Bible Commentaries
Romans 8

Verses 1-39

VIII 1-39 More Effects of Justification = Sanctifying Grace, or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—Other common headings of this chapter are: the Christian life; the life of grace; the life in the spirit of Christ; union with Christ; the principles, blessings and fullness of the Christian, the spiritual, the supernatural life. Of these titles ’the spiritual life’ is probably the most common today. But when used to summarize the contents of ch 8, it must not be limited to special groups or vocations in the Church. Paul speaks of the spiritual life of every Christian. In this general sense it can safely be asserted that ’blessings of the spiritual life’ expresses the topic of Rom 8, though Paul himself does not use those words. His own descriptions of what we usually call the spiritual life vary almost from sentence to sentence. To be in Christ Jesus, 1; the law of the spirit of life in Christ, 2; to walk according to the spirit, 4; to mind the things of the spirit, 5; to be in the spirit, 9; the indwelling of the spirit, 9, 11; to have the spirit of Christ, 9; the indwelling of Christ, 10; to be guided by the spirit of God, 14; to be sons of God, 14; to be heirs of God, 17; to be joint-heirs with Christ, 14. All these must be taken together whenever we think of the spiritual life in the sense of St Paul, and even then we must add the contrast to the natural life which is there like a cross-current all the time. On the different meanings of ’spirit, spiritual’, etc., in Paul’s letters see Prat II 405-7; on the union with Christ in the spiritual life, cf. P. de Jaegher, One with Jesus, 1937.

A general characteristic of the effects of justification or sanctifying grace enumerated in this chapter is the positive presentation of the doctrine of redemption; whereas all that St Paul has said so far on the benefits resulting from redemption was expressed in a form which may be called negative. In ch 5 it was redemption or deliverance from the wrath of God; in ch 6 from the rule of sin; in ch 7 from the rule of the law. In ch 8, however, it is the life and power and triumph of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit which is generally recognized as another characteristic feature of ch 8 should not be studied without bearing in mind the place which it holds in Paul’s theology as a whole; cf. 5:5; 8:9, 11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30; also John 14:17, etc. and Prat II 406 f. Dogma deals with the same doctrine, under the effects of sanctifying grace.

Connexion. It was a fortunate choice to begin a new chapter with 8:1. For the connexion with what precedes, esp. with 7:24, 25a, is so close that otherwise the transition to a new point would easily be missed.

The plan followed here traces the spiritual life or the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit, (1) before death 1-8; (2) in death 9-11; (3) after death 12-17; (4) in the present longing for heaven 18-30. (5) A concluding summary: God’s love for us in Christ 31-39

1-8 The Victory of the Indwelling Holy Spirit over the Flesh— ’The ruler of this world cometh but in me he has nothing’ is one way in which our Lord describes his triumph over Satan and sin; and to his disciples returning from their first missionary journey he said, ’I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven. Behold I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you’, Luke 10:18 f.; cf.Mark 16:17 f.; John 14:2 f., 12, 21. Here Paul, too, speaks of victory over Satan and sin, but his approach to the question and his manner of discussing it are different. Paul is looking at the conflict between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of sin or of Satan in every man’s own heart. Hence it is the internal victory over Satan and sin rather than the external results on which 1-8 throw light. It becomes a victory over the flesh or the carnal Self.

The force from which this victory over the flesh first came and still comes according to 1-8 is Christ. To begin with, it was the very purpose of the Incarnation to conquer sin, to break its until then unbroken rule. What was not only unheard of but impossible before Christ has since come to be a fact. Sin has been overcome and it was Christ who set the first example. But not only that, it is part of God’s economy of salvation that Christ’s victory over sin should continue by means of that same spirit of Christ dwelling in men’s hearts. Hence all who have that spirit of Christ can be sure of their victory over the flesh. They will not be spared the conflict between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of Satan in their own souls, but the victory of the spirit of Christ is as certain for the future as it is proved for the past, for the spirit of Christ is neither dead nor changeable.

A special feature of this passage is the contrast between s??? and p?e?+?µa, the flesh and the spirit. In this Paul may have been influenced by the rabbinical discussions on the ye?er tob and the ye?er hara’ = the good and the bad instinct (impulse), cf. SB IV 1, 466-83.

A practical difficulty in this passage is the certainty with which St Paul speaks of the victory of the spirit over the flesh. Did he not know our Lord’s warning, ’the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak’, Matthew 26:41? and does the Apostle not speak here as if in a Christian the inclination to sin (fomes peccati) had been extinguished by the grace of justification? Such conclusions could indeed be drawn, if 1-8 stood alone. But there is plenty of evidence in other parts of Paul’s epistles that he, too, was kept well aware of the fact that the victory of the spirit over the flesh can by no means be taken as a matter of course in Christian life, cf.1 Corinthians 5:1-1Co_6:20. His many exhortations show the stress which he laid on co-operation with the spirit of Christ dwelling in us. But in 1-8 Paul is not concerned with the duty of co-operation with grace but with the actual victory of those who are in fact guided by that spirit of Christ. Here, his point is, that the spirit of Christ is by its very nature a spirit of victory over the flesh; cf. Council of Trent, sess V decretum de pecc. orig. (Dz

Plan. There is no agreement among commentators as to the divisions to be made in 1-11. Many regard 1-11 as one paragraph combining the victory over the flesh and over death, cf. v 2. Others separate 1-4(5) and 5(6)-11. Cf. § 854b (plan), e (on v 2), h (connexion).

Style. The exact sequence of thought in detail is difficult to ascertain, cf. the use of the connecting particles: ??? 2, 3, 5, 6, 7; d? 8, 9, 9, 10, 11.

1. ’Now therefore’: has been explained (a) as introducing a summary of chh 5-7; (b) as indicating the connexion with 7:24, 25a; (c) as taking up 7:6; (d) as referring back to 5:11. ’Condemnation’: has been taken (a) as a sentence of condemnation, cf. Council of Trent, sess V (Dz 792); (b) as the punishment inflicted in the sentence of condemnation; (c) as the consciousness of being under condemnation. This last meaning, if it could be proved, would suit the context best. ’To be in Christ’: is a phrase which is essential for the study of Pauline mysticism. On its use and meaning see Prat II 391-5, note M. Other figures of speech used in the NT to express the same idea of union with Christ are: the vine and its branches; the head and the members of the body; the marriage between Christ and the Church; to be baptized into Christ; foundation and building. 2 states the theme developed in 1-13. ’The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus’: is one phrase. It is important but difficult to find a suitable rendering. Equivalents that have been suggested are: the law of the life of grace, the spiritual principle of life, the order of the spiritual life, the Christian life, the supernatural life, the spiritual life. 3 states necessity, mode and fruit of the Incarnation (Thomas Aq.). The sentence can be explained (a) as an anacoluthon: what the law could not effect, God [carried out; and] sending . . . he condemned . . ., cf. WV; (b) as an apposition in the nominative or accusative: God condemned sin in the flesh, which the law could not do. ’His own son’: perhaps chosen deliberately instead of Jesus or Christ, to distinguish him from the adopted sons in 15 f. ’In the likeness of sinful flesh’: so the Greek text against Vg, DV, cf. Lagrange; notice the bearing of the text on the pre-existence of Christ. pe?ì ?µa?tía?, ’of sin’ DV = (a) on behalf of sin; (b) as sin offering. ’Condemned’: according to the context = God made sin stand condemned in the life of Christ, cf. John 12:31 f4. ’That the demands of the law may be fulfilled’, WV. The purpose of the Incarnation is to make obedience to the law of God possible for those whose life is spiritual.

5. ’The things . . . of the flesh . . . of the spirit’: cf.Galatians 5:15-25.

9-11 The Victory of the Indwelling Holy Spirit over Death, or the indwelling Holy Spirit as the pledge of the resurrection of the body—From the victory of the spirit of Christ over the flesh in the present life Paul passes on to the victory of the same spirit over death, in the resurrection of the dead body. The pledge of our participation in that resurrection is the indwelling spirit of Christ. This step from the victory of the indwelling Holy Spirit over the living body, 1-8, to the victory of the same Spirit over the dead body, 9-11 which the Apostle’s argument here implies is tremendous, and the wide gulf that separates the two should not be overlooked because Paul takes it in his stride. For a fuller treatment of the question of the resurrection of the body see 1 Cor 15 and commentaries.

The characteristic of 9-11 lies in the precise wording of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body with the special emphasis on the indwelling of the spirit of Christ as the bond of our union with Christ. The body that has been the temple of the spirit of Christ will be raised from the dead by God as he raised Christ from the dead cf.1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Corinthians 15:23; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:14. The value of this argument from the resurrection of Christ to the resurrection of every Christian must be judged not by the rules of logic but by the specific Christian and Pauline doctrine of every Christian’s mystical-sacramental union with Christ, the living head of the living Church. Unless this union is believed and understood St Paul’s argument has neither force nor meaning.

Connexion. The beginning of a new paragraph with 9 must appear arbitrary from the literary point of view. But it has the advantage of a clear distinction between the two victories of the Spirit (a) in life, (b) in death, cf. v 2.

10. ’Dead’ = mortal, cf. v 11. ’The spirit liveth’ = the soul in the state, of sanctifying grace, cf. Lagrange.

11. The text is uncertain. It can be: through or because of his spirit dwelling in you, i.e. the indwelling spirit is either efficient or meritorious cause of the resurrection.

12-17 The Victory of the Indwelling Holy Spirit for all Eternity, or the indwelling Holy Spirit as the pledge of a glorious inheritance in heaven—With reference to his faithful servant’s life after death our Lord said, ’because thou hast been faithful over a few things I will place thee over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord’, Matthew 25:23. What Paul says in 12-17 is substantially the same. A life on earth according to the spirit of Christ will be followed after death by a life of eternal happiness and glory with Christ glorified. The first distinctive feature of St Paul’s argument is that he calls those who have the spirit of Christ not servants or slaves but sons of God, 14, or children of God, 16 f. The proof which he quotes is the very nature of the spirit received, and its utterance in prayer. The Christian who acts according to the spirit of his baptism knows from experience that he has the spirit of the true children of God, 14; cf.John 7:17; John 8:31 f. against John 8:44. And again when the Christian prays it is to God as his Father. No matter how much stress others may lay on God’s absolute omnipotence or terrifying justice, the Christian owing to the spirit of Christ dwelling in his heart cannot but call out to God, first and above all, as his Father, 15; cf.Galatians 4:1-7.

The second characteristic feature of Paul’s argument is that he calls the Christian’s eternal glorification not his reward but his inheritance, 17. This follows logically from the former characteristic. For the servant’s reward is his pay, but the child’s remuneration its inheritance. The Christian as the child of God becomes the heir of God his Father, and the joint heir with Christ his brother. God does not do things by halves. Adoption into the royal family of God implies more than a new name. With the title it also gives the right to share in the possessions of the kingdom; and the one possession here singled out and put before us is the glory of Christ, that glory into which he entered as his inheritance on the days of his resurrection and ascension. That adoption is followed by heirship is nothing out of the ordinary in the natural order. What must astonish, however, is St Paul’s conclusion that the one will follow the other also in the supernatural order. This conclusion, or better application, again defies all logical explanations. As in the question of the resurrection of the body the whole argument presupposes a union between every Christian and Christ which is above and different from any even spiritual union known to us in time and space. Its existence and character must simply be accepted as one of the mysteries of God revealed in the Gospel. But however incomprehensible this mystery may be, without a firm hold on its meaning, no reader can follow St Paul’s argument. For the same idea cf.Galatians 4:6-7; Titus 3:7; 1 Peter 3:22; Apoc 3:21.

12-13 can be taken as conclusion to 11 or as introduction to 14 ff. The sense is not affected. 14. ’Sons of God’: is a title used in the Bible (a) for the angels, Job 1:6; Job 2:1; Job 38:7, etc.; (b) for the Israelites, Exodus 4:22 f.; Deuteronomy 14:1 f.; 32:6-10; Os 11:1-4; Isaiah 1:4; Isaiah 30:9, etc.; (c) for the just, Ecclus 23:1-4; 51:10 (MT); Wis 2:13-18; 5:5; (d) for the Christians, 2 Corinthians 6:16 ff.; Galatians 3:26; Galatians 4:6; Philippians 2:15; John 1:12 f.; 1 John 3:1 f.; 5:1, 4 f. From these metaphorical usages (the meaning of which differs only in degrees) Must be distinguished the metaphysical use implying preexistence and divinity which the name has when applied to Christ in such passages as 8:3, 32; Galatians 4:4; cf. Prat II 140-2; Tanquerey II 662 f., III 50 f. 15b ’Spirit of sonship’ = state of sanctifying grace, cf. Dz

15c. ’Abba! Father!’: The repetition has been explained (a) as a Greek translation of the Aramaic Abba = father, cf.Galatians 4:6; Mark 14:36; (b) as a figure of speech (anadiplosis) for the purpose of emphasis; (c) as a relic of an ancient bilingual liturgical (Aramaic-Greek) prayer or ejaculation. The meaning of the phrase cannot be that to pray to God as Father was a Christian innovation or privilege. To think and speak of God as Father is a custom that can be found also in non-Christian religions. For the OT see Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 1:2; Isaiah 63:16; Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 31:9, Jeremiah 31:20; Os 1:10; 11:1; Mal 1:62:10; Ecclus 23:1, 4; 51:10 (MT); Wis 2:16; 11:10 (11 Vg); 14:3; 18:13 (LXX) ; Tob 13:4 (LXX) ; Psalms 67:6. Here add the OT proper names compounded with ’Ab’ = father, of which * G. B. Gray, Studies in Hebr. Proper Names, 1896, counts 31. For the same idea in the OT apocrypha see Jubilees 1:24 f., 28; 19:29; 3 Macc 5:7; cf. 7:6; 6:3, 8; Test. Jud. 24. For the same usage in rabbinical literature, including the ’Shemone Esre’ in which two petitions are addressed to God as Father, see SB I 393-6, on Matthew 6:4; but here it should be remembered that Abba about this time became also a title of the Rabbis, cf.JE I 29-35. Apart from Israel, the idea of God as Father was known also in other Semitic religions, cf. Lagrange, ERS 110-18. For the same usage in the religion of primitive races see W. Schmidt, The Religion of Earliest Man (CTS Studies in Comparative Religion, no 2) 17. Against false conclusions from the study of comparative religion, however, it is worth pointing out, that to speak of God as Father is much more common in the NT than anywhere else. No less than 263 references in the NT are tabulated by * J. Drummond, Via, Veritas et Vita, 1894, 175. At all events the full meaning of the phrase ’Abba! Father!’ in 8:13 is not to be found by insisting on the form (which is common to many religions) but must be derived from the spirit in which it is used in Christianity. This spirit is new and sufficiently explained by the context, 14-16.

18-30 The Indwelling Holy Spirit and the Present Longing for Glorification = Perfect Happiness, or the certainty that the Christian life will lead to the glory of heaven—From the height of his contemplation of the Christian’s inheritance in heaven, 12-17, Paul is forced back to earth by the contrast between those things to come and things present. In spite of all that he has said in praise of the salvation revealed in the Gospel the present life seems a life of tears everywhere. Nature, animate and inanimate, groans under a law of corruption and longs for the time of its freedom from pain and its full measure of happiness 19-22; and the very same feelings and longings still linger in the Christian soul, in spite of all that the grace of justification may have changed, 23-25(27).

To avoid misunderstandings it is necessary before going further to limit the discussion to the kind of suffering which Paul here has in mind. He is not speaking of this or that suffering in particular, this or that physical pain, this or that social or political evil. He is thinking of the general suffering which may be described as the absence of full happiness, or the universal want of glory, the general longing for glorification or the universal hope and desire for greater things one day to come. But if Christianity does not remove even this ’spiritual suffering’ what then is the immediate use or benefit of the indwelling Holy Spirit, or for that matter of the salvation of the Gospel in general? The simplest and today most common Christian answer is the general rule, that suffering is the path to glory. The best proof is the life of our Lord, cf.Luke 24:26, Luke 24:46; Acts 17:3; Acts 26:23; Hebrews 2:9 f. For the same rule in the life of the Christian cf.Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; Matthew 20:22 f.; Mark 8:34 f.; 10:38; John 12:24-26; Romans 8:17c; 1 Corinthians 12:26; 2 Corinthians 1:5; 2 Corinthians 4:10; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Galatians 6:17; Philippians 1:29; Philippians 3:10; Colossians 1:24; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 Peter 1:6, 1 Peter 1:11; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Peter 3:14; 1 Peter 3:17, 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 4:13; 1 Peter 5:1.

The points to be noted in St Paul’s reply to this universal cry of suffering rising from the earth are the following three: (a) He makes no attempt to deny the existence of this suffering or to belittle its painfulness. (b) He answers that this spiritual suffering is not against the indwelling Holy Spirit, but rather its very own voice and expression, 26 f. The reason is that the present indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not the end but only the beginning of the Christian life, 23; it is not the fullness but only the pledge of the complete glory to come, cf.2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:14. It is by its very nature a spirit of hope, 23 f. Those as yet unfulfilled longings in nature as well as in the Christian soul, therefore, are like the pains foreboding and preceding the world’s new birth = the final and general glorification of the sons of God, 21 f. In the meantime i.e. in the present time of want and suffering, nature as well as men must and can hold out in this hope of final glorification supported by the indwelling Holy Spirit. (c) The Apostle anticipates the objection: is not this hope of unseen glory to come just one more empty promise to the harrassed souls of men? Far from it! It is the hope that God will carry out to the end his work of redemption. True enough it is hope, and that means for us waiting. But it is a hope, that is as certain as any hope can be, inasmuch as God is certain to complete the work he has begun, 28-30.

For a deeper appreciation of 18-30 it would be useful to pursue the question, in what does the ’glory to come’ here discussed consist? St Paul himself does not develop this question, the answer can be found in the explanations of ’eternal life’, in the last article of the Apostles’ Creed, or in the dogmatic treatises on the ’last things’. The relevant Bible texts are collected in K. Vaughan, 93-104, 427-36. Object. The explanations of the Apostle’s object in 18-30 differ considerably. Some maintain that his purpose was to enlarge on the greatness of the Christian justification by adding a further triumph of the indwelling Holy Spirit over a practical difficulty in life: the universal want of happiness. This explanation has the advantage of showing progress of thought in accordance with the main argument in ch 8. But others see in 18-30 a new discussion on the certainty of the Christian hope of glorification, cf. ch 5. In this case 18-30 becomes a kind of scholion or digression to the heavenly inheritance discussed in 12-17. The former explanation is followed in this commentary.

Plan. The commentators who take the certainty of the Christian hope of eternal glory as the keynote of 18-30 gain an easy division of the passage into four paragraphs according to the four proofs for this certainty. They are the witness (1) of creation, 19-22; (2) of the Christian soul, 23-25; (3) of the Holy Ghost, 26-27; (4) of God’s economy of salvation, 28-30. If ’the victory and triumph of the indwelling Holy Spirit’ is taken as the keynote the following plan may be followed: (1) the victory of the Spirit over the suffering (longing) of irrational nature, 19-22; (2) the victory of the Spirit over the suffering (longing) of the Christian Soul, 23-25(27); (3) the certainty of this victory, 28-30. The difficulty of this plan lies in placing 26 f.

19-22 The Longing of Irrational Nature for Glorification and the Holy Spirit dwelling In the Christian Soul —It is unusual for St Paul to give his attention to irrational nature. But when in 19-22 he voices its agony under the burden of its age-long curse we need not think of a sudden flight into poetry. The ideas here expressed are Biblical throughout. That irrational nature was affected by man’s (first) sin is clearly stated in Genesis 3:17 f.; and its share in man’s redemption follows no less clearly from such messianic prophecies as Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 66:22. For the same idea in the NT see Matthew 19:28; Acts 3:21; 2 Peter 3:13; Apoc 21:1. Rabbinical parallels are collected in SB III 840-7, on Apoc 21:1. There remains however something original and unique in the way in which St Paul here personifies these two Biblical doctrines and argues from them to the greatness of the Christian glorification as that ’divine event to which the whole creation moves’.

What is the burden from which irrational creation longs to be redeemed? St Paul calls it her enforced submission to µata?ótð? = purposelessness, senselessness, vanity, 20. This has been understood (a) as its physical mutability, transitoriness; (b) as its physical corruption, decay, death; (c) as its moral abuse by sinful man; (d) as the disturbance of the harmony of creation, or rather the absence of fullness of harmony and order = the absence of something that should be there; i.e. in Biblical language = the curse of Genesis 3:17; in theological terminology = the consequences of original sin. Of these explanations the last seems the most satisfactory, because the third is too narrow, and the first two raise points of natural science which were hardly in the mind of St Paul. For there is nothing in his letters to support the idea that he regarded nature as free from mutability and death before man’s fall.

What will the glory to come bring for irrational nature? Paul answers with ’the glory of the children of God’, 21. Instead one might have expected him to speak of the renovation of nature in the sense of Apoc 21:1, cf. WV note. But Paul’s wording is negative and may be compared with the negative definition of our redemption = freedom from the curse of sin. Hence, the various speculations on the way in which nature will eventually obtain her freedom from the curse of Genesis 3:17 cannot claim the authority of St Paul. It is one of the mysteries not revealed to us, cf. Pesch, Prael. Dogm. III propos. 54.

What has the longing of irrational nature for glorification, 19-22, to do with the Holy Spirit dwelling in the Christian soul, 23-27? The two voices agree in the longing they express, and thus become supplementary to each other. But if 19-22 were left out the argument would hardly be affected. 855k

23-27 The Longing of the Christian Soul for Glorification and the Indwelling Holy Spirit— ’I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ’ in heaven (Philippians 1:23) would be a good summary of the contents of this passage. In spite of all that St Paul has said in praise of the effects of justifying = sanctifying grace from 5:1 onward, and esp. in ch 8, there still remains a big gap to be filled in the soul. However highly the praises of justification or sanctification on earth may be sung, experience teaches that the soul longs for greater things still. It is with this that St Paul is dealing in 23-27. The commonly accepted term for the object of this desire of the Christian soul is glorification or heaven. Neither term is used in 23-27, but see 18, 21. The terms used in 23-27 are (the full) adoption of the sons of God, and the redemption of our body, 23. For practical purposes, however, it simplifies matters to keep to the established distinction between sanctification and glorification, or between sanctifying grace and glorifying grace. But it must be remembered that the latter distinction is not a distinction in essence but only in time and degree, i.e. sanctifying grace is the beginning of glorifying grace, 23; cf.2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:14.

An important point in the explanation of 23-27 concerns the distinction between the voice of the Christian soul, which has the Holy Spirit, 23-25, and the voice of the Holy Spirit in the Christian Soul, 26 f. In either case it is evidently the voice of the indwelling Holy Spirit, i.e. of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the soul through sanctifying grace. The difference then seems to be but a difference of intensity in prayer. In 26 f. most commentators think of the charisma of tongues or glossolalia, a form of ecstasy frequently quoted in early Christian literature, e.g.Mark 16:17; Acts 10:46; 1 Corinthians 14:1-23. But this may be too narrow or too exact an interpretation. Ecstatic prayer in general satisfies the text.

Plan. Two points can be distinguished: (1) the voice of the Christian soul, 23-25; (2) the voice of the Holy Spirit, 26 f.

23. ’Awaiting adoption’ = the fullness of the blessings conferred on us as sons of God. The context and the comparison with 14-17 make it necessary to insert some noun like: fullness, manifestation, realization, consummation. 24. ’By hope’: cannot be dativus instrumenti, because it is by faith that we are saved and not by hope. Hence it is commonly taken as dativus modi = with hope, i.e. we are saved with the hope (of glorification) as a part in the present state of justification = sanctification, but cf. SH. 26. ’Infirmity’: i.e. of our prayer. ’As we ought to’: can be connected with either verb: (a) we know not . . .; (b) we should pray. The former is the better connexion, because the context leaves no doubt as to what we ought to pray for—our final glorification. But we are far from knowing the form, contents, etc., of this glorification as we might wish or ought to know.

28-30 The Christian’s Longing for Glorification Is certain to be fulfilled— The longing for glorification described in 19-22, 23-27 implies not only a vision of still greater things to come but also an element of hope, 23 f. Now hope always needs encouragement to prevent the inevitable thought of possible disappointment from weakening it. The normal form of such encouragement is a reassurance that the object hoped for will materialize. Such a reassurance of the Christian hope of glorification in heaven is the subject of 28-30. The reason on which St Paul bases this reassurance is ’the chain of Providential care with which God does accompany the course of his chosen’, SH 214. Providence has started our Christian life on earth; Providence will also lead it to perfection in heaven, cf.Philippians 1:6. Partly different reasons are given in ch 5.

The first point in St Paul’s argument is the design of Providence exhibited in the Christian life here and now. Paul enumerates four turning points in this life which bear evident traces of this divine Providence, 29 f.: (a) God foreknew us; (b) he predestinated us; (c) he called us; (d) he justified us. The second point in the argument is the conclusion that these four steps are but four steps before a fifth, which is to be the last and final step, i.e. our glorification in heaven. ’Whom God has justified (= sanctified) he will also glorify’, 30. What is the logical value of this conclusion? St Paul’s conclusion in 30 that there must be this fifth step after the previous four is not meant to be a logical deduction. The Apostle presents it as faith based on the works of Providence in the past, 29 f., and on the nature of God who is love, 28. For us it is, in addition to these two motives, belief in the inspiration of St Paul, cf. §

Does St Paul teach in 28-30 that every Christian can be certain to reach his final salvation and glorification in heaven? The question can and must be answered in the affirmative for every true Christian, i.e. every Christian who lives up to St Paul’s idea of the Christian life. This is, no doubt, introducing a very important condition. But the Apostle himself clearly made this condition in the numerous and urgent exhortations that fill his letters. Once this condition of a true Christian life, however, is accepted the uncertainty of final salvation for the individual follows as an inevitable practical consequence, cf. 5:5-21; Dz 825.

28a. ’All things work together unto good’ = God worketh all things together unto good, WV. The translation depends on what is considered to be the subject of the verb. The form of the text allows (a) ?eó?, God; (b) p??ta, all things; (c) p?e?+?µa, the spirit, from 26. In any case the content is a general theological principle, cf.Psalms 45:2-3; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12, etc. Four parallels from Greek literature are quoted by Wetstein; for rabbinical stories to the same effect cf. Wetstein and SB. 28b. ’Those who are called according to a plan’ (design or decree scil. of God) = those who love God in 28a, cf.Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:9. It connects the general statement in 28a with the application in 29 f. Discussions on absolute predestination ought never to have been built on such an obiter dictum. On the history of its exegesis see Cornely and SH. ’To be saints’: not in the Greek text.

29-30 give a summary description of the process of salvation, apparently in the order of time, cf.Ephesians 1:3-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 f.29. ’Foreknew’: cf.1 Corinthians 8:3. As a rendering of the OT yada’ it may also have the meaning of the verbs: to elect, prefer, choose, favour, fore-approve of, etc. At all events Paul puts it down as the first stage in man’s salvation. The distinction between ante and post praevisa merita belongs to later theology. ’Predestinatedto be made conformable to the image of his Son’: at the general resurrection, cf. 8:17; Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:49; VVV note on Romans 8:29., Romans 8:30. ’Called’: refers to the moment of becoming a Christian, cf.John 6:44. ’Them he also justified’: cf. 1:17; 3:21-30. This fourth stage in the process of man’s salvation coincides temporally with me previous ’call’. ’Them he also glorified’: refers to the future glory in heaven. The past tense is a prophetic perfect (aorist).

31-39 A Concluding Paragraph summarizing the blessings of the spiritual life in the assurance of God’s love for us in Christ—Coming to the end of his exposition of the Christian life Paul seems to have felt that his explanation (like all later ones) must leave a great number of doubts and difficulties unanswered or untouched. For it lies in the nature of human life that no doctrine can in advance dispose of all difficulties that may arise in practice. But in so far as these difficulties belong to the religious sphere, the Christian life has one general answer which can never fail. All these personal difficulties become insignificant as soon as our eyes turn away from them to contemplate that one great act of the love of God in which he did not spare his own Son for our salvation, cf.John 3:16. No one

who believes and considers this truth can doubt that God wills his best under all circumstances. It is true that there will be an examination after death of which we are all afraid, but sanctified by God, 30, we need fear no accusation, 33. There will be a judgement, but redeemed and defended by Christ we need fear no condemnation from his lips, 34. Before that there may be sufferings and violence, but the love of Christ for us will remain unaffected as the sun remains unchanged by the clouds that may hide it for a while. Christ will not forsake us, 35. It may even come for us to a choice between life and death; to a struggle with the evil spirits and devilish powers; to battles with enemies known or still unknown, from above the earth or below the earth, yet all combined they will not be able to wipe out or mar in our souls the picture and reassurance of the love which God has shown us in Christ. However dark the earth may turn, God’s love for us in Christ will remain undisturbed and continue to reign above like the spirit of God above the turbulent seas, Genesis 1:2. And in his love we are eternally secure, 38 f.

Connexion. The opening question ’what then shall we say’, 31, does not here introduce an objection as in 3:5; 6:1; 7:7; 9:14, but a summary, cf. 9:30. God has given his elect the victory over sin and death, 1-8, 9-11; he has adopted them as sons and heirs, 12-17; he will fulfil their longing for glorification in heaven, 18-30: what more can be said? Paul has come to the end of his argument and looks for a fitting conclusion. The thoughts which occur to him centre round God’s love for us in Christ. Thus the passage becomes a summary of ch 8, and at the same time the description of another and last blessing of the spiritual life. This explanation of the connexion between 31-39 and 1-30 is not accepted by all commentators. Some see in 31-39 merely the continuation of 28-30 and therefore treat it as a further, i.e. a fifth reason for the certainty of final salvation. Others regard it as the summary of the whole doctrinal part as the beginning of which they quote 1:16 or 3:21 or 5:1. The truth probably lies in the combination of these opinions. ere as so often Paul shows very little concern to follow the rules of classical composition.

Characteristic. In any case, it must be remembered that when Paul concluded the first part of his letter with praise of the love which God has shown us in Christ, he did not intend to give a comprehensive or systematic treatment of the subject, cf.1 Cor 13. His object in writing so far had been to recommend and preach the Christian life by presenting to his readers its greatness, benefits and glory. To crown these praises with a hymn on God’s love for us in Christ was a fortunate choice. He could hardly have concluded on a higher or more suitable theme.

Plan. The progress of thought in 31-39 is clearly marked by the four ascending rhetorical questions (Lagrange speaks of four stanzas): (a) 31 f. Who shall be against us, if God is for us? (b) 33 Who shall accuse us? (c) 34 Who shall condemn us. (d) 35-39 Who shall separate us from the love which Christ bears us?

32. ’All things’: all the Christian needs to obtain, the glory of heaven. 33, 34a. The interpunctuation. is uncertain. Consequently the translations vary: (a) Who shall accuse the elect of God? God who justifieth them? [Answer: certainly not.]—Who shall condemn them? Christ Jesus who died for them? [Answer: certainly not.] Cf. Boylan. (b) Who shall accuse the elect of God, when it is God himself who acquits them? Who shall condemn them, when it is Christ Jesus who died for them . . .? Cf. C. J. Vaughan , KNT. (c) Who shall accuse the elect of God? When it is God who justifieth, who will condemn? [Certainly not] Christ . . . who died for them? Of these translations b is the most symmetrical, but c has the support of Isaiah 50:8, a passage which may well have been here in the Apostle’s mind. The sense of the argument is not affected. 35. ’From the love of Christ’: has been understood (a) as an objective genitive = our love for Christ; (b) as a subjective genitive = the love which Christ bears us. ’The context which discusses the certainty of the glory to come decides in favour of b; cf. 37, 39; Rickaby combines the two meanings. ’Tribulation’, etc.: for similar lists of temptations in stoic literature cf. Lagrange. 38. ’Nor angels nor principalities’ can mean: (a) good spirits, Galatians 1:8, and bad, Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15; 1 Peter 3:22, or (b) evil spirits of two different kinds; or (c) spiritual and temporal powers = earthly authorities. d???µe?? = fortitudo, Vg; might, DV; powers, WV: position peculiar and disputed, often after principalities.