ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Romans 8.9-11

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

7. because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: 8. and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9. But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

  1. So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: 13. for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:7-13, ASV)
WEB

7. because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. 8. Those who are in the flesh can’t please God.

9. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. 10. If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11. But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

  1. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13. For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:7-13, WEB)
KJV

7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. the carnal: Gr. the minding of the flesh 8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. by: or, because of

  1. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:7-13, KJV)
YLT

7. because the mind of the flesh [is] enmity to God, for to the law of God it doth not subject itself, 8. for neither is it able; and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

9. And ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God doth dwell in you; and if any one hath not the Spirit of Christ, this one is not His; 10. and if Christ [is] in you, the body, indeed, [is] dead because of sin, and the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness, 11. and if the Spirit of Him who did raise up Jesus out of the dead doth dwell in you, He who did raise up the Christ out of the dead shall quicken also your dying bodies, through His Spirit dwelling in you.

  1. So, then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh; 13. for if according to the flesh ye do live, ye are about to die; and if, by the Spirit, the deeds of the body ye put to death, ye shall live; (Romans 8:7-13, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle
  • Audience: the mixed Jewish and Gentile house churches at Rome, a congregation Paul had neither founded nor yet visited
  • Location: composed at Corinth, addressed to Rome
  • Time period: c. AD 57

Theological reading

Three verses of extraordinary Trinitarian density, and the density is incidental rather than argued, which is what makes it evidentially interesting.

Within a few lines Paul writes the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, Christ in you, and the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead. The same indwelling reality is named by reference to the Father, to the Son, and as the Spirit's own, and the interchange is made without explanation or apology. Paul is not constructing a doctrine of the Trinity here; he is presupposing a pattern of divine relation so settled that he can move between the terms without comment. That casual quality is stronger evidence for how early the pattern was fixed than a formal statement would be, since a formal statement might be a novelty being introduced. See Trinity and Trinity Invented at Nicaea Objection.

Verse 9b supplies the sharpest line in the passage: if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Indwelling is not a second stage available to advanced believers; it is the mark of belonging at all. Any theology that treats reception of the Spirit as a later blessing has to reckon with the flat exclusivity of this clause.

Verse 11 then draws the eschatological consequence and grounds it in the resurrection: the Spirit who raised Jesus will also give life to mortal bodies. The future here is bodily, not a release from embodiment, which is consistent with verse 23 and with the whole New Testament hope. See Resurrection of the Body.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.