This part deals with the Christian's deliverance from condemnation, which is the penalty of death because of the sin people are living under, by virtue of believers' union with Christ.
Verse 1
The discourse in the previous chapter continues in [|Romans 8:1] with the word ἄρα, generally translated as so or therefore, or consequently in Thayer's Greek Lexicon. The vocabulary and the content of [|verse 1] point back to the end of chapter 5 as the basis of the conclusion which Paul starts with therefore. Paul argues that Christians are set free from the condemnation caused by Adam because they have been joined to Jesus Christ. This he iterates after his digression in chapters 6–7. Methodist founder John Wesley concurs that Paul "resumes the thread of his discourse" from, following a digression regarding sin and the Mosaic Law: whereas theologians Heinrich Meyer and Harold Buls are content to link the inference with the immediately preceding text: Buls explains that Paul's "real self" serving God is his mind and not his flesh. Meyer goes on to distinguish between two alternative readings of There is... now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus:
now, after Christ, has interposed, there is no condemnation...
or
one must be in Christ, in order to get rid of every condemnation.
He prefers the former reading "as a matter of fact that has become historical" rather than the latter reading, attributed to Lutheran theologianJohann Hofmann.
The Spirit of adoption (8:14–17)
Continuing the theme of 'life' in verses 1–13, the following paragraph deals with 'sonship', describing 'the wonderful and comforting truth that Christians have been adopted into God's own family, so God's Spirit can confer life on us and we can be heirs with a glorious prospect for the future. Thus, this short passage provides a transition between the previous and the next part.
The Spirit of glory (8:18–30)
In this part Paul further develops his whole theme of Christian assurance, which he started in chapter 5, elaborating on the Christian's hope of glory, based on the knowledge that 'God has determined to bring us though to our inheritance, providentially working on behalf of his children and having given his Spirit as the guarantee for their final redemption.
God's everlasting love (8:31–39)
Bishop Charles Ellicott describes the final section of this chapter as "a sublime and triumphant conclusion" and Erasmus of Rotterdam remarks that "Cicero never said anything grander".
Verse 31
"These things" : The Living Bible translates as "these wonderful things". By "these things", according to William Reed Newell, "Paul evidently indicates not only the whole process of our salvation by Christ, from chapter three onward, with that great deliverance by the help of the Holy Spirit set forth in this eighth chapter... but also... what he has been telling us of the purpose of God: "Whom He foreknew, foreordained, called, justified, glorified!"
"If God be for us, who can be against us?" became widespread as a motto. It is an aria for Soprano in Handel's Messiah.
Verse 32
Hill regards this verse 32 'especially poignant' as it borrows the language from the account of the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22, but God made the sacrifice, that even Abraham was spared.
Verse 35
The first part of this verse, either in its full form or shortened as Quis separabit?, is often used as a motto. The list ofhardship... or sword recalls the real afflictions that the people of Israel experienced in history, as summarized in the quote in verse 36.
Verse 36
The citation from in Greek is exactly as in the Septuagint.
More than conquerors
Verse 37
"We are more than conquerors" translated from a single Greek word ὑπερνικῶμεν, , a word probably coined by Paul himself, 'who loves compounds with ὑπέρ'. The Vulgate renders it in Latin as superamus, but Cyprian supervincimus. Later Greek writers distinguish νικᾶν and ὑπερνικᾶν, and justify the current rendering. To define in what the “more” consists, the answer must be sought on the line indicated in the note on ἕνεκεν σοῦ in [|verse 36], that is, these trials not only do not cut the believers off from Christ’s love, but actually give them 'more intimate and thrilling experiences' from it.
A hymn to God's love
Verses 38–39
The New Jerusalem Bible suggests that the "principalities", "like 'angels' and 'princes' are among the mysterious cosmic or elemental forces which to the mind of antiquity were in general hostile to humanity. The 'heights' and 'depths' represent Heaven and Hell, also conceived as powers."
