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There is, then, now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit;

for the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus did set me free from the law of the sin and of the death;

for what the law was not able to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, His own Son having sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did condemn the sin in the flesh,

that the righteousness of the law may 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, the things of the flesh do mind; and those according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit;

for the mind of the flesh [is] death, and the mind of the Spirit -- life and peace;

because the mind of the flesh [is] enmity to God, for to the law of God it doth not subject itself,

for neither is it able; and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

And ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God doth dwell in you; and if any one hath not the Spirit of Christ -- this one is not His;

10 and if Christ [is] in you, the body, indeed, [is] dead because of sin, and the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness,

11 and if the Spirit of Him who did raise up Jesus out of the dead doth dwell in you, He who did raise up the Christ out of the dead shall quicken also your dying bodies, through His Spirit dwelling in you.

12 So, then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh;

13 for if according to the flesh ye do live, ye are about to die; and if, by the Spirit, the deeds of the body ye put to death, ye shall live;

14 for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God;

15 for ye did not receive a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye did receive a spirit of adoption in which we cry, `Abba -- Father.'

16 The Spirit himself doth testify with our spirit, that we are children of God;

17 and if children, also heirs, heirs, indeed, of God, and heirs together of Christ -- if, indeed, we suffer together, that we may also be glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory about to be revealed in us;

19 for the earnest looking out of the creation doth expect the revelation of the sons of God;

20 for to vanity was the creation made subject -- not of its will, but because of Him who did subject [it] -- in hope,

21 that also the creation itself shall be set free from the servitude of the corruption to the liberty of the glory of the children of God;

22 for we have known that all the creation doth groan together, and doth travail in pain together till now.

23 And not only [so], but also we ourselves, having the first-fruit of the Spirit, we also ourselves in ourselves do groan, adoption expecting -- the redemption of our body;

24 for in hope we were saved, and hope beheld is not hope; for what any one doth behold, why also doth he hope for [it]?

25 and if what we do not behold we hope for, through continuance we expect [it].

26 And, in like manner also, the Spirit doth help our weaknesses; for, what we may pray for, as it behoveth [us], we have not known, but the Spirit himself doth make intercession for us with groanings unutterable,

27 and He who is searching the hearts hath known what [is] the mind of the Spirit, because according to God he doth intercede for saints.

28 And we have known that to those loving God all things do work together for good, to those who are called according to purpose;

29 because whom He did foreknow, He also did fore-appoint, conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be first-born among many brethren;

30 and whom He did fore-appoint, these also He did call; and whom He did call, these also He declared righteous; and whom He declared righteous, these also He did glorify.

31 What, then, shall we say unto these things? if God [is] for us, who [is] against us?

32 He who indeed His own Son did not spare, but for us all did deliver him up, how shall He not also with him the all things grant to us?

33 Who shall lay a charge against the choice ones of God? God [is] He that is declaring righteous,

34 who [is] he that is condemning? Christ [is] He that died, yea, rather also, was raised up; who is also on the right hand of God -- who also doth intercede for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of the Christ? tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 (according as it hath been written -- `For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long, we were reckoned as sheep of slaughter,')

37 but in all these we more than conquer, through him who loved us;

38 for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor messengers, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,

39 nor things about to be, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, that [is] in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Living by the Power of God's Spirit

If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won't be punished. The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you[a] free from sin and death. The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ's body to condemn sin. He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires.

People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God's laws. If we follow our desires, we cannot please God.

You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him. 10 But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins. 11 (A) Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit.

12 My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. 13 If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say “No” to your desires. 14 Only those people who are led by God's Spirit are his children. 15 (B)(C) God's Spirit doesn't make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.[b] 16 God's Spirit makes us sure that we are his children. 17 His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ we will be given what God has promised. We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him.

A Wonderful Future for God's People

18 (D) I am sure what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us. 19 In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. 20 (E) Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope 21 that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. 22 We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth.

23 (F) The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children.[c] This means that our bodies will also be set free. 24 And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. 25 However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it.

26 In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 (G) All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God's people. 28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.[d] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, 29 and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so his Son would be the first of many children. 30 God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them.

God's Love

31 What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won't he freely give us everything else? 33 If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? 34 Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God's right side,[e] speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? 36 (H) It is exactly as the Scriptures say,

“For you we face death
    all day long.
We are like sheep
on their way
    to be butchered.”

37 In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Footnotes

  1. 8.2 you: Some manuscripts have “me.”
  2. 8.15 our Father: The Greek text uses the Aramaic word “Abba” (meaning “father”), which shows the close relation between the children and their father.
  3. 8.23 to show that we are his children: These words are not in some manuscripts. The translation of the remainder of the verse would then read, “while we wait for God to set our bodies free.”
  4. 8.28 God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him: Or “All things work for the good of everyone who loves God” or “God's Spirit always works for the good of everyone who loves God.”
  5. 8.34 right side: The place of power and honor.