Romans 6 8

Romans 6:8 kjv

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

Romans 6:8 nkjv

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Romans 6:8 niv

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8 esv

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8 nlt

And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

Romans 6 verses

Romans 6 8 Meaning

If believers have truly died to the dominion of sin by their spiritual union with Christ in His death, then it is an absolute certainty, accepted by faith, that they will also live a new, resurrected life with Him, both in present spiritual reality and in future glorification. This verse asserts a direct consequence: a shared past with Christ in death guarantees a shared future with Him in life.

Romans 6 8 Context

Romans chapter 6 forms a crucial part of Paul's sustained argument regarding justification by grace through faith. Following the expansive teaching on salvation and the victory of grace over sin and the law in chapters 3-5, Paul anticipates a potential misunderstanding: If grace abounds where sin increases (Rom 5:20), should believers therefore continue in sin so that grace may abound all the more? He emphatically rejects this notion with "By no means!" (Rom 6:1-2).

Chapter 6 then explains why a justified person cannot, and indeed should not, live in sin. It is rooted in the believer's profound spiritual identification and union with Christ, particularly through baptism. Baptism is not merely a symbolic washing but a dramatic representation of the believer's co-death and co-resurrection with Christ (Rom 6:3-5). Having been buried with Christ in death to sin, they are now raised to walk in newness of life. Romans 6:8 serves as a theological conclusion and assurance flowing directly from this reality: if the foundational event of co-death with Christ is true, then the consequent promise of co-resurrection life is equally certain and to be embraced by faith. It sets the stage for the ethical imperatives that follow, calling believers to reckon themselves dead to sin and alive to God (Rom 6:11) and to present their bodies as instruments of righteousness (Rom 6:13).

Historically and culturally, the Roman church comprised both Jewish and Gentile converts. For the Jewish converts, issues related to the Mosaic Law and the problem of sin's power remained central. For Gentiles, coming from polytheistic or philosophical backgrounds, understanding a radical break from an old way of life and the initiation into a new, Spirit-empowered existence was key. Paul's message counters both the idea of continued self-effort under the law and the pagan concept of indulging appetites without moral consequence. The union with Christ presents a transformative spiritual reality utterly distinct from any mystery religion rites of dying and rising with a deity, being founded on historical fact and resulting in a fundamental change of allegiance from sin to God.

Romans 6 8 Word analysis

• Now if (εἰ δὲ - ei de): "Ei" introduces a first-class conditional statement, which assumes the condition to be true or a fulfilled reality from the author's perspective. It means "if, as is the case." "De" is a conjunction that typically serves to connect an argument or an explanation to a preceding one, often implying an inference or contrast, reinforcing the logical flow of Paul's thought.
• we died (ἀπεθάνομεν - apethanomen): This is an aorist active indicative verb from ἀποθνήσκω (apothnesko), meaning "to die, perish, expire." The aorist tense indicates a past, definite, completed action. It refers to a once-for-all event in the believer's experience, signifying a radical break with the reign and power of sin, which occurred at the moment of spiritual union with Christ (often associated with conversion and symbolized in baptism). It is not a literal physical death, but a spiritual death to the old life enslaved to sin.
• with Christ (σὺν Χριστῷ - syn Christo): "Syn" (σὺν) is a preposition that denotes a close and intimate union or participation, more than merely being "alongside." It signifies identification and partnership, meaning "together with" or "in company with." This highlights the profound theological concept of the believer's mystical and salvific union with Jesus Christ in all aspects of His redemptive work, including His death, burial, and resurrection.
• we believe (πιστεύομεν - pisteuomen): This is a present active indicative verb from πιστεύω (pisteuo), meaning "to believe, trust, rely on." The present tense indicates an ongoing, present reality for the believer. This faith is the lens through which believers apprehend and appropriate the spiritual realities of their union with Christ and the certain future flowing from it. It's a continuous attitude of trust and conviction in God's promise.
• that (ὅτι - hoti): A conjunction introducing a declarative clause, meaning "that" or "because." Here, it introduces the certain outcome or consequence of having died with Christ.
• we will also live (καὶ συζήσομεν - kai suzēsomai): "Kai" (καὶ) means "also" or "indeed," emphasizing reciprocity and the corresponding nature of life to death. "Suzēsomai" is a future active indicative verb from συζάω (suzao), meaning "to live together with" or "to be alive with." The future tense signifies the absolute certainty and assured promise of future participation in Christ's resurrected life. This "living with Him" encompasses both a present spiritual vitality in ethical conduct, freed from sin's power, and a future eschatological glorification in body and spirit with Christ.
• with Him (σὺν αὐτῷ - syn auto): Again, "syn" (σὺν) emphasizes the intimate, participatory union, confirming that the new life is not an independent life but one lived with and in Christ. "Auto" refers back to Christ.

Words-Group Analysis:

• "Now if we died with Christ": This foundational premise posits a spiritual death in intimate union with Christ as an accomplished fact for believers. It's a conditional statement used not to express doubt, but to affirm a true premise for which a logical conclusion will follow. The 'dying with Christ' is understood as death to the former life of sin, empowered by sin.
• "we believe that we will also live with Him": This phrase expresses the believer's active appropriation of the assured future based on the past spiritual event. The present belief in a future reality ("will also live") underlines the unbreakable link between co-crucifixion and co-resurrection, offering confident hope for a new quality of life, both now and eternally, in continuous union with Christ.

Romans 6 8 Bonus section

The concept of "union with Christ" (Koinonia Christou) is a profound and pervasive theological theme throughout Paul's writings, underscoring not merely a legal standing (justification) but a vital, personal, and spiritual reality. This union, central to understanding Romans 6:8, is the means by which all spiritual blessings flow to the believer. It is the framework through which Christ's finished work is applied to individual lives, encompassing death, resurrection, ascension, and ultimate glorification. This verse does not describe a mere moral example to follow but a transformative participation in Christ's historical, redemptive acts. Furthermore, "we believe" implies more than intellectual assent; it carries the weight of personal trust and commitment that anchors the believer's hope and empowers their present transformation, moving from a position of "dying with Christ" (past spiritual fact) to "living with Him" (future and present spiritual reality). The Greek term for "live with Him" (συζάω - suzao) emphasizes shared life, illustrating a common existence or sphere of being, solidifying the idea that our life is now inextricably bound to Christ's.

Romans 6 8 Commentary

Romans 6:8 powerfully affirms the logical consequence of a believer's union with Christ. If, through faith, a person has been joined with Christ in His death, metaphorically dying to the ruling power of sin, then it is an unshakeable conviction that they will also participate in His resurrected life. This "dying with Christ" is not an imitation but an actual, spiritual identification, where the "old self" dies to sin's dominion, and is inaugurated at conversion and symbolized in baptism. The ensuing "living with Him" signifies both the present reality of a transformed life of holiness, enabled by the Spirit, and the future hope of bodily resurrection and eternal glory in the presence of Christ. This belief serves as the bedrock for the ethical injunctions that follow in Romans, providing the theological impetus for living righteously rather than continually succumbing to sin. The certainty is grounded in God's faithfulness and Christ's victorious work, embraced through a continuous act of faith.

Examples:

• A person who once lived enslaved to an addiction, upon union with Christ, recognizes that their old way of life is 'dead.' Their present faith holds to the promise that they now 'live with Christ,' enabling a new walk of freedom and purpose.
• Someone overwhelmed by past guilt, believing they 'died with Christ,' experiences the death of that past self and believes they will 'live with Him' in the forgiveness and righteousness of God, no longer defined by sin.