Romans 8 is the eighth chapter of the

Epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jes ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

. It was authored by

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, while he was in

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

(secretary), Tertius, who added his own greeting in Romans 16:22. Chapter 8 concerns "the Christian's spiritual life."Romans
- Jerusalem Bible The reformer

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

stated that this chapter is where Paul "comforts fighters" involved in an inner struggle between spirit and flesh:

The Holy Spirit assures us that we are God's children no matter how furiously sin may rage within us, so long as we follow the Spirit and struggle against sin in order to kill it.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 39 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 27 Papyrus 27 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓27, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Epistle to the Romans, it contains only Romans 8:12-22.24-27; 8:33-9:3.5-9. The manuscript pale ...

(3rd century; extant verses 12–22, 24–27) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330–360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400–440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(~450; complete)

Old Testament references

* Romans 8:36:

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

The Spirit of life (8:1–13)

This part deals with the Christian's deliverance from ''condemnation'', which is the penalty of death because of the sin people are living under, by virtue of believers' union with Christ ().

Verse 1

:''There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.'' The discourse in the previous chapter continues in Romans 8:1 with th
illative
word gr, ἄρα (''ara''), generally translated as ''so'' or ''therefore'', or ''consequently'' in

Thayer Thayer may refer to: Places ;United States * Thayer, Illinois * Thayer, Indiana * Thayer, Iowa * Thayer, Kansas * Thayer, Michigan * Thayer, Missouri * Thayer, Nebraska * Thayer, West Virginia * Thayer County, Nebraska * Thayer Street, Provi ...

's Greek Lexicon. The vocabulary and the content of

verse 1 Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict ...

point back to the end of chapter 5 as the basis of the conclusion which Paul starts with ''therefore''. Paul argues that Christians are set free from the condemnation (''katakrima'', cf. verses 16 and 18) caused by

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

because they have been joined to

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. This he iterates after his digression in chapters 6– 7.

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

founder

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

concurs that Paul "resumes the thread of his discourse" from , following a digression (in ) regarding sin and the

Mosaic Law The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...

: :''By dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit'' ( Romans 7:7) whereas theologians Heinrich Meyer and Harold Buls are content to link the inference with the immediately preceding text: : gr, αυτος εγω τω μεν νοι δουλευω νομω θεου τη δε σαρκι νομω αμαρτιας": :''I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin'' (). Buls explains that Paul's "real self" serving God is his mind and not his flesh. Meyer goes on to distinguish between two alternative readings of ''There is ... now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus'': *now, after Christ (as deliverer from the law of sin, ), has interposed, there is no condemnation ... or *one must be in Christ, in order to get rid of every condemnation. He prefers the former reading "as a matter of fact that has become historical" rather than the latter reading, attributed to Lutheran theologian Johann Hofmann.

The Spirit of adoption (8:14–17)

Continuing the theme of 'life' in verses 1–13, the following paragraph (verses 14–17) deals with 'sonship', describing 'the wonderful and comforting truth that Christians have been adopted into God's own family, so God's Spirit can confer life on us (13–14) and we can be ''heirs'' with a glorious prospect for the future (17–18). Thus, this short passage provides a transition between the previous and the next part.

The Spirit of glory (8:18–30)

In this part Paul further develops his whole theme of Christian assurance, which he started in chapter 5, elaborating on the Christian's hope of glory, based on the knowledge that 'God has determined to bring us though to our inheritance (18–22, 29–30), providentially working on behalf of his children (verse 28) and having given his Spirit as the guarantee for their final redemption (verse 30).

Verse 28

:''And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.'' This verse can be seen in the context of verses 29–30 (and in larger context: verses 18–39) that 'those who love God' are not promised to only experience good things, but would also suffer the woes and persecution of the present age, yet God can use all these to his divine purpose, and He has everything under control.

Verse 29

:''For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.'' *"Image" (Greek: ''eikon''; "icon"): alluding to the creation account of , that the believers will share the character of Christ.

Verse 30

:''Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.'' *"Justified": as in Romans 1:16, 'justification' here in a combination of two ideas: (1) that 'God credits to believers the status of righteousness' and (2) that 'God empowers believers to live righteously'; both are stated in verse 29 (God's purpose that believers 'be conformed to the image of his Son'), so the believers will share the future glory (being one 'within a large family'; verse 30, cf.

1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle and Sosthenes in Ephesus. The first eleven verses contain the earliest account o ...

:20).

God's everlasting love (8:31–39)

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

Bishop

Charles Ellicott Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905) was a distinguished English Christian theologian, academic and churchman. He briefly served as Dean of Exeter, then Bishop of the united see of Gloucester and Bristol. Early life and family Ellicott was b ...

describes the final section of this chapter () as "a sublime and triumphant conclusion" and

Erasmus of Rotterdam Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

remarks that "

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

never said anything grander".

Verse 31

:''What shall we then say to these things?'' ::''If God be for us, who can be against us?'' :Greek NT: (''Ti oun eroumen pros tauta'') ::'' (''ei ho Theos hyper hēmōn tis kath’ hēmōn'')Romans 8:31 Greek Text Analysis
Biblehub *"These things" (Greek: '): The

Living Bible The Living Bible (TLB or LB) is a personal paraphrase, not a translation, of the Bible in English by Kenneth N. Taylor and first published in 1971. Taylor used the American Standard Version of 1901 as his base text. Origin In a 1979 intervi ...

translates as "these wonderful things". By "these things", according to William Reed Newell, "Paul evidently indicates not only the whole process of our salvation by Christ, from chapter three onward, with that great deliverance by the help of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

set forth in this eighth chapter ... but also ... what he has been telling us of the purpose of God: "Whom He foreknew, foreordained, called, justified, glorified!" "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (''Si Deus nobiscum, quis contra nos?'') became widespread as a

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

. It is an aria for Soprano in Handel's ''Messiah'' (1741).

Verse 32

:''He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?'' *"Spared": translated from the Greek word , '. Hill regards this verse 32 'especially poignant' as it borrows the language from the account of the

binding of Isaac The Binding of Isaac ( he, , ), or simply "The Binding" (, ), is a story from Genesis 22 of the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isa ...

in Genesis 22 (: "''you have not withheld your son, your only son''"; the Greek Septuagint renders "withheld" as , ''epheiso''), but God made the sacrifice, that even Abraham was ''spared''.

Verse 35

:''Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?'' The first part of this verse, either in its full form (Latin: ''Quis ergo nos separabit a caritate Christi?'') or shortened as '' Quis separabit?'', is often used as a

. The list of ''hardship (KJV: "tribulation")... or sword'' recalls the real afflictions that the people of Israel experienced in history, as summarized in the quote in verse 36.

Verse 36

:''As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."'' The citation from in Greek is exactly as in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

(numbered as Psalm 43:22).Meyer, Heinrich August Wilhelm (1880)
''Commentary on the New Testament.'' Romans 8
Translation by Peter Christie from Meyer's sixth edition. Accessed February 14, 2019.

More than conquerors

Verse 37

:''Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.'' *"We are more than conquerors" translated from a single Greek word , ', a word probably coined by Paul himself, 'who loves compounds with ' (''hyper''). The

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

renders it in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

as ''superamus'', but Cyprian ''supervincimus''. Later Greek writers distinguish (''nikan'') and (''hypernikan''), and justify the current rendering. To define in what the "more" consists, the answer must be sought on the line indicated in the note on (''eneken sou'', "for your sake") in verse 36, that is, these trials not only do not cut the believers off from Christ's love, but actually give them 'more intimate and thrilling experiences' from it.Expositor's Greek Testament. Romans 8
Accessed 24 April 2019.

A hymn to God's love

Verses 38–39

:''For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

our Lord.'' The New Jerusalem Bible suggests that the " principalities", "like 'angels' and 'princes' are among the mysterious cosmic or elemental forces which to the mind of antiquity were in general hostile to humanity. The 'heights' and 'depths' represent Heaven and Hell, also conceived as powers."

Uses

Music

The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

of verse 34 from this chapter is cited as texts in the English-language

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

" by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

(HWV 56). Verse 1–2 and 9–11 are cited as words in some movements of ''Jesu, meine Freude'' ("Jesus, my joy"), a

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Ma ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)
Commentary on Romans 8 at TheBibleSays
{{Epistle to the Romans 08