Romans 7:1–25 had described the weakness of human beings, who are unable to overcome their passions and desires through their flesh. Even if a man loves the good law of God with his inner self, his members, that is, his bodily actions, often obey the indwelling sin, which employs impulses and desires to this end. Although God’s law is good, it is unable to overcome this disintegration in human beings. A brief exclamation of joy and gratitude at the end of the previous chapter (Romans 7:25a) points to the fact that God does overcome that disintegration through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This short exclamation summarizes what Paul had already discussed earlier in the letter: through Jesus, God is reconciled to us, and we have peace with God. Jesus’ resurrection guarantees life in the glory of God for all who, through faith, have been baptized, and have died and been buried with him (see Romans 5:1–7:6). At the beginning of Romans 7:1–25 Paul expressed this in a special way. Having died to the law we now belong to a different Lord through which we now serve in the newness of the Spirit.

Here in Romans 8:1–39 the apostle returns to the point that he had already made in Romans 7:6, where he briefly diverted in order to address the issue of human weakness (Romans 7:7–25). He now returns to the main point regarding the newness of the Spirit. Here he approaches it more from the inside out, however, and in doing so, he will be answering a question that could have spontaneously arouse among his readers following Romans 7:1–25. Human weakness always seems to prevent us from a life with God, doesn’t it? So what is it then that actually changes once people place themselves under the lordship of Jesus? The law God gave is good. Nevertheless, people still slip away from God and die because of the fact that their flesh, with all its passions and desires, is so weak. The new Lord that God gives us is good. But wouldn’t history repeat itself? Is Jesus truly in us (Romans 8:10) more than the law could ever be with us?

To answer this question, Paul starts writing about what it means that Jesus is in the believers. That leads to this lengthy chapter about the Spirit of God, whom we receive through Christ. He is God himself. He is the glory of God and the power of the Almighty. Under the law, this same Spirit inspired prophets and seers again and again when he came upon them. And this Spirit now comes to live in believers.

We now have a whole new scenario: through his Spirit God enters the believers who are structurally disintegrated and fall victim to the rift between their love for God and the weakness of their flesh, their nature. This new presence of God in the inner person becomes the breakthrough to eternal life (Romans 8:1–11). Furthermore, as heirs, the Spirit teaches us to declare victory (Romans 8:12–17), he generates the expectation of deliverance in creation as a whole (Romans 8:18–25), he prays his own prayer regarding our lives (Romans 8:26–30), and he teaches us to rejoice in Christ (Romans 8:31–38).

Some exegetes, such as Sylvia Keesmaat,¹ argue that the exodus-tradition from the people’s deliverance from Egypt forms the background to Romans 8:1–39. Paul is then said to re-interpret this tradition for the time of the Spirit: the people have been delivered and are now being led by a heavenly guide to the Promised Land.

 At first glance the first part of this chapter (Romans 8:1–11) seems rather complex, since Paul initially here describes a new topic by employing the old material from the preceding chapter. Hence, the sentences in the first section (Romans 8:1–8) tend to be rather complex. When Paul proceeds to describe the new focus of Romans 8:1–39 in the next section, he does so in a much more straightforward way, namely, namely highlighting that Christ now lives in us through his Spirit (Romans 8:9–11). In this first section of the chapter Paul indicates how the indwelling Spirit of Christ constitutes the third law in contradistinction to the law of sin and the law of Sinai. This time it is a law that comes not only from God (as the law of Moses did), but specifically from the Spirit who as the Holy One has power to save us from the weakness of our own nature which yields before the power of sin.

In Romans 8:12–39 the apostle then proceeds to describe the effects of the indwelling of the Spirit in us and how we become aware of his work. In the first place he mentions calling upon God as Father. This serves as a seal and confirmation to us that we may know ourselves heirs to the glory of the Son, who already lives in his presence in heaven. Only by calling upon our Father can we finally achieve victory against sin’s disintegration of our earthly lives.

It was already made clear in Romans 1:1–32 that, in his letter to the Christians in the metropolis of Rome, Paul focused his gaze on humanity and creation as a whole (Romans 1:16–32). This is also a very logic focus, since the apostle works as a servant of the Creator of heaven and earth, of Adam and Eve. He is therefore servant of the God who has legal jurisdiction over all people and judges everyone (Romans 2:1–11). The focus of the gospel is to reconcile people to God so that they can once again live in peace with God and bring them back to the glory of the Holy One (Romans 5:1–5). Paul remains conscious of this cosmic perspective throughout the letter, even when, as in Romans 6:1–7:25, his focus had been more on the inner struggle of individual people. In Romans 8:1–39 he then articulates the deliverance of the believer through the Spirit of God expressly within the context of this cosmic framework. The care of the soul and the restoration of the world are extensions of one another. Adam was intended to be the king of creation. In Romans 8:17 Paul highlights how children of God become heirs, thereby preparing his readers for this next section (Romans 8:18–25) where the focus lies on the coming inheritance, when God’s children will be revealed and share in his glory. Likewise in the famous passage of Romans 8:28–30, Paul highlights God’s future glory. Creation longs for it (Romans 8:19–21), the believers groan inwardly for it (Romans 8:23), and the Spirit himself prays for it (Romans 8:26). This eager expectation will most certainly not be disappointed, for we are saved in this hope (Romans 8:24a).

The hope and firm confidence that we have through faith rests on God’s work of redemption. Paul describes this confidence in the concluding section of this chapter, Romans 8:32–39. It is based on what God has done for us in Christ (Romans 8:32–34) and it gives us courage in the midst of all attacks in this life (Romans 8:35–39).²