Psalms 19 - 21:
PSALM
19
A
psalm of david: The wonderful creation
and covenants of god
1 The heavens declare the Glory of God; and the
firmament shows His Handywork (this Passage means
that there is no excuse for man not to believe in God, for we are plainly told
here that “the heavens declare the Glory of God”).
2 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto
night shows knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their
voice is not heard. (This means that the material Earth is the sphere in
which the Heavenly Message operates, and the message itself is addressed to the
inhabited “world.” There is no
limitation. All nations are embraced in
this gracious revelation. Even though
such knowledge does not bring one Salvation, it is the first step toward the
acknowledgment of God, and all that pertains to God, which leaves man without
excuse.)
4 Their line (teaching)
is gone out through all the Earth, and
their words to the end of the world. In
them has He set a tabernacle for the sun (this
means the heavens and the constellations keep continually pouring forth
teaching respecting the Glory of God, so that all nations are without excuse
[Rom. 1:19-20]; modern science has discovered that the sun is enclosed in an
envelope of fire, but this fact was shown in this Psalm about three thousand
years ago),
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his
chamber, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race (pictures
the sun).
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
and his circuit unto the ends of it: and
there is nothing hid from the heat thereof (many
things are hidden from the light of the sun, but nothing from its “heat,” which
is the vital force whence the whole Earth receives life and energy,
incidentally given here in the Bible first of all).
7 The Law of the LORD is perfect, converting the
soul: the Testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple (this tells us that the
Bible is Perfect; in fact, the Bible is the only revealed Truth in the world,
and in fact ever has been; it alone can “make wise the simple”).
8 The Statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing
the heart: the Commandment of the LORD
is pure, enlightening the eyes (they are
“right,” not merely because they are of the Lord, but because they, in fact,
are right).
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for
ever: the judgments of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether (this is the
instruction afforded by God for fearing Him).
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yes,
than much fine gold: sweeter also than
honey and the honeycomb (God’s Word is a far
greater good to man and, therefore, far more to be desired, than any amount of
riches).
11 Moreover by them is Your servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward (one might say that Jesus dwelt in the Scriptures as the
sun dwells in the heavens; they “warned” Him, they admonished and taught Him).
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse You me
from secret faults (the only way that one can
understand his errors is by going to the Word of God; as well, the only thing
that will probe deep into the heart of man, locating the “secret faults,” is
the Word of God).
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous
sins; let them not have dominion over me:
then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great
transgression (the “great transgression” spoken
of in this Verse is that of declaring the Word of God insufficient for the
problems at hand; this is what makes humanistic psychology so wrong, the
embracing of such is a statement that says the Word of God is insufficient).
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation
of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my Redeemer (our words can only be acceptable unto Him, along with
the meditation of our heart, so long as they remain constant in the Word of
God).
PSALM
20
A
psalm of david: A psalm of trust: prayer for victory
1 The LORD (will) hear you in the day of trouble; the Name of the God
of Jacob (will) defend you (in
effect, the Holy Spirit prays through David here, stating that the LORD will
hear the Messiah regarding His petition; “the Name of the God of Jacob” means
the God Who met Jacob when he had nothing and deserved nothing [but wrath] and
Who gave him everything; it is the equivalent of the New Testament “God of all
Grace” [I Pet. 5:10]);
2 Send You help from the sanctuary, and
strengthen You out of Zion (when on Earth, even
though our Lord was not normally close to the Sanctuary, nevertheless, He
received great help from what it represented, hence the cleansing of it two
times);
3 Remember all Your Offerings, and accept Your
Burnt Sacrifice; Selah. (Our Lord is praying that the Sacrifice of His sinless
Life and atoning death will be accepted.)
4 Grant You according to
Your Own heart, and fulfil all Your Counsel (most probably these were the words of
the High Priest to the people after offering their Sacrifices; likewise, the
Lord cried that His petition would be fulfilled).
5 We will rejoice in Your Salvation, and in the
Name of our God we will set up our banners:
the LORD fulfil all Your petitions (the
idea is, if the great Sacrifice of Christ is accepted, and it definitely was,
then the Salvation of all who put their trust in Christ will be accepted;
therefore, we will rejoice).
6 Now know I that the LORD saves His Anointed (Christ); He will
hear Him from His Holy Heaven with the saving strength of His right hand (the words, “His Anointed,” always speak of “His
Messiah”; when He prays, God the Father always hears and always grants Him the
“saving strength of His right hand”).
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in
horses: but we will remember the Name of
the LORD our God (the Antichrist, by trusting in
chariots and horses, will be defeated, but the Lord Jesus Christ, by trusting
in the Name of the LORD God, will be victorious).
8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright (all who follow Satan will ultimately be brought down,
but all who follow Christ will rise and stand upright).
9 Save, LORD:
let the King hear us when we call.
(Verses 1-6 refer to the Messiah’s
calling to God. Verses 7-9 refer to Israel in the Battle of Armageddon calling to the God of
Glory and to the King, Who will be the Lord Jesus Christ. God will hear when they call. He will “save.”)
Psalm
21
A
Psalm of david: Thanks and praise for
victory
1 The king shall joy in Your Strength, O LORD;
and in Your Salvation how greatly shall He rejoice! (This Psalm
presents the exaltation and crowning of the Messiah as King over all the Earth,
and His appointment as the Source and Channel of blessing to all nations.)
2 You have given Him His
heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of His lips. Selah.
(This was
partially fulfilled in David, but is to be completely fulfilled in David’s Son
— the Messiah.)
3 For You prevent (anticipate) Him with the blessings of goodness (You give Him blessings before He asks,
and more than He asks): You set a crown of pure
gold on His head (no
doubt, this happened to David when he became king of the whole of Israel;
however, in a greater measure it refers to the Lord of Glory, Who will begin
His Kingdom Reign as the rightful King that He is).
4 He asked life of You, and You gave it Him, even
length of days for ever and ever (this pertains
to the Resurrection of Christ, and it pertains to Believers enjoying the same
thing through Christ — eternal life).
5 His Glory is great in Your Salvation: honour and majesty have You laid upon Him (the Lord Jesus Christ is given a Name that is above
every name [Phil. 2:9]).
6 For You have made Him most blessed for
ever: You have made Him exceeding glad
with Your Countenance (Jesus Christ will bless
the entirety of the world during the Millennial Reign; in effect, He has done
so already, at least for those who will believe [Jn. 3:16]).
7 For the King trusts in the LORD, and through
the Mercy of the Most High He shall not be moved (this
King, the Lord Jesus Christ, will not be voted out of office, neither shall He
grow old and die; “He shall not be moved”).
8 Your Hand shall find out all Your enemies: Your right Hand shall find out those who hate
You (during the coming Kingdom Age, it will be
easily discernible as to who loves the Lord and who hates Him).
9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time
of Your anger: the LORD shall swallow
them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them (evil will not be tolerated in the coming Kingdom Age).
10 Their fruit shall You destroy from the Earth,
and their seed from among the children of men (evil
will not be allowed to gain a foothold).
11 For they intended evil against You: they imagined a mischievous device, which
they are not able to perform (this Passage
pertains to the Battle of Armageddon, when the Antichrist will literally
declare war on Christ, and do so by attacking God’s People, Israel; however,
the Antichrist will not be able to perform that which he intends).
12 Therefore shall You make them turn their back,
when You shall make ready Your arrows upon Your strings against the face of
them (this is the Second Coming [Ezek., Chpts.
38-39]).
13 Be You exalted, LORD, in Your own
Strength: so will we sing and praise
Your Power (in the coming Kingdom Age, evil will
not be exalted, Jesus Christ will).
Romans 7 - 8:
Chapter
7
(A.D. 60)
THE
LAW AND SIN
1 Know
ye not, Brethren (Paul is speaking to Believers), (for I speak to them who know the Law,) (he is speaking of the Law of Moses, but it could refer
to any type of religious Law) how that the
Law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? (The
Law has dominion as long as he tries to live by Law. Regrettably, not understanding the Cross
regarding Sanctification, virtually the entirety of the Church is presently
trying to live for God by means of the Law.
Let the Believer understand that there are only two places he can be,
Grace or Law. If he doesn’t understand
the Cross as it refers to Sanctification, which is the only means of victory,
he will automatically be under Law, which guarantees failure.)
2 For the woman which has an husband is bound by
the Law to her husband so long as he lives (presents Paul using the analogy of the marriage bond); but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the Law of
her husband (meaning that she is
free to marry again).
3 So
then if, while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she
shall be called an adulteress (in effect, the
woman now has two husbands, at least in the Eyes of God; following this
analogy, the Holy Spirit through Paul will give us a great truth; many
Christians are living a life of spiritual adultery; they are married to Christ,
but they are, in effect, serving another husband, “the Law”; it is quite an
analogy!):
but if her husband be dead (the
Law is dead by virtue of Christ having fulfilled the Law in every respect), she is free from that Law (if the husband dies, the woman is free to marry and
serve another; the Law of Moses, being satisfied in Christ, is now dead to the
Believer and the Believer is free to serve Christ without the Law having any
part or parcel in his life or living); so
that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man (presents the Believer as now married to Christ, and no
longer under obligation to the Law).
4 Wherefore,
my Brethren, you also are become dead to the Law (the
Law is not dead per se, but we are dead to the Law because we are dead to its
effects; this means that we are not to try to live for God by means of “Law,”
whether the Law of Moses, or religious Laws made up by other men or of
ourselves; we are to be dead to all religious Law) by the Body of Christ (this
refers to the Crucifixion of Christ, which satisfied the demands of the broken
Law, which we could not satisfy; but Christ did it for us; having fulfilled the
Mosaic Law in every respect, the Christian is not obligated to Law in any
fashion, only to Christ and what He did at the Cross); that you should be married to another (speaking of Christ),
even to Him Who is raised from the dead (we are raised with Him in Newness of Life, and we should
ever understand that Christ has met, does meet, and shall meet our every need;
we look to Him exclusively, referring to what He did for us at the Cross), that we should bring forth fruit unto God (proper fruit can only be brought forth by the Believer
constantly looking to the Cross; in fact, Christ must never be separated from
the Work of the Cross; to do so is to produce “another Jesus” [II Cor. 11:4]).
5 For
when we were in the flesh (can refer to the
unsaved state or to the Believer who is attempting to overcome the powers of
sin by his own efforts, i.e., “the flesh”),
the motions of sins (denotes being under
the power of the sin nature, and refers to the “passions of the sin nature”), which were by the Law (the
effect of the Law is to reveal sin, which Law is designed to do whether it’s
the Law of God or Laws made up of ourselves; that doesn’t mean it’s evil, for
it isn’t; it just means that there is no victory in the Law, only the
Revelation of sin and its penalty), did
work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death (when the Believer attempts to live for the Lord by means
of Law, which regrettably most of the modern Church does, the end result is
going to be sin and failure; in fact, it can be no other way; let us say it
again! if the Believer doesn’t understand the Cross, as it refers to
Sanctification, then the Believer is going to try to live for God by means of
Law; the sadness is that most of the modern Church thinks it is under Grace,
when in reality it is living under Law because of not understanding the Cross).
6 But
now we are delivered from the Law (delivered
from its just demands, meaning that Christ has paid its penalty), that being dead (dead
to the Law by virtue of having died with Christ on the Cross) wherein we were held (we were once held down by the sin nature); that we should serve in newness of Spirit (refers to the Holy Spirit and not man’s spirit; the
Believer has a completely new way of living, which is Faith in Christ and what
He did at the Cross on our behalf; this guarantees perpetual victory), and not in the oldness of the letter (this refers to the Law of Moses; most modern Believers
would argue that they aren’t living after the Law of Moses; but, as we have
stated, the truth is if they do not understand the Cross as it refers to
Sanctification, then in some way they’re still living under that old Law).
THE
STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN
7 What
shall we say then? (In Verses 1 through 6 of
this Chapter, Paul has shown that the Believer is no longer under Law; in the
remainder of the Chapter, he shows that a Believer putting himself under Law,
thus failing to avail himself of the resources of Grace, is a defeated
Christian.) Is the Law sin? God
forbid (man’s condition is not caused by the Law
of God, for the Law is Holy; rather it is exposed). No, I had not
known sin, but by the Law (means that the
Law of Moses defined what sin actually is, but gave no power to overcome sin): for I had not
known lust, except the Law had said, You shall not covet (tells us that the desire for what is forbidden is the
first conscious form of sin; this is the sin nature at work!).
8 But
sin (the sin nature), taking occasion by the Commandment, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence (“concupiscence”
is “evil desire,” meaning, if the Believer attempts to live for God by means
other than the Cross, he will be ruled by “evil desires”; and no matter how
dedicated he might be otherwise, he will not be able to stop the process in
that manner, with it getting worse and worse). For without the Law sin was
dead (means that the Law of Moses fully exposed
what was already in man’s heart; that’s one of the reasons God gave the Law).
9 For
I was alive without the Law once (Paul is referring
to himself personally and his conversion to Christ; the Law, he states, had
nothing to do with that conversion; neither did it have anything to do with his
life in Christ): but when the Commandment came (having just been Saved, and not understanding the Cross
of Christ, he tried to live for God by keeping the Commandments through his own
strength and power; in his defense, no one else at that time understood the
Cross; in fact, the meaning of the Cross, which is actually the meaning of the
New Covenant, would be given to Paul), sin
revived (the sin nature will always,
without exception, revive under such circumstances, which results in failure), and I died (he was
not meaning that he physically died, as would be obvious, but that he died to
the Commandment; in other words, he failed to obey no matter how hard he tried;
let all Believers understand that if the Apostle Paul couldn’t live for God in
this manner, at least successfully, neither can you!).
10 And
the Commandment, which was ordained to life (refers
to the Ten Commandments), I found to
be unto death (means that the Law revealed
the sin, as it always does, and its wages which are death; in other words,
there is no victory in trying to live by Law; we are to live by Faith,
referring to Faith in Christ and the Cross).
11 For
sin (the sin nature), taking occasion by the Commandment (in no way blames the Commandment, but that the
Commandment actually did agitate the sin nature, and brought it to the fore,
which it was designed to do), deceived me (Paul thought, now that he had accepted Christ, by that
mere fact alone he could certainly obey the Lord in every respect; but he found
he couldn’t, and neither can you, at least in that fashion), and by it slew me
(despite all of his efforts to live for the Lord by means of Law-keeping, he
failed; and again, I say, so will you!).
12 Wherefore
the Law is Holy (points to the fact that
it is God’s Revelation of Himself; the problem is not in the Law of God, the
problem is in us), and the Commandment
Holy, and just, and good (the Law is like
a mirror which shows man what he is, but contains no power to change him).
13 Was
then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid (once again, it is not the Law that is at fault, but
rather the sin in man which is opposed to the Law). But sin (the sin nature),
that it might appear sin (proclaims the
Divine intention of the Law, namely that sin might show its true colors), working death in me by that which is good (the Law was good, and is good, but if one attempts to
keep its moral precepts by means other than constant Faith in the Cross, the
end result will be the “working of death” instead of life; all of this can be
done, but only by Faith in Christ and the Cross); that sin (the sin
nature) by the Commandment might become
exceeding sinful (this greatly confuses
the Believer; he is trying to live for God, and trying with all of his strength
and might, but continually fails; he doesn’t understand why! the truth is that
no one can live for God in this fashion; it is not God’s prescribed order; that
order is the Cross).
14 For
we know that the Law is spiritual (refers to the
fact that the Law is totally of God, from God, and by God): but I am carnal,
sold under sin (refers to Adam’s Fall,
which has affected all of mankind and for all time; this means that no one,
even Spirit-filled Believers, can keep the Law of God if they attempt to do so
outside of Faith in the Cross; in other words, it is all in Christ).
15 For
that which I do (the failure) I allow not (should
have been translated, “I understand not”; these are not the words of an unsaved
man, as some claim, but rather a Believer who is trying and failing): for what I would,
that do I not (refers to the obedience he
wants to render to Christ, but rather fails; why? as Paul explained, the
Believer is married to Christ, but is being unfaithful to Christ by spiritually
cohabiting with the Law, which frustrates the Grace of God; that means the Holy
Spirit will not help such a person, which guarantees failure [Gal. 2:21]); but what I hate, that do I (refers to sin in his life which he doesn’t want to do,
and in fact hates, but finds himself unable to stop; unfortunately, due to the
fact of not understanding the Cross as it refers to Sanctification, this is the
plight of most modern Christians).
16 If
then I do that which I would not (presents Paul
doing something against his will; he doesn’t want to do it, and is trying not
to do it, whatever it might be, but finds himself doing it anyway), I consent unto the Law that it is good (simply means that the Law of God is working as it is
supposed to work; it defines sin, portraying the fact that the sin nature will
rule in man’s heart if not addressed properly).
17 Now
then it is no more I that do it (this has been
misconstrued by many! it means, “I may be failing, but it’s not what I want to
do”; no true Christian wants to sin because now the Divine Nature is in his
life and it is supposed to rule, not the sin nature [II Pet. 1:4]), but sin (the sin
nature) that dwells in me (despite the fact that some preachers claim the sin
nature is gone from the Christian, Paul here plainly says that the sin nature
is still in the Christian; however, if our Faith remains constant in the Cross,
the sin nature will be dormant, causing us no problem; otherwise, it will cause
great problems; while the sin nature “dwells” in us, it is not to “rule” in us).
18 For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing (speaks of man’s own ability, or rather the lack thereof
in comparison to the Holy Spirit, at least when it comes to spiritual things): for to will is
present with me (Paul is speaking here of
his willpower; regrettably, most modern Christians are trying to live for God
by means of willpower, thinking falsely that since they have come to Christ,
they are now free to say “no” to sin; that is the wrong way to look at the
situation; the Believer cannot live for God by the strength of willpower; while
the will is definitely important, it alone is not enough; the Believer must exercise
Faith in Christ and the Cross, and do so constantly; then he will have the
ability and strength to say “yes” to Christ, which automatically says, “no” to
the things of the world); but how
to perform that which is good I find not (outside
of the Cross, it is impossible to find a way to do good).
19 For
the good that I would I do not (if I depend on
self, and not the Cross): but the evil which I would not (don’t want to do),
that I do (which is exactly what every
Believer will do no matter how hard he tries to do otherwise, if he tries to
live this life outside of the Cross [Gal. 2:20-21]).
20 Now
if I do that I would not (which is exactly what
will happen if the Believer tries to live this life outside of God’s Prescribed
Order), it is no more I that do it, but
sin (the sin nature) that dwells in me (this
emphatically states that the Believer has a sin nature; in the original Greek
Text, if it contains the definite article before the word “sin” which
originally did read “the sin,” it is not speaking of acts of sin, but rather
the sin nature or the evil nature; the idea is not getting rid of the sin
nature, which actually cannot be done, but rather controlling it, which the
Apostle has told us how to do in Rom., Chpts. 6 and 8; when the Trump sounds, we
shall be changed and there will be no more sin nature [Rom. 8:23]).
21 I
find then a Law (does not refer in this case to
the Law of Moses, but rather to the “Law of sin and death” [Rom. 8:2]), that, when I would do good, evil (the evil nature) is
present with me (the idea is that the sin
nature is always going to be with the Believer; there is no hint in the Greek
that its stay is temporary, at least until the Trump sounds; we can
successfully address the sin nature in only one way, and that is by Faith in
Christ and the Cross, which Paul will detail in the next Chapter).
22 For
I delight in the Law of God (refers to the moral
Law of God ensconced in the Ten Commandments) after the inward man (refers
to the spirit and soul of man which has now been regenerated):
23 But
I see another Law in my members (the Law of sin
and death desiring to use my physical body as an instrument of unrighteousness), warring against the Law of my mind (this is the Law of desire and willpower), and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin (the Law of sin and death) which is in my members (which
will function through my members, and make me a slave to the Law of sin and
death; this will happen to the most consecrated Christian if that Christian
doesn’t constantly exercise Faith in Christ and the Cross, understanding that
it is through the Cross that all powers of darkness were defeated [Col.
2:14-15]).
24 O
wretched man that I am! (Any Believer who
attempts to live for God outside of God’s Prescribed Order, which is “Jesus Christ
and Him Crucified,” will, in fact, live a wretched and miserable
existence. This life can only be lived
in one way, and that way is the Cross.) Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (The
minute he cries “Who,” he finds the path to Victory, for he is now calling upon
a Person for help, and that Person is Christ; actually, the Greek Text is
masculine, indicating a Person).
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (presents Paul
revealing the answer to his own question; Deliverance comes through Jesus
Christ and Christ Alone, and more particularly what Jesus did at Calvary and
the Resurrection). So then with the mind I
myself serve the Law of God (the “will”
is the trigger, but it within itself can do nothing unless the gun is loaded with
explosive power; that Power is the Cross);
but with the flesh the Law of sin (if the
Believer resorts to the “flesh,” [i.e., “self-will, self-effort, religious
effort”] which refers to his own ability outside of Christ and the Cross, he
will not serve the Law of God, but rather the Law of sin).
Chapter
8
(A.D. 60)
LIFE
IN THE SPIRIT
1 There is
therefore now no condemnation (guilt) to them which are in Christ Jesus (refers back to Rom. 6:3-5 and our being baptized into
His Death, which speaks of the Crucifixion),
who walk not after the flesh (depending
on one’s personal strength and ability or great religious efforts in order to
overcome sin), but after the Spirit (the Holy Spirit works exclusively within the legal
confines of the Finished Work of Christ; our Faith in that Finished Work, i.e.,
“the Cross,” guarantees the help of the Holy Spirit, which guarantees Victory).
2 For
the Law (that which we are about to give is a
Law of God, devised by the Godhead in eternity past [I Pet. 1:18-20]; this Law,
in fact, is “God’s Prescribed Order of Victory”) of the Spirit (Holy
Spirit, i.e., “the way the Spirit works”) of
Life (all life comes from Christ, but
through the Holy Spirit [Jn. 16:13-14]) in
Christ Jesus (any time Paul uses this
term or one of its derivatives, he is, without fail, referring to what Christ
did at the Cross, which makes this “life” possible) has made me free (given
me total Victory) from the Law of Sin and
Death (these are the two most powerful
Laws in the Universe; the “Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus” alone is
stronger than the “Law of Sin and Death”; this means that if the Believer
attempts to live for God by any manner other than Faith in Christ and the
Cross, he is doomed to failure).
3 For
what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh (those under Law had only their willpower, which is
woefully insufficient; so despite how hard they tried, they were unable to keep
the Law then, and the same inability persists presently; any person who tries
to live for God by a system of laws is doomed to failure, because the Holy
Spirit will not function in that capacity),
God sending His Own Son (refers to man’s
helpless condition, unable to save himself and unable to keep even a simple Law
and, therefore, in dire need of a Saviour) in
the likeness of sinful flesh (this means that
Christ was really human, conformed in appearance to flesh which is
characterized by sin, but yet sinless),
and for sin (to atone for sin, to destroy
its power, and to save and Sanctify its victims), condemned sin in the flesh (destroyed the power of sin by giving His Perfect Body as
a Sacrifice for sin, which made it possible for sin to be defeated in our
flesh; it was all through the Cross):
4 That
the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us (the Law finding its full accomplishment in us can only
be done by Faith in Christ, and what Christ has done for us at the Cross), who walk not after the flesh (not after our own strength and ability), but after the Spirit (the
word “walk” refers to the manner in which we order our life; when we place our
Faith in Christ and the Cross, understanding that all things come from God to
us by means of the Cross, ever making it the Object of our Faith, the Holy
Spirit can then work mightily within us, bringing about the Fruit of the
Spirit; that is what “walking after the Spirit” actually means!).
5 For
they who are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh (refers to Believers trying to live for the Lord by means
other than Faith in the Cross of Christ);
but they who are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit (those who place their Faith in Christ and the Cross, do
so exclusively; they are doing what the Spirit desires, which alone can bring
Victory).
CONTRAST
6 For
to be carnally minded is death (this
doesn’t refer to watching too much television, as some think, but rather, it’s
trying to live for God outside of His Prescribed Order; the results will be sin
and separation from God); but to be
Spiritually Minded is life and peace (God’s
Prescribed Order is the Cross; this demands our constant Faith in that Finished
Work, which is the Way of the Holy Spirit).
7 Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God (once
again, this refers to attempting to live for God by means other than the Cross,
which places one “against God”): for it is not subject to the Law of God,
neither indeed can be (in its simplest
form means that what is being done, whatever it may be, is not in God’s
Prescribed Order, which is the Cross).
8 So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God (refers
to the Believer attempting to live his Christian Life by means other than Faith
in Christ and the Cross).
9 But
you are not in the flesh (in one sense of the
word is asking the question, “Since you are now a Believer and no longer
depending on the flesh, why are you resorting to the flesh?”), but in the Spirit (as
a Believer, you now have the privilege of being led and empowered by the Holy
Spirit; however, He will do such for us only on the premise of our Faith in the
Finished Work of Christ), if so be that
the Spirit of God dwell in you (if you
are truly Saved). Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of His (Paul is saying that
the work of the Spirit in our lives is made possible by what Christ did at
Calvary, and the Resurrection).
10 And
if Christ be in you (He is in you through
the Power and Person of the Spirit [Gal. 2:20]), the body is dead because of sin (means that the physical body has been rendered helpless
because of the Fall; consequently, the Believer trying to overcome by willpower
presents a fruitless task); but the Spirit
is life because of Righteousness (only
the Holy Spirit can make us what we ought to be, which means we cannot do it
ourselves; once again, He performs all that He does within the confines of the
Finished Work of Christ).
11 But
if the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of Him (from
God) Who raised up Jesus from the
dead dwell in you (and He definitely does), He Who raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies (give us power in our
mortal bodies that we might live a victorious life) by His Spirit Who dwells in you (we have the same Power in us, through the Spirit, that
raised Christ from the dead, and is available to us only on the premise of the
Cross and our Faith in that Sacrifice).
12 Therefore,
Brethren (means that Paul is addressing
Believers), we are debtors (refers to what we owe Jesus Christ for what He has done
for us on the Cross), not to the flesh (we do not owe anything to our own ability, meaning that
such cannot save us or give us victory),
to live after the flesh (“living after
the flesh” pertains to our works, which God can never accept, and which can
never bring us victory, but rather defeat).
13 For
if you live after the flesh (after your own
strength and ability, which is outside of God’s Prescribed Order), you shall die (you
will not be able to live a victorious, Christian life): but if you through the Spirit (by the Power of the Holy Spirit) do mortify the deeds of the body (which the Holy Spirit Alone can do), you shall live (shall
walk in victory; but once again, even at the risk of being overly repetitive,
we must never forget that the Spirit works totally and completely within the
confines of the Cross of Christ; this means that we must ever make the Cross
the Object of our Faith, giving Him latitude to work).
DELIVERANCE
14 For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God (the
Spirit will always lead us to the Cross),
they are the Sons of God (we live as Sons
of God, which refers to total Victory within every respect of our lives; if the
sin nature is dominating a person, he certainly isn’t living as a son of God).
15 For
you have not received the spirit of bondage (to
try to live after a system of works and laws will only succeed in placing one in
“bondage”) again to fear (such living creates a perpetual climate of fear in the
heart of such a Believer); but you have
received the Spirit of Adoption (the Holy
Spirit has adopted us into the Family of God), whereby we cry, Abba, Father (the
Holy Spirit enables the Child of God to call God “Father,” which is done so
because of Jesus Christ).
16 The
Spirit itself (Himself) bears witness with our spirit (means that He is constantly speaking and witnessing
certain things to us), that we are the
Children of God (meaning that we are such
now, and should enjoy all the privileges of such; we can do so if we will
understand that all these privileges come to us from God, by the means of the
Cross):
17 And
if children (Children of God), then heirs (a
privilege); heirs of God (the highest enrichment of all), and joint-heirs with Christ (everything that belongs to Christ belongs to us through
the Cross, which was done for us); if so
be that we suffer with Him (doesn’t pertain to
mere suffering, but rather suffering “with Him,” referring to His Suffering at
the Cross, which brought us total Victory),
that we may be also glorified together (He has
been glorified, and we shall be glorified; all made possible by the Cross).
18 For
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time (speaks
of the world and its condition because of the Fall) are not worthy to be compared with the
glory (the glory of the coming future time will
bear no relation to the misery of this present time) which shall be revealed in us (our Glory will be a reflective Glory, coming from
Christ).
19 For
the earnest expectation of the creature (should
have been translated, “for the earnest expectation of the Creation”) waits for the manifestation of the sons of God (pertains to the coming Resurrection of Life).
20 For
the creature (Creation) was made subject to vanity (Adam’s Fall signaled the fall of Creation), not willingly (the
Creation did not sin, even as such cannot sin, but became subject to the result
of sin, which is death), but by reason of
Him Who has subjected the same in Hope (speaks of God as the One Who passed sentence because of Adam’s Fall,
but at the same time gave us a “Hope”; that “Hope” is Christ, Who will rectify
all things),
21 Because
the creature (Creation) itself also shall be delivered (presents this “Hope” as effecting that Deliverance,
which He did by the Cross) from the
bondage of corruption (speaks of
mortality, i.e., “death”) into the
glorious liberty of the Children of God (when
man fell, Creation fell! when man shall be delivered, Creation will be
delivered as well, and is expressed in the word “also”).
22 For
we know that the whole Creation (everything has
been affected by Satan’s rebellion and Adam’s Fall) groans and travails in pain together until now (refers to the common longing of the elements of the
Creation to be brought back to their original perfection).
23 And
not only they (the Creation, and all it entails), but ourselves also (refers
to Believers), which have the Firstfruits
of the Spirit (even though Jesus addressed
every single thing lost in the Fall at the Cross, we only have a part of that
possession now, with the balance coming at the Resurrection), even we ourselves groan within ourselves (proclaims the obvious fact that all Jesus paid for in
the Atonement has not yet been fully realized), waiting for the Adoption (should be translated, “waiting for the fulfillment of
the process, which Adoption into the Family of God guarantees”), to wit, the Redemption of our body (the glorifying of our physical body that will take place
at the Resurrection).
24 For
we are saved by hope (means that the greater
part of our Salvation is yet future): but hope that is seen is not hope (proclaims in another way the great Truth that all
Salvation affords is not yet given unto the Believer): for what a man
sees, why does he yet hope for? (In effect, this bluntly tells us that what is coming is
so far beyond that which is here at the present, as to be no comparison.)
25 But if we hope for that we see not (plainly tells us that more, much more,
is coming), then
do we with patience wait for it (proclaims the
certitude of its coming, because the Holy Spirit has promised it would).
26 Likewise
the Spirit (Holy Spirit) also helps our infirmities (the help given to us by the Holy Spirit is made possible
in its entirety by and through what Jesus did at the Cross): for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought (signals
the significance of prayer, but also that without the Holy Spirit, all is to no
avail): but the Spirit itself (Himself) makes
intercession for us (He petitions or
intercedes on our behalf) with
groanings which cannot be uttered (not groanings
on the part of the Holy Spirit, but rather on our part, which pertains to that
which comes from the heart and cannot properly be put into words).
27 And
He Who searches the hearts (God the Father) knows what is the Mind of the Spirit (what the Spirit wants done, and not what we want done), because He (Holy
Spirit) makes intercession for the Saints
according to the Will of God (the
overriding goal of the Spirit is to carry out the Will of God in our lives, not
our personal wills; in other words, the Spirit is not a glorified bellhop).
CONQUERORS
28 And
we know that all things work together for good (but
only if certain conditions are met) to
them who love God (the first condition), to them who are the called according to His
purpose (this means it’s “His Purpose, and not
ours,” which is the second condition; otherwise, all things will not work
together for our good).
29 For
whom He (God)
did foreknow (God’s foreknowledge), He also did predestinate to be conformed to
the Image of His Son (it is never the person
that is predestined, but rather the Plan),
that He (Jesus) might be the Firstborn among many Brethren (doesn’t mean that Jesus was Born-Again as a sinner, as
some teach, but rather that He is the Father of the Salvation Plan, having paid
the price on the Cross, which made it all possible).
30 Moreover
whom He (God)
did predestinate (to be conformed to the
Image of His Son), them He also called (without that “Call,” man cannot be saved; sadly, many
refuse the “Call” [Prov. 1:24-33]): and whom He called, them He also justified (those who responded faithfully to the Call): and whom He
justified, them He also glorified (shall
glorify at the Resurrection; Justification guarantees it will be done).
31 What
shall we then say to these things? (This refers
to the suffering presently endured [Vss. 17-18] in comparison to “the Glory
which shall be revealed in us.”) If God be for us (should
have been translated, “since God is for us”), who can
be against us? (It is who can be against us that will really matter.)
32 He Who spared not His Own Son (concerns the Great Gift of God, i.e.,
the Lord Jesus Christ), but delivered Him up for us all (the Cross), how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things? (We can have all things that pertain to
Life and Godliness, which Jesus paid for at the Cross, providing our Faith is
ever in Christ and the Cross [II Pet. 1:3-7].)
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? (In effect, means, “Who shall pronounce
those guilty whom God pronounces Righteous?”)
It is God who justifies (it
is God Who sets the rules for Justification, not man).
34 Who
is he who condemns? (No man has the right to
condemn God’s Justification Plan.) It is
Christ Who died (if one condemns a Believer who
is trusting Christ solely for Justification and Sanctification, he is at the
same time condemning Christ and His Death on the Cross), yea rather, Who is risen again (the Resurrection ratified the fact that Jesus was the
Perfect Sacrifice, and that God accepted Him as such), Who is even at the Right Hand of God (refers to the exaltation of Christ), Who also makes intercession for us (at the Right Hand of God, showing that His Sacrifice has
been accepted, which guarantees intercession for us).
35 Who
shall separate us from the Love of Christ? (This
speaks of the Love of Christ for the Believer, instead of the Believer’s Love
for Christ.) shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (We are
protected against all outside influence, but not from ourselves. If a person so desires, he can separate
himself from the Love of Christ by rejecting the Cross.)
36 As it is written (Ps. 44:22), For Your sake we are killed all the day long (the world has always been opposed to
Christ and what He did at the Cross; regrettably, so is most of the Church); we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter (the
way the world looks at us; in their eyes, we are fit only for slaughter).
37 Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors (it
is a Holy arrogance of Victory and the Might of Christ) through Him Who loved us (He
loved us enough to give His Life on the Cross, which alone makes us “more than
conquerors”).
38 For
I am persuaded (the Apostle has faced the things
of which he now speaks), that neither
death, nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come,
39 Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (this
Love of God extended to us is made possible solely by Christ, and what He has
done for us at the Cross; once again, this is God’s Love for us, which never
wavers because we are “in Christ Jesus”).
No comments:
Post a Comment