Romans 8:4 kjv
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:4 nkjv
that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:4 niv
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:4 esv
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:4 nlt
He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Romans 8 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Law's Fulfillment / Internalization | ||
| Jer 31:33 | "But this is the covenant that I will make... I will put my law in their inward parts..." | New Covenant internalizes the law. |
| Ezek 36:27 | "I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes..." | Spirit empowers obedience to God's commands. |
| Heb 8:10 | "For this is the covenant that I will make... I will put my laws into their minds..." | Echoes Jer 31:33 regarding the New Covenant. |
| Matt 5:17 | "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." | Christ's fulfillment of the Law. |
| Rom 13:8 | "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." | Love is the essence of law's fulfillment. |
| Rom 13:10 | "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." | Reiterates love as law's fulfillment. |
| Gal 5:14 | "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" | Simplifies the law to love. |
| Walking in the Spirit vs. Flesh | ||
| Rom 6:4 | "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death... that we too might walk in newness of life." | New life is a Spirit-led walk. |
| Rom 6:11-13 | "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin... presenting yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life." | Practical obedience as Spirit-led. |
| Rom 7:5-6 | "While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions... now we are released from the law, having died..." | Old way of living (flesh) vs. new (Spirit). |
| Rom 8:1 | "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." | Immediate context of freedom in Christ. |
| Rom 8:9 | "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you." | Defines believers' state by Spirit's presence. |
| Gal 5:16 | "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." | Direct command to walk by the Spirit. |
| Gal 5:25 | "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." | Maintaining a life aligned with the Spirit. |
| Phil 3:3 | "For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus..." | Worship and life are Spirit-empowered. |
| 1 Pet 4:2 | "So as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God." | Cessation of living for fleshly desires. |
| Divine Enabling | ||
| Rom 8:2 | "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." | The Spirit provides liberation. |
| Rom 8:3 | "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do..." | God's provision for human inability. |
| 2 Cor 3:6 | "Who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." | Contrast of legalistic letter vs. life-giving Spirit. |
| Col 2:13-14 | "And you, who were dead in your trespasses... God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses..." | Divine work makes Spirit-filled life possible. |
| Titus 3:5 | "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." | Regeneration by Spirit for righteous living. |
| Eph 2:10 | "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..." | God's design for believers' lives and works. |
Romans 8 verses
Romans 8 4 Meaning
Romans 8:4 states that the ultimate purpose of God sending His Son, condemning sin in the flesh (as discussed in the preceding verse), is "in order that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." This verse reveals the telos, or intended outcome, of Christ's work and the Spirit's indwelling: for believers to truly live out the ethical and moral demands inherent in God's Law, not by their own efforts, but by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit, in contrast to living by human nature prone to sin.
Romans 8 4 Context
Romans 8:4 sits within a pivotal section of Paul's letter, building directly from Romans 7 and transitioning into the profound theme of the Spirit-empowered life. Romans 7 concludes with Paul's cry of anguish over his inability to consistently do good, trapped by sin despite knowing the law's righteous demands, highlighting the "weakness of the flesh." Romans 8 begins by declaring "no condemnation" (v.1) for those in Christ, establishing a new reality. Verse 2 explains this freedom: the "law of the Spirit of life" overcomes the "law of sin and death." Verse 3 then identifies the cause of this freedom: God sending His Son, who, taking on human flesh, condemned sin within that flesh. Verse 4 then articulates the purpose or result of this divine intervention: so that believers can actually embody the righteousness the law called for, no longer constrained by the flesh but empowered by the Holy Spirit. Historically, this countered both Jewish reliance on strict Mosaic Law observance for righteousness and Gentile ideas of moral virtue achievable by sheer human will.
Romans 8 4 Word analysis
- ἵνα (hina - in order that, so that): This is a crucial Greek conjunction, expressing purpose. It shows that God's actions in sending Christ (Rom 8:3) were intentionally directed towards enabling believers to fulfill the Law's requirements. It emphasizes divine intentionality.
- δικαίωμα τοῦ νόμου (dikaiōma tou nomou - righteous requirement of the Law / righteous deed of the Law):
- Dikaiōma: Distinct from nomos (the law itself) or dikaiosynē (righteousness, generally). Dikaiōma refers to an ordinance, a decree, an ethical demand, or the specific "righteous demand" of the law. It represents the inherent moral principles and ethical substance of the Law, the justice that the Law pointed toward, rather than the ceremonial aspects or merely external conformity. It is what the Law rightly demanded.
- τοῦ νόμου: Refers to the Mosaic Law. The phrase highlights not the "justification by law" but the ethical standard the law upheld, which humanity in the flesh could not achieve.
- πληρωθῇ (plērōthē - might be fulfilled / carried out / accomplished): This is an aorist passive subjunctive verb.
- Passive Voice: Implies divine agency; it is fulfilled in us by God's working, not by our human effort.
- Subjunctive Mood: Indicates purpose or potential, what should or might be fulfilled, connecting directly to the "hina" (in order that).
- Fulfilled: Echoes Jesus' statement in Matt 5:17. It means the law's righteous design and ethical demand are genuinely accomplished or lived out.
- ἐν ἡμῖν (en hēmin - in us): This prepositional phrase emphasizes the internal, personal, and active reality of this fulfillment. It is not an external declaration but an inner transformation leading to outward action. It's in the hearts and lives of believers.
- τοῖς μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (tois mē kata sarka peripatousin - who walk not according to the flesh):
- Τοῖς: The definite article "the ones who," acting substantively to describe believers.
- Μὴ: Negative particle, specific to hypothetical or contingent negations.
- Κατὰ σάρκα: "According to the flesh." This signifies living enslaved to fallen human nature and its desires, independently of God. This refers to the sphere or principle of one's life.
- Περιπατοῦσιν: "Walk," a common biblical metaphor for one's way of life, conduct, or manner of living. The present participle indicates continuous action.
- ἀλλὰ κατὰ Πνεῦμα (alla kata Pneuma - but according to the Spirit):
- Ἀλλὰ: "But," a strong adversative conjunction indicating a direct contrast.
- Κατὰ Πνεῦμα: "According to the Spirit." This signifies living under the guidance, power, and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. This is the new governing principle of life for believers. "Πνεῦμα" here refers to the Holy Spirit, capitalized implicitly by its contrasting role to the flesh in Romans 8.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- The righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled: This highlights a fundamental paradox. The Law, intended to guide righteousness, became a revealer of sin due to human weakness. Yet, through Christ and the Spirit, its ethical essence can now truly be embodied within believers. It's not the detailed regulations for salvation, but the profound moral integrity the Law points to, summarized often by love.
- In us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit: This defines who are the recipients and participants in this fulfillment. It's not everyone, but those who have a transformed orientation of life. "Walking" (περιπατεῖν) emphasizes daily, continuous conduct and disposition. The clear dichotomy between "flesh" (sarka, referring to the sinful human nature alienated from God) and "Spirit" (Pneuma, referring to the Holy Spirit as the divine power for holy living) defines the two mutually exclusive paths for believers. This walking "according to the Spirit" is the observable evidence and expression of the Spirit's indwelling work and is what allows the "dikaiōma" to be fulfilled.
Romans 8 4 Bonus section
This verse implies a transformative sanctification. It's not merely a declaration of righteousness (justification), but the actual outworking of it in daily conduct. The "righteous requirement" refers primarily to the ethical core of the law (e.g., love for God and neighbor), which sums up the law's true intent. This fulfillment is a cooperative work, yet divinely initiated and enabled: believers walk (active choice), but they walk "according to the Spirit" (passive reliance on divine power). It stands against both legalism (attempting to earn righteousness by external observance) and antinomianism (disregarding moral law because of grace), offering a third way where grace enables genuine obedience to God's heart.
Romans 8 4 Commentary
Romans 8:4 serves as the profound climax of God's redemptive work presented in the preceding verses. Christ's victory over sin in the flesh (Rom 8:3) wasn't an end in itself but a means to empower a new kind of human living. The law's moral perfection, which human fallenness rendered unattainable, is now made possible in the believer. This isn't through renewed self-effort or a fresh set of legalistic endeavors but through the Spirit's indwelling power. The believer's life, previously characterized by submission to sinful impulses (walking according to the flesh), is now governed by the Holy Spirit. This results in an organic, internal realization of the righteous principles God intended the Law to teach, making Christian obedience not a burdensome duty but a natural outflow of the Spirit's life. This verse shows that grace does not annul God's moral demands but rather provides the means for their true and willing performance.