Theodoret of Cyrus — Commentary on Scripture

Romans 8:3

Christ came “in the likeness of sinful flesh” because, although he took on human nature, he did not assume human sinfulness.… For although he had the same nature as we have, he did not have the same outlook or the same thoughts. For although the law could not accomplish its purpose on account of the weakness of those to whom it was given (for they had a mortal and passible nature), the only begotten Word of God broke the power of sin by taking on human flesh and fulfilled all righteousness, not giving in to the temptations of sin in any way.

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Romans 8:8

Paul is not telling us to leave the body but to be set free from the wisdom of the flesh. What this means, he tells us in the following verses.

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Romans 8:10

Paul makes something which was doubtful clear and demonstrates that he is not attacking the flesh but sin. For he decreed that the body was dead to sin, i.e., that it should not sin. But here he calls the soul spirit, because it has already become spiritual. He commands it to follow after righteousness, whose fruit is the hope of eternal life.

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Romans 8:12

Since we have obtained salvation from Christ the Lord and have received the grace of the Spirit, we are obliged to serve him.

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Romans 8:13

Paul does not say that we should mortify the flesh but “the deeds of the flesh,” that is, the wisdom of the flesh, the attacks of the passions. For we have the grace of the Spirit to help us. Eternal life is the fruit of victory.

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Romans 8:16

Paul uses the word spirit in two senses. The first is the Spirit of God, the second is our spirit, i.e., through the grace which we have been given.

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Romans 8:17

As not every son is an heir of the one who procreated him, St. Paul rightly adds heredity to the adoption of sons. And given that a friend may often receive some inheritance from the Lord, Paul does not omit the word son but even adds that we are “fellow heirs with Christ,” thereby revealing his ineffable love for mankind. For not all those who have been blessed with saving baptism enjoy these good things, but only those who accept the fellowship of the Lord’s sufferings as well.

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Romans 8:20

“Futility” means corruption. Paul teaches this a little further on when he says that the creation itself will be set free from corruption. He also teaches that all the visible creation has been condemned to mortality because the Creator of all things foresaw the sin of Adam and that he would sentence him to death.

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Romans 8:26

Do not think that you will be set free by things which are harmful. You do not know what is good for you in the way that God does. Therefore, give yourselves to him who holds the key to the universe. For even if you ask nothing but merely groan under the impulse of the grace which dwells in you, he handles your affairs wisely and will ensure that you get what you need.

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Romans 8:27

“Spirit” here does not mean the substance of the Spirit but rather the grace which is given to believers. By this grace we are encouraged to struggle, we are inflamed to pray more earnestly, and with ineffable sighings we implore God the Savior. The holy apostle wrote this out of the experience of his own suffering. For he himself had asked to be set free from evils, not once or twice but three times, but he did not get what he asked for. Rather, he heard God say: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” But when he learned this, he willingly embraced the things which he had asked to be set free from and said: “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

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Romans 8:28

This is not true of everyone but only of believers. Nor do things simply work together—they work together for good. If someone asks for something which will not contribute to his good, he will not get it, because it is not good for him to get it.

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Romans 8:29

God did not simply predestine; he predestined those whom he foreknew. Paul says everything precisely and writes “conformed to the image of his Son” and not just “conformed to his Son.” … For our body is not conformed to Christ’s divinity but to his glorified body. It is as a man that Christ is the firstborn; as God he is the only begotten. Nor does Christ as God have brothers. It is as a man that he calls all men his brothers.

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Romans 8:30

Those whose intention God foreknew he predestined from the beginning. Those who are predestined, he called, and those who were called, he justified by baptism. Those who were justified, he glorified, calling them children: “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” Let no one say that God’s foreknowledge was the unilateral cause of these things. For it was not foreknowledge which justified people, but God knew what would happen to them, because he is God.

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Romans 8:32

Would God give us the greater thing but not the lesser? Would he sacrifice his Son but withhold his possessions from us? Note too that there is one person of the Son. His human nature was given for us by his divinity.

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Romans 9:2

The construction here is incomplete. Paul should have added that his unceasing anguish was due to the rejection or unbelief of the Jews.

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Romans 9:7

Although it was beyond the capacity of nature, Abraham became a father by divine generosity. Paul says this, even though Ishmael was also Abraham’s son and moreover, he was the firstborn. Therefore why do you boast, O Jew, that you are the only one to be descended from Abraham? For if you think that Ishmael does not count because he was the son of a slave, you are wrong. Holy Scripture reckons descent through the father and not through the mother. After all, the holy apostle could have mentioned the children born to Abraham through Keturah and shown that although they were born to a free woman they were not recognized as Abraham’s seed. It would also have been easy for Paul to show that the twelve sons of Jacob had different mothers, and four of them were the children of slaves, yet all of them belonged to Israel, and none of them was hurt by his mother’s slavery.… Here Paul wanted to insist that it was not the entire race of Abraham which received the blessing. Rather, only one of his sons was blessed, and the others were rejected.

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Romans 9:10

Paul reinforces here what he said earlier about Sarah and Isaac, in case someone might think that the election depended on the mother. For although Rebecca had twins, only one of them was chosen.

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Romans 9:13

Thus God chose Isaac and rejected Ishmael and the children of Keturah. So also he chose Jacob over Esau, even though both were formed together in the womb. Why be surprised then, if God does the same thing nowadays, by accepting those of you who believe and rejecting those who have not seen the light?

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Romans 9:20

If you did not have your own independence, and if you did not choose what you do by your own free will, you would have to be quiet in the way that inanimate objects are and simply acquiesce in what is given to you. But as it is you have reason, and you can both describe and do the things which are shown to you. Instead you do not like what has happened and are trying to investigate the causes of the divine plan.

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Romans 9:21

Those who are called vessels for menial use have chosen this path for themselves.… This is clear from what Paul says to Timothy: “If anyone purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work.”

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