New Testament in a Year

God Placed Our Judgment on Christ

8 So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.^{[a] 2} For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me^[b] free from the law of sin and death. ³ Indeed, what the law was unable to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did, when he sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to deal with sin.^[c] God condemned sin in his flesh, ⁴ so that the righteous decree of the law would be fully satisfied in us who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.^[d]

Living in Harmony With the Spiritual Nature

⁵ To be sure, those who are in harmony with the sinful flesh think about things the way the sinful flesh does, and those in harmony with the spirit think about things the way the spirit does. ⁶ Now, the way the sinful flesh thinks results in death, but the way the spirit thinks results in life and peace. ⁷ For the mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the sinful flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the sinful flesh but in the spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit lives in you. And if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit, who is dwelling in you.

¹² So then, brothers, we do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it. ¹³ For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live.

The Spirit Assures Us We Are Children of God

¹⁴ Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom^[e] we call out, “Abba, Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children.

¹⁷ Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.

Suffering Leads Us to Look Ahead to Heaven

¹⁸ For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ In fact, creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope ²¹ that even creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption, in order to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.