so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Parallel translations
- WEB that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
- KJV That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
- 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.
- NASB so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
- 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Christ's work fulfills the law's righteous requirement in those who walk by the Spirit. The Spirit produces in us the obedience the law demanded.
Overview
The purpose of Christ's atoning work was that the law's just requirement be fulfilled in us. This fulfillment comes not by our striving but through the Spirit who directs our walk. Those who live by the Spirit, rather than the flesh, increasingly embody the righteousness the law always intended.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gal 5:22–25But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
- Gal 5:16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
- Col 1:22But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—
- Eph 5:26–27to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
- Heb 12:23in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
- Jude 1:24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Rev 14:5And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
- 1 Jn 3:2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
- Rom 2:26If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 8:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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