ACC ~ Romans 8 v9 - 17

OVERVIEW:

The body is dead because it is mortal, but the spirit is alive if Christ dwells in us. The perspective of the Fathers was eschatological, and they frequently spoke in terms of future fulfillment. The Fathers were intrigued by the juxtaposition of the terms “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” in Romans 8:9. It was clear to most of them that this is the one Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, and they interpreted the text accordingly. The Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead has the power to give us new life as well. On earth he fills us with the wisdom, peace and righteousness of Christ, but all of this is merely in preparation for the great resurrection on the last day. Romans 8:12 and the following verses were favorites with the Fathers, who viewed them as an outline of the Christian life. To their way of thinking, there was no such thing as a half-hearted Christian. One who was born again must live the new life in anticipation of the resurrection. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be made a child of God, not by nature as Christ was but by grace. We are God’s children by adoption and are given strength by the Spirit to live the kind of life that is required of those who have been so called. To be a child of God is to be made an heir—the greatest gift God can give us.

8:9 | The Spirit of God and of Christ

WHETHER THE SPIRIT OF GOD AND OF CHRIST ARE DISTINGUISHED. ORIGEN: Is the Spirit of God somehow different from the Spirit of Christ, or are the two one and the same? As far as I can follow the logic of this passage, not to mention what the Savior says of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel, viz., that “he proceeds from the Father” and “he receives of me,” to which he adds by way of explanation: “Father, everything which is mine is yours, and everything which is yours is mine; wherefore I said, that he receives of me.” When, I say, I consider the logic of this unity between the Father and the Son, it seems to me that the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are one and the same Spirit.

We can understand this to mean that someone who is not of such a character as to deserve to have the Spirit of Christ is not recognized as belonging to him. … It may also be understood to mean that anyone who does not act in the Spirit, who is not prepared for righteousness, for truth, for the proclamation of the Word of God, for the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, for rejecting the letter of the law and for opening up its spirit, for resisting sin, for everything which will prevent him from coming to death, is not Christ’s disciple. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THOSE IN THE SPIRIT. AMBROSIASTER: Those who are said to be in the Spirit are not in the flesh if they agree with the apostle John and do not love the world. … Paul speaks somewhat ambiguously because those who have been inducted into the law do not yet have a perfect faith, although Paul saw a hope of perfection in them. For this reason he sometimes speaks to them as if they are perfect and sometimes as if they are yet to become perfect. This is why sometimes he praises them and sometimes he warns them, so that if they maintain the law of nature according to what has been said above they will be said to be in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God cannot dwell in anyone who follows carnal things.

Here Paul says that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, for everything which belongs to the Father belongs to the Son as well. Therefore he says that whoever is subject to the above-mentioned sins does not belong to Christ. Such a person does not have the Spirit of God, even if he has accepted that Christ is God’s Son. For the Holy Spirit abandons people for one of two reasons, either because they think carnally or because they act carnally. Therefore he exhorts them to good behavior by the things which he commands. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Here Paul reveals that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

THINGS GOOD AND BAD. CHRYSOSTOM: Some things are good, some are bad and some are indifferent. The soul and the flesh both belong to things indifferent, since each of these may become either good or bad. But the spirit belongs to things which are good and can never become anything else. Likewise, the mind of the flesh, i.e., wickedness, belongs to things which are always bad. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 13.

YOU ARE NOT IN THE FLESH. CHRYSOSTOM: “You are not in the flesh” not because you are not clad in flesh but because in spite of being clad in flesh you rise above the thinking of the flesh. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 22.10.

THE SENSE IN WHICH THE SPIRIT DWELLS IN YOU. PELAGIUS: You are in the Spirit because you are occupied with spiritual things. The Spirit of God dwells in those in whom his fruit is manifest, as Paul says to the Galatians: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, etc.” The Spirit of Christ, who loved his enemies and prayed for them, is the Spirit of humility, patience and all the virtues. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS. OECUMENIUS: The Spirit is common to the Father and the Son. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

SEVERIAN: By “Spirit of God” Paul here refers to the spiritual gifts of the New Testament. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

8:10 | Dead in the Body, Alive in the Spirit

YOUR BODIES ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF SIN. AMBROSIASTER: Paul asserts that the bodies of those whom the Holy Spirit has abandoned be-cause of sin are dead, nor does the feeling of their murder touch him, i.e., the Spirit. For the Spirit of God cannot sin. He is given for righteousness in order to make people righteous by his assistance.

If a believer returns to the life of the flesh, the Holy Spirit will leave him and he will die in his unrighteousness. In saying “the body” Paul means that the whole person will die because of sin. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is not saying here that the Spirit is Christ but is showing rather that anyone who has the Spirit has Christ as well. For where the Spirit is, there Christ is also. Wherever one person of the Trinity is present, the whole Trinity is present too. For the Trinity is undivided and has a perfect unity in itself. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 13.

AUGUSTINE: Paul calls the body “dead” because it is mortal. Furthermore, it is because of this mortality that the lack of earthly things troubles the soul and arouses certain desires, to which the man who serves the law of God in his mind does not submit and sin. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 50.

AUGUSTINE: Paul shows that both life and death exist in a man living in his body—death in his body, life in his spirit. THE CITY OF GOD 20.15.

CARNAL DEATH AND SPIRITUAL LIFE. PELAGIUS: If you imitate Christ the carnal mind offers no resistance, because it is effectively dead. The spirit lives in order to produce righteousness, for the aim is not just to stop doing carnal things but to start doing spiritual ones. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

YOUR SPIRITS ARE ALIVE BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul makes something which was doubtful clear and demonstrates that he is not attacking the flesh but sin. For he decreed that the body was dead to sin, i.e., that it should not sin. But here he calls the soul spirit, because it has already become spiritual. He commands it to follow after righteousness, whose fruit is the hope of eternal life. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

8:11 | Life Through the Spirit

HE WHO RAISED CHRIST WILL RAISE YOU. POLYCARP: But he who raised Christ up from the dead will raise us up also if we do his will and walk in his commandments and love what he loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil-speaking, false witness, “not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,” or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in his teaching. THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.

TERTULLIAN: The resurrection of the dead implies the resurrection of their bodies. AGAINST MARCION 5.14.

THE TEMPLE OF THE BODY RESTORED TO LIFE. ORIGEN: If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, it seems essential that his dwelling place (i.e., your body) will be given back to him and his temple restored.

This is how you can know whether you have the Spirit of Christ or not. Christ is wisdom, so if you are wise according to Christ and know what is his, then by this wisdom you have the Spirit of Christ. Likewise, Christ is righteous-ness; therefore, if you have the righteousness of Christ, by that righteousness you have the Spirit of Christ. Christ is peace; if you have Christ’s peace in you, then through the Spirit of peace you have the Spirit of Christ. So it goes with love, with sanctification and with all that belongs to Christ. The one who has these things may be confident of having the Spirit of Christ in him and can hope that his mortal body will be restored to life on account of the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

AMBROSIASTER: Paul repeats here what he has just said. Once again, the word body stands for the whole person. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE SPIRIT OF THE TRIUNE GOD. DIODORE: Having already mentioned the Spirit of Christ, Paul refers to him once more, calling him “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead.” By saying that the Spirit of Christ is also the Spirit of the Father, Paul teaches clearly that the Spirit of the Son partakes of the Father’s divinity and that their power is one, because they share the same essence as the Father. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

RESURRECTED LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES. CHRYSOSTOM: Here Paul touches once more on the resurrection, since this was the most encouraging hope to the hearer, giving him a sense of security from what happened to Christ. … Therefore do not let your body live in this world, so that it may be made alive in the next one! Make it die so that it may never die! For if it goes on living it will die, but if it dies now it will live forever. This is the case with resurrection in general. We must first die and be buried, and then we shall become immortal. This has already been done in baptism. … The man who is dead to this life is thus the one who is most truly alive. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 13.

FINALLY MADE PERFECT. AUGUSTINE: Paul now explains the fourth of the four states which we mentioned above. But this state is not attained in this life. It belongs to the hope by which we await the redemption of our body, when this corruptible matter will put on incorruption and immortality. Then there will be perfect peace, because the soul will no longer be troubled by the body, which will be revived and transformed into a heavenly substance. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 51.

FLESHLY ANNOYANCES CONTINUE IN THIS LIFE. AUGUSTINE: This is a very explicit witness to the resurrection of the body, and it is sufficiently clear that as long as we are in this life there will be no lack of both the annoyances occasioned by the mortal flesh and some excitations arising from carnal pleasures. For although he who is established under grace serves the law of God with his mind and does not yield, nevertheless, with the flesh he continues to serve the law of sin. QUESTIONS 66.7.

THE TEMPLE RESTORED. PELAGIUS: God will not allow the temple of his Spirit to perish. In the same way as he raised Jesus from the dead he will also restore your body. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

8:12 | Debtors

THE SOUL SERVING ITS CREATOR. ORIGEN: God did not make us in his image in order for us to be bound to the service of the flesh but rather that our soul, serving its Creator, might make use of the service and ministry of the flesh for that purpose. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

WE ARE DEBTORS. AMBROSIASTER: It is right and clear that we are not obliged to follow Adam, who lived according to the flesh, and who by being the first to sin left us an inheritance of sin. On the contrary, we ought rather to obey the law of Christ who, as was demonstrated above, has redeemed us spiritually from death. We are debtors to him who has washed our spirits, which had been sullied by carnal sins, in baptism, who has justified us and who has made us children of God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

DEBTORS NOT TO THE FLESH. CHRYSOSTOM: Once again, Paul is not speaking here about the nature of the flesh. … For in many ways we are indebted to that. We have to give it food, warmth, rest, medicine, clothing and a thousand other things. In order to show us that this is not what he is talking about, Paul adds the words: “to live according to the flesh.” … It is not to take charge of our life. The flesh must follow, not lead, and it must receive the laws of the Spirit, not seek to control us. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 14.

PELAGIUS: The force of this whole argument is to show that the law, which was given for the carnally minded, is not necessary for those who are spiritual. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORET OF CYR: Since we have obtained salvation from Christ the Lord and have received the grace of the Spirit, we are obliged to serve him. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

8:13 | Putting to Death the Works of the Flesh

CUTTING AWAY FLESHLY LUSTS. IRENAEUS: Paul does not prevent them from living their lives in the flesh, for he was himself in the flesh when he wrote to them, but he cuts away the lusts of the flesh which bring death upon a man. AGAINST HERESIES 5.10.2.

PUT TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY. ORIGEN: Putting to death the deeds of the body works like this: Love is a fruit of the Spirit, but hate is an act of the flesh. Therefore hate is put to death and extinguished by love. Likewise, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, but sadness is of this world, and because it brings death it is a work of the flesh. Therefore it is extinguished if the joy of the Spirit dwells in us. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit, but dissension or discord is an act of the flesh; however, it is certain that discord can be eliminated by peace. Likewise the patience of the Spirit overcomes the impatience of the flesh, goodness wipes out evil, meekness does away with ferocity, continence with intemperance, chastity with license and so on.

By “death” and “life,” Paul does not mean physical death and life but the death of sin and eternal life, which everyone who is mature in the Spirit and who has put to death the works of the flesh will attain. But we must also realize that this mortification of the deeds of the flesh comes through patience—not suddenly but step by step. At first they start to wilt in those who have been converted, but then, as they progress in their faith and become more dedicated, the deeds of the flesh not only wilt, they start to die out. But when they reach maturity to the point that there is no longer any trace in them of any sinful thought, word or deed, then they may be reckoned to have completely mortified the deeds of the flesh and passed from death to life. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ADOPTION AS CHILDREN OF GOD. AMBROSE: It is not strange that one who puts to death the deeds of the flesh will live, since one who has the Spirit of God becomes a son of God. It is for this reason that he is a son of God, so that he may receive not the spirit of slavery but the spirit of the adoption of sons, inasmuch as the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are sons of God. LETTER 52.

LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMBROSIASTER: Nothing is truer than this, that if we live according to Adam we shall die. For by sinning Adam was consigned to the flesh and sold himself to sin, for all sin is oriented to the flesh. … The body wants to be governed by the law of the spirit, which is why Paul shows that if we are led by the Holy Spirit the acts and desires of the flesh, which are made up by the instigation of the powers of this world, are repressed so as to be unable to act. Then we shall enjoy eternal life. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

YOU WILL LIVE. CHRYSOSTOM: You can see from this that Paul is not talking about the essence of the body but about the evil deeds which it does. For if we stop doing evil deeds, then our physical bodies will live. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 14.

AUGUSTINE: That we should mortify the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit is required of us, but that we may live is offered to us. … Shall we therefore agree to say that the mortification of the flesh is not a gift of God and not confess it to be a gift of God, since we hear that it is required of us, with life offered as a reward to us if we have done it? PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 11.22.

AUGUSTINE: When by our spirit we put to death the works of the flesh we are impelled by the Spirit of God, which grants the continence by which we restrain, master and overcome concupiscence. CONTINENCE 5.12.

AUGUSTINE: I have quoted this passage so that I might make use of the apostle’s words to deter your free will from evil and to exhort it to what is good. Nor should you on this account glory in man, i.e., in yourselves and not in the Lord. You are not living according to the flesh but are putting the deeds of the flesh to death by the Spirit. GRACE AND FREE WILL 11.23.

YOU WILL DIE. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Here Paul clearly demonstrates that it was not common and natural human death of which he was speaking earlier. In fact he was and is speaking about the death of eternal punishment. For it is not because the flesh is evil and the spirit good that he praises the spirit and condemns the flesh. … Rather, he says this wanting to show that for the most part the lusts of our passions belong to the human body, which we share with irrational animals. For just as the other animals on earth are born, so our body is also born; it is our soul which is spiritual, incorporeal, rational and immortal. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: Carnal people cannot preserve righteousness. But you will live if you have replaced the works of the flesh with spiritual deeds. Note that it is the works which are condemned, not the substance of the flesh. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORET OF CYR: Paul does not say that we should mortify the flesh but “the deeds of the flesh,” that is, the wisdom of the flesh, the attacks of the passions. For we have the grace of the Spirit to help us. Eternal life is the fruit of victory. IN-TERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

8:14 | The Spirit Leads the Children of God

WHETHER THERE ARE MANY SONS, MANY SPIRITS. ORIGEN: The Spirit of God is the same as the Spirit of Christ and the same as the Holy Spirit. But he is also called the Spirit of adoption, as the apostle makes clear in this passage. David spoke of this Spirit also when he said: “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.”

There are many sons of God, as Scripture says: “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you,” … but only one is the Son by nature, the only begotten of the Father, through whom all the rest are called sons. Likewise there are many spirits but only one who truly proceeds from God himself and who bestows on all the others the grace of his name and his sanctification. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

HIS TEMPLES. CYPRIAN: If we are the sons of God, if we have already begun to be his temples, if (after receiving the Holy Spirit) we live holily and spiritually, if we have lifted up our eyes from the earth toward heaven, if we have raised our hearts, full of God and Christ, to supernal and divine things, let us do nothing which is not worthy of God and Christ, as the apostle arouses and urges us. JEALOUSY AND ENVY 14.

LED BY THE SPIRIT. CHRYSOSTOM: Note the great honor here. For as believers we do not merely live in the Spirit; we are led by him as well. The Spirit is meant to have the same power over us as a pilot has over his ship or a charioteer over his horses. And it is not only the body but the soul also which is meant to be controlled in this way.

If you put your confidence in baptism to the point that you neglect your behavior after it, Paul says that, even if you are baptized, if you are not led by the Spirit afterward you will lose the dignity bestowed on you and the honor of your adoption. This is why he does not talk about those who received the Spirit in the past but rather about those who are being led by the Spirit now. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 14.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Those who live according to the teaching of the Holy Spirit are those who are led by the Spirit of God. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: This applies to all who are worthy to be governed by the Holy Spirit, just as (on the contrary) those who sin are moved by the spirit of the devil, who was a sinner from the beginning. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: It is clear that these people will live the blessed life with their Father. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

DIVINE GRACE AND HUMAN WILLING. PROSPER OF AQUITAINE: Since the Lord prepares the will, he also touches the hearts of his children with fatherly inspirations so that they might do good. … Consequently, we do not think that our free will is lacking, nor do we doubt that, in each and every movement of man’s free will, his help is the stronger force. GRACE AND FREE WILL 5.3.

8:15 | The Spirit of Sonship

OUR REAL FATHER. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: We have received the Spirit to enable us to know the one to whom we pray, our real Father, the one and only Father of all, that is, the one who like a Father educates us for salvation and does away with fear. STROMATA 3.11.78.5.

THE SPIRIT OF BONDAGE AND OF ADOPTION. ORIGEN: It is certain that whoever will become a son of God by the Spirit of adoption will first become a servant of God by the spirit of slavery. For the beginning of service to God is to be filled with the spirit of fear when still a little child [= new convert], since “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” … As long as we remain children in the inner man we hold the Spirit in fear, until we reach the point at which we can rightfully receive the Spirit of adoption as sons and become like the Son and Lord of all. For Paul says: “Everything is yours,” and God has given us everything together with Christ. This is why Paul says that, after we have died together with Christ and after his Spirit comes into us, we no longer receive the spirit of slavery in fear (that is, we do not return to the state of children, and we have completed the first stages of faith), but rather like perfect people we have received the Spirit of adoption, in whom we cry: “Abba! Father!” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

DIODORE: In reality, the spirit of slavery and the spirit of sonship were one and the same Spirit, who was given to people according to what they deserved, whether it was good or evil. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

THE ASSURANCE THAT DARES TO SAY “ABBA, FATHER.” AMBROSIASTER: Paul says this because once we have received the Holy Spirit we are delivered from all fear of evil deeds, so that we might no longer act in such a way as to be afraid once more. Beforehand we were under fear, because once the law was given everyone was considered guilty. Paul called the law “the spirit of fear” because it made people afraid on account of their sins. But the law of faith, which is what is meant by “the Spirit of sonship,” is a law of assurance, because it has delivered us from fear by pardoning our sins and thus giving us assurance.

Set free by the grace of God from fear, we have received the Spirit of sonship so that, considering what we were and what we have become by the gift of God, we might govern our life with great care lest the name of God the Father be disgraced by us and we incur all the things we have escaped from. … We have received such grace that we can dare to say to God: “Abba! Father!” For this reason, Paul warns us not to let our trust degenerate into pride. For if our behavior does not correspond to our voice when we cry, “Abba! Father!” we insult God by calling him Father. Indeed, God in his goodness has indulged us with what is beyond our natural capacity. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CHRYSOSTOM: Paul does not mention the spirit of freedom but passes immediately to the matter of sonship, which obviously includes freedom in it. That much is obvious. However, it is less clear what the spirit of slavery might be. What Paul says here is not only unclear, it is downright perplexing. For the Jews did not receive the Spirit. So what does he mean? It is the letter to which he gives this name, for it was also spiritual, which is why he calls the law, the water from the rock and the manna spiritual as well. … Paul uses the Hebrew word Abba to indicate that sonship given by the Spirit is true sonship. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 14.

THE SPIRIT OF SLAVERY TO FEAR AND TO LOVE. AUGUSTINE: The dispensations of the two Testaments are clearly different. The Old Testament is one of fear; the New Testament is one of love. But, you may ask, what is this spirit of slavery? If the spirit of our adoption as sons is the Holy Spirit, then the spirit of slavery to fear is the one which has the power of death. It is because of this fear that those who lived under the law and not under grace were condemned to slavery for their entire lives. Nor is it surprising that those who went after worldly goods received the spirit of slavery by divine providence … for this spirit of slavery has nobody in its power unless he has been handed over by the command of divine providence, since God’s righteousness gives every man his due. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 52.

AUGUSTINE: The fear of slaves, although it renders belief to the Master, contains no love of righteousness but only the fear of damnation. The cry of sons is “Abba, Father!”—two words, one of which belongs to the circumcision and the other to the uncircumcision. THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 56.

AUGUSTINE: Paul is speaking of the fear which was inspired in the Old Testament, lest the temporal be lost which God had promised to those who were not yet his sons under grace but still servants under the law. HOLY VIRGINITY 38.39.

SLAVES FEAR; SONS LOVE. PELAGIUS: The Jews received a spirit which constrained them into service by means of fear. For it is the nature of slaves to fear and of sons to love, as it is written: “The slave shall fear his master, and the son shall love his father.” Those who were not willing to work out of the desire of love are compelled by the constraint of fear, but let us perform all things willingly so that we may show that we are sons. He who calls to his father declares himself a son. He ought therefore to resemble his father in character, lest he incur a greater penalty for having assumed the name of his father in vain. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The text should be read like this: “You have not received the Spirit; instead you are again in fear of slavery.” … The slavery in question is slavery to the law. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: We have been enriched with God’s Spirit, for his Spirit has come to dwell in our hearts, and we have taken our place among the children of God and yet have not lost being what we are. For we are men according to nature, even though we cry: “Abba! Father!” LETTER 1.35.

THE SPIRIT OF SONSHIP. NICETA OF REMESIANA: If he is the Spirit of adoption and makes men sons of God, how can he be considered a slave, since no slave can legitimately make another free? POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 4.

BEDE: Through the grace of baptism men can by receiving the Holy Spirit be changed from sons of the devil into sons of God. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL 1.12.

8:16 | The Spirit Bears Witness

THE SPIRIT BEARING WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRITS. ORIGEN: The Spirit of adoption … bears witness and assures our spirits that we are children of God after we have passed from the spirit of slavery and come under the Spirit of adoption, when all fear has departed. We no longer act out of fear of punishment but do everything out of love for the Father. It is right too that the Spirit of God should be said to bear witness with our spirits and not with our souls, because the spirit is our better part. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

DIODORE: Paul showed by this that he called the soul “spirit” when it was spiritual, and the gift of the Spirit “Spirit.” PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

AMBROSIASTER: The witness of children is that by the Spirit they should be seen to bear the sign of the Father. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE GIFT AND THE GIVER. CHRYSOSTOM: This means that the Comforter bears witness with the gift which he has given us. For it is not merely the gift which speaks but the Comforter who gave the gift as well. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 14.

EVIDENCE OF OUR ADOPTION. PELAGIUS: The evidence of our adoption is that we have the Spirit, through whom we pray in the manner mentioned above; for only sons could receive such a pledge. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

HIS SPIRIT AND OURS. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul uses the word spirit in two senses. The first is the Spirit of God, the second is our spirit, i.e., through the grace which we have been given. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

8:17 | Fellow Heirs with Christ

GLORIFIED WITH HIM. ORIGEN: The Son of God says to his fellow heirs: “You will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Thus Christ leads his fellow heirs not only into a part of the inheritance but into a sharing of his power. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

PROVIDED WE SUFFER WITH HIM. DIODORE: Here “suffer with him” does not mean that we should sympathize and come to the aid of the sufferer, as it usually does in everyday parlance. Christ did not suffer in order to get attention, nor did he undergo weakness in order to gain the sympathy of those who felt sorry for him. To suffer with Christ means to endure the same sufferings that he was forced to suffer by the Jews because he preached the gospel. … If we suffer with him we shall be worthy to be glorified with him as well. This glory is the reward of our sufferings and is not to be regarded as a free gift. The free gift is that we have received remission of our former sins. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

HEIRS OF ONE STILL ALIVE. AMBROSIASTER: Since there is no way that God the Father can be said to have died and Christ the Son is said to have died because of his having become flesh. How is it that he who died is always said to be the heir of the life, when heirs are normally heirs of the dead? But of course Christ died in his humanity, not in his divinity. For with God, which is where our inheritance lies, the Father’s gift is poured into his obedient children, so that one who is alive may be the heir of the Living One by his own merit and not by reason of death. … What it means to be a fellow heir with Christ we are taught by the apostle John, for among other things he says: “We know that when he appears we shall be like him.”. . .

To suffer together with Christ is to endure persecutions in the hope of future rewards and to crucify the flesh with its evils and lusts, i.e., to reject the pleasures and pomp of this world. For when all these things are dead in a man, then he has crucified this world, believing in the life of the world to come in which he believes that he will be a fellow heir with Christ. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CHILD AND HEIR. CHRYSOSTOM: Notice how Paul gradually increases the attraction of the gift. For it is quite possible to be a child without being an heir. … Nor are we simply heirs; we are “fellow heirs with Christ.” See how concerned Paul is to bring us ever nearer to the Son! HOMILIES ON ROMANS 14.

ADOPTED INTO THE KINGDOM. AUGUSTINE: By spiritual regeneration we therefore become sons and are adopted into the kingdom of God, not as aliens but as his creatures and offspring. SERMON ON THE MOUNT 23.78.

READY IF NECESSARY TO SUFFER. PELAGIUS: He who is worthy to be a son is worthy to be made an heir of the Father and a coheir with the true Son. This happens if we are ready when it becomes necessary to suffer for him as he suffered for us. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Good works can hardly be done without suffering, yet the suffering of the saints is nourished by a great hope. For nothing earthly is promised but rather eternal glory. EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

FELLOW HEIRS WITH CHRIST. THEODORET OF CYR: As not every son is an heir of the one who procreated him, St. Paul rightly adds heredity to the adoption of sons. And given that a friend may often receive some inheritance from the Lord, Paul does not omit the word son but even adds that we are “fellow heirs with Christ,” thereby revealing his ineffable love for mankind. For not all those who have been blessed with saving baptism enjoy these good things, but only those who accept the fellowship of the Lord’s sufferings as well. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.