Romans 8:4
in Romans 8so 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
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This verse in Romans 8
Commentary
18 notes on this verseThat the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,.... By the righteousness of the law, is not meant the righteousness of the ceremonial law, though that was fulfilled by Christ; but of the moral law, which requires holiness of nature, righteousness of life, and death in case of disobedience; active righteousness, or obedience to the precepts of the law, is designed here.
This site's exposition
condemned sin in the flesh
on Romans 8:3-4
The law gave the standard and never the power, because the flesh it worked on was weak. God sent His own Son as an offering for sin, and at the cross sin itself was condemned.
This site's exposition
the righteous standard of the law
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown mark the word as the law's righteous requirement, a different word from the righteousness that justifies in Romans 1:17. Matthew Henry finds the demand met twice. Christ's righteousness answers it for the believer, and the Spirit's work answers it in him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS · Written before 253.
proposed
"For sin," therefore, that is, through the victim of his own flesh which he offered for sin, "he condemned sin in his flesh, that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit."
Paul says that sin has been condemned in order that the righteousness of the law given by Moses might be fulfilled in us. For once removed from the power of the law we become the law's friends. Those who have been justified are friends of …
But since this worldly wisdom has been destroyed and removed in the Lord made man, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled when a man walks not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Whence it is most rightly said: "I came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. For love is the fulfilling of the law." Love belongs to those who walk according to the Spirit. For love belongs to the grace of the Holy Spirit. When there was no love of righteousness but only fear, the law was not fulfilled.
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS · Written before 253.
proposed
It is possible also, according to another exposition — if we take it up again from the beginning — that "What was impossible to the law, in that it was weakened through the flesh," be understood also of the law of the mind, which he said above wills to do good but cannot fulfill it through the infirmity and frailty of the flesh; and that on this account God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and of sin — that is, by a victim offered for sin — condemned sin. For when remission of sins was given us, sin was put to flight and driven out of our flesh, and the justification of the law began to be fulfilled in us — of that law, at least, which delights together with the law of God, which is quickly fulfilled when the law of sin that was in our members no longer resists it, if indeed we walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. For so long as anyone is in the flesh and lives according to the flesh, he is wise in the things of the flesh; but when he has turned himself to the spirit, and has died to the law of sin and of the flesh, he is wise in the things that are of the spirit. For to be wise according to the flesh is the death of the soul; but to be wise according to the spirit is life and peace: because "the wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God" — that is, so long as the flesh resists the spirit and is not subject to the law of the mind, which is the law of God, it is at enmity with God; and therefore they who live carnally cannot please God. But "you," he says, "are not in the flesh" — that is, you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit — "if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." These things can also, as we have said, be fitted to this place according to another exposition. But let the one who reads choose, and let him follow whichever he judges the more fitting — if indeed he does judge it so.
What meaneth this word, righteousness? Why, the end, the scope, the well-doing. For what was its design, and what did it enjoin? To be without sin. This then is made good to us now through Christ. And the making a stand against it, and the getting the better of it, came from Him. But it is for us to enjoy the victory. Then shall we never sin henceforth? We never shall unless we have become exceedingly relaxed and supine. And this is why he added, "to them that walk not after the flesh. For lest, after hearing that Christ hath delivered thee from the war of sin, and that the requisition of the Law is fulfilled in thee, by sin having been "condemned in the flesh," thou shouldest break up all thy defences; therefore, in that place also, after saying, "there is therefore no condemnation," he added, "to them that walk not after the flesh;" and here also, "that the requisition of the Law might be fulfilled in us," he proceeds with the very same thing; or rather, not with it only, but even with a much stronger thing. For after saying, "that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us that walk not after the flesh," he proceeds, "but after the Spirit." So showing, that it is not only binding upon us to keep ourselves from evil deeds, but also to be adorned with good. For to give thee the crown is His; but it is thine to hold it fast when given. For the righteousness of the Law, that one should not become liable to its curse, Christ has accomplished for thee. Be not a traitor then to so great a gift, but keep guarding this goodly treasure. For in this passage he shows that the Font will not suffice to save us, unless, after coming from it, we display a life worthy of the Gift. And so he again advocates the Law in saying what he does.
10 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
He sets out the second effect when he says, "that the justification of the law," i.e., the justice which the law promised and which some hoped to obtain from the law, "might be fulfilled," i.e., made perfect, "in us," who exist in Christ Jesus: "the …
Lest anyone should say: is there any benefit to me from the fact that Christ gained victory in the flesh which He assumed? He says: it is precisely for you. "The righteousness," he says, that is, the aim of "the law" (for the law aimed …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And for sin, --here the best Greek copies place the comma. God sent him, en homoiomati sarkos hamartias, kai peri hamartias -- in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as a sacrifice for sin. The LXX. call a sacrifice for sin no more than peri hamartias -- for sin; so Christ was a sacrifice; he was sent to be so, Heb. ix.
Both in our justification and in our sanctification, the righteousness of the law if fulfilled. A righteousness of satisfaction for the breach of the law is fulfilled by the imputation of Christ's complete and perfect righteousness, which answers the utmost demands of the law, as the mercy-seat was as long and as broad as the ark.
That the righteousness of the law - The holiness it required, described, ver. 11. Might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit - Who are guided in all our thoughts, words, and actions, not by corrupt nature, but by the Spirit of God.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-11-anchored-4-4
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
That the righteousness of the law--"the righteous demand," "the requirement" [ALFORD], Or "the precept" of the law; for it is not precisely the word so often used in this Epistle to denote "the righteousness which justifies" (Ro 1:17;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
THE Law of God is perfect. You cannot add anything to it, nor take anything from it, without spoiling it. If you will read the Ten Commandments and understand them in their spiritual meaning, you will find that they are far-reaching and that they deal with every sin. I noticed, some time ago, that a learned prelate said that he could not find any Commandment against gambling. Where were his eyes? Is it not plainly written, "You shall not covet"? What is gambling but covetousness in action?
THE Law of God is perfect. You cannot add anything to it, nor take anything from it, without spoiling it. If you will read the Ten Commandments and understand them in their spiritual meaning, you will find that they are far-reaching and that they deal with every sin. I noticed, some time ago, that a learned prelate said that he could not find any Commandment against gambling. Where were his eyes? Is it not plainly written, "You shall not covet"? What is gambling but covetousness in action? Most manifestly, the gambler desires his neighbor's goods and this desire gives zest to the vice which the Law of God quite plainly condemns. Depend upon it, there is nothing wrong but the Law of God condemns it and there is nothing right but the Law approves it. The Decalogue is an absolutely perfect Law. If you take the soul of it, what I may call the summary of the Law, it seems to me to be even larger in brief than it is in the lengthy form. Here it is. First, in the Old Testament in two different passages, one in the Sixth Chapter of Deuteronomy and the other in the Nineteenth of Leviticus, and then as given by Christ in answer to the question of a lawyer— "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Wonderful Law, summed up in one word, "LOVE" but comprehending in its circle every form of duty which springs out of our relationship to God or man! Well may Paul say, as in the previous chapter, "Therefore the Law is holy and the Commandment holy, and just, and good." If evil is worked, it is not the Law of God which works it, for that Law is the expression of the Nature of the Eternal and reveals His holiness and justice— but as "God is Love," the Law which He gives is also comprehended in the same word—love.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us - That the guilt might be pardoned through the merit of that sacrifice; and that we might be enabled, by the power of his own grace and Spirit, to walk in newness of life; loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves: and thus the righteousness, the spirit, design, and purpose of the law is fulfilled in us, through the strength of the Spirit of Christ, which is here put in opposition to the weakness of the law through the flesh.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
That the righteousness of the law - That we might be conformed to the Law, or be obedient to its requirements, and no longer under the influence of the flesh and its corrupt desires. Might be fulfilled - That we might be obedient, or comply with its demands. Who walk - Note, Rom 8:1.
The words behind it
16 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἵνα | ina | so that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δικαίωμα | dikaioma | righteousness | G1345 → | 10 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| νόμου | nomou | law | G3551 → | 192 times |
| πληρωθῇ | plerothea | may be fulfilled | G4137 → | 86 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| ἡμῖν | hemin | us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| τοῖς | tois | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| κατὰ | kata | according to | G2596 → | 468 times |
| σάρκα | sarka | [the] flesh | G4561 → | 146 times |
| περιπατοῦσιν | peripatousin | walking | G4043 → | 94 times |
| ἀλλὰ | alla | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| κατὰ | kata | according to | G2596 → | 468 times |
| πνεῦμα. | pneuma | [the] Spirit. | G4151 → | 378 times |
ἵναso that
inaG2443 →668 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
δικαίωμαrighteousness
dikaiomaG1345 →10 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
νόμουlaw
nomouG3551 →192 times
πληρωθῇmay be fulfilled
plerotheaG4137 →86 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
ἡμῖνus
heminG3165 →1936 times
τοῖς<the>
toisG3588 →19766 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
κατὰaccording to
kataG2596 →468 times
σάρκα[the] flesh
sarkaG4561 →146 times
περιπατοῦσινwalking
peripatousinG4043 →94 times
ἀλλὰbut
allaG235 →635 times
κατὰaccording to
kataG2596 →468 times
πνεῦμα.[the] Spirit.
pneumaG4151 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Galatians 5:16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
it leads to
- Galatians 5:24–25
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
- Romans 8:12–14
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
- Galatians 6:8
The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
- Galatians 5:19–21
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
- Colossians 3:5–10
Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- Galatians 5:24–25
Through
Colossians 1:22But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:27
and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.
- Jude 1:24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Ephesians 1:4
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
- Ephesians 5:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies35
On this verse
On this chapter
- Abba, Father
- The God Who Gets Named
- The Binding of Isaac
- The Bronze Serpent
- Creation to New Creation
- Eternal Security, and the Five Warnings of Hebrews
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- Firstfruits
- Gethsemane (The Garden Called the Oil Press)
- Hebel: the word the Berean text renders futility
- How Scripture Shapes Christian Ethics
- How to Study the Bible
- Jesus on the Father
Show the next 6 titles
About Romans
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Augustine of Hippo, AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 48; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2228: “The Law's Failure and Fulfillment” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 13; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Romans and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans.