Good - quotes and sayings. Good - aphorisms and quotes Athonite elders about prayer
"The mind of the flesh is death". Here, at the beginning, the particle for is missing. Here the Apostle explains why the mind of the flesh (v. 5) cannot lead to the fulfillment of the law (v. 4), while the grace that frees us from the law of sin and death (v. 2) does. The reason for this is that thinking after the flesh brings a person back to death! And the law wanted to free man from sin and death... "Spiritual Thoughts - Life and Peace". A person striving for higher, spiritual goals enters into communion with God and receives from Him true life and complete peace of mind or salvation. - "Because carnal thoughts. The apostle gives the reason why the flesh can only lead a person to death. These thoughts make of a person a creature hostile to God, and the distance from God is spiritual death. - "Do not submit" - more correctly: does not submit, because the subject here should be the word: the flesh, which is discussed in this entire department. - It cannot - precisely because the flesh lives in sin (), is enslaved to sin (). However, this does not mean that a person is no longer able to submit to the law of God: when he wants, he can do this too. The apostle speaks here of the ordinary state of the unregenerate man. John Golden. points to numerous cases of conversion of sinners, to prove the above position, although, according to his explanation, what is actually possible for those who can receive - of course, in Christianity - help from the Spirit ...
"Therefore, those who dwell in the flesh...". This is the conclusion to verses 5-7. To live in the flesh here means the same as to live according to the flesh. The flesh is for many a vital sphere into which they are wholly immersed. “They cannot please God. The Romans, like other pagans, had a very different opinion about this. Among the pagans, as you know, the gods were the personification of various human passions and vices. Living in passions often means serving the gods! It was pleasing to the gods to see this in public... The apostle probably does not mean this belief of the Romans, traces of which could be preserved among some Roman Christians, and considers it necessary to refute it. – It should be noted that the Apostle is very far from having any disregard for the flesh in general. He understands here only the flesh standing under the harmful action of sin, and life in the flesh, the satisfaction of the needs of the flesh, as soon as it functions correctly, under the influence of the renewing grace of Christ - all this was in his eyes a subject worthy of full attention. He even puts the cares and cares of a person about the flesh in parallel with the care of Christ about the Church ().
. But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Addressing Christians, the Apostle explains to them why the justification of the law must and can be fulfilled on them (v. 4). The reason for this is that they live according to the spirit. The spirit here means the beginning, the opposite of the flesh - this is the highest side of the human being. This beginning, if only a person listens to his instructions, leads a person to the realization of lofty goals, which the law of Moses had. - "If only" . This is not an expression of doubt, but an undoubted statement and is equal to the expression: because (John Zpat.). - "The Spirit of God lives in you". Man's own spirit, however, is not enough to achieve salvation. The Christian achieves the last precisely because his own spirit is enlightened and strengthened by the Spirit of God living in the Christian (cf.). - “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ”. Since this clearly indicates a state opposite to that just described, the Spirit of Christ must be understood here as the same Spirit of God. He is called Christ, as sent for the sake of the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ (). - "Not His", i.e. not Christ's, is not in the closest communion with Christ (cf.;).
. And if Christ is in you, then the body is dead to sin, but the spirit is alive to righteousness.
"And if Christ is in you". The apostle further reveals the salvific consequences of the fact he noted - the fellowship of Christians with Christ. From the fact that he replaces the expression "Spirit of Christ" with the single word "Christ", it is clear that the existence of Christ in us is at the same time the existence of His Spirit or the Spirit of God (): one presupposes the other. That is why Christ said to the apostles: “Whoever loves me will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” ().
"The body is dead to sin". The apostle undoubtedly speaks of bodily death: our body is subject to death, must die. At st. 11th, where bodily resurrection is discussed, neither the expression δι ᾿αμαρτίν through sin (according to the Russian translation is incorrect: "for sin"), nor the connection of this place with 1 and 2 st. allow no other explanation. Through sin or because of sin. Already above, the Apostle explained the close connection between sin and death (), why this sin is not covered here anymore. It is most natural, therefore, to see here an indication of the sin of the Adams, or at least of some of its remnants, which are not completely destroyed even in the regenerate man. And in the rite of burial of Orthodox Christians, therefore, it is said that there is no person who would not sin during his life, and from this it follows that every person must die ...
"The Spirit Lives". It is a human spirit, but a new spirit, standing under the direct action of the Spirit of God. This spirit, as it should be translated from the Greek, is life (ζωή), that is, not only living, but also one whose being is life; reborn to carry the beginning eternal life. - For the truth. Again, instead of this expression, another must be put: through the truth (διά δικαιοσύνην). The apostle understands here how one can conclude from the end of the text of the speech, that righteousness, which is the true fulfillment of the law with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Divine Justice requires that life be served where there is righteousness. Just as Christ Himself entered into a glorified life by putting aside the power of sin from Himself and living for God (Rom. 6ff.), so it is with every believer.
. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you.
Here the Apostle shows that in the end our body will also be freed from the power of death. - “If the Spirit… lives in you”. The apostle, in essence, repeats the thought of verse 10 ("Christ in you"). He characterizes the Spirit of God as the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead. He mentions this resurrection of Jesus so that we may have hope for the same resurrection. For this, he calls the Savior here simply Jesus - His human name: the resurrection of the man Jesus ((XVII im. 2, 5) also guarantees the resurrection of other people.
"Christ". The apostle deliberately replaces the name Jesus with this name to show that our mediator, intercessor, the Messiah, has been resurrected and that, because of this, our confidence in our resurrection should be even stronger. - "Revives". Our bodies, which have undergone complete destruction, will also need a complete restoration of life, which is denoted by the expression "to revive" (ζωοποείν ), while for the body of Christ, which was not subjected to such destruction, a simple awakening (εγείρειν) was enough. Christ rested in the tomb! (“Having fallen asleep in the flesh…” the Church sings about the dead Christ). - "Mortals" - who have to die. - “By His Spirit”, i.e. for the sake of His Spirit dwelling in you. Such bodies, which have been honored to serve as a temple for the Holy Spirit (), cannot be left by God forever in the dust: they must be resurrected! (cf.).
. So, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh to live according to the flesh;
In view of what is said about the flesh and death on the one hand (in verses 5-9) and about the Spirit on the other (vs. 10-11), the Apostle now rightly admonishes readers not to serve the flesh, but rather try to suppress her excitement. By doing this, and at the same time giving themselves to the leading of the Spirit of God, readers receive the assurance that they are in fact children of God. The Holy Spirit, who guides them, convinces them of this. Why is this consciousness important? The children of God, obviously, have every reason to hope to receive the same blessings that their First-born brother received (), if they only fearlessly follow the same path of suffering that Christ went through. And these sufferings are too insignificant compared to the glorification awaiting true Christians.
"We are not debtors of the flesh", i.e. owe obedience not to the flesh. - "To live according to the flesh", i.e., to fulfill her various sinful wishes.
. for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
"If you live according to the flesh, you will die". With these words, the apostle points out the absurd idea that many had in themselves, as if life according to the flesh, in sin, is real life! This is not life, but a sure path to death... On the contrary, life can be the property of only those who seek to suppress the deeds of the flesh in themselves. By these deeds, the Apostle means those phenomena - both external and internal - the culprit of which is the flesh, without control by the spirit. And the flesh, as you know, is still under the influence of the remnants of hereditary sin. - By the Spirit, i.e., a blessed soul, which should guide the whole life of a person and mortify, i.e., not allow the needs of the flesh to develop excessively. - "You will live." Christians are still alive, but their life will develop more and more and become stronger, and will finally become an eternal and blessed life, not only in the spirit, as now (v. 10), but also in the body (v. 11).
. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are sons of God.
The apostle said that Christians who put to death the deeds of the flesh will receive eternal and blessed life. This is what he now wants to prove. With what? An indication that they, Christians, being led by the Spirit of God, as the Apostle said in the last words of the 1st verse, are the sons of God, and therefore the heirs of eternal life. But the last conclusion the Apostle makes only in the 17th verse. He devotes the next verses 15-16 to the proof of the idea that Christians are really the sons of God.
. Because you did not receive the spirit of bondage to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry: “Abba, Father!”
"They did not accept the spirit of slavery". The Jews - before Christ, treated the law of Moses as obedient slaves, fulfilling its instructions out of fear of punishment. Persons such as David, who found the words of the law of God () sweet, were exceptions among the Jewish people. The pagans felt their humiliation before their gods even more and lived in constant fear in the face of their formidable and vengeful gods. - "The Spirit of Adoption", i.e., the Spirit, which appeared only during the period of the adoption of people by God. In this period - the Christian one - God accepts believers in Christ as his children and grants them all the rights of children (). - "Which" - more correctly: in which. The Spirit is the element in Christians that drives their entire inner life. - "We call" is an exclamation of prayerful feelings (cf.).
"Avva" . This name, which originally passed from Jewish prayers to Christian ones, as a common noun, gradually took on the character of a proper name. However, among the Jews this name was used about God only in the mouths of the people (; ; ), and only in the New Testament, when each individual believer felt himself a child of God, did it begin to be used in prayers of individuals. - "Father". According to Greek placed here named. case (o πατήρ), as an appendix to the word Abba, so both of these words must be translated: “Abba, dear father.”
. This same Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
Subjective, our personal, internal, conviction in our God-son state is also confirmed by external, alien evidence (subjective). This is the testimony of the Holy Spirit. - "This very" - more correctly: Himself (αυτό), that is, the Spirit Himself now acts as a witness, while our prayer previously testified to the same, although performed in the spirit of God. - "Evidence"- more precisely: testifies together (σομμαρτιρεί ). This means that here he already points to the second evidence of our spirit, which was mentioned in the previous verse. Thus, two witnesses appear: our spirit (νους), enlightened by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God Himself. - "Children" - more precisely: children (τέκνα), an expression - of greater tenderness than children.
. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with Him in order to be glorified with Him.
"Heirs". The apostle goes further in this argument. Christians are now already heirs, or rather, participants (τληρονόμοι) in all the blessings that belong to their Father, God, and in time will receive a participation in the highest good that God owns, namely in eternal blessed life (v. 13) . God here, of course, is conceived not as a dying ruler, but as a living distributor of property to his children (). - "Joint heirs with Christ". Here, of course, not a new inheritance, but the same as in the above expression. The Apostle especially mentions Christ because He has already taken possession of His full filial part - received blessedness and greatness through the resurrection from the dead. - "If only we suffer with him". The expression “if only” does not weaken Christians’ confidence in receiving the inheritance, but only encourages them to test themselves in whether their fellowship with Christ is strong enough not to be destroyed in the heavy trials that fall on Christians. He suffers with Christ who, for the sake of the Gospel, goes to all sorts of torments ().
. For I think that the current temporal sufferings are worth nothing in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Since some Christians were weighed down by their sufferings, which they had to endure for the name of Christ, the Apostle reminds them that it is impossible to compare these sufferings in strength and significance with future glory. - "Worth nothing"- more precisely from Greek: they do not have a corresponding dignity (ουψ άξια). - “It will open” (αποκαλυφθήναι) - it will open precisely at the second coming of Christ. At the present time this glory, although it exists, is still hidden in heaven (cf. Col 3ff.).
. For the creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God,
What is the basis of Christian hope for future greatness? First of all, on the sighs of an unreasonable creature, in which its desire for a better future is expressed. Then, a rational creature, namely believing Christians, also feel dissatisfaction with the present - they still lack bodily redemption. Finally, the Spirit of God, who dwells in believers, by His intercession for believers, confirms that they really have to receive the greatness that they now do not have. If it were not possible for believers to receive such greatness, then the Holy Spirit would not intercede for it. Thus, we get a threefold foundation of our hope and future glorification: the testimony of a foolish creature (19-22), the testimony of the children of God (23-25) and the testimony of the Spirit of God (26-27).
"Creature" (κτίσις). The expression itself is not sufficiently specific. It can mean: 1) establishment, planting, the act of creation, 2) an unreasonable creature and 3) humanity. The first meaning here is clearly not suitable, and as for the third, it can hardly be accepted to explain the present place. In fact, humanity is divided into Christians and non-Christians. As for the former, the Apostle speaks of them separately later in Art. 23, and Paul designates non-Christian humanity with the word "world" (o χόσμος). Moreover, one of two things must be admitted, either these non-Christians before the second coming of Christ will turn to Christ and will no longer form part of the creature, which will be glorified after the glorification of the children of God, i.e. believers (the end of the 21st century), or they they will not be converted at all and, consequently, will not prove worthy of any glorification. Clearly, it remains only to assume that the Apostle here means all unreasonable creation, both animate and inanimate. The future manifestation of this creature is mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments (; ; ; ; ). - "With hope." The Greek word here, translated with hope, (αποκαροδοκία) actually means: “standing with your head stretched forward” - a symbol of expectation, “gazing into the distance.” - "Revelations of the Sons of God", i.e., the event that will lead to the glorification of the sons of God or those who believe in Christ. Then they will become de facto (in fact) what they are now only de jure (that is, to which they are only still entitled) - namely, heirs to Christ (v. 17).
. because the creation was subjected to futility, not voluntarily, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope,
. that creation itself will be freed from its bondage to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Why does the Apostle ascribe to the foolish creature the hope of glorifying believers and of his own restoration? Because she already had such hope when she followed man along the path of slavery, vanity and decay. - "Succumbed to the hustle and bustle", i.e., submitted, as to an alien power, to insignificance - to such a way of existence that has no true dignity in comparison with the perfection that the creature or nature originally possessed. It is possible, however, by vanity (ματαιότης) to understand the unworthy treatment of man with nature. Instead of ennobling and improving nature, man made her suffer from his greed, cruelty, and folly. - "Not willing". Nature in this submission to the law of vanity is not like man. He consciously and voluntarily chose for himself the path leading to death, she, against her will, entered this path. - "But according to the will that conquered her", i.e., by the will of God, Who already at creation subordinated the creation to man and then, after the fall of man, showed the whole creation the same path as its master: she, as serving man, could not rise above him with her inheritance (Theodoret ) .
"In hope" . This, of course, is not in the true sense of hope, which is the property of only a rational being, but a kind of vague foreboding. It is more correct to see here the poetic personification of the creature, as it were, a living thinking being. - "What…" . According to the Russian translation, here is indicated the content of the hope that the Apostle just spoke about. Other newest translations see here a proof of the above thought that the creation has hope for restoration (here, on the basis of some ancient codices, they read not ότιι what, αδιότι because). Since, however, it has not yet been said what exactly the creature hopes for, it is more likely that the translation is Russian. Only the next word sama (αυτή) should be replaced by the pronoun she, so that the repetition of the subject does not turn out, as in the Russian translation (creature ... in the hope that the creature itself ...). Then it will be possible to translate it like this: “the creature… in the hope that she, the creature, will be freed…”.
"Slavery to decay"(τής φθορας ). The genitive case of corruption is the so-called. parental accessories. The apostle wants to say that the bondage or service that the creature performs in its present condition cannot be defined otherwise than corruption. Everything that the creature produces, all this necessarily decays and becomes corruption (cf. v. 20 - vanity). – Does this mean, however, that the creature, the irrational nature, was incorruptible before the fall of man? Although some of the ancient church interpreters tend to give an affirmative answer to this question, others clearly say that “all visible creation received mortal nature as its inheritance, because the Creator of all kinds foresaw the crime of Adam and the death sentence that would be pronounced on him” ( Theodoret). The newest interpreters (for example, Richter) also almost agree that nature was created corruptible, and that man added to this decay all sorts of deteriorations on his part: he began to beat and torture animals, devastate forests and turn flowering fields into deserts and etc. As a result of this, nature began to serve emptiness and decay (the consequences of Adam's sin). Such a state can end, consequently, only when a person is completely freed from the power of sin and the image of God is restored in him again. "Into the Freedom of Glory", i.e., to the state to which the creature must reach through its liberation from the law of vanity. this will be given to the creature so that the sons of God or believers will be glorified, will receive glory, which, of course, will consist in the liberation of their corporeality from subjection to corruption (1 Corinthians 15ff.). The Lord called this glory reconstitution (). So the expression Liberty refers to the creature glory- to the sons of God. Rev. Theophanes speaks of this future state of the creature: “Will not the creature consist of the finest elements, like a diverse combination of iridescent colors”? But the Apostle does not give any immediate instructions about this ...
. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails together until now;
If, as the Apostle says, the creature had no such hope, what would its groans mean? Thus, from the groans of the creature about its distressful state, the Apostle draws the conclusion that the creature is waiting for itself to be restored to its original state. - "We know." The apostle here refers to generally observed facts from the life of nature. Thinking and observant people should be well aware that nature is in an abnormal state. They seem to hear her sighs! - "Moaning and tormented". In both expressions there is a hint that nature is experiencing the same severe torments that a woman in labor experiences (this is especially indicated by the word "tormented" - συνωδίνει, the root of which - αδίνες means "torments of a woman in childbirth"). By this the Apostle points out that the torments of nature are not aimless: she strives, so to speak, to give birth to new life, but cannot achieve this. From here, the significance of the manifold catastrophes that our planet has experienced and continues to experience becomes clear to us. They are not aimless and meaningless, but represent only individual moments that our planet must go through on the way to that phase of its existence that will coincide with the restoration of the glory of the children of God.
. and not only she, but we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body.
Here begins the second argument in favor of the idea of a future glorification of the sons of God. - "We ourselves", i.e. Christians. - "The Beginning of the Spirit". Here the word of the Spirit is the designation of what the firstfruits consists of (this so-called genitiv. epexegeticus). We Christians have. The Holy Spirit as the firstfruits, the first gift of all the blessings awaiting us in the future life. - "We groan in ourselves", i.e., inside, silently, not revealing its sorrow, like unreasonable nature. - "Adoptions". Although believers already have this good (15 and v.), but only as an internal consciousness, and as a certain right, which has not yet been realized externally and in full. - "Redemption of our Body", i.e., freeing it from all the imperfections of the present phase of its existence, or, better, from corruption (v. 21), when it becomes an incorruptible body (; 2 Corinthians 5 ff.;). This will be accomplished either through the resurrection (for the dead 1 Corinthians 15ff.), or through change for those who live to see the 2nd coming of Christ ().
. For we are saved in hope. Hope, when he sees, is not hope; for if anyone sees, why should he hope?
. But when we hope for what we do not see, then we wait patiently.
That believers really groan for adoption, the Apostle here proves by the fact that they have hope. - "We are saved in hope". The salvation of which the Apostle spoke above, on the one hand, is a fact that has already taken place (saved - εσώθημεν - aorist), but on the other hand, complete salvation is still only the object of our hope. - “Hope, when he sees…”. These words of verse 24 are not clear enough. It is more correct to read (as in Greek and Slavic): “the hope that is seen” (that is, when the object of hope is already visible). Such a hope cannot be called hope! The apostle, therefore, wants to say here to Christians who were not satisfied with their external position, the following: “You, of course, highly value your Christian hope. It is one of the three most important Christian virtues (). How do you want complete redemption to be given to you already here on earth? Indeed, in the latter case, you would have to give up hope, put an end forever to your expectations of a better future. Would it be good for you?! But you have this hope, do not part with it, and by this you testify that you are still waiting for something in the future, that you are missing something. - "Waiting with Patience". With these words, the Apostle further strengthens his proof. Christians have hope and hope is steadfast, strong (in patience - δι ᾿υπομονής). Does this persistence make no sense? Can it be that this indifference and contempt for earthly goods, developed by Christians in themselves, when because of them it was necessary to sacrifice the interests of faith, does not say anything? No, it clearly indicates that they feel the abnormality, the imperfection of their present, earthly existence, and strive for heavenly glorification, for complete redemption and salvation.
. Likewise, the Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses; for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings inexpressible.
The third proof that we are to be glorified is the testimony of the Holy Spirit, who also intercedes for us for something higher. - "In our weaknesses"- according to a more attested reading: in our weakness ( τη ασθενεία ημών ). Here you can see an indication of the weakness of our prayer. - As it should, i.e., according to the needs that appear in each individual case. In general, we know what to pray for - this, of course, is our final salvation - but we do not know what exactly we need to pay special attention to in these conditions in order to happily achieve the desired goal. - "Sighs inexpressible". The Spirit of God appears before God with a prayer for us, and His prayers are not clothed in the words of human prayers: in His appeal to God, the Spirit does not need words. Obviously, the Apostle distinguishes these groanings of the Spirit from the groanings of a Christian (v. 23). They are not a product of our spiritual life, but something separate, independent, although it takes place precisely in us. Thus, these sighs can also be distinguished from the prayers of inspired Christians, which they uttered during worship, because for the prayers that were brought, for example, by those who had the gift of tongues (), they were nevertheless conveyed in generally understandable words. Meanwhile, here we are talking about prayers, which are not expressed in words αλαλήτοι.
. He who searches the heart knows what the Spirit is thinking, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The apostle here points out why the Spirit intercedes for us in prayer without words. - "Heart Tester". God is so named here because the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of a reborn person () and although His intercession is not revealed by anything outside, God, before whom all the hearts of people are open, knows about this intercession. - "What is the Spirit's Thought", i.e., what is expressed in His sighing, to which He aspires. “Because…” The apostle just said that God knows about the intercession of the Spirit. By this he made it clear that the Lord recognizes and accepts His intercession. Why? Because the Spirit in His petitions does not go against the plans of the Divine economy, but, on the contrary, completely agrees with them. He intercedes according to the will of God (κατα Θεόν), i.e., as God wants. In addition, He intercedes for Christians as for saints, that is, as for worthy people who have prepared their hearts to serve as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
. Moreover, we know that for those who love God, who are called according to His will, everything works together for good.
To further convince Christians that glorification awaits them, the Apostle now points to their calling to Christ. It is not for nothing that they are called - this means that God, in His love for them, already foreknew them in advance and predestined them to be like the image of His son. It is clear that He will bring His work in relation to us to the end! Then, in view of what was said in the first part, the Apostle (from v. 31) loudly proclaims his confidence in the final salvation, because no obstacle can keep believers away from the love of God and from the love of Christ. It is, as it were, a triumphant song on the occasion of the victory won over the opponents of saving people.
Since Christians could still be embarrassed at the thought of the persecutions that were waiting, perhaps already begun against them, the Apostle considers it necessary to inspire them with a correct view of all trials and sufferings. He reassures Christians to the end that God will not leave those who love Him, especially because He Himself has called them to Christ. Everything unpleasant that happens to them in life, in fact, according to the arrangement of Divine Providence, will turn to their advantage. - " Loving God”, i.e., true Christians - not those who are only called so, but those who really love their Heavenly Father. - "Called According to His Purpose". Where are those called? To Faith in Christ, in the Church of Christ. Believers are called here by choice (κατά πρόθεσιν). Whose will is this? Their own or God's? The Russian translation, adding the expression of Him, clearly interprets this expression in the second meaning, but the Fathers and teachers of the Eastern Church understand this expression as denoting the will, the consent of those called (John Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, etc.). Since here the Apostle speaks of what should especially calm the hearts of believers, there is no doubt that he himself could understand here only God’s will or plan for believers, and not their own will, which could not at all serve for them in any special way. enduring encouragement. Moreover, in Chapter IX. 11th art. The apostle directly calls the will regarding the election of God, so that the Russian translation is absolutely correct. - "Everything contributes". A Christian, of course, himself acts in order to achieve eternal bliss, but at the same time he must look at everything that happens around him and in one way or another comes into contact with him, as a help sent to him by God to achieve his goal. Thus, all kinds of suffering in the essence of the matter are, from this point of view, not at all superfluous for a Christian, but assisting him in his work. - "For good", that is, for salvation. The whole passage is one of the most definite expressions of Christian optimism.
. For whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
. And whom He predestined, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
The apostle now explains what the will of God for people was based on, and how he brought this will to fruition. - "Foresaw." God's will was based on the fact that God already saw Christians before Himself as they appeared when they did not exist. He foresaw their faith, their love for God - all this for Him was, as it were, already existing (). - "predetermined". Here predestination is the same thing that was formerly called will (v. 28). Of course, here it is understood that predestination is not absolute, but based on foreknowledge of the properties of predetermined personalities. - "Like the Image of His Son". The Apostle gives an explanation of this phrase in the expression of the 30th verse - "glorified". It is clear from this that the Apostle understood by the image of the Son of God the glory which Christ received after the completion of the work of redemption, and which for believers will consist in the adoption and deliverance of their body (v. 23). - "So that He was ...". The final and last purpose which God had in predestinating believers to glory like the glory of His Son is that in the end a single family of the elect would be formed, in which Christ, as the firstborn Son, would occupy the first place - would be the Head (cf. . ).
"Whom He Predestined, Those He Called". From this it is clear that calling is the first moment in the realization of Divine predestination. It is not addressed to all, but only to the elect. This is the call of divine grace, acting mysteriously on the heart of a person and disposing a person to accept divine word(). But, in any case, this call cannot remain in vain: those who are called are those who are able to love God and follow His call, as God foretells. - "Justified". Since justification cannot take place where there is no faith, it is clear that the Apostle included faith in the concept of calling. God called the people and they believed. This was followed by their justification. The Apostle does not speak of sanctification separately, obviously identifying it with justification. - "Glorified". If Christ is already glorified, then those who believe in Him will certainly be glorified. Therefore, the Apostle speaks of their glorification as a fact already accomplished, just as the prophets Old Testament talked about future events as if they were past.
It should be noted that although the Apostle here attributes all our salvation - calling, justification and glorification - to God alone, he does not deny the need for participation in this work on the part of those being saved themselves. So, for example, in the epistle to the Ephesians, he points out that God has destined us to do good deeds (). In Philippians, he also says that Christians must work out their own salvation (). Here he does not mention human will, because his purpose in the present case was to expose the most solid foundation for our confidence in future glorification. And what could be firmer in this respect than God's predestination for the saved, expressed in their calling and justification?
. What to say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
. He who did not spare his Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not with him give us everything?
In these two verses, the Apostle begins the conclusion of the entire section dealing with the justification of man. - "What to say to that?" that is, what, what conclusion can we draw from all that has been said? The supposed answer to this question can only be this: “We have entered into the closest fellowship with God. God is now our Defender and Protector.” - "If God is for us". Now a Christian is not afraid of any enemies. - "The one who did not spare his Son". Here the Apostle reveals his position in more detail: "if God is for us." If God did not spare His own Son – which would be very natural – but gave Him up to death for all of us (according to the context of the speech, these words refer to the elect – mainly), then with Him, i.e., granting Him, God , obviously, will give us everything that is necessary for us in order to, despite all difficulties, achieve final salvation. All this will be incomparably less than that One gift, that is, Christ Himself!
. Who will blame the elect of God? God justifies them.
. Who condemns? Christ Jesus died, but also rose again: He is also at the right hand of God, He also intercedes for us.
Question: "Who is against us?" The apostle now decomposes into a number of separate questions and gives answers to these questions. In these two verses the Apostle has in mind those who oppose the idea of Christian salvation, hiding behind some considerations of a legal nature. - "Who will blame". Any accusation of Christians, as allegedly unworthy of salvation, would be aimless when the highest authority, namely God Himself, is justifying them. - "Who condemns?" Question related to the previous one. No one can condemn Christians when the only one who has the right to judge and condemn (), namely Christ, died for us, that is, did everything to free us from condemnation and damnation. Not only did He die, but death by itself, without the subsequent resurrection of Christ, could not yet give us assurance of our justification. - He is resurrected! Therefore, we have sufficient reason not to fear condemnation. Finally, Christ continues to intercede for us before His Father, sitting at the right hand of God.
. Who will separate us from the love of God: tribulation, or oppression, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or a sword? as written:
. for you they kill us every day, they consider us to be sheep doomed to the slaughter.
. But we overcome all this by the power of Him Who loved us.
Here the Apostle says that no violent actions of people hostile to our salvation can tear believers away from the love of God. Since these actions are performed by people, the Apostle, and here begins the question. pronoun masculine: who. - "From the love of God". God loves us and wants to save us, and evil people by their hostile actions, which can shake our faith, they want to block the path of God's love to us: if we turn out to be unfaithful to God, then, of course, we will lose God's favor. - "Sorrow or Narrowness"- explain. cm. . "Persecution" (διωγμός ) - prosecution. - "Sword" - the death penalty by truncation with a sword. - "As it is written." The apostle sees in, which he quotes from the text LXX, not only a proof that believers in Christ suffer the same as believers of the Old Testament, but also a prophecy that Christians - very many - will have to endure a violent death. - "For you" . According to the context of the speech, this expression must be attributed to God, and not to Christ. Martyrdom at that time was understood as the glorification of God (see). - “Every day” - more correctly: “the whole (όλην) day.” Enemies look at Christians like sheep doomed to the slaughter, which takes place throughout the day, non-stop. First one, then another Christian escapes from the society of believers in order to be executed for his faith. - "But we overcome everything". Our victory over all temptations is extraordinary (υπερνικώμεν), because we not only conquer all these temptations, but also turn them to our advantage. - "Beloved". Here we must understand God (and not Christ), whose love for us was discussed above.
. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, neither present nor future,
. neither height nor depth, nor any other creature, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The assurance that the believer overcomes all temptations is reinforced by the Apostle here with his assurance that no power, no matter how powerful, will separate believers from the love of God.
"Neither death nor life", i.e., whether we die, whether we remain alive, we will still abide in the love of God. The Apostle mentions death before life in view of the dangers constantly surrounding Christians (v. 36). - "Neither Angels". It is more likely to understand good angels, because where we are talking about evil angels, they are always called either the angels of the devil, or the angels who have sinned (;). The apostle, however, does not say that good angels in fact would harm the salvation of believers - he is only, as the blessing is expressed. Theophylact, says presumably (cf.). - "No Beginning". Some interpreters see here an indication of a special rank of angels, but one cannot agree with this opinion, because in this case the Apostle would put the whole and its part on the same board (Angels - the whole and the Beginnings - the part). It is also impossible to see here any reference to demonic forces, because, again, these forces are nowhere called simply principles. It is most natural to see here the designation of human authorities, earthly bosses. - "No strength." In most ancient codes, this word is read after the expression: future. Here it refers to forces in general - personal and impersonal, earthly and super-earthly.
"Neither present nor future". Wed . These are general concepts: indications of suffering, as some people think, are not here. - "Neither height nor depth". It is very likely (Lietzmann "a) that the Apostle here means stellar forces, in whose influence on human life they then believed. At least the Greek terms that he uses here are purely astrological (ύψωμα is the fall of a star, αβάθος is the heavenly space beyond the horizon, from which the stars rise.) The apostle could in this case warn Christians not to be afraid of the influence of stars on their destiny. "No other creature", i.e., nothing else of the created, which the Apostle did not mention above. - From the love of God in Christ Jesus, that is, from the love of God, which was revealed, concentrated in Christ and through Him acts in humanity.
In the Russian text (and Slavic) the reading is accepted: “deeds of the flesh”, but this reading is found only in Western codes and among Western church writers. The Eastern reading is the deeds of the body (τ. σώματος). The apostle, if we accept the last reading, means here that sinful body, of which he spoke in; excitations emanating from this body produce a bad influence on the will and activity of a person. Bodily life in general (for example, the circulation of blood in the body, respiration, metabolism), of course, does not depend on a person and a person cannot suppress it. But in any case, according to the Apostle, a person should not be indifferent to the functions of the body - eating and drinking, sleeping and waking, etc., but keep them under a certain discipline so that they do not lead him to life according to the flesh (cf. ): this will be the mortification of the body.
This adoption cannot be understood, however, only as a legal one, as only an expression of God's decision about people. People change in essence, as is evident from the fact that the result of this adoption should be the liberation and glorification of their body (v. 23), and from the fact that they do not receive into themselves the "spirit" of adoption, which, of course, knows their nature. Finally, further Christians are no longer called children, but children (τέκνα). If the first term really has a legal meaning, then the second does not have such a meaning, but denotes the nature of the person (
Some people are so poor that all they have is money.
The less a person needs, the closer he is to the gods.
- Socrates
The desire to acquire something arises from the feeling of incompleteness. When you know that you don't need anything, that all there is is you and yours, desires disappear.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
Most do not understand how rich. The ability to run, see the world with your own eyes, listen to music is an invaluable luxury for many. And we whine over trifles ....
The amount of joy depends little on the amount of material wealth, the amount of envy depends on them.
There is no need for prayers for gold and glory. Ask God for patience, humility, To save your soul in the trials of fate.
I am convinced that it is more difficult to spend a dollar usefully than to earn it.
- Steve Jobs
I'm the only person who knows what it's like to lose a quarter of a billion dollars in a year. It is very good at shaping personality.
- Steve Jobs
Being the richest man in the cemetery is not important to me... Going to bed, telling myself that I did something wonderful - that's what really matters.
- Steve Jobs
Be content with what you have, be happy with what happens to you. When you realize that you do not lack anything, the entire universe will belong to you.
- Lao Tzu
Too many now spend money they didn't earn on things they don't need to impress people they don't like.
- Will Smith
The great evil is covetousness. A self-interested person can be neither truthful, nor principled, nor courageous, nor faithful to his duty. From an early age, learn to live selflessly.
- V. A. Sukhomlinsky
Your most important treasure is peace in your soul.
- Brian Tracy
The richest person is the one whose joys require the least amount of money.
— Henry David Thoreau
Of course, there are people for whom money is above all. Usually these are people who will never become rich. Only he achieves wealth who is talented, lucky, and does not constantly think about money.
- Steve Jobs
A person does not live to be a hundred years old, but fusses for a thousand.
- John Chrysostom
People want wealth and fame for themselves; if both cannot be obtained honestly, they should be avoided. People are afraid of poverty and obscurity; if both cannot be avoided without loss of honor, they should be accepted.
- Confucius
We spend a lot of time and effort to ride through life in a luxury carriage, but we completely forget to ask if our train is going to our destination or not.
Poverty is not the opposite of luxury.
- Coco Chanel
There are people who have money and there are rich people.
- Coco Chanel
Some people are so poor that all they have is money.
Who takes - fills the palms, who gives - fills the heart ...
- Lao Tzu
If you want to raise good children, spend half as much money and twice as much time on them.
A woman's reliability is tested when a man has nothing. A man's reliability is tested when he has everything.
A man is amazingly arranged - he is upset when he loses wealth, and is indifferent to the fact that the days of his life are irretrievably gone.
- Abu-l-Faraj
Old people always advise young people to save money. This is bad advice. Don't hoard nickels. Invest in yourself. I never saved a dollar in my life until I was forty.
- Henry Ford
Rich is the one who is happy with what he has.
No money - don't be lazy, have money - don't be proud.
Need makes a person good, wealth - evil.
The more one has, the more anxiety.
He who is truly happy is happy everywhere: in the palace and in the hut, in wealth and in poverty, for he opened the fountain of happiness that resides in his own heart. Until a person has found this source, nothing will give him true happiness.
- Hazrat Inayat Khan
Happy are people if they call nothing but their own soul...
- Buddha
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The richest person is the one whose pleasures require the least amount of money.
— Henry David Thoreau
These days too many people know the price of everything, but do not understand the true values.
— Ann Landers
And people strive in life not to do what they consider good, but to call as many things as possible their own.
- Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
I feel like I'm among people who are going to live forever. At least that's how they behave. They are so preoccupied with money that they have forgotten about life.
- Erich Maria Remarque
"Water, you have no taste, no color, no smell. You cannot be described, you are enjoyed without knowing what you are! It cannot be said that you are necessary for life: you are life itself. You are the very great wealth in the world".
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
When the Dalai Lama was asked, "What surprises you the most about people?"
The Dalai Lama replied:
"- The man himself. First, he sacrifices his health in order to earn money. Then he spends money on restoring health. At the same time, he is so worried about his future that he never enjoys the present. As a result, he does not live either in the present or in the future. He lives as if he will never die, and when he dies, he regrets that he did not live."
"Our houses are getting bigger and our families are getting smaller. We have more amenities, but less time. More degrees, but less common sense. More knowledge, but less judgment. More specialists, but even more problems. More drugs, but less health. We've come a long way to the moon and back, but it's hard for us to cross the street to meet our new neighbor. We have created many computers to store and copy huge amounts of information, but we have become less able to communicate with each other. We won in quantity but lost in quality. This is a time of fast food, but slow digestion. People of high stature, but low morality. High income, but petty relationships. This is the time when there is so much outside the window, but nothing in the room!"
- Dalai Lama
It is not the level of well-being that makes people happy, but the relationship of hearts and our point of view on our life. Both are always in our power, which means that a person is always happy if he wants it, and no one can stop him
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn "Cancer Ward"
My Friend, do not listen to people who say that something is missing in life. All restrictions are only in their heads. I am limitless and abundant. Love you!
- Universe
When will it be cut down last tree when the last river is poisoned, when the last bird is caught, only then will you understand that money cannot be eaten.
- Indian wisdom
What makes a man rich is his heart. Wealth is not determined by what a person has, but by what he is.
— Henry Beecher
Working only for the sake of material goods, we are building a prison for ourselves. And we lock ourselves in loneliness, and all our wealth is dust and ashes, they are powerless to deliver to us what is worth living for.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Prosperity is not only about having a huge bank account. Prosperity is to realize the magnificence of life, to honor life.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
I have never been repelled by the poverty of a person, it is another matter if his soul and thoughts are poor.
- Omar Khayyam
At the end of your life, my friend, it won't matter how many cars you have in your garage or what clubs you've been to. It is important how many lives you have changed, how many people you have influenced and whom you have helped... - Do good! It's nice!
- Universe
If you want to live calmly and freely, wean yourself from what you can do without.
When you appreciate what you have, and not live in search of ideals, then you will truly become happy.
- Nietzsche
Don't buy things! Instead, invest in your life experience. Travel! Remember: life experiences and impressions, not things - this is real life. Buy a ticket anywhere. After all, new experiences are better than a new iPhone.
- Henry Ford
"We spend too much time in rooms. We think too much within four walls. We live and despair too much locked up. And in the bosom of nature, how can one fall into despair?"
- Erich Maria Remarque
Nothing useless needs to be taken care of. Put the honor and glory of this life into nothing. Take care of yourself. We should trust and look to God, Who can feed us and clothe us, and take care of all our affairs: and from him we should expect everything that is good and useful to our souls and bodies.
- Reverend Sergius Radonezh (1314-1392)
Everything earthly is overgrown with lies -
As copper turns black on the domes ...
What matters is only the Kingdom... the Kingdom of God...
The rest - you can not have ...
- Archpriest Andrei Logvinov
“Do not get too attached to the world and property, so that when the time comes, it will be easy for you to part with it ... You hold fast to the One who will always be with you - the Creator. And He is the beginning and He is the end...
- D. Rumi
Don't let the world fool you. I repeat this over and over. The world seems very powerful. He makes you strive for things. He tells you to chase it, to chase it, to become successful. All this is an illusion.
- Robert Adams
Money doesn't change a person, it just takes the mask off him. If the person himself has been selfish or impatient or greedy, the money will just show it - that's all.
- Henry Ford
If you accumulate a lot, then a lot will disappear.
- Lao Tzu
A heart in which the desire to possess something has disappeared is a bottomless sky that has cleared up after a bad weather.
- Hong Zicheng
If you want to lead a happy life, you must be attached to a goal, not to people or things.
- Albert Einstein
In the days of well-being, use the good, and in the days of adversity, meditate.
In peace, not in war, the true welfare of nations.
Well-being is accidental: time will continue its flight, and again, with a wave of many-winged wings, it will take us into the unknown.
Well-being comes immediately after pay.
Hundreds of people can endure hardships, only a few can bear well-being.
He who has never suffered is not worthy of well-being.
The amount of negativity around a person grows in proportion to the growth of his well-being.
Untalented and scoundrels are often arranged in life quite safely. Why be surprised? Toadstools and weeds always grow well too!
Any well-being is the right decisions made on time.
Inspirational quotes about wellbeing
Chasing after the empty blessings of the earth, you will enter eternal life as a beggar.
Sad Growing Quotes About Well-Being
Light is visible only in Darkness.
In terms of the standard of living, we left and, it seems, we will not return ...
It is not necessary to fight for a place in the sun, it is enough to settle in the shadow of an oligarch.
Each person is the creator of his own well-being.
We value nothing more than well-being as long as we seek it, and lower when we get it.
I am sure that at the right time the light of God will descend upon you!
Sickness, the mother of modesty, reminds us that we are mortal. When we are at the pinnacle of fame and prosperity, she gently pulls us by the ear - they say, change your mind ...
Concerns about personal well-being are quite natural, and they cannot be discounted. But if you care only about this, neglecting the public good and the protection of everything human, life will become shameful, petty and - frankly - vile.
The well-being of women very often depends on their ability to control their curiosity.
The society of consumption sooner or later turns into a society of abuse.
There is no complete prosperity.
Prosperity is impossible in all respects.
Mind Blowing Quotes About Wellbeing
The gardener can decide what is good for carrots, but no one can decide for another what is good.
With the help of wisdom, you can live comfortably, you can give wisdom to others and they will pay for it. If there is no use from wisdom, then there is no wisdom at all.
Take care of a woman - a source of well-being for men.
Even the sound of the engine of a personal "Bugatti" is not able to drown out the gnashing of cats that have settled in the soul.
Worldly goods, being deceit, falsehood and fiction, are by their nature impermanent.
You can't forbid living beautifully. But you can't force it!
Give people good, and in return you will receive only good.
Without spiritual well-being, material things are nothing.
Whoever wants to be in prosperity must learn to live in need ...
Benefit-SOS-standing...
For the sake of his own well-being, a person is ready to act even for the benefit of society.
For the well-being of the world, the love of people for each other is necessary.
All my life I dreamed of getting lost... in well-being.
There is no dignity in the absence of clear and precise notions of the common good.
Short, thick quotes about well-being
Welfare is not to be received, but to be earned.
I believe prosperity makes you lazy and unproductive.
The prosperity of a man is a sufficient condition for the appearance of a woman.
Prosperity reveals our vices, and disasters our virtues.
Consider only the good of society and the interests of mankind!
If selfish well-being - sole purpose life, life quickly becomes aimless.
So life, having raised a person to the pinnacle of well-being, continues to tease and torment him there. There is always something unattainable ahead, eternal temptation and eternal dissatisfaction.
The propensity for convenience in man is worse than any other in life.
Having success does not guarantee prosperity.
To make good money, it is enough to lead those who work well.
All the blessings that a man receives come to him only because of his wife.
With age, I am convinced that an excess of the mind is harmful to personal life, but how useful it is for material well-being ...
Don't be jealous of others. Often we do not know the reverse side of this external well-being and, often, looking there, you can see such a reverse side. human being and souls that we never dreamed of even in our worst nightmare...
Who has blossomed, he will not blossom.
Heartfelt Growing Quotes About Well-Being
My dear, whoever has sealed the casket of his speech with the seal of silence, fragrant plants of well-being grow in the flower garden of his life, the tree of his life bears the fruits of tranquility.
Prosperity is not complete without fears and troubles, and hardships are not devoid of joys and hopes.
It is better to be in the shadow of well-being than with burns under the sun.
You pray to God for happiness in life, but well-being is more important to you, even if, following it, you completely lose yourself, and your whole life is wrecked.
Someone to live in a mansion is a mortal nothing; to another, even in a barrel - piety.
The recipe for wealth is simple, only the ingredients are missing.
To be content with the state of one's affairs is the greatest wealth.
The risk of one adventure is worth more than a thousand days of well-being and comfort.
Prosperity always makes fools arrogant, and a carefree peaceful life weakens the strength of the spirit and easily directs it to carnal temptations.
No prosperity is immune from catastrophes.
In fact, the boundaries of well-being are so, and sometimes even illusory, that sometimes we don’t even notice them ...
To endure unhappiness is not as difficult as to endure excessive well-being: the former strengthens you, and the latter weakens you.
The good of an individual or a separate nation is connected with the common good for all.
Before talking about the good of satisfying needs, it is necessary to decide which needs constitute a good.
When it's hot, I want cold, in the cold I dream of heat - a paradox of dissatisfaction in well-being.
With memories of the sorrows of the past, he loved to tickle his well-being ...
Good - opportunities - this is power, wealth, strength, beauty.
Aristotle
It is good for that society, which necessarily demands that every member, entering it, be morally prettier, that each strength be used properly, that personal strength not cross certain moral boundaries set by social self-government, social tact: such a society gives a good education to a person. But woe to that society where force finds no moral boundaries for itself, where it does not take into account other forces, does not feel the obligation to keep aloof from them, where a soft, weak crowd, accessible to its pressure, makes way for it, and force is unbridled without hindrance. Woe to that society that cannot meet each force with a strict interrogation: where does it come from and where is its aspiration directed; cannot test whether it is a real force or a false, self-proclaimed one. Woe to the society that is able to bow down and serve this false, self-appointed force. Woe to that society into which one can enter without preening morally, with complete slovenliness, without respect for the public ear in one's words.
S. Solovyov
The benefit of freedom of the press lies precisely in the fact that it deprives the bold speech of the demagogues of the charm of novelty and neutralizes the passionate speech with an equally passionate contradiction.
G. Heine
The benefits of freedom of the press are so clear and so universally recognized that they far outweigh the harm of its abuse.
D. Canning
The blessings of youth are strength and beauty, the blessings of old age are the flowering of the mind.
Democritus
No one neglects anything that he considers good, except in the hope of a greater good, or out of fear of a greater harm; and does not suffer any evil, except in order to avoid a greater, or in the hope of a greater good.
Benedict Spinoza
Every blessing is to have what we desire; an even greater good is the good of wanting nothing more than what we have.
author unknown
Living only for himself, a person feels himself among strangers and enemies, and the good of everyone interferes with his good. Living for others, a person feels himself among friends, and the good of each is his own good.
Arthur Schopenhauer
The highest good is the perfect goal, and the perfect goal in itself is, apparently, nothing but happiness.
Aristotle
Being winged from birth is the best blessing in the world.
Aristophanes
The good of an individual or a particular nation is connected with a common cause for all.
A. Barbus
It is good for those who know how to preserve the fertile flame of the heart, a living sympathy for all the great and beautiful life in the winter of their days ...
V. Belinsky
It is good for the one who, not content with the present reality, carried in his soul the ideal of a better existence, lived and breathed with one thought - to promote, to the extent of the means given to him by nature, the realization of the ideal on earth ...
V. Belinsky
Everything is good and great and reasonable - in its time and place.
V. Belinsky
There is for a person a great world of life, besides the inner world of the heart, a world of historical content and social activities- that great world where thought becomes a deed, high feeling becomes a feat ... And it is good for those who, not as an idle spectator, looked at this ocean of noisily rushing life ...
V. Belinsky
Every deed is good.
Bible
If a person is able to exist without a scarecrow, then he is truly well-mannered and smart.
W. Gaslitt
Good and truth are the same for everyone, but the pleasures from them can be different.
Democritus
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
S. Johnson
Don't you know that the real bliss is that all people need each other and that you expect help from your own kind just as they expect it from you?
D. Diderot
In this world, everyone benefits who lightens the burden of another person.
Ch. Dickens
Beneficence does not consist in what is given, but in the soul of the giver.
Ancient aphorism.
Good deeds rendered with malicious intent are a crime.
K. Enniy.
Benevolence is an innate property of every person; when A sees B in trouble, his conscience tells him to turn to C for help.
S. Smith.
The only good is knowledge, the only evil is ignorance.
Diogenes
Good intentions are nothing if they are not translated into good deeds.
J. Joubert
It is the duty of society and everyone to help children, the elderly, helpless cripples, those with whom chance has played a cruel joke. But to show charity in relation to the loafers, who have morally fallen due to the fact that from early childhood they knew only one passion - pleasure, the hand does not rise, although they are humanly sorry.
V. Zubkov
The highest good is the unity of virtue and prosperity. Reason demands that this good be realized.
I. Kant
The smallest blessing in life is wealth; the greatest is wisdom.
G. Lessiig
The smallest blessing in the present is better than the most luxurious promises in the future.
T. Macaulay
Let us not pursue the blessings of this world with indecent fervor, but, having met them on our way, let us accept them with gratitude.
A. Morua
Whoever considers this life the highest good dishonors it.
Plato
Good is not every life, but a good life.
Seneca the Younger
Good for those who have not lived at all, who have not seen the evil deed that is happening under the sun.
Solomon
The blessing of people in life. And life is work.
L. Tolstoy
It has always been and will always be important only what is needed for the good of not one person, but all people.
L. Tolstoy
The good that art gives us is not in what we learn, but in what we become through it.
O. Wilde
It is good for the one who, in this anguish, in these torments of spiritual hunger and thirst, has a loved one, soul mate- it doesn't matter, friend, mother or wife - before whom he can pour out his languor or with whom he can at least take a break from him - for often we cannot express not only to the closest person, but even to ourselves to the end what torments us. And woe to the lonely!
S. Frank
We are looking for the absolute good; but in the world all blessings are relative, everything is only a means to something else, in the end means to preserve our life, which is not at all an indisputable and absolute good ... We are looking for eternal life, because everything temporary is meaningless ... everything in the world, in including ourselves, temporarily.
S. Frank
The good of the people is the supreme law.
Cicero
The highest good is achieved on the basis of complete physical and mental health.
Cicero
When some are well-fed, smart and kind, while others are hungry, stupid and evil, then every good thing only leads to discord, increasing the inequality of people.
A. Chekhov
The grace received by believers makes them capable of leading a righteous life, since through it (grace) they receive the Spirit of God as a new active principle of righteousness (1-11). Those who live in the Spirit have a firm assurance of salvation, since the Spirit communicated to us manifests itself as the Spirit of adoption by God, and carries in itself, as such, the hope of future greatness (12-13). This hope has its subjective basis in the yearning of our heart to obtain final salvation, a yearning that is strengthened by the groans of the creature around us and by the groans of the Spirit in us (19-27). The objective basis of this hope is in the love of God, which cannot leave its work unfinished in relation to us. At the thought of this love, our hope assumes the character of complete certainty (28–39).
Romans 8:1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit,
The apostle with sufficient clarity depicted the state of the unregenerate man who lived under the law. Nothing but condemnation from God could bring him all attempts at self-justification. Now in Christianity the human condition is quite different. The law of sin and death no longer weighs on him. God, having sent His Son for the salvation of people, condemned sin and justified people who live not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. People should now no longer succumb to this former ruler of theirs - the flesh. Let the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ abide in them, and this Spirit will in time deliver them from bodily death as He delivered them from spiritual death.
"So" - this expression indicates that the Apostle here draws a conclusion from what was said in chapters VI and VII. - "Now", that is, after we believed in Christ. - "No condemnation" - that is, a sentence that condemned to death (Rom. 7:24). “Not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” This expression explains the previous words: in Christ Jesus. However, the most ancient codices do not have this expression, and in the latest editions it is therefore omitted, so that the first verse ends thus: "for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:2. because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Here the Apostle points out the basis on which condemnation no longer threatens those who remain in Christ. - Law of the Spirit. By the spirit here, obviously, is meant the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ, of whose presence in the believers the Apostle speaks below (v. 9). The apostle speaks, in fact, about the activity of this Spirit, but calls it a law - a term not quite suitable for the Spirit of God - in accordance with the aforementioned law, by which the unregenerate man was guided (Rom. 7:25). - "Life". The Spirit of God always communicates true eternal life (cf. 2 Cor 3:6). Therefore, His activity leads the person who has surrendered to Him to life and liberation from the condemnation to death. “In Christ Jesus.” These words refer to the following expression: "set free" and point to the suffering and death of Christ, lifted up for us and for our salvation. - "Released." The tense used here (aorist ηλευθέρωσε) points to a single action - namely, to the act of baptism, in which we acquire freedom from the yoke of sin and the flesh. “The law of sin and death.” This is what the Apostle calls the former order of the life of an unregenerate man. It was a time of constant falls that led man to spiritual death.
Romans 8:3. As the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sacrifice for sin and condemned sin in the flesh,
Here the Apostle explains exactly how our deliverance from the law of sin and death took place. Since the Russian translation of this verse does not represent an exact correspondence to the original, a more accurate translation is offered here: “for it is a work beyond the power of the law, since it was weak due to the resistance to it from the flesh (δια τ. σαρκός) - God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and because of sin, he finally condemned (or: took away from him all the rights to a person - κατέκρινεν) sin in the flesh. – A matter beyond the power of the law… The Law of Moses, about which the Apostle speaks here, also had as its goal the destruction of sin and the justification of man before God. But he could not achieve this, because human flesh was under the power of sin, which prompted it constantly to resist the law. The law could not break such resistance. He could only condemn sinners, and sin continued to abide in man as before. Every effort of the law to realize the highest goals in man ended as a result of this in complete failure! - His own Son (τον εαυτού υιόν). This expression, denoting the Only Begotten Son of God (cf. John 10:36), the Apostle uses in order to indicate the extreme nature of the measure taken by God to destroy the power of sin. - "In the likeness" (έν ομοιώματι) of sinful flesh. Christ had flesh, as we do, not some heavenly matter. But it also had an important difference from ours. Indeed, there was no sin in His flesh. Sin would like to find access to the flesh of Christ, as he found access to ours, but he did not succeed. The thoughts and desires of Christ, not to mention His actions, have always remained pure and holy. Sin could not cause anything sinful in the flesh of Christ, which would then be reflected in the sphere of Christ's spiritual life, would produce sinful desires in him. – And for the sake of sin (περί αμαρτίας). This expression generally indicates the reason for which the message of the Son of God took place (Ekum.). There is no direct indication of the sacrificial meaning of the death of Christ (but in the Russian translation such a meaning is recognized; there the word for sacrifice is added to the word for sin). - He condemned completely (or: destroyed). Corresponding to this expression, the Greek the word κατακρίνω actually means "I condemn". But from the context of the speech, it turns out that here we are talking not only about condemnation, about the announcement of the verdict, but about the actual execution of the verdict, consequently, about the destruction or, at least, about the deprivation of sin of all power. The Law of Moses, although it also condemned sin, could not carry out its sentence.
"Itself". Sin has its seat in the flesh. If it is mortified, then sin is doomed to impotence. But the mortification of sinful flesh took place in death on the cross Christ, which He took for the sins of the world. Thus, it can be assumed that the Apostle in the expression "in the flesh" meant the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ. By dying with Christ, we also die in our sinful flesh, and sin no longer has a point of support for itself in us, but we, personally, continue our existence, submitting, however, not to the flesh, but to the spirit. But how did the death of Christ put an end to the dominion of sin in the flesh? Was it right with legal point vision? It was absolutely correct. As long as sin or the devil arbitrarily disposed of human flesh, so long he was in his own right, because human sinful flesh, one might say, deserved such treatment. The devil, one might say, occupied the position of an executioner in the state, and from the point of view of the law, he was right in doing his bloody work - killing people: he destroyed only that which was worthy of death. But then Christ appeared in the flesh. Instead of retreating from the Holy One, whose holiness is inexplicable, the devil attacked Him with all the force of his hatred. In his blindness, he prepared for him death, which, according to divine law, should only be the result of sin (Rom. 6:23). But through this he committed a terrible crime, clearly increased his rights, and for this he was rightly deprived of any dominion over the flesh in general. He was defeated precisely in the flesh of Christ, and the result of this was a complete loss of power over the flesh of people.
Romans 8:4. so that the justification of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Here the Apostle indicates what purpose God had in destroying the power of sin in the flesh. He wanted us to be fulfilled through this aspiration of the law to establish righteousness, to make people righteous (justification - that δικαάωμα τ. ν.). – Those who do not walk according to the flesh… These are the traits of a true Christian, who in his life is what the law of Moses had in mind. A person must certainly do what the Spirit teaches him, - of course, the Spirit of Christ or God (see v. 9). He acted (walked) according to the flesh, who fulfilled the sinful desires that live in the flesh (Rom. 7:18), and according to the Spirit, he who follows the inclination of the Holy Spirit throughout his life. - This addition about the walk of man shows that God does not create a necessity for man, but only the possibility of realizing the cherished aspirations of the law. The realization of this depends on them - for this they must only follow the instructions of the Spirit of God.
Romans 8:5. For those who live according to the flesh are mindful of carnal things, but those who live according to the Spirit are mindful of spiritual things.
Romans 8:6. The mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the spirit is life and peace,
Romans 8:7. because carnal thoughts are enmity against God; for they do not obey the law of God, nor can they.
Romans 8:8. Therefore, those who live according to the flesh cannot please God.
In these verses, the Apostle explains why it is only on people who walk in the spirit, and not in the flesh, that the cherished expectations that the law of Moses had were fulfilled. The reason for this is the new mood of people, just corresponding to the goal that the law set for a person - a peaceful mood and everything imbued with spiritual, higher aspirations. Meanwhile, those who walk in the flesh have no lofty goals and, consequently, are far from those aspirations that lay at the basis of the numerous precepts of the law. The former thus draw closer to God, while the latter move further and further away from Him. “Those who live according to the flesh.” These are people completely devoted to the flesh and its desires, which are always sinful in a natural person - and, of course, the Apostle is talking about him here. - "They think about carnal things." All their thinking, will and feeling are directed only to what serves the interests of the flesh, these are the works of the flesh, passions and desires, about which the Apostle speaks in the epistle. to the Galatians (Gal. 5:19, 24). - Living in the Spirit. These people - Christians - fulfill what the spirit requires - this is the highest principle in a human being. Here the justification of the law is fulfilled (v. 4), because the law itself is spiritual (Rom. 7:14).
"The mind of the flesh is death." Here, at the beginning, the particle for is missing. Here the Apostle explains why the mind of the flesh (v. 5) cannot lead to the fulfillment of the law (v. 4), while the grace that frees us from the law of sin and death (v. 2) does. The reason for this is that thinking after the flesh brings a person back to death! And the law wanted precisely to free a person from sin and death… “Spiritual thoughts are life and peace.” A person striving for higher, spiritual goals enters into communion with God and receives from Him true life and complete peace of mind or salvation. “Because carnal thoughts. The apostle gives the reason why the flesh can only lead a person to death. These thoughts make of a person a creature hostile to God, and the distance from God is spiritual death. - "Do not submit" - more correctly: does not submit, because the subject here should be the word: the flesh, which is discussed in this entire department. – It cannot – precisely because the flesh lives in sin (Rom. 7:18), is enslaved to sin (Rom. 7:25). However, this does not mean that a person is no longer able to submit to the law of God: when he wants, he can do this too. The apostle speaks here of the ordinary state of the unregenerate man. John Golden. points to numerous cases of conversion of sinners, to prove the above position, although, according to his explanation, what is actually possible for those who can receive - of course, in Christianity - help from the Spirit ...
"Therefore, those who live in the flesh..." This is the conclusion to verses 5-7. To live in the flesh here means the same as to live according to the flesh. The flesh is for many a vital sphere into which they are wholly immersed. “They cannot please God. The Romans, like other pagans, had a very different opinion about this. Among the pagans, as you know, the gods were the personification of various human passions and vices. Living in passions often means serving the gods! It was pleasing to the gods to see this in public... The apostle probably does not mean this belief of the Romans, traces of which could be preserved among some Roman Christians, and considers it necessary to refute it. – It should be noted that the Apostle is very far from having any disregard for the flesh in general. He understands here only the flesh standing under the harmful action of sin, and life in the flesh, the satisfaction of the needs of the flesh, as soon as it functions correctly, under the influence of the renewing grace of Christ - all this was in his eyes a subject worthy of full attention. He puts man's concern and care for the flesh even in parallel with Christ's care for the Church (Eph. 5:29).
Romans 8:9. But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Addressing Christians, the Apostle explains to them why the justification of the law must and can be fulfilled on them (v. 4). The reason for this is that they live according to the spirit. The spirit here means the beginning, the opposite of the flesh - this is the highest side of the human being. This beginning, if only a person listens to his instructions, leads a person to the realization of lofty goals, which the law of Moses had. - "If only". This is not an expression of doubt, but an undoubted statement and is equal to the expression: because (John Zpat.). “The Spirit of God lives in you.” Man's own spirit, however, is not enough to achieve salvation. The Christian achieves the latter precisely because his own spirit is enlightened and strengthened by the Spirit of God living in the Christian (cf. John 4:23). “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ.” Since this clearly indicates a state opposite to that just described, the Spirit of Christ must be understood here as the same Spirit of God. He is called Christ's, as sent for the sake of the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:17, 18). – “Not His,” i.e. not Christ’s, is not in the closest communion with Christ (cf. Gal 3:29; 1 Cor 15:23).
Romans 8:10. And if Christ is in you, then the body is dead to sin, but the spirit is alive to righteousness.
"And if Christ is in you." The apostle further reveals the salvific consequences of the fact he noted - the fellowship of Christians with Christ. From the fact that he replaces the expression "Spirit of Christ" with the single word "Christ", it is clear that the being of Christ in us is at the same time the being of His Spirit or the Spirit of God (Rom. 5:11): one presupposes and other. That is why Christ said to the apostles: “Whoever loves me will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23).
"The body is dead to sin." The apostle undoubtedly speaks of bodily death: our body is subject to death, must die. At st. 11th, where bodily resurrection is spoken of, neither the expression δι ᾿αμαρτίν through sin (according to the Russian translation is incorrect: “for sin”), nor the connection of this place with 1 and 2 st. allow no other explanation. Through sin or because of sin. Above, the Apostle explained the close connection between sin and death (Rom. 5:12, 6:16, 23), why this sin is not discussed here anymore. It is most natural, therefore, to see here an indication of the sin of the Adams, or at least of some of its remnants, which are not completely destroyed even in the regenerate man. And in the rite of burial of Orthodox Christians, therefore, it is said that there is no person who would not sin during his life, and from this it follows that every person must die ...
"The spirit is alive." It is a human spirit, but a new spirit, standing under the direct action of the Spirit of God. This spirit, as it should be translated from the Greek, is life (ζωή), that is, not only living, but also one whose essence is life; reborn to bear in itself the beginning of eternal life. - For the truth. Again, this expression should be replaced by another: through the truth (διά δικαιοσύνην). The apostle understands here how one can conclude from the end of the text of the speech, that righteousness, which is the true fulfillment of the law with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Divine Justice requires that life be served where there is righteousness. Just as Christ Himself entered into a glorified life by completely putting aside the power of sin from Himself and living for God (Rom. 6 et seq.), so it is with every believer.
Romans 8:11. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you.
Here the Apostle shows that in the end our body will also be freed from the power of death. - "If the Spirit ... lives in you." The apostle, in essence, repeats the thought of verse 10 (“Christ in you”). He characterizes the Spirit of God as the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead. He mentions this resurrection of Jesus so that we may have hope for the same resurrection. For this same reason, he here calls the Savior simply Jesus—His human name: the resurrection of the man Jesus (XVII Im. 2:5) guarantees the resurrection of other people as well.
"Christ". The apostle deliberately replaces the name Jesus with this name to show that our mediator, intercessor, the Messiah, has been resurrected and that, because of this, our confidence in our resurrection should be even stronger. - "Revives." Our bodies, which have been completely destroyed, will also need a complete restoration of life, which is indicated by the expression "to revive" (ζωοποείν), while for the body of Christ, which was not subjected to such destruction, a simple awakening (εγείρειν) was enough. Christ rested in the tomb! (“Having fallen asleep in the flesh…” the Church sings about the dead Christ). - "Mortals" - who have to die. - "By His Spirit", that is, for the sake of His Spirit dwelling in you. Such bodies, which have been honored to serve as a temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16), cannot be left by God forever in the dust: they must be resurrected! (cf. Rom 1:4).
Romans 8:12. So, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh to live according to the flesh;
In view of what is said about the flesh and death on the one hand (in verses 5-9) and about the Spirit on the other (vs. 10-11), the Apostle now rightly admonishes readers not to serve the flesh, but rather try to suppress her excitement. By doing this, and at the same time giving themselves to the leading of the Spirit of God, readers receive the assurance that they are in fact children of God. The Holy Spirit, who guides them, convinces them of this. Why is this consciousness important? The children of God, obviously, have every reason to hope to receive the same blessings that their first-begotten brother received (Rom. 8:29), if they will only fearlessly follow the same path of suffering that Christ walked. And these sufferings are too insignificant compared to the glorification awaiting true Christians.
“We are not debtors of the flesh,” that is, we owe obedience to something other than the flesh. - “To live according to the flesh”, that is, to fulfill its various sinful wishes.
Romans 8:13. for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
"If you live according to the flesh, you will die." With these words, the apostle points to the absurd idea that many had in themselves, as if life according to the flesh, in sin, is real life! This is not life, but a sure path to death... On the contrary, life can be the property of only those who seek to suppress the deeds of the flesh in themselves. By these deeds, the Apostle means those phenomena - both external and internal - the culprit of which is the flesh, without control by the spirit. And the flesh, as you know, is still under the influence of the remnants of hereditary sin. - By the Spirit, i.e., a blessed soul, which should guide the whole life of a person and mortify, i.e., not allow the needs of the flesh to develop excessively. - "You will live." Christians are still alive, but their life will be more and more developed and strengthened and will finally become an eternal and blessed life, not only in the spirit, as now (v. 10), but also in the body (v. 11).
Romans 8:14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are sons of God.
The apostle said that Christians who put to death the deeds of the flesh will receive eternal and blessed life. This is what he now wants to prove. With what? An indication that they, Christians, being led by the Spirit of God, as the Apostle said in the last words of the 1st verse, are the sons of God, and therefore the heirs of eternal life. But the last conclusion the Apostle makes only in the 17th verse. He devotes the next verses 15-16 to the proof of the idea that Christians are really the sons of God.
Romans 8:15. Because you did not receive the spirit of bondage to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry: “Abba, Father!”
"They did not accept the spirit of slavery." The Jews - before Christ, treated the law of Moses as obedient slaves, fulfilling its instructions out of fear of punishment. Persons such as David, who found the words of the law of God sweet (Ps. 119:103), were exceptions among the Jewish people. The pagans felt their humiliation before their gods even more and lived in constant fear in the face of their formidable and vengeful gods. – “The Spirit of Adoption”, i.e. the Spirit, which appeared only during the period when people were adopted by God. In this period - the Christian - God accepts those who believe in Christ as his children and grants them all the rights of children (Eph 1:5). - "Which" - more correctly: in which. The Spirit is the element in Christians that drives their entire inner life. “We cry out” is an exclamation of prayerful feelings (cf. Gal 4:6).
"Avva". This name, which originally passed from Jewish prayers to Christian ones, as a common noun, gradually took on the character of a proper name. However, among the Jews this name was used about God only in the mouths of the people (Ex 4:22; Is 43:16; Hos 11:1), and only in the New Testament, when each individual believer felt himself a child of God, did it begin to be used in prayers, individuals. - "Father." According to Greek placed here named. case (o πατήρ), as an appendix to the word Abba, so that both of these words should be translated: "Abba, dear father."
Romans 8:16. This same Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
Subjective, our personal, internal, conviction in our God-son state is also confirmed by external, alien evidence (subjective). This is the testimony of the Holy Spirit. - “This very one” is more correct: Himself (αυτό), that is, the Spirit Himself now acts as a witness, while our prayer previously testified to the same, although performed in the spirit of God. - "Testifies" - more precisely: testifies together (σομμαρτιρεί). This means that here he already points to the second evidence of our spirit, which was mentioned in the previous verse. Thus, two witnesses appear: our spirit (νους), enlightened by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God Himself. - “Children” - more precisely: children (τέκνα), an expression - of greater tenderness than children.
Romans 8:17. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with Him in order to be glorified with Him.
"Heirs". The apostle goes further in this argument. Christians are now already heirs, or rather, participants (τληρονόμοι) in all the blessings that belong to their Father, God, and in time will receive a share in the highest good that God owns, namely in eternal blessed life (v. 13) . God here, of course, is conceived not as a dying ruler, but as a living distributor of property to his children (Luke 15:12). “Joint heirs with Christ.” Here, of course, not a new inheritance, but the same as in the above expression. The Apostle especially mentions Christ because He has already taken possession of His full filial part - received blessedness and greatness through the resurrection from the dead. “If only we suffer with him.” The expression “if only” does not weaken Christians’ confidence in receiving the inheritance, but only encourages them to test themselves in whether their fellowship with Christ is strong enough not to be destroyed in the heavy trials that fall on Christians. He suffers with Christ who goes to all kinds of torments for the sake of the Gospel (Matthew 10:38, 16:24).
Romans 8:18. For I think that the current temporal sufferings are worth nothing in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Since some Christians were weighed down by their sufferings, which they had to endure for the name of Christ, the Apostle reminds them that it is impossible to compare these sufferings in strength and significance with future glory. - “They are worth nothing” - more precisely from the Greek: they do not have a corresponding dignity (ουψ άξια). – “It will be revealed” (αποκαλυφθήναι) – it will be revealed precisely at the second coming of Christ. At the present time, though this glory exists, it is still hidden in heaven (cf. Col 3 et seq.).
Romans 8:19. For the creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God,
What is the basis of Christian hope for future greatness? First of all, on the sighs of an unreasonable creature, in which its desire for a better future is expressed. Then, a rational creature, namely believing Christians, also feel dissatisfaction with the present - they still lack bodily redemption. Finally, the Spirit of God, who dwells in believers, by His intercession for believers, confirms that they really have to receive the greatness that they now do not have. If it were not possible for believers to receive such greatness, then the Holy Spirit would not intercede for it. Thus, we get a threefold foundation of our hope and future glorification: the testimony of a foolish creature (19-22), the testimony of the children of God (23-25) and the testimony of the Spirit of God (26-27).
"Creature" (κτίσις). The expression itself is not sufficiently specific. It can mean: 1) establishment, planting, the act of creation, 2) an unreasonable creature and 3) humanity. The first meaning here is clearly not suitable, and as for the third, it can hardly be accepted to explain the present place. In fact, humanity is divided into Christians and non-Christians. As for the former, the Apostle speaks of them separately later in Art. 23, and Paul designates non-Christian humanity with the word "world" (o χόσμος). Moreover, one of two things must be admitted, either these non-Christians before the second coming of Christ will turn to Christ and will no longer form part of the creature, which will be glorified after the glorification of the children of God, i.e. believers (the end of the 21st century), or they they will not be converted at all and, consequently, will not prove worthy of any glorification. Clearly, it remains only to assume that the Apostle here means all unreasonable creation, both animate and inanimate. The future manifestation of this creature is spoken of in both the Old and New Testaments (Is 11; Is 65:17; Ps 101:26, 27, 103:35; Mt 19:28; Rev 21:1). - "With hope." The Greek word here translated with hope (αποκαροδοκία) actually means: "standing with the head stretched forward" - a symbol of expectation, "gazing into the distance." - "Revelations of the sons of God", that is, the event that will lead to the glorification of the sons of God or those who believe in Christ. Then they will become de facto (in fact) what they are now only de jure (that is, to which they are only still entitled) - namely, heirs to Christ (v. 17).
Romans 8:20. because the creation was subjected to futility, not voluntarily, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope,
Romans 8:21. that creation itself will be freed from its bondage to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Why does the Apostle ascribe to the foolish creature the hope of glorifying believers and of his own restoration? Because she already had such hope when she followed man along the path of slavery, vanity and decay. - “I submitted to vanity”, that is, I submitted, as to an alien power, to insignificance - to such a way of existence that has no true dignity in comparison with the perfection that the creature or nature originally possessed. It is possible, however, by vanity (ματαιότης) to understand the unworthy treatment of man with nature. Instead of ennobling and improving nature, man made her suffer from his greed, cruelty, and folly. “Not voluntarily.” Nature in this submission to the law of vanity is not like man. He consciously and voluntarily chose for himself the path leading to death, she, against her will, entered this path. “But according to the will of Him who subdued it,” i.e., according to the will of God, Who already at creation subjected the creation to man and then, after the fall of man, showed all creation the same path as its master: she, as serving man, could not rise above him with her inheritance (Theodoret).
"In hope". This, of course, is not in the true sense of hope, which is the property of only a rational being, but a kind of vague foreboding. It is more correct to see here the poetic personification of the creature, as it were, a living thinking being. - "What…". According to the Russian translation, here is indicated the content of the hope that the Apostle just spoke about. Other newest translations see here a proof of the above thought that the creation has hope for restoration (here, on the basis of some ancient codices, they read not ότιι what, αδιότι because). Since, however, it has not yet been said what exactly the creature hopes for, it is more likely that the translation is Russian. Only the next word sama (αυτή) should be replaced by the pronoun she, so that the subject would not be repeated, as in the Russian translation (the creature ... in the hope that the creature itself ...). Then it will be possible to translate it like this: “the creature… in the hope that she, the creature, will be freed…”.
"Slavery to corruption" (τής φθορας). The genitive case of corruption is the so-called. parental accessories. The apostle wants to say that the bondage or service that the creature performs in its present condition cannot be defined otherwise than corruption. Everything that the creature produces, all this necessarily decays and becomes corruption (cf. v. 20 - vanity). – Does this mean, however, that the creature, the irrational nature, was incorruptible before the fall of man? Although some of the ancient church interpreters tend to give an affirmative answer to this question, others clearly say that “all visible creation received mortal nature as its inheritance, because the Creator of all kinds foresaw the crime of Adam and the death sentence that would be pronounced on him” ( Theodoret). The newest interpreters (for example, Richter) also almost agree that nature was created corruptible, and that man added to this decay all sorts of deteriorations on his part: he began to beat and torture animals, devastate forests and turn flowering fields into deserts and etc. As a result of this, nature began to serve emptiness and decay (the consequences of Adam's sin). Such a state can end, consequently, only when a person is completely freed from the power of sin and the image of God is restored in him again. “Into the freedom of glory,” that is, into that state to which the creature must reach through its liberation from the law of vanity. This freedom will be given to creatures by the fact that the sons of God or believers will be glorified, will receive glory, which, of course, will consist in the liberation of their corporeality from subjection to corruption (1 Cor 15 et seq.). This glory the Lord called re-being (Matthew 19:28). So the expression Liberty refers to the creature glory- to the sons of God. Rev. Theophanes speaks of this future state of the creature: “Will not the creature consist of the finest elements, like a diverse combination of iridescent colors”? But the Apostle does not give any immediate instructions about this ...
Romans 8:22. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails together until now;
If, as the Apostle says, the creature had no such hope, what would its groans mean? Thus, from the groans of the creature about its distressful state, the Apostle draws the conclusion that the creature is waiting for itself to be restored to its original state. - "We know." The apostle here refers to generally observed facts from the life of nature. Thinking and observant people should be well aware that nature is in an abnormal state. They seem to hear her sighs! - "Moaning and tormented." In both expressions there is a hint that nature is experiencing the same severe torments that a woman in labor experiences (this is especially indicated by the word “tormented” - συνωδίνει, the root of which - αδίνες means “torments of a woman in childbirth”). By this the Apostle points out that the torments of nature are not aimless: she strives, so to speak, to give birth to new life, but cannot achieve this. From here, the significance of the manifold catastrophes that our planet has experienced and continues to experience becomes clear to us. They are not aimless and meaningless, but represent only individual moments that our planet must go through on the way to that phase of its existence that will coincide with the restoration of the glory of the children of God.
Romans 8:23. and not only she, but we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body.
Here begins the second argument in favor of the idea of a future glorification of the sons of God. - "We ourselves", i.e. Christians. - "The Beginning of the Spirit." Here the word of the Spirit is the designation of what the firstfruits consists of (this so-called genitiv. epexegeticus). We Christians have. The Holy Spirit as the firstfruits, the first gift of all the blessings awaiting us in the future life. - “We groan within ourselves,” that is, inside, silently, not revealing our grief, like unreasonable nature. - "Adoptions". Although believers already have this good (15 and v.), but only as an internal consciousness, and as a certain right, which has not yet been realized externally and in full. - "Redemption of our body", i.e., delivering it from all the imperfections of the present phase of its existence, or, better, from corruption (v. 21), when it becomes an incorruptible body (Philippians 3:21; 2 Cor 5 et seq.; 1 Cor 15:51). This will be accomplished either through the resurrection (for the dead, 1 Cor 15 et seq.), or through change for those who live to see the 2nd coming of Christ (1 Cor 15:52).
Romans 8:24. For we are saved in hope. Hope, when he sees, is not hope; for if anyone sees, why should he hope?
Romans 8:25. But when we hope for what we do not see, then we wait patiently.
That believers really groan for adoption, the Apostle here proves by the fact that they have hope. “We are saved in hope.” The salvation of which the Apostle spoke above, on the one hand, is a fact already accomplished (saved - εσώθημεν - aorist), but on the other hand, complete salvation is still only the object of our hope. - "Hope, when he sees ...". These words of verse 24 are not clear enough. It is more correct to read (as in Greek and Slavic): “the hope that is seen” (that is, when the object of hope is already visible). Such a hope cannot be called hope! The apostle, therefore, wants to say here to Christians who were not satisfied with their external position, the following: “You, of course, highly value your Christian hope. It is one of the three most important Christian virtues (1 Cor 13:13). How do you want complete redemption to be given to you already here on earth? Indeed, in the latter case, you would have to give up hope, put an end forever to your expectations of a better future. Would it be good for you?! But you have this hope, do not part with it, and by this you testify that you are still waiting for something in the future, that you are missing something. “We are waiting patiently.” With these words, the Apostle further strengthens his proof. Christians have hope, and hope is steadfast, strong (in patience - δι ᾿υπομονής). Does this persistence make no sense? Can it be that this indifference and contempt for earthly goods, developed by Christians in themselves, when because of them it was necessary to sacrifice the interests of faith, does not say anything? No, it clearly indicates that they feel the abnormality, the imperfection of their present, earthly existence, and strive for heavenly glorification, for complete redemption and salvation.
Romans 8:26. Likewise, the Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses; for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings inexpressible.
The third proof that we are to be glorified is the testimony of the Holy Spirit, who also intercedes for us for something higher. - "In our weaknesses" - according to a more attested reading: in our weakness (τη ασθενεία ημών). Here you can see an indication of the weakness of our prayer. - As it should, i.e., according to the needs that appear in each individual case. In general, we know what to pray for - this, of course, is our final salvation - but we do not know what exactly we need to pay special attention to in these conditions in order to happily achieve the desired goal. - "Sighs inexpressible." The Spirit of God appears before God with a prayer for us, and His prayers are not clothed in the words of human prayers: in His appeal to God, the Spirit does not need words. Obviously, the Apostle distinguishes these groanings of the Spirit from the groanings of a Christian (v. 23). They are not a product of our spiritual life, but something separate, independent, although it takes place precisely in us. Thus, these sighs can also be distinguished from the prayers of inspired Christians, which they uttered during divine services, because for the prayers that were brought, for example, by those who had the gift of tongues (1 Cor 14), they were nevertheless conveyed in generally understandable words. Meanwhile, here we are talking about prayers, which are not expressed in words αλαλήτοι.
Romans 8:27. He who searches the heart knows what the Spirit is thinking, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The apostle here points out why the Spirit intercedes for us in prayer without words. - "He who tests the heart." God is so called here because the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of a reborn person (Rom. 5:5), and although His intercession is not revealed by anything outside, God, before whom all the hearts of people are open, knows about this intercession. - “What is the thought of the Spirit”, i.e. what is expressed in His sighing, what is He striving for. “Because…” The apostle just said that God knows about the intercession of the Spirit. By this he made it clear that the Lord recognizes and accepts His intercession. Why? Because the Spirit in His petitions does not go against the plans of the Divine economy, but, on the contrary, completely agrees with them. He intercedes according to the will of God (κατα Θεόν), i.e., as God wills. In addition, He intercedes for Christians as for saints, that is, as for worthy people who have prepared their hearts to serve as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:28. Moreover, we know that for those who love God, who are called according to His will, everything works together for good.
To further convince Christians that glorification awaits them, the Apostle now points to their calling to Christ. It is not for nothing that they are called - this means that God, in His love for them, already foreknew them in advance and predestined them to be like the image of His son. It is clear that He will bring His work in relation to us to the end! Then, in view of what was said in the first part, the Apostle (from v. 31) loudly proclaims his confidence in the final salvation, because no obstacle can keep believers away from the love of God and from the love of Christ. It is, as it were, a triumphant song on the occasion of the victory won over the opponents of saving people.
Since Christians could still be embarrassed at the thought of the persecutions that were waiting, perhaps already begun against them, the Apostle considers it necessary to inspire them with a correct view of all trials and sufferings. He reassures Christians to the end that God will not leave those who love Him, especially because He Himself has called them to Christ. Everything unpleasant that happens to them in life, in fact, according to the arrangement of Divine Providence, will turn to their advantage. - "Loving God", that is, true Christians - not those who are only called so, but those who really love their Heavenly Father. “Called according to His will.” Where are those called? To Faith in Christ, in the Church of Christ. Believers are called here by choice (κατά πρόθεσιν). Whose will is this? Their own or God's? The Russian translation, adding the expression of Him, clearly interprets this expression in the second meaning, but the Fathers and teachers of the Eastern Church understand this expression as denoting the will, the consent of those called (John Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, etc.). Since here the Apostle speaks of what should especially calm the hearts of believers, there is no doubt that he himself could understand here only God’s will or plan for believers, and not their own will, which could not at all serve for them in any special way. enduring encouragement. Moreover, in Chapter IX. 11th art. The apostle directly calls the will regarding the election of God, so that the Russian translation is absolutely correct. “Everything contributes.” A Christian, of course, himself acts in order to achieve eternal bliss, but at the same time he must look at everything that happens around him and in one way or another comes into contact with him, as a help sent to him by God to achieve his goal. Thus, all kinds of suffering in the essence of the matter are, from this point of view, not at all superfluous for a Christian, but assisting him in his work. - “For good”, that is, for salvation. The whole passage is one of the most definite expressions of Christian optimism.
Romans 8:29. For whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:30. And whom He predestined, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
The apostle now explains what the will of God for people was based on, and how he brought this will to fruition. - "Foresaw." God's will was based on the fact that God already saw Christians before Himself as they appeared when they did not exist. He foresaw their faith, their love for God - all this for Him was as if already existing (Rom. 4:17). - "Predetermined." Here predestination is the same thing that was formerly called will (v. 28). Of course, here it is understood that predestination is not absolute, but based on foreknowledge of the properties of predetermined personalities. - "Like the image of His Son." The Apostle gives an explanation of this phrase in the expression of the 30th verse - "glorified". It is clear from this that the Apostle understood by the image of the Son of God the glory which Christ received after the completion of the work of redemption, and which for believers will consist in the adoption and deliverance of their body (v. 23). “That He might be…” The final and last purpose which God had in predestinating believers to glory like the glory of His Son is that in the end a single family of the elect would be formed, in which Christ, as the firstborn Son, would occupy the first place - would be the Head (cf. Eph 1:10).
"Whom He predestined, those He called." From this it is clear that calling is the first moment in the realization of Divine predestination. It is not addressed to all, but only to the elect. This is the call of divine grace, working mysteriously on the heart of man and disposing man to receive the divine word (Philippians 1:6, 29). But, in any case, this call cannot remain in vain: those who are called are those who are able to love God and follow His call, as God foretells. - "Justified." Since justification cannot take place where there is no faith, it is clear that the Apostle included faith in the concept of calling. God called the people and they believed. This was followed by their justification. The Apostle does not speak of sanctification separately, obviously identifying it with justification. - "Glorified". If Christ is already glorified, then those who believe in Him will certainly be glorified. Therefore, the Apostle speaks of their glorification as of a fact that has already taken place, just as the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of future events as of the past.
It should be noted that although the Apostle here attributes all our salvation - calling, justification and glorification - to God alone, he does not deny the need for participation in this work on the part of those being saved themselves. So, for example, in the letter to the Ephesians, he points out that God has ordained us to do good works (Eph. 2:10). In Philippians he also says that Christians must work out their own salvation (Philippians 2:12). Here he does not mention human will, because his purpose in the present case was to expose the most solid foundation for our confidence in future glorification. And what could be firmer in this respect than God's predestination for the saved, expressed in their calling and justification?
Romans 8:31. What to say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:32. He who did not spare his Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not with him give us everything?
In these two verses, the Apostle begins the conclusion of the entire section dealing with the justification of man. “What can I say to that?” that is, what, what conclusion can we draw from all that has been said? The supposed answer to this question can only be this: “We have entered into the closest fellowship with God. God is now our Defender and Protector.” “If God is for us.” Now a Christian is not afraid of any enemies. “He who did not spare his Son.” Here the Apostle reveals his position in more detail: "if God is for us." If God did not spare His own Son – which would be very natural – but gave Him up to death for all of us (according to the context of the speech, these words refer to the elect – mainly), then with Him, i.e., granting Him, God , obviously, will give us everything that is necessary for us in order to, despite all difficulties, achieve final salvation. All this will be incomparably less than that One gift, that is, Christ Himself!
Romans 8:33. Who will blame the elect of God? God justifies them.
Romans 8:34. Who condemns? Christ Jesus died, but also rose again: He is also at the right hand of God, He also intercedes for us.
Question: "Who is against us?" The apostle now decomposes into a number of separate questions and gives answers to these questions. In these two verses the Apostle has in mind those who oppose the idea of Christian salvation, hiding behind some considerations of a legal nature. - "Who will blame." Any accusation of Christians, as allegedly unworthy of salvation, would be aimless when the highest authority, namely God Himself, is justifying them. - "Who condemns?" Question related to the previous one. No one can condemn Christians when the only one who has the right to judge and condemn (Rom. 2:16), namely Christ, died for us, i.e. did everything to free us from condemnation and damnation. Not only did He die, but death by itself, without the subsequent resurrection of Christ, could not yet give us assurance of our justification. - He is resurrected! Therefore, we have sufficient reason not to fear condemnation. Finally, Christ continues to intercede for us before His Father, sitting at the right hand of God.
Romans 8:35. Who will separate us from the love of God: tribulation, or oppression, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or a sword? as written:
Romans 8:36. for you they kill us every day, they consider us to be sheep doomed to the slaughter.
Romans 8:37. But we overcome all this by the power of Him Who loved us.
Here the Apostle says that no violent actions of people hostile to our salvation can tear believers away from the love of God. Since these actions are performed by people, the Apostle, and here begins the question. pronoun masculine: who. - "From the love of God." God loves us and wants to save us, but evil people, by their hostile actions, which can shake our faith, want to block the path of God's love to us: if we turn out to be unfaithful to God, then, of course, we will lose God's favor. - "Sorrow or tightness" - explained. see Romans 2:9. "Persecution" (διωγμός) - prosecution. - "Sword" - the death penalty through truncation with a sword. - "As written." The apostle sees in Ps. 43:23, which he quotes from the text LXX, not only proof that believers in Christ endure the same as believers in the Old Testament, but also a prophecy that Christians - very many - will have to endure violent death. - "For you". According to the context of the speech, this expression must be attributed to God, and not to Christ. Martyrdom at that time was understood as the glorification of God (see John 21:19). - "Every day" - more correctly: "the whole (όλην) day." Enemies look at Christians like sheep doomed to the slaughter, which takes place throughout the day, non-stop. First one, then another Christian escapes from the society of believers in order to be executed for his faith. “But we overcome everything.” Our victory over all temptations is extraordinary (υπερνικώμεν), because we not only conquer all these temptations, but also turn them to our advantage. - "Beloved". Here we must understand God (and not Christ), whose love for us was discussed above.
Romans 8:38. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, neither present nor future,
Romans 8:39. neither height nor depth, nor any other creature, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The assurance that the believer overcomes all temptations is reinforced by the Apostle here with his assurance that no power, no matter how powerful, will separate believers from the love of God.
“Neither death nor life,” that is, whether we die or remain alive, we will still abide in the love of God. The Apostle mentions death before life in view of the dangers constantly surrounding Christians (v. 36). “Nor Angels.” Here it is more likely to understand good angels, because where we are talking about evil angels, they are always called either the angels of the devil, or the angels who have sinned (Mt. 25:41; 2 Pet 2:4). The apostle, however, does not say that good angels in fact would harm the salvation of believers - he is only, as the blessing is expressed. Theophylact, speaks presumably (cf. Gal 1:8). - "No Beginning." Some interpreters see here an indication of a special rank of angels, but one cannot agree with this opinion, because in this case the Apostle would put the whole and its part on the same board (Angels - the whole and the Beginnings - the part). It is also impossible to see here any reference to demonic forces, because, again, these forces are nowhere called simply principles. It is most natural to see here the designation of human authorities, earthly bosses. - "No strength." In most ancient codes, this word is read after the expression: future. Here it refers to forces in general - personal and impersonal, earthly and super-earthly.
"Neither the present nor the future." Wed 1 Cor 3:22. These are general concepts: indications of suffering, as some people think, are not here. “Neither height nor depth.” It is very likely (Lietzmann "a) that the Apostle here means stellar forces, in whose influence on human life they then believed. At least the Greek terms that he uses here are purely astrological (ύψωμα is the fall of a star, αβάθος is the heavenly space beyond the horizon, from which the stars rise). The Apostle could in this case warn Christians not to be afraid of the influence of the stars on their destiny. - "Neither any other creature," that is, nothing else of the created, which the Apostle did not mention above. - From the love of God in Christ Jesus, that is, from the love of God, which was revealed, concentrated in Christ and through Him acts in humanity.
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