Romans 8:12–14

Sons and heirs

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Paul’s “therefore” invites us, his brothers and sisters in the faith, to draw a conclusion. The Holy Spirit has freed us from death and has given us life—both spiritual and physical. What kind of life should that now be? The answer, of course, is obvious: It is a life lived in close connection with the Spirit, who has given us our life.

In forming such a response, Paul’s line of thought, however, veers off to another related gift of the Spirit. The NIV translators have given us some help in following the shift in Paul’s train of thought by inserting a dash here. The simple and straightforward response would have been like this: Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation to live by the Spirit’s leading.

But before getting to that positive “obligation,” Paul interrupts by pointing out that which is not under our obligation. When he later returns to the positive aspect of the situation, he doesn’t dwell on the obligation but rather moves right on to another blessing the Spirit (capital S) provides for our spirit (lowercase s), namely, sonship.

In first stating the negative, Paul says, “Brothers, [you do not have an obligation] to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die.” Paul has not forgotten the thrust of the previous chapter in which he lamented the fact that he still continues to sin daily. Paul’s new self fights valiantly against sin; sin isn’t allowed to run rampant or to be in charge. Paul isn’t living “according to the sinful nature.” Or to reach ahead and borrow a term from the next verse, he isn’t being “led by” the sinful nature. To allow it to rule would be to revert to the death from which the Spirit freed him. It would be a denial of the faith, a fall from grace. It would mean losing the righteousness Christ died to win for him.

On the other hand, “if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” In the opening words of this sentence, we have an example of a use of pneuma that could readily be understood with either an uppercase or a lowercase “spirit.” Literally, Paul says, “But if by [pneuma] you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Since there is a contrast with the preceding “sinful nature,” one could very easily understand pneuma here as the “spiritual nature” of the Christian, which puts to death the misdeeds of the body. Recognizing, however, that such a spiritual nature is possible only because of the Holy Spirit’s activity, one would not be wrong in thinking of the Christian’s activity of putting to death the misdeeds of the body as being done by the Holy Spirit, who lives in us. The NIV translators have chosen this latter interpretation.

To be sure, Paul touches on the obligation Christians have to curb the “misdeeds of the body.” But this is not viewed as a burdensome thing, something we now have to do. Rather, Paul hurries on to provide the proper gospel motivation and the right reason for doing so.