FOR NOT ONE OF US LIVES FOR HIMSELF: oudeis gar hemon heauto ze (3SPAI):

"The truth is that we neither live nor die as self-contained units. " (Phillips)

For not one of us lives for himself - James Denney explains that...

The truth which has been affirmed in regard to the Christian’s use of food, and observance or non-observance of days, is here based on a larger truth of which it is a part. His whole life belongs not to himself, but to his Lord. “No one of us liveth to himself,” does not mean, “every man’s conduct affects others for better or worse, whether he will or not”; it means, “no Christian is his own end in life; what is always present to his mind, as the rule of his conduct, is the will and the interest of his Lord”. The same holds of his dying. He does not choose either the time or the mode of it, like a Roman Stoic, to please himself. He dies when the Lord will, as the Lord will, and even by his death glorifies God. (Romans 14 Commentary - Expositors Greek Testament)

Henry Alford...

This verse illustrates the kurios (Ed: Lordship of Christ) of the former, and at the same time sets in a still plainer light than before, that both parties, the eater and the abstainer, are servants of another, even Christ. (Romans 14 Commentary)

In all of Scripture, there is no greater call for holy living and for submission to the sovereign and unconditional lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul's point is that whether one is a strong or or weak, a sincere believer feels free or not free to do certain things out of the same motive: to please his Lord. Neither one is more or less spiritual or faithful because of his convictions about practices such as those discussed above. Being "strong" in this sense is not synonymous with being spiritual, and being "weak" is not synonymous with being fleshly. The problem is that some believers of both persuasions thought themselves to be more spiritual and the others more fleshly. Paul’s whole purpose in these verses, and in the larger context of (Ro 14:1–15:13), was to disabuse believers of those false, divisive, and destructive notions.

Spurgeon

No true Christian lives to himself, and therefore as he lives to God we have no right to judge his course of action.

I think the first instinct of one who has been himself called by grace is to go and call others. When Christ appears to Mary, Mary runs to the disciples to tell them that the Lord has spoken to her. Samuel is chosen that he may carry the message to Eli. And let each believer feel that he is favored by God that he may take a blessing to others, "for none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself."

AND NOT ONE OF US DIES FOR HIMSELF: kai oudeis heauto apothneskei (3SPAI): (Ro 14:9; 2Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 2:19,20; Philippians 1:20, 21, 22, 23, 24; 1Thessalonians 5:10; Titus 2:14; 1Peter 4:2)

Paul asks the Corinthian saints...

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)

J Vernon McGee comments that...

"not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself" is generally quoted as a proof text that our lives affect others [Ed: in the sense of John Donne's "No man is an island."]. However, that thought is not in this passage. The truth is that we as Christians cannot live our lives apart from Christ. Whether you live, you will have to live to Him; whether you die, you will have to die to Him. Our Christian conduct is not gauged by the foods spread out on the table, but by the fact that our lives are spread out before Him. That is the important thing. One day we are going to have to give an account of the things we have done in this life." (Thru the Bible Commentary) 

Paul is saying that all believers, strong and weak, live out their lives accountable to God.

C H Spurgeon wrote...

I think the first instinct of one who has been himself called by grace is to go and call others. When Christ appears to Mary, Mary runs to the disciples to tell them that the Lord has spoken to her. Samuel is chosen that he may carry the message to Eli. And let each believer feel that he is favored by God that he may take a blessing to others, "for none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself."

Wayne Barber

Well, in Ro 14:7 Paul says,

"For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself."

If you are a believer, sincere in your walk, that is who he is talking about. You don’t live for yourself, and you don’t die for yourself because you are not your own.

Ro 14:8 continues,

"For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s."

There is your principle. There is no greater statement of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every single believer’s life. If I am eating, then I ought to eat for Him. If I am drinking, whatever I am doing, it is to Him. If I mess up and do it wrong, He is the Lord and He is the judge and He will deal with me about it. So every man is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the stronger and the weaker.

1Corinthians 6:20 he says,

"For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God with your body."

Sometimes we don’t do that, do we? Therefore we have to be chastened and disciplined, and God will do that. But our motive is to live unto Him.

Ephesians 1:7 (note) says,

"In Him we have redemption through His blood."

FOR IF WE LIVE WE LIVE FOR THE LORD: ean te gar zomen (1PPAI) to kuriozomen (1PPAI):

"At every turn life links us to God, and when we die we come face to face with him. In life or death we are in the hands of God." (Phillips)

"For, whether we are living, with reference to the Lord we are living. Whether we are dying, with reference to the Lord we are dying. Therefore, whether we are living or whether we are dying, we belong to the Lord;" (Wuest)

What we do for other believers, we do not only for their sakes but for our Lord’s sake, because, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Christ is our mutual Lord, our mutual sovereign; and therefore everything we do, even in our dying, should be to please and to glorify our sovereign Savior and Lord. He is our Owner; we are His slaves, His possessions. We live (and die) to serve Him, not to please ourselves. Since each believer belongs to Christ, it is out of place for strong to despise the weak or the weak to judge the strong concerning non-essential issues or matters not central to our Christian faith.

Henry Alford...

The inference,—that we are, under all circumstances, living or dying (and a fortiori eating or abstaining, observing days or not observing them), Christ’s: His property. (Romans 14 Commentary)

Spurgeon

The very design of our Lord's work is to make us live unto him and not as the servants of our fellow men; we are therefore very wrong when we attempt to make our brethren the servants of our opinions and ideas. Let us leave them to serve the Lord as their consciences teach them.

Spurgeon's devotional from Morning and Evening (June 10 AM)...

If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, he might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep his children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are his children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from his lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is—they are here that they may “live unto the Lord,” and may bring others to know his love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the “salt of the earth,” to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for him, and as “workers together with him.” Let us see that our life answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to “the praise of the glory of his grace.” Meanwhile we long to be with him, and daily sing—

My heart is with him on his throne,
And ill can brook delay;
Each moment listening for the voice,
‘Rise up, and come away.’

Stedman notes that Paul is

not talking about funerals, and life and death in that sense. He is talking about those who feel free to enjoy liberty to the fullest. They are living, while others, because of deep convictions of their own, limit themselves, and to that degree they are dying, because death is limitation....The important thing is that we belong to the Lord. He understands." That, therefore, is what we ought to remember in our relationships with one another. We belong to the Lord. We are brothers and sisters. We are not servants of each other. We are servants of the Lord and he has the right to change us.

THEREFORE WHETHER WE LIVE OR DIE WE ARE THE LORD'S: ean te oun zomen (1PPAI) ean te apothneskomen (1PPAS), tou kuriou esmen (1PPAI): [Titus 2:14 Ro 14:7, 8, 9 1Co 6:19, 20 2Co 5:15 2Pe2:1 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6;5:10 Ex 19:5 Dt 7:6; 14:2 Isa 43:21 Mal 3:17] (John 21:19; Acts 13:36; 20:24; 21:13; Philippians 2:17,30; 1Th 5:10) (1Corinthians 3:22,23; 15:23; 1Th 4:14, 15, 16, 17, 18; Revelation 14:13)

We are His possession now. While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord. The sentiment is, "We are entirely his, having no authority over our life or death." No part of our life or death, not even our seemingly insignificant opinions about matters of indifference, is outside the boundaries of our responsibility to our Lord.

F B Meyer (Our Daily Walk) Devotional

LOVE AND LIBERTY

"None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live, therefore, or die, we are in the Lord's."--Rom. 14:7-8.


THE KEY to this wonderful chapter, so full of sound judgment and sanctified common sense, is the reiterated reference which the Apostle makes to the Lord, which occurs some ten times in fourteen verses. The fact of Jesus being Lord both of the living and of those who have died, and are living on the other side of death, is the solution of the difficulty as to what the Christian should do or leave undone. Let each of us stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, or at least before the reflection of that tribunal which is mirrored in the tranquil expanse of conscience, and we shall have an unerring guide for conduct.

The question agitated in Rome was as to the observance of the seventh or first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath; and, what principle should direct the use of food--that of Leviticus, or of common use. The Apostle insists that these are not questions which affect either our personal salvation or our acceptance with God. In his opinion they are matters for each individual Christian to settle and decide for himself. There are certain factions clear as light, or black as night, about which there can be no controversy; but there are other questions for the solution of which each must apply one or other of these general principles for guidance through the maze.

What would Jesus Christ, my Lord and Master, wish me to do? I am His servant, and He will let me know His will by the teaching of His Spirit in my heart. Whether I act or forbear, it must be done unto Him; and in my liberty or abstinence I must give Him thanks.

What is best for others? I have an influence over some; perhaps more look to me for guidance than I know. I must be on my guard not to put a stumbling block in another's way. Though certain things are innocent to me, yet, if they will destroy, directly or indirectly, one for whom Christ died, it will be better for me to abstain from them.

FOR TO THIS END CHRIST DIED AND LIVED AGAIN THAT HE MIGHT BE LORD BOTH OF THE DEAD AND OF THE LIVING: eis touto gar Christos apethanen (3SAAI) kai ezesen (3SAAI) hina kai nekron kai zonton (PAPMPG) kurieuse: (Isaiah 53:10, 11, 12; Luke 24:26; 2Corinthians 5:14; Hebrews 12:2; 1Peter 1:21; Revelation 1:18) (Matthew 28:18; John 5:22,23,27, 28, 29; Acts 10:36,42; 2Timothy 4:1; 1Peter 4:5)

Died and lived again - Clearly His Crucifixion and the resurrection.

Henry Alford...

And this lordship over all was the great end of the Death and Resurrection of Christ. By that Death and Resurrection, the crowning events of his work of Redemption, He was manifested as the righteous Head over the race of man, which now, and in consequence man’s world also, belongs by right to Him alone. (Romans 14 Commentary)

Christ’s death and resurrection are given as grounds for Him to exercise lordship over both the dead and the living:

He might be Lord - James Denney explains that it is...

through Christ’s resurrection that His lordship over the realm of death is established, so that not even in that dark world do those who are His cease to stand in their old relation to Him. (Romans 14 Commentary - Expositors Greek Testament)

Paul explains in Ephesians that God manifested

the working of the strength of His might (This is the same mighty power) 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:19, 20, 21, 22, 23-note)

Writing to the Philippian church Paul explained that...

God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (the dead and the living!), 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Php 2:9, 10, 11-note)

Comment: Dear reader, I cannot imagine you would be interested in reading these notes if you had not yet bowed your knee to the Lord of all the universe, but on the outside chance that there is one reading who has yet to confess Jesus as Lord and believe in their heart that they might be saved, may today be the day of the eternal salvation of your eternal soul (Ro 10:9, 10-note, Acts 16:31, 4:12 2Co 6:2). Bow today, by grace through faith (Ep 2:8, 9-note), but if you do not, be assured you will one day be forced to bow but then it is too late for salvation (cp He 9:27, 28-note)

We are not our own but Christ’s (1Co 6:19-note). This right of possession, and the consequent duty of devotion and obedience, are not founded on creation but on redemption. We are Christ’s because he has bought us with a price.

In all of Scripture, there is no greater call
for holy living and for submission
to the sovereign and unconditional
lordship of Jesus Christ.

To deny the lordship of Jesus Christ in the life of any believer is to subvert the full work, power, and purpose of His crucifixion and resurrection. Christ's Lordship is the foundational truth for the unity of the Church amidst diversity of opinion.
 
Neither the strong nor the weak lives for himself or dies for himself, and for the same reason—both of them live for the Lord and both of them die for the Lord. What we do for other believers, we do not only for their sakes but for our Lord’s sake, because, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Christ is our mutual Lord, our mutual sovereign; and therefore everything we do, even in our dying, should be to please and to glorify our sovereign Savior and Lord.      

Newell comments that...

The argument of Ro 14:7, 8, 9 is that each one of us is living or dying absolutely unto the Lord, - whose we are. We are not in any sense one another's lords, but belong to Christ alone, Who died and lived that He might rule over us all, and not we be lords of each other! or of the faith of others.' Therefore comes the searching question. (Ro 14:10-note) (Romans 14)

Wayne Barber

Ro 14:9 says,

For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

I want to encourage you that when you finish your life someday, you can look at others and look at God and say, "I have lived my life, not perfect, but I have dealt with sin. I have dealt with mistakes as best I know how, but I have lived my life so as my convictions have never been compromised. Fallen, failed, yes, but never compromised. But I have also lived my life so that because of my life my brother’s convictions were never compromised or defeated." Now that is the way we are supposed to live.

The Apostle Paul said something in Acts 23:1 that caught my attention when he spoke before the council. It says,

And Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, ‘Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.'