8.1–17 Paul explains that the solution to the dilemma exposed in 7.14–25 is the Spirit, whose dwelling in the self displaces the resident power of sin (see 7.17), making a new life possible.
8.1 No condemnation, the consequence of justification (see 5.16, 18). Being in Christ Jesus is the result of being baptized into Christ (6.3).
8.2 The Spirit of life, probably not spirit (as in text note a), but the Holy Spirit, which gives life (8.11). In Christ Jesus, here also a domain in which the Spirit is power. Law of sin. See 7.23. The law of death is the inevitability of death resulting from sin (6.23).
8.3 Weakened by the flesh alludes to the law’s inability to deal decisively with sin as resident power (7.7–25). Sending, the incarnation of the preexistent Son of God; see Gal 4.4. Likeness suggests the Son’s full identification with the human condition, but without becoming another instance of it. The additional phrase noted in text note c might allude to 3.25.
8.4 The just requirement. See 7.12. Walk. See note on 6.4. Flesh and Spirit are domains of power (see note on 8.2).
8.7 By definition, flesh is hostile to God (see note on 7.14).
8.8 In the flesh, i.e., within its domain, not simply in the body.
8.9–10 There is no difference between you are in the Spirit and the Spirit…dwells in you, nor between the Spirit…dwells in you and Christ is in you.
8.10 Because of righteousness, i.e., because of God’s righteousness as saving, rectifying power.
8.11 Will give life. Paul again emphasizes the future resurrection of Christians; see also 5.10; 6.5, 8; 1 Cor 15.12–24, 50–57. The variant reading in text note d is probably preferable
8.13 Will die alludes to 6.23. Deeds of the body, not all bodily deeds but those of 7.19, 23, 25. Christians will live through newness of life now (6.4) and through future resurrection.
8.15 Spirit of adoption, i.e., the Spirit whose work is adopting. See also Gal 4.5–7. This adoption is both a present and a future reality; see v. 23. When we cry, “Abba!” This is probably not an allusion to the Lord’s Prayer (see text note h).
8.17 Christians are joint heirs of the resurrection. See v. 29.
8.18–30 After comparing the consequences of Christ and Adam for persons (5.12–21), Paul turns to the consequences of Adam for creation, thus providing a wider perspective on present experiences.
8.18 Sufferings. See 5.3–4. The glory, completed salvation, expected soon.
8.19 Creation is spoken of as if it were a person. The revealing. The truth to which the Spirit now witnesses (v. 16) is not yet manifest; see v. 23.
8.20 Futility, explained as bondage to decay in v. 21, alludes to the curse on the earth in Gen 3.17–19 and is regarded here as not permanent.
8.21 Just as humanity’s forfeited glory will be restored (3.23; 5.2), so creation’s original status will be restored.
8.22 The metaphor of birth pains was often used to describe the eschatological transition from the old to the new age; see Mk 13.8; 1 Thess 5.3; 1 Enoch 62.4.
8.23 The first fruits of the harvest represent the whole, so the present experience of the Spirit is the pledge of its future work (see v. 11). Christians too groan because their salvation is not yet fully actualized (see 5.10). Wait for adoption. See v. 19. The whole self (i.e., the body; see note on 6.6) is destined for redemption. Because the body is part of creation, what is true of the part will be true also of the whole, i.e., creation too will be redeemed (released) from the inevitability of death.
8.24 Hope. See 5.3–5.
8.26 The Spirit not only speaks to us but also intercedes with God for us; in v. 34 Christ intercedes.
8.28 Called, chosen, as in 1.1, 7.
8.29 Foreknew and predestined reflect the view that what God knows and does in eternity appears to us as prior action; see also 11.2; Acts 2.23; 1 Pet 1.2, 20. Conformed to the image, another expression of the future solidarity of the Savior and the saved. See also v. 17; Phil 3.21. Firstborn within a large family. The children of God (v. 14) will be what the Son now is; see also Col 1.15; Heb 2.8–13.
8.30 Glorified is in the past tense because, although the glorification will occur in the future in human terms, it has occurred already in eternity (see note on 8.29).
8.31–39 This passage sums up with a flourish the import of the argument from 1.18 onward and ends on a triumphal note.
8.31 For…against us. The questions in this section are posed as if in a courtroom.
8.32 Did not withhold his own Son, a reformulation of 3.25; 5.8; 8.3–4. With him echoes 5.9–11; 8.11, 17.
8.33 Justifies, here pronounces one to be in the right, i.e., rightly related to God.
8.34 Text note i shows that the sentence might be a question. If so, it expects “No!” for an answer. Intercedes. As in vv. 9–10, what Paul says of the Spirit he can say also of the risen Christ (see 8.26).
8.35 The love of Christ coincides with God’s love (5.8). Hardship, rendered sufferings in 5.3, often refers to the tribulations of the end time (see Mk 13.19; Rev 7.14).
8.36 Ps 44.22.
8.38 Angels contrast with rulers, who are probably earthly powers (cf. 1 Cor 15.24; Gal 4.8–11; Col 2.15). Powers are supernatural beings; see Mt 24.29; 1 Pet 3.22.
8.39 Love of God. See 5.8.
Romans 9
God’s Election of Israel
1I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit—2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people,a my kindred according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah,b who is over all, God blessed forever.c Amen.
6It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel, 7and not all of Abraham’s children are his true descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9For this is what the promise said, “About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” 10Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. 11Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, 12not by works but by his call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.” 13As it is written,
“I have loved Jacob,
but I have hated Esau.”
14What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. 17For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.
God’s Wrath and Mercy
19You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; 23and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—24including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who w
ere not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
26“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they shall be called children of the living God.”
27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved; 28for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively.”d 29And as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left survivorse to us,
we would have fared like Sodom
and been made like Gomorrah.”
Israel’s Unbelief
30What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; 31but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. 32Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written,
“See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall,
and whoever believes in himf will not be put to shame.”
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a Gk my brothers
b Or the Christ
c Or Messiah, who is God over all, blessed forever; or Messiah. May he who is God over all be blessed forever
d Other ancient authorities read for he will finish his work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make the sentence shortened on the earth
e Or descendants; Gk seed
f Or trusts in it
9.1–11.28 See Introduction. In chs. 9–11 (which should be read as a unit) Paul probes the mysterious ways in which God shows freedom to be faithful to Israel.
9.1–18 The argument applies his theology of justification by faith (i.e., God’s rectifying rectitude apart from the law, 3.21–26) to the election of Israel.
9.1 I am not lying. Paul’s words almost constitute an oath (see also 2 Cor 11.31; Gal 1.20; 1 Tim 2.7).
9.3 Accursed, lit. “anathema” see 1 Cor 16.22; Gal 1.8–9.
9.4 Israelites. The ancient biblical name reinforces the point: the distinctive items are the heritage of the Jewish people (see also 3.1–8). Adoption, the same word as in 8.15, 23.
9.5 According to the flesh, i.e., by human descent. See 1.3.
9.6–13 Paul appeals to what God said to the patriarchs in order to argue that the word of God (v. 6) is dependable.
9.6 Not…failed (v. 6). The rest of the passage demonstrates this.
9.7–8 Paul sees in Gen 21.12 the principle of the patriarchal story: being children of God depends on promise and election (vv. 11–12), not on physical descent.
9.9 Gen 18.10, 14.
9.10–13 What was true in Abraham’s time (vv. 6–9) was true also in the next generation.
9.12 Contrary to custom, the elder shall serve the younger. See Gen 25.23.
9.13 Mal 1.2–3. Loved and hated, chosen and not chosen.
9.14–15 God’s freedom to choose does not imply that God is being unfair in the choice made, as God’s word to Moses in Ex 33.19 shows. Mercy is not earned.
9.16 A reformulation of v. 12 in light of the quotation in v. 15.
9.17–18 God’s word to Pharaoh in Ex 9.16 asserts God’s freedom. Hardens, i.e., creates willful resistance in. See Ex 7.3, 13–14; 8.19; 9.12; 10.1, 20, 27; 11.10.
9.19–29 After defending God’s freedom in election, Paul relates that freedom to the election of Gentiles as well as Jews.
9.21 The image of God as a potter was a popular one; see Isa 29.16; 45.9; Jer 18.1–11; Wis 15.7; Sir 33.13. Paul emphasizes God’s freedom to divide the same lump.
9.23 Prepared beforehand, i.e., predestined (see 8.30).
9.25–26 See Hos 1.10; 2.23. Paul applies these texts, which refer to the restoration of Israel, to the inclusion of gentile Christians in God’s people.
9.27–28 See Isa 10.22–23. For Isaiah, the remnant motif expressed hope of Israel’s survival (Isa 28.5; 37.4, 31–32). Whereas the Hebrew of Isa 10.22 says “a remnant will return,” the Greek used by Paul reads “a remnant will be saved”—alluding, he believes, to the few Jews who accept the gospel. Only is inserted by the NRSV translators.
9.29 See Isa 1.9.
9.30–10.4 Ironically, Gentiles (Christians) have found God’s righteousness through faith, but Israel has missed it by wrongly relying on works.
9.31 Righteousness…based on the law, lit. “law of righteousness,” the law concerning/promising righteousness. Fulfilling that law interprets what Paul actually wrote, “reaching the law,” probably meaning attaining to what the law is about, righteousness. Here Paul uses the image of the footrace.
9.32 Based on works. See 3.27–28; Gal 2.15–16. Have stumbled, i.e., were offended. Whether the stone refers to Christ or to the law is not obvious.
9.33 The quotation combines Isa 28.16; 8.14. For stone as a reference to Christ, see, e.g., Mt 21.42; Acts 4.11; 1 Pet 2.6–8.
Romans 10
1Brothers and sisters,a my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. 3For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Salvation Is for All
5Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” 6But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say?
“The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart”
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9becauseb if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
14But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 16But not all have obeyed the good news;c for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.d
18But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.”
19Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
“I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”
20Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”
21But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
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a Gk Brothers
b Or namely, that
c Or gospel
d Or about Christ; other ancient authorities read of God
10.1 See 9.1–2.
10.2 In Phil 3.6, Paul rec
alls his own zeal.
10.3 The righteousness that comes from God, lit. “the righteousness of God,” i.e., God’s own rectifying righteousness (3.26). The verb submitted shows that here God’s righteousness is a power; see notes on 5.21; 6.14; 8.10.
10.4 It is not certain whether end means termination or goal; the latter is the more probable, and agrees with 8.3–4.
10.5–21 Paul develops the implications of v. 4. Those who think end in v. 4 means termination emphasize the contrast between what Moses writes and what faith-based righteousness says (vv. 6–8); those who think end means goal will see Moses’ words actualized in vv. 6–13.
10.5 As Gal 3.10–12 indicates, Paul’s emphasis in citing the text from Lev 18.5 seems to be on the concept of “doing,” i.e., works (see 9.32). Will live by them, will find life in them.
10.6–8 In the quotations, Paul paraphrases Deut 30.12–14 (see also Bar 3.29–30) as the appeal of righteousness itself. He uses a common Jewish exegetical device (that is…) to apply the text to Christ.
10.7 Abyss agrees with an Aramaic paraphrase of Deut 30.13 (see Targum Neofiti 1), but Hebrew and Greek texts of Deuteronomy instead refer to crossing the sea. Paul sees in abyss an allusion to Christ’s resurrection from the subterranean realm of the dead.
10.9 Confess and believe are two aspects of one act; the formulation reflects Deut 30.14 (cited in v. 8), which for Paul refers to the positive response to the gospel.
10.10 Is saved, lit. “for salvation,” does not conflict with 5.9–10.
10.11 Isa 28.16; Rom 9.33. Not being put to shame means being vindicated (as in 5.5).
10.12 No distinction affirms the parity of Jew and Greek in salvation as in sin (3.22–23). The same Lord. See 3.29–30. Call on, i.e., look to, count on, or trust (see also 1 Cor 1.2).
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