SEV Biblia, Chapter 8:3
Porque lo que era imposible a la ley, por cuanto era dbil por la carne, Dios enviando a su Hijo en semejanza de carne de pecado, y por el pecado, conden al pecado en la carne;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Romans 8:3
Verse 3. For what the law could not do] The law could not pardon; the law could not sanctify; the law could not dispense with its own requisitions; it is the rule of righteousness, and therefore must condemn unrighteousness. This is its unalterable nature. Had there been perfect obedience to its dictates, instead of condemning, it would have applauded and rewarded; but as the flesh, the carnal and rebellious principle, had prevailed, and transgression had taken place, it was rendered weak, inefficient to undo this word of the flesh, and bring the sinner into a state of pardon and acceptance with God. God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh] Did that which the law could not do; i.e. purchased pardon for the sinner, and brought every believer into the favour of God. And this is effected by the incarnation of Christ: He, in whom dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily, took upon him the likeness of sinful flesh, that is, a human body like ours, but not sinful as ours; and for sin, kai peri amartiav, and as a SACRIFICE FOR SIN, (this is the sense of the word in a multitude of places,) condemned sin in the flesh-condemned that to death and destruction which had condemned us to both.
Condemned sin in the flesh] The design and object of the incarnation and sacrifice of Christ was to condemn sin, to have it executed and destroyed; not to tolerate it as some think, or to render it subservient to the purposes of his grace, as others; but to annihilate its power, guilt, and being in the soul of a believer.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 3. For what the law could not do , etc..] This is not to be understood of the law of the mind, in opposition to the law of sin, which indeed is very feeble and impotent; man had a power originally of obeying the divine commands, but through sin he has lost his strength and power; and even a renewed mind cannot perform what it would, which is owing to the flesh, or corrupt nature; it has strong desires after holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God; but these desires cannot be fulfilled by it, and indeed without Christ it can do no good thing: nor is the ceremonial law intended, though this is weak, and there are many things it could not do; it could not expiate and atone for sin; nor remove the guilt of it, nor cleanse from the filth of it: But the moral law is here designed; this, though it can, and does accuse of sin, can convince of it, can curse, condemn, and condemn to death for it; yet it could not condemn sin itself, which is only abolished by Christ; it cannot restrain from sin, nor change a sinful nature, nor sanctify an impure heart; nor free from the guilt of sin, nor comfort a distressed mind under a sense of it, it cannot subject persons, or bring them to before God, or give life, or save from death; the reason is, in that , or because it was weak through the flesh . The weakness of the law is total and universal, it has no strength at all; though not original and natural, but accidental; it is owing to the flesh, or the corrupt nature of man: or rather the weakness is in sinful men, and not in the law; and the sense is this, that human nature is so weakened by sin, that it is incapable of fulfilling the law; the weakness of the law is not from itself, but from man: to this agrees what the Jewish writers say, there is not a word in the law weak, or broken; wherefore when thou considerest and observest it, that thou dost not find it strong, as an hammer that breaks the rocks, awh nym alj yaw , but if weak, it is of thyself.
To which may be added that usual saying of theirs, hrwt hla zw[ ya , there is no strength but the law f140 ; unless the apostle can be thought to oppose this notion of theirs. Wherefore because of the weakness of the law, or of human nature to fulfil it, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh . The person sending is God, who gave the law weakened by the flesh, against whom we have sinned: and who is righteous, pure, and holy: which considerations enhance his grace and goodness, in the mission of Christ. This must be understood of God the Father, who is here manifestly distinguished from the Son; and who is God, but not solely, or to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit; and who sent Christ, though not singly, for the Lord God and his Spirit sent him, ( Isaiah 48:16); though as it is most agreeable for a father to send his son, this is generally ascribed to him; and he being the first person in the Godhead, is the first in order of working, and so in redemption. The person sent is his own Son; not by creation, as angels and men are; nor by adoption, as saints are; nor is he called so, on account of his incarnation, resurrection, or mediatorship, for he was the Son of God antecedent to either of them; but his own proper Son, and not in any metaphorical sense; a Son of the same nature with him, begotten of him, and his Son in that nature in which he is God. The act of sending, does not suppose inequality of nature; for though he that is sent is not greater, yet as great as he that sends; two equals, by agreement, may send each other; a divine person may assume an office, and under that consideration be sent, without supposing inferiority of nature, as in the case of the Holy Spirit; and an inferiority as to office, is allowed in the case of the Son; God sent his Son under the character of a servant, to do work: nor does this act imply change of place; there is indeed a terminus a quo, from whence he was sent, from heaven, from his Father there; and there is a terminus ad quem, to which he was sent into this world; but then this coming of his from heaven to earth, was not by local motion, but by assumption of nature; nor was it out of any disrespect to his Son, but out of love to us, that he sent him; nor was he sent against his will; he showed no reluctance at the proposal to him in the council of peace, but the utmost willingness; nor any at his coming into the world: nor at the work itself, which he entered upon, and went through with the greatest eagerness and cheerfulness: nor does it suppose him whilst sent, and here on earth, to be in a state of absence and separation from his Father; he was still in his bosom, yet in heaven, and his Father always with him: but it supposes that he existed before he was sent; that he was a person, and distinct from the Father, or he could not be sent by him; that he had authority from him, considered in his office capacity: in a word, this sending of the Son, designs the manifestation of him in human nature; as appears from the form and manner in which he was sent, in the likeness of sinful flesh; which expresses the reality of his incarnation, of his having a true real human nature; for flesh is not to be taken strictly for a part of the body, nor for the whole body only, but for the whole human nature, soul and body; which though it looked like a sinful nature, yet was not sinful: the likeness of it denotes the outward appearance of Christ in it; who was born of a sinful woman; was subject to the infirmities of human nature, which though not sinful, are the effects of sin; was reckoned among transgressors, was traduced as one himself by men, and treated as such by the justice of God; he having all the sins of his people on him, for which he was answerable: and hence God, for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; not the law, which was weak through the flesh; nor sinners, who broke the law; but sin itself, the transgression of the law, all kind of sin, and all that is in it the act of condemning it, does not design God's disapproving of it, and judging it to be evil; this he could not but do, as being contrary to his nature, an act of hostility against him, a breach of his law, and what brings ruin upon his creatures; and this he would have done, if Christ had never suffered in the flesh; and he has taken other methods, both among his own people and the world, to show his dislike of sin: nor does this act intend the destruction of the power and dominion of sin, in regeneration; this is the work of the Spirit, and is done in our flesh, and not in the flesh of Christ; but it is to be understood of the condemnation and punishment of sin, in the person of Christ: sin was laid on him by the Father, and he voluntarily took it upon himself; justice finding it there, charges him with it, demands satisfaction, and condemns him for it; and hereby sin was expiated, the pardon of it procured, and it was, entirely done away: now this is said to be done for sin; some join the phrase with the former part of the text, either with the word sending, and take the sense to be, that God sent his Son for, or on the account of sin, to take it away, and save his people from it; or with sinful flesh, which was taken from a sinful person; but it stands best as it does in our version, and may be rendered of sin; for God condemned sin of sin in Christ, that is, by the vengeance he took of it, in the strictness of his justice, through the sufferings of his Son, he showed sin to be exceeding sinful indeed; or rather by sin; that is, by an offering for sin, so the word is used in ( Hebrews 10:6,8); and answers to hajj , in ( Psalm 40:6), by being made which, sin was condemned in the flesh of Christ, who was put to death in the flesh, for the sins of his people, and bore all the punishment due unto them: from hence we learn the evil of sin, the strictness of justice, and the grace of the Redeemer.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-9 - Believers may be chastened of the Lord, but will not be condemned with the world. By their union with Christ through faith, they are thu secured. What is the principle of their walk; the flesh or the Spirit the old or the new nature, corruption or grace? For which of these d we make provision, by which are we governed? The unrenewed will i unable to keep any commandment fully. And the law, besides outwar duties, requires inward obedience. God showed abhorrence of sin by the sufferings of his Son in the flesh, that the believer's person might be pardoned and justified. Thus satisfaction was made to Divine justice and the way of salvation opened for the sinner. By the Spirit the la of love is written upon the heart, and though the righteousness of the law is not fulfilled by us, yet, blessed be God, it is fulfilled in us there is that in all true believers, which answers the intention of the law. The favour of God, the welfare of the soul, the concerns of eternity, are the things of the Spirit, which those that are after the Spirit do mind. Which way do our thoughts move with most pleasure Which way go our plans and contrivances? Are we most wise for the world, or for our souls? Those that live in pleasure are dead, 1Ti 5:6 A sanctified soul is a living soul; and that life is peace. The carna mind is not only an enemy to God, but enmity itself. The carnal ma may, by the power of Divine grace, be made subject to the law of God but the carnal mind never can; that must be broken and driven out. We may know our real state and character by inquiring whether we have the Spirit of God and Christ, or not, ver. 9. Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Having the Spirit of Christ, means having a turn of min in some degree like the mind that was in Christ Jesus, and is to be shown by a life and conversation suitable to his precepts and example.
Greek Textus Receptus
το 3588 T-NSN γαρ 1063 CONJ αδυνατον 102 A-NSN του 3588 T-GSM νομου 3551 N-GSM εν 1722 PREP ω 3739 R-DSN ησθενει 770 5707 V-IAI-3S δια 1223 PREP της 3588 T-GSF σαρκος 4561 N-GSF ο 3588 T-NSM θεος 2316 N-NSM τον 3588 T-ASM εαυτου 1438 F-3GSM υιον 5207 N-ASM πεμψας 3992 5660 V-AAP-NSM εν 1722 PREP ομοιωματι 3667 N-DSN σαρκος 4561 N-GSF αμαρτιας 266 N-GSF και 2532 CONJ περι 4012 PREP αμαρτιας 266 N-GSF κατεκρινεν 2632 5656 V-AAI-3S την 3588 T-ASF αμαρτιαν 266 N-ASF εν 1722 PREP τη 3588 T-DSF σαρκι 4561 N-DSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
3. What the law could not do (to adunaton tou nomou). Lit., the impossible (thing) of the law. An absolute nominative in apposition with the divine act - condemned sin. God condemned sin which condemnation was an impossible thing on the part of the law. The words stand first in the Greek order for emphasis.In the likeness of sinful flesh. Lit., of the flesh of sin. The choice of words is especially noteworthy. Paul does not say simply, "He came in flesh" (1 John iv. 2; 1 Tim. iii. 16), for this would not have expressed the bond between Christ's manhood and sin. Not in the flesh of sin, which would have represented Him as partaking of sin. Not in the likeness of flesh, since He was really and entirely human; but, in the likeness of the flesh of sin: really human, conformed in appearance to the flesh whose characteristic is sin, yet sinless. "Christ appeared in a body which was like that of other men in so far as it consisted of flesh, and was unlike in so far as the flesh was not flesh of sin" (Dickson). 42 For sin (peri amartiav). The preposition expresses the whole relation of the mission of Christ to sin. The special relation is stated in condemned. For sin - to atone, to destroy, to save and sanctify its victims.
Condemned. Deposed from its dominion, a thing impossible to the law, which could pronounce judgment and inflict penalty, but not dethrone. Christ's holy character was a condemnation of unholiness. Construe in the flesh with condemned.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
8:3 {That the law could not do} (to adunaton tou nomou). Literally, "the impossibility of the law" as shown in #7:7-24, either nominative absolute or accusative of general reference. No syntactical connection with the rest of the sentence. {In that} (en hwi). "Wherein." {It was weak} (esqenei). Imperfect active, continued weak as already shown. {In the likeness of sinful flesh} (en homoiwmati sarkos hamartias). For "likeness" see #Php 2:7, a real man, but more than man for God's "own Son." Two genitives "of flesh of Sin" (marked by Sin), that is the flesh of man is, but not the flesh of Jesus. {And for Sin} (kai peri hamartias). Condensed phrase, God sent his Son also concerning Sin (our Sin). {Condemned Sin in the flesh} (katekrine tn hamartian en ti sarki). First aorist active indicative of katakrinw. He condemned the Sin of men and the condemnation took place in the flesh of Jesus. If the article tn had been repeated before en ti sarki Paul would have affirmed Sin in the flesh of Jesus, but he carefully avoided that (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 784).
