Commentary - Romans 8:5-8

Bird's-eye view

In this dense and foundational section of Romans, the Apostle Paul lays out the fundamental antithesis of the Christian life. He is describing two realms, two operating systems, two ways of being human that are utterly opposed to one another. There is no middle ground, no third way. A person is either "according to the flesh" or "according to the Spirit." This is not a description of two competing tendencies within the believer, though believers certainly experience that conflict. Rather, Paul is describing two kinds of people, the unregenerate and the regenerate. The entire orientation of a person, what he thinks about, what he loves, what drives him, is determined by which of these two categories he belongs to. The mind, the phronema, is the command center. What you set your mind on determines your ultimate destiny: death or life and peace. The passage culminates in the stark declaration that the unregenerate mind is not just neutral or weak toward God; it is actively hostile, insubordinate, and utterly incapable of pleasing Him. This is a radical statement of total depravity, and it serves to magnify the sheer grace of God in sending the Spirit to give us a new mind, a new heart, and a new life.

This is the theological bedrock for why the gospel is not about self-improvement but about resurrection. The man in the flesh doesn't need a motivational seminar; he needs a funeral and a rebirth. Paul is explaining why "no condemnation" (v. 1) is such a glorious reality. It is because God has done something for us and in us that we were constitutionally incapable of doing for ourselves. He has moved us from one column to the other, from flesh to Spirit, from death to life.

Outline

Context In Romans

This passage flows directly from Paul's declaration in Romans 8:1-4. There is "no condemnation" for those in Christ Jesus precisely because they now walk "not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Verses 5-8 are Paul's detailed explanation of what those two categories, "flesh" and "Spirit," actually mean. He is unpacking the implications of being set free from the "law of sin and death." Having established in chapter 7 the misery and futility of the man trying to please God under the law in his own strength (the man "in the flesh"), Paul now shows the glorious alternative. This section is the hinge between the problem of sin and law in chapter 7 and the glories of adoption and future hope later in chapter 8. It defines the two humanities that have existed since the fall: the humanity of Adam, which is "in the flesh," and the new humanity of Christ, which is "in the Spirit."

Key Issues

Two Humanities

When the Bible talks about "the flesh," it's not talking about your skin, bones, and muscle. It's not a gnostic rejection of the physical body. The word sarx, or flesh, in this context refers to unregenerate human nature, humanity in its fallen condition, aligned with Adam. It is the whole person, mind, will, and emotions, as organized in rebellion against God. To be "in the flesh" is to have Adam as your federal head. It is your basic operating system.

Conversely, to be "according to the Spirit" is to be part of the new humanity, with Christ as your federal head. The Holy Spirit has performed a spiritual reboot. He has given you a new nature, a new heart, and a new mind. So Paul is not describing a psychological tug-of-war inside one person so much as he is describing two different kinds of people. You are either an Adamic person or a Christian person. You either run on the old software or the new. There is no dual-boot option. The conflict a believer feels is the remnant of the old operating system trying to run programs on the new hardware, but the fundamental identity of the machine has been changed.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Paul begins with a straightforward observation that functions as a foundational premise. You can tell what kind of person someone is by what they think about, what they are oriented toward. The verb "set their minds on" is from the Greek word phroneo, which is more than just casual thinking. It means to have a mindset, a disposition, a fundamental orientation. It's what your heart is fixed upon. The unregenerate man, the one living "according to the flesh," has his mind set on "the things of the flesh." This means his whole life is bent toward self-gratification, self-preservation, self-glory, and autonomy from God. His appetites, ambitions, and affections are all defined by his fallen nature. In contrast, the one who is "according to the Spirit" has his mind set on "the things of the Spirit." His new nature, given by the Spirit, now desires what the Spirit desires: God's glory, God's law, holiness, fellowship with God, and the fruit of the Spirit. A pig roots in the mud because it is a pig; a lamb grazes in the pasture because it is a lamb. Nature determines appetite.

6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

Here Paul traces the trajectory of these two mindsets to their inevitable destinations. The mindset of the flesh is death. He doesn't say it "leads to" death, though it certainly does. He says it is death. To be oriented around self and against God is to be in a state of spiritual death right now. It is to be cut off from the source of all life. This state of being culminates in eternal death, but it is a present reality. The unregenerate man is a walking corpse. But the mind set on the Spirit is "life and peace." This is the opposite reality. To have a mind governed by the Holy Spirit is to be truly alive, to be connected to the living God. And the result of this life is peace. This is not just a subjective feeling of tranquility, but objective peace with God. The war is over. The hostility (which he will mention in the next verse) has been replaced with reconciliation. This is the life that is truly life, abundant and secure.

7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,

Now Paul explains why the mind of the flesh is death. It's because at its core, it is hostile toward God. The Greek word is echthra, meaning enmity or active warfare. The natural man is not a neutral party trying to decide which side to join. He is an active enemy of God. He is a rebel. And this rebellion manifests itself in a refusal to submit to God's law. He "does not subject itself to the law of God." He will not have this man to reign over him. But Paul goes deeper. It's not just that the fleshly mind will not submit; it cannot submit. "For it is not even able to do so." This is one of the clearest statements of total inability in all of Scripture. The unregenerate man is not just sick; he is dead. He is not just swimming against the current; he is chained to the bottom of the river. He cannot, by any effort of his own will, bring himself into submission to God's law because his very nature is defined by rebellion against that law.

8 and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

This verse is the logical and inescapable conclusion of verse 7. If the unregenerate are defined by a mindset that is active hostility toward God, and if they are constitutionally unable to submit to His law, then it follows that they "are not able to please God." Nothing they do can be pleasing to Him. Even their seemingly "good" deeds, their acts of charity or civic virtue, are not done from a heart that loves and submits to God. They are therefore tainted by the rebellion that defines their nature. Without faith, which is itself a gift of the Spirit, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). This verse slams the door on any and all attempts at self-salvation. It demolishes any notion that man can make the first move toward God. The man in the flesh is utterly helpless and hopeless in himself. He cannot please God. And this is precisely why the gospel is such good news. God does for us what we could never do for ourselves. He takes out the heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. He removes the mind of death and enmity and gives us the mind of the Spirit, which is life and peace.

Application

This passage forces us to ask a fundamental question: which operating system am I running? What is my mind set on? When I am left to myself, when the pressures are off, where do my thoughts naturally gravitate? Do they run to the things of the flesh, to anxieties, lusts, bitter resentments, and proud ambitions? Or do they run to the things of the Spirit, to Christ, to His Word, to prayer, to fellowship with the saints?

For the unbeliever, the application is a call to repentance. You must recognize that your predicament is far worse than you imagine. You are not just a person who makes mistakes; you are, by nature, an enemy of God, and you are utterly unable to fix this situation. You must cry out for a rescue that comes from outside yourself. You need a spiritual resurrection, which only God can provide through faith in His Son.

For the believer, this passage is both a diagnosis and a comfort. It diagnoses the nature of our remaining sin. When we sin, we are allowing the remnants of that old, fleshly mindset to dictate our actions. The command, therefore, is to continually and consciously "set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth" (Col. 3:2). We do this by immersing ourselves in the means of grace. But it is also a profound comfort. It reminds us that our fundamental identity has been changed. We are no longer "in the flesh." We are "in the Spirit." The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us. The war has been won, even though skirmishes remain. Our destiny is not death, but life and peace. And because of the Spirit's work in us, we are now, for the first time, truly and eternally able to please God.