Romans 8:11

Context

This verse belongs to chapter 8 of Romans, the letter Paul sent to the believers in Rome. The end of chapter 7 (Romans 7:24–25) voices the anguish of a person struggling with sin. Romans 8:1–17 then contrasts life "after the flesh" with life "after the Spirit." Just before this verse, Romans 8:10 says that the believer's body is "dead because of sin," while the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Verse 11 builds on this statement and promises that if the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus, dwells in believers, God will through that Spirit also "quicken your mortal bodies." The word "dead" in verse 10 (Greek nekros) differs from "mortal" in verse 11 (thnētos). The latter describes a condition that has not yet ended in death but cannot escape it.

Interpretation

• Future bodily resurrection: Many Reformed and evangelical commentators today adopt this reading. They take "shall also quicken" to refer to the bodily resurrection on the last day and understand it in line with Paul's teaching in his other letters that the resurrection of Jesus guarantees the resurrection of believers. They also connect it with "the redemption of our body" in Romans 8:23.
• Present new life: Because the following verses, Romans 8:12–13, speak of putting to death the deeds of the body, this reading holds that verse 11 likewise refers to the Spirit's present work of renewing the believer's body so that the believer may live righteously, that is, to sanctification. In his commentary on Romans, John Calvin is known to have read the verse with greater emphasis on the ongoing work of the Spirit than on the final resurrection.
• A combined reading: This view holds that the life-giving work the Spirit has already begun will be completed in the final resurrection. It therefore reads present and future as a single movement.
• In discussions of the Trinity: The verse mentions in a single sentence the one who raises (God), Christ Jesus, and his Spirit. Verse 9 also calls the same Spirit both "the Spirit of God" and "the Spirit of Christ." For these reasons the verse serves as a proof text in explaining the deity of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit's relationship to the Father and the Son.

Debates and Issues

• Connection with divine healing: Some traditions within Pentecostalism and others that emphasize divine healing connect the phrase "quicken your mortal bodies" with present physical healing by the Holy Spirit. Other interpreters respond that the verse is chiefly concerned with resurrection or sanctification and that using it as a promise of healing is an application that goes beyond its context.
• Manuscript variation: The phrase "by his Spirit" has come down in slightly different forms in the manuscripts. Some read "through his Spirit," which expresses means, and others read "because of his Spirit," which expresses the basis. The Korean wording malmiama in the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version can be read either way. Many interpreters hold that in either case the overall meaning remains the same: the Holy Spirit is the source of resurrection and life.

Related Passages

• Romans 8:19–23: The groaning of creation and the redemption of the body
• 1 Corinthians 15:20–22: The resurrection of Christ, the firstfruits
• 1 Corinthians 15:51–52: The last trumpet and the incorruptible body
• Ezekiel 37:11–14: God puts his Spirit into the dry bones and gives them life
• 2 Corinthians 4:16: The outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day