Romans 8:1-2 - No Longer Condemned, Part 2 (Conciliation Series, Part XLV)

Part IV: God’s Conciliation, Confirmed

In the previous article, I quoted Knoch in Unsearchable Riches, Vol. 27, p. 159: “In the early chapters there is justification for those who believe, and here there is no condemnation for those who walk.”

I quote this again because it will be the central theme of this part of the study. In order to firmly establish what is being said here, in Greek, let’s compare and contrast the KJV with the CLV. First, here’s the first two verses of Romans 8 in the KJV:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

And here is the CLV again:

Nothing, consequently, is now condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Not according to flesh are they walking, but according to spirit, for the spirit's law of life in Christ Jesus frees you from the law of sin and death.

The CLV shifts the sentence structure to more closely resemble the original Greek. It’s important that we establish the efficacy of the CLV’s translation, by highlighting the fallacy in the KJV, and delving into the original Greek.

Let’s get this out of the way first: the Codex Vaticanus does not include “Not according to flesh are they walking, but according to spirit.” It is both in Codex Alexandrinus, and included by Knoch’s infamous Sinaiticus editor in the Sinaiticus manuscript. This is two witnesses to the proof that the phrase is included, so Knoch includes the phrase in the CLV.

Next, Knoch puts a period after Jesus, and begins a new sentence with the word “not.” This is different from the KJV, which puts a comma after “Christ Jesus,” altering the original Greek. It’s an alteration because the KJV’s interpretation makes it much harder to understand whether “no condemnation” is in regards to those in Christ Jesus who walk in spirit, or all who are in Christ Jesus.

This essentially frames it as though you can be condemned, even in Christ Jesus (thus disregarding the entire message of conciliation that we’ve read so far.) In this sense, you’re not blessed if you don’t act a certain way. You’re not blessed, in this case, by your place in Christ, but by how well you behave.

Now: considering everything we’ve read in Romans so far, you must ask yourself on a simple logical level: would God do this? Would the God that is in control of all turn around and say, “Hey, by the way – remember to behave, or else you’re no longer blessed!” This would take all of the good will – the unconditionality, the true beauty of the evangel – and flush it down the toilet. Your conduct plays a vital role, but it does not indicate whether you are condemned or not. As we covered, a negative judgment on one in Christ is nonsensical. The hammer is never going to drop, so you don’t need to live as though you will suddenly be damned to a permanent death after being justified and conciliated to God.

The key that reveals to us that the KJV’s adulteration is false is in the word “not,” as in, “not according to flesh…” This word is not absolute, but relative in nature. The absolute negative term for “not” in Greek is ou, and the relative term for “not” is me. This is a critical difference, because it shows that the condition for “not walking according to flesh” is that you are in Christ Jesus. Your action here doesn’t play a role, but your position on the stage as a key player. You are not being told to do anything; you are being told how things are, in relation to your newness of life.

This is all I’m going to say on this subject. On this, I highly recommend studying the article I mentioned, called “Romans Eight One,” in U.R. Vol. 27, p. 159-170. In this article, Knoch goes into far greater detail on the conditional negative of the Greek, and even compares it with the critical remarks of a scholar with a Ph. D. in Greek. It’s quickly become one of my most entertaining reads from the U.R. series, as Knoch gets very argumentative, very quickly. Give it a read!

With that, we come to a better understanding of Knoch’s initial statement, as well as why Paul says this, here. The walk is now encompassed in these two verses, which should fully assure us that both justification and what we have read of conciliation is currently included in this phrase. It’s a perfect summary of what we’ve read so far, and a perfect segway into Paul’s next clause.

Paul has thoroughly proven that those in Christ are now joined with Him, and are thus now walking according to spirit (irrespective of act.) The flesh is still corrupted; that hasn’t changed. No one said that this makes your flesh ‘perfect’ or some nonsense – it simply means that you are aware and perceive life from the spirit, as opposed to the flesh. Your body will catch up with this understanding soon enough (that’s what the whole ‘expectation/snatching away’ thing is for, but we’ll get to that later.)

Now, just in case you don’t believe my assessment in the previous paragraph, let me remind you that there is a Romans 8:2, and… yyyyyeeeeeeaaauuppp, it confirms exactly what I just said! How crazy is that? Let’s double check that again:

Not according to flesh are they walking, but according to spirit, for the spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus frees you from the law of sin and death.

For! See, for, or gar, in Greek, is used once again to forcefully show the evidence of Paul’s statement in Romans 8:1. It proves to us that the reason nothing is condemnation to us, the reason we are not walking according to flesh, but to spirit, in Christ Jesus, is because the spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus frees you from the law of sin and death.

Such a statement requires two (2) things of us: first, what is the spirit’s law of life? And second, what is the law of sin and death?

Let’s tackle them one by one. First: the spirit’s law of life. Many in Christ (myself included) would be quick to say that this is the “faith’s law” of Romans 3:28. Alas, it has been thoroughly brought to my attention that, as we are in the conciliation section of the letter, we need not consider the logic of justification by faith, lest we create a mini-circular-reasoning situation. Even the phrase, “faith’s law,” shows us that there is a law in faith – i.e., there’s still something for you to conduct yourself in, and you are not lawless. It’s supposed to show you that the same Authority that gave the law at Mount Sinai is the same Authority that gives this faith, and, though the context is entirely separate, you should still be just as fearful as they were. Moreover, if Paul did not explicitly clarify that the spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus is faith’s law, then we need not consider it this way at all.

It is, of course, also not the Mosaic law, for Paul already explained what he needed to explain concerning Mosaic law in Romans 2-3, and 7 – and, spoiler alert, but the ‘law of sin and death’ isn’t the Mosaic law, either. It’s impossible for the Mosaic law to be either of these things, because Paul says he found the law of Sin in his members, and the Mosaic law isn’t in us. If it were, we would be righteous. The Mosaic law is to be placed in man when God’s new covenant with Israel takes effect. Here’s Jer. 31:33 (backed up in Heb. 8:10) –

For this is the covenant which I shall contract with the house of Israel after those days, averring is Yahweh: I will put My law within them, And I shall write it on their heart; I will become their Elohim, And they shall become My people.

So we’ve established that the Mosaic law and faith’s law are not being considered, here. Faith’s law is there to contrast a law of works, and is used by God to have you believe Him when He speaks objectively (there is no other way to accept the evangel of God – Rom. 1:16-17, 3:21-23.) The spirit’s law of life stands in direct contrast to the law of Sin and Death. It’s important to realize that these phrases are not stand-ins for other phrases. Some may argue that it should, and to that I not only point to the circular reasoning idea, but then I say: did God say the spirit’s law of life is faith’s law? If so, where does He say this? You can answer me in an email, sent to idontreallycare@trinityisbullshit.org.

So what is the spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus? The answer: a new law that is being discussed, here, that is to be elaborated on in the next two verses. You have been exempted from Mosaic law (Rom. 6:3, 7:4-6,) but you are not lawless now, or Sin would not be dealt with in your flesh. When Paul says you are “legally Christ’s” (1 Cor. 9:21, Gal. 6:2, ennomos Christou, or “IN-LAWED OF-ANOINTED,”) this is the law he is referring to. Unlike the Mosaic law, written in stone and given to you through the physical, it is the spirit’s law, thus an invisible, internal authority that provokes your conduct.

The spirit’s law of life is the same law that Christ was under during His earthly sojourn. Our Lord was subject – to perfection – to the very law you’re now under. He was always following this law, having been given the spirit without measure (John 3:34,) and thus fulfilled the spirit’s law without measure. As such, the Mosaic law could not find one fault in Him – He did not know Sin (2 Cor. 5:21.) As such, He was not internally subject to any law of Sin and Death, like we were.

Yes, you heard me. The way you now serve? This is the way Christ always served. He was always aware of His Father’s will, and never wavered from His goal. You (who, unlike Jesus, Who has the spirit without measure, and is the Inaugurator of faith – Heb. 12:3,) have been given a measure of faith (Rom. 12:3.) You have a pledge, or an earnest, of the spirit (Eph. 1:14.)

As you are now baptized into His death, and your life is joined inherently with His, and He is living to God (Rom. 6:3-11,) your spirit’s life is identical with His. The last Adam is called a vivifying Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45.) He is called the Head of the body of Christ (Col. 1:18.) And, of course, we are called the body of Christ (Eph. 1:21-23, 1 Cor. 12:12-31.) Here, it is the Head that communicates life to the body. This is divinely shown in your journey now – the law of Sin and Death was found in your members, until your internal spirit has changed. First you internally – then your members, externally, because of your change (Rom. 6:12-14, 1 Thess. 4:13-18.) This is the process. Christ – and then you because of Christ. You represent the ‘members changing’ in Christ. Our spirits are perfected in this process, and thus Christ is perfected (Rom. 8:30, 2 Cor. 12:9.)

All of this peace-making with you begins with your joining into Christ’s death. It is through this joining that Christ begins educating you on His blessing. You are in His life now, and this verse is a necessary reminder of this – that it is not the ‘exemption from law’ that frees you from the law of Sin and Death. Sin no longer has a foothold on you when you are exempted, because the power of Sin is the law. But you are freed from the law by Christ’s life that He imparts, and the spirit’s new law of life that dwells in you now. His death exempted you from law (7:4-6,) and His life frees you from Sin’s indwelling power (8:2.)

This takes me back to what I said at the beginning of chapter 8. This is no longer Christ acting for you in Sin and Death. The worldview has shifted into something more advanced; now it is Christ acting in you, subjecting your flesh with life. In this spiritual sense only, Christ has not left or abandoned the earth at all, but is still operating in His body, the ecclesia (the gathering.) His life is not gone, but is manifested today in your mortal flesh, having been made holy – that is, set apart – to God (2 Cor. 4:11.)

That takes us full circle, doesn’t it? It becomes apparent that, if Christ’s life is manifest in a believer, then it is absolutely blasphemous to make the assertion that you could somehow still be condemned. While Sin lies dormant in our flesh, it is being delivered from you. Your flesh is owned by Christ, and He’s… well, He’s clearing the way to make His law of life apparent in you. He is strong-arming the corruption in you, slowly taking over, perfecting you.

- GerudoKing