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Timothy: Romans 8:1-11
Life in the Spirit

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to flesh, but according to Spirit.

2 For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set me free from the law of sin and of death.

3 For the Law being powerless, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,

4 so that the righteous demand of the Law might be fulfilled in us, those not walking according to flesh, but according to Spirit.

5 For the ones that are according to flesh mind the things of the flesh. And the ones according to Spirit mind the things of the Spirit.

6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;

7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards God; for it is not being subjected to the Law of God, for neither can it be.

8 And those being in the flesh are not able to please God.

9 But you are not in flesh, but in Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, this one is not His.

10 But if Christ is in you, the body indeed is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11 But if the Spirit of the One having raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One having raised the Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies live through the indwelling of His Spirit in you.

[Literal Translation of the Holy Bible]

Please note that when the term “spirit” is used without a definite article in Greek to refer to God and Christ, it refers to their mindset and should not be capitalized. If it is used to refer to humans, it refers to the human mindset. When used with a definite article, it refers to the essence of either God or humans.

Dear God, my Beloved Father, I thank You for granting me another day to live in this life. Although my body may become weak and frail, I still have the strength to continue doing the good deeds that You have prepared for me. My mind is still bright, and I am increasingly understanding the Eternal Living Word of God. I pray that Christ will give me the strength to keep my body healthy and ask that the Holy Spirit always guide me to walk in truth. I thank the Triune God.

Dear Father, I would like to record my thoughts and understanding of Romans 8:1-11. In general, this passage of the Bible talks about how God’s people should not live according to the flesh but rather live according to the spirit. The fleshly mindset only focuses on the desires and pleasures of the flesh, which mostly go against God’s commandments, leading to death. The spiritual mindset of God’s people is the thinking that comes from the knowledge given by God. Only by living according to the spirit can God’s people achieve the result of eternal life.

Dear Father, I understand verse 1 as follows: “Now” refers to the present time for anyone who is living in a physical body that is dying. For God’s people, for the rest of their lives, they have escaped the punishment of the law for their sins because they have truly repented, given up their sins, and fully accepted the redemptive death of Christ. They no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. That means they no longer commit sins to satisfy the desires of the flesh. Instead, they obey God’s commandments, according to the understanding that God has given them in their spirit. I understand that the term “walking” in the passage has the same meaning as the term “living.”

Dear Father, I understand verse 2 as follows: The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Life because it is through His power that the physical bodies of Christ and those who belong to God are resurrected into glorious, immortal bodies.

The law of the Spirit of Life is the law of God that the Holy Spirit has written in the minds and hearts of God’s people. In the past, the law of God that Moses wrote was called the Law of Moses. Today, the law of God that the Holy Spirit has written in the minds and hearts of God’s people is called the Law of the Holy Spirit. That law includes the new provision of Christ’s redemptive death and forgiveness for those who believe in Christ’s redemptive death.

The law of the Spirit of Life is only given to human beings who are in Christ. That means only those who believe in Christ receive that law.

Dear Father, I understand verse 3 as follows: Because the law cannot make humans live holy lives according to the spirit, it is deemed powerless. The desire to commit sin of the human flesh is too strong, making the law weak. Therefore, You must punish the human flesh for its wrongdoing on the human body. But because You love humans, You sent Your Only Son Jesus, who was born in the womb of the Virgin Mary into the world, to bear the punishment for the sins of humans.

Dear Father, I understand verse 4 as follows: Through the redemptive death of Jesus Christ, for those who believe in Him, the demand for justice of the law has been fulfilled. From that point on, they no longer live according to the sinful desires of the flesh but live according to the holiness of God’s law, which has been written in their minds and hearts by the Holy Spirit. The spirit refers to the understanding of the spiritual body, that is, the understanding in humans’ spirits.

Dear Father, I understand verse 5 to mean that those who have not truly repented of their sins and accepted the redemption of Christ’s death are only aiming to satisfy the desires of the flesh. However, for those who have accepted the Gospel, their life is only aimed at the things that the Holy Spirit has written in their hearts and minds, which are the commandments and laws of God, as well as the things that He has revealed to them about the Kingdom of Heaven.

Dear Father, I understand verse 6 to mean that thinking according to the flesh leads to sinful actions to satisfy the desires of the flesh, and the wages of sin are death. Thinking according to the spirit leads to good deeds that please God, leading to eternal life and peace.

Dear Father, I understand that in verses 7 and 8, thinking according to the flesh leads to sinful actions and is always opposed to You. It violates Your Ten Commandments and is condemned by Your law. “Being in the flesh” means living according to the flesh, which is synonymous with “living in sin.” Those who live according to the flesh cannot please You.

Dear Father, I understand verse 9 as follows: Your people have been saved from the power and consequences of sin, have been made new in Christ, have had Your laws written in their minds and hearts by the Holy Spirit, and have been given the power of God. Therefore, Your people no longer live according to the flesh but according to the spirit, living in the understanding that comes from You. This understanding is the spirit of God. It means that Your people have an understanding of Your laws as You do. The spirit of Christ is the understanding of Your laws along with complete obedience to You. So, anyone who claims to be Your people but does not live a life of obedience to Your laws like Christ does not belong to Christ.

Dear Father, I understand verse 10 as follows: When a person truly belongs to Christ, they have the spirit of Christ within them. So, even though their physical body may be dying due to the consequences of sin, their spiritual body, which is the spirit, is alive because You have declared it righteous through their faith in Christ.

Dear Father, I understand verse 11 as follows: The physical body of Christ was brought back to life by the Holy Spirit according to Your will. One day, the dead and the dying physical bodies of Your children will also be brought back to life by the same Holy Spirit, according to Your will and the command of Christ. This resurrection is what will transform the dying bodies of Your children who still have breath.

Father, I thank You, Christ, and the Holy Spirit for saving me, giving me the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ, and the promise of resurrection for my dying body. I am eagerly awaiting that day. May You keep me perfect and ready for that blessed day. Amen.

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Timothy Christian Huynh
03/23/2023