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Romans 8:1-4 - Corps - September 11,1979

3rdburglar by Wordburglar
Topic: Rom 8:1-4,logospedia,lp
Format: mp3,
Publication Date: September 11, 1979

On Ephesians 4:25 where I want to begin tonight, or where we will begin tonight , the first part of what the Research Team gave me is the work that Walter Cummins published in our wonderful Way Magazine on "The Spoken Word." Also, as we cover Ephesians 4:28 tonight, I had all the information in front of me from another article that Walter Cummins has in the... has had in the Magazine. The first article on Ephesians 4:25 is entitled "The Spoken Word." The one on Ephesians 4:28 is "Workers for God." Both of these pieces of work by Walter are absolutely superb. And I believe that they should appear and will appear in our research journal GMIR whenever we begin publishing that. {GMIR Aramaic word meaning ' to perfect, accomplish , mature, complete, arithmetically to be divisible without any remainder.}

And I noticed again that some of the things that were stated are just so beautifully and logically presented, I'm truly thankful for, not only Walter, but the whole Research Department. I think our Biblical Research Department is just second to none. And it' s even going to be better by God' s mercy and grace next year and in years to come than it is at this time. And right now I do not believe that our Biblical Research Department needs to take a back seat for any academic institution or work in the world.

And I thought today, I have never... I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity than to be my assistant. I know Vince Finnegan, you know, on the books is my assistant. And that' s great. But I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity for so many years as always being my assistant. And I think he' s just the most wonderful person that any president could have as his assistant. And also to be chairmen of the Department of Greek, and then the coordinator of the Biblical research of The Way International. For any one man to have that position and that responsibility is an awesome reality and I'm real proud of Walter and real thankful for him. But I am also thankful for the rest of our wonderful men and women in the Research Department.

I would like for the Corps all over the country to go to the Magazine and find "The Spoken_Word," that's the title of it, dealing with Ephesians 4:25 and other scriptures, and before the next Corps meeting next week, you endeavor to master that great piece of work by Walter Cummins. It's just, you know, the spoken Word. Over fifty Greek words are used in the New Testament in connection with the faculties of utterance. Over fifty. And then he takes the most important ones and he lists them and it' s just. .. it' s just a piece of research work that you should really as a Corps master in your heart and in your life.

Ephesians 4:25 in the King James reads, Wherefore put away lyin g, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.

The ' putting away' was interesting to me again because of the Greek word aniko, a-n-i-k-o.

And this word is ' the putting away,' this word ' put away,' aniko, is the same root word as in 4:22, where we use the word ' rest,' meaning ' to rest.' Is that right? Yep, that is right. I taught you that,

didn't I? Did I or didn't I? Doesn't look right to me. It is the same root. What chapter am I missing? Am I missing anything? I don't know. Right now I'm screwed up, ha ha. First time today. You check the word again and I'll do that, too and see what I'm missing here.

But a-n-i-k-o is the word for ' putting away from you. ' To put away. And it' s the same root as the word ' rest.' I don't know where the word appears, but it's got to be in there.

Now, that word ' speak,' every man speak. That word ' speak ' is from the Greek word

laleo, l-a-l-e-long-o. And that' s where Walter' s article on "The Spoken Word"_c omes in because that is.. .he uses that word laleo in here, which I teach in Corinthians when I teach the Foundational Class. And he says the word is employed 24 times in I Corinthians chapter 14. I had forgotten that.

This word is truly significant. I couldn' t quite understand it Research Department, what  you said on page 26B 16, where you defined it ' to make vocal utterance,' ' to babble,' 'to talk,'  'to  exercise the faculty of speech without reference to the words spoken.' I just wondered if there might not be another word that could be substituted or utilized at this point. I know that Zachariah 8:16 is the quotation that is used here, or spoken of. And that Zachariah 8:16 adds force to what is said by using a quote, a quotation. That' s why my question to the Research Department is, How can it be without reference to what is spoken if it is truth plus the quotation of the Word of God that's given. It doesn't quite fit for me.

'With his neighbor' has to be a believing neighbor. This 'speak truth with his neighbor' is a figure of speech gnome, g-n-o-m-e, which simply is a citation. And that' s a citation from Zachariah 8:16.

There are a series of figures of speech, Corps, in chapter four which just put the 00mph, the highlight, to the particular things that are set whereby you put off the old man. This phrase here 'speak every man truth with his neighbor'  is one of them. The other one appears in verse 26, 'be  angry and sin not.' ' Steal no more' is another one. 'Corrupt communication' is the fourth one.  'Grieve not the  holy spirit' is the fifth one. ' All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking' is  the sixth. And  then  ' be kind' and so forth, is the seventh.

You see, the last phrase in that verse, in King James, For we' re members one of what? [Another] And it' s relative to the neighbor. Now you just look at that. Wherefore put away  lying, speak  every  man truth with his what? [Neighbor] For we are members  one of  another.  That  doesn't  mean just  a neighbor who lives next door, but it has to be a believing neighbor because  we are members  one of what? [Another]. You could not be a member ' one of another' ifhe  was an  unbeliever.  That's how I know this is going to  work. This tells me that the neighbor  is  a  believer.  And  this  ' we' re members one of another' continues the imagery of the Body of Christ.

The literal  according  to  usage of this verse is as follows:   Wherefore  put away the  lie... and I believe in my heart, before I go on with the literal that until man is born again, it's all a lie anyways. And that' s why I believe that this translation will fit in the light of that knowledge. Because when  a man is not born again, his whole  life is just a  lie. Now you're  born again,  and that ' s  why  I think the text states it ' wherefore put away the lie,' the life you' ve been living , the screwed up life you have lived outside of God. It' s been just a life of a lie. It' s not truth. It' s just the opposite of truth and that's my reason for translating it this way... Wherefore put away the lie.

You've got to go with that translation. You have no other text to go by both from Aramaic and Greek it's 'lie.' Not 'lying.' If the Research Department has anything to share in the light of that, I'd be blessed to hear, but you' ve heard my reasons for translating it, Research Department, this way.

Now since they're born again, their whole life is changed, so the life of lying, and living a lie, and being a lie, and being false, is to be put away.

And every man... this is the translation ... and everyone, everyone. The word ' man' you could use because it's an inclusive noun, but I prefer to use the word ' one.'

Wherefore put away the lie and everyone speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. That is literal according to usage.

Now for the expanded according to understanding. It's not bad. Because of this... What we coughing for? Everybody sick?...Because of this... and the reason I went in the expanded along this line is because verse 24 last week told us that we are created by God in righteousness and in true purity, through holiness. Twenty four.

That's why 25, Wherefore ... 'wherefore' can be translated 'because of this.' Because of this what? Being created in righteousness and truly pure. See it's an inside job.

Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure by the grace and the love of

God.. .Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure, you put away, completely lay to rest the lie that you have been and were living and each one of you speak the truth using a quotation from the Word with his believing neighbor for we are members one of another in the Body of the Church.

Robinson {Edward} said, he translated, 'speak every man truth with his neighbor' and he said it's from Zachariah 8:16 which adds force to what is said by using a quote. That's why I translated that. I think that' s great. It adds force to what is said. If you're speaking to someone, it adds force to what you say by using a quote, a quotation from God's Word. In other words, ' you share the Word with them.' That' s why I went with that translation. I want to give it to you again in this sense.

Speak the truth using a quotation from the Word, which means 'share the Word.' Quote the Word to them. Tell them what the Word says, with his believing neighbor. Why? For we are members one of another in the Body of the Church. This verse is just mind blowing.

Here, you have a born-again believer neighbor who needs to grow up a little more. So what do you do? Each one speak the truth to that neighbor, that believer, using the Word, quoting the Word because we' re members one of another in the Body of the Church. It's a real positive thing to do.

Verse 26 in King James reads, Be angry.. .ha ha... we like that one, don't we. Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

Here is a verse of Scripture that' s very, very difficult for most people. And it' s not too easy for us either. But I think we are able to share the truth of the greatness of this and it's been burning in my heart for a long time to do this with our people.

Everybody has problems with ' how can you be angry and not sin?' You know, how can raise hell with something and not be sinful in doing it? Teed off and not be sinful. And how can you go... and what does it mean 'don't let the sun go down upon your wrath?' See.

In the context, here, verses 26 and 27 deal with your believing neighbor, specifically. Then the Greek word for ' anger' which is from the root orge, o-r-g-long-e means 'anger together with the desire of revenge .' That' s bad. That' s a heavy. The Hebrew word means ' to kill, and all the tumults of passion that terminate in killing.' So it's a real heavy word when it said ' be angry.'

And the way I believe it's used in God' s Word, ' be ye angry' means ' it's a long time anger with your believing neighbor until a change has ensued.' The desire to... of revenge is a change. And I, knowing the Word in the light of the new birth, it's where a change finally comes about. Until that time, you just, long-term, you just stay put witnessing the Word, sharing the Word. You do not dislike the believing neighbor; you simply dislike that he is not fully accepting the Word and walking on it. So it' s a long-term anger until a change has ensued. You just stay faithful.

I don't know what else to do with those words. It is a righteous anger. Yet it is a righteous anger without sin.

Among the scholars, there is a disagreement on these words. Well, I don't know about my being a scholar; that I don' t anything about being about. But it's simple to me because righteous anger is commanded by God's Word when it says ' be ye angry.' Well, the scholars can fight about it. I don' t care. It' s a command. Not just permitted to get teed once in a while when somebody' s off of God' s Word, a believer is off of God's Word. You' re always teed off righteously at any believer, born-again believer, who is off of God' s Word. And for those of us in the Way Ministry, it' s been a lifetime.

Get into it with them on... Oh what subject do you want to talk about? Baptism? Food? One God? See. All that stuff.

The Aramaic is accurate in the words ' and sin not.' It literally translates ' and you will not sin.' Again, this ' be angry and sin not' is that figure gnome. Quotation. A citation from the Old Testament. It' s from Psalm 4:4. But in King James, Psalm 4:4, it's translated 'stand in awe.' The real sense of the Hebrew is ' one of admonition;' sin not. Where we' re admonished to not sin. Sin not.

' Let not the sun go down on your wrath. ' Ha ha. That again is beautiful. People went to bed when the sun went down, when it got dark. That's when they went to bed. So what that simply is saying, ha ha, ' don't go to bed teed off.' Don' t let the sun go down on your wrath. In other words, go to bed; don' t go to bed mad. ' When you go to bed' is what it means. Let not the sun go down when you go to bed. And they went to bed when the sun went down. When it got dark, they went to bed, see.

' Upon your wrath.' And the word ' wrath' here is basically ' irritation.' Ha ha. Previously when I taught Ephesians, I made mention of this fact, ' don' t let righteous anger shake you, wondering if it was right on. When you go to bed, go to sleep.'

Now, this is what we have done with it in the literal, ha ha, according to usage. I got more papers up here than Carter has liver pills, or something. Then, I can' t find my... whatever it is I take off of it.

Okay, verse 26. You be righteously angry.. .this is literal according to usage.. .and you will not be sinning. Don't go to bed even with a momentary irritation, ha ha.

I don't think you get nearly as much fun out of this as I do. It's neat. It's absolutely scrumptious, see. At the opening, is that heavy word, remember? Anger. So it's a real heavy time. So what he is saying, in the heavy time, when your standing on God' s Word  and sharing that with the  believing  neighbor, you' re righteously angry... you're not sinning. And  you don't  even go to  bed with a momentary irritation. In other Words, when you go to bed, thank God the day is over. Say your last prayer and start snoring.

Boy, that would save a lot of sleeping pills, wouldn' t it? Practicing that principle. Boy, oh boy, what a tremendous Word. And hardly anybody understands verse 26. They argue about it, but they don' t get the understanding.

Now this is the expanded one according to understanding, I hope. And again, I would like to just lay some things before the Corps, and especially before the Research Department. I translated the first part of verse 26, You always stay angry with an all-out desire to have them to change which anger will not be sin on your part.

Then I have another translation of that first part of it: You be righteously angry, 'teed off' with sin... 'Teed off' I put in quotes. But don't  you sin  by acting  ' holier than thou'  vaunting  yourself  by acting so righteously like you never sin.

I do not know which one of those two the Research Department feels would be the better. The last part of the phrase that I translated which would go with both of these that I have given you here on the expanded one for understanding. This, the last part, goes with that first one and with the second ... also.. .even if it is only a momentary irritation.  When you go to  bed, go to sleep. That's what I did with it.

Now, verse 27. King James says, Neither (or neither) give place to the Devil. The word 'place' is simply a portion, a part. No believer will give full place to the Devil, but he may be giving a part, a portion. He' ll mark off a spot, ' this is Devil' s permission over here, over here, no permission, you know. And you really give the Devil a portion or a spot if you stew about it after you go to bed and you toss and you tum and can' t sleep.

This word 'the Devil,' ' the Devil' in the Aramaic is a very interesting and exciting Word to me and it blesses my heart. It' s a compound word where the first part means ' to eat' or ' to devour.' The latter

' to slander' or ' to accuse. '  So when I got to translating  this, literally according  to usage, verse 27 reads: Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil. So I used those three words synonymously: portion, space, opportunity. Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil.

The expanded according to understanding: And you will not give a toehold, an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. Ha ha. I get more fun than you ever will out of working this stuff, huh.

You see, and to me, that communicates to my understanding. John 10:10. The thief cometh not but for to what? [Steal, kill, and destroy] Right. To eat you out. To beat you. And that's why that Aramaic word, on the word ' Devil' really thrilled me.

And that ' s why I put it into the expanded translation: And you will not give a ' toehold.' Now, at L.E.A.D., you know how important it is to get a what? [Toehold] Ha ha. And when you' re really climbing in, you' re blessed for a toehold. How thankful you are when you get a foothold. Now the adversary can never get a foothold in a believer' s life until he first has a toehold. That's why I translated it that way.

Do not give... and you will not give a toehold ... shave all the rocks off... an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. And that' s exactly what he likes to do to believers.

Now we go to verse 28. King James says, Let him that stole steal not more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. And here again, is another great work that I believe should be in our research journal GMIR, Walter' s work on " Workers for God."

It' s just tremendous where he... you know... he just goes into God' s men are called many things in the Word. They' re called: fellow workers, ministers, or servants, slaves, fellow slaves, partners, messengers, soldiers, fellow soldiers, athletes, fellow athletes, stewards, ambassadors, witnesses, all of those. And he covers them so beautifully. And I love very much how he covered the word ' slave,' because it' s a much stronger word than to be a minister, or to be a servant. It is to be one who is branded, marked out, sold out. And baby, from that day on, there are no ifs, and' s, or but' s. You never budge on it. You are branded. Most believers are never branded. They may be servants, they may be ministers, but they are not branded. When you' re branded, you stay faithful. You do not budge. You do not change. You stay put. If all hell breaks loose, you still live the believing Word.

I think the prophet once said, If I was in the midst of hell, God I know you' d be there. (Psalm 139:8) He' d be there. That' s the doulos. That, of course, is just a tremendous piece of work.

And the other great part that I think... and this is a second piece that I want the Corps to master before next Wednesday night, " Workers for God," the work on ' witness.' You see, it's the same word basically that's translated ' martyr,' see. And we got a lot of those canonized. That's not at all what a witness is. A witness is a living example, not a dead one. The word 'martyr' simply means that you lay down your life in witnessing. And boy, when you put the doulos together with ' witness,' then you' ve got power for abundant living. It's just a fantastic work by Walter and I' m real grateful that it was published. Because once it' s in print, people can take a look at it if they want to.

I'd like a cup of coffee, please.

Now, we are in verse 28. The Aramaic translation is ' and he who was stealing.' I understand it from the English, ' let him that stole,' past tense. The Aramaic is real simple, real strong. ' And he, the one who is born again, who was, past tense, stealing.'

Thank you.

His whole life was one of those before he was born again.

Whenever you bring a cup of coffee to a right-hand man, you put the handle to the right. When you serve a cup of coffee to a left-hand man, you put it on the left-hand side and put the handle to the left. Corps principle number seven or something, ha ha. Mrs. Wierwille would say, Well, be thankful you even get a cup of coffee. [Laughter] Ah, you're wonderful.

See, ' let him who stole, steal no more.' 'Stole and steal,' that' s a figure of speech and is polyptoton p-o-l-y-p-t-o-t-o-n. It' s a repetition of the same root word in different parts of speech or reflections. But, that's not earth shaking right now in my heart.

You see, in some Eastern culture, it was not considered a sin or a shame to steal because that's the way they lived, the only way they lived. Somebody told me... or not only told me, one of our people, but it was in a national magazine, that the basic culture of Russia today is to steal. And in some respects I can understand this. If you don't have anything and you're starving to death and there' s a loaf of bread you can get a hold of... steal the dam thing. I understand that.

So this verse is really sharp, really sharp. Let him who stole, even though that man previously considered it the way to live and there was no shame in it, no sin in it. He said, Well, let that fellow who stole, steal no more. Something has happened on the inside of that man. Something that happened, where He is able to meet all of our need according to His riches in glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. More than conquerors.

A record in the Old Testament, I forget where it is, but it's in there, that it' s never, you never need to borrow or steal bread or... what is that in the Old Testament? Begging bread. One person stand and tell me. {Psalm 37:25, I have been young and now am old; yet have I seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread.} Psalm 27:25 who? {Psalm 37:25} 37:25. All the years, he's never seen the righteous to have to do what? {Beg bread} Beg bread.

First of all, I wish the Christian world could hear this. Secondly, I wish our government in the United States could understand it. The Word says, If you don't work, you don' t eat. A lot of that stuff. Well, what we've been doing is stealing from the people who are willing to work to give to the people who don' t want to work. That's a bunch of crap. That's stealing. That's why this verse is so hot in my soul tonight. Let him who stole, quit stealing, dang it. See.

Many years ago I was really knocked for a loop along some of this line in India, from Dr. Williams. I think he loved India maybe like I love the United States, I don' t know. Because only a man knows how much he loves his own country, I guess.

But... as we were traveling together, he said to me, Dr. Wierwille, I hear you have whores in the United States.

You know, I never had given it a thought. I just took it for granted. [Laughter] And I said, yeah. He said, Why does a rich country like the United States have whores?

And I said, I don't know.

And he said, I can't understand it. Cannot your women make enough money to live? Yeah, but they figure that' s cheaper and more pleasurable or something, I don' t know. And he said, Well, I think it's sinful that the United States has whores.

And I said, What do you mean?

And he said to me, why, I can understand India. He said we don' t enough food, we don' t have enough of anything hardly for a lot of people. And we have whores because that' s the only way they can continue to live physically.

And I thought to myself, well boy, that' s slapping me in the face good. And I took it as a wonderful lesson. There is no excuse in the United States for any women being a whore because she doesn' t need to get screwed and paid for it in order to get money so she can live. There's plenty of work available and if there isn' t she ought to get born again, then there' s a guarantee of work. ..other work, available. I tell you, when you' re honest, some of these men in other countries have some real logic behind their thinking. How would you have liked to have handled that? I just simply admitted, Well, I think we' re wrong in the United States. But I said, I think you' re wrong in India, too, because no reason to have whores here if you get them born again.

So I don' t know. But this verse today as I worked the final working on this verse 28 is when my heart really went back and burned with that truth that Dr. Williams had stated. Because in many Eastern cultures, it was not considered as sin or as shame to steal, if it was a matter of livelihood. You sometimes wonder who will live in the greatest condemnation before God and justice and judgment when the time comes.

For in most of what are called poor countries even, there is sufficient money, food, and other things for the people to live if those in positions of authority were not so selfish and egotistical, and want it for themselves , and let the rest of the world die... or a country die.

The word ' labor' in verse 28 is the word which literally means ' hard work resulting in fatigue.' That's how I felt coming from the woods last night. And I didn' t do anything. It was just hard work being there with the rest of you. Today I got so tired of being with some, I came home. Ah, you' re wonderful.

' Working with his hands' is an Eastern cultural type of thing. Today in our culture, you could have it, you know, the truth is working with your mind or working with your hand, whatever you' re working at. But in Eastern culture, every son was to be trained to work with his hands, even if he was the son of a king. Had to learn a trade, a profession of business.

Jesus Christ was a saddle maker. He made them to ride, I guess, what do you want? Tennessee Walkers , or? See. I think not only did he do that, Paul did it, too, you know. Someday I'm going to find a...or Walter, or some of those, are going to find me a manuscript to prove it. .. and a wonderful carpenter by trade. Many times doing carpentry work and being a saddle maker were sort of in the same household, because building carpentry and having saddles to use for their business and carrying on, were very, very closely aligned. Well, I won' t argue the point, but I wish we' d keep looking.

II Thessalonians.. .Do your hands ever get so dry you can hardly hold anything? Golly, mine are so dry tonight, I wonder why? II Thessalonians, chapter 3:10... this we commanded you that if any would not work, neither should he what? [Eat] Right. Even unemployment is no excuse for stealing. He just doesn' t eat. Goes and gets work. Boy, when I first saw the greatness of these principles many years ago, and then of course, I uniquely by God' s grace, inculcated that into our W.O.W. program and very dynamically in the Corps leadership.

ROMANS 8:1-4
September 11, 1979
We’re going into Romans Chapter 8 tonight. I believe that Romans 8 is the renewed mind
on the walk of God His son, which is now ours and it should be our walk. It is the renewed
mind walk. In the beginning in the record in Genesis, God never forced man to disobey
Him. Nor is man forced today to obey Him. Every man has to make up his own mind by
the freedom of his own will. The more you develop this thinking and understanding of the
true God, and that He gives freedom of will and makes each individual responsible for his
or her decision, the more the greatness of the truth of the one God will become manifested
in your life and you’ll be real thankful. The other side of the coin is always possession, the
Adversary, possession one way or another.
In the Corps, like in the Word we talk a great deal about a servant, a doulos. To be a
servant implies absolute obedience.
Romans 6:16, 17
Obedience must be by free choice, free will of the disciplined one, and it must be with
love. Love without obedience is hypocrisy. Obedience without love is slavery. The best I
understand the discipline of obedience is that it simply is an outward evidence, it’s an
indicator in your body and life as to whose servant you are.
In Chapter 7 of Romans, 13-25, which we handled with the Corps in our opening session
last week with the decade Corps, that’s the tenth one, there are seven references in those
verses to the word “will.” The Greek word is thelos. All seven of those references in that
section are for good, never evil.
Romans 7:15
“would” = will
Romans 7:16
“would” = will
Romans 7:18
“will”
Romans 7:19
“would” = will (2 times)
Romans 7:20
“would” = will
Romans 7:21
“would” = will
Seven times, Corps, that word “will.” This is why I taught you a little while ago about
freedom of will, the right to choose, the freedom of choice. Never let anybody control your
mind. You just don’t allow it. You have to have freedom of choice to make a decision.
Romans Chapter 8 I feel is the great pinnacle of all truth of deliverance, of sonship, and
when you do Romans 8, it’s like standing at the top of that pinnacle and viewing the
promised land of the greatness of God’s revelation and His Word. I thought of it today in
light of when God took Moses and showed him the promised land, took him on top of the
mountain and showed him the promised land. The reason they did not enter was because of
unbelief. Romans 8 is like that. It’s the pinnacle of deliverance. It’s the pinnacle of
sonship. The only reason people have never entered into it is because of their own
unbelief. Again working the greatness of this Word for this particular Corps session, I was
thinking how far below par we as Christians have been taught to live. And this is because
of our environment. It’s because of the people who have raised us. It’s because of the
schools we’ve attended. It’s because of the teachings we’ve had. In looking at Romans 8, I
see that all of this again revolves around God’s son and our sonship identification with
Christ.
I do not know if this is all there is to Romans 8, but I look at Romans 8 in the light of
seven divisions, and all seven divisions of Romans 8 pattern around His son Jesus
Christ and the sonship we have because of him.
Seven Divisions of Romans 8:
Romans 8:1-4 “son” = huios (Verse 3)
Romans 8:5-14 “son” = huios (Verse 14)
Romans 8:15-17 huiothesia - sonship, adoption (Verse 15)
Romans 8:18-21 “sons” = huios (Verse 19)
Romans 8:22-28 huiothesia – sonship, adoption (Verse 23)
Romans 8:29,30 “son” = huios (Verse 29)
Romans 8:31-39 “son” = huios (Verse 32}
I’m quite confident that the entire chapter revolves around these great seven perfection
divisions of this word “son” or “sonship.”
Another amazing thing about the eighth chapter is the fantastic usage of the word “body”
or “flesh” as over against spirit. In Verses 1-16 of Romans 8 the word “body” or “flesh” is
used thirteen times. The word “spirit” is used twenty-six times. Sixteen verses. We have to
have ears to hear.
The thing to do is just check it yourself and read it sometime and mark them or check
them. I think it’s only once that “body” is used for “flesh.” Thirteen times in the first
sixteen verses “body” or “flesh.” Twenty-six times “spirit.” This becomes very important
when you see this in the light of our walk with God, the renewed mind walk.
Our experience is not the foundation for our believing or our faith. Experiences at best
illumine the past, what God did. For instance, God’s Word and will for Israel was direct
and immediate procedure into the promised land. Then why did it take them forty years to
get there? It wasn’t the primary will of God for them to take forty years. The primary Word
and will of God was promised land. Led them through the sea, took them forty years to get
there. Why? The Bible says because of their unbelief. That’s still what keeps people out
of the promised land of God’s Word today, their own unbelief, because you have freedom
of choice, you have freedom of will to make up your mind. Most of us continue to be
conditioned by our environment, by community, by what some intellect says rather than
what the great intellect God says in His Word. So we drift along on the misty flats.
Romans 8:1
This is a direct transition from Romans 5:21.
Romans 5:21
Romans 8:1-4 243
Chapters 6 and 7 are definitely a parenthesis. So Romans 8 is a transition from Romans
5:21.
Romans 8:1
“which are” – Another translation says “who live in union”
There are three great words that you must understand and be knowledgeable of to get into
the depth of the spiritual perception and awareness that’s available in Romans 8. The word
“condemnation,” “justification,” and “righteousness.”
Romans 8:1
“who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” – In the oldest uncials in extent, it stops
with the word “Christ Jesus.” Some of the other manuscripts add “who walk not after the
flesh” and then stop. Then there are some that add “after the Spirit,” but they are very late.
I think men like Bullinger, Welsh, others believe the words “who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit” in Verse 1 are an interpolation added from Verse 4.
I do not know what to say to you about it, because there’s a great variation. I believe I can
show you something here that would tie it all together for you and it would be the truth of
God’s Word, but I have no specific text to back it up with. But since they are all screwed
up, if I got all screwed up, it would just be one more person all screwed up. Look at Verse
1 and watch this very carefully now.
Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh”
Romans 8:4
“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk after the Spirit.”
No condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not’ after the flesh, that the
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk after the Spirit.
That, I believe, ties Romans 8:1-4 together. But you can leave it in the text if you like,
because I can handle it and perhaps will handle it. I’m thinking about it anyway.
There are manuscripts that do not have those words in Verse 1. However, every known
manuscript that we have access to and knowledge of has those words in Verse 4.
Romans 8:1
“Condemnation” literally means the thing the law requires or demands. It’s the sentence.
It’s death. Where the law is broken and when the law is broken, the just requirement of the
broken law is death.
Romans 1:32
“judgment” = just requirement; Someone translated it “righteous sentence.”
dikaiōma
There is a teaching that Jesus Christ set us free from the law so that we could carry out the
law. That’s a bunch of baloney. We are not set free from the law so we might fulfill the
law, because we stand above the law. We stand on a higher plane than the law, because the
love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation is the highest plane there is. No law
needed. If you love God and love your neighbor, you could do as you fool please because
you’ll always please God in whatever it is.
You’re walking the walk of love which is the renewed mind. Our justification is by the
righteousness of God in Christ Jesus apart from the law of sin and death. This word that
deals with righteousness, justification, the root word in the Greek is the word dike. In the
Critical Lexicon and Concordance of Dr. Bullinger page 940 at the back, I’m going to
show you some tremendous things that you will have to be knowledgeable of.
The root word is dikē, but it starts above that with the word dikaiokrisia. It is translated in
King James righteous judgment once, and that’s a noun. Then you have dikaiōs, which is
the adjective, and this word is translated “right” five times; “meet” twice; “just” thirtythree
times; “righteous” forty-one times. Then you have the noun dikaiosunē. That is
translated “righteousness” ninety-four times. Then the verb dikaioō is translated “justify”
thirty-seven times; “justifier” once; “free” once; in passive “justify” once; “be righteous”
once. Then the noun dikaiōma is translated “judgment” twice; “ordinance” three times;
“ceremony” once; “rite” once; “righteousness” four times; “justification” once. The adverb
dikaiōs is translated “justly” twice; “righteously” twice; “to righteousness” once. The noun
dikaiōsis is translated “justification” twice. The noun dikastēs is translated “judge” three
times. The noun dikē is translated “judgment” twice; “vengeance” twice; “be punished”
once.
That word is so fantastically interesting that we’re going to spend a little bit of time
looking at it. What’s the total number of times there? 244. Those are a lot of words to look
up and check out. But if it’s the Word of God it has to fit like a hand in a glove.
This section in here will be very foundational to all the understanding I believe that comes
up as we go through Romans and finally some day when you really get into Ephesians this
is all basic work you will have to understand to handle Ephesians.
The product or result of justification is righteousness. The result of being justified by what
God did in Christ Jesus, the result of your justification is righteousness. How did I get to
all of this? I believe God is the standard of all righteousness, and that Jesus Christ by his
life and by his death, always doing the Father’s will, always carrying out the truth of God,
fulfilled all claims that are right. So to justify is to make right, with the emphasis on the
making, which Jesus Christ did by his life. It is to make just, to vindicate. These I believe
are comparable synonyms to communicate to your mind.
To acquit, to make guiltless, blameless, innocent, to pardon, to prove and show to be just,
to prove qualified or surety. To prove qualified. Jesus Christ proved himself qualified by
always doing the Father’s will. He who knew no sin became sin. He was not sin. He took it
on himself. He proved qualified. Boy, when I saw that I got real excited about it.
Then the word surety blessed me because there’s a reference in Hebrews that uses it. To
justify is to make right. But to justify is to prove qualified or surety.
Hebrews 7:22
He proved his quality. He proved that he was qualified to justify. And he is the surety, the
guarantee, the absolute proof.
Hebrews 7:24, 25
See how important this becomes, because if we are one iota not justified, then he is not
able to save to the uttermost. He proved qualified, the surety. He did make right. He did
make just, able to save to the uttermost.
Hebrews 7:27
Once, that’s why he’s the surety.
Justification for all men in actuality is a standing. Righteousness, for all believeth
experientially, is a state until believed. Jesus Christ, a complete savior by his life and by
his death, justified all men without exception. For whosoever will may come. In God’s
working in Christ Jesus and Jesus Christ always doing the Father’s will, he justified all
men. He paid the price. He covered the law of sin and death for all men. But it only
becomes yours when you believe unto salvation and that is the righteousness of God. Until
that time it’s just a state. It becomes yours when you believe it.
Another thing you must do is distinguish between death to the guilt of sin, and death to the
power of sin. Fantastic difference. Every born again believer at the present moment, is
not yet freed from the presence or the influence of the power sin, but every born
again believer is freed now from the guilt of sin and its condemnation. The total
freedom for every born again believer comes, however with the return of Christ, the
redemption of the body in Romans 8:23.
Whenever you’re in the Corps, the idea behind the Corps is not kindergarten stuff. When I
teach Corps, I expect you to be qualified. You make yourself qualified by being students of
the Word. All of you that are in the Corps go back and pick up last year’s work in Romans.
Look at that stuff and put it in your heart and mind. You see, after almost forty years of
working the Word it takes me, for example, today I started at 4:00 a.m. working this and
worked all day on this. If I have to work this hard to set this in front of you, you’re not
going to master what I teach you the first night you sit in here. It’s going to be something
you’re going to have to drive.
One of the things I do with the Corps, I make it so simple for you. Things that are difficult
for me to work out and for other men to work out, I put in a language and into a form that
you can easily understand. You can appropriate this and make it yours quicker than some
of us have been able to work it out. Just like now, I finish teaching here tonight, but
immediately tomorrow my mind starts on next week’s session. But when that stuff jells in
my heart and life and I see it again, you’re just constantly working it in your mind, day
after day, these are the thoughts you have when you’re out digging ditches or messing
around. You still come back to the Word and let that word dwell in you. It jells, you let it
simmer on the back of the oven for a long time, until finally it’s ready to go.
Romans 8:23
“adoption” – sonship
You and I have sonship now. But that body I see there in front of me is not His son. What I
don’t see, which is Christ in you the hope of glory, the fullness of the holy spirit, that is
your sonship. It’s called the inner man. Called the new man. But with the return of Christ
when that total freedom comes, that’s this redemption of the body, which is a new body
fashioned like unto his glorious body, Philippians 3:21 says.
There’s very little known about that body. The Word doesn’t say much. But I do know it
could be on the road to Emmaus with that new body and then pass through locked doors
for fear of the Jews where they were hidden and stand in their midst. Then he could be
down on the Sea of Galilee where they were fishing. Then they could come to land and he
had food for them. I don’t know much about the body. All I know is what the Word says.
But it says that that is sonship. So sonship carries with it in my mind two great truths: the
Christ that’s in you now, the hope of glory, that gives you sonship spiritually, now, but
with the redemption of the body you will also have sonship physically, a new body,
fashioned like unto his glorious body.
A body that doesn’t get sick. A body that has a perfectly renewed mind. Won’t that be
great? Looks like you’re still going to have the joy of eating.
I Corinthians 13:12
I John 3:2
That’s when the total freedom comes, because as long as you have the sonship spirit only
within, you still are limited by the flesh, the body. When this occurs, the return of Christ,
then our complete redemption will be fulfilled in actuality and experientially. That will be
the moment of the experiential emancipation of all believers.
Romans 8:1
There is no condemnation to those in whom Christ is, for that Christ in you the hope of
glory is perfection, that spiritual presence of God in Christ in you, that inner man, there is
no condemnation. It’s eternal life.
But here in this verse I do not believe we’re talking about that. I believe what we’re talking
about here is the renewed mind walk, the believer who is born again, who has sonship
spiritually, but he’s still living in the flesh, and he has flesh problems.
Christ in you is salvation; you in Christ is your fellowship, your walk. Your renewed mind
walk with God is your being in Christ Jesus. To the end we are in Christ Jesus with the
renewed mind walk, we will not condemn ourselves. But if we do not have the
renewed mind walk we’ll condemn ourselves because of our own unbelief. Thus, we
will fail to rise up to the greatest potential of the more abundant life to be more than
conquerors. It’s the fight of the renewed mind walk.
Moses, children of Israel, forty years. Abraham ninety-nine before Isaac was born. He had
tried Hagar, remember. Ismael came along and God said no deal. He had the fight of the
renewed mind: Boy, the same thing we go through. Yet, here’s a fantastic truth, class.
Freedom from condemnation is not dependent upon the believer’s walk, but entirely
on the work of God’s son, Jesus Christ. The condemnation of Romans 8:1 is only my
own unbelief. When I know I’m not living up to the privilege, when I’m living below
par, I feel condemned in my mind. Why? Because I’ll still be walking after the flesh
and not after the spirit.
Justification is set over against condemnation, and not the walk of holiness. I’m sure
you’ve had this experience like all of us have had, who have been interested in Christian
things who get justification and the walk of holiness all confused, who teach that if you’re
justified God takes this away from you, takes that away from you. That’s not true. You
have to teach each truth of the Word in its appointed position. Else we will be unscriptural
and confusing in the association of doctrine and manner of life.
No condemnation spiritually, Corps.
Romans 3:21
Romans 5:9
I told you it was the work of Jesus Christ. Look how beautiful that is. Justified by his
blood, the giving of himself and his life.
Romans 5:11
“atonement” – at-one-ment; text is reconciliation
We are at one with him.
Romans 6:22
The servant part is the walk. You’re free from sin but in the renewed mind and with the
walk you’re doulos, servants of God, and then you have fruit unto holiness. You and I are
spiritually justified, we are righteous, we are free from condemnation now. You and I are
not justified, righteous, freed from condemnation because we walk a perfectly walk, but
freed because of the work of Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:16
Romans 5:19
Romans 5:21
Corps, you have to be free before you can walk by the spirit.
Romans 8:2
Two laws – law of spirit of life and law of sin and death
The first law, the spirit of life law, that’s the law that made us free from the law of sin and
death.
Romans 8:3
Romans 6:18
Romans 6:20
Romans 6:22
Romans 7:3
Why is she free from the law? Because it’s beyond her control. He is dead. It’s beyond her
control so she is free.
The work of Jesus Christ is beyond our control. Christ died. I had nothing to do with it.
Neither did you. He paid the price. He willfully did it. He died so that you and I could live.
The law of the spirit of life In Christ Jesus has made me free.
Romans 8:21
Nothing can ever set a man free from condemnation except the death of the law to us, and
our death to it. So you have to reckon yourself a son. This does not invalidate the truth that
in our flesh dwelleth no good thing. Our freedom does not mean sinless perfection in the
flesh. However, the law could never give us freedom, for the law requires complete
obedience to the letter or death. God’s remedy was His son.
Romans 8:3
“likeness of sin’s flesh” – text
Not just sinful flesh, because Jesus Christ did not sin. I’ve seen people quote this and leave
out “likeness.” Likeness of sinful flesh, literally, likeness of sin’s flesh. Nor is it the
likeness of flesh, but if you want to use it as a figure you could say, the flesh of sin, with
emphasis on “sin.”
In the body of Christ’s flesh, through his death we find our righteousness and our newness
of life.
Romans 8:4
The new life is spirit and it’s life. It’s newness of life. And it cannot be more complete, if
you have newness of life, there is no more, class. There’s no more complete completeness.
Colossians 2:10
If you’re complete, is there anything more to acquire?
That’s why grace is unconditional. By grace are ye saved through believing, and that not of
yourself. It’s the gift of God lest any man can boast. Jesus Christ who knew no sin became
sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (II Corinthians 5:21).
Mankind .as such has a sentence of death or life. It’s either or, and man by his decision
determines which one he lives by. The son of God who was condemned for the sins for
which you and I should have been and would have been condemned, but by his glorious
work, you and I today are set free to serve him who so loved that he gave. We are not
under law, but grace. This indicates beyond a shadow of doubt that all law claims have
been satisfied before God through His son Jesus Christ.. We are free because we’re
righteous. We are free to walk in the power of that renewed mind.
Ephesians 1:4, 6
Ephesians 2:10
We’re holy and without blame spiritually. He has made us lovely and acceptable. Yet
we’re created to carry out good works, renewed mind.
Ephesians 4:1
Ephesians 4:14, 15
Ephesians 4:22, 23
Ephesians 4:27, 28
See, you’re holy and without blame, made lovely and acceptable, yet have a flesh problem.
The battle of the senses verses revelation faith. Still the same truth. The old side of the
mind.
Colossians 1:12
“meet” – adequate
Colossians 1:22
“unreproveable” – unimpeachable – text
Colossians 3:8-10
That’s how I believe Romans 8 sets like the great pinnacle of truth from which you can
view over into the great deliverance of the abundant life, more than conquerors. You can
see it all from the top of the pinnacle of Romans 8. The living of it is your responsibility.
No condemnation in any individual in his mind who is in Christ Jesus to the end that I’m
walking the walk of believing, the walk of the Word. To that end there will be no
condemnation in my mind, no unbelief. And all unbelief is what condemns.
The inner man is perfect because it’s Christ in you the hope of glory, the righteousness of
God, all of that. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus is what made me free from the
law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2, 3
God condemned sin, which means He took it out of the way, He covered it, He paid for it.
What for?
Romans 8:4
To walk according to the spirit is to walk first and foremost by the revealed Word of God,
and secondly in specific instances by revelation, word of knowledge and word of wisdom.
That I believe is Romans 8:1-4.