1So there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.
3For what the law of Moses could not do, because of the weakness of our sinful nature, God did by sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be an Offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4So that the righteous requirement of the law can now be met in us, who no longer walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5For those that live according to the flesh have their mind set on the things of the flesh; but those that are led by the Spirit have set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6For setting the mind on the flesh leads to death; but to be led by the Spirit leads to life and peace.
7Because the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; for it does not submit to the law of God, nor indeed can it.
8Those that are in the in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9But you are not in the realm of flesh, but in realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells within you. But anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ, does not belong to Christ.
10If Christ is in you, even though your body is subject to death because of sin; the Spirit gives you life, because you have been made right with God.
11And if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead is living in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you.
12Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are no longer indebted to the flesh, to respond to its impulses.
13For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die; but if you live through the Spirit, you mortify (put to death) the impulses of the body (flesh), you shall live (have eternal life).
14For those that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.
15For you have not received the spirit of a fearful slave; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we call God, “Abba, Father”.
16The Spirit Himself joins with our spirit to affirm that we are the children of God;
17And if we are His children, then we are heirs - heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ -; and if we are to share in His glory, we must also share in suffering with Him.
18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are nothing compared to the glory which shall be revealed to us.
19For all creation eagerly waits for the day when God will reveal who His children truly are.
20For the creation was made subject to vanity (frustration), not by its own choice, but by the will of Him Who has subjected it in hope.
21Because creation, itself, shall also be freed from its bondage of death and decay (corruption) into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22For we know that all of creation groans as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23And not only the creation, but also we, ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption as children of God, that is, the redemption of our (new) bodies.
24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope at all; for who hopes for what he already has?
25But if we hope for what we do not yet see, then we must with patience wait for it.
26In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what we should pray for; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27And He Who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in harmony with the will of God. Given that the ‘agent’ of verse 20 is undeniably God, one could infer that Paul is saying that God created a defective creation. That is not what he is saying. The original sin, committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, brought a curse upon God’s perfect creation (Gen.1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). It was God’s righteous punishment for that sin (Gen.3:17-19); but even that curse was contained in the framework of hope of restoration from the curse, as stated in verse 21.
28And we know that all things work together for the good of those that love God, those who are the called according to His purpose.
29For those whom God foreknew, He also did predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30And those He predestinated, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God Who justifies.
34Who, then, can condemn us? No one! Shall Christ Who died, and more than that, has risen again, Who is even now at the right hand of God, interceding for us?
35Who, or what, shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword?
36As it is written, “For Your sake we face death all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter”. (Ps.44:22)
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loved us.
38For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other thing else in creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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