TEXT. 6 For to be carnally minded, is death; but to be spiritually minded, is life and peace: 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. PARAPHRASE. members, they have the thoughts and bent of their minds set upon the things of the flesh, to obey it in the lusts of it but they, who are under the spiritual law of their minds, the thoughts and bent of their hearts is to follow the dictates of the spirit, in that 6 law. For* to have our minds set upon the satisfaction of the lusts of the flesh, in a slavish obedience to them, does certainly produce and bring death upon us; but our setting ourselves, seriously and sincerely, to obey the dictates and direction of the spirit, produces life + and peace, which are not to be had in the contrary, 7 carnal state: Because to be carnally minded‡ is direct enmity and opposition against God, for such a temper of mind, given up to the lusts of the flesh, is in no subjection to the law of God, nor indeed can be §, it NOTES. 6"For" joins what follows here to ver. 1, as the reason of what is here laid down, viz. deliverance from condemnation is to such christian converts only, "who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For," &c. + See Gal. vi. 8. 7 ‡ •ρóvημa tñs σxpxòs should have been translated here," to be carnally "minded," as it is in the foregoing verse, which is justified by povσi Tà Tys après, do mind the things of the flesh," ver. 5, which signifies the employing the bent of their minds, or subjecting the mind intirely, to the fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. § Here the apostle gives the reason, why even those, that are in Christ Jesus, have received the gospel, and are christians (for to such he is here speaking), are not saved, unless they cease to walk after the flesh, because that runs directly counter to the law of God, and can never be brought into conformity and subjection to his commands. Such a settled contravention to his precepts cannot be suffered, by the supreme Lord and Governor of the world, in any of his creatures, without foregoing his sovereignty, and giving up the eternal, immutable rule of right, to the overturning the very foundations of all order and moral rectitude, in the intellectual world. This, even in the judgment of men themselves, will be always thought a necessary piece of justice, for the keeping out of anarchy, disorder and confusion, that those refractory subjects, who set up their own inclinations for their rule, against the law, which was made to restrain those very inclinations, should feel the severity of the law, without which the authority of the law, and law-maker, cannot be preserved. TEXT. 8 So then they that are in the flesh, cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead, because of sin, but the spirit is life, because of righteousness. PARAPHRASE. * they 8 having a quite contrary tendency. So then that are in the flesh, i. e. under the fleshly dispensation of the law †, without regarding Christ, 9 the spirit of it, in it cannot please God. But ye are not in that state, of having all your expectation from the law, and the benefits, that are to be obtained barely by that; but are in the spiritual state of the law, i. e. the gospel, which is the end of the law, and to which the law leads you. And so, having received the gospel, you have therewith received the spirit of God: for, as many as receive Christ, he gives power to become the sons of God: and to 10 those that are his sons, God gives his spirit ||. And if Christ be in you, by his spirit, the body is dead NOTES. 8 This is a conclusion drawn from what went before. The whole argumentation stands thus: "They that are under the dominion of their carnal lusts, "cannot please God; therefore they who are under the carnal, or literal dis"pensation of the law, cannot please God; because they have not the spirit of "God: now it is the spirit of God alone, that enlivens men so, as to enable "them to cast off the dominion of their lusts." See Gal, iv, 3-6. + Οἱ ἐν σαρκὶ ὅντες, "They that are in the flesh." He that shall consider, that this phrase is applied, chap. vii. 5, to the jews, as resting in the bare, literal, or carnal sense and observance of the law, will not be averse to the understanding the same phrase, in the same sense, here; which I think is the only place besides in the New Testament, where è σapui elva is used in a moral sense. This I dare say, it is hard to produce any one text, wherein elva év σaprì is used to signify a man's being under the power of his lusts, which is the sense wherein it is, and must be taken here, if what I propose be rejected. Let it be also remembered, that St. Paul makes it the chief business of this epistle (and he seldom forgets the design he is upon) to persuade both jew and gentile from a subjection to the law, and that the argument, he is upon here, is the weakness and insufficiency of the law to deliver men from the power of sin, and then, perhaps, it will not be judged that the interpretation I have given of these words, is altogether remote from the apostle's sense. 9 See 2 Cor. iii. 6—18, particularly ver. 6, 13, 16. § See John i. 12. See Gal, iv. 6. TEXT. 11 But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you: he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. PARAPHRASE. as to all activity to sin*, sin no longer reigns in it †, but your sinful, carnal lusts are mortified. But the spirit of your mind liveth, i. e. is enlivened, in order to righteousness, or living righteously. 11 But, if the spirit of God, who had power able to raise Jesus Christ from the dead, dwell in you, as certainly it does, he, that raised Christ from the dead, is certainly able, and will, by his spirit that dwells in you, enliven even your ‡ mortal bo NOTES. 10 See chap. vi. 1-14, which explains this place, particularly ver. 2, 6, 11, 12, Gal. ii. 20, Eph. iv. 22, 23, Col. ii. 11, and iii. 8-10. + See Eph. iv. 23. 11 To lead us into the true sense of this verse, we need only observe, that St. Paul, having in the four first chapters of this epistle, shown that neither jew nor gentile could be justified by the law, and in the 5th chapter how sin entered into the world by Adam, and reigned by death, from which it was grace and not the law that delivered men in the 6th chapter, he showeth the convert gentiles, that though they were not under the law, but under grace; yet they could not be saved, unless they cast off the dominion of sin, and became the devoted servants of righteousness, which was what their very baptism taught and required of them: and in chap. vii. he declares to the jews the weakness of the law, which they so much stood upon; and shows that the law could not deliver them from the dominion of sin; that deliverance was only by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ; from whence he draws the conse quence, which begins this 8th chapter, and so goes on with it, here, in two branches relating to his discourse in the foregoing chapter, that complete it in this. The one is to show," that the law of the spirit of life," i. e. the new covenant in the gospel, required that those, that are in Christ Jesus, “should “not live after the flesh, but after the spirit." The other is to show how, and by whom, since the law was weak, and could not enable those, under the law, to do it, they are enabled to keep sin from reigning in their " mortal bodies," which is the sanctification required. And here he shows, that christians are delivered from the dominion of their carnal, sinful lusts, by the spirit of God, that is given to them, and dwells in them, as a new quickening principle and power, by which they are put into the state of a spiritual life, wherein their members are made capable of being made the instruments of righteousness, if they please, as living men, alive now to righteousness, so to employ them. If this be not the sense of this chapter to ver. 14, I desire to know how apa vv in the 1st verse comes in, and what coherence there is in what is here said? Besides the connexion of this to the former chapter, contained in the illative, "therefore," the very antithesis of the expressions, in one and the other, shows that St. Paul, in writing this very verse, had an eye to the foregoing NOTE. chapter. There it was, sin that dwelleth in me," that was the acting and over-ruling principle: here it is," the spirit of God that dwelleth "in you," that is the principle of your spiritual life. There it was, "who shall "deliver me from this body of death?" here it is, "God, by his spirit, shall "quicken your mortal bodies," i. e. bodies which, as the seat and harbour of sinful Justs, that possess it, are indisposed and dead to the actions of a spiritual life, and have a natural tendency to death. In the same sense, and upon the same account, he calls the bodies of the gentiles," their mortal bodies," chap. vi. 12,. where his subject is, as here," freedom from the reign of sin," upon which account they are styled, ver. 13, "alive from the dead." To make it yet clearer, that it is deliverance from the reign of sin, in our bodies, that St. Paul speaks of here, I desire any one to read what he says, chap. vi. 1-14, to the gentiles on the same subject, and compare it with the thirteen first verses of this chapter; and then tell me, whether they have not a mutual correspondence, and do not give a great light one to another? If this be too much pains, let him at least read the two next verses, and see how they could possibly be, as they are, an inference from this 11th verse, if the "quickening of your moral bodies," in it, mean any thing, but a " quickening to a newness of life, or to a spiritual "life of righteousness." This being so, I cannot but wonder to see a late learned commentator and paraphrast positive, that ζωοποιήσει τὰ θνητὰ σώματα ὑμῶν, shall quicken your mortal bodies," does here signify, "shall raise your dead "bodies out of the grave," as he contends in his preface to his paraphrase on the epistles to the corinthians, worε, "quicken," he says imports the same with iyepew, "raise." His way of proving it is very remarkable; his words are "wool and yelpen are as to this matter [viz. the resurrection] words of "the same import, i. e. where in discoursing of the resurrection, worlεTY, "quicken," is used, it is of the same import with eyepew, "raise." But what if St. Paul, which is the question, be not here speaking of the resurrection? why then, according to our author's own confession, (woTOLEN, "quicken," does not necessarily import the same with yelpen "raise." So that this argument, to prove that St. Paul here, by the words in question, means the raising of their dead bodies out of the grave, is but a fair begging of the question, which is enough I think, for a commentator, that hunts out of his way for controversy. He might, therefore, have spared the woolETY, " quicken," which he produces out of St. John v. 21, as of no force to his purpose, till he had proved that St. Paul here in Romans viii. 11, was speaking of the resurrection of men's bodies out of the grave, which he will never do, till he can prove that là, "mortal," here signifies the same with vexpà, " dead." And I demand of him to show 7, "mortal," any where in the New Testament, attributed to any thing void of life; lov, "mortal," always signifies the thing it is joined to, to be living; so that ζωοποιήσει καὶ τὰ θνητὰ σώματα ὑμῶν, “ shall quicken even your mortal bodies," in that learned author's interpretation of these words of St. Paul, here signify, "God shall raise to life your living, dead bodies," which no one can think, in the softest terms can be given to it, a very proper way of speaking; though it be very good sense and very emphatical to say, God shall by his spirit, put into even your mortal bodies, a principle of immortality, or spiritual life, which is the sense of the apostle here; see Gal. vi. 8. And so he may find wooñoa used, Gal. iii. 21, to the same purpose it is here. I next desire to know, of this learned writer, how he will bring in the resurrection of the dead into this place, and to show what coherence it has with St. Paul's discourse here, and how he can join this verse with the immediately preceding and following, when the words under consideration are rendered," shall raise your "dead bodies out of their graves, at the last day?" It seems as if he himself found this would make but an auk ward sense, standing in this place, with the rest of St. Paul's words here, and so never attempted it by any sort of paraphrase, but has barely given us the english translation to help us, as it can, to so uncouth a meaning, as he would put upon this passage, which must make St. Paul, in the midst of a very serious, strong, and coherent discourse, concerning "walking not TEXT. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live after the flesh. 13 For, if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye, through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. PARAPHRASE. dies*, that sin shall not have the sole power and rule there, but your members may be made living 12 instruments of righteousness. Therefore, brethren, we are not under any obligation to the flesh, to obey 13 the lusts of it. For, if ye live after the flesh, that mortal part shall lead you to death irrecoverable ; but if by the spirit, whereby Christ totally suppressed NOTES. "after the flesh, but after the spirit," skip on a sudden into the mention of "the "resurrection of the dead; "and having just mentioned it, skip back again into his former argument. But I take the liberty to assure him, that St. Paul has no such starts, from the matter he has in hand, to what gives no light or strength to his present argument. I think there is not any where to be found a more pertinent, close arguer, who has his eye always on the mark he drives at. This men would find, if they would study him, as they ought, with more regard to the divine authority, than to hypotheses of their own, or to opinions of the season. I do not say that he is every-where clear in his expressions, to us now; but I do say he is every-where a coherent, pertinent writer; and wherever, in his commentators and interpreters, any sense is given to his words, that disjoints his discourse, or deviates from his argument, and looks like a wandering thought, it is easy to know whose it is, and whose the impertinence is, his, or theirs that father it on him. One thing more the text suggests, concerning this matter; and that is, if by "quickening your mortal bodies, &c." be meant, here, the raising them into life after death, how can this be mentioned as a peculiar favour to those, who have the spirit of God? for God will also raise the bodies of the wicked, and as certainly as those of believers. But that, which is promised here, is promised to those only who have the spirit of God: and therefore it must be something peculiar to them, viz. that "God shall so enliven their mortal bodies, by his spirit, "which is the principle and pledge of immortal life, that they may be able to "yield up themselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and their "members servants to righteousness unto holiness." as he expresses himself, chap. vi. 13 aud 19. If any one can yet doubt, whether this be the meaning of St. Paul here, I refer him for farther satisfaction to St. Paul himself in Eph, ii. 4-6, where he will find the same notion of St. Paul, expressed in the same terms, but so that it is impossible to understand by ζωοποιεῖν, οι ἐγείρειν (which are both used there, as well as here) "the resurrection of the dead, out of their 66 graves." The full explication of this verse may be seen Eph. i. 19, and ii. 10. See also Col. ii. 12, 13, to the same purpose; and Rom. vii. 4 * Ζωοποιήσει και, "shall quicken even your mortal bodies," seeins more agreeable to the original than" shall also quicken your mortal bodies;" for the καὶ doth not copulate ζωοποιήσει with ὁ ἔγειρας, for then it must have been καὶ Swoon; for the place of the copulative is between the two words that it joins, and so must necessarily go before the latter of them. |