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Romans 8:3

What we could not do by trying to obey the laws of God [PRS], because our self-directed nature was too weak to obey them, God did. He sent his own Son into the world in order that his Son might atone for our sin. His Son came having a body (OR, human nature) that was like the body (OR, the human nature) of us people who sin. By sending his Son in this way, he condemned and punished his Son, who never sinned, instead of punishing us, who sinned [MTY]. He did that by making his Son’s body a sacrifice (OR, by causing his Son’s body to suffer/die) for all our sin.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

In Context

2God’s Spirit causes us to live in a new way [PRS] as a result of what Christ Jesus did for us. And he has set up a way by which he frees each of us from continually being forced to sin (OR, to obey our self-directed natures) and from being separated from God.

4So we can now fulfill all that God required in his laws. We do this, not by our acting the way our sinful human nature desires, but instead by living as God’s Spirit desires us to live.

Read all of Romans 8

Cross References

Numbers 21:9So Moses/I made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!

John 1:14The one who expresses [MET] ◄ God’s character/what God is like► became a human being, and he lived among us for a while. As a result, we saw how wonderful he is. He came from God his father, and there was no other person as wonderful as he. He was wonderful because he always acted ◄kindly toward us/in ways we did not deserve►, and he always spoke truthfully to us about God.

John 9:24So they sent someone to bring back to them the man who had been blind. When he got there, the Jewish leaders said to him, “Knowing that God is listening [IDM], tell the truth! We know that the man who healed you is a sinner.”

Romans 3:20It is not because people have done the things that God’s laws require that God will ◄erase the record of their sins/declare them no longer guilty for sin►, because no one has done those things completely. In fact, the result of our knowing God’s laws is that we know clearly that we have sinned (OR, are sinful).

Romans 7:5When our self-directed nature controlled us, desires that led us to sin were acting in our bodies. Those desires were increased because of our knowing God’s laws [PRS]. As a result we did evil things [IDM] that caused us to be separated from God.

Romans 9:3I personally would be willing to let God curse me and, as a result, be separated from Christ, if that would help my fellow Israelites, my natural kinsmen, to believe in Christ.

Matthew Henry on Romans 8:2-10

The Believer's Privileges. ( a. d. 58.) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

King James VersionBíblia Almeida (Português)Luther Bibel (Deutsch)Bible Louis Segond (Français)Библия (Русский)聖經 (中文)성경 (한국어)聖書 (日本語)الكتاب المقدس (العربية)बाइबल (हिन्दी)Biblia (Kiswahili)Bibbia Diodati (Italiano)Alkitab (Bahasa Indonesia)

Study Romans 8:3

Matthew HenryJamieson-Fausset-BrownAdam ClarkeAlbert BarnesJohn WesleyJohn CalvinScofieldWilliam BurkittFamily Bible NotesJohn LightfootGeneva Bible Notes (1599)
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