Romans 8:11-12 Romans 8:11-The Spirit Who Raised Jesus ... · Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of...

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries

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Romans 8:11-12

Romans 8:11-The Spirit Who Raised Jesus Will Give Life To The Christian’s

Body

Romans 8:11 teaches that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will also

give life to the Christian’s mortal body.

Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead

dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to

your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

“But” is the “adversative” use of the conjunction de (deV) (deh), which

introduces a statement that is contrast with Paul’s statement in the apodasis of

Romans 8:10.

In the protasis of the first class condition that appears in Romans 8:10, Paul

teaches that the Christian is indwelt by Christ.

Romans 8:10a, “However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of

argument Christ does, as an eternal spiritual truth, exist in all of you. Of

course, He does!” In the apodasis of Romans 8:10, he teaches that on one hand, the Christian’s

body is dead due to the sin nature but on the other hand, the Spirit is life in the

Christian because of imputed righteousness.

Romans 8:10b, “Then, on the one hand, the body is, as an eternal spiritual

truth dead because of the sin nature while on the other hand, the Spirit is, as

an eternal spiritual truth, life in all of you because of righteousness.” Therefore, in Romans 8:11, the conjunction de introduces a statement that is in

contrast with Paul’s statement in the apodasis of Romans 8:10, which teaches that

on one hand, the Christian’s body is dead due to the sin nature but on the other

hand, the Spirit is life in the Christian because of imputed righteousness.

The conjunction de in Romans 8:11 is presenting a statement that is specifically

in contrast with the affirmative statement in the correlative clause that the

Christian’s body is subject to physical death because of the indwelling sin nature.

This is indicated in that Paul’s statement in Romans 8:11 teaches that the Christian

will receive a resurrection through the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit just as Jesus

Christ did. Therefore, we will translate de, “However.”




“If” is the conditional particle ei (ei)) (i), which introduces a protasis of a first

class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.


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The conditional particle ei, “if” is employed with the indicative mood of the

verb oikeo, “dwells.” Together, they explicitly convey a protasis of a first class

condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument. However,

the apodasis is introduced implicitly meaning without a structural marker, thus we

will insert the word “then” into our translation before the apodasis statement in

order to account for this.

As we noted many times in our study of the book of Romans, the idea behind

the first class condition is not “since” but rather, “if-and let us assume that it is true

for the sake of argument, then...” This would encourage Paul’s audience to respond

and come to the conclusion of the apodosis since they already agreed with him on

the protasis. Therefore, Paul is employing the first class condition as a tool of

persuasion with his audience.

Here, in Romans 8:11, the protasis is “if and let assume that it is true for the

sake argument the Spirit who proceeded from the Father and who raised Jesus from

the dead dwells in you (Christians in Rome).” The apodasis is “(then) the Father

who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to the Christian’s mortal

body through His Spirit who permanently indwells the Christian.”

The basic relation that the protasis has to the apodasis is “evidence-inference.”

The “evidence” is that the Spirit who proceeded from the Father and who raised

Jesus from the dead dwells in Paul’s Christian audience.” The “inference” is that

the Father who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to the

Christian’s mortal body through His Spirit who indwells the Christian. This would

give encouragement to Paul’s Christian readers in Rome.

The response to Paul’s protasis by his Christian readership would be obvious.

Of course they believe that the Spirit who proceeded from the Father and who

raised Jesus from the dead dwells in them! They would agree emphatically with his

protasis.

He is not attempting to prove that his protasis is true rather he is saying with the

first class condition that we agree that this doctrine is true that the Spirit who raised

Jesus from the dead dwells in them!

The first class condition would then persuade them to respond to the conclusion

found in the apodasis that the Father who raised Christ from the dead will also give

life to the Christian’s mortal body through His Spirit who indwells the Christian.

Therefore, Paul’s audience would have to come to his conclusion if they submit to

this line of argumentation. He wants them to come to his line of argumentation

because he is teaching them about experiencing sanctification. Therefore, it is

essential that they agree with him on this point since it will help to motivate them

to experience sanctification through the power of the Spirit and give them

assurance that they will be permanently delivered from the old Adamic sin nature.


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Therefore, we will translate or paraphrase the conditional particle ei, “if, and let

us assume that it is true for the sake of argument…Of course, He does…then…”

Corrected translation thus far of Romans 8:11: “However, if, and let us

assume that it is true for the sake of argument…Of course, He does…then…”



your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” “Spirit” is the articular nominative neuter singular form of the noun pneuma

(pneu~ma), which refers to the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 8:11, the articular construction of the noun pneuma indicates that it

is functioning as a “nominative subject” meaning that it is producing the action of

the verb oikeo, “dwells.” We will translate pneuma, “the Spirit.”


assume that it is true for the sake of argument the Spirit…Of course, He

does…then…”



your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” “Who raised” is the articular genitive masculine singular aorist active

participle form of the verb egeiro (e)geivrw) (eg-i-ro), which means, “to raise from

physical death” and is used of the Father raising His Son from the dead.

The definite article preceding the participle form of the verb egeiro functions as

a substantiver meaning that it converts the participle into a substantive. Therefore,

it indicates that the participle has a substantival function, which is reflected by

translating the article with the relative pronoun, “the one who.”

The article refers to the Father. That this articular substantive participle form of

the verb egeiro refers to the Father raising Jesus from the dead and not the Spirit is

indicated in that this same form of the verb appears in the apodasis where it was

used with reference to the Father. That the word in the apodasis refers to the Father

is indicated by the prepositional phrase dia tou enoikountos autou pneumatos en

humin, “through His Spirit who dwells in you,” which indicates that the Spirit

was the intermediate agency that the Father used to raise His Son from the dead.

The Lord was brought back from the dead by three categories of divine

omnipotence. First of all, the omnipotence of God the Father raised Jesus from the

dead (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21).

Acts 2:22-24, “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a

man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God

performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know this Man,

delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you


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nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God

raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was

impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Romans 6:4, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism

with respect to His physical death in order that just as Christ was raised from

the dead ones through the glory of the Father, in the same way, we, ourselves

will also walk in the realm of an extraordinary life.”

Ephesians 1:18-20, “I make it a habit to pray that the eyes of our heart

would receive enlightenment for the purpose of knowing for certain what is

the confidence of His calling and what are the glorious riches, which is His

inheritance distributed among the saints. And what is the surpassing

greatness of His divine omnipotence directed towards all of us who are

believers. This is in accordance with the operative power, namely, the

possession of power to overcome (the sin nature, the devil and his cosmic

system) originating from His manifested power (through the resurrection and

session of Christ), which He (the Father) exercised through the Person of

Christ by raising Him (Christ) out from among the dead and by seating Him

(Christ) at His right hand in the heavenlies.”

Colossians 2:9-14, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily

form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all

rule and authority and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision

made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the

circumcision of Christ having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you

were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised

Him from the dead.”

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, “For they themselves report about us what kind of

a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a

living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised

from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

1 Peter 1:20-21, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the

world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through

Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory,

so that your faith and hope are in God.” The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit also was an agent in Jesus Christ’s

resurrection (Rom. 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18). The omnipotence of God the Son raised His

physical body from the grave (John 2:20-23; 6:39-40, 54 10:17-18).

Here in Romans 8:11, Paul is emphasizing the Father’s part in the resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

In Romans 8:11, this articular participle form of the verb egeiro functions, as a

“genitive of source” indicating that the Spirit “originates” or “proceeds from” the


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Father, which is supported by several other passages. In Romans 8:9 we noted

several passages, which teach that the Spirit proceeds from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:9, “However, all of you, without exception are, absolutely not, as

an eternal spiritual truth, existing in the state of being in bondage to the flesh

but rather in subjection to the authority of the Spirit, if in fact-and let us

assume that it is true for the sake of argument the Spirit, who is God does

dwell in all of you. Of course, He does. However, if, and let us assume that it is

true for the sake of argument anyone does not possess at all the Spirit

proceeding from Christ, then this one, as an eternal spiritual truth, by no

means belongs to Him.”

However, in Romans 8:11, Paul is emphasizing that the Spirit proceeds from

the Father, which is substantiated by several other passages.

John 14:16-17, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper,

that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world

cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him

because He abides with you and will be in you.”

John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in

My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all

that I said to you.”

John 15:26-27, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the

Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify

about Me and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the

beginning.”

In Romans 8:11, the aorist tense of the verb is a “constative” aorist tense

describing in summary fashion the moment that Jesus Christ was raised from the

dead by means of the omnipotence of God the Father.

The active voice means that the subject performs the action of the verb. The

subject in our present context is God the Father. Therefore, the active voice form

of the verb denotes that God the Father performed the action of raising Jesus

Christ.

We will translate the articular substantive participle form of the verb egeiro,

“proceeding from the One who raised.”


assume that it is true for the sake of argument the Spirit proceeding from the

One (the Father) who raised…Of course, He does…then…”





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“Jesus” is the articular accusative masculine singular form of the proper name

Iesous ( )Ihsou~$), which refers to the impeccable human nature of the Lord Jesus

Christ.

This word functions as an “accusative direct object” meaning that it is receiving

the action of the verb egeiro. This indicates that Jesus Christ in His impeccable

human nature was the recipient of the Father’s omnipotence in relation to His

resurrection.

The articular construction of the word indicates that Jesus is “one of a kind” or

“unique” in that He is the Christ, which is how Paul references Him as in Romans

8:9-10. He is also “unique” in the human race in that He was raised from the dead.

Therefore, we will translate the proper name Iesous, “the unique Person of

Jesus.”



One (the Father) who raised the unique Person of Jesus…Of course, He

does…then…”




“From the dead” is composed of the preposition ek (e)k), “from” and the

genitive masculine plural form of the adjective nekros (nekrov$), “the dead.”

The plural form of the adjective nekros, “dead ones” refers to members of the

human race who have died physically.

The preposition ek denotes separation and the adjective nekros functions as a

“genitive of separation” or as some grammarians call an “ablative of separation” in

which the genitive substantive is that from which the verb or sometimes the head

noun is separated indicating point of departure. Thus, the adjective nekros

functions as a “genitive” or “ablative of separation” indicating that the human

nature of Jesus Christ was raised “out from” those who are physically dead. We

will translate the prepositional phrase ek nekron, “from the dead ones.”



One (the Father) who raised the unique Person of Jesus from the dead

ones…Of course, He does…then…”



your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” “Dwells” is the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb

oikeo (oi)kevw) (oy-keh-o), which is used of the “indwelling” of the Holy Spirit in

the body of the Christian.


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The present tense is a “gnomic present,” which is used to describe something

that is true “any” time and “does” take place. Therefore, this indicates that the

Spirit proceeding from the one (the Father) who raised Jesus from the dead “does”

dwell in the Christians in Rome.

The active voice is “stative” indicating that the subject exists in the state

indicated by the verb. The subject are those Christians in Rome who were the

recipients of this epistle. Therefore, the “stative” active voice indicates that these

Christians in Rome “exist in the state of being” indwelt by the Spirit.

The indicative mood of the verb is “conditional” meaning that it is employed

with the conditional particle ei, “if and let us assume that it is true for the sake

of argument” in order to form the protasis of a first class condition that indicates

the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.

We will translate oikeo, “does dwell.”



One (the Father) who raised the unique Person of Jesus from the dead ones

does dwell…Of course, He does…then…”




“In you” is composed of the preposition en (e)n), “in” and the dative second

person plural personal pronoun humeis (u(mei~$) (hoo-mice), “you.”

The personal pronoun humeis literally means, “all of you” and refers to all the

believers in Rome without exception indicating that the Holy Spirit indwells the

body of every Christian in Rome.

The preposition en is a marker of location and the personal pronoun humeis

functions as a “dative locative of place” indicating that the Spirit is “located in the

soul” of these Christians in Rome who were the recipients of this Roman epistle.

All three members of the Trinity dwell in the Christian and specifically in their

souls and so in a sense because the soul is in the body, the Trinity indwells the

body of every Christian. However, when the Christian dies physically, the Trinity

still indwells the Christian because the Trinity actually dwells in the soul of every

Christian and not the Christian’s physical body. We will translate this prepositional

phrase “in all of you.”




does dwell in all of you. Of course, He does! Then…” Next, we come to the apodasis of this first class condition, which is introduced

implicitly meaning without a structural marker.


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your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” “He who raised” is the articular nominative masculine singular aorist active

participle form of the verb egeiro (e)geivrw) (eg-i-ro), which means, “to raise from

physical death” and is used again of the Father raising His Son from the dead.

The definite article preceding the participle form of the verb egeiro functions as

a substantiver meaning that it converts the participle into a substantive. Therefore,

it indicates that the participle has a substantival function, which is reflected by

translating the article with the relative pronoun, “the one who.”

The article refers to the Father. This articular participle form of the verb egeiro

that appears in the apodasis of Romans 8:11 functions as a “nominative subject.”

This indicates that the Father is producing the action of the verb zoopoieo, “will

give life to.”

The aorist tense of the verb is again a “constative” aorist tense describing in

summary fashion the moment that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the

Father through the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit.

The active voice means that the subject performs the action of the verb. The

subject in our present context is God the Father. Therefore, the active voice form

of the verb denotes that God the Father performed the action of raising Jesus Christ

from the dead.

We will translate the articular substantive participle form of the verb egeiro,

“the One who raised.”




does dwell in all of you. Of course, He does! Then, the One (the Father) who

raised…”



your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The Net Bible commenting on the textual problem that appears at this point in

Romans 8:11, writes, “Several mss read Iesoun ( )Ihsoun)), “Jesus” after Christon

(XristoVn), “Christ”; א* A D* 630 1506 1739 1881 pc bo); C 81 104 lat have

Iesoun Christon ( )Ihsoun XristoVn), “Jesus Christ.” The shorter reading is more

likely to be original, though, both because of external evidence (2B D א

2 F G Ψ 33

Majority text, including the Byzantine Koine text sa) and internal evidence (scribes

were much more likely to add the name “Jesus” if it were lacking than to remove it

if it were already present in the text, especially to harmonize with the earlier

mention of Jesus in the verse).


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your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” “Christ” is the accusative masculine singular form of the proper name Christos

(xristov$), which is a technical word designating the humanity of our Lord as the

promised Savior for all mankind who is unique as the incarnate Son of God and

was totally and completely guided and empowered by the Spirit as the Servant of

the Father.

Christos functions as an “accusative direct object” meaning that it is receiving

the action of the verb egeiro. This indicates that Jesus Christ in His impeccable

human nature was the recipient of the Father’s omnipotence in relation to His

resurrection. We will translate Christos, “Christ.”





raised Christ…”




“From the dead” is composed of the preposition ek (e)k), “from” and the

genitive masculine plural form of the adjective nekros (nekrov$), “the dead.”

The plural form of the adjective nekros, “dead ones” refers to members of the

human race who have died physically.

The preposition ek denotes separation and the adjective nekros functions as a

“genitive of separation” or as some grammarians call an “ablative of separation” in

which the genitive substantive is that from which the verb or sometimes the head

noun is separated indicating point of departure. Thus, the adjective nekros

functions as a “genitive” or “ablative of separation” indicating that the human

nature of Jesus Christ was raised “out from” those who are physically dead. We

will translate the prepositional phrase ek nekron, “from the dead ones.”





raised Christ from the dead ones…”





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“Will give life to” is the third person singular future active indicative form of

the verb zoopoieo (zw|opoievw) (dzo-op-oy-eh-o).

This word stems from the period of Aristotle and Theophrastus and refers to the

life-processes of nature, usually the procreation of animals and the growth of

plants. It only appears six times in the Septuagint and is used to translate the

Hebrew verb chayah, whether in the hiphil or piel form of the verb.

Zoopoieo speaks of the preservation of human life by another human being

(Judges 21:14) but usually it is God alone who makes alive (2 Kings 5:7 [LXX 4

Kings 5:7]; cf. Nehemiah 9:6; Job 36:6).

The verb appears only twelve times in the Greek New Testament where it is

used exclusively of God’s power to make and bring into existence that which

didn’t exist previously.

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains

defines the verb zoopoieo, “To cause to make alive” (volume 1, page 262).

The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised lists the following meanings of the verb,

“to engender living creatures; to quicken, make alive, vivify; metaphorically, to

quicken with the life of salvation” (page 183).

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian

Literature: (1) Literally, of God, who gives life (2) In a less pointed sense and

figuratively (a) I feel new life (b) of a child, it is kept alive with milk (c) of the

sprouting seed (pages 341-342).

The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon: (1) to produce alive, beget or bear

living young (2) To cause to live, make alive, give life, of God; of the dead, to

reanimate, restore to life; to give increase to life (page 274).

In John 5:21, the Lord Jesus Christ used the word with reference to the

resurrection of the dead through the exercise of the omnipotence of God the Father

and the Son. In John 6:63, the Lord Jesus Christ employs the word with reference

to the Spirit’s omnipotence to give eternal life through the communication of the

Word of God.

In 1 Corinthians 15:22, Paul uses the word with reference to the gift of eternal

life that is received through faith in Jesus Christ in contrast to those who are

spiritually dead in Adam.

Paul uses the word in 1 Corinthians 15:26 in an agricultural metaphor to

illustrate the certainty of the resurrection, which was called into question in

Corinth. Then, in 1 Corinthians 15:45, zoopoieo is used with reference to the fact

that Jesus Christ, the Last Adam gives eternal life in contrast to the first Adam who

became a living soul when he was created, minus eternal life.

The word is used again in relation to the fact that the Spirit gives eternal life to

the ungodly through faith in Jesus Christ in contrast to the Law, which condemns


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kills in the sense that it brings condemnation to those under the federal headship of

the First Adam (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Paul uses the verb when teaching the Galatians that the Law cannot impart

eternal life (Galatians 3:21).

In 1 Timothy 6:13, the apostle employs the verb with reference to God’s

creative activity. Peter uses the word with reference to the resurrection of Jesus

Christ from the dead with emphasis upon the exercise of the Holy Spirit’s

omnipotence (1 Peter 3:18).

We saw this word in Romans 4:17 where it refers to God’s ability to give life.

Romans 4:17, “(Just as it stands written for all of eternity, ‘I have

appointed you to be the spiritual father of many nations.’) He is, as an eternal

spiritual truth, the spiritual father of each and every one of us in the determination of God whom (God) he (Abraham) had absolute confidence in,

the One who, as an eternal spiritual truth, gives life to the dead ones and in

addition, as an eternal spiritual truth, commands the non-existent to exist.” In Romans 8:11, the verb is used with reference to the Father “giving life” to

the believer’s body through the exercise of the omnipotence of the Spirit, which

will take place at the resurrection of the church. This is how the word is used in

John 5:21.

John 5:21, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even

so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.” The resurrection or “rapture” of the church will mark the permanent eradication

of the sin nature from the existence of the believer and will be the completion of

the believer’s deliverance from the sin nature as well as the believer’s

sanctification.

The term “Rapture” is not a Bible word meaning that it is not found in the

Greek New Testament and is taken from the Latin term rapio, “caught up.”

The Rapture is a technical theological term for the resurrection of the church,

which is imminent, invisible to the world, terminates the church age dispensation.

It will take place in the earth’s atmosphere when the Lord Jesus Christ will

suddenly and forcefully remove the church from planet earth in order to deliver her

from the Tribulation period.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, “But we do not want you to be uninformed,

brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest

who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so

God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say

to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the

coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the

Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the

archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.


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Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the

clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

The phrase “will be caught up” is the Greek verb harpazo (a%rpazw), “to

snatch or take something away forcefully in such a way that no resistance is

offered, to grab or seize by force with the purpose of removing and/or controlling”

The verb harpazo in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 refers to the Lord Jesus Christ taking

His Church forcefully and suddenly out of the world by means of His divine

omnipotence.

1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

It would not be an encouragement for the church if it had to go through the

Tribulation period.

The Rapture delivers the church from the wrath to come, which is the worst

period in all of human history, the Great Tribulation.

1 Thessalonians 1:10, “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He

raised from the dead, {that is} Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

1 Thessalonians 5:9, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for

obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The rapture is something we the church, the body of Christ, and the future bride

of Christ should be eagerly anticipating because we will receive our resurrection

bodies at that time.

Philippians 3:20-21, “For our citizenship exists from eternity past in the

realm of the heavens, out from which also we ourselves at the present time are

eagerly anticipating as Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who will cause our

humiliating body to be outwardly transformed to be identical in essence with

His glorious body because of the power that will enable Him to marshal all

things created to Himself.” The resurrection or rapture of the church was a mystery that was not known to

Old Testament saints.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58, “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood

cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the

imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all

be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for

the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will

be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal

must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the

imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come

about the saying that is written, ‘DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.’

‘O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR

STING?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks


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be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,

my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work

of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” Only one resurrection has taken place in human history-the humanity of our

Lord Jesus Christ. He was the first fruits in resurrection (1 Cor. 15:23).

1 Corinthians 15:22-23, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be

made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those

who are Christ's at His coming.” The next group of people to resurrected from the dead is the church at the

Rapture-Bravo Company. Everyone else who was raised from the dead in the OT

and in the NT was resuscitated and not resurrected.

Order of Resurrections: (1) Alpha Company: The humanity of Christ (Matt. 28;

Mark 16:1-14; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-9). (2) Bravo Company: The Church (1

Cor. 15:51-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18). (3) Charlie Company: Old Testament believers

and Tribulation martyrs (Dan. 12:2-3; Matt. 24:31; Rev. 20:4). (4) Delta Company:

Millennial believers. (5) Unbelievers: The Great White Throne Judgment of

unbelievers at the end of human history (Rev. 20:11-15).

The Lord Jesus Christ in His Upper Room Discourse first spoke of the Rapture

or resurrection of the church where He laid the groundwork for the dispensation of

the church age.

John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe

also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I

would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a

place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am,

{there} you may be also.” Notice the Lord says that He will “receive us to Himself.”

Compare it with this passage in 2nd Thessalonians, which deals extensively

with the rapture.

2 Thessalonians 2:1, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him.” We will have a resurrection body like our Lord’s (1 John 3:2).

1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared

as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him,

because we will see Him just as He is.” The resurrection of the Church is the completion of the Body of Christ, thus

transforming the body of Christ into the Bride of Christ.

Revelation 19:1-10, “After these things I heard something like a loud voice

of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and

power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND

RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the


14

earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS

BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.’ And a second time they said, ‘Hallelujah!

HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.’ And the twenty-four

elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on

the throne saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’ And a voice came from the throne,

saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him,

the small and the great.’ Then I heard something like the voice of a great

multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty

peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty,

reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage

of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ It was given to

her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the

righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write, ‘Blessed are those who

are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These

are true words of God.’ Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to

me, ‘Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who

hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the

spirit of prophecy.’” The resurrection body will be composed of flesh and bone and will not have

blood as the physical body now has. It will have a different molecular structure

which will enable it to walk through walls as our Lord did in John 20:19.

John 20:19, “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,

and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews,

Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” It will be able to leave the earth vertically as our Lord did in Acts 1:9.

Acts 1:9, “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they

were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” It will be able to travel through space in an instant and appear in heaven. The

believer will still be able to eat and drink in a resurrection body (Luke 24:42-43).

Luke 24:42-43, “They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it

and ate it before them.” The resurrection body will never get tired or sick and will minus the old sin

nature. It will be a spiritual body with flesh and bones (1 Cor. 15:35-50).

1 Corinthians 15:35-49, “But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised?

And with what kind of body do they come?’ You fool! That which you sow

does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the

body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of

its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and

another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There


15

are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is

one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and

another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from

star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable

body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in

glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it

is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual

body. So also it is written, ‘The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING

SOUL.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is

not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth,

earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who

are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as

we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the

heavenly.” The rapture is the “blessed hope” of the church since it delivers her from the

wrath that is to come upon a Christ rejecting world during the Tribulation period,

which will be the worst period in all of human history and immediately follows the

rapture.

Titus 2:13, “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our

great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”

The Lord Jesus Christ in His Upper Room Discourse first speaks of the rapture.

John 14:1-3, Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also

in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I

would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a

place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am,

{there} you may be also.” Notice the Lord says that He will “receive us to Himself.”

Compare it with this passage in 2 Thessalonians, which deals extensively with

the rapture.

2 Thessalonians 2:1, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him.” The rapture of the church is distinguished in Scripture from the Second Advent

of Christ. The Rapture delivers the church while the Second Advent delivers Israel.

The Rapture is seen only by the church and is therefore invisible while the Second

Advent is the visible manifestation of Christ on the earth.

The Lord meets the church in the earth’s atmosphere at the Rapture, whereas

the Lord physically lands on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem at the Second

Advent. Signs do not precede the Rapture whereas visible signs precede the

Second Advent. The Lord claims His Bride at the Rapture but He returns with her

at the Second Advent.


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The Rapture completes God’s program for the church while the Second Advent

is related to God’s program for Israel. The Rapture is a mystery, not known to Old

Testament saints whereas the Second Advent is prophesied throughout the Old

Testament canon.

The Rapture leaves creation unchanged whereas the Second Advent entails a

change in creation. The Rapture does not fulfill God’s covenants to Israel whereas

the Second Advent marks the beginning of their fulfillment. The Rapture precedes

the Tribulation whereas the Second Advent follows it.

The Rapture is “imminent” meaning that it could happen at any time and is the

next prophetic event. It triggers the “day of the Lord,” which is “not” a literal

twenty-four period but rather is an extended period of time beginning with God’s

dealing with Israel after the rapture at the beginning of the tribulation period. It

extends through the Second Advent and the millennial age unto the creation of the

new heavens and the new earth after the millennium.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:2, Paul teaches that the “day of the Lord” will break

unexpectedly upon the world.

1 Thessalonians 5:2, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the

Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” If the Day of the Lord did not begin until the Second Advent, since that event is

preceded by signs, the Day of the Lord could “not” come as a “thief in the night,”

unexpected, and unheralded, as it is said it will come in 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

The only way this day could break unexpectedly upon the world is to have it

begin immediately after the rapture of the church, which is imminent. When an

event is truly imminent, we never know exactly when it will happen.

Dr. Gerald B. Stanton, a professor of Bible at Biola College for many years, and

writer of several prophecy books, states the following: “Immanency consists of

three things: the certainty that He may come at any moment, the uncertainty of the

time of that arrival, and the fact that no prophesied event stands between the

believer and that hour. The purpose of such immanency is that the Church may be

in a constant state of expectancy, always looking for and waiting for the coming of

her Lord from heaven. Not only is the hope of His return a source of comfort and

encouragement to the believer, but also it is a very definite incentive for service

and for holy living.”

This is what John is saying in 1 John 3:2-3.

1 John 3:2-3, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not

appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be

like Him, because we will see Him just as He is and everyone who has this

hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”


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In Philippians 3:21, Paul teaches the Philippians that the Lord Jesus Christ will

transform the believer’s humiliating into conformity with His glorious resurrection

body.






things created to Himself.” In Philippians 3:21, the expression “to be outwardly transformed” is the third

person future active indicative form of the compound verb metaschematizo

(metasxhmativzw).

The word refers to the Lord Jesus Christ causing the church age believer’s

physical body to be transformed in outward appearance into a resurrected body at

the rapture of the church.

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the verb transform:

(1) To change in form, appearance, or structure, metamorphose (2) To change in

condition, nature, or character; convert (3) To change into another substance;

transmute.

If we were to paraphrase this definition, we would say that the church age

believer’s physical body: (1) Will change in form, appearance, or structure,

metamorphose at the rapture or resurrection of the church. (2) Will change in

condition, nature, character; convert at the rapture or resurrection of the church. (3)

Will change into another substance; transmute at the rapture or resurrection of the

church.

The predictive future indicates that the believer will have his physical body

transformed into a resurrection body that is patterned after the resurrection body of

the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection body. This is a causative active voice where

the Lord Jesus Christ as the subject is the cause or ultimate source of the

transformation of the believer’s physical body into a resurrection body.

“Humiliating” is the genitive feminine singular form of the noun tapeinosis

(tapeivnwsi$), which describes the believer’s physical body, which is mortal. It

refers to the state of humiliation that the believer experiences in his mortal body

because it contains the old sin nature as a result of Adam’s original sin in the

garden (R. 5:12; cf. 7).

The physical body of the believer is humiliating in comparison to the

resurrection body. It is being corrupted as a result of the old sin nature (Eph. 4:22)

and is subjected to death (1 C. 15:42-44). It is thus mortal whereas the resurrection

body is immortal. The mortal body of the believer is governed by the old Adamic-

nature whereas the resurrection body is governed by the new Christ-nature.


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Christ crucified the old Adamic-nature at the cross (R. 6:6). It tempts the soul to

commit mental, verbal and overt acts of personal sin and produces evil (Col. 3:9).

The mortal body of the believer is in bondage to the sin nature (R. 7:14). Its actions

cannot please God and wars against the Spirit (R. 8:3; cf. Ga. 5:18-21).






things created to Himself.”

“To be identical in essence” is the accusative neuter singular form of the

adjective summorphos (suVmmorfo$), which is employed in an eschatological sense

referring to the rapture when the believer will receive a resurrection body that will

have the same identical essence as the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This compound adjective is composed of the preposition sun, “with, together

with,” and the noun morphe, “essence.” Literally it means “having the same

essence of nature,” or “identical in essence or nature.”

The believer’s resurrection body will not only look like the resurrection body of

the Lord Jesus Christ but it will be in essence, identical to His, composed of flesh,

bone and spirit and no blood because it will be minus the old sin nature. It will be

composed of the same molecular structure and will function in the same manner as

the resurrection body of Christ, which He first modeled after His resurrection.

The resurrected body of the Lord Jesus Christ serves as the model for the

resurrected body of the believer. Every church age believer will receive a

resurrection body at the rapture of the church (1 John 3:2). The omnipotence of the

Lord Jesus Christ will be responsible for the believer’s new resurrection body

according to Philippians 3:21.

The believer’s physical body is a body of humiliation compared to the

resurrection body which is called the “body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21). The

resurrection body will be composed of flesh and bones and will not have blood as

the physical body now has (Lk. 24:39), but will be composed of flesh, bones and

spirit. The resurrection body will have a different molecular structure which will

enable it to walk through walls as our Lord did in John 20:19. It will be able to

leave the earth vertically as our Lord did in Acts 1:9. It will be able to travel

through space in an instant and appear in heaven.

The believer will still be able to eat and drink in a resurrection body (Luke

24:42-43). The resurrection body will never get tired or sick and will minus the old

sin nature. It will be a spiritual body with flesh and bones (1 Cor. 15:35-50). It will

be an imperishable body and not like the one believer’s now have (1 Cor. 15:52).


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The resurrection body will be immortal (1 Cor. 15:53). The believer’s

resurrection body is a result of our Lord’s victory over death at the Cross (1 Cor.

15:57). Our Lord delivered us from the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15). The believer

in a resurrection body will no longer be able to sin because it will be minus the old

sin nature which tempts the believer to commit acts of sin-mental, verbal and overt.

The resurrection body will be an eternal monument to the grace policy of God.

All church age believers will receive a resurrection body regardless of whether or

not they were a winner in time. The only requirement for receiving a resurrection

body is believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

Faith alone in Christ alone is the means of receiving a resurrection body. It only

takes one non-meritorious decision to receive a resurrection body.

Paul uses the Stellar Universe analogy to illustrate the fact that there will be

varieties of resurrection bodies in heaven (1 Cor. 15:40-41). The resurrection body

will be totally governed by the Spirit, made alive and sustained by the eternal

living power of the Spirit. The resurrection body of the believer will have the same

identical attributes and properties that the resurrection body of Christ has.






things created to Himself.” In Philippians 3:21, “the power” is the accusative feminine singular form of the

noun energeian (e)ne/rgeian), which refers to the divine omnipotence of God the

Son.

The humiliating body of the believer will be outwardly transformed to be

identical in essence to the glorified resurrected body of Christ at the rapture of the

church. In context, Paul is referring to the omnipotence of God the Son since he is

discussing the resurrection body. The same power that raised the humanity of

Christ from the dead will raise every Church Age believer from the dead at the

Rapture (Rom. 8:11).



your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Now, in Romans 8:11, the verb zoopoieo means, “to give life” and is used with

God the Father as the subject.

The prepositional phrase that follows it dia tou enoikountos autou pneumatos en

humin, “through His Spirit who indwells you” indicates that the Father will give

life to the Christian through the omnipotence of the Spirit.


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This statement by Paul in Romans 8:11 is connected to his statement in Romans

7:24.

Romans 7:24, “A wretched person, I myself always am! Who will deliver

me from this body, which produces temporal spiritual death?”

He answers this rhetorical question in Romans 7:25.

Romans 7:25, “Thank God (the Father) through Jesus who is the Christ,

who is our Lord!” Now, here in Romans 8:11, Paul teaches that the Father will give life to the

Christian’s body through the omnipotence of the Spirit. Paul teaches in Romans 6

that this permanent deliverance of the Christian from his sin nature at the rapture of

the church is the result of the Christian being identified with Christ in His

resurrection. This was accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit the moment

the Christian trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior. This will complete the

Christian’s deliverance from the sin nature, which is spoken of by Paul in Romans

chapter six.

In Romans 6:5, the apostle teaches that the justified sinner is identified with

Christ in His resurrection in order that the believer might receive a resurrection

body like the last Adam, Christ so as to replace his sinful body.

Romans 6:5, “Therefore, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of

argument that we are entered into union with Him, conformed to His physical

death. Of course, we believe this is true. Then, certainly, we will also be united

with Him, conformed to His resurrection.” Paul instructs the Roman believers in Romans 6:8 that since they have died with

Christ through the baptism of the Spirit, they will as a certainty, in the future, at the

resurrection, i.e. rapture of the church live with Christ in the sense that they will

receive a resurrection body like Christ.

Romans 6:8, “Now, as previously stated, if and let us assume that it is true

for the sake of argument that we have died with Him. Of course, we have

already established that this is true. Then, we do have this absolute confidence

that we, as a certainty, will in the future also live with Him.” Then, in Romans 6:9, he teaches that physical death no longer has dominion

over Jesus Christ because He has been raised from the dead. The implication of

this is that if physical death no longer has any control over Christ, then neither

does the sin nature, which resides in the physical bodies, have dominion over the

believer who is identified with Christ in His physical death and resurrection.

Romans 6:9, “Because we know for certain, namely that because Christ

was raised from the dead ones, He can never again, as an eternal spiritual

truth, die. Death can never again, as an eternal spiritual truth, have dominion

over Him.”


21

Paul in Romans 6:10 instructs the believers in Rome that the Lord Jesus Christ

died physically for the destruction of the sin nature but now lives to God.

Romans 6:10, “For you see, the physical death that He died, He died for the

destruction of the sin nature once and for all but the life that He now lives, He

lives forever for the benefit of God the Father.” This deliverance from the sin nature is accomplished in three stages.

(1) Positional: At the moment the believer exercised faith alone in Christ alone,

he was delivered “positionally” from the sin nature through the crucifixion, death,

burial, resurrection and session of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 19:9; John 4:22;

Acts 4:12; 13:26, 47; 16:17; Rom. 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 2 Cor. 6:2; Eph. 1:13;

Phlp. 1:28; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 6:9; 1 Pet. 1:9-10; 2 Pet. 3:15; Jude 3;

Rev. 7:10).

By “positionally,” I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried,

raised and seated with Christ, which was accomplished at the moment of salvation

through the Baptism of the Spirit when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit

placed the believer in an eternal union with Christ. In other words, the “positional”

aspect of the believer’s salvation refers to the past action of God saving us from sin

when we trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and

that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no

one may boast.” The believer’s deliverance positionally sets up the “potential” for him to

experience this deliverance in time since this deliverance can only be experienced

after salvation through obedience to the teaching of the Word of God by the power

of the Spirit. It also guarantees the believer’s ultimate deliverance at the rapture,

which is based upon the sovereign decision of God rather than the volition of the

believer.

(2) Experiential: After salvation, the believer can “experience” deliverance

from the sin nature by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that

he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ. This constitutes

the believer’s spiritual life after being delivered from real spiritual death (2 Cor.

1:6; 7:10; Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Phlp. 2:12; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17;

2 Tim. 2:10; 3:15; Heb. 2:3, 10; 1 Pet. 2:2). In other words, the “experiential”

aspect of salvation is used of the believer’s deliverance from sin in the present

moment.

1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who

are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (3) Ultimate: At the resurrection the believer will be delivered “ultimately” and

permanently from the sin nature when he receives his resurrection body at the

rapture of the church, which is imminent (Rom. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:8-9; Heb. 1:14;


22

9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5). In other words, the “ultimate” aspect of salvation is used of the

believer’s future deliverance from sin.

2 Timothy 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will

bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and

ever. Amen.” Just as in the believer’s sanctification, his deliverance positionally sets up the

“potential” for him to experience this deliverance in time since this deliverance can

only be experienced after salvation through obedience to the teaching of the Word

of God. It also guarantees the believer’s ultimate deliverance at the rapture, which

is based upon the sovereign decision of God rather than the volition of the believer.

In Romans 8:11, the future tense of the verb zoopoieo is a “predictive” future

tense indicating that something will take place or come to pass. Therefore, it

indicates that the Father will give life to the mortal body of the Christian through

the omnipotence of the Spirit “in the future” at the rapture of the church.

The active voice means that the subject produces the action of the verb. The

subject in our present context is God the Father. This indicates that the Father will

perform action of giving life to the Christian’s mortal body through the

omnipotence of the Spirit at the rapture of the church.

The indicative mood is “declarative” presenting this assertion as an unqualified

statement of bible doctrine. We will translate the verb zoopoieo, “will give life to.”





raised Christ from the dead ones, will give life to…”




“Also” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai (kaiV), which introduces

the Christian as an “additional” group of individuals who will be raised like Jesus

Christ from the dead by the Father through the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. We

will translate kai, “also.”


assume that it is true for the sake of argument the Spirit, proceeding from the

One (the Father) who raised the unique Person of Jesus from the dead ones,


raised Christ from the dead ones, will also give life to…”





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“Your mortal bodies” is composed of the articular accusative neuter plural

form of the adjective thnetos (qnhtov$) (thnay-tos), “mortal” and the accusative

neuter plural form of the noun soma (sw~ma) (so-mah), “bodies” and the genitive

second person plural personal pronoun humeis (u(mei~$) (hoo-mice), “your”

The noun soma refers to the Christian’s human body. The word functions as an

accusative direct object” meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb

zoopoieo, “will give life to” indicating that the Christian’s mortal body will be the

recipients of being made alive again by the Father through the Spirit’s

omnipotence.

The noun soma is modified by the adjective thnetos, which means, “mortal” and

describes the human body as “that which is subject to deterioration, death and

decay.”

As we have noted many times in our studies of the book of Romans, the reason

why the human body is subject to deterioration, death and decay is that the sin

nature resides in the genetic structure of the human body.

Romans 6:6, “This we are very familiar with through instruction, namely,

that our old man was crucified with Him in order that the sinful body would

be deprived of its power with the result that we are no longer in a perpetual

state of being slaves to the sin nature.” This was the result of the Lord putting a curse on the human body as a result of

Adam’s transgression.

Genesis 3:18-19, “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you

will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till

you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; For you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.” The definite article the preceding the adjective thnetos is employed with the

possessive personal pronoun humeis as a function marker to denote possession.

The personal pronoun humeis functions as a possessive genitive emphasizing the

bodies are “possessed by” the Roman believers. Therefore, we will translate the

expression ta thneta somata humon, “your mortal body.”





raised Christ from the dead ones, will also give life to your mortal bodies…”



your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Next, we will note the second and final textual problem that appears in Romans

8:11.


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The Net Bible commenting on this writes, “Most mss (B D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881

lat, Majority text, including the Byzantine Koine text) have dia (dia))) followed by

the accusative: “because of his Spirit who lives in you.” The genitive “through his

Spirit” is supported by א A C(*)

81 104 1505 1506 al, and is slightly preferred.

“Through His Spirit” is composed of the preposition dia (diaV) (dee-ah),

“through” and the genitive masculine third person singular form of the intensive

personal pronoun autos (au)tov$) (ow-tos), “His” and the genitive neuter singular

form of the noun pneuma (pneu~ma), “Spirit.”

The noun pneuma is an obvious reference to the Holy Spirit. The preposition

dia is employed with the genitive form of the noun pneuma as a marker of

intermediate agency and the noun pneuma and functions as a “genitive of agency.”

This indicates that the Spirit is the personal intermediate agency, which the Father

will employ to give life to the mortal body of the Christian at the resurrection of

the church.

The intensive personal pronoun autos refers to the Father since it agrees in

gender and number with its antecedent, the masculine singular form of the

substantive participle zoopoieo. It functions as a “genitive of possession,” which

indicates that the Spirit “belongs to” the Father.

We will translate the preposition dia, “through” and the noun pneuma, “the

Spirit” and the intensive personal pronoun autos, “His.”





raised Christ from the dead ones, will also give life to your mortal bodies

through His Spirit…”




“Who dwells” is the articular genitive neuter singular present active participle

form of the verb enoikeo (e)noikevw) (en-oy-keh-o), which is composed of the

preposition en, “in” and the verb oikeo, “to dwell,” thus the word literally means,

“to dwell in.”

The verb means, “to take up residence, make one’s home in or among, to live

in, inhabit, dwell in.” All the uses of enoikeo are metaphorical in the Greek New

Testament where it appears five times.

Vine commenting on the verb, writes that “enoikeo is used, with a spiritual

significance only, of (a) the indwelling of God in believers, 2Co 6:16; (b) the

indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Ro 8:11; 2 Ti 1:14; (c) the indwelling of the word of


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Christ, Col. 3:16; (d) the indwelling of faith, 2 Ti 1:5; (e) the indwelling of sin in

the believer, Ro 7:17. (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old

and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)

Rolf Dabelstein commenting on the word, writes, “Enoikeo is used in the LXX

of human dwelling or settling on earth, in the land, on mountains or in cities and

therefore also human possession of these places” (Exegetical Dictionary of the

New Testament, volume 1, page 456).

The verb is slightly different in meaning than the verb oikeo in that it not only

denotes dwelling in a particular place but also possessing that place and being

permanently settled in it.

Therefore, in 2 Corinthians 6:16, the verb enoikeo denotes that God will

“permanently indwell” or is “permanently settled in” His people.

2 Corinthians 6:16, “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?

For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I WILL DWELL

IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,

AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.’” In Colossians 3:16, Paul commands the Colossian believers to let the Word of

Christ “permanently indwell” their souls or be at home in the souls.

Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all

wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Paul in 2 Timothy 1:5 uses the verb to describe the sincere faith of Timothy’s

grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice that “permanently indwelt” in the souls of

these two women.

2 Timothy 1:5, “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which

first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure

that it is in you as well.” In 2 Timothy 1:14, enoikeo denotes the Holy Spirit “permanently indwelling”

the soul of Timothy or His “permanent residence” in him.

2 Timothy 1:14, “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the

treasure which has been entrusted to you.” In Romans 8:11, the verb is used of the “permanent indwelling” of the Holy

Spirit in the body of the Christian or His “permanent residence” and as a result

“possesses” the soul of the Christian.

The definite article preceding the participle form of the verb enoikeo functions

as a substantiver meaning that it converts the participle into a substantive.

Therefore, it indicates that the participle has a substantival function, which is

reflected by translating the article with the relative pronoun, “the one who.” The

article refers to the Holy Spirit.


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The present tense of the verb enoikeo is a “gnomic present,” which is used to

describe something that is true “any” time and “does” take place. Therefore, this

indicates that the Spirit “does” permanently indwell Christians.

The active voice is “stative” indicating that the subject exists in the state

indicated by the verb. The subject are those Christians in Rome who were the

recipients of this epistle. Therefore, the “stative” active voice indicates that these

Christians in Rome “exist in the state of being” permanently indwelt by the Spirit.

The word functions as a “genitive of apposition” or “epexegetical genitive”

meaning that it “identifies” for the reader the permanent location of the Spirit.

We will translate the verb enoikeo, “who does permanently dwell.”






through His Spirit who does permanently dwell…”




“In you” is composed of the preposition en (e)n), “in” and the dative second

person plural personal pronoun humeis (u(mei~$) (hoo-mice), “you.”

The personal pronoun humeis literally means, “all of you” and refers to all the

believers in Rome without exception. This indicates that the Holy Spirit indwells

the soul of every Christian in Rome.

The preposition en is a marker of location and the personal pronoun humeis

functions as a “dative locative of place” indicating that the Holy Spirit is “located

in the soul” of these Christians in Rome who were the recipients of this Roman

epistle.

We will translate this prepositional phrase “in all of you.”

Completed corrected translation of Romans 8:11: “However, if, and let us





through His Spirit who does permanently dwell in all of you.” In Romans 8:11, Paul is teaching his Christian readers in Rome that they will be

the recipients of the Spirit’s omnipotence at the rapture of the church when they

will receive their resurrection bodies.


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“Omnipotence” is an attribute of God the Father, God the Son and God the

Holy Spirit. It is a compound word from the Latin meaning “all powerful,” and is

composed of the following: (1) Omni, “all.” (2) Potence, “power.”

“Omnipotence” is one of the characteristics of the divine essence (Father: Mark

14:36 and Luke 1:37; Son: Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3; Spirit: Rom. 15:13). God has

limitless and infinite ability to do something (Gen. 18:14a; Psa. 147:5a; Isa. 40:26;

Lk. 1:37).

There is power in the Word of God (Psa. 33:6a; Heb. 1:3a; 4:12a; 11:3a; 2 Co.

6:7; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 3:5).

Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any

two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the

spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a critic of thoughts and intents

of the heart.” The cross of Christ is the power of God, which delivers the believer from the

sin nature, the cosmic system of Satan and Satan himself.

1 Corinthians 1:18, “ For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who

are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

The Gospel is the power of God for salvation.

Romans 1:16, “For I am never ashamed of the gospel for it is as an eternal

spiritual truth God’s power resulting in deliverance for the benefit of

everyone who as an eternal spiritual truth believe, to the Jew first and then to

the Greek.” All three members of the Trinity are omnipotent since they are co-equal, co-

infinite and co-eternal: (1) God the Father is omnipotent (Eph. 1:17; 2 Pet. 1:2-3).

(2) Holy Spirit is omnipotent (Acts 1:8; Rm. 15:13, 19; Eph. 3:16; 1 Th. 1:5). (3)

Word of God is omnipotent (Ro. 1:16; 1 Co. 1:18, 24; Heb. 4:12).

The life of the Lord Jesus Christ was a life of power (Luke 1:35; 4:36).

Luke 1:35, “The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will

come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for

that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Luke 4:36, “And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking

with one another saying, ‘What is this message? For with authority and power

He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.’” He used the power of God the Holy Spirit to cast demons out of people (Matt.

12:28). The impeccable body of the humanity of Christ was conceived by the

power of God the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20).

The Lord was brought back from the dead by three categories of divine

omnipotence: (1) Omnipotence of God the Father sent back our Lord’s human

spirit to the body in the grave (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess.

1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21). (2) Omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit sent back our Lord’s


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human soul to the body in the grave (Rom. 1:4; 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18). (3)

Omnipotence of God the Son raised His physical body from the grave (John 6:39-

40, 54; 10:17-18).

Romans 1:1-4, “Paul, a slave owned by Christ who is Jesus, called as an

apostle, set apart for the gospel originating from God, which He promised

beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning His Son,

who was born as a descendant of David with respect to His human nature.

The One demonstrated as the Son of God by means of divine power with

respect to a nature characterized by holiness because of the resurrection from

the dead ones, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to raise the dead (John 5:21; 6:40; 11:25).

The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead will raise the believer from

the dead.

1 Corinthians 6:14, “ Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also

raise us up through His power.” The same power that raised the humanity of Christ from the dead has been

made available to every church age believer’s because of their union and

identification with the Lord through the Baptism of the Spirit (1 Co. 6:14; Eph.

1:18-20). Thus because of the church age believer’s union with Christ, he can have

a lifestyle of power and wisdom (2 Ti. 1:7).

2 Timothy 1:7-8, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of

power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony

of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel

according to the power of God.” The church age believer is the beneficiary of three categories of divine

omnipotence in positional sanctification: (1) The omnipotence of God the Father in

eternity past as related to the divine decree, eternal inheritance, election and

predestination (Rom. 9:22; Eph. 1:3-14; 2 Pet. 1:3). (2) The omnipotence of God

the Son created the cosmos through His Word in order that the Father’s eternal

purpose through the divine decree, the eternal inheritance, election and

predestination might be carried out in time (Heb. 1:3; 4:12) and also the

omnipotence of God the Son in the form of the Word of God, i.e. the Gospel

provided the means of salvation (Rm. 1:16). (3) The omnipotence of God the Holy

Spirit places the believer in union with Christ at the moment of salvation, thus

providing in time the principle of achieving that which the Father had purposed in

eternity past (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28).

The church age believer is the beneficiary of three categories of divine

omnipotence in experiential sanctification: (1) The omnipotence of God the Father

as related to the principles of election and predestination (Eph. 1:3-14). (2) The

omnipotence of God the Son as related to the perpetuation and preservation of


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human history (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3) and the Word of God for the execution of the

plan of God for the church age (1 Co. 1:18; 2 Co. 6:7; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 3:5). (3)

The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit as related to the filling of the Spirit for the

execution of the plan of God for the church age (Rm. 6:4-11; 15:13; 2 Co. 6:7;

12:9; Eph. 1:19; 3:20; Col. 1:11; 2 Pet. 1:3).

The church age believer is the beneficiary of three categories of divine

omnipotence in ultimate sanctification: (1) Omnipotence of God the Father in

relation to the believer’s human spirit being placed back in the resurrection body

(Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21). (2)

Omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit in relation to the believer’s soul being placed

back in the resurrection body (Rom. 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18). (3) Omnipotence of God

the Son in relation to the believer’s resurrection body being created (John 5:21;

6:39-40, 54; 10:17-18; 11:25).

Church age believers have been given divine power and made partakers in the

divine nature (2 Pet. 1:3-4).

2 Peter 1:2-3, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of

God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us

everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of

Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” It is the power of God that works within believers who apply the Word of God

(Eph. 3:20). Church age believers have been given divine omnipotence to execute

the plan of God (Col. 1:11).

Colossians 1:9-12, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we

have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the

knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you

will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects,

bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining

of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who

has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” They have been created a new spiritual species, i.e. Christ-nature at the moment

of salvation so that you can use God’s divine omnipotence (2 Cor. 5:17). The

Christ-nature enables the believer to have a lifestyle of power which is patterned

after that which the humanity of Christ demonstrated during His First Advent (2

Ti. 1:7).

The same power that enabled the humanity of Christ to execute the Father’s

plan for the incarnation and that raised Him from the dead is available to every

church age believer as a result of the Baptism of the Spirit.

Paul prayed that the Ephesian believers would be enlightened as to the power

that has been made available to all of them because of their union with Christ. In


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Ephesians 1:19, Paul prayed that the Holy Spirit would enlighten the Ephesian

believers regarding the exercise of the omnipotence through the resurrection,

ascension and session of Christ that has been made available to them through their

union with Christ. This would give them the capacity to overcome the devil, his

cosmic system and the sin nature.

Ephesians 1:18, “I make it a habit to pray that the eyes of our heart would

receive enlightenment for the purpose of knowing for certain what is the

confidence of His calling and what are the glorious riches, which is His

inheritance distributed among the saints.” In Ephesians 1:18, Paul is praying that the Holy Spirit would enlighten the

Ephesian believers so that they will know without a doubt what is the confident

assurance of their election to privilege and their eternal inheritance that they

possess because of their eternal union with Christ.

Every church age believer has the opportunity to receive his eternal inheritance

if he fulfills the condition of being faithful in executing the Father’s will for his life

and which can be forfeited due to unfaithfulness.

Although the believer’s salvation cannot be merited but is received when a

person expresses faith alone in Christ alone, the believer’s inheritance on the other

hand is meritorious meaning he has to fulfill the condition of being faithfully

obedient to the will of God till physical death or the rapture (i.e. resurrection of the

Church).

Ephesians 1:19, “And what is the surpassing greatness of His divine

omnipotence directed towards all of us who are believers. This is in

accordance with the operative power, namely, the possession of power to

overcome (the sin nature, the devil and his cosmic system) originating from

His manifested power (through the resurrection and session of Christ).” “Power” is the noun dunamis, which refers the inherent power of God and thus

it refers to God’s attribute called omnipotence.

“Working” is the noun energeia, which means, “operative power” and is a

reference to the exercise of God’s omnipotence through the resurrection, ascension

and session of Christ.

“Strength” is the noun ischus, which means, “possession of power to

overcome” and refers to the one hundred percent availability of divine

omnipotence that has been made available to every church age believer because of

their union with the Christ that provides them “the power to overcome” Satan and

the kingdom of darkness and the old Adamic sin nature.

“Might” is the noun kratos, which means, “manifested power” and refers to the

omnipotence of God that has been “manifested” in history through the resurrection,

ascension and session of the Lord Jesus Christ.


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Ephesians 1:20, “Which He (the Father) exercised through the Person of

Christ by raising Him (Christ) out from among the dead and by seating Him

(Christ) at His right hand in the heavenlies.” “In Christ” indicates that the Ephesian believer’s confidence, election, eternal

inheritance and power to experience victory over the devil and the flesh are all

found in their eternal union and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:21-23, “Far above each and every ruler and authority and

command and dominion and each and every rank that has been bestowed, not

only during this period of history, absolutely not, but also during the coming

one. Furthermore, He (the Father) subjected each and every thing under His

(Christ’s) feet and appointed Him as head over each and every thing for the

benefit of the church, which (church) by its very character and nature is His

body, the perfect complement and complete expression (of Christ) who

(Christ) at the present time is fulfilling everything for Himself in every

respect.” Ephesians 1:20-22 teaches that the Father has demonstrated His omnipotence in

history by promoting the perfect human nature of Christ in hypostatic union to the

highest ranking position in the church and His kingdom as a result of His

obedience to His will in going to the Cross to die for the sins of the entire world.

Philippians 2:5-11, “Everyone continue thinking this (according to

humility) within yourselves, which was also in (the mind of) Christ Jesus who

although existing from eternity past in the essence of God, He never regarded

existing equally in essence with God an exploitable asset. On the contrary, He

denied Himself of the independent function of His deity by having assumed

the essence of a slave when He was born in the likeness of men. In fact,

although He was discovered in outward appearance as a man, He humbled

Himself by having entered into obedience to the point of spiritual death even

death on a Cross. For this very reason in fact God the Father has promoted

Him to the highest-ranking position and has awarded to Him the rank, which

is superior to every rank. In order that in the sphere of this rank possessed by

Jesus every person must bow, celestials and terrestrials and sub-terrestrials.

Also, every person must publicly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord for

the glory of God the Father.”


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Romans 8:12-The Christian Is By No Means Obligated To Live In Submission

To The Flesh

Next, we come to Romans 8:12 and in this passage, Paul teaches that the

Christian is by no means obligated to live in submission to the flesh.

Romans 8:1-13 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are

in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free

from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it

was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful

flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh so that the

requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to

the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh

set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the

Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the

mind set on the Spirit is life and peace because the mind set on the flesh is

hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not

even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However,

you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in

you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to

Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit

is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus

from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will

also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So

then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to

the flesh -- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by

the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

In Romans 8:12, “so then” is composed of the “inferential” particle ara (a&ra)

(ar-ah), “so” and the “transitional” or “resumptive” use of the post-positive

conjunction oun (ou@n) (oon), “then.”

We have seen these two words together several times in the book of Romans

(5:18; 7:3, 25). Now once again, we see ara oun together in Romans 8:12.

In Romans 8:12, the particle ara is inferential suggesting that the statement to

follow is a conclusion or inference from Paul’s preceding statements in Romans

8:1-11. In Romans 8:12-13, Paul infers from Romans 8:1-11 that the Christian is

no longer under obligation to live his life in submission to the sin nature but rather

in submission to the Spirit because the Christian will lose fellowship if he chooses

the former but he will live if he choose the latter.

In Romans 8:1, Paul assured his Christian readers in Rome that there is never

any condemnation, none whatsoever for them because of their union with Jesus

Christ.


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Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now, as an eternal spiritual truth, never

any condemnation, none whatsoever for the benefit of those in union with

Christ who is Jesus.” Thus, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement in Romans 8:12 that

is an inference from this statement in Romans 8:1. This indicates that the Christian

is no longer under obligation to live in submission to the sin nature but rather in

submission to the Spirit because he avoids eternal condemnation because of his

union and identification with Christ.

Next, in Roman 8:2, he taught the Christians in Rome that the life-giving

Spirit’s authoritative power, by means of Christ Jesus, has set them free from the

authoritative power of the sin nature as well as spiritual death’s.

Romans 8:2, “Because, the life-giving Spirit’s authoritative power, by

means of (the death and resurrection of) Christ, who is Jesus, has set you free

from the sin nature’s authoritative power as well as spiritual death’s.” Thus, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement in Romans 8:12 that

is an inference from this statement in Romans 8:2. This indicates that the Christian

is under obligation to live in submission to the Spirit rather than his flesh because

the life-giving Spirit’s authoritative power by means of his identification with

Christ in His death and resurrection has set them free from the sin nature’s

authoritative power as well as spiritual death’s.

Then, in Romans 8:3, Paul “explains how” or presents the “reason why” the

life-giving Spirit’s authoritative power, by means of (the death and resurrection of)

Christ Jesus has set them free from the sin nature’s authoritative power as well as

spiritual death’s. We noted the first statement in this passage where Paul teaches

that the Law was unable to deliver sinful humanity from the sin nature and real

spiritual death. Then, we read in this verse where the Spirit was able to set the

Christian free from the sin nature and real spiritual death because the Father

executed the sin nature through Christ’s physical death.

Romans 8:3, “Because with reference to the Law’s inability in which it was

always powerless through the flesh, God the Father accomplished by sending

His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. In fact, with regards to the sin

nature, He (the Father) executed the sin nature by means of His (Son’s)

human nature.” In Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement that is an

inference from this statement in Romans 8:3. This indicates that the Christian is

under obligation to live in submission to the Spirit rather than his flesh because the

Father sacrificed His Son on the Cross in order to execute the sin nature.

Romans 8:4 teaches that the Father’s purpose for sacrificing His Son on the

Cross was so that the righteous requirement of the Law would be fulfilled in an

experiential sense in those Christians who are not conducting their lives in


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submission to the sin nature but are conducting their lives in submission to the

Spirit.

Romans 8:4, “In order that the Law’s righteous requirement would be

fulfilled in us, those of us who are not, as an eternal spiritual truth, conducting

our lives in submission to the flesh but rather in submission to the Spirit.” In Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement that is an


under obligation to live in submission to the Spirit rather than his flesh because the

Father sacrificed His Son on the Cross in order to execute the sin nature in order

that the Christian might experience the righteous requirement of the Law.

Then, in Romans 8:5, Paul teaches that those Christians who are in submission

to the sin nature, occupy their minds with the desires of the sin nature whereas

those who are in submission to the Spirit occupy their minds with desires of the

Spirit.

Romans 8:5, “For you see those who at any time exist in the state of being

in submission to the flesh are, as an eternal spiritual truth, preoccupied with

the things produced by the flesh. However, those in submission to the Spirit,

the things produced by the Spirit.” Paul in Romans 8:6 teaches that the mind-set produced by the sin nature is

temporal spiritual death, i.e. loss of fellowship with God whereas the mind-set

produced by the Spirit is life, i.e. experiencing eternal life and peace.

Romans 8:6, “In fact, the mind-set produced by the flesh is, as an eternal

spiritual truth temporal spiritual death. However, the mind-set produced by

the Spirit is, as an eternal spiritual truth life as well as peace.” In Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement that is an

inference from this statement in Romans 8:5-6. This indicates that the Christian is

no longer under obligation to live in submission to the sin nature but rather the

Spirit because the mind-set produced by the flesh, as a result of submission to the

desires of the sin nature, is loss of fellowship with God. Whereas the mind-set

produced by the Spirit, as a result of submission to the desires of the Spirit, is life

and peace.

Then, in Romans 8:7, he teaches that the mind-set produced by the sin nature is

antagonistic toward God and has no capacity to obey His Law.

Romans 8:7, “Because, the mind-set produced by the flesh is, as an eternal

spiritual truth antagonistic towards God for you see, it never, as an eternal

spiritual truth, permits itself to be subjected to God’s Law because it, as an

eternal spiritual truth, does not even have the capacity to do so.” In Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement that is an

inference from this statement in Romans 8:7. This indicates that the Christian is no

longer under obligation to live in submission to the sin nature but rather the Spirit


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because the mind-set produced by the flesh, as a result of submission to the desires

of the sin nature, is antagonistic to God’s Law and has no capacity to be subjected

to God’s Law.

Next, in Romans 8:8, Paul teaches that those in bondage to the flesh, i.e. the sin

nature can never please God.

Romans 8:8, “Furthermore, those who at any time exist in the state of

being in bondage to the flesh, as an eternal spiritual truth can never please

God.” In Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement that is an



because one can never please God by being in bondage to the sin nature in an

experiential sense.

In Romans 8:9a, Paul teaches that the Christian is not in bondage to the sin

nature in a positional sense but rather in subjection to the authority of the Spirit.

Then, in Romans 8:9b, he teaches that the Christian is indwelt by the Spirit in

contrast to the unbeliever who is not.

Romans 8:9, “However, all of you, without exception are, absolutely not, as

an eternal spiritual truth, existing in the state of being in bondage to the flesh

but rather in subjection to the authority of the Spirit, if in fact-and let us

assume that it is true for the sake of argument the Spirit, who is God does

dwell in all of you. Of course, He does. However, if, and let us assume that it is

true for the sake of argument anyone does not possess at all the Spirit

proceeding from Christ, then this one, as an eternal spiritual truth, by no

means belongs to Him.” In Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement that is an



because the Christian is positionally not in bondage to the sin nature but in

subjection to the Spirit and he is indwelt by the Spirit.

Paul teaches in the protasis of a first class condition that appears in Romans

8:10 that the Christian is indwelt by Christ. Then, in the apodasis, he teaches that

while on one hand, the Christian’s body is dead due to the sin nature but on the

other hand, the Spirit is life and peace because of imputed righteousness.

Romans 8:10, “However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of

argument Christ does, as an eternal spiritual truth, exist in all of you. Of

course, He does! Then, on the one hand, the body is, as an eternal spiritual

truth dead because of the sin nature while on the other hand, the Spirit is, as

an eternal spiritual truth, life in all of you because of righteousness.”


36

In Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a statement that is an


no longer under obligation to live in submission to the sin nature but rather the

Spirit because Christ indwells them and the Spirit gives them eternal life because

they possess imputed righteousness.

Lastly, the apostle teaches in Romans 8:11 that the Spirit who raised Jesus from

the dead will also give life to the Christian’s mortal body through the Spirit who

indwells the Christian.

Romans 8:11, “However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of

argument the Spirit, proceeding from the One (the Father) who raised the

unique Person of Jesus from the dead ones, does dwell in all of you. Of course,

He does! Then, the One (the Father) who raised Christ from the dead ones,

will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who does

permanently dwell in all of you.” Therefore, in Romans 8:12, the inferential particle ara is introducing a

statement that is an inference from this statement in Romans 8:11. This indicates

that the Christian is no longer under obligation to live in submission to the sin

nature but rather the Spirit because the Spirit indwells them and the Spirit will give

life to their mortal body at the resurrection or rapture of the church.

Therefore, in Romans 8:12, the particle ara is inferential suggesting that the

statement to follow is a conclusion or inference from Paul’s preceding statements

in Romans 8:1-11. However, the conjunction oun unlike its use with ara in

Romans 5:18, 7:3 and 25 is not “resumptive” as it was in these previous passage

but rather “emphatic.”

Together, these two words emphasize the logical connection between Paul’s

statements in Romans 8:1-11 with his statement to follow in Romans 8:12.

Therefore, we will translate the inferential use of the particle ara, “therefore.”

We will translate the “emphatic” use of the conjunction oun, “indeed.”

Romans 8:12, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh,

to live according to the flesh.” “Brethren” is the vocative masculine plural form of the noun adelphos

(a)delfov$), which refers to members of the royal family of God who are related to

each other and the Lord Jesus Christ through spiritual birth, i.e., regeneration, thus,

the word refers to a “fellow-believer, fellow-Christian, spiritual brother.”

This word emphasizes the fact that the Roman Christians and all believers in the

church age are sons of God (cf. Jn. 1:12-13; Gal. 3:26-28).

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to

become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were

born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of

God.”


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Galatians 3:26-28, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ

Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves

with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free

man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Therefore, if church age believers are all sons of God, then they must all be

spiritual brothers and members of the royal family of God.

The anarthrous construction (no definite article) of the noun adelphos is

“qualitative” emphasizing the qualitative aspect of the word, thus it emphasizes

Paul’s brothers in Rome, but in the “spiritual” sense who are of all genders, races

and social classes.

This is a vocative of direct simple address indicating Paul is directly addressing

in writing his spiritual brothers who were located in the city of Rome.

We will translate adelphos, “spiritual brothers.”

Corrected translation thus far of Romans 8:12: “Indeed, therefore, spiritual

brothers…”


to live according to the flesh.”

“We are” is the first person plural present active indicative form of the verb

eimi (ei)miv) (i-mee), which means, “to belong to a particular class of individuals.”

Therefore, it denotes that the Roman Christians “belong to a particular class of

human beings” that are by no means obligated to live in submission to the sin

nature but rather in submission to the Spirit. This is indicated by the use of

adelphos, which refers to their spiritual birth.

The first person plural form of the verb is an “inclusive we” referring to Paul

and his readers, who like himself, are sinners who have been declared justified by

God through faith in Jesus Christ and have been regenerated by the Spirit and

placed in union with Christ by Him and are thus related to each other by spiritual

birth.

The present tense of the verb is “gnomic” used to make a statement of a

general, timeless fact or in other words, an eternal spiritual truth. It indicates that

Paul and all Christians are, “as an eternal spiritual truth” by no means obligated to

submit to the desires of the sin nature.

The active voice is “stative” emphasizing that Paul and all Christians, as the

subject, are those who by no means “exist in a state of being” obligated to submit

to the desires of the sin nature.

The indicative mood of the verb is “declarative” presenting this assertion as an

unqualified statement of Bible doctrine.

We will translate the verb eimi, “we, as an eternal spiritual truth, are.”


brothers, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, are…”


38


to live according to the flesh.” “Under obligation” is the nominative masculine plural form of the noun

opheiletes (o)feilevth$) (o-fi-let-ace).

In classical Greek, this word denotes a “debtor,” someone who owes a debt. It

also is used for “one who is under (any kind of) obligation.” Included in this is the

idea of a moral binding to live in a particular manner.

The noun opheiletes refers to “one held by some obligation, bound by some

duty” and refers to a personal, moral obligation in contrast to a necessity in the

nature of the case. The word does not appear in the Septuagint and only seven

times in the Greek New Testament (Matt. 6:12; 18:24; Luke 13:4; Rom. 1:14; 8:12;

15:27; Gal. 5:3).

The figurative sense of the word is used by Paul in Romans 1:14 to describe

himself as one who is bound or committed to the task of communicating the gospel

to all men.

Romans 1:14, “I am at the present time obligated to both the Greeks and

the barbarians, to both the wise and the ignorant.”

In Romans 8:12, the noun opheiletes means that Paul and all Christians are

personally and morally obligated and are bound to live their lives in a manner that

is in submission to the desires of the Spirit rather than the desires of the sin nature.

Although the word is used in relation to the sin nature, the implication is that

the Christian is obligated to obey the desires of the Spirit. Thus, this word implies

that as a result of all that God the Father has done for them through His Son Jesus

Christ and the Spirit the moment they were declared justified through faith in Jesus

Christ, they are indebted to live in a manner that is in submission to the desires of

the Spirit.

There are many reasons why the Christian is indebted to the Holy Spirit. For

example, in relation to their salvation, God the Holy Spirit performed the following

ministries on their behalf: (1) Common Grace: Makes the gospel understandable

(John 16:7-11; 2 Cor. 2:14b). (2) Regeneration: Creates a human spirit at the

moment of salvation (John 3:1-16). (3) Efficacious Grace: Makes the believer’s

faith in Christ effective for salvation (2 Cor. 6:2; Eph. 2:8-9).

He also performed the following ministries the moment they were declared

justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

(1) Efficacious Grace: Makes faith in Jesus Christ effective for salvation (2

Cor. 6:1-2; Eph. 2:8-9).

2 Corinthians 6:1-2, “And working together with Him, we also urge you

not to receive the grace of God in vain -- for He says, ‘AT THE

ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF


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SALVATION I HELPED YOU.’ Behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE

TIME,’ behold, now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION.’” (2) Regeneration: Creates a human spirit for the purpose of the imputation of

eternal life (John 3:1-16; Titus 3:5).

Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in

righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and

renewing by the Holy Spirit.” (3) Baptism of the Spirit: Places every believer in union with Jesus Christ

(John 7:37-39; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:5; 1 Pet. 3:21).

Galatians 3:26-28, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ

Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves

with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free

man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (4) Indwelling: Creates a temple for the indwelling of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:11;

1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16).

1 Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man

commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in

you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have

been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (5) Filling: Influences the soul of the believer in executing the plan of God for

the church age (Eph. 5:18).

Ephesians 5:18, “And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of

being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather

permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit.” (6) Sealing: Puts His stamp on the believer to guarantee their salvation (2 Cor.

1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30).

Ephesians 4:30, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were

sealed for the day of redemption.”

(7) Distribution of Spiritual Gifts: Gives every believer a spiritual gift (1 Cor.

12:4-11).

God the Holy Spirit’s post-salvation ministries on behalf of the believer: (1)

Empowers the believer to execute the plan of God (Jo. 14:16, 26; Ga. 5:16, 25;

Eph. 5:18; Phlp. 2:13). (2) Reproduces Christ-like character in the believer (Ga.

4:19; 5:5, 16-23). (3) Teaches the believer the doctrines of Christ (Jo. 14:26; 1 Co.

2:10-16; 1 Jo. 2:20, 27). (4) Convicts the believer of sin (Jo. 16:7-11; Rm. 8:4-14;

Eph. 4:30; 1 Th. 5:18). (5) Leads the believer in worshipping the Father (Jo. 4:24;

Phlp. 3:3; Rm. 8:4-13). (6) Promotes spiritual maturity (Ga. 5:1-5; He. 5:11-6:6).

(7) Restrains sin in the world (2 Th. 2:6-7). (8) Regenerates to new life (Tit. 3:5).

(9) Applies truth to the believer’s experience (Jo. 14:26; Rm. 8:16; Eph. 6:18). (10)


40

Gives power to the believer’s prayer life (Jo. 15:7; Eph. 6:18; Jude 20). (11)

Promotes worship of God (Jo. 4:23-24; Eph. 5:18-21; Phlp. 3:3; Is. 59:1-2). (12)

Gives capacity, burden and direction for witnessing (Ac. 1:8; 1 Th. 1:5). (13) Gives

capacity for ministry (1 Co. 1:12-14). (14) Provides fellowship for the believer (2

Co. 13:14; Phlp. 2:1).

God the Holy Spirit produces peace in the soul of the believer who applies the

Word of God and in particular applies the doctrine of prayer.

Philippians 4:6-7, “At this very moment, all of you stop continuing to be

anxious about absolutely anything, but rather, concerning anything at all by

means of reverential prayer in the presence of the Father and by means of

petition accompanied by the giving of thanks, let your specific detailed

requests be repeatedly made known in the presence of the Father and as a

result the peace produced by God the Holy Spirit, which is always superior to

any and every human conception, will as a dogmatic statement of fact cause

your hearts to be protected and as a result your thoughts by means of the

doctrine of Christ Jesus.” The Christian is indebted to the Spirit because His authoritative power by

means of their identification with Christ in His death and resurrection has set them

free from the authoritative power of the sin nature and real spiritual death.

Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore, there is now, as an eternal spiritual truth, never

any condemnation, none whatsoever for the benefit of those in union with

Christ who is Jesus. Because, the life-giving Spirit’s authoritative power, by

means of (the death and resurrection of) Christ, who is Jesus, has set you free

from the sin nature’s authoritative power as well as spiritual death’s.” Therefore, in Romans 8:12, the noun opheiletes means that the Christian is a

“debtor” to God the Father as a result of all that He has done for them through His

Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit the moment they were declared justified

through faith in Jesus Christ. This indebtedness to the Trinity is to be reflected in

the Christian’s conduct in that they are not to submit to the desires of the sin nature

but rather the desires of the Spirit.

The word functions as a “predicate nominative” indicating that Paul is making

the assertion about himself and all Christians that they were obligated to obey the

Spirit rather than the sin nature. We will translate the word, “debtors.”


brothers, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, are debtors…” The Christian’s indebtedness to God is mentioned in other passages of

Scripture.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of

the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not


41

your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in

your body.”

1 Peter 4:1-3, “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm

yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the

flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer

for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is

sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having

pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties

and abominable idolatries.” The Christian is indebted to God because he received his salvation as a gift

from God. If he could earn salvation by actions produce by obedience to the Law

or meritorious actions then God would be indebted to man and obligated to give

him salvation.

Salvation then would not be a gift but rather what God owes the sinner. Thus,

the sinner wouldn’t need to thank God for his salvation. The Christian is indebted

to God because he was saved by grace.

Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who

trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the

Cross. It is God treating us in a manner that we don’t deserve and excludes any

human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God.

Grace means that God saved us and blessed us despite ourselves and not

according to anything that we do but rather saved us and blessed us because of the

merits of Christ and His work on the Cross. It excludes any human merit in

salvation and blessing (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and gives the Creator all the credit

and the creature none.

By means of faith, we accept the grace of God, which is a non-meritorious

system of perception, which is in total accord with the grace of God. Grace and

faith are totally compatible with each other and inseparable (1 Tim. 1:14) and

complement one another (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8).

Grace, faith and salvation are all the gift of God and totally exclude all human

works and ability (Eph. 2:8-9).

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and

that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no

one may boast.” Therefore faith excludes boasting, and work supports boasting. If you are the

beneficiary of grace in all that you are and have, you cannot boast in yourself.

1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who regards you as superior? What do you have

that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you

had not received it?”


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So when salvation is received as a gift and not what is earned, then boasting is

excluded and the recipient of salvation is indebted to God. In Romans chapter six,

Paul implies in his teaching that Christian is obligated to consider himself dead to

the sin nature and alive to God because he has been identified with Christ in His

death and resurrection through the baptism of the Spirit, the moment he was

declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior.

In Romans 6:1-2a, Paul emphatically rejects the idea that a Christian living

under the dominion of the sin nature accentuates the grace of God.

Romans 6:1-2a, “Therefore, what is the conclusion that we are forced to?

Should we persist in living under the dominion of the sin nature in order that

grace might increase? Absolutely not!” In Romans 5:20b, Paul taught that where personal sin increased, God’s grace

infinitely abounded. Then, in Romans 6:1, he poses the rhetorical question that

presents the concept of a believer persisting in living under the dominion of the sin

nature in order that God’s grace might increase in the sense of giving God more

opportunity to manifest His grace through the forgiveness of sins. In Romans 6:2a,

he emphatically rejects this idea. Then, in Romans 6:2b, Paul poses another

rhetorical question that demands a negative response and rejects the idea of the

believer persisting to live in under the dominion of the sin nature in order that

God’s grace might increase or manifest itself more often.

Romans 6:2, “Absolutely not! We, who are indeed of such character and of

a particular class of individuals, have died with reference to the sin nature, how shall we still live under its dominion?”

In Romans 6:3, he speaks of the justified sinner being identified with Christ in

His spiritual death so as to solve the believer’s problem of being spiritually dead.

Romans 6:3, “Or, are some of you in a state of ignorance concerning the

fact that all of us who have been identified with Christ, who is Jesus, have

been identified with His spiritual death?” Then, in Romans 6:4, he speaks of the justified sinner being identified with

Christ in His physical death so as to solve the problem of possessing a sin nature.

Romans 6:4, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism

with respect to His physical death in order that just as Christ was raised from

the dead ones through the glory of the Father, in the same way, we, ourselves

will also walk in the realm of an extraordinary life.” In Romans 6:5, the apostle teaches that the justified sinner is identified with

Christ in His resurrection in order that the believer might receive a resurrection

body like the last Adam, Christ so as to replace his sinful body.

Romans 6:5, “Therefore, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of

argument that we are entered into union with Him, conformed to His physical


43

death. Of course, we believe this is true. Then, certainly, we will also be united

with Him, conformed to His resurrection.” In Romans 6:6, we studied that the believer’s old Adamic sin nature has been

crucified at the Cross in order that it might be deprived of its power so that the

believer might not be its slave.

Romans 6:6, “This we are very familiar with through instruction, namely,

that our old man was crucified with Him in order that the sinful body would

be deprived of its power with the result that we are no longer in a perpetual

state of being slaves to the sin nature.” In Romans 6:7, Paul teaches that the believer is freed from the tyranny of the

indwelling old Adamic sin nature because he has died with Christ as a result of

having been identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the

Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:7, “For you see the one who has died is freed from the power of

the sin nature.” Paul instructs the Roman believers in Romans 6:8 that since they have died with

Christ through the baptism of the Spirit, they will as a certainty, in the future, at the

resurrection, i.e. rapture of the church live with Christ in the sense that they will

receive a resurrection body like Christ.

Romans 6:8, “Now, as previously stated, if and let us assume that it is true

for the sake of argument that we have died with Him. Of course, we have

already established that this is true. Then, we do have this absolute confidence

that we, as a certainty, will in the future also live with Him.”

Then, in Romans 6:9, he teaches that physical death no longer has dominion

over Jesus Christ because He has been raised from the dead. The implication of

this is that if physical death no longer has any control over Christ, then neither

does the sin nature, which resides in the physical bodies, have dominion over the

believer who is identified with Christ in His physical death and resurrection.

Romans 6:9, “Because we know for certain, namely that because Christ

was raised from the dead ones, He can never again, as an eternal spiritual

truth, die. Death can never again, as an eternal spiritual truth, have dominion

over Him.” Paul in Romans 6:10 instructs the believers in Rome that the Lord Jesus Christ

died physically for the destruction of the sin nature but now lives to God.

Romans 6:10, “For you see, the physical death that He died, He died for the

destruction of the sin nature once and for all but the life that He now lives, He

lives forever for the benefit of God the Father.” Then, in Romans 6:11, the apostle Paul commands the Roman believers to

regard themselves as dead with respect to the sin nature but alive with respect to

God in union with Christ Jesus.


44

Romans 6:11, “In the same way, also, on the one hand, all of you without

exception make it your habit to regard yourselves as dead ones with respect to

the sin nature while on the other hand those who are, as an eternal spiritual

truth, alive with respect to God the Father, in union with Christ, who is

Jesus.”

Then, in Romans 6:12, Paul prohibits the believers in Rome from letting the sin

nature reign as king in their bodies with the result that they obey its lusts.

Romans 6:12, “Therefore, do not make it a habit to let the sin nature reign

as king in your mortal body with the result that you habitually obey its lusts.” In Romans 6:13a, Paul prohibits the Roman believers from placing the

members of their bodies at the disposal of the sin nature as instruments of

unrighteousness and commands them instead to place the members of their body at

the disposal of the Father as instruments of righteousness. Then, in Romans 6:13b,

he commands the believers in Rome to place the members of their body at the

disposal of the Father as instruments of righteousness.

Romans 6:13, “Nor, all of you place the members of your body at the

disposal and benefit of the sin nature as instruments, which produce

unrighteousness but rather I solemnly charge all of you to place yourselves at

the disposal and benefit of God the Father as those who are, as an eternal

spiritual truth, alive from the dead ones and in addition your members as

instruments, which produce righteousness for the benefit of God the Father

and do it now!” Paul teaches the believers in Rome in Romans 6:14 that the sin nature is not to

be their master since they were no longer under law, but under God’s grace.

Romans 6:14, “For the sin nature, will, as a certainty, never again, have

dominion over all of you for all of you, as an eternal spiritual truth, are by no

means under the authority and dominion of the Law but rather under the

authority and dominion of grace.” In Romans 6:15, in response to any possible misconceptions regarding his

teaching in Romans 6:14 by those Jews who insist that the Law is necessary to

restrain sin and those Christians who might erroneously conclude that grace is a

license to sin, Paul emphatically rejects any idea that grace is a license to sin.

Romans 6:15, “What shall we conclude then? Should we commit an act of

sin because we, as an eternal spiritual truth, are by no means under the

authority and dominion of the Law but rather under the authority and

dominion of grace? Absolutely not!”

Romans 6:16 emphasizes that there is no compromise with sin now that the

Christian is no longer under the Law but under God’s grace policy. He is either a

slave to the sin nature, which results in temporal spiritual death, i.e. loss of

fellowship with God or he is a slave to obedience to the Father’s will, which results


45

in the believer experiencing the divine righteousness imputed to him the moment

he exercised faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

Romans 6:16, “Are you totally unaware concerning this fact, namely that

the one whom you desire to place yourselves at the disposal of as slaves for

obedience, you will be slaves for the benefit of this one whom you desire to

obey, either the sin nature resulting in temporal spiritual death or obedience

to the Father’s will resulting in righteousness?” In Romans 6:17, Paul thanks God the Father because the Roman believers were

once perpetual slaves to the sin nature but then they obeyed the gospel and as a

result were delivered positionally from the tyranny of the sin nature.

Romans 6:17, “But now, thank God! Because all of you were once in a

perpetual state of being slaves to the sin nature but then all of you obeyed

from the heart that particular doctrinal standard with respect to which all of

you were taught.” Then, in Romans 6:18a, he teaches the Christians in Rome that they were freed

from the sin nature through their obedience to the gospel. He teaches in Romans

6:18b that they were enslaved to God through their obedience to the gospel.

Romans 6:18, “And also, because having been set free from the tyranny of

the sin nature, all of you became slaves of righteousness.” In Romans 6:19, the apostle Paul commands the believers in Rome to present

the members of their bodies as slaves to righteousness just as they presented the

members of their bodies as slaves to impurity and lawlessness prior to being

declared justified through faith in Christ.

Romans 6:19, “I am speaking according to your human frame of reference

because of the weakness, which is your flesh. Therefore, just as all of you

placed your members as slaves at the disposal of and with respect to that

which is impurity and in addition with respect to that which is lawlessness

resulting in further lawlessness, in the same way, now, I solemnly charge all of

you to place your members as slaves at the disposal of and with respect to

righteousness resulting in sanctification and do it now!” Then, in Romans 6:20, Paul explain why the Roman Christians should obey the

command to place their members as slaves at the disposal of and with respect to

God who as to His nature is righteousness.

Romans 6:20, “For you see, when all of you were once in a perpetual state

of being slaves to the sin nature, all of you were in a perpetual state of being

free with respect to righteousness.”

Next, in Romans 6:21, Paul poses a rhetorical question to the Christians in

Rome reminding them that prior to their conversion to Christianity that their

actions of which they now were ashamed only served to perpetuate their status of

being spiritually dead.


46

Romans 6:21, “Therefore, what benefit were all of you at that time in a

perpetual state of possessing because of those things, which all of you are now

at the present time ashamed of? In fact, the result produced by these things is,

as an eternal spiritual truth spiritual death.”

Then, the apostle Paul in Romans 6:22 teaches that because the Roman

Christians have been freed from the sin nature and enslaved to God, the benefit that

they now possess is that of being a servant of God rather than the sin nature, which

results in sanctification and eternal life.

Romans 6:22, “But now, at the present time, because all of you have been

set free from the tyranny of the sin nature and because all of you have become

slaves to God the Father all of you at the present time possess your benefit (of

being a servant of God) resulting in sanctification and the result, eternal life.” Romans 6:23, Paul teaches that the wages of sin is spiritual death resulting in

physical death and ultimately the second death in the eternal lake of fire but the

free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23, “For you see the sin nature pays out spiritual death however

God the Father graciously gives eternal life in the Person of Christ, who is

Jesus, our Lord.”



“Not” is the emphatic negative adverb ou (ou)) (oo), which emphatically negates

any idea that the Christian is a debtor to the sin nature.

The word is actually employed with the adversative use of the conjunction de

(deV) (deh), which appears in Romans 8:13 before the noun pneuma, “the Spirit.”

Romans 8:12-13, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the

flesh, to live according to the flesh for if you are living according to the flesh,

you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the

body, you will live.” Together, ou and de form a correlative clause that presents the correlation

between the Christian living his life in submission to the sin nature with that of

living his life in submission to the Spirit. Therefore, these two words are used in a

correlative sense to demonstrate the contrast between Christian living his life in

submission to the sin nature with that of living his life in submission to the Spirit.

The emphatic negative adverb ou can be translated “by no means” and the

conjunction de in Romans 8:13, “but.”


brothers, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, are debtors, by no means…but…”




47

“The flesh” is the articular dative feminine singular form of the noun sarx

(savrc) (sarx), which refers to the sin nature from the perspective of its location in

the Christian.

The articular construction of sarx emphasizes that the location of the sin nature

in the human body is “well-known” to Paul’s readers since he has identified its

location previously in this epistle (Romans 6:6).

The noun sarx functions as a “dative of recipient,” which is usually found in

verbless constructions such as in titles or salutations in which no verb is implied.

However, it is found within a sentence in which the dative is related to a verbal

noun that implies a transitive verb. This is the case in Romans 8:12 with the noun

opheiletes, “debtors,” which is a verbal noun. Therefore, the noun sarx denotes

that the sin nature is by no means the recipient of the Christian’s indebtedness but

rather God is. Therefore, we will translate the noun sarx, “to the flesh.”


brothers, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, are debtors, by no means to the

flesh…but…”


to live according to the flesh.” “To live” is composed of the genitive neuter singular form of the definite article

ho (o() (ho), which is modifying is the present active infinitive form of the verb zao

(zavw) (dzah-o), which means, “to conduct oneself” with the particular manner

specified by the context.

The word refers to the manner in which a person behaves or conducts himself in

relationship to the sin nature, which is being personified by the noun opheiletes,

“debtors.”

The verb functions as an “epexegetical infinitive” meaning that it “clarifies” or

“explains” the noun opheiletes, “debtors.” Therefore, the word introduces a

statement that “clarifies” or “explains” who the Christian is by no means indebted

to conduct his life in submission to.

The articular construction of the word denotes that the word is functioning as an

“epexegetical infinitive.” The genitive case of the article is “epexegetical” as well.

The article also functions as a “substantiver” meaning that it nominalizes the

infinitive form of the verb zao.

This is a “customary” present tense used to indicate an action that “regularly

occurs.” It does not indicates an “ongoing state” since Paul is teaching the Roman

Christians with reference to experiential sanctification, which at best can be

experience by the Christian regularly or habitually and never perpetually since the

Christian’s fellowship is easily lost due to sin. Rather, the customary present tense

denotes a “regularly occurring action.” Thus it denotes the “lifestyle” of the


48

Christian. It indicates that the Christian is by no means a debtor to the sin nature

that is a “lifestyle” in submission to the sin nature.

The active voice is “stative” indicating that the subject “exists in the state”

indicated by the verb. Therefore, it indicates that the Christian as the subject is by

no means indebted to the sin nature that is to “exists in the state” of being in

submission to the sin nature.

We will translate zao, “that is, a lifestyle.”



flesh, that is, a lifestyle…”



“According to the flesh” is composed of the preposition kata (katav) (kat-ah),

“according to” and the accusative feminine singular form of the noun sarx (savrc)

(sarx), “the flesh.”

Paul employed this same exact prepositional phrase in Romans 8:4-5.

Romans 8:4-5, “In order that the Law’s righteous requirement would be

fulfilled in us, those of us who are not, as an eternal spiritual truth, conducting

our lives in submission to the flesh but rather in submission to the Spirit. For

you see those who at any time exist in the state of being in submission to the

flesh are, as an eternal spiritual truth, preoccupied with the things produced

by the flesh. However, those in submission to the Spirit, the things produced

by the Spirit.”

We saw the noun sarx earlier in our study of Romans 8:12 and here refers once

again to the sin nature from the perspective of its location in the Christian.

As we noted in our study of this prepositional phrase in Romans 8:4-5, the root

meaning of kata is “down,” which in our present context suggests submission to

authority. The preposition kata is employed with the accusative form of the noun

sarx, “flesh” and denotes conformity to a particular authority. Therefore, Paul is

saying with this preposition that the Christian is by no means a debtor to the flesh

that is a lifestyle “in submission to” the flesh. Therefore, we will translate this

prepositional phrase, “in submission to the flesh.”

Completed corrected translation of Romans 8:12: “Indeed, therefore, spiritual


flesh, that is, a lifestyle in submission to the flesh.”

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