Romans 6:1
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Since there are no chapter and verse breaks in the original epistle, we need to understand that this verse here is building off of chapters 1-5, but especially 5:21. Going back to 5:21, we read that even though the sin reigned in the death, the righteousness may reign through Jesus Christ to give eternal life. With that in mind, should we all continue in sin to show how awesome God's righteousness through Jesus Christ is? A logical question. Most intuitively know the answer, but God is gracious to leave no doubt with the familiar answer in the next verse of "may it never be."
There is a definite article for the sin and the grace here. I've noticed that this epistle constantly singles out the sin and the grace, which I can only equate to the epic spiritual battle we find ourselves in. What is the sin? Look back to Genesis 3:4-5. Do we follow Satan or do we follow God? Sin versus Grace has been going on since the Garden of Eden. How wonderful that the grace is far greater than the sin!
The phrase "may abound" is the same word as in Rom 5:20. The word for "continue" is epimeno, which is a compound word of epi (upon) and meno (persist or remain). The original language always adds strength to the English translation doesn't it? Shall we persist upon the sin in order that the grace may abound? Let's look at verse 2 for God's answer.
Romans 6:2
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
May it never be! Why should God's children continue in rebellion now that they are saved from the sin and the death? What kind of testimony does that leave? Think about this on terms of mankind. A father tells his son not to jump on the old rickety couch because it may break and his son get hurt. The son believes his father and thanks him for the advice. To celebrate his belief, the child jumps repeatedly on that couch. How would the father feel? Would he not continue to warn the child? What do you think the father is going to do when that couch breaks and his son is hurt? He'll take care of him, certainly, but then remind his son of the command he gave him and that it was for his good. Even though the child believed, he didn't obey, and there were consequences, yet his father never stopped loving him. The analogy isn't perfect, but we should see our behavior in light of who we now are in Christ.
God tells us to not quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19) but rather be filled by it (Eph 5:18). Therein lies a choice. Yes, as believers in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the atonement for our sin, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and guaranteed salvation from the sin and the death (Eph 1:13-14). That salvation gives us incredible freedom, but we should not use our freedom to act according to the world, as under the influence of the prince, the power of the air (Eph 2:2, Gal 5:13). Why would we ever believe in God and want to act like Satan? It doesn't make any sense.
There are consequences as well. God is not keeping that a secret. Take a look at 1 Cor 1:10-15 and 2 Cor 5:10. What we do matters to God, and He wants to reward us. What are the rewards given? That's hard to imagine since we've already been blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ (Eph 1:3). But when we stop thinking material blessing and realize the spiritual blessing, can you imagine the joy you will feel to get compliments from God? I can think of no better reward than to hear my God tell me, "Way to go! You did great!" or something along those lines. To me, that invigorates my spirit like nothing else.
We should take note on what these rewards are based on. It's building upon the foundation laid by the apostle Paul, who was given that foundation from the risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Are you building upon that foundation with the doctrine given through Paul? Or are you building on that foundation with some wood, hay or stubble, mixing and matching Law and Grace? Here's a simple rule: If it doesn't line up with scripture, don't do it. If it does, build upon that foundation as high as you can and may you be blessed by our almighty, wonderful God!
The Greek here more literally says this: "May it never be! We who died to the sin, how yet will we live in it?"
Romans 6:3
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Ah, another baptism mentioned in the bible. Actually there are two of them here. Are they both the same baptism as what John the Baptist was performing? No water is mentioned here at all. A student of the bible will come across Eph 4:4-6 and may get very confused. This passage says there's one body, which is the body of Christ, and there is one baptism for the body of Christ. According to Eph 3:1-9, the doctrine was given to Paul, so we must search the epistles given through Paul to understand what that baptism is. It is most clear in 1 Cor 12:13:
"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."
Really, the Greek there says that in (en) one Spirit we are all baptized to (eis) one body, which is the Body of Christ. Well, if the one baptism is in the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ, does it not make sense that those in Christ's Body are also in His death? That's what we have here in this verse. It is entirely consistent with Eph 4:5 and most definitely not a wet baptism. Search the scriptures in Exodus chapters 19, 29, and 30 to note that water baptism was meant for priests of Israel. Israel was promised to be a kingdom of priests and God tells how to be a priest in Ex 29 and 30. John the Baptist's ministry was to get Israel ready for the promised kingdom of priests, so that's why he used water. Note that when the Pharisees questioned him, they didn't question what he was doing. They were questioning by what authority he was doing it. We also read that part of the requirement of salvation for Israel as given in the so-called Great Commission was to undergo that ceremonial washing, again since they were to be a nation of priests. The Body of Christ does not need to follow the Law of Moses for salvation, because the liberty we experience is to provoke Israel to jealousy and come back to faith (Rom 11:11).
Don't let anyone tell you that water baptism is required today. The works of the Law of Moses cannot save anyone by itself. We already looked at that in chapter 3:21-22 and 4:4-5. It is by faith alone that we are saved through God's grace (Eph 2:8-9). And that faith must be in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:1-4).
Building on that, what is the testimony of water baptism today? Wouldn't that lead people to confusion? Think about it. If you believe that you are saved by believing in the finished work of Christ on the cross and you think you need to be baptized in water as a testimony, what does that say of your belief of the work of Christ on the cross? Essentially, it's saying Jesus didn't do enough. That's true for any work that one may think needs to be done for salvation. Scripture says we don't have to obey the Law of Moses, so please don't lead people astray by being baptized in water. We obey the law of faith today (Rom 3:27-28) and there are plenty of commands to live by under that law as given in the epistles of the apostle Paul.
I pointed out the Greek prepositions in 1 Cor 12:13 before because it's interesting to note that God is consistent with those. It's always baptized in (en) the Spirit to (eis) the Body. Here in Rom 6:3, we have this literal translation:
"Or are you ignorant that as many of us have been baptized to (eis) Christ Jesus, to (eis) the death of Him have we been baptized?"
Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
This verse needs some fixing from the original language. First, it isn't we are buried. It should be we were buried because the verb is in the Aorist tense, meaning the action happened at some point in the past. Next, the word "by" is dia and could be "through." Then we have definite articles for baptism and death. The word "into" is "eis" and is understood as "to." With that in mind, the first part of the verse becomes this;
Therefore, we were buried with him through the baptism to the death.
This is important to understand that it took place in the past, because it took place at the moment of salvation. We already looked at that back in verse 3. Knowing that we are in Christ and identified in His death, then just as Christ was raised out of the dead, we should conduct ourselves in the new life He gave us. This is building on the concept in verse 1 when the question was asked if we should persist upon sinning. God establishes the believer's identity in Christ, who died, was buried, and now is alive again. We should also be dead to sin and live to Christ. More on that in the next verse.
Romans 6:5
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
This verse tells us that it is a given that we have been planted together with Him in the likeness of His death, or baptized to the death of Him, and God is reiterating that we will also be planted together with Him in His resurrection. That's an interesting way to put it with the word "planted," isn't it? The Greek word there is sumphutos, a compound word of syn (together-with) and phuo (spring up, grow, be born). For an example of the word phuo, look at Luke 8:6-8. This is the parable of the sower with the seed. I'll point out the words in the verses:
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up (phuo), it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it (sumphuo), and choked it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up (phuo), and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Looking at verse 7 in Luke chapter 8, we see the verb where we get the adjective here in Rom 6:5. The thorns and the seed sprang up together and the thorns choked the seed. Another way to understand this is that the thorns and seed were united when growing.
Coming back to Rom 6:5, the "if" here is "ei", so we can use the word "since" to get a better picture of what is being said. So God is saying, "Indeed, since we (believers in the gospel of grace) have been united [in Christ] in the likeness of His death." What is the conclusion of being united with Christ in His death? That we also will be united in the likeness of His resurrection. What a wonderful prospect! We get confirmation of this glorious truth in Phil 3:20-21.
One more interesting thing to point out here is that the word alla is used after the comma. Alla in the Greek has the meaning of however, but rather, or except. I think by using that word God wants us to focus on how much better the resurrection is than being united in His death, though both of those things are promised at the moment of salvation. The text reads like this:
"Indeed, since we have become united to the likeness of the death of Him, but rather also of the resurrection we will be."
Romans 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
After God tells us that the believer is united in Christ in His death and much more His resurrection, we have a similar truth here. Expounding on what it means to be united in Christ in His death, we understand that who we used to be was crucified with Christ on the cross. That old body was contaminated with sin and death from Adam's transgression, and God, in His grace, made that body of no effect so we need not sin anymore. This too happens at the moment of salvation. God did that so we may now honor Him by living to Him and not to sin.
I think it's important to point out all of the missing articles because I believe God is specifying what would otherwise be a generic term. Here's a more literal translation with the articles in it:
"Knowing this, that the old man of us is crucified with Him, in order that the body of the sin might be abolished (katargeo), of that not anymore to enslave us to the sin."
In the phrase "henceforth we should not serve sin," the verb there is in the infinitive and should be translated "to enslave." Henceforth is the word meketi, a compound word of me (no-subjectively) and eti (yet, until, even now, still), so it has the meaning of not continuing or not anymore. See how we learn another truth here, that we were enslaved to sin before believing in the sanctifying work of Christ on the cross? Praise the Lord for setting us free from the body of death! More on that concept in the next verse and in chapter 7.
Romans 6:7
For he that is dead is freed from sin.
God just established that the old man was crucified with Christ on the cross of Calvary in verse 6. This happens in the moment of belief that Christ's sacrifice is the atonement for any sinner's sin. Here in just 9 words we get the emphasis of the liberty that comes with belief in the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Do you believe in the gospel of God's grace? Then you are free from sin! Again, we could ask the question posed in verse 2. Why would we ever go back to sin since we've been freed from it? Sin leads to death. Christ leads to life. Let's live in Christ and not in sin.
There are just two things I want to point out in the Greek. First is the verb forms in this verse. "Is dead" is the Aorist tense, so it more properly reads "has died." "Is freed" is indeed in the present tense, and is another reason to keep on living apart from sin. The second thing to point out is the definite article denoting the sin.
Romans 6:8
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
God is sure repeating Himself a lot here, isn't He? It's pretty clear to me that He wants all of His faithful to really understand this concept. When anyone trusts in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to save them from sin, they are baptized in the Holy Spirit to the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). Because of that baptism, the believer is baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The believer's sin nature is crucified with Christ on the cross (verse 6) which consequently sets the believer free from sin (verse 7). Believers have the assurance that they will be resurrected just like Jesus Christ (verse 5). And now God tells us again that since we're dead with Christ we will also live with Him. The resurrection of Christ is fantastically glorious, and is the reason God can give us the command to rejoice twice in one verse (Phil 4:4)! This is a promise of God to the believer today. You will be like Jesus in resurrection and you will live with Him forever (Phil 3:20-21, 1 Thess 4:13-18).
Looking at the Greek, we have the word "ei" translated "if" but might be clearer as "since." The word "dead" is in the Aorist tense again, consistent with the concept that this happened at the moment of belief. The words "we believe" is from the root word pisteuo, which is faith. We have faith that we will live with Christ. This isn't a belief that we aren't sure of, but rather are confident of. How English uses the words belief and hope may seem misleading. The bible gives very sure truth to stand on so that we don't hope in the sense that we aren't sure this will happen. Believers in the gospel of God's grace have hope and have faith expecting that God's Word will come true. I like how JC O'Hair put it. He said something like, "We don't have to be hope-so Christians. We can be know-so Christians."
Romans 6:9
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Here in verse 9 we have the word eido for "knowing." After these first 8 verses of chapter 6, it is my hope that believers would intuitively perceive that Christ has been raised from the dead and He will not die again. Jesus Christ is not continually going to the cross to shed His blood over and over again to cover our sins. In case we don't understand that He died once for all, we see that in the next verse and also in 1 Pet 3:18, Heb 9:28, and Heb 10:10, 12, 14. When we understand that because He died the death that the sin required, it is easy to see that the death no longer lords over Him. That act sets us free from the law of sin and death the moment we believe in it (Rom 8:2).
We follow laws like this today which can help us in our understanding. What are the typical vows of marriage? Til death do us part, right? If a husband or a wife dies, is the living spouse still bound in the marriage? No, they are free to marry another or remain single. Despite what anyone may say, we get that concept from the bible and will go over that in chapter 7. Also reference 1 Cor 7:39.
God is always consistent in His language. We see that Christ being raised is in the Aorist tense because it happened once in the past and that He "dieth no more" is in the present tense. He will not die again because His one death was sufficient. Interesting to note that the word for "hath dominion over" is the Greek root kurieuo. This word is the verb form of kurios, which is translated "Lord" with a capital L when referring to Jesus Christ. It does properly mean to lord over or have dominion over, but I thought it interesting that it is used here to show the dominance that death and sin have over mankind until we come to faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Romans 6:10
For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Anyone counting how many times God is going over this so we thoroughly understand? Jesus died absolutely one time to the sin. This happened the one time and it happened in the past. Now He is alive and He lives to God. Going back to what we've read in this chapter, we understand that the believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit to the Body of Christ in the moment of belief of the gospel of God's grace. Also in that moment the believer is likewise baptized to the death of Christ, crucifying the old sinful nature and setting us free from it. That occurred once for us as well. Now in the present, as a result and our understanding of what took place, the life we live, we live to God. In case we don't quite get it yet, God is going to state it again in the next verse.
Once more we find the language consistent. The verbs "he died" in the first half of the verse are in the Aorist tense while the verbs of "he liveth" are in the present. Also interesting to note here are the definite articles for the sin and the God which is not translated in the English. One more thing to point out is the word "once" in the English, because there is yet more emphasis in the Greek. That word is a compound word ephapax, consisting of epi (upon) and hapax (once). Literally the verse would say "he died to the sin upon once," but we can understand it as "he died to the sin once and only once."
Romans 6:11
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Okay, the believer is dead to sin. Dead, dead, dead. Crucified with Christ on the cross in the moment of belief, the believer is dead to sin. Likewise the believer is alive in Christ. Living, full of life, and alive in Christ in the moment of belief in the gospel of God's grace. God has gone over the comparison, or contrast rather, of the first man Adam and the second man Jesus Christ in chapter 5, noting the difference of one bringing death and the other life. Here in chapter 6 God is telling us over and over again (because it is not grievous but safe - Phil 3:1) that the old man from Adam is dead and the new man is alive in Christ. Therefore, we should live like we know who we are, alive in Christ. Therefore, we should no longer live in sin so that grace may abound (verse 1).
The Greek is slightly different in here in the second half of the verse. It starts off with "de" which is translated as "but," though I feel "now" would work there. There is a definite article for the God, which is in the Dative. The word "through" is the Greek "en" and should be "in." Finally, the title is "Christ Jesus" and the words "our Lord" aren't in this verse. With all of that in mind, this is a more literal translation:
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, now living to the God in Christ Jesus
Romans 6:12
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
We're finally moving on to a new concept here. Since we learned over and over again that the believer is dead to sin and alive to God, we should assuredly have proven to ourselves the answer to the questions in verses 1 and 2. We should not live to sin, but what does that mean? Here we get the further picture that it is obeying the lusts of the mortal body. What are those? God will talk about that in the next verse briefly. Remember, the believer is set free from the old man which was crucified on the cross, so the believer doesn't have to obey it anymore. The old man would like nothing more than to dishonorably behave, as we read about back in chapter 1 and verses 18 through 32. God says don't let that happen anymore. You've been set free from it to live to God instead of against Him.
Once more we find an article to denote the sin in the Greek. There are also some minor differences in the second half of this verse. It more literally says, "to the point of that to obey the lusts of it." God is warning us that we will experience lusts of the flesh even though we are free from it, but He is commanding us not to allow sin in our body to the point we start obeying sin again. Think of the question in verse 2. We who died to the sin, how yet will we live in it? Knowing your identity in Christ is key to overcoming the lusts of the flesh and desire to sin.
Romans 6:13
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Remember how you're dead to sin and alive for Christ? God just told us to not let sin have dominion in our body to prevent us from acting out in sin. Here He goes even further and tells us not to use our bodies as weapons of unrighteousness. Instead they are to be weapons of righteousness to God. That's right, weapons. We are in a spiritual warfare and have been since the Garden of Eden and the Fall of mankind (cf Eph 6:10-18).
We were lawfully fallen from God and destined to an eternity separated from Him because of Adam's transgression (Rom 5:12). God bought us back from that death through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross so we should no longer live to sin (Rom 5:16-19, cf 1 Cor 6:20, 7:23). Now that believers are on God's side and no longer Satan's side, we should fight for the right army, wouldn't you think? Don't use your body as a weapon to fight for sin and for Satan. Understanding your freedom in Christ, use your body as a weapon to fight the good fight for righteousness (2 Tim 4:7-8).
As I've already hinted at, there are some things in the Greek that are worth looking into. First, the word "yield" here comes from the compound word paristemi. This word is from para (beside) and histemi (to stand) and properly means stand close beside, i.e. ready to present (exhibit) [1]. The word "instruments" is the Greek "hoplon" and means "plural arms used in warfare, weapons" [2]. Also, we have the definite article for the sin in the Dative, so it translates as "weapons of unrighteousness to the sin." There also is a definite article to denote the God both times.
I see a lot of warfare language being used here. I think of presenting (yield) yourselves as standing at attention in the army. I'm also reminded of what David said back in 1 Sam 17:26 and 36 where he refers to Israel as the armies of the living God. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not equating the believer during the gospel of God's grace to Israel here, because scripture is clear the rules are different, but note the similarity. Even at that time, the army was alive because God is alive. God hasn't changed since then (Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8). Here we have the added note that we are present ourselves to the God as living out of the dead. God said it many times: Christ died for us. We died in Christ at the moment of belief, so whose side are we one? The living army or the dead one? So then, fight for the army you belong to.
Romans 6:14
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
We have a wonderful truth here, and an often quoted verse. God is establishing a point of identity to the believer of the gospel of grace and will expound on it for the rest of the chapter. First, we are reminded that sin will not rule over us because of the freedom we have in Christ Christ died to sin once (verse 10) and we can reckon ourselves dead to sin because we were baptized to His death (verses 4 and 11). Therefore, sin should not ever have dominion over us because the finished work of Christ on the cross frees us from it.
To connect that thought, God goes on to say that believers are not under the authority of law, but under the authority of grace. The preposition hupo is translated as "under" both times, and has the definition "under, often meaning "under authority" of someone working directly as a subordinate (under someone/something else)." [1]
Take a moment and think this through. There are no definite articles here as might be expected, so what law and what grace is God talking about? It may be obvious to some, but I think it's worth the time to reflect and solidify this in our minds. Go back to chapter 3 and verse 20 and note that the Law of Moses had the purpose of pointing out sin. Why? That the world may be guilty before God, knowing then what sin is (3:19). But today, we aren't to be under the authority of this Law, because the righteousness of God apart from the Law is manifested (3:21). That manifestation is in the gospel given to the apostle Paul, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe (3:22). This is the law and grace being talked about here in this verse, and is of utmost importance for the believer to understand today. There are differences in these dispensations that God wants us to know and understand (Phil 1:9-10, 2 Tim 2:15). He will explain a good amount of this in chapters 9-11.
Romans 6:15
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Our all-knowing God knew that an identification statement like verse 14 would generate this question. Since we are not under the Law but under grace, can't we just sin anyway? We don't have to be under the authority of the Law anymore and are guaranteed to be saved from sin and death by believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so what does it matter? Righteousness apart from the Law is manifested so we are free to do whatever we want, including indulgence in sin every now and then, right? God answers that quickly with the familiar "May it never be!"
God just got done explaining that we are dead, so very dead, to sin. Contrariwise we are alive in Christ and should be fighting the good fight to righteousness. Why would we fight against what God has graciously given? If anyone gives us a gift we love, would we only accept part of it and shove the rest back in the giver's face? May it never be!
Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Now this is a "prick the heart" question if I may say so. After the apostle Peter indicts the devout men of Israel for crucifying their Messiah, they are "pricked in the heart" and ask Peter what they could do. Can you imagine the wave of panic as the realized the truth? So it is here. If there are any believers in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as their atonement for their sin, and they think that they may continue sinning because they are under grace and not law, they are far out of place.
Don't you know? That word there is again eido, or to intuitively know or perceive. It could be phrased, "Don't you get it?" or "How can you not understand this?" God did just say repeatedly that we are dead to sin in this chapter, yet He knew that someone was going to ask this question. In fairness, I think we all are presented with times of temptation to sin, despite knowing that we are under grace and should not.
The word for servants here is the Greek doulos, and more accurately means bond-servant. It's also translated as slave(s) 97 out of 126 times that it appears in the New Testament. There's enough going on in the Greek that warrants a look at the literal word for word translation, so here it is:
Not you (all plural in this verse) perceive that to whom you present yourselves slaves to the point of (eis) obedience, slaves you are to whom you obey, whether of sin to the point of (eis) death or of obedience to the point of (eis) righteousness?
What we do certainly matters to God. How we conduct our daily lives matters to God. He lovingly warns us here that if we gives ourselves over to sin it will lead to death. That does not sound appealing to me. I would much rather obey God and understand that I live to Christ now since my old man has been crucified with Him. Life is way better than death! I choose to fight the good fight and present my body as a weapon to righteousness because of the amazing grace God showed me by giving His Son to pay the sin debt I owed. I would encourage all believers to do the same, because He reconciled the world to Himself through that act (2 Cor 5:19). Be reconciled to God and fight the good fight along with all of God's saints in the age of His grace. Living that kind of testimony every day is what will point people to the cross and desire to be saved. Living in sin will only gender confusion and may delay or deter others from receiving God's amazing grace or living it to the full potential. I said it before, and I'll say it again. What you do matters to God. But, please here me in this: what you do does not affect your salvation. Salvation is by faith alone in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus (1 Cor 15:1-4, Eph 2:8-9, Rom 3:21-22, etc.).
Romans 6:17
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
What a relief it is to know there are saints that receive and understand the doctrine given to us through the apostle Paul which frees us from the bondage of sin. Praise the Lord that He gave us sound doctrine to live by so we don't continue in sin that grace may abound (verse 1). God indeed be thanked for the loving instruction He gives that we, as believers, may no longer live under the Law of Moses, but under His grace (verses 14-15). May all believers come to the knowledge of the truth as laid out by God through Paul (Eph 3:1-9).
Very interesting to note that the Greek here literally starts with, "Now (de) grace (charis) to the God..." Charis is translated as thanksgiving here. It still can be noted as God's unmerited favor, because of how the rest of the verse goes. A more literal translation is like this:
Now grace to the God that you all were (Imperfect tense) servants of the sin, you have become obedient now (de) out of (ek) the heart, to the point (eis) you were delivered to that form of teaching.
Again, we see definite articles in appropriate places, signifying the spiritual battle of good and evil. All men were in the bondage of sin and slaves to it. Now we are set free, but when and why? At the moment we put our trust in the form of teaching given us by the grace of God. And that is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus atones us from our sins. not only that, but all the teaching that goes with it, as God lays out in the epistles of Romans through Philemon. If we are obeying doctrine that was only given to Israel through Moses (aka the Law), then we are doing God and ourselves a disservice, essentially rejecting the notion that Jesus on the cross saves from sin. God is very clear that those not obeying the gospel as given through the apostle Paul are still accursed (Gal 1:6-9). Any other doctrine is not really in question of salvation, but it is the mixing and matching of these dispensations that has led to division in what is called Christianity today.
Romans 6:18
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Again, our loving God gives us a stark point of identity. There are missing articles here, as is the sad habit of translation, because I feel that emphasis and strength of the message is lost when any part of the original is not included. We should note that the verb for "being made free" is in the Aorist tense, because this happened at the point of salvation thought the time of which is not as important as the effect. The verse more literally says this:
Now (de) having been set free from the sin, you all have become (Aorist tense) the bond-servants (duoloo) of the rightesouness.
Identity in Christ is so important. These things happened at the moment of salvation and all Christians should take heed to understand it. As believers, we are not slaves to the sin anymore. Period. We are now slaves to the righteousness. Period. We are on God's side of the spiritual fight, using our bodies as weapons to the righteousness (verse 13). We should note, too, that our main weapon is the spoken word of God (Eph 6:17 - Greek rhema). That being the case, I would encourage saints everywhere to be diligent in knowing what the word of God, what we call the bible, says (2 Tim 1:13,
Romans 6:19
I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Over and over God reminds us of this identification. Why? Because He knows the flesh is weak and needs it. Throughout this chapter I keep having Philippians 3:1 popping into my head. God isn't doing this and is pained by it. Much rather, He is doing what needs to be done to keep us safe due to the infirmity of the flesh that happened when Adam's transgression brought the sin and the death into the world. We used to be standing alongside impurity and lawlessness to the point of being lawless. Now that we are made new in Christ, we are commanded to stand alongisde righteousness to the point of holiness.
This verse is very well translated to the original. I still like to point out the literal translation in case someone can pick up more from it:
Humanly I speak on account (dia) of the weakness of the flesh of you all. Indeed, just as you all stood alongside (paristemi - Aorist) the members of you in bondage to the impurity (akatharsia) and the lawlessness (anomia) to the point of (eis) lawlessness. thus now (nyn) stand alongside (paristemi - Aorist Imperative) the members of you in bondage to the righteousness to the point of (eis) holiness.
God knew that we were stuck with the sin and death that Adam brought into the world (the impurity and the lawlessness). But He set us free from that through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's why we can now serve the righteousness to the point of holiness or sanctification at the moment of faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This whole chapter is really, and I mean really, hammering home the point that believers are no longer dead in sin, but are alive in Christ. Knowing that, we should live by that. Again, how we live our lives does not change our salvation in this age, but who wouldn't want to glorify God with all of their being for the awesome work He did through Jesus Christ?
Romans 6:20
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
In case anyone didn't get it yet, here's another statement. Mathematically speaking, Slaves to Sin = Free from Righteousness. Slaves to Righteousness = Free from Sin. See how much God cares that we know this? We are so incredibly dead to sin the moment we trust in the gospel of God's grace through the apostle Paul. We no longer need to serve it in any capacity. It will not cause grace to abound in a good way if we do. Rather, our testimony by serving the righteousness will glorify God and lead others to the saving knowledge of faith in Jesus' finished work on the cross of Calvary.
God is consistent in having the definite articles for the sin and the righteousness in this verse.
Romans 6:21
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
I always love how God thoroughly covers these concepts in the doctrine given to Paul. Here He has us go back and reflect on life before salvation. Was there anything there that was done that became precious stones as in 1 Cor 3:10-12? In other words, was there any spiritual fruit or spiritual growth? Of course not. There couldn't be, since only building upon the foundation laid by the apostle Paul could produce those precious stones. People only accept the foundation laid by the apostle Paul when they receive and believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again to save from sins (1 Cor 15:1-4). The only things wrought in the life of the unbeliever lead to death. After reading the first 20 verses of this chapter, this should be easy to understand.
God went over many times how that believers are now free from death and alive in Christ. We no longer have to work out the things that lead to death, but now can work out the things that lead to life. Go over this chapter again and see how God brilliantly lays out precept upon precept so that we may understand it in its entirety. Remember, God's desire is that all mankind is saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). There should be no wonder that He leaves no room for confusion in the most foundational doctrine, that of the identity of the believer.
The Greek here adds significant emphasis that needs to be pointed out. There is a "therefore" that wasn't translated here from the Greek word "oun." The word for "had" is the Greek "echo", which means to have, hold, or possess. "Then" is the Greek "tote" which means "then" or "at that time." It is important to point out that that word refers to time and in the sense of a cause and effect argument (if-then statement). The word "in" is the Greek "epi" and can more accurately understood as "upon." That word "ashamed" is quite emphatic. In the Greek, it is the compound word epaischunomai, consisting of epi (upon) and aisxyno (ashamed). note that God didn't just use aisxyno for ashamed, but emphasized it with epi to get the idea of absolute disgrace. One more to point out is the word "end" which is "telos." This Greek word means the end-goal or the closure with all it's results [1]. With all that in mind, here is a more literal translation:
Therefore, what fruit did you all have at that time upon those things to which you are now utterly ashamed? Indeed, the end result of those things is death.
Romans 6:22
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Precept upon precept. God just established that before faith in the gospel of God's grace, the only fruit being produced were things that lead to death. After placing faith in the gospel of God's grace, now believers are free from the bondage of sin that leads to death and can choose to be bound to righteousness that leads to life. We have the option of using our bodies as weapons for righteousness which leads to life and holy, spiritual fruit. We should not longer use our bodies as weapons for unrighteousness which leads to death, and consequently wood, hay, and stubble to build on the foundation of Christ (1 Cor 3:10-12). Choosing those things that lead to death will cause the believer to suffer loss when giving account before Jesus Christ, even though they will still be saved from the sin and the death, and experience eternity with their Lord and Savior. Remember, that Bema Seat judgment is not about salvation from sin, but about works done in the flesh. Salvation is solved on the basis if one believes that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures to save from sin (1 Cor 15:1-4).
Our identity as believers is that we are free from sin and now serve God. We ought to be excited and zealous to do these works of righteousness now that we are a new creation in Christ (Eph 2:10, Titus 2:14). We can bear spiritual fruit because we submit to God's authority and let Him work miracles around us. I'm not talking about supernatural healing or speaking in tongues. That's a discussion for another time, but one can see that those aren't the norm after reading 1 Cor 13:8. The miracles I'm talking about are when dead spirits rise to life when they embrace the gospel of the grace of God. We have the joy of serving God in either planting or watering and seeing God bring the increase (1 Cor 3:5-6).
Before I get into the Greek, of which there is much to say, I want to point out the contrast here compared to verses 20-21. The end result, or the conclusion of the works of sin is death. The end result of the works of righteousness is everlasting life. How can God say that if works are not required for salvation? Because of the testimony that believers portray. It pleased God that by the foolishness of preaching that the gospel goes out to the world today to save believers (1 Cor 1:21). Those works of righteousness may lead others to a saving knowledge of who unbelievers are in Christ. When eternity depends on it, don't you think all believers should strive not to follow the works of sin (flesh) and do the work of the Spirit (Gal 5:16-26).
My goodness God is emphatic in this verse and the English does not do it justice. It literally starts with "Now, now." There are 2 definite articles that aren't translated here. The verbs "made free" and "become servants" are both in the Aorist tense, again equating that to the point of salvation of the believer. There is a "de" in the Greek that isn't translated. The verb "have" in "ye have your fruit" is in the present tense, indicating that this is an ongoing thing as long as we draw breath on this earth. The word "and" in the phrase "and the end is everlasting life" is actually another "de." Finally, the word for "end" is the same as in verse 22, meaning the end result. Putting all of that together, here is a more literal translation:
Now (nyn) now (de) having been set free from (apo) the sin, now (de) having become slaves (douloo) to the God, you all have your fruit to the point of (eis) sanctification (holiness, Greek hagiasmos); now the end result is eternal life.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
After reading the last few verses, this conclusion should really be no surprise. God is stating over again what was already addressed and just summarizing. This verse is oft quoted because of its summary, but when the believer takes their time and pours over this chapter, it becomes so much more real as God gets the point ingrained in us.
There are just some missing articles here, but they are consistent with the rest of the chapter as well and worth noting. There is the sin and the God. The end phrase is also more literally in (Greek en) Christ Jesus, the Lord of us. I can also point out that "de" was translated as "but" in this verse. We could also say "now the gift of God is eternal life..."
In any case, what a wonderful summation to the brilliant doctrine God is giving us. There is absolutely no reason that any believer should desire to fulfill the lusts of the flesh after understanding their identity as presented in this chapter. The only reason I can imagine why there are believers who live like the world is because they don't know who they are in Christ. This chapter could not be clearer in how dead we are to sin because of our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. We are so amazingly alive in Him and can fight the good fight in order to build upon the foundation of Christ to show others how they can also have eternal life. I encourage all to be zealous for those good works, embrace them daily, and show the world the glory of God through living out the gospel of His matchless grace as given in the doctrine through the apostle Paul!
References HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer [2]
Strong's Concordance [3]
No comments:
Post a Comment