The holy spirit and righteousness

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Romans 8:10 But if Christis in you, then even though
your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit
gives life because of righteousness.
OUR SIN LEADS TO DEATH, BUT CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESSLEADS
TO LIFE ETERNAL.
Romans 8:10 – A Spirit of Righteousness
Date:June 1, 2010 Author: Will
Romans 8:10
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because ofsin, but the Spirit is life
because ofrighteousness.
Truth to Learn
Becausewe have been declared righteous, we are alive with a life that will last
eternally.

Behind the Words
In order to fully understand the current verse we have to look at a Greek
grammaticalconstruction knownas “Correlative (orpaired) Conjunctions.”
That is, a pair of conjunctions that have a correlationbetweeneachother. The
conjunctions are men and de. They are used in the following manner, “men
(followedby the first phrase) … de (followedby the secondphrase).” The
effectof this constructionis to say, “on the one hand (first phrase), but on the
other hand (secondphrase).” In today’s verse men is used before the phrase
“the body is dead because ofsin” and de is used before the phrase ”the Spirit
is life because ofrighteousness.”
The word translated “becauseof” is dia, which means “through.” As in
English, this word has two meanings. The first is a preposition of motion; it
implies motion through a place. The other is a preposition of instrumentality;
it implies the instrument or cause ofsomething In this situation it can be
translated as “by reasonof” or “because of.” In today’s verse dia is used
instrumentally.
As we have mentioned before, in Biblical Greek there are three types of
conditional clauses. The first class conditionassumes the condition to be true
and cansometimes be translated as “since,” althoughnot always. In today’s
verse Paul is speaking to Christians and is assuming “Christ is in you.”
Meaning Explained
What Paul says in this verse is “And if Christ is in you, (assumedto be true)
on the one hand the body is dead because ofsin, but on the other hand the
spirit is alive because ofrighteousness.”In other words, if Christ is in you,
that is, if you are saved, then your body is technically dead because ofyour
sinfulness, but because youhave acceptedChristas Savior, through the grace
of God (who has declaredyou to be righteousness), your spirit is alive and you
will spend eternity in the presence ofGod because ofthat righteousness.
In the next verse Paul will explain further what he means when he days that
our Spirit is alive.

What he doesn’tsay, but clearly implies, is that if you aren’t saved(if you
don’t have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you) then your body is still dead
because ofsin. But, because youare a sinner and have not been declared
righteous, you have no hope of spiritual life. You will have to pay the penalty
for your ownsins and you will enter the presence of the Almighty as an
unrighteous sinner; you are spiritually dead (now and forever).
Application
If you have acceptedJesus Christas your Lord and Savior, then praise be to
God that your entrance into His presence will not be just as a cleansedformer
sinner, but as an adopted son (or daughter) whom God has declared
“righteous.”
This salvationthat we hold so dear is not just our “getout of Hell free” card.
It’s not just our “ticketinto Heaven.” It is the undeserved privilege and honor
of standing before our Holy God as one who has fulfilled all righteousness and
one who possessesHis life giving Spirit for all eternity.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Redemption Of The Body
Romans 8:10, 11
T.F. Lockyer
He has said (ver. 6) that the "mind of the spirit is life." We have seenin what
a large, rich sense these words are true. But it might be objected - and our
specialfamiliarity with one aspectof the meaning of "life" would lead to this -
that after all, we die; that, in Solomon's language, "allthings come alike to all;
there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked." And at first sight this

would seem to be a formidable objection. The brand of condemnation is upon
us to the last: we die! Of what validity, then, is the justification through
Christ? and of what reality the renewalby the Spirit? The objection is
answeredin these verses, in which are set forth - the persistence ofdeath, the
triumph of life.
I. THE PERSISTENCEOF DEATH. It is, indeed, true that, in spite of our
justification and renewal, death seems to have dominion over us in our
physical relations:"the body is dead." This needs no proving; no human fact
can be more patent. We die daily, and at last yield to the final triumph of the
foe. How is this reconcilable with the new life? The body is dead "becauseof
sin," viz. the sin of the first man, our federalhead. This is the sadheritage
which descends to the race on accountof the transgression.
1. And one main secretof the persistence ofdeath consists in this, that
mankind, in all its natural relations, is one organism. If one member suffer,
the other members suffer with it. More especiallydo ancestralactions,
entailing physical consequences, affectthe condition of succeeding
generations. Therefore,as above (ver. 15 of ch. 5.), "by the trespass of the one
the many died." The complex unity of man's natural relations necessitated
this permanent consequenceto the race.
2. Yes, eachone's mortality is linked on to the mortality of the race; man, by
necessarynatural entailment, is "born to die." But why, it may be asked, does
not the individual, volitional agencyby which the Christian believer is linked
on to a new federation, and made partakerof the powerof life, involve of
equal necessitythe reversalof the original cause? The answerin part is this:
that, for reasons whichwe may or may not partially discern, in the present
economyof things there is a permanence of natural causationeven in spite of
altered spiritual conditions. It is this principle which effectuates the ordained
unity of the race, as above set forth; and the same principle involves that, not
merely must eachmember of the race acceptatbirth his natural heritage, but
even his own free spiritual choice and action may not, at leastnow, effecta
change in the sequence ofnatural causation. This is true of such natural
consequencesas may have resulted from eachone's individual transgressions;

it is equally true of the inherited consequencesofthe first transgression;it is
eminently true of the unique entailment of mortality.
3. And one specialreasonfor this permanence of natural causation, in
addition to the economic considerationsrequiring the organic unity of the
race, is the necessitythat man, under a process ofredemptive recoveryfrom
sin, should be subjected to the chastening influence which only an experience
of the evil of sin's effects cansupply. Illustrate by continuance of penalty
resulting from individual transgression;as, e.g., drunkenness, dishonesty. So,
generally, the continuance of all the ills that flesh is heir to, on accountof
human sin. In this twofold sense, then, "the body is dead because ofsin:" the
transgressioninvolved it as a natural consequence;also, in view of
redemption, as a remedial discipline.
II. THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE. "But" - oh, what a "but" is this! - "the spirit is
life because ofrighteousness." Observe,not living, as the body is said to be
dead, i.e. not merely possessedofan attribute; but life! itself, through the
inhabitation of the Spirit of God, a living power, which shall eventually
penetrate with its vitality all man's psychicaland even bodily nature (see
Godet). All this is involved in the peculiar phraseologyofthe tenth verse, and
is plainly setforth in the eleventh.
1. A new organic unity of the race, with its own laws of natural causation, is
establishedin Christ. He is the secondAdam, the "greaterMan." And as by
the "sin" of the former came death, so by the "righteousness" - the
justification - which is through the latter comes life.
2. "With its ownlaws of natural causation:" yes; for, though we may not trace
their working, they are at work, and shall eventuate in our triumph, through
Christ, over even the mortality to which we now must submit. The case is
complex; the two humanities are as yet commingled; the two trains of
causationare jointly at work. But of the triumph of life, we have the pledge in
that he was raisedfrom the dead; himself submitted to the old law, and rose
by the powerof the new. "Christ the Firstfruits, afterward they that are
Christ's at his coming."

3. "Afterward:" yes, when the remedial discipline shall have done its work,
and from a restoredworld, from a renewedmankind, the curse shall be
utterly removed. For this we wait, for this we work;and we do not work and
wait in vain. "The Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead shall
quicken also your mortal bodies." Such, then, is our assurance, suchis our
hope. But on what is it conditioned? "If Christ be in you;" "If the Spirit of
him that raisedup Jesus from the dead dwell in you." Oh, let us hastento him
who is the Source ofthe new life, the Giver of the living Spirit! - T.F.L.
The indwelling of Christ
W. Tyson.
I. FOR THE PRESENT THE INDWELLING OF CHRIST IN BELIEVERS,
BY HIS SPIRIT, REMOVES THE POWER OF DEATH FROM THE
SPHERE OF THEIR SPIRITUAL NATURE ONLY.
1. From that nature, however, it is removed. For "if Christ be in you,...the
Spirit is life because ofrighteousness"(1 John 5:12). But on accountof what
"righteousness"?Surelynot our own, for apart from Christ we have none.
Under law, indeed, being alive, we should have continued to live, if we had
maintained a perfect righteousness (Romans 10:5). But under the gospel,
being found dead, we must first be made to live, in order to become holy. This
"righteousness,"therefore, is that "righteousnessofGod which is by faith of
Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:22; Romans 5:17, 18). That one thing which of
necessityprecedes ourlife in Christ is justification in Christ (2 Corinthians
5:21; Romans 4:1-13, 22-25), which is hence called a "justificationof life"
(Romans 5:18).
2. The new life, however, does not as yet extend beyond the spirit. "The body
is dead because ofsin," and for the furtherance of the greatmediatorial
purpose. The postponement of the completed "adoption, to wit, the
redemption of their body" (ver. 23), is made, not on accountof any sin yet
remaining in believers (ver. 1), but on accountof the sin of the world, in so far

as the deferring of their redemption from death promotes the world's
salvation. And how needful and wise that it should be so! How obviously
inconsistentwith a state of probation it would have been for believers to be
exempted from death! If only these at the end of their probation were
translated to heaven, how completely would the free exercise ofthe human
will, in respectto matters of religion and the free development of human
character, be fettered or overborne!Not to insist upon the anguish which
would come into every strickenhouseholdif death were knownto be the
precursorof hell; nor to think how dark and dreary this world would become
if there were in it no cemeteries in which were to be found the treasured
remains of those who sweetlysleepin Jesus, awaiting the call to a deathless
life. Let anyone try to imagine what possible advantage there could accrue
from such an arrangement. Therefore Christians must continue to die, that
they may "fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ...forHis
body's sake, whichis the Church" (Colossians 1:24).
II. THE REMOVAL OF THE DOMINION OF DEATH FROM THE
BODIES OF BELIEVERS IS BUT DELAYED TILL THE SAVIOUR'S
SECOND COMING(Cf. Hebrews 9:28; John 6:39, 40; Romans 8:19-23;1
Thessalonians 4:16;1 Corinthians 15:42-54). Ofthis believers have a double
earnest.
1. The objective factthat God raised the body of Jesus. So stronglydid the
apostle feelupon this point as to maintain that the whole fabric of Christianity
stands or falls with it (1 Corinthians 15:12-23).
2. The subjective fact of the indwelling of the resurrective Spirit. "If the Spirit
of Him who raisedup Jesus...dwellin you."(1)If we are entitled to that Spirit
as the life of our souls, we have an equal title to the same Spirit as the life of
our bodies.(2)This assuranceis made still strongerby the fact that the
indwelling of this Spirit sanctifies and marks out for the Lord these very
bodies in which He dwells. The living temple claimedby Him, consecratedby
His glorious presence, andmade to become, evenhere and now, the
instrument of His purposes, cannever be suffered to remain a permanent
prey to corruption. This "is the earnestof our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:14).
Therefore, professedChristians, —

1. Abjure the flesh and its debasing service. You are in no sense suchdebtors
to the flesh as to be required to live according to its desires. Either you must
slay the sinful flesh, or it will slay you (ver. 18).
2. Rememberthat the Spirit of Christ is yours. Say not that you are unequal
to the work (Philippians 4:13).
3. When calledto endure suffering and death, shrink not as though they were
tokens of God's displeasure, but rather be comforted that herein you are
calledto share the sufferings of your Lord, and to further His redeeming
work (Philippians 3:10, 11).
4. And bear in mind that the state of suffering on accountof sin is but for a
time (Romans 6:5 Timothy 11, 12).
(W. Tyson.)
Christ in believers
I. THE SUPPOSITION. "IfChrist be in you" (2 Corinthians 13:5; Colossians
1:27).
1. Christ is in us —(1) Objectively. As the things we think of and love are in
our hearts and minds, so Christ is in us, as He is apprehended and embraced
by faith and love (Ephesians 3:17; 1 John 4:18).(2) Effectively. So Christ is in
us by His Spirit and gracious influence. Now, the effects ofHis Spirit are —
(a)Life (Galatians 2:20).
(b)Likeness or renovation of our natures (Galatians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
(c)Strength by the continued influence of His grace to overcome temptation (1
John 4:4; Philippians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Hebrews 13:21).
2. None are Christians but those who have Christ in them.(1) Becausewe must
be partakers of Christ before we can be partakers ofany benefit purchasedby
Him (1 John 5:12).(2) Where Christ once enters, there He takes up His abode,

not to depart thence (1 John 3:24; John 14:28;John 15:5).(3) Where Christ is,
He rules and reigns (Colossians 2:6).
II. THE CONCESSION. "The body is dead because ofsin." Because —
1. The sentence is passed(Genesis 2:17;Hebrews 9:27). As we say of a
condemned man, he is a dead man.
2. Sin is the cause ofdeath.(1) The meritorious cause. Deathis not a natural
accident, but a punishment; we die not as the beasts die, or as the plants decay
(chap. Romans 5:12; 6:23). Sin procured it, and the law ratifies it. As regards
the faithful, though their sins be forgiven, yet God would leave this mark of
His displeasure and teach the world the sure connectionbetweendeath and
sin.(2) Its end and use.
(a)To finish transgressionand make an end of sin.
(b)To free us from the natural infirmities which render us incapable of that
happy life in heaven which is intended for us.(3) Had it not been for sin, we
had never had cause to fear dissolution.
III. THE ASSERTION OR CORRECTION, "The Spirit is life because of
righteousness."In which observe —
1. That believers have a life, notwithstanding death (John 11:25). Though the
union betweenbody and soul be dissolved, yet not their union with God.
2. This life is to be understood of body and soul (ver. 11).(1)The soul, being
the noblestpart, is most happily provided for; being purified from all her
imperfections, is brought into the sight and presence ofGod (Luke 20:38;
Hebrews 12:23).(2)At the resurrectionthe soul shall assume its body again
(Philippians 3:21; John 6:40).
3. The grounds are —(1) The Spirit is life. He doth not draw His argument
from the immortality of the soul, for that is common to goodand bad; but
from the new life wrought in us by the Spirit, which is the beginning and
earnestof a blessedimmortality (1 John 3:15; 1 Peter1:28).(2) The
meritorious cause is the righteousness ofChrist. When once forgiven, we are

out of the reach of the seconddeath (1 Corinthians 15:56;Hebrews 2:14,
15).Conclusion:To enforce the greatthings of Christianity.
1. To live holily.(1) The comforts of Christianity are not common to all
indifferently, but suspendedon this condition, "if Christ be in you," by His
sanctifying Spirit (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Corinthians 5:5).(2) From the concession,
"the body is dead"; sentence is passed, and in part executed; this awakeneth
us to think of another world, and to make serious preparation (Romans 6:12;
Galatians 6:8).(3) The corrective assertionthat there is the life promised for
body and soul, breedeth the true spirit of faith (2 Corinthians 4:13, 14), true
diligence and godliness (1 Corinthians 15:58), and patience (Romans 2:7).(4)
It is the effectboth of the Spirit's renewing, and the righteousness ofChrist.
2. To die comfortably. Christianity affordeth the proper comfort against
death, as it is a natural and penal evil (Hebrews 9:27). Heathens could only
teachthem to submit to it out of necessity, or as a debt to nature, or an end of
the presentmiseries; but for us the sting of it is gone (1 Corinthians 15:56)
and the property is altered(1 Corinthians 3:22).
(T. Manton, D. D.)
True life
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. ITS EFFICIENT CAUSE — Christ in you.
II. ITS DEVELOPMENT.
1. The body dies, through sin, preparatory to life.
2. The spirit lives, through righteousness, as the earnestof a better life.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
Christ our life

J. Lyth, D. D.
He dwells in us.
I. AS THE SOURCE OF LIFE.
1. By faith.
2. In the powerof His Word and Spirit.
3. Producing a new birth unto righteousness.
II. AS THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.
1. Quickening.
2. Sanctifying.
3. Invigorating the soul.
4. By righteousness.
III. AS THE EARNEST OF LIFE.
1. The body is mortal through sin.
2. Shall be raised again in glory.
3. By the same Spirit that now dwelleth in us.
4. By whom also Christ was raisedfrom the dead.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
Body and spirit
T. G. Horton.
A gifted poet (Rev. W. Calvert) has feigned a most instructive allegory, to
illustrate the connection and history of the body and soul, with respectto the
Christian believer. He calls the soul Psyche, and the body Sarx, which are the
proper terms in the Greek. These two startforth togetheron the pilgrimage of

life. At the outset of their journey both are equally small, infantile, and feeble.
Ere long, however, it is seenthat Sarx grows fasterthan his more delicate
companion, and begins to exercise anascendencyoverher. Alas! if she were
abandoned to his tyranny, she would in time be reduced to the most abject
slavery, and finally sink with her despotic lord into the abyss of eternal woe.
But the discordant pilgrims are met by a radiant stranger, Christ the Lord.
To Him Psyche lends a charmed ear, as He tells her of her heavenly parentage
and immortal destiny, and bids her take up arms againsther coarse andcruel
master, nor rest till she has brought him down to his proper position as her
slave. It is only by subjecting him that she can either secure her own freedom
or fit him for being her equal and honoured companion hereafter. Fired by
the Lord's exhortations, and assistedby His prowess, Psycheasserts her
liberty, assumes superiority, and attempts the subjugation of the flesh. When
symptoms of this change appear, Sarx, like an insolent giant, is first
disdainful, then indignant, and finally takes up cudgels againsthis fair
companion. This oppositioncalls forth all her strength, and, aided by her
Saviour, she at length obtains the victory, binds the strong man with cords
and fetters, and compels him to follow her footsteps, obedientto her pleasure.
Many a treacherous effort doth he make, if Psyche remits her watchfulness
and care, to regainhis forfeited dominion; but, by the grace ofChrist, she
maintains her headship, waxing strongerand stronger as the pilgrimage
advances, until at its close she seems endowedwith the might of an angel,
while her vanquished companion has sunk into the imbecility of an infant.
Thus, though the "outward man perish," "the inward man is renewedday by
day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). A little longer, the day of trial closes,and their
pilgrimage comes to an end. Sarx, exhausted, sinks on the cold strand and
dies; while Psyche, releasedand happy, passeson, to cross the silver stream
and enter the flowery land beyond. Yet is not her former companion
forgotten. The Lord hath marked the spot where he fell, and will return again,
at the lastday, to bid him rise from the dust, and rejoin the glorified Psyche in
the skies.
(T. G. Horton.)

The body dead because ofsin
T. Chalmers, D. D.
The work of the Spirit in us does not pour the elixir of immortality into the
material frame, howevermuch it may strengthen and prepare the
imperishable spirit for its immortal well-being. After Christ hath made a
temple of our body, there remaineth a virus in the fabric that sooneror later
will work its dissolution. Were the body, by some preternatural operation, to
be wholly delivered of its corrupt ingredient, we do not understand why death
should interpose betweenour earthly and heavenly state ever. And
accordingly, on nature's dissolution, they who remain alive must, to become
incorruptible, at leastbe changed. And the reasonwhy those in whom Christ
dwells have still a death to undergo, is that sin still adheres to them — and the
wearing down of the body by disease,and the mouldering of it into dust, and
then its re-ascentfrom the grave — would appear to be the steps of a refining
process, wherebythe now vile body is changedinto a glorious one — the soul's
suitable equipment for the delights and the services ofeternity. Fordeath, in
the case ofChristians, cannot surely be because of the judicial sentence on
transgression;for those who believe in Christ are delivered from this (ver. 1).
It cannot be that by any death of ours we eke out, as it were, the satisfaction
which hath been already rendered for sin. A believer's death, then, must be to
root out the existence ofsin. It is not inflicted upon him as the last discharge of
the wrath of God, but is sentas a release fromthe plague which adheres, it
would seem, as long as the body adheres to us. Now this fact that the body is
still subjectedto death because ofsin is the strongestexperimental argument
for heavenbeing a place to which sin canfind no entry. It is not in the way of
penalty that the Christian has to die — for the whole of that penalty has
already been sustained. It is not exactedfrom him as the payment of a debt —
for Christ our surety hath paid a full and a satisfying ransom. It is not to help
out the justification which is already complete in Him, nor to remove a flaw
from that title deed which we have receivedperfectfrom His hand. It stands
connected, in short, with the sanctificationof the believer. The justice of God
would have recoiledfrom the acceptanceofa sinner, and so an expiation had
to be made; and the holiness of that place where God dwelleth would have
recoiledfrom the approaches ofone whose characterwas still tainted with sin,

even though its guilt had been expiated; and so it is, that there must be a
sanctificationas well as an atonement. Forthe one, Christ had to suffer and to
die; for the other, man has also to die, and so to fill up that Which is behind of
the sufferings of Christ. And it is indeed a most emphatic demonstrationof
heaven's sacredness, that, to protect its courts from violation, not even the
most pure and sainted Christian upon earth, can, in his present earthly garb,
find admittance therein.
(T. Chalmers, D. D.)
The doom and destiny of the body
T. G. Horton.
I. THE MORTALDOOM OF THE FLESH. "The body is dead because of
sin."
1. The fact is that Christians die even as others. If Christians were not to die,
as other men, what else could be done with them?(1) Imagine the wicked
dying at various ages and in the usual way, while the holy lingered on to
extreme old age, waiting for the consummation of all things — what then?
Why, this detention would be an unutterable disappointment and torture.
They wish not to live here always. Whenthey have filled up the ordinary term
of human life they have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far
better. Betterby far, that, having served their generationaccording to the will
of God, they should fall on sleep; that, like a shock ofcorn fully ripe, they
should be gatheredinto the Master's garner. Besides, so markeda departure
from the law of mortality, in favour of believers, would destroy the essential
conditions of our presentlife as a probation for eternity. How could we be said
to walk by faith, and not by sight, when we beheld the way in which religion
suspended the laws of nature, and placed a most conspicuous difference
betweenthe evil and the good?(2)Look, then, at the alternative. Suppose that
every believer might expect a miraculous translation like that of Enoch and
Elijah; then, plainly, such a translationmust be accompaniedby a
transformation as well, for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of

God; and such a transformation will take effecton those who are alive at
Christ's coming (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). But now such a procedure would be
highly impolitic and injurious, for it would constitute a perpetually recurring
miracle, and destroy the probationary characterof man's careeron earth.
Beliefin Christianity would then be inevitable, and unbelief impossible.
2. The reasonis assigned — "becauseofsin."(1)Our death, like that of other
men, is a mark or expressionof God's angerat sin; and we are forcibly taught
by it how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. It was
just in this way that Moses was treated;when, though his sin was forgiven, he
was still prevented by it from entering the promised land.(2) Deathmay
possibly stand connectedwith some specialsin. John speaks ofa sin unto
death; that is, a sin which, though forgiven, demands that our fleshly life
should be required of us.(3) We may regardsin as intimately connectedwith
the body; so much so as to render it doubtful whether any believer ever
wholly escapes fromits virus and contamination so long as he remains in the
flesh; and therefore it is better for this tabernacle to be taken down, like an
old Hebrew house incurably infected with the leprosy, and destroyedbecause
of sin.
II. ITS EVENTUAL RESUSCITATION AND RECOVERY(ver. 11). The
doctrine of the resurrectionis peculiar to the Bible. The peculiarity to be
observedis that here our resurrectionis ascribedto the operationof the Holy
Ghost, and also to the Father. Jesus Himself claims to be "the resurrection
and the life." All that is done by any one of the adorable Trinity may, in some
sense, be said to be done by the others as well; for Father, Son, and Holy
Ghostare one. But still there is a reasonwhy the resurrectionis here ascribed
to the Spirit. The Holy Ghostis the giver of life to the soul of the believer; and
the same Spirit, who is the author of our holiness, is also to be the resuscitator
of our lowernature. Hence, we learn the connectionthere is betweenpresent
holiness and future glory. As sin is the defilement of the flesh, and occasions
its consignment to decayand corruption, so holiness sanctifies the flesh, and
tends to its conservationand incorruption. The body may be temporarily
dissolved, but it is not to be lastingly destroyed. Therefore the surest pledge
you canhave of a joyful resurrectionis the conscious possessionofthe Spirit
of holiness now. Conclusion:

1. If the body be dead because ofsin, let us keepit in subjection.
2. Yet, if this body is to rise againby virtue of the Spirit dwelling in it, let us
not despise it.
3. Let us have patience under bodily affliction and submission in death.
4. Let us, while seeking to live as long as we can, be also willing, at God's
behest, to die and lay this body down.
(T. G. Horton.)
The Christian aspectof death
P. Strutt.
I. ITS PRESENT LIMIT.
1. It is associatedwith a moral cause as its explanation. The death of the body,
apart from the gospel, couldbe accountedfor only by causes suchas a
physician could furnish. Its greatlessonwould, however, thus be lost. To the
heathen death was a gloomy necessity, andits only lessonwas that men should
seize the joys of the passing hour. The gospelassociatesdeathwith sin, and its
removal with the removal of sin. It is intended as a witness for God that sin is
an evil thing.
2. Deathin the case ofbelievers is limited to the body. There are three classes
of death. Spiritual death, which has ceasedto exist in the believer. "To be
spiritually minded is life." Eternal death, which has been abolished by Christ.
"He that believeth on Me shall never die." Bodily death, from which believers
are not exempt; but it is limited to the lowestpart of our nature. The body is
indeed dead, but the spirit is life.
3. Deathin this limited dominion is associatedwith the believer's welfare.
Why does Paul say, "because ofsin"? Is it that there is some remainder of
condemnation for sin which is still to be executedon the believer himself? If
so, how can it be said, "There is now no condemnation"? If it be in wrath,
why does the apostle say, "All things are yours, whether life or death"? "The

body is dead because ofsin," in mercy. It shall work good. It shall be a process
of refinement, a furnace for gold. Let the captive of sin be redeemed, and the
hand of death shall take off his prison dress, and he shall be clothed upon with
his house which is from heaven.
4. Death, thus confined to a narrowed dominion, and even then made
subservient to our good, is altogethersubservientto the higher powerwhich
occupies the centre of our being. Deathhas been forcedout of the metropolis
of his empire, and now "the spirit is life because ofrighteousness."(1)As its
cause, whenrighteousness worksand produces this life, viz., "the
righteousness offaith." "He that believeth in Him hath everlasting life."(2)As
its end. "That, being made free from sin, we might have our fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life."
(P. Strutt.)
The blessedexperience and hope of a true Christian
I. WHAT IS THE RELIGION OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN?
1. It does not chiefly consist —
(1)In any opinions which he may embrace, howeverscriptural and correct.
(2)In any modes or forms of piety, howeverexcellent.
(3)In preserving an inoffensive and blameless conductbefore men.
(4)In what are termed good works, whetherdone to the bodies or souls of
men.
2. But in being "in Christ," and having "Christ in him." These two phrases
are not quite synonymous, yet they imply eachother, and cannotbe separated
(John 14:20).(1)The former is used in Romans 8:1; Romans 16:7; 1
Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:14;Revelation14:13.
It implies —
(a)Having an interest in Him, as a woman in her husband (Romans 7:4).

(b)Union with Him, as a branch with the tree in which it grows.
(c)Or a member with the head of the body to which it belongs.(2)The other
implies that Christ is in us, as the leaven in the meal, the sap of the root in the
branch, as the light of the sun in the air, as the heatof the fire in the coalor
the iron. He is in us —(a) As our wisdom, enlightening us in the knowledge of
God and ourselves, so as to produce repentance;and of Christ, so as to beget
confidence (chap. Romans 15:12;Ephesians 1:12, 13) and love.(b) As our
righteousness, producing justification, peace with God, and a hope of
immortality.(c) As our sanctification, delivering us from the power, and, at
length, from the whole influence of sin, consecrating us to God, and
conforming us to His image.(d) As our redemption, that having redeemed our
whole persons by price, He may rescue all by power.(3)Christ is thus "formed
in us." On our part, by faith (John 17:20-23;Galatians 2:20;Ephesians 3:17),
and on the part of God by His Spirit (John 14:20; 1 John 3:24; Romans 8:8,
9).
II. THIS RELIGION, AT PRESENT,PRODUCES NO MATERIAL
CHANGE IN THE BODY, WHICH STILL REMAINS "DEAD BECAUSE
OF SIN."
1. The body is under sentence to die (Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 9:27).(1) It is in
its own nature mortal, having all the seeds ofdissolution, bringing upon us old
age and death, even if particular diseasesshould be escaped.(2)It is
encompassedwith infirmities and exposedto diseases.(3)It is a constantclog
to the soul, impeding its motions and preventing its activity. Hence we "groan,
being burdened" (2 Corinthians 5:4).
2. All this is because ofsin; the sin of our first parents (Romans 5:12), being
seminally one with them, or through the derivation of our nature from them,
just as Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec in Abraham (Hebrews 7:9, 10); besides
which we have committed actualsins, the wages ofwhich are death (Romans
6:23).
3. Here we have the true reasonwhy "the world knoweth us not" as being the
children of God. They only judge by appearance, andhence they conclude

that all that is said of Christians as having the Spirit of God, and being new
creatures, is mere enthusiasm. For they have no idea of any spiritual change.
III. THIS RELIGION PRODUCESA BLESSED CHANGE IN THE INNER
MAN. "The Spirit is life because ofrighteousness,"in which clause the
opposition to the former is three fold: spirit is opposedto body, life to death,
and righteousness to sin.
1. Man consists ofa soul as well as a body, which soul will live when the body
dies.
2. This spiritual part is by nature involved in moral death (Ephesians 2:1-5;
Colossians 2:13), under wrath (Ephesians 4:18), and "carnallyminded"
(Romans 8:6). But by "Christ in it" it is made alive from this death (Romans
6:13). Christians live by Him, through His influence; to Him, in fulfilling His
will; like Him, a wise, holy, useful, happy life.
3. This spiritual life they have "because of," orthrough, "righteousness"
(John 20:31; John 6:53, 57; John 11:25, 26; Galatians 2:20). Through
justifying righteousness they have the favour of God, through sanctifying
righteousness theyhave the image of God; through practicalrighteousness, or
obedience, they walk with God, and obtain more and more of a spiritual mind.
Through the same righteousness theyhave eternal life. Through their
justification they are entitled to it; through their sanctification they are tilted
for it; through practicalobedience they are in the way to it; and through faith
(Hebrews 11:1) they have an earnestof it (John 6:47). Happiness is indeed the
result of the whole. Justification, and the favour of God, bring peace, hope,
and joy; sanctificationbrings deliverance from restless anddistressing lusts
and passions;practicalrighteousness brings the approbation of God, and the
testimony of a goodconscience.
IV. THIS RELIGION WILL HEREAFTER PRODUCE, OR BE
REWARDED WITH, A MOST IMPORTANT CHANGE, EVEN OF THE
OUTWARD MAN. For "if the Spirit of Him that raised," etc. Not only is
immortality implied, but this mortal body also shall be quickened. The bodies
of all, indeed, will rise from their graves (John 5:28, 29), but the righteous
only to what is worthy the name of life. For this we have Christ's promise

(John 6:39-44, 54), of which we have pledges in His resurrection(1
Corinthians 15:12-20)and His Spirit's indwelling. The mortal body shall be
quickened.
1. That we may be judged in the body for "the deeds done in the body."
2. That the children of the greatKing, and the brethren and sisters of the Son
of God, may not be found naked, but clothed with an external glory, exactly
answering to, and perfectly descriptive of, their internal graces andvirtues.
3. That we may be conformable to the Lord Jesus, in body as well as soul, and
so fit to dwell with Him (1 Corinthians 15:47-49).
4. In honour of the Holy Spirit, whose temples our bodies now are.
5. That our triumph overSatan may be perfectly complete, no part of us being
lost.
6. And with respectto all, that we may rise higher from the ruins of the fall
than the state we had been in before (1 Corinthians 15:36-38, 42-44).
(J. Benson.)
Believers not subject to spiritual death
Thomas Horton, D. D.
For the first, to wit, the evil itself, that is here expressedto be mortality or
bodily death, the body is dead. Dead — that is, subject to death. This is the
state of the body, and even in the servants of God themselves, in whom Christ
Himself dwells by His Spirit, are subject to death as wellas others. The bodies
of Christians are frail and mortal as well as the bodies of any other men. This
is grounded partly upon the generalsentence which is passedupon all men
(Hebrews 9:27). And partly also upon those frail principles whereofthe godly
themselves do consistin their natural condition. It is no wonderfor dust to
return to dust. First, to teachus to be frequently in the thoughts and
meditations hereof, we should look upon our bodies as mortal and corruptible,
even the bestthat are here in this world. That they have this treasure in

earthen vessels.Secondly, we should hence be persuadedagainstall inordinate
care of the body, pampering of it, and glorying in the excellenciesand
accomplishments of it; for, alas!it will quickly be dissolved and lie in the dust.
Thirdly, let us not from hence be offended at the troubles of the children of
God here in this life, that they are in deaths oft. While their bodies are subject
to death, it is no marvel that their lives are also subjectto affliction. Though
Christ be in you, yet the body which you carry about you is dead. And that is
the first particular here considerable, whichis the evil itself. The secondis the
occasionofthis evil, or the ground whereupon it proceeds, and that is guilt.
The body is dead because ofsin (Romans 5:12). It is sin which exposes allmen,
both goodand bad, to the stroke of death. First, take it remotely, because of
sin; that is, of the first sin and transgressionthat was in the world. Secondly,
because ofsin; that is, because of actualsin, and sin consideredmore
immediately and proximately. There is a double influence which sin may be
said to have upon death as causalof it. First, it hath sometimes, and in some
casesand persons, a physical and productive influence upon it, as immediately
and directly effecting it, and bringing it about. There are abundance of
persons in the world whose very sins are their death by their luxury, and
wantonness, andintemperance — "the body is dead because ofsin." But
secondly, it is always so in a moral, and considereddemeritoriously. So that
whereverthere is death there is sin antecedentto it. The considerationof this
point may be thus far useful to us, as it may serve, first, to convince us of the
grievous nature of sin, and to humble us under the guilt and sense ofit, as
being that which brings so much evil and mischief with it, as consequentupon
it. And if we are not sensible of it as it is an offence and dishonour to God, yet
let us at leastbe sensible of it as it is a grievance and annoyance to ourselves,
and occasionsthe greatestevilto us of anything else. And so let us learn to
justify Godin His dealings with us, and to condemn ourselves as the causes of
our own suffering. The secondis the qualification, "But the Spirit is life
because ofrighteousness."Wherein, as in the former, we have two particulars
more. First, the benefit itself; and secondly, the ground of this benefit. First,
for the benefit itself, "The Spirit is life." This, it is life, or lives (as some
translations carry it), namely, the life of grace here, and the life of glory
hereafter. This is the meaning of the words. And the point which we learn
from them is this — that God's children, although they be mortal, in regard of

their bodies, yet they are in a state of immortality in regard of their souls:
"The Spirit is life." While we say that God's children do live in regard of their
souls, this is not to be takenexclusively, but rather emphatically; not
exclusively, as denying the immortality of the souls of other men, but
emphatically, as fastening a specialimmortality upon these. But now when it
is said here in the text that the souls of God's children live, we are to take it in
a two-fold explication. First, for the life of grace. Theylive such a life as this
even when their bodies are in a manner dead, that is, subject or near unto it.
"The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). There may be a lively and
vigorous soul in a withered and decayedbody. Then when the flesh is ready to
perish, yet the spirit may flourish (2 Corinthians 4:17). This is so upon this
account— first, because they are lives of a severalnature and kind. Now thus
it is with the flesh and the spirit, with the body and the soul, the life of nature
and the life of grace. These are lives of a different kind, and so they do not
mutually depend one upon the other. These things which are hurtful to the
one, they do not prejudice the other. Secondly, there is this also in it, that the
goodof one is sometimes so much the more advancedand promoted by the
prejudice of the other. Those who are always welland in health, they do for
the most part little consider of their latter end, neither are they so careful to
provide for a better world; whereas those who are sick, they are often put
upon such thoughts as these are. Those tenants who have often warning given
them to depart out of their house, they are careful to provide themselves a
dwelling somewhere else. The considerationofthis point may be thus far
useful to us. First, as it may serve for an encouragementto the children of
God in the midst of all those bodily infirmities which they are subject to here
in this life. What though their bodies decay, yet their souls and spirits may
live; and this is that which is chiefly to be lookedafter by them. There are a
goodmany people in the world whose care is all takenup about their outward
man. Secondly, here is that also which calls us to searchand self-inquiry. And
whether does sicknessand weaknessand diseasesand distempers of body
make us better or no in our spirits and inward man? The secondis the life of
glory. The Spirit is life — that is, it lives such a life as this. This is grounded
not only upon the nature of the soulitself, which cannotdie, but more
especiallyupon the decree and purpose and promise of God Himself, who
hath appointed us to obtain salvationby Jesus Christ, as the apostle elsewhere

speaks. The use of this point is very comfortable againstthe inordinate fear of
death. And so as for death in any other way whatsoever, here is that which
does serve very much to mollify and mitigate it to them, and the thoughts of it
either as to their own particular persons or to their Christian friends dying in
the Lord. That though it be a privation of one life, yet it is a promotion of
another; and though it separatesthe soulfrom the body, and other friends
here below in the world, yet it joins it so much the closer to Christ, and makes
them partakers of a better estate and condition in a better place. If Christ be
in them, though the body be dead, yet the Spirit is life. And that is the first
particular which is here observable and considerable ofus in this second
general, to wit, the benefit itself. The secondis the ground of this benefit, and
that is expressedin these words, "Because ofrighteousness."We are to
understand two things, either first of all the righteousness ofChrist imputed,
which gives us a right and title to salvation;or else, secondly, inherent
righteousness, as a condition required in that subject which shall indeed be
saved: in either sense it is because of righteousness.This shows us, first, what
greatcause we have, all that may be, to labour to getinto Christ, and to
endeavour to become members of His body, that so, partaking of His
righteousness, we may consequentlypartake of His salvationand of eternal
life itself. Secondly, seeing our souls came to live by virtue of the righteousness
of Christ, meriting and procuring at the hands of God this life for us, this,
then, shows us how for we are indeed beholden to Christ, and what cause we
have to be thankful to Him, even as much as to one who has redeemedus from
death itself and hath bestowedlife upon us. And so now, according to this
interpretation of the words, we have here in this present verse setforth unto
us the admirable effects ofthe being of Christ in believers, and that in two
points especially. First, in point of mortification, there is a killing of sin in
them; the body is dead because ofsin. Secondly, in point of vivification, grace
is alive and active in them. The Spirit is life because ofrighteousness. The
ground hereofis taken, first, from the nature of all life in general, whichis to
be operative and active. Secondly, from the end of spiritual life in particular,
which is especiallyto serve God.
(Thomas Horton, D. D.)

Deliveredfrom sin rather than from its natural consequen
ces:— Some of the hardest burdens which men bear are the consequencesof
their past weaknessesand sins. There is a certaindeep and lasting satisfaction
in making expiation for one's offences, and in recognising in one's own soul
the evidences ofa genuine sorrow;but when the sin, insteadof retreating into
the background, walks with us day by day in its effects and results, there are
times when the bravest spirit grows faint and discouragedin such
companionship. One feels in such moments as if the sin ought to be blotted out
in its material effects as truly as in its spiritual results. But this cannot be. No
such promise is anywhere to be found in the revelation of God's purpose to
men. We are delivered from our sins, and that is matter for deep and eternal
rejoicing;but we are not and cannot be delivered wholly from the
consequenceso!our sins. Those offences have become operative causesin the
universal order of things, and we must stand by and see results flow from
them, no matter how agonising the spectaclemay be. But this experience,
though often intensely painful, ought not to be crushing; it is from our sins
and not from their effects that we care most to be delivered. That deliverance
is for eternity; the effects are for time only. But there is in the immutability of
the law which preserves the evil that men do in life a sublime and awful
vindication of the steadfastnessand eternal justice of Him who forgiveth our
iniquities — who has, in fact, borne them. Once forgiven for Christ's sake,
these iniquities are washedcleanfrom the soul; but there is constantneed that
he who has gone through this ordealshall see clearlythe awful crime of
offending againstthe laws of life, and that he shall be accompanied
perpetually by the witnesses to this greattruth. When the consequencesof
former weaknessesandsins, accompanying us year after year, become to us,
not avenging Furies, but angels ofDivine justice, this companionship will not
dismay us, but will serve as a new inspiration. One may make, even of the
consequencesofhis sins, sources ofstrength rather than of weakness. He who
accepts these things as the inevitable results of his own action, and recognises
in them the working of an immutable and righteous law, will be kept humble
by them, will be restrained from other departures from rectitude, and will
draw from their companionship a deeper and deepersense of that misery

from which he has escaped, and of the permanent joy and peace into which he
has entered."
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(10) The results of the presence ofChrist in the soul.
The body is dead because ofsin.—Here the word is evidently used of physical
death. The doom entailed by sin still, indeed, attaches to the body—but only to
the body. The body, indeed, must die, but there the hold of sin upon the
Christian ends; it cannottouch him farther.
The Spirit is life because ofrighteousness.—Butturn to another side of human
nature; take it in its highest part and faculty—the spirit. That is full of vitality
because it is full of righteousness, firstimputed and then real. Life and
righteousness are correlative terms, the one involving the other.
BensonCommentary
Romans 8:10-11. And if Christ be in you — Namely, by his Spirit dwelling in
you: where the Spirit of Christ is, there is Christ: the body is dead — Το μεν
σωμα νεκρον, the body indeed is dead, devoted to death; for our belonging to
Christ, or having Christ in us, does not exempt the body from undergoing the
sentence ofdeath passedon all mankind; because ofsin — Heretofore
committed; especiallythe sin of Adam, by which death entered into the world,
and the sinful nature derived from him; but the Spirit is life — The soulis
quickened and made alive to God; and shall, after the death of the body,
continue living, active, and happy; because ofrighteousness — Now attained
through the secondAdam, the Lord our righteousness.But — Rather, and,
for the apostle proceeds to speak of a further blessing;as if he had said, If you
have Christ in you, not only shall your souls live after the death of the body in

felicity and glory, but your bodies also shall rise to share therein; for we have
this further joyful hope, that if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus — Our
greatcovenanthead; from the dead, dwell in you; he — God the Father;that
raisedup Christ from the dead — The first-fruits of them that sleep;shall also
quicken your mortal bodies — Though corrupted and consumedin the grave;
by his Spirit — Or on accountof his Spirit; which dwelleth in you — And now
communicates divine life to your souls, and creates themanew.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
8:10-17 If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith.
Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its
holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness ofChrist
imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how
much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If any
habitually live according to corrupt lustings, they will certainly perish in their
sins, whatever they profess. And what can a worldly life present, worthy for a
moment to be put againstthis noble prize of our high calling? Let us then, by
the Spirit, endeavourmore and more to mortify the flesh. Regenerationby the
Holy Spirit brings a new and Divine life to the soul, though in a feeble state.
And the sons of God have the Spirit to work in them the disposition of
children; they have not the spirit of bondage, which the Old Testamentchurch
was under, through the darkness of that dispensation. The Spirit of adoption
was not then plentifully poured out. Also it refers to that spirit of bondage,
under which many saints were at their conversion. Many speak peaceto
themselves, to whom God does not speak peace.But those who are sanctified,
have God's Spirit witnessing with their spirits, in and by his speaking peace to
the soul. Though we may now seemto be losers for Christ, we shall not, we
cannot, be losers by him in the end.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And if Christ be in you - This is evidently a figurative expression, where the
word "Christ" is used to denote his spirit, his principles; that is, he influences
the man. Literally, he cannot be in a Christian; but the close connection
betweenhim and Christians, and the fact that they are entirely under his

influence, is expressedby this strong figurative language. It is language which
is not infrequently used; compare Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27.
(The union betweenChrist and his people is sometimes explained of a merely
relative in opposition to a real union. The union which subsists betweena
substitute, or surety, and the persons in whose room he has placedhimself, is
frequently offeredin explanation of the Scripture language on the subject. In
this view, Christ is regardedas legallyone with his people, inasmuch, as what
he has done or obtained, is held as done and obtained by them. Another
relative union, employed to illustrate that which subsists betweenChrist and
believers, is the union of a chief and his followers, which is simply a union of
design, interest, sentiment, affection, destiny, etc. Now these representations
are true so far as they go; and furnish much interesting and profitable
illustration. They fall short, however, of the full sense of Scripture on the
point. That there is a real or vital union betweenChrist and his people,
appears from the language ofthe inspired writers in regardto it.
The specialphraseologywhichthey employ, cannot well be explained of any
relative union At all events, it is as strong as they could have employed, on the
supposition, that they had wished to convey the idea of the most intimate
possible connection. Christ is said to be "in them," and they are represented
as "in him." He "abides in them, and they in him." They "dwelt" in each
other; John 14:20;John 15:4; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:12. Moreover, the
Scripture illustrations of the subject furnish evidence to the same effect. The
mystical union, as it has been called, is compared to the union of stones in a
building, branches in a vine, members in a human body, and even to what
subsists betweenthe Fatherand the Son; 1 Peter 2:4; Ephesians 2:20,
Ephesians 2:22; John 15:1-8; 1Co. 12:12-31;John 17:20-23. Now ifall these
are realunions, is not this union real also? If not, where is the propriety or
justice of the comparisons? Insteadof leading us to form accurate notions on
the subject, they would seemcalculatedto mislead.
This real and vital union is formed by the one Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit
pervading the Head and the members of the mystical body; 1 Corinthians
6:17; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:13. It is true, indeed, that the
essentialpresence ofChrist's Spirit is everywhere, but he is presentin Christ's

members, in a specialway, as the fountain of spiritual influence. This spiritual
presence, whichis the bond of union, is manifested immediately upon a man's
receptionof Christ by faith. From that hour he is one with Christ, because the
same Spirit lives in both. Indeed this union is the foundation of all the relative
unions which have been employed to illustrate the subject;without it, we
could have no saving relation to Christ whatever. That it is mysterious cannot
be denied. The apostle himself affirms as much, Ephesians 5:32; Colossians
1:27. Although we know the fact, we cannot explain the manner of it, but must
not on this accountrejectit, any more than we would the doctrine of the
Spirit's essentialpresence, becausewe do not understand it.)
The body is dead - This passagehas been interpreted in very different ways.
Some understand it to mean that the body is dead in respectto sin; that is,
that sin has no more powerto excite evil passions and desires;others, that the
body must die on accountof sin but that the spiritual part shall live, and even
the body shall live also in the resurrection. Thus, Calvin, Beza, and Augustine.
Doddridge understands it thus: Though the body is to die on accountof the
first sin that entered into the world, yet the spirit is life, and shall continue to
live on forever, through that righteousness whichthe secondAdam has
introduced." To eachof these interpretations there are serious objections,
which it is not necessaryto urge. I understand the passagein the following
manner: The body refers to that of which the apostle had said so much in the
previous chapters - the flesh, the man before conversion. It is subject to
corrupt passions and desires, and may be said thus to be dead, as it has none
of the elements of spiritual life. It is under the reign of sin and death. The
word μέν men, indeed, or truly, has been omitted in our translation, and the
omissionhas obscuredthe sense. The expressionis an admissionof the
apostle, or a summary statement of what had before been shown. "It is to be
admitted, indeed, or it is true, that the unrenewednature, the man before
conversion, under the influence of the flesh, is spiritually dead. Sin has its seat
in the fleshly appetites; and the whole body may be admitted thus to be dead
or corrupt."
Becauseofsin - Through sin δἰ ἁμαρτία di' hamartia; by means of sinful
passions and appetites.

But the spirit - This stands opposedto the body; and it means that the soul,
the immortal part, the renovated man, was alive, or was under the influence
of living principles. It was imbued with the life which the gospelimparts and
had become active in the service of God. The word "spirit" here does not refer
to the Holy Spirit, but to the spirit of man, the immortal part, recovered,
renewed, and imbued with life under the gospel.
Becauseofrighteousness - Through righteousness διὰ δικαιοσύνην dia
dikaiosunēn. This is commonly interpreted to mean, with reference to
righteousness, orthat it may become righteous. But I understand the
expressionto be used in the sense in which the word is so frequently used in
this Epistle, as denoting God's plan of justification; see the note at Romans
1:17. "The spirit of man has been recoveredand made alive through his plan
of justification. It communicates life, and recovers man from his death in sin
to life."
The "body" in this passagehas generallybeen understoodin the literal sense,
which, doubtless, ought not to be rejectedwithout some valid reason. There is
nothing in the connectionthat demands the figurative sense. The apostle
admits that, notwithstanding of the indwelling of the Spirit, the body must die.
"It indeed (μεν men ) is dead because ofsin." The believer is not delivered
from temporal death. Yet there are two things which may well reconcile him
to the idea of laying aside for a while the clay tabernacle. The "mortal body,"
though it now die, is not destined to remain foreverunder the dominion of
death, but shall be raisedagain incorruptible and glorious, by the powerof
the same Spirit that raisedup Jesus from the dead. Meanwhile, "the spirit, or
soul, is life, because ofrighteousness."In consequence ofthat immaculate
righteousness, ofwhich Paul had had said so much in the previous part of this
Epistle, the souls of believers, even now, enjoy spiritual life, which shall issue
in eternal life and glory.
Those who understand σῶμα sōma figuratively in the 10th verse, insist,
indeed, that the resurrectionin the 11th, is figurative also. But "the best
commentators" says Bloomfield, "both ancient and modern, with reason
prefer the literal view, especiallyon accountof the phrase θνητα thnēta
σῶματα sōmata which seems to confine it to this sense.")

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
10, 11. And if Christ be in you—by His indwelling Spirit in virtue of which we
have one life with him.
the body—"the body indeed."
is dead because of—"byreasonof"
sin; but the spirit is life because—or, "byreason"
of righteousness—The word"indeed," which the original requires, is of the
nature of a concession—"Igrantyou that the body is dead … and so far
redemption is incomplete, but," &c.; that is, "If Christ be in you by His
indwelling Spirit, though your 'bodies' have to pass through the stage of
'death' in consequence ofthe first Adam's 'sin,' your spirit is instinct with new
and undying 'life,' brought in by the 'righteousness'ofthe secondAdam"
[Tholuck, Meyer, and Alford in part, but only Hodge entirely].
Matthew Poole's Commentary
If Christ be in you; before he said, the Spirit of God and Christ dwelt in them;
here, Christ himself. Christ dwells in believers by his Spirit.
The body is dead because ofsin: by body some understand the corrupt and
unregenerate part in the godly, as if that were as goodas dead in them. But
others take the word in its proper signification, and think no more is meant
thereby than that the bodies, even of believers, are mortal bodies;so they are
calledin the next verse:they are subject to death as the bodies of other men.
But the Spirit is life: some by Spirit here do understand the Spirit of God; and
he is life, that is, he will quicken and raise up your bodies againto an
immortal life.

Others by Spirit do understand the soul, yet not simply and absolutely
considered, but as renewedby grace;that is life, or that doth live; it lives a life
of grace here, and it shall live a life of glory hereafter.
Becauseofrighteousness;by righteousness here understand, either imputed
righteousness, whichgives us a right and title to salvation;or inherent
righteousness, whichis a necessarycondition required in every person that
shall indeed be saved. The sum is: If you be Christians indeed, though your
bodies die, ye; your souls shall live, and that for ever; and your dead bodies
shall not finally perish, but shall certainly be raisedagain;so it follows in the
next verse.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And if Christ be in you,.... Not as he is in the whole world, and in all his
creatures, orcircumscriptively, and to the exclusion of himself elsewhere;for
his personis above in heaven, his blood is within the vail, his righteousness is
upon his people, and his Spirit and grace are in them; and so he comes to be in
them, he is formed in their hearts by the Spirit of God in regeneration, when
the Fatherreveals him not only to them, but in them; and he himself enters
and takes possessionofthem as his own, manifests himself to them,
communicates his grace, and grants them communion with him. This being
their case,
the body is dead because ofsin: by which is meant, not the body of sin, though
this is calleda body, and a body of death, yet is not dead, much less is it so by
reasonof sin; but this fleshly body, because liable to afflictions, which are
calleddeaths, has the seeds ofmortality in it, and shall in a little time die,
notwithstanding the gift of it to Christ, though it is redeemed by his blood,
and united to him; the reasonof it is not merely the decree of God, nor does it
arise from the original constitution of the body, but sin is the true reasonof it,
sin originaland actual, indwelling sin, but not by way of punishment for it, for
Christ has bore that, death is one of the saints'privileges, it is for their good,
and therefore desired by them; but that they might be rid of it, and free from
all those troubles which are the consequencesofit:

but the spirit is life, because ofrighteousness;not the Spirit of God, who lives
in himself, is the author of life to others, of natural and spiritual life, continues
as a principle of life in the saints, is the pledge of everlasting life, and is so to
them because ofthe righteousness ofChrist nor grace, orthe new creature,
which is sometimes calledSpirit, and may be saidto be life, it lives unto
righteousness, andis owing to and supported by the righteousness ofthe Son
of God; but the soulof man is here meant, in opposition to the body, which is
of a spiritual nature, immaterial and immortal; and this may be saidin
believers to be life or live, for it not only lives naturally, but spiritually; it lives
a life of holiness from Christ, a life of faith upon him, and a life of justification
by him, and will live eternally; first in a separate state from the body after
death, till the resurrectionmorn, it does not die with the body, nor sleepwith
it in the grave, nor is it in any "limbus" or state of purgatory, but in paradise,
in heaven, in the arms and presence of Christ, where it is not inactive, but
employed in the best of service:and after the resurrectionit will live with the
body in glory for evermore; and this is owing to righteousness,not to the
righteousness ofman, but the imputed righteousness ofChrist; for as it was
sin, and loss of righteousness therebywhich brought death on man, the
righteousness ofChrist is that on which believers live now, and is their right
and title to eternallife hereafter.
Geneva Study Bible
{12} And if Christ be in you, the {n} body is dead because ofsin; but the Spirit
is life because ofrighteousness.
(12) He confirms the faithful againstthe relics of flesh and sin, granting that
these things are yet (as appears by the corruption which is in them) having
effects on one of their parts (which he calls the body, that is to say, a lump)
which is not yet purged from this earthly filthiness in death: but in addition
not wanting to doubt at all of the happy successofthis combat, because even
this little spark of the Spirit (that is, of the grace ofregeneration), which is
evidently in them as appears by the fruits of righteousness, is the seedof life.
(n) The flesh, or all that which as yet remains fastin the grips of sin and
death.

Meyer's NT Commentary
Romans 8:10. The contrastto the foregoing. “Whosoeverhas not the Spirit of
Christ, is not His; if, on the other hand; Christ (i.e. πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ, see on
Romans 8:9) is in you,” then ye enjoy the following blissful consequences:—
(1) Although the body is the prey of death on accountof sin, nevertheless the
Spirit is life on accountof righteousness, Romans 8:10. (2) And even the
mortal body shall be revivified by Him who raisedup Christ from the dead,
because Christ’s Spirit dwelleth in you, Romans 8:11.
Romans 8:10-11 have been rightly interpreted as referring to life and death in
the proper (physical) sense by Augustine (de. pecc. merit. et rem. i. 7), Calvin,
Beza, Calovius, Bengel, Michaelis,Tholuck, Klee, Flatt, Rückert, Reiche,
Glöckler, Usteri, Fritzsche, Maier, Weiss l.c. p. 372, and others. For, first, on
accountof the apostle’s doctrine regarding the connectionbetweensin and
death (Romans 5:12) with which his readers were acquainted, he could not
expecthis τ. σῶμα νεκρ. διʼ ἁμ. to be understood in any other sense;secondly,
the parallelbetweenthe raising up of Christ from death, which was in fact
bodily death, and the quickening of the mortal bodies does not permit any
other view, since ζωοπ. stands without any definition whateveraltering or
modifying the proper sense;and lastly, the proper sense is in its bearing quite
in harmony with the theme of Romans 8:2 (which is discussedin Romans 8:3-
11): for the life of the Spirit unaffectedby physical death (Romans 8:10), and
the final revivification also of the body (Romans 8:11), just constitute the
highest consummation, and as it were the triumph, of the deliverance from the
law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). These grounds, collectively, tell at the
same time againstthe divergent explanations:(1) that in Romans 8:10-11 it is
spiritual death and life that are spokenof; so Erasmus, Piscator, Locke,
Heumann, Ch. Schmidt, Stolz, Böhme, Benecke,Köllner, Schrader, Stengel,
Krehl, and van Hengel. (2) That Romans 8:10 is to be takenin the spiritual,
but Romans 8:11 in the proper sense;so Origen, Chrysostom, Theodoret,
Oecumenius, Grotius, Koppe, Olshausen, Reithmayr, and others; de Wette
unites the moral and physical sense in both verses, comp. also Nielsenand
Umbreit; see the particulars below.

νεκρόν] With this corresponds the ΘΝΗΤΆ in Romans 8:11. It conveys,
however, the idea “conditioni mortis obnoxium” (Augustine) more forcibly,
and so as vividly to realize the certain result—he is dead!—a prolepsis of the
final fate, which cannotnow be alteredor avoided. Well is it said by Bengel:
“magni vi; morti adjudicatum deditumque.” Our body is a corpse!Analogous
is the ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέθανον in Romans 7:10, though in that passagenot used in the
sense ofphysical death; comp. Revelation3:1; also ἜΜΨΥΧΟΝ ΝΕΚΡΌΝ,
Soph. Ant. 1167;Epict. fr. 176:ψυχάριονεἶ βαστάζοννεκρόν. The
commentators who do not explain it of physical death are at variance. And
how surprising the diversity! Some take ΝΕΚΡ. as a favourable predicate,
embracing the new birth = ΘΑΝΑΤΩΘῈΝ Τῇ ἉΜΑΡΤΊᾼ (so with linguistic
inaccuracyeven on accountof ΔΙʼ ἉΜ., Origen, Chrysostom, Theodoret,
Oecumenius, Theophylact, and with various modifications, also Erasmus,
Raphel, Grotius, Locke, Heumann, Böhme, Baumgarten-Crusius, Reithmayr,
and Märcker;comp. van Hengel, “mortui instar ad inertiam redactum”).
Others take it as:miserable by reasonof sin (Michaelis, Koppe, Köllner),
comp. de Wette: “Evenin the redeemed there still remains the sinful
inclination as source of the death, which expressesits power;” Krehl as:
“morally dead;” Olshausen:“not in the glory of its original destiny;”
Tholuck:in the sense of Romans 7:10 f., but also “including in itself the
elements of moral life-disturbance and of misery.” Since, however, it is the
body that is just spokenof, and since διʼ ἁμαρτίανcouldonly bring up the
recollectionofthe proposition in Romans 5:12, every view, which does not
understand it of bodily death, is contrary to the context and far-fetched,
especiallysince θνητά in Romans 8:11 corresponds to it.
ΔΙʼ ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑΝ]The ground: on accountof sin, in consequenceofsin
(Kühner, II. 1, p. 419), which is more precisely knownfrom Romans 5:12.
Death, which has arisen and become generalthrough the entrance of sin into
the world, canbe avertedin no case, noteven in that of the regenerate man.
Hence, even in his case, the body is νεκρόν διʼ ἁμαρτίαν. Buthow completely
different is it in his case with the spirit! Τὸ πνεῦμα, namely, in contrastto the

ΣῶΜΑ, is necessarilynot the transcendent (Holsten) or the Holy Spirit
(Chrysostom, Theophylact, Calvin, Grotius, and others);nor yet, as Hofmann
turns the conception, the spirit which we now have when Christ is in us and
His righteousness is ours; but simply our human spirit, i.e. the substratum of
the personalself-consciousness, andas such the principle of the higher
cognitive and moral activity of life as directed towards God, different from the
ψυχή, which is to be regardedas the potentiality of the human natural life.
The faculty of the ΠΝΕῦΜΑ is the ΝΟῦς (Romans 7:25), and its subject the
moral Ego (Romans 7:15 ff.). That the spirit of those who are here spokenof is
filled with the Holy Spirit, is in itself a correctinference from the
presupposition ΕἸ ΧΡΙΣΤῸς ἘΝ ὙΜῖΝ, but is not implied in the word τὸ
πνεῦμα, as if this meant (Theodoretand de Wette) the human spirit pervaded
by the Divine Spirit, the pneumatic essenceofthe regenerate man. That is
never the case;comp: on Romans 8:16.
ΖΩΉ] i.e. life is his essentialelement;strongerthan ζῇ, the reading of F. G.
Vulg. and MSS. ofthe It. Comp. Romans 7:7. With respectto the spirit of the
true Christian, therefore, there can be no mention of death (which would of
necessitybe eternaldeath); comp. John 11:26. He is eternally alive, and that
διὰ δικαιοσύνην, onaccountof righteousness;for the eternal ζωή is based on
the justification that has takenplace for Christ’s sake and is appropriated by
faith. Rückert, Reiche, Fritzsche, Philippi (comp. also Hofmann), following
the majority of ancient expositors, have properly takenΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗΝ thus
in the Pauline-dogmatic sense, seeing that the moral righteousnessoflife
(Erasmus, Grotius, Tholuck, de Wette, Klee, and Maier), because never
perfect (1 Corinthians 4:4; Php 3:9, al.), cannever be ground of the ζωή. If,
however, ΔΙᾺ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗΝ be rendered: for the sake ofrighteousness,
“in order that the latter may continue and rule” (Ewald, comp. van Hengel), it
would yield no contrastanswering to the correctinterpretation of νεκρὸν διʼ
ἁμ. It is moreoverto be noted, that as ΔΙʼ ἉΜΑΡΤ. does not refer to one’s
own individual sin (on the contrary, see on ἘΦʼ ᾯ ΠΆΝΤΕς ἭΜΑΡΤΟΝ,
Romans 5:12), so neither does ΔΙᾺ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗΝ refer to one’s own
righteousness.

Observe, further, the factthat, and the mode in which, the ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗ
may be lost according to our passage,namely, if Christ is not in us,—a
condition, by which the moral nature of the ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗ is laid down and
security is guarded against.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Romans 8:10. Consequences ofthis indwelling of Christ in the Christian. In
one respect, they are not yet so complete as might be expected. τὸ μὲν σῶμα
νεκρὸν: the body, it cannotbe denied, is dead because ofsin: the experience
we call death is inevitable for it. τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζωή: but the spirit (i.e., the
human spirit, as is shown by the contrast with σῶμα) is life, God-begotten,
God-sustainedlife, and therefore beyond the reachof death. As death is due to
sin, so is this life to δικαιοσύνη. It is probably not real to distinguish here
between“justification” and “moralrighteousness oflife,” and to saythat the
word means either to the exclusionof the other. The whole argument of chaps.
6–8. is that neither can exist without the other. No man can begin to be good
till he is justified freely by God’s grace in Christ Jesus, and no one has been so
justified who has not begun to live the goodlife in the spirit.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
10. If Christ be in you] Observe the immediate transition from “the Spirit of
Christ” to “Christ.” See againEphesians 3:16, for a deeply suggestive parallel.
See too eachof the SevenEpistles (Revelation2, 3) for the identification (in a
certain sense)ofthe Voice of Christ and the Voice of the Spirit. The supreme
work of the Spirit is to acquaint the soul with Christ; hence the indwelling of
the Spirit as the Divine Teacherresults by holy necessityin the indwelling of
Christ as the Divine Guest. Again cp. 2 Corinthians 13:5.
the body, &c.] Lit. the body indeed is dead, &c. The sentence may be
paraphrased; “though the body is dead, &c., yet the spirit is life.”—“The
body” is here the literal body (see next ver.), doomed to death, and so already
“as goodas dead;” not yet “redeemed” (Romans 8:23). It cannot here mean

“the flesh” (in the sense of that word in this context) because justbelow it is
promised that the body shall be “made alive” hereafterby the Holy Ghost;
whereas “crucifixion” is the doom of “the flesh.” In short, the Christian is
here reminded that the penal results of sin still affectthe body so that it must
die; but that the regenerate spirit is rescuedfrom the spirit’s death.—Many
bodies, indeed, (those of the living at the Last Day) will not, in the common
sense, die; but they will ceaseto be “fleshand blood.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-
52.)
the spirit] Here the contextseems to give the sense of the human spirit; that
which now “liveth unto God” in the regenerate man; the soul, in the highest
sense ofthat word. See long note on Romans 8:4.
is life] A powerful phrase. Cp. “ye are light,” Ephesians 5:8. The spirit is not
only “alive:” life is its inmost characteristic. The “life” here is that of
acceptanceand peace with God; the antithesis of the doom of death. Of course
the idea of the “life” of love and energy is inseparably connectedwith this; but
it is not identical with it.
Observe here that “Christ in us” is presentedas the proof that the “spirit is
life.” Here again(as on Romans 8:6; see lastnote there,) we must remember
that “Christ for us” is the procuring cause of life; “Christ in us” is the
evidence that that cause has, for us, takeneffect. See next note.
righteousness]Here, surely, the RighteousnessofChrist, the meriting cause of
justification, and so of the gift of the Spirit, and so of the indwelling of Christ.
See on Romans 1:17; Romans 5:17; Romans 5:21; where it is explained in
what way “righteousness” maybe taken as a practicalsynonym (in proper
contexts)for Justification.
Bengel's Gnomen

Romans 8:10. Εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς, And truly if Christ) Where the Spirit of Christ
is, there Christ is, comp. the preceding verse.—σῶμα)the body, sinful, for
here it is opposedto the Spirit, not to the soul.—νεκρὸν)The concrete [not the
abstractdeath; as the antithetic ζωή life in the abstract]:he says dead, instead
of, about to die, with greatforce;[already] adjudged, and delivered overto
death. This is the view and feeling of those, who have experiencedin
themselves [in whom there succeeds]the separationof soul and spirit, or of
nature and grace.—δὲ, but) Implying, that the oppositionis immediate [and
direct betweenthe body and the spirit], which excludes Purgatory, [a notion]
suited neither to body nor spirit, and not consonantto the remaining economy
of this very full epistle, Romans 8:30; Romans 8:34; Romans 8:38, ch. Romans
6:22-23.—ζωὴ, life) The abstract.—διὰ onaccountof) Righteousnessbrings
forth life, as sin brings forth death; life does not bring forth righteousness,
[justification] contrary to the opinion of the Papists.—δικαιοσύνην, justice
[righteousness])The just—shall live [Romans 1:17].
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 10, 11. - But (or, and) if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of
sin; but the Spirit is life because ofrighteousness. But if the Spirit of him that
raisedup Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raisedup Christ (the
previous Ἰησοῦν denotes the human personof our Lord; Ξριστὸνhis office,
fitly used here in connectionwith the thought of his resurrectionensuring
ours. Some readings give τὸν before, and Ἰησοῦνafter, Ξριστὸν) from the
dead shall quicken also your mortal bodies, through his Spirit that dwelleth in
you. These verses have been variously understood. It has been supposedby
some that ver. 10 continues the thought of ver. 9; "the body" (τὸ σῶμα)
meaning the same as "the flesh (σάρξ),and dead (νεκρὸν) meaning
νενεκρωμένον, i.e. mortified, or lifeless with respectto the power of sin that
was in it (cf. Romans 6:6, ἵνα καταργηθῇτὸ σῶμα τῆς ἀμαρτίας). Thus the
meaning of the first clause ofver. 10 would be, "If Christ be in you, the body
of sin in you is dead; but you are alive in the Spirit." Decisive objections to
this view are,

(1) that the word σῶμα by itself is not elsewhereusedas an equivalent to σάρξ,
but as denoting our mere bodily organization. This statement is consistent
with the metaphoricalapplication of the word sometimes in a different verse,
as in Romans 6:6, above quoted, and in Romans 7:24. Observe also τὰ θνητὰ
σώματα ὑμῶνin ver. 11, which can hardly be takenbut as expressing what is
intended here;
(2) that διὰ with the accusative (διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν)cannotbe forced out of its
proper meaning of "because of," which, according to the view we are
considering, would be unintelligible;
(3) that ver. 11, which is obviously connectedin thought with ver. 10, cannot
well be brought into tune with it according to the view proposed. All is made
clear, in view both of language and of context, by taking these two verses as
introducing a new thought, which is carried out afterwards in ver. 18, viz. that
of the drawback to the full enjoyment and development of our spiritual life
owing to the mortal bodies which clothe us now and the purpose is to bid us
believe in the reality of our redemption, and persevere in correspondentlife,
notwithstanding such present drawback. Thus the idea is that, though in our
present earthly state the mortal body is death-strickenin consequence ofsin
(δἰ ἁμαρτίαν) - subjectto the doom of Adam, that extended to all his race (cf.
Romans 5:12, etc.) - yet, Christ being in us now, the same Divine Spirit that
raisedhim from the dead will in us too at last overcome mortality. cf. 1
Corinthians 15:22, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive" (ζωοποιηθήσονται, the same word as in ver. 11 here); and compare also
all that follows in that chapter. This view of the meaning of the passagebefore
us is strongly confirmed by our finding, in 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:6, exactly the
same idea carried out at length, with a correspondencealso ofthe language
used. The frail, mortal, ever-dying earthen vessels,in which we have now the
treasure of our life in Christ, are there regardedas crippling the expansion of
our spiritual life, and causing us to "groan, being burdened" (cf. in the
chapter before us, ver. 23, ἐν ἐαυτοῖς στενάζομεν);but the very consciousness

of this higher life within him, yearning so for an adequate and deathless
organism, assures the apostle that God has one in store for him, having
already given him "the earnestof the Spirit." And this seems to be what is
meant hereby "shall also quickenyour mortal bodies by his Spirit that
dwelleth in you." As to particular expressions in the verses before us, νεκρὸν,
applied to "the body," may be taken to mean infected with death, and doomed
to it (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:31;2 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 4:10 - Διὰ
δικαιοσύνην, in opposition to δἰ ἁμαρτίαν, givenas the reasonfor the Spirit
being life, may be explained with reference to the essentialconceptionof
righteousness throughout the Epistle, as God's righteousness, revealedin
Christ, and made over to man as the remedy of human sin. Before carrying
out the thought peculiarly suggestedby the last two verses (as is done at ver.
18), the apostle now draws a conclusion(expressedby ἄρα οῦν) from what has
been so far said, so as to press the more the obligationof a spiritual life in
Christians."
END OF BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
by PastorJack Hyles
(Chapter 28 from Dr. Hyle's excellentbook, MeetThe Holy Spirit)
Luke 16:23, "And in Hell he life up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
Emersonsaid, "Every man is carrying his own stature." He is saying that
eachof us has a body within a body. It is not secretthat the flesh is the body of
the soul. It is often unrecognized, however, that the soul is the body of the
Spirit. Just as the soul lives in the flesh, the Spirit lives in the souland the soul
has a form (a body.) This body cannot be recognizedby the physical senses.
Nevertheless,there is a body which is inhabited by the Spirit.

There are many real things that cannot be seenby the natural eye. II Kings
6:17, "And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he
may see. And the Lord openedthe eyes of the young man; and he saw:and,
behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about
Elisha." Elisha was surrounded by enemies of God. His servantcame to him
to report their predicament. Elisha did not seem to be disturbed. The servant
could not understand it. The entire city of Dothan was surrounded by Elisha's
enemies who were dedicatedto his destruction. Elisha simply askedGodto
open the eyes of his servant to see that which was not visible to the human eye.
This means that the soul is the real man. Your soul is the realyou. Scientists
say, "Matteris spiritual entity in manifestation." There is a manifestation of
spiritual entity which is not visible to the human eye but which is,
nevertheless, a real body which is the soul which is the habitation of the Spirit.
That soul body is being fashioned now. It is exactlywhat you personal
characteris. Emersonsaid, " you are carrying your own stature, and your are
carving it day by day!" Just as the physical body is what one makes it by
exercise, properfood, rest, etc., even so this soul body is what one makes it.
Every thought is used to form this body. Every word that is read is used in the
formation of this body. Every televisionprogram we watchand every song
that we hear untie in the formation of this body.
This body is being prepared for Heaven. A Christian will enter Heaven at his
spiritual maturity when he leaves the earth. Hence, the wise Christian will,
through the use of proper spiritual diet, proper spiritual exercise, prayer,
fellowship and meditation, build up that body which houses the Spirit.
I Corinthians 6:19, 20, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy GhostWhich is in you, Which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and
in your spirit, which are God's." I Corinthians 3:16, 17, "Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man
defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy,
which temple ye are." II Corinthians 6:16, "And what agreementhath the
temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath
said, I will dwell with them, and walk with them; and I will be their God and

they shall be My people." We find from these passages thatthe body of the
believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Old Testamenttemple was divided into two main parts. The secondpart,
known as the Holy of Holies, was very sacred. The building itself was not
sacred, but it was made so by something that was in it. This something was the
ShekinahGlory, representing God's presence with His people. So sacredwas
this room that only one man could enter. So sacredwas this room that that
man was chosenby God and he could enter it only one time a year and only
then, by bearing the blood of the atoning animal.
Likewise the temple of the New Testamenthas two rooms- an outer room
which is visible-the body. The inner room which is not visible to human eye is
the soul. Just as the inner room of the tabernacle possessedthe Shekinah
Glory, even so the inner room of the New Testamenttemple possessesthe
Spirit. How tragic it is when the Christian forms this habitation of the Spirit
with bad literature, evil thoughts, sinful music, sensuous radio and television
programs, etc. Wise is that Christian who feeds his soul the proper diet
realizing that the soulis the body of the Spirit."
Righteousness
Bible / Our Library / Dictionaries / Quick Reference Dictionary/
Righteousness
Dictionaries - Baker's EvangelicalDictionaryof Biblical Theology -
Righteousness
Righteousness[N][T] [E]
God the Father is righteous (just); Jesus Christ his Son is the Righteous (Just)
One; the Fatherthrough the Son and in the Spirit gives the gift of
righteousness (justice)to repentant sinners for salvation;such believing
sinners are declaredrighteous (just) by the Father through the Son, are made
righteous (just) by the Holy Spirit working in them, and will be wholly

righteous (just) in the age to come. They are and will be righteous because
they are in a covenantrelation with the living God, who is the God of all grace
and mercy and who will bring to completion what he has begun in them by
declaring them righteous for Christ's sake.
The noun righteousness/justice(Gk. dikaiosune [dikaiosuvnh]) bears
meanings in the New Testamentrelated to two sources. The major one is the
Hebrew thought-world of the Old Testamentand particularly the sdq [q;d'x]
word group, which locates the meaning in the sphere of God's gracious,
covenantalrelation to his people and the appropriate behavior of the covenant
partners (Yahweh and Israel) towardeachother. The other is the regular use
of the words in everyday Greek as spokenin New Testamenttimes, which
fixes the meaning in the sphere of a life in conformity to a known standard or
law — thus honesty, legality, and so on. This latter meaning in terms of doing
God's will is of course also found in the Old Testament.
When we translate the Greek words basedon the stem dikai- into English we
make use of two sets of words based on the stems, just and right. So we have
just, justice, justify and right, righteous, righteousness,rightwise (old
English). The use of two sets of English words for the one set of Greek words
sometimes causesdifficulties for students of the Bible. This is especiallyso
when the verb "to justify, " describing God's word and action, is used with
the noun "righteousness, " pointing to the result of that action.
The Gospels. The appropriate background to bear in mind for understanding
the teaching of both John the Baptistand Jesus the Christ on
righteousness/justiceare two of the dominant ideas of the Old Testament.
First, Yahweh-Elohim, the Lord God, is righteous in that he speaks andActs
in accordancewith the purity of his own holy nature; further, what he says
and does for Israel is in accordancewith his establishment of the covenant
with this people (see Psalm22:31 ; 40:10 ; 51:14 ; 71:15-24 ; Amos 5:21-24 ).
Micahdeclared the righteousness ofGod as his faithfulness to keepand act
within the covenantand thus to save Israelfrom her enemies, as well as to
vindicate the penitent.

Second, the covenantpeople of God are calledto live righteously, that is, in
conformity to the demands of the covenantand according to God's will (see
Psalm1:4-6 ; 11:7 ; 72:1 ; Isa 1:16-17 ). Having within the covenantalrelation
with God the gift of salvation, they are to behave as the people of the holy
Lord. Hosea, the prophet of divine love, ties righteousness with mercy, loving
kindness, and justice ( 2:19 ; 10:12 ).
John the Baptistcalled for repentance and righteous behavior such as is
pleasing to God ( Luke 3:7-9 ). Further, it was because ofthe demands of such
righteousness fulfilling the will of God that he actually was willing to baptize
Jesus ( Matt 3:15 ). Likewise Jesuspresents righteousnessas conformity to the
will of God expressedin the Mosaic law ( Matt 13:17 ; 23:29 ; Matthew 27:4
Matthew 27:19 Matthew 27:24 ) and also conformity to his own teachings
concerning the requirements of the kingdom of heaven ( Matt 5:17-20 ).
However, conformity to his own teachings presupposes that he is the Messiah,
that he fulfills the Law and the Prophets, and that what he declares is the
morality of the kingdom of God relating to the totality of life, inward and
outward, seenby God. Further, Jesus does allow that conformity to the norms
of the scribes and Pharisees is a certainkind of (inferior) righteous living, but
he contrasts it with the proper righteousness he exhibits, proclaims, and looks
for ( Luke 5:30-32 ; 15:7 ; 18:9 ) in the disciples of the kingdom. So in a
fundamental sense, in the four Gospels righteousness as a quality of living is
intimately relatedto the arrival and membership in the kingdom of God and
is only possible because Godhas come to his people as their Redeemer.
The Gospelof Matthew makes clearthat from the beginning Jesus'missionis
to fulfill God's righteousness (3:15 ). This is brought to realization in his
words and ministry so that the kingdom and salvationof Godare in him and
come through him. Alongside this is the righteousness inthe new covenant,
which is right thinking, feeling, speaking, andbehavior on the part of disciples
of the kingdom, who do what God approves and commands. This moral
substance is very clearfrom the detailed contents of the Sermon on the Mount
(chaps. 5-7), where the will of God is setforth by Jesus and is contrastedwith
a mere legalism. Yet what Jesus proclaims and outlines is certainly not a self-
righteousness, forit is portrayed as the outflowing of a life that is centeredon

submitting to, worshiping, and seeking afterGod and confessing Jesus as the
Messiah(see especially5:17-42 ).
In the Gospelof Luke, we read of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and
Josephof Arimathea being calledrighteous ( 1:6 ; 2:25 ; 23:50 ) because they
embody genuine religion according to the norms of the Old Covenant. They
trust in and obey God. Further, Jesus himself as the Servant of Yahweh is the
righteous or innocent one ( 23:47 ), even as the centurion confessedatthe
cross. The righteousness ofthe kingdom of God is practical and reverses the
standards of the regular socialorder ( Luke 3:11 Luke 3:14 ; 6:20-26 ). At the
last day it will be those who have been genuinely righteous in terms of doing
the will of Godwho will be declared just ( 14:14 ).
In the Gospelof John, Godis righteous ( 17:25 ) and the Holy Spirit, the
Paraclete,has a specific role with respectto righteousness ( John 16:8 John
16:10 ). It is the unique work of the Spirit, who comes into the world in the
name of Jesus the Messiah, to convince/convictthe world of righteousness.
The Spirit both vindicates Jesus as the Righteous One, whom the Fatherhas
raisedfrom the dead and exalted into heaven, and also makes clearwhatkind
of righteous life is required by, and, in grace, provided by God.
The Letters of Paul. The uses the noun dikaiosune [dikaiosuvnh]
(righteousness), the adjective dikaios [divkaio"] (righteous), and the verb
dikaio [dikaiovw] (to justify or to declare and treat as righteous)over one
hundred times and his usage reflects a particular development from the use of
sdq [q;d'x] in the Old Testament. Godis righteous when he Acts according to
the terms of the covenanthe has established. Righteousness is God's
faithfulness as the Lord of the covenant. God Acts righteouslywhen he
performs saving deeds for his people and thereby in delivering them places
them in a right relation to himself (see especiallyIsa. 51 and 61). The
interchangeability of righteousness and salvationis seenin this verse:"I am
bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvationwill not
be delayed. I will grant salvationto Zion, my splendor to Israel" ( Isa 46:13 ).
Thus God's people are righteous when they are in a right relation with him,
when they enjoy his salvation;they are consideredby God as the Judge of the

world as righteous when they are being and doing what he requires in his
covenant. So it may be saidthat the conceptof righteousness in Paul belongs
more to soteriologythan to moral theology, even though it has distinct moral
implications.
God's righteousness is, for Paul, God's saving activity in and through the life,
death, and resurrectionof Jesus Christ, his Son. It is activity that is directly in
line with the saving activity of God in the Old Testament. The acceptance of
the unique saving deed of God at Calvary by faith in the person of Jesus
Christ is that which God has ordained to be the means for sinners (the
unrighteous and the disobedient ones) to enter into the right with God, the
Father, and receive the forgiveness ofsins. God as the Judge justifies believing
sinners by declaring them righteous in and through Jesus Christ; then he
expects and enables these sinners to become righteous in word and deed. Faith
works by love.
The righteousness ofwhich Paul speaks, especiallyin the letters to Galatia and
Rome, stands in contrastto the righteousness thatis basedon the fulfillment
of the law by man as the covenantpartner of God. It is "the righteousness of
faith" and "the righteousness ofGod" ( Rom 10:6 ; Php 3:9 ), and is most
certainly the gift of God. From the human standpoint what God looks forin
those who receive the gospelis "faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me" ( Gal 2:20 ). God's gift to those who believe is a
righteousness thatexists and can be given only because ofthe sacrificialdeath
of Jesus for sinners and his resurrectionfrom the dead as the vindicated Lord
of all.
So God as the righteous Judge justifies places in a right relation with himself
within the new covenantof grace those who believe the gospelof the Father
concerning his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he justifies Jew and Greek
alike on precisely the same basis, by faith alone without works, and he makes
no distinction whatsoeverbetweenthe people of the Old Covenantand the
Gentiles. Abraham, says Paul, was himself justified by faith alone ( Gen 12:3 ;
15:6 ; 18:18 ; Rom 4:3 ; Gal 3:8 ). In fact, Paul confessedthat the powerof the
gospelto be the word of salvationto both Jew and Greek was basedon the

revelation of the righteousness ofGod therein of God the Father acting justly
for the sake ofhis Son ( Rom 1:16-17 ).
The gift of a right relation with the Father through the Son in the Spirit,
which is justification, creates a relationship for believers both with God and
fellow believers that they are to dedicate to righteousness in the sense of
obeying Christ ( Rom 6:12-14 ; cf. 2 Corinthians 6:7 2 Corinthians 6:14 ; 9:10
; Eph 4:24 ; Php 1:11 ). Though they could never become righteous before
God by their efforts to conform their lives to his will, out of gratitude and love
they are to serve him because he has given them the gift of salvation through
the grace ofthe Lord Jesus Christ. He has pronounced them righteous, he has
reconciledthem to himself and removed their alienation, and he has
transformed their relation to him into that of friendship. Therefore, since God
has made them his ownand given to them his righteousness, their duty and
privilege is to be righteous in conduct. And he promises that on the last day
and for the life of the age to come he will actually make them to be truly and
effectually righteous in all that they are, become, and do.
The word "eschatological" is often used with reference to this gift of
righteousness. The reasonis this. It is in anticipation of what God will do for
the sake ofhis Son Jesus Christ at the lastday that he pronounces guilty
sinners righteous now in this evil age. At the last day, God the Father will be
vindicated and all will confess thatJesus Christ is Lord. Those who believe
will become and remain righteous in their resurrectionbodies of glory. Now
and before the new age arrives, by the proclamationof the gospeland by the
presence ofthe Spirit, that which is not yet (the fullness of righteousness ofthe
age to come)is actually made available by the will and declarationof the
Father, through the mediation of Jesus Christthe Lord and by the presence
and operationof the Holy Spirit. Already there is the provision of a right
relation with God through the preaching of the gospel, but there is not yet the
experience of the fullness of righteousnessas an imparted gift. Now believers
merely have the firstfruits of that which awaits them in the age to come.
It would be a mistake, however, to think that Paul does not use the word
"righteousness" in its more familiar meaning as a virtue. In fact he does so
particularly in 1 and 2 Timothy. He commends striving for righteousness (1

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