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So now, those who belong to Jesus Christ are no longer condemned for their sins. Through Christ, they have been justified—declared righteous before God.12
KJV
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
What God's Law could never accomplish because of the weakness of our sinful nature, God Himself accomplished. He sent His own Son into the world in a human body like ours, yet without sin, to deal with sin once and for all. Through His sacrifice, God condemned sin in the flesh,4
KJV
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
To gar adynaton tou nomou, en hō ēsthenei dia tēs sarkos, ho theos ton heautou huion pempsas en homoiōmati sarkos hamartias kai peri hamartias katekrinen tēn hamartian en tē sarki;
so that the righteous requirements of His Law might be fulfilled in us—not through the strength of our sinful nature, but through a new life directed by the Holy Spirit.
KJV
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Those who live according to their sinful nature set their minds on satisfying their evil cravings. But those who live according to the Holy Spirit set their minds on fulfilling God's righteous desires.5
KJV
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
But you are no longer under the control of your sinful nature and its evil cravings. You belong to the Spirit, because God's Spirit dwells within you. And anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.
KJV
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.
Yet even though your body remains subject to death because of sin, Christ lives within you. And because you have been made right with God, the Spirit gives you life.6
KJV
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
And if the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives within you, then the same God who raised Christ will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling within you.
KJV
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.
Ei de to pneuma tou egeirantos Iēsoun ek nekrōn oikei en hymin, ho egeiras ton christon ek nekrōn zōopoiēsei kai ta thnēta sōmata hymōn, dia to enoikoun autou pneuma en hymin.
For if you continue living under the control of your sinful nature, you are headed toward death. But if, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you put to death the sinful practices of your body, you will truly live.
KJV
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.
You have not received a spirit of slavery that leaves you living in fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry out to God, “Abba! Father!”
KJV
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
And because we are His children, we are also His heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. If we share in His sufferings, we will also share in His glory.
KJV
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
For creation itself was subjected to frustration and decay, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One who subjected it. Yet even in this, God provided hope,
KJV
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
And creation is not alone in its suffering. Even we who have received the Holy Spirit as the first gift of God's promised inheritance groan within ourselves, eagerly awaiting the day when our adoption as God's children reaches its fulfillment through the redemption of our bodies.
KJV
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Ou monon de, alla kai autoi tēn aparchēn tou pneumatos echontes, kai hēmeis autoi en heautois stenazomen, huiothesian apekdechomenoi, tēn apolytrōsin tou sōmatos hēmōn.
For we have been saved with the confident hope that God will complete our redemption. But hope that has already been fulfilled is no longer hope. After all, who continues hoping for something they already possess?
KJV
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
And in the same way, the Holy Spirit comes alongside us in our weakness. There are times when we don't even know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings that express what words cannot.11
KJV
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Hōsautōs de kai to pneuma synantilambanetai tais astheneiais hēmōn; to gar ti proseuxometha katho dei, ouk oidamen, all’ auto to pneuma hyperentynchanei hyper hēmōn stenagmois alalētois;
And God, who searches the depths of every heart, knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in perfect harmony with His will.
KJV
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
For those whom God knew before the beginning of time, He also established their purpose beforehand: that they would become like His Son, so that Jesus Christ would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.1314
KJV
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
And those whom God had determined beforehand would become like His Son, He also called. Those He called, He also justified—declaring them righteous before Him. And those He justified, He also glorified, bringing them into the glorious future He has prepared for His children.
KJV
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
God did not spare even His own Son, but willingly gave Him up for us all. And if He gave us His Son, won't He also graciously give us everything we need to fulfill His purpose?
KJV
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Then who could possibly condemn us? Jesus Christ died for us, was raised from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf.
KJV
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
For I am absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers and authorities—even the evil powers of this world—neither the troubles of today nor the uncertainties of tomorrow, nor any spiritual power,1819
KJV
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
neither the highest heavens nor the deepest depths, nor anything else in all of creation, will ever be able to separate us from the love of God revealed through Jesus Christ our Lord.
KJV
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
oute hypsōma oute bathos oute tis ktisis hetera dynēsetai hēmas chōrisai apo tēs agapēs tou theou tēs en christō Iēsou tō kyriō hēmōn.
Notes
Romans 8:1Those who live by the Spirit. The Byzantine Greek text, like the KJV, ends verse 1 with “who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (mē kata sarka peripatousin alla kata pneuma). Many older manuscripts end the verse at “in Christ Jesus,” and most modern translations follow them. TWMC keeps the shorter verse; the same words stand in every text at the end of verse 4, where TWMC renders them “through a new life directed by the Holy Spirit.”↩
Romans 8:1No condemnation.Katakrima means condemnation, an adverse judicial verdict. TWMC's second sentence, "Through Christ, they have been justified—declared righteous before God," is not written in verse 1. It is a contextual paraphrase grounded in Romans 3:24–26 and 5:1, 16–18. Justification is God's judicial declaration. It is not sinless perfection, and it is distinct from sanctification, the Spirit's ongoing work of making believers holy.↩
Romans 8:2Set free. Paul sets two "laws" (nomos) against each other: "the law of the Spirit of life" and "the law of sin and death." Here nomos works as a governing principle or ruling power. That is its function in this verse, not the word's meaning everywhere (compare 7:1, where it is the Mosaic Law). TWMC makes the sense plain with "the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit" and "the dominion of sin and death." Variant. The Byzantine text reads "set me free" (ēleutherōsen me), and TWMC follows it. The Nestle–Aland text reads "you" (se), and several modern translations follow that.↩
Romans 8:3What the Law could not do. The Law was "weak through the flesh" (ēsthenei dia tēs sarkos). The weakness was ours, not the Law's (7:12). God sent His Son "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (en homoiōmati sarkos hamartias). That is Paul's wording. TWMC's "a human body like ours, yet without sin" adds an explanation from the rest of Scripture: Christ shared our true humanity (Hebrews 2:14, 17) and was without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21). "Likeness" leaves room for both truths, but the phrase "yet without sin" comes from those passages, not from verse 3. "To deal with sin" renders peri hamartias, "concerning sin." In the Greek Old Testament the same phrase names the sin offering (Leviticus 5:6–7). Hebrews 10:6, 8 uses it the same way, quoting Psalm 40:6 (39:7 in the Greek Old Testament). "Once and for all" is not in Romans 8:3. TWMC draws it from Hebrews 7:27 and 10:10 (ephapax) to show what the sacrifice achieved. Verses 3–4 are one sentence in Greek, and TWMC keeps them as one sentence across the verse break. In verse 4, "righteous requirement" (dikaiōma) is singular. TWMC's plural, "righteous requirements," reads it as everything the Law rightly requires.↩
Romans 8:5Two mindsets. The key word is phroneō / phronēma: what a person sets the mind on, a whole orientation of life. Paul's Greek is brief. Those who are according to the flesh "mind the things of the flesh," and those who are according to the Spirit mind "the things of the Spirit." TWMC builds a deliberate English parallel. In verse 5, "their sinful nature" stands against "the Holy Spirit," "satisfying" against "fulfilling," and "their evil cravings" against "God's righteous desires." In verse 6, death stands against "life and peace with God." The parallel translates the thought, not the words. Neither "cravings" nor "desires" appears in the Greek of verse 5. In verse 9, "and its evil cravings" is not in the Greek either. TWMC repeats it on purpose as an English literary echo of verse 5, not because Paul repeats a Greek term. Future translations of TWMC (Spanish, Kiswahili) should keep the same parallel by equivalent wording rather than word for word. "Flesh" (sarx) here means fallen human nature. It does not mean that the body God made is evil. In verse 9, "because God's Spirit dwells within you" renders eiper, "if indeed" or "since." Here it states a fact about the readers rather than raising a doubt. "No longer under the control" interprets "not in the flesh but in the Spirit." It does not mean believers can no longer be tempted or sin.↩
Romans 8:10Life now, resurrection to come. The Greek of verse 10 is compact: "the body is dead because of sin, but the pneuma is life because of righteousness." Pneuma can mean the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, and Greek manuscripts had no capital letters to tell us which. TWMC's approved wording, "the Spirit gives you life," takes it as the Holy Spirit.↩
Romans 8:12No debt to the flesh. "We are debtors" (opheiletai), but not to the flesh. TWMC's "we owe nothing to our sinful nature" states the negative half. "You are headed toward death" renders mellete apothnēskein, "you are going to die." "Put to death" (thanatoute) is present tense: an ongoing practice, done "by the Spirit."↩
Romans 8:14Adopted children and heirs. Verse 14 says huioi theou, "sons of God," and verse 16 says tekna theou, "children of God." TWMC renders both as "children," which includes every believer, women and men. Huiothesia (v. 15) is "adoption," literally being placed as a son with full rights of inheritance. Roman law gave an adopted son the full standing and inheritance of a natural son. Paul's readers in Rome would have known this background. Abba is the Aramaic word for "father." Jesus prays it in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36), and Paul pairs it with the Greek ho patēr ("Father") here and in Galatians 4:6. It is warm and personal, but the popular claim that it means "Daddy" goes beyond the evidence. "Confirms with our spirit" renders symmartyrei, "bears witness together with." Two witnesses agree: the Spirit and our spirit (compare Deuteronomy 19:15). In verse 17, eiper sympaschomen is "if indeed we suffer with Him." TWMC's "if we share in His sufferings" keeps the condition.↩
Romans 8:18Creation waits. "I am convinced" renders logizomai, "I reckon" or "I consider," a word for careful calculation. "Eager anticipation" (apokaradokia) pictures someone straining forward with neck outstretched. TWMC's "all creation waits" personifies creation, as Paul does. It does not claim that rocks and trees have human minds. In verse 20, "frustration" renders mataiotēs: futility, emptiness, purpose frustrated. TWMC's "and decay" reaches ahead to phthora ("corruption, decay") in verse 21, where Paul speaks of "bondage to corruption." Paul says creation was subjected "because of the one who subjected it" (dia ton hypotaxanta), "in hope" (eph' elpidi). He does not name the One. TWMC's "Yet even in this, God provided hope" interprets the subjecting One as God. That is an interpretation, not wording in the Greek.↩
Romans 8:22Groaning and hope.Systenazei kai synōdinei means creation "groans together and suffers birth pains together." Birth pains end in new life. In verse 23, aparchē is "firstfruits." It is a harvest word: the first sheaf, given to God as a pledge that the rest of the harvest is coming (Leviticus 23:10). TWMC's approved "the first gift of God's promised inheritance" expresses what the firstfruits mean for believers: the Spirit now is the first part of more to come. Its wording ("promised inheritance") is close to a different image Paul uses elsewhere, the arrabōn or "pledge, down payment" of Ephesians 1:14. The two images are not the same word or the same picture. Paul's word in Romans 8:23 is the harvest image. Believers already have adoption (8:15), yet they still await its fullness, "the redemption of our body" (8:23). Paul's Greek says "for in hope we were saved" (tē elpidi esōthēmen). TWMC's "with the confident hope that God will complete our redemption" makes explicit the hope described in verse 23: the final redemption of our bodies and the fullness of our adoption. Those words are a contextual paraphrase, not extra Greek wording. Salvation is already received, and its completion is still awaited. Verses 23–25 form one connected thought. "Patient endurance" (v. 25) renders hypomonē, steadfast staying power.↩
Romans 8:26The Spirit helps and intercedes."Comes alongside us" renders synantilambanetai, a rare double compound meaning "takes hold together with," like someone lifting the other end of a heavy load. "Weakness." The Byzantine text has the plural, tais astheneiais hēmōn, "our weaknesses." The Nestle–Aland text has the singular, tē astheneia. TWMC's "our weakness" follows the singular sense. That gathers the weaknesses into one, which is also how most English translations read. "Intercedes." In verse 26 the verb is hyperentynchanei, a strengthened form, "intercedes on behalf of." The Byzantine text adds hyper hēmōn, "for us," which TWMC includes. In verse 27, the simple entynchanei is used, the same verb Paul uses of Christ in 8:34. The Spirit intercedes kata theon, literally "according to God." TWMC's "in perfect harmony with His will" spells that out. The Spirit is the one who groans. The Greek makes the Spirit Himself the one who intercedes "with wordless groanings" (stenagmois alalētois). TWMC's "groanings that express what words cannot" keeps Him as the actor. It does not mean He only translates our own sighs, and Paul does not limit His help to moments of grief. Groaning continuity. Paul uses the same word family three times: creation systenazei (v. 22), we stenazomen (v. 23), the Spirit with stenagmois alalētois (v. 26). TWMC keeps "groaning" in all three places so that readers can see the pattern. "God's people" renders hagiōn, "saints" or "holy ones," Paul's normal word for all believers.↩
Romans 8:28God at work. The Byzantine Greek reads “all things work together for good” (panta synergei eis agathon), without naming God as the subject. Some early manuscripts add “God” (ho theos), reading “God works all things together for good.” TWMC names God as the One at work because the verse itself points to Him: the promise is for “those who love God” and are “called according to His purpose,” and verse 29 continues with what “He” foreknew and planned. The “good” is defined by verse 29: becoming like His Son, not ease in every circumstance.↩
Romans 8:29The Purpose of God's Predestination. Paul declares that those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. In verse 30, Paul repeats the Greek verb proōrisen (προώρισεν), meaning “He predestined” or “He determined beforehand,” before continuing with God's calling, justification, and glorification. The Word, Made Clear intentionally renders this as “those whom God had determined beforehand would become like His Son.” This is a thought-for-thought contextual paraphrase. It carries the stated purpose of predestination from verse 29 into verse 30, allowing the reader to follow Paul's continuous argument without losing the connection between the verses. The paraphrase does not deny God's predetermining action. Nor does it assert that God causes an individual's decision to believe. The relationship between God's foreknowledge, His sovereign choice, and human freedom remains a matter of substantial theological disagreement. TWMC's accompanying theological commentary discusses these interpretations in detail, including the author's understanding that God's eternal foreknowledge is compatible with meaningful human response to His grace. The controlling emphasis of Romans 8:29–30 remains the assurance of God's purpose: those who belong to Christ are destined to be transformed into His likeness and brought into His glory. This rendering preserves Paul's stated purpose while leaving disputed explanations of election to the theological commentary rather than presenting one interpretation as the literal meaning of the Greek.↩
Romans 8:29Foreknowledge and God's purpose.Verse 29 in TWMC. "Those whom God knew before the beginning of time" interprets proegnō, "foreknew". Paul does not use a time phrase there. "Established their purpose beforehand" interprets proōrisen, "predestined", in light of the purpose Paul states: becoming like His Son. The Greek does use the language of predestination, and the verse alone does not settle how God's choosing relates to faith. On proginōskō ("foreknew"). In ordinary Greek the word means to know something beforehand. In the Bible, "know" often means a personal, chosen relationship, not only awareness of facts: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2, KJV); "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23). Paul uses proginōskō of God's people in Romans 11:2 ("His people whom He foreknew," hon proegnō). Peter uses it of Christ, "foreknown before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20, proegnōsmenou). Some read these as relational foreknowing, God setting His love on people beforehand. Others read them as foreseeing, especially foreseeing faith. The word can carry either sense, so it cannot settle the debate by itself. "Firstborn" (prōtotokos). The word marks rank and honor as well as birth order. God says of David's line, "I will make him My firstborn" (Psalm 89:27; 88:28 in the Greek Old Testament). Christ is "firstborn of all creation" and "firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:15, 18). "Glorified" (edoxasen, v. 30). Paul uses the past tense for something still future. God's purpose is so certain that Paul can speak of it as done. TWMC's "bringing them into the glorious future He has prepared" makes the future plain.↩
Romans 8:31God is for us. "If God is on our side" renders ei ho theos hyper hēmōn, "if God is for us." The "if" assumes the fact: "since God is for us." TWMC's "on our side" deliberately mirrors "stand against us" in the same verse. "Did not spare His own Son" (tou idiou huiou ouk epheisato) may echo Genesis 22. In the Greek Old Testament, God tells Abraham, "you have not spared your beloved son" (Genesis 22:12, 16). Both passages use the same verb (pheidomai, "spare"), negated, with "son." "Gave Him up" (paredōken) is the verb of Isaiah 53:6 in Greek ("the Lord gave Him up for our sins") and of 53:12. These are possible allusions, supported by shared vocabulary. Paul does not mark either one as a quotation. "Everything we need to fulfill His purpose" interprets ta panta, "all things." Paul's phrase is wider. TWMC narrows it to the saving purpose of the chapter, so that it cannot be read as a promise of wealth or a life without hardship.↩
Romans 8:33The courtroom. These verses are written as a trial. "Bring an accusation" (enkalesei) is a legal charge. "God is the one who justifies" (theos ho dikaiōn) is the judge's verdict. "Who is the one who condemns?" (tis ho katakrinōn) asks for the opposing verdict. The wording may echo Isaiah 50:8–9, where the Servant says in the Greek Old Testament, "He who justifies me is near; who is the one who contends with me?" Both passages share the verb "justify" and the "who…?" challenge. This is a possible echo, not a formal quotation. "Those God has chosen" renders eklektōn theou, "God's elect." The phrase names God's people without settling how He chose them (see the full study at 8:29–30). In verse 34 the Greek says "at the right hand of God" (en dexia tou theou). TWMC's "of the Father" names the same Person, as the rest of the New Testament does (Acts 2:33; Hebrews 1:3). The right hand is the place of honor and authority. The image speaks of Christ's exaltation and reign (Psalm 110:1).↩
Romans 8:35More than conquerors. Paul lists seven hardships. He reports facing several of the same kinds of hardship elsewhere: dangers, hunger and nakedness among them (2 Corinthians 11:23–27). Romans 8:35 itself does not say that the list is autobiographical. TWMC gives close equivalents for five of the seven and broader words for two: "Poverty" stands for gymnotēs, "nakedness," lacking even clothing. "Poverty" keeps the idea of deprivation but loses the picture of exposure and shame. "The threat of death" stands for machaira, "the sword," the instrument of violence and execution. "The threat of death" keeps the danger to life but loses the picture of violent death at human hands. Verse 36 quotes Psalm 44:22 (43:23 in the Greek Old Testament). The Greek of Romans matches that psalm word for word. "More than conquerors" renders hypernikōmen, "we overwhelmingly conquer." The victory comes "through Him who loved us" (dia tou agapēsantos hēmas).↩
Romans 8:38The order of the powers. The Byzantine Greek lists angels, rulers (archai), powers (dynameis), things present, things to come. TWMC names “any spiritual power” after today and tomorrow, the order found in many modern translations. The meaning is the same either way: no created force can separate us from God's love in Christ.↩
Romans 8:38Nothing in all creation.Archai means "rulers" or "principalities." In Paul it can mean human or spiritual authorities (Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15). Dynameis means "powers." The added phrase. TWMC's "even the evil powers of this world" is a contextual explanation drawn from related Scripture (Ephesians 6:12). It is not a claim that every authority is evil. The order of the list. In the Byzantine text (Robinson–Pierpont 2026, checked) the order is: angels, rulers, powers, things present, things to come. The Nestle–Aland text puts "powers" after things present and things to come. TWMC's wording ("neither the troubles of today nor the uncertainties of tomorrow, nor any spiritual power") follows the second order. The approved wording stays unchanged, and the approved 8:38 note discloses the difference. "Height" and "depth."Hypsōma means "height" and bathos "depth." TWMC renders them "the highest heavens" and "the deepest depths." The end of the list. "Nor any other created thing" (oute tis ktisis hetera) becomes "nor anything else in all of creation." One sentence. Verses 38–39 are one sentence in Greek, and TWMC keeps it whole, piling up the pairs until "nothing in all creation." "The love of God." The Greek says "the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (tēs agapēs tou theou tēs en Christō Iēsou). TWMC's "revealed through Jesus Christ our Lord" interprets "in Christ." The phrase means God's love is found in Christ and shown through Him. It points to union with Christ: God's love reaches us in Him, and no created force can cut us off from it.↩