 15:13, 33
Rom 14:17d joy Gal. 5:22; 1 Thes. 1:6
Rom 14:181a serves Rom. 12:11; Acts 20:19
Lit., serves as a slave. See note 12 in ch. 1. To live in the kingdom of God in the way of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit is to serve Christ as a slave. This is well pleasing to God and approved by men, and it preserves the oneness of the church for the practical Body life.
Rom 14:191a pursue Heb. 12:14; 2 Tim. 2:22; Rom. 12:18
For the proper church life we must pursue the things of peace, the things that keep the oneness of the Body, and we must pursue also the things that build up one another, the things that minister life to our fellow members for mutual building up.
Rom 14:19b building Rom. 15:2; 1 Cor. 10:23; 8:1
Rom 14:20a break Rom. 14:15
Rom 14:201 work
In all saved persons there is a measure of God’s work. If we cause any one of the believers to stumble because of our doctrinal concepts, we break down, destroy, God’s work of grace in him.
Rom 14:20b All Rom. 14:14; 1 Tim. 4:3-4
Rom 14:20c stumbling Rom. 14:13; 1 Cor. 8:9
Rom 14:23a doubts Rom. 14:5
Rom 15:1a weak Rom. 14:1; 1 Thes. 5:14
Rom 15:2a building Rom. 14:19; 1 Cor. 10:23; 8:1
Rom 15:4a written 1 Cor. 10:11
Rom 15:41 encouragement
Or, comfort. So also in v. 5.
Rom 15:4b hope Rom. 5:4-5; 15:13
Rom 15:5a God 2 Cor. 1:3
Rom 15:5b same Rom. 12:16; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2; 4:2
Rom 15:51c Christ 1 Cor. 1:13
The preceding verse mentions the Scriptures and the instructions contained in them. However, in the concluding word in this verse, God sets up Christ Jesus as the standard for the church life that we may do everything in the church life according to Him, not taking any doctrine or knowledge as the standard. This will issue in the one accord mentioned in v. 6.
Rom 15:61 with
The Greek word means with the same mind, will, and purpose. This is to be one in our whole being and results in our being one in our outward speaking. Whenever we are in one accord, we speak the same thing; we speak with one mouth. This oneness is the reverse of Babel, where the division among mankind caused their language to become confused and divided into many different speakings (Gen. 11:7, 9). The only way to be with one accord and one mouth is to allow Christ the room to be everything in our heart and in our mouth that God may be glorified.
Rom 15:6b one 1 Cor. 1:10
Rom 15:6c glorify 1 Cor. 10:31
Rom 15:7a receive Rom. 14:1, 3; 16:2
Rom 15:71 Christ
Verse 3 of ch. 14 says that we should receive people according to God’s receiving, but here we are told that we should receive people according to Christ’s receiving. Christ’s receiving is God’s receiving. What Christ has received, God has received. Those whom God and Christ have received we must receive, regardless of how they differ from us in doctrine or practice. This will be to the glory of God.
Rom 15:81 servant
The same Greek word as for deacon in 16:1 (there rendered deaconess) and 1 Tim. 3:8. In vv. 8-9 Christ is shown to be the servant of both the circumcision (the Jews) and the nations (the Gentiles). For the Jews, Christ is a servant for the sake of God’s truthfulness, to fulfill and confirm all the promises God gave to their fathers. For the Gentiles, Christ is a servant so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy.
Rom 15:82a truthfulness Rom. 3:7
See note 71 in ch. 3. Christ has become a servant of the circumcision to confirm the promises God gave to the fathers. This is to prove God’s truthfulness.
Rom 15:8b promises Rom. 4:16; 9:4; Gal. 3:18
Rom 15:9a mercy Rom. 9:23; 11:31-32
Rom 15:9b Therefore 2 Sam. 22:50; Psa. 18:49
Rom 15:91 extol
Or, confess.
Rom 15:10a Rejoice Deut. 32:43
Rom 15:11a Praise Psa. 117:1
Rom 15:12a There Isa. 11:10
Rom 15:121b root cf. Rev. 5:5; 22:16
Although Christ is the root of Jesse (David’s father, signifying the Jewish people), He will also be the ruler of the Gentiles. The apostle quoted this word and the word in vv. 9-11 to prove that Christ brings together the Gentiles and the Jews. Since Christ is such an all-embracing Lord (Acts 10:36), bringing together the Jews and the Gentiles, we must receive all the different believers according to Him.
Rom 15:13a peace Rom. 14:17; 12:18; 16:20
Rom 15:13b hope Rom. 5:2, 4-5
Rom 15:13c power Rom. 15:19
Rom 15:15a grace Rom. 12:3
Rom 15:161 minister
Lit., public servant; as in 13:6.
Rom 15:162 laboring
In Greek, from the same root as energizing.
Rom 15:163a priest 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; Phil. 2:17
Paul’s being a priest of the gospel of God to minister Christ to the Gentiles was a priestly service to God, and the Gentiles whom he gained through his gospel preaching were an offering presented to God. By this priestly service many Gentiles, who were unclean and defiled, were sanctified in the Holy Spirit and became such an offering, acceptable to God. They were set apart from things common and were saturated with God’s nature and element, and were thus sanctified both positionally and dispositionally (see note 192 in ch. 6). Such a sanctification is in the Holy Spirit. This means that, based on Christ’s redemption, the Holy Spirit renews, transforms, and separates unto holiness those who have been regenerated by believing into Christ.
Rom 15:16b offering 1 Pet. 2:5
Rom 15:16c sanctified 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 Cor. 6:11
Rom 15:171a boasting 2 Cor. 11:16-18
See note 24 in ch. 5.
Rom 15:17b in Heb. 2:17; 5:1
Rom 15:18a Christ Acts 15:12; 21:19
Rom 15:18b obedience Rom. 1:5; 16:26
Rom 15:19a signs Acts 4:30; Heb. 2:4
Rom 15:19b power Rom. 15:13
Rom 15:19c from Acts 22:17-21
Rom 15:191 Illyricum
A region in southeast Europe adjacent to Macedonia. This shows Paul’s widespread preaching of the gospel. He desired to travel even farther, all the way to Spain (v. 24).
Rom 15:192d fully Rom. 1:14
Lit., fulfilled.
Rom 15:20a another’s 2 Cor. 10:15-16
Rom 15:21a They Isa. 52:15
Rom 15:22a hindered Rom. 1:13
Rom 15:23a come Rom. 1:10, 13
Rom 15:241a Spain Rom. 15:28
At that time Paul probably considered Spain the uttermost part of the earth, as mentioned in Acts 1:8.
Rom 15:24b sent Acts 15:3
Rom 15:24c filled Rom. 1:12
Rom 15:25a going Acts 19:21; 20:2-3
Rom 15:251b ministering Acts 24:17
The Greek word means serving as a deacon.
Rom 15:26a Macedonia 2 Cor. 8:1-4
Rom 15:26b Achaia 2 Cor. 9:2
Rom 15:261 contribution
Lit., fellowship. The Greek word denotes participation and fellowship. The same word is translated fellowship in Phil. 1:5 and sharing in Heb. 13:16, and is from the same root as contribute in 12:13 of this book. The fellowship of love, the fellowship in love between the Gentile and the Jewish saints, developed out of the ministering of Christ to the Gentiles and the offering of the Gentiles as a sacrifice to God. Paul went to the Gentiles with Christ; now he was returning to the Jews with the fellowship of the Gentile saints in material things. This fellowship of love was the practical result of Paul’s ministry.
Rom 15:27a spiritual 1 Cor. 9:11
Rom 15:271 do
The Greek word denotes the service performed by priests and Levites in the temple. It is the same word as for ministering in Heb. 10:11. In v. 16 Paul’s thought was that he was a priest. Here he might have had the thought that the Gentiles were serving as Levites.
Rom 15:28a Spain Rom. 15:24
Rom 15:29a come Rom. 15:32; 1:13
Rom 15:291 fullness
Paul went to the Gentiles with Christ, returned to the Jewish brothers with material possessions, and expected to visit Rome in the fullness of the blessing of Christ to minister the riches of Christ to the people there. This shows us the proper church life. Through the apostle, the church life was being filled with Christ, filled with love in the fellowship of material possessions, and filled with the mutual participation in the blessing of Christ’s fullness.
Rom 15:30a exhort Rom. 12:1; 16:17
Rom 15:30b love Gal. 5:22; Col. 1:8
Rom 15:30c strive 2 Cor. 1:11
Rom 15:311a service Rom. 15:25
The Greek word denotes the service of a deacon. In v. 25 and in this verse Paul might have had the thought that he was serving as a deacon.
Rom 15:32a will Rom. 1:10
Rom 15:32b refresh 1 Cor. 16:18; 2 Cor. 7:13
Rom 15:33a God Rom. 16:20; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 13:20
Rom 16:11 commend
As the conclusion of this book, this chapter consists entirely of recommendations and greetings. It speaks not only of the concern among the saints but also of the fellowship among the churches (vv. 1, 4-5, 16, 23), showing some of the conditions that should exist in the local churches as the fourth station revealed in this book (see note 12, par. 2) and as the conclusion of the revelation in this book. This strengthens the content and significance of this chapter, which not only contains recommendations and greetings but, even more, presents a display of the local churches.
Rom 16:1a deaconess Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8, 11
Rom 16:12 church
[ par. 1 2 ]
Rom 16:12 [1] The term church is not used in this book until 16:1. In this chapter the church and the churches are mentioned five times (vv. 1, 4-5, 16, 23). This is a strong indication that many matters covered in chs. 1—15 concerning God’s complete salvation are for the producing and building up of the church. These matters include the Triune God Himself (8:31), as the Father (1:7; 8:15), as the Son (1:4; 8:3) (the Son being the Lord—1:4, 7; 10:12; 14:9; being Jesus—3:26; 4:24; being Christ—5:6; 6:4; 8:34; 6:3; 8:10; 13:14; being the man—5:15; and being the root of Jesse—15:12), and as the Spirit (5:5; 8:16, 26) (the Spirit being the firstfruits—8:23); His mercy (9:23; 11:32), His compassion (9:15; 12:1), His love (5:5; 8:35, 39), His kindness (2:4; 11:22), His grace (5:2, 15), His free gifts (5:15-16; 11:29), His gifts (12:6), His righteousness (1:17; 3:21), His Spirit of holiness (1:4), His faithfulness (3:3), His peace (15:33; 16:20), His hope (15:13), His joy (15:13), His endurance (15:5), His encouragement (15:5), His riches (10:12; 11:33), His wisdom (11:33), His knowledge (11:33), His power (1:16), His authority (9:21), His life (5:21), His law of life (8:2), His sonship (8:15), His glory (5:2; 9:23), and His kingdom (14:17); His foreknowing (8:29), His selection (9:11; 11:5), His predestination (8:29), His preparation (9:23), His reserving (11:4-5), His calling (8:30; 11:29), His grafting (11:17), His redemption (3:24), His propitiation (3:25), His salvation (1:16), His justification (3:26, 30), His reconciliation (5:10-11), His freedom (8:2), His sanctification (6:19, 22), His transformation (12:2), His renewing (12:2), His conformation (8:29), His redemption of our body (8:23), and His glorification (8:30); His receiving (14:3; 15:7), His indwelling (8:11), His life giving (8:11), His leading (8:14), His witnessing (8:16), His helping (8:26), His interceding within us (8:26), His interceding in the heavens (8:34), His giving all things to us (8:32), and His causing all things to work for us (8:28); plus His incarnation (1:3; 10:6), His crucifixion (5:8; 6:6), His blood (3:25), His ending of the law (10:4), His resurrection (4:25; 10:7), and His ascension (8:34). All have been made available, and most of these have been applied to the producing and building up of the church for the fulfillment of God’s purpose according to His will (12:2).
Rom 16:12 [2] Four stations are revealed in this book: the matters covered in chs. 1—4 bring us in ch. 4 to the first station, the station of justification; chs. 5—8 lead us in ch. 8 to the second station, the station of sanctification; chs. 9—12 lead us in ch. 12 to the third station, the station of the Body of Christ; and chs. 13—16 take us in ch. 16 to the fourth station, the station of the churches expressed in different localities, the station of the practical living of the Body of Christ in different localities. The churches are the ultimate consummation of the complete salvation of the gospel of God revealed in this book, which was written not in the way of doctrine but in the way of practicality. In the first station we are regenerated and saved, in the second station we are sanctified, in the third station we are renewed and transformed, and in the fourth station, in the practical church life, Satan is crushed under our feet and we are able to fully enjoy the Lord’s grace and God’s peace (v. 20).
Rom 16:1b Cenchrea Acts 18:18
Rom 16:21 worthy
I.e., worthy of her status as a saint. Verse 7 of ch. 1 says that the saints are called by God and separated from all things other than God to be a special people sanctified unto God, and as such they are noble and not common. Therefore, the apostle asked the saints in Rome to receive Phoebe as a noble saint, to receive her in a manner worthy of her noble status.
Rom 16:22 patroness
Or, protectress. It is a word of dignity, denoting one who helps, sustains, and supplies. It indicates the high esteem with which Phoebe was regarded because of her service in the church life in Cenchrea.
Rom 16:3a Prisca Acts 18:2, 18, 26
Rom 16:3b fellow Rom. 16:9, 21; Col. 4:11; Phil. 2:25
Rom 16:41 risked
Prisca and Aquila were absolute for the local churches. Their only interest was the church, and they were willing to risk their necks, to be martyred, for the apostles.
Rom 16:42 life
Lit., soul.
Rom 16:43a churches Rom. 16:16
The Body of Christ as the universal church is unique (Eph. 1:23; 4:3). When this universal church appears in many localities on earth, it becomes the many churches. Therefore, this verse refers to the churches. The churches exist in various localities that all the saints may live the church life and have the practice of the church in the locality where they are.
Rom 16:51a church 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2
The church in Prisca and Aquila’s house must have been the church in Rome. When they were living in Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19), the church in Ephesus was in their house (1 Cor. 16:19). Wherever they were, they were willing to bear the burden of the practice of the church by opening their home.
Rom 16:52 house
Showing that the early saints met primarily in their houses. Such a practice corresponds with Acts 2:46 (see note 3 there) and 5:42.
Rom 16:7a kinsmen Rom. 16:11, 21; 9:3
Rom 16:7b fellow Col. 4:10; Philem. 23
Rom 16:101 approved
Lit., approved by testing.
Rom 16:102 those
According to the structure and the tone of these expressions, those of the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus could not be members of the families of the two men; they were most likely the slaves of the two men, respectively. According to the ancient custom, slaves were considered the property of their buyers. It is unlikely that the two masters, Aristobulus and Narcissus, were believers, because they were not greeted here. At that time a number of those who had been sold as slaves and had lost their freedom believed in Christ and became saints, but the masters who bought them were not yet believers.
Rom 16:11a kinsman Rom. 16:7, 21
Rom 16:111 those
See note 102.
Rom 16:13a Rufus Mark 15:21
Rom 16:13b chosen Rom. 8:33
Rom 16:131 mine
Rufus was a brother in Rome, and his mother also was in Rome. Paul’s referring to her as his own mother was a sign of respect and intimacy.
Rom 16:161a churches Rom. 16:4
The churches are not the personal possession or private work of anyone. They are the churches of Christ.
Rom 16:17a exhort Rom. 12:1; 15:30
Rom 16:17b mark Acts 20:31
Rom 16:17c divisions Titus 3:10-11; 1 Cor. 1:10-11; Acts 20:30
Rom 16:171 stumbling
Referring to being stumbled and leaving the church life. This must be the result of different opinions and teachings.
Rom 16:17d teaching 1 Tim. 1:3; 6:3-4
Rom 16:172e turn cf. 2 John 9-10; Titus 3:10; 2 Thes. 3:6, 14
In ch. 14 Paul was liberal and gracious regarding the receiving of those who differ in doctrine or practice. Here, however, he is unyielding and resolute in saying that we must turn away from those who are dissenting, who make divisions, and who make causes of stumbling. The purpose in both cases is the preserving of the oneness of the Body of Christ that we may have the normal church life.
Rom 16:181a serve Rom. 12:11; 14:18
Lit., serve as slaves.
Rom 16:182b stomach Phil. 3:19
The Greek word is a derivative of the word meaning hollow. It refers to the stomach or to the entire abdominal cavity.
Rom 16:18c smooth Col. 2:4
Rom 16:183 simple
Or, unsuspecting, innocent.
Rom 16:19a obedience Rom. 15:18; 1:5; 16:26
Rom 16:20a God Rom. 15:33; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 13:20
Rom 16:201b crush cf. Gen. 3:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8
Here God promises that He will crush Satan under the feet of those who live the church life, showing that the crushing of Satan is related to the church life. Dealing with Satan is a Body matter, not an individual matter. It is only when we have a proper local church as the practical expression of the Body that Satan is crushed under our feet.
Rom 16:20c under Luke 10:19
Rom 16:202d grace 1 Cor. 16:23; Gal. 6:18; 2 Tim. 4:22
The church life enables us not only to crush Satan under our feet and to experience the God of peace but also to enjoy the rich grace of the Lord.
Rom 16:21a Timothy Acts 16:1; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4
Rom 16:21b fellow Rom. 16:3, 9
Rom 16:21c kinsmen Rom. 16:7, 11
Rom 16:23a Gaius 1 Cor. 1:14
Rom 16:23b Erastus Acts 19:22; 2 Tim. 4:20
Rom 16:241 24
Some ancient MSS add v. 24, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Rom 16:25a Now Eph. 3:20
Rom 16:251b establish Rom. 1:11; 1 Thes. 3:13; 2 Thes. 3:3; 1 Pet. 5:10
See note 107 in 1 Pet. 5. In ch. 16 our need is no longer to be saved or to be sanctified but to be established. Since everything has been accomplished, we need only to be established. This establishing is according to the pure and full gospel of God, that is, the proclaiming and ministering of the all-inclusive Christ, and according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages. Only the pure gospel, the living Christ, and God’s revealed mystery can establish us and keep us in oneness for the church life.
Rom 16:252c my Rom. 2:16; 2 Tim. 2:8
I.e., the full gospel, including the teaching concerning Christ and the church and consummating in the local churches, as fully disclosed in this book. See note 19 in ch. 1.
Rom 16:25d proclamation Phil. 1:18
Rom 16:253e mystery 1 Cor. 2:1, 7; 4:1; Eph. 1:9; 3:3, 9; 6:19; Col. 1:26-27; 2:2; 4:3
The mystery of God, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages, is mainly of two aspects: the mystery of God, which is Christ (Col. 2:2), who is in the believers (Col. 1:26-27) as their life and their everything that they may become the members of His Body; and the mystery of Christ, which is the church as His Body (Eph. 3:4-6) to express His fullness (Eph. 1:22-23). Therefore, Christ and the church are the great mystery (Eph. 5:32).
Rom 16:254 times
Referring to the time since the beginning of the world.
Rom 16:26a prophetic Rom. 1:2
Rom 16:261b eternal Psa. 90:2
In chs. 15 and 16 God is called “the God of endurance and encouragement” (15:5), “the God of hope” (15:13), “the God of peace” (v. 20), “the eternal God” (v. 26), and “the only wise God” (v. 27). Our God is rich in all these aspects, and the gospel in this book is the gospel of such a rich God. This gospel consummates in the practical church life.
Rom 16:26c obedience Rom. 1:5
Rom 16:27a only 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15; Jude 25
Rom 16:271 wise
[ par. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ]
Rom 16:271 [1] See note 332 in ch. 11. In its conclusion this book, which gives a general discussion concerning the Christian life and the church life, gives glory to the wise God. This unveils that all the matters discussed in this book, such as how God selects us, how He saves us from sin and death, how He redeems us and justifies us, how He makes us, sinners who were dead through and through, His divine sons, how He transfers us out of Adam into Christ, how He sanctifies and transforms us in Christ, how He makes us the members of Christ for the constituting of the Body of Christ, and how He causes us to be the local churches appearing in different localities as the expressions of the Body of Christ on the earth in this age—all these matters are planned, managed, and accomplished by God’s wisdom, in order that He, the unlimitedly rich Triune God, may be glorified, that is, that His incomparable glory may be completely and fully expressed through us who have been perfected eternally by Him and who have become His Body and have been joined to Him as one. The focus of God’s wisdom is the working of His Divine Trinity into the three parts—spirit, soul, and body—of our redeemed being that in His redemption, sanctification, and transformation we may have a full union in the divine life with Him, that His desire for the mingling of divinity and humanity, the joining of humanity to divinity, may be fulfilled for eternity. This truly is worthy of our appreciation and worship! How blessed and how glorious it is that we can participate in this! This is worthy of our unceasing singing and praise for eternity! Both our Christian life and our church life should have this as our center and goal. May God bless in this way everyone who has been chosen and perfected by Him.
Rom 16:271 [2] Through God’s divine dispensing in us and His divine union with us, we can experience and enjoy the saving in Christ’s life in God’s full salvation (see note 102 in ch. 5), as conveyed to us in this book, in the following aspects:
Rom 16:271 [3] (1) By the abundance of grace (God Himself) and of the gift of righteousness (Christ Himself) which we received, we are able to reign in Christ’s divine life (5:17) over sin, death, the old man, the flesh, Satan, the world, and all persons, matters, and things that do not submit to God.
Rom 16:271 [4] (2) God’s holy nature sanctifies our worldly disposition (6:19, 22; 15:16). God sanctifies us dispositionally out of His divine life and unto His divine life that we may enjoy more of His divine life.
Rom 16:271 [5] (3) The indwelling law of the Spirit of life, that is, the automatic and spontaneous working of the Triune God as life in us, frees us from the law of sin and of death, the slavery and bondage of sin (8:2, 11). The operation of this law comes out of God’s divine life, and it also causes the increase of the divine life in us.
Rom 16:271 [6] (4) The Divine Trinity’s divine dispensing in our spirit, soul, and body causes these three parts to be saturated with the processed divine life (8:5-11), with the result that our entire being is completely united with the processed Triune God and mingled with Him as one.
Rom 16:271 [7] (5) The renewing of our mind by the Spirit results in the transformation of our soul, which saves us from being conformed to the modern style of the world (12:2) and issues in all the virtues and the overcoming, mentioned in chs. 12—16, as our daily life, a life of the highest standard, and as our church life, a life that is all-overcoming.
Rom 16:271 [8] (6) By the renewing of our mind and the transformation of our soul, we become members one of another with all believers in the Body of Christ and are built up together as the Body of Christ and thereby have the service of the Body (12:1, 3-8). This is the crystallization of our experience of the saving in Christ’s life.
Rom 16:271 [9] (7) Based on the revelation and teaching in chs. 14—16 of this book, we live the life of the local church in different localities as the appearance of the Body of Christ, the universal church, in different localities.
Rom 16:271 [10] (8) By becoming the built-up church, a church against which the gates of Hades cannot prevail, in different localities, we afford God the opportunity to crush Satan under our feet that we may enjoy Christ as our rich grace and the God of peace as our surpassing peace (16:20).
Rom 16:271 [11] (9) In our experience of the various aspects of the saving in the divine life, as mentioned above, we are being conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God (8:28-29) through the “all things” arranged under God’s sovereignty, so that we have His divine attributes and His human virtues and thereby express the glory and beauty of Him, the God-man.
Rom 16:271 [12] (10) In the process of our experience of the saving in the divine life, the splendor of the divine life gradually saturates us until it saturates our body, issuing in the redemption of our body (8:23), that our spirit, soul, and body may all enter into the glory of God (8:30, 17). This glorification is the peak attained in us by the saving in the divine life, and it is the climax of God’s full salvation.
Rom 16:27b glory Eph. 3:21; Phil. 4:20; 2 Tim. 4:18; 1 Pet. 5:11; 2 Pet. 3:18; Rev. 1:6; 5:13; 7:12