Romans 8

The chapter

Romans 8 is the great chapter of Christian assurance. It opens with 'no condemnation,' rises through the work of the Holy Ghost, the adoption of the sons of God, and the groaning of the whole creation, and ends with the promise that nothing can separate the household of God from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Who wrote it

Written by Paul the apostle, likely from Corinth in the winter of AD 57 or 58, addressed to the Roman Christian community he had not yet visited.

Historical and geographical context

The Epistle to the Romans is Paul's fullest and most systematic exposition of the Christian faith. Chapter 8 is the theological summit of chapters 5-8, the movement from justification through sanctification to the assurance of final glory.

Important verses

• Romans 8:1 (KJV) 'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.'
• Romans 8:14 (KJV) 'For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.'
• Romans 8:15 (KJV) '…ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.'
• Romans 8:18 (KJV) 'For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.'
• Romans 8:26 (KJV) '…the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.'
• Romans 8:28 (KJV) 'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.'
• Romans 8:31 (KJV) 'What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?'
• Romans 8:32 (KJV) 'He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?'
• Romans 8:38-39 (KJV) 'For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Christ-centred reading

Every line of Romans 8 rests on the finished work of Christ: 'no condemnation' because His condemnation is finished at Golgotha. 'Sons of God' because He is the Son. 'Nothing shall separate' because His love has already crossed the greatest distance — from heaven to the Cross to the empty tomb — and nothing can undo it.

In Christian tradition

• Read at Christian funerals in most rites — Romans 8:38-39 is the great burial-verse of the Church.
• Cited by every major Christian catechism on assurance.
• Set by Bach in the German requiem tradition.
• The 'Abba, Father' cry of Romans 8:15 is the pattern of every Christian prayer that echoes the Lord's Prayer.

Connected People

• Paul — the writer.
• Christ Jesus — the whole ground of the chapter.

Connected Places

• Rome — the addressee city.
• Corinth — where Paul was probably writing from.

Household application

Read Romans 8:31-39 aloud at every household funeral. It names the fear and it answers it.

Post Romans 8:28 near the family door: 'we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.' Not that all things are good; that God works all things toward the good of those who love Him.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read Romans 8 aloud in one sitting.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray Romans 8:26 when you don't know what to pray.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — At every household funeral or anniversary of loss, read Romans 8:38-39.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' (Chisholm, 1923) alongside Romans 8:28.
• Learn (Workshop) — Study Romans 5-8 as a unit — justification, sanctification, glorification.

Further reading

Romans 5-8 in the KJV.

Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans (fourth century).

Any good Christian catechism on assurance.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Paul
• Rome
• Christ Jesus
• 1 Corinthians 13
• Corinth
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.