Romans 8:3, commentary and pictures

The law could not save because fallen human nature has no power to keep it or be made right by it, and the fault lies in weak flesh, not in the law itself, which remains holy, just, good and binding. God sent His own eternal Son from heaven at infinite cost, who clothed divinity with real fallen humanity with its infirmities and temptability, yet remained perfectly holy with no sin in Him. He was made the sin offering and sin-bearer for humanity, taking human sin upon the Sinless One so believers are made righteous in Him. By a pure life of perfect obedience in human flesh He condemned sin, exposing it and proving disobedience inexcusable and Satan's charge that men cannot keep God's law to be a lie. He did not do away with the law but upheld its claims by bearing its penalty, so that His righteousness is counted to believers by faith and worked out in them by grace to fulfill the law in those who walk after the Spirit.

Sense of Verse Words

What the law could not do was deliver, justify, free from sin, or overcome sin, because fallen human nature was too weak through the flesh to keep and obey it, and the fault lay not in the law itself but in sinful humanity's inability. The law still convicts and requires righteousness, yet it has no power in itself to accomplish that deliverance, so God sent His own Son to do what the weakened flesh could not. By that sending the condemnation is removed from those in Christ Jesus who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees from the law of sin and death. In this way the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit rather than the flesh, whose hearts are renewed by the Spirit so they can live in obedience, receiving the new power Christ gives.

In the likeness of sinful flesh means He came in real human flesh and fallen human likeness, sharing the form and nature of the sinner, becoming subject for man’s sake to sorrow, weariness, hunger, thirst, infirmities, dangers, difficulties and temptation. He clothed divinity with humanity and walked among men, yet remained perfectly holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, doing no sin, yielding not to sin, with no sin in Him and no taint or spot or stain of sin upon Him. That sinlessness was necessary for Him to be Saviour, needing no atonement for Himself, holy even as God is holy and one with God in purity and holiness of character, and therefore able to bear sin and make atonement and propitiation for the sins of the whole world. By that sinless life He assumed the responsibilities of the human race, obeyed every jot and tittle of the law, kept His Father’s commandments in perfect obedience, and had infinite power only because of that perfect obedience.

And for sin means God made His Son the sacrifice, sin offering, sin-bearer and atonement, letting the spotless and pure Son be treated as a sinner and transferring human sin to the One who knew no sin. He stood at the head of the human family as their representative, taking the sins of the world and of all who believe upon Himself, becoming liable for them and bearing death’s penalty so sinners need not suffer eternal death. By this exchange His righteousness is given to believers and they are made the righteousness of God in Him, treated as righteous when believing and repentant, buried with Christ in baptism unto death to selfishness and risen to walk in newness of life. Through His grace and divine power believers are delivered so they need no longer remain in transgression or under the law’s curse, but become partakers of the divine nature, escape the corruption in the world through lust, receive grace in ample abundance in order that they may not sin, and have the law’s righteousness fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

Condemned sin in the flesh means that by a pure and holy life and perfect obedience in human nature He exposed sin, rebuked the world, testified against sin by both precept and example, and proved disobedience inexcusable rather than excusing it. Clothed with divinity in humanity as head and representative of the human family, bound to fulfill every specification of the law in behalf of those He represented, He kept the whole law while compassed with human infirmities and beset on every point with the fiercest temptations human nature can know, sinning not in act or speech, not surrendering allegiance as Adam did, and corrupting not human nature in any particular. By laying hold upon divinity by faith even as humanity may lay hold upon infinite power through Him, He developed a perfectly upright, sinless character from birth to the cross, fighting evil on humanity’s behalf and linking humanity with God and earth with heaven through His human and divine nature. That victory gives the lie to Satan’s charge that Adam’s sons and daughters cannot keep God’s law and that there is fault with the Lawgiver, removes every excuse fallen men might urge for not keeping it, shows no person is hopelessly bound to sin and Satan, and, with the evidence at Calvary that God is love, settles Satan’s long dispute for unfallen worlds, holy angels and heavenly intelligences while leaving every human without excuse for withholding allegiance. His followers are therefore advantaged by His righteousness, become partakers of His divine nature, obey God’s commandments through His imputed righteousness, share the divine nature and take hold of moral power brought within reach by His abundant love to form characters after the divine likeness, and make it their work to represent the character of God and of Christ, seeking renewal by the Holy Spirit when love is lost from the heart.

Sending of the Son

When the fullness of time came God sent His own Son to this earth in sinful human likeness to meet the deep necessity of the human race for a remedy for sin. The Son sent is the eternal Word from the bosom of the Father, the Majesty of Heaven and King of glory, the Messenger of the covenant, the Sun of Righteousness, the appointed Instructor and divine Teacher, in whom mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other. Eternally rich and clothed with light and glory with hosts of angels to do His pleasure, He left His throne in heaven at infinite cost by a painful process mysterious to angels as well as to men to bring everlasting righteousness to all who believe. He came to a sinful world out of great redeeming love to a trial ground and school where people are granted probation to be educated and disciplined and trained to be fitted for heaven and the higher life, that those brought back to God might be made the righteousness of God in Him, accepted in the Beloved, and given a place with Him in the mansions of glory. His mission brought insult, hatred and abuse and death at the hands of those He came to save and to benefit, being scorned, set aside, jeered at and rejected and finally dying on the cross made sin for us, and God sent angels to preserve His life until His saving work was complete. In human flesh, born a babe in Bethlehem, He lived the law of God in order to condemn sin in the flesh and to bear witness to heavenly intelligences that the law was ordained to life to ensure the happiness, peace and eternal good of all who obey, a sacrifice which is life to those who believe and a testimony of condemnation speaking death and not life to the disobedient.

The Son hid His divinity, laid aside His glory and clothed divinity with humanity, veiling the signs and brightness of His divine glory since people in their sinful state could not endure it. He came combining divinity with real humanity, bone of bone and flesh of flesh, uniting divinity with humanity so He could reach people and bring salvation, with humanity serving as a channel of communication between God and man while divine power could restore humanity to God's likeness. He appeared not as God but as a servant in the form of a servant, taking the likeness of sinful flesh to stand as head and representative of the human family, and He became poor so that people might be made rich through Him. His personal existence did not begin with His incarnation, for He was the living Son of God, yet He was liable to physical infirmities and was tempted as human beings are, subjected to the fiercest temptations human nature can know and tempted upon all points even as men are tempted, and He was given to the world as the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. By faith He laid hold upon divinity even as humanity may lay hold upon infinite power through Him, and He did not surrender His allegiance to God as Adam did.

God conferred great honor upon fallen men by this sending, for Christ left His heavenly home, majesty, riches, high command and heavenly honor and took man's nature upon Himself in a fallen world to save and redeem the fallen race through divine power, to bring life to man, to carry on a benevolent work for salvation leading to final exaltation to His own throne. Men should have glorified God for this honor and given Christ a place in their affections, but the infant Saviour found no rest nor safety, meeting insult, hatred and abuse from the very ones He came to benefit, so God could not trust His beloved Son to the inhabitants of the world but sent angels to attend Him and preserve His life till His mission on earth should be accomplished and He should die by the hands of the very men He came to save. Laying aside His royal robe and clothing His divinity with humanity, being born a babe in Bethlehem and growing up as other children grow, He took the likeness of sinful flesh to become acquainted with human beings and come close to them in their need in order to clothe humanity with His garment of righteousness. Unlike Adam, who was made pure and upright in God's own image, as faultless as the angels with no corrupt principles, no tendencies to evil and no indwelling sin yet fell when tempted by the enemy, Christ bore the likeness of sinful flesh and from youth to manhood was assailed by Satan's fiercest temptations. He humbled Himself to take fallen human nature and meet the foe who had overcome Adam, meeting His adversary in the wilderness weakened physically by a fast of forty days with His dignity questioned, His authority disputed and His allegiance to His Father assailed, and by overcoming Satan on every point without swerving from allegiance to His Father He overcame where Adam failed, condemned sin in the flesh, left Satan a conquered foe, opened the way for believers to be redeemed from the disgrace of Adam's fall, and placed humanity on vantage ground so that those who become partakers of the divine nature are able to resist the temptations of the enemy, facing every temptation human beings face.

Satan rejoiced at man's fall because it brought about that Jesus took fallen man's nature and came down from His exalted position. He told his angels that once Jesus was in fallen human nature He could be overpowered and the accomplishment of the plan of salvation hindered.

Christ's Sinless Condemning Victory

Compassed with the infirmities of humanity and beset on every point with the fiercest temptations human nature can know, He sinned not in act or speech and kept every jot and tittle of the law, developing a perfectly upright and sinless character. Bound in human nature to fulfill every specification of the law in behalf of those He represented, He corrupted not human nature nor transgressed in any particular, and by faith He laid hold upon divinity even as humanity may lay hold upon infinite power through Him. From youth to manhood He was assailed by Satan's fiercest temptations, meeting His adversary in the wilderness weakened physically by a fast of forty days with His dignity questioned, His authority disputed and His allegiance to His Father assailed, yet He overcame on every point without swerving or surrendering His allegiance as Adam did. Unlike Adam, who was made pure and upright in God's own image, as faultless as the angels with no corrupt principles, no tendencies to evil and no indwelling sin yet fell when tempted, Christ bore the likeness of sinful flesh and left Satan a conquered foe, placing humanity on vantage ground so that those who become partakers of the divine nature are able to resist the enemy. While retaining His divinity and taking humanity He lived in perfect obedience, redeeming what was lost through the Fall and making it possible for people to obey, with the sins of those who receive Him charged to Him so that He fully satisfied God's justice and restores the moral image of God to bring men back from disobedience to obedience.

Passing over the same ground where Adam stumbled and fell as representative of the fallen race, He overcame where Adam failed and redeemed man from the penalty and disgrace of Adam's fall. Becoming subject in man's behalf to sorrow, weariness, hunger, thirst and temptation, He yielded not to sin and no taint of sin was upon Him, keeping His Father's commandments in perfect obedience in His earthly life and having infinite power only because He was perfectly obedient to His Father's will. By standing the test of trial and temptation as the second Adam He became the Owner of all humanity. Bearing the penalty of the law He bears the penalty of man's past transgressions and gives the sinner another chance and a second trial, opening a way to be reinstated in God's favor, and by imparting His righteousness He makes it possible for man to keep God's holy law. He came to break Satan's power over the family, to draw men away from Adam's example, to give them probation and teach them obedience in His own human nature and to elevate humanity in moral value with God, and by standing against Satan's temptations as a man He came off conqueror and condemned sin in the flesh.

By meeting every demand of God's law and overcoming every objection of Satan against obedience, He gave the lie to Satan's charge that the sons and daughters of Adam cannot keep God's law and that there is fault with the Lawgiver. The law was weak through the flesh because sinful human nature was weak and prone to transgress with no power in man to do God's words and no power in heaven or earth but Christ's power that could deliver, so Christ came combining divinity with real humanity, bone of bone and flesh of flesh, submitting to all the temptations that beset man to give moral power and bring salvation and meet the difficulty and remove it. By living the law in humanity He testified to its unchangeable character against Satan's impeachment, proving not one jot or tittle could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition, stopping every mouth and proving Satan an accuser and liar. He revealed to heaven, to the unfallen worlds and heavenly universe, and to the fallen world that through the power of divine grace, through partaking of the divine nature, man need no longer stand under the curse of the law or remain in transgression. Taking human nature and in that nature maintaining the purity of His divine character, living the law of God and honoring it in a world of transgression, He joined finite humanity to the infinite God to bridge the separation caused by transgression and connect earth with heaven, defeating wrong in human nature, removing the stigma and degradation Satan had placed on the family, uplifting those who are depraved, and imparting His own divine nature and image to the repentant believing soul so that all who believe will perfect a character after His likeness and be qualified to become laborers together with God.

By living out the law He perfectly revealed God's character of mercy, compassion and inexpressible love, manifesting the attributes of the Father as a perfect revelation of God to the world. Who was one with the Father and revealed God's perfection came in human likeness to give evidence that cannot be denied that God is love, and that evidence at Calvary settles Satan's long dispute for unfallen worlds and heavenly intelligences and for all who look on the uplifted Saviour. His pure and holy character from birth to the cross fought evil on humanity's behalf and rebuked the world, and through His human and divine nature He linked humanity with God and earth with heaven, laying hold of the repenting soul with an unyielding grasp while grasping the throne of God as the connecting link and only refuge for the guilty soul. Constantly He beheld the character of God, which is the glory of God, and constantly He represented that character to the world, removing Satan's impression and desiring His followers to reveal that same character in their lives. Sent at infinite cost by a painful process mysterious to angels as well as to men to bring everlasting righteousness to all who believe, the Son hid His divinity, laid aside His glory and assumed humanity born as a babe, and in human flesh lived the law to bear witness to heavenly intelligences that the law was ordained to life to ensure the happiness, peace and eternal good of all who obey. That same sacrifice is life to those who believe and a testimony of condemnation speaking death and not life to the disobedient, proving that people can share the divine nature and through faith take hold of moral power brought within reach by His abundant love and form characters after the divine likeness, leaving every human without excuse for withholding allegiance from God.

Law Upheld by Gospel

The law remains sacred, holy, just, good, changeless and binding, expressing the character to be formed and requiring perfect obedience, righteousness without flaw or shortcoming, the same as was required of Adam before the fall. Because it is immutable it could not be changed to meet man in his fallen condition, so its inability to bring about righteousness lies not in any fault in itself but in human nature weakened through sin. It is ordained to life for those who obey, but to transgressors who do not repent, be converted and return to loyalty it brings condemnation and death. Christ did not come to abolish it, for it remains binding on every child and youth, and by coming in human nature like fallen humanity and bearing the marks of crucifixion forever He proclaimed to the end of time His abhorrence of all transgression.

The law convicts of sin, points the sinner out as guilty before God, reveals ignorance of its true principles as when coveting was understood and self died, ends self-sufficiency, and brings to receive the truth declared in the gospel, lay hold of the Saviour and begin purification. Where it could not pardon the transgressor it has no saving power to justify, free from sin, or accomplish deliverance, and its condemnation is death to the sinner. Those who break it must repent and humble themselves before God whose just wrath they have incurred, and trust in Christ's blood as the only means of pardon, who died as their sacrifice and now stands as their advocate. In searching to know God man is directed to Christ, who lived out the law, manifested the Father's attributes, and as the only refuge for the guilty soul lays hold of the repenting soul with unyielding grasp while grasping the throne of God as the connecting link between earth and heaven.

Christ did not come to do away with the law but to do away with sin, which is transgression of the law, so that sin and not God's law might be abolished. Though spotless and pure He was treated as a sinner, coming in the likeness of sinful flesh and dying to save the disobedient by bearing the penalty for transgression. By so condemning sin in the flesh He testified to the unchangeable character of the law against impeachment, proving not one jot or tittle could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition, and upheld its claims rather than changing or abolishing them. His work was not to excuse continued disobedience or merely transfer righteousness while people went on breaking the law, but to bring them strength to obey its precepts.

Law and gospel belong together in closest connection to save the perishing, the law making way for and pointing to the gospel and the gospel continually leading back to a more exact fulfilling of the law. The law requires love to God and neighbor and meekness, humility and holiness, which men feel unable to supply in themselves, and being made weak by the flesh it could not justify, free from sin, or accomplish deliverance. God did what the law could not do by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin to condemn sin in the flesh, so that condemnation is removed from those in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. The gospel gives God's promise to supply that love and to make men humble, meek and holy, and when laid hold of by faith the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in them through faith in Christ, whose righteousness is accepted for believers while the Spirit renews their hearts to obedience, reproducing Christ's character rich in good works.

Righteousness Given to Believers

In Christ believers are counted as if they had suffered the penalty their sins incurred and had rendered perfect obedience, for He assumed the responsibilities of the human race with the sins of all who believe charged to Him as their sin offering for which He became liable, and He obeyed every jot and tittle of the law to testify before unfallen worlds, holy angels and the fallen world. The Son who knew no sin became the sin-bearer with human sins transferred to Him, so that His righteousness is given to believers and they are made the righteousness of God in Him, and by this exchange those buried with Him in baptism have died to selfishness and rise to walk in newness of life. God sent His spotless, pure Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and let Him be treated as a sinner, so that the believing and repentant sinner may be treated as righteous, and Christ at the head of the human family as their representative fully satisfied God's justice. His righteousness is imputed through faith and must become theirs in daily practice, making it possible for the righteousness required by the law to be fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit as they receive the light of truth, enter the path of obedience, and are justified and sanctified, becoming partakers of His divine nature. People cannot keep God's law in their own strength because of human weakness, so Christ came to bring His righteousness to humanity and give strength to make peace with God; believers must repent, seek to obey, and do what they can to keep it, and God accepts their efforts, bringing peace, courage, joy and harmony, yet His righteousness does not cover unrepented transgression.

Christ stood under the curse of transgression, bore death's penalty as the great sin offering and atonement, and made expiation for the sins of the condemned, perishing world so that sinners need not suffer eternal death. Because He was sinless He needed no atonement for Himself and could bear sin and make atonement for the sins of the whole world, taking upon Himself the guilt of human sin and becoming sin for the world, not saving Himself from death but dying so that everyone who believes may receive life and become a child of God. Bearing the penalty of the law, He bears the penalty of past transgressions and gives the sinner another chance, a second trial, opening a way to be reinstated in God's favor, and by imparting His righteousness He makes it possible to keep God's holy law. His blood avails only for those who return to allegiance to God and obey the law they have violated, for He never becomes a party to sin, and through His grace and divine power believers can be delivered so that none need remain in transgression or under the law's curse. All who believe in Christ and obey His commandments receive the gift of eternal righteousness and will be abundantly rewarded, even as He suffered death as a victim to the mob spirit created by religious prejudice.

Through grace He transforms human nature, creates new spiritual life, implants a holy nature, and makes men Christlike in character, for apart from Him no man can in spirit and in truth keep one of God's commandments, but in Him the claims of the law are met. The law could not justify or free people from sin because sinful nature made them unable to keep it, so God sent His Son in human likeness where He was tempted as people are and condemned sin in human nature, joining divinity with humanity and meeting every demand of God's law. This makes it possible for the law's righteousness to be fulfilled in those who receive the new power He gives and walk according to the Spirit, with the Spirit renewing their hearts so they can live in obedience and need not remain under the curse or continue in transgression. He overcame in that nature so that believers, by taking His nature, may overcome and grow into the character of God, with the character of Christ reproduced in them in being rich in good works; acceptance with God is not on the ground of good works, but reward will be according to works.

As the bronze serpent was made in the likeness of the serpents that had bitten Israel, Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh to save people from sin, and as the bitten Israelites lived by looking at it in faith, people bitten by sin live by looking in faith to Jesus lifted on the cross for healing, pardon and life. The serpent had no power in itself, and the sacrificial service had no power to free people from sin; both pointed to Christ, for people cannot save themselves by obedience or by anything they do, but must trust God's gift. Jesus was publicly crucified during a yearly Jewish gathering attended by people from many nations, so that knowledge of His death and saving mission could reach the world, bringing hope, courage, faith, pardon, and life.

By coming in the flesh He bridged the gulf sin had made between earth and heaven and between humanity and God, linking humanity with God and earth with heaven through His human and divine nature. Christ coming in the flesh lays hold of the repenting soul with an unyielding grasp while grasping the throne of God, becoming the connecting link between humanity and divinity, the only refuge for the guilty soul. At His baptism the Father's voice and presence in Christ showed that the connection broken by Adam's sin had been restored, and by that incarnation eternal life was brought to fallen human beings with eternally true principles placed in human minds that can never be obliterated. The salvation He gives brings redemption through His blood and freedom from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, and this freedom should be the testimony and expression of every soul whose name is on the church books. From His birth to the cross He fought evil on humanity's behalf without being spoiled by human frailty, bringing a new life of unstainable excellence and transforming character and life through indwelling spiritual power.

He died to make it possible for men to keep the law, providing in the counsels of heaven to reshape broken, perverted human character and restore the moral image of God in man. Those who will to do the will of God may live a life of loyalty to Him, for whoever believes in Christ as personal Saviour will be saved. The advantage secured at infinite cost is offered to all but left to each person's own choice, for God forces no one to accept it. His mission in all His works was not to destroy men's lives but to save them.

Example and Help Daily

Because He took the same human nature as the sinner yet without any sin in Him, He could condemn sin in the flesh while walking with men through their difficulties, dangers and temptations, and that shared walk enables Him to sympathize with human suffering. The help He obtained through vital connection with God is the same way those in difficulty, danger and temptation obtain help now.

His life in that likeness is the pattern for human character, shown in mercy, compassion and self-denial toward the lost, seeking and restoring them with tender love rather than treating them harshly. By constantly beholding the character of God, which is His glory, He constantly represented that character to the world. He came to represent the character of God, and it is the work of His followers to represent the character of Christ. If His love is lost out of the heart, the heart is to seek the Lord to be renewed by His Holy Spirit.

By dwelling among men while remaining perfectly holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, doing no sin in act or speech and having no sin in Him, His sinless life condemned sin in the flesh and shows that no person is hopelessly bound to sin and Satan. Compassed with the infirmities of humanity and beset on every point with the fiercest temptations, without corrupting human nature or transgressing in any particular, He kept the whole law in behalf of those He represented, fulfilled every specification as one bound to do so, obeyed every jot and tittle, and developed a perfectly upright, sinless character. That victory removes every excuse fallen men might urge for not keeping God's law. Sin in the flesh is to be condemned, not excused, and by faith and hope in divine grace with right judgment, character deficiencies can be overcome. Every provision of grace is given in ample abundance so that he who believes as a personal Saviour shall be saved from sin in order that he may not sin, leaving no excuse for envy, fault-finding, jealousy, sin and iniquity, and those so provided for are not to walk after the flesh but after the Spirit. God did not after Adam's transgression give human beings a new order of energies and passions nor implant sinful propensities in the race, but began His work of conversion as soon as man transgressed, so that through obedience to the law of God and faith in Christ human beings may regain the lost image of God. Through cultivation of righteous principles the bias to evil may be overcome, and by obedience in and through heaven-bestowed grace the warped senses are restored, the perverted faculties renewed, words, thoughts and energies purified, a new character formed, and the debasement of sin overcome. He assumed the responsibilities of the human race with the sins of all who believe charged to Him as their sin offering for which He became liable, testifying before unfallen worlds, holy angels and the fallen world that believers who accept Him as sin offering and rely on Him as personal Saviour are advantaged by His righteousness, become partakers of His divine nature, and through His imputed righteousness obey the commandments of God.

This truth of justification through faith brings peace, courage, joy and harmony, because Christ's righteousness must become ours, for without it keeping the law is impossible. It must not be held as mere theory but be practiced, and those who bear this message must carry with them the pure character of Christ Jesus. Sent from the royal courts above with divinity clothed with humanity to live out the principles of the law, His life proves grace has power to redeem men and women, raise them to moral integrity, sanctify and glorify them, and purify a peculiar people for Himself. It is the design that His church demonstrate this to the world by standing firmly and bravely for Him amid the confederacy of evil, protesting by blameless lives against prevailing apostasy and refusing to follow the customs and practices of worldlings.