Romans 14:7-9

 

 

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14:7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
Greek: oudeis gar hemon heauto ze (3SPAI) kai oudeis heauto apothneskei (3SPAI)
Amplified
: None of us lives to himself [but to the Lord], and none of us dies to himself [but to the Lord, for]
NLT: For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die.
Phillips: The truth is that we neither live nor die as self-contained units.
Wuest: For no one lives with reference to himself, and no one with reference to himself dies.
ROMANS ROAD
to RIGHTEOUSNESS
Romans
1
:18-3:20
Romans
3:21-5:21
Romans
6:1-8:39
Romans
9:1-11:36
Romans
12:1-16:27
SIN SALVATION SANCTIFICATION SOVEREIGNTY SERVICE
NEED
FOR
SALVATION
WAY
OF
SALVATION
LIFE
OF
SALVATION
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION
SERVICE
OF
SALVATION
God's Holiness
In
Condemning
Sin
God's Grace
In
Justifying
Sinners
God's Power
In
Sanctifying
Believers
God's Sovereignty
In
Saving
Jew and Gentile
Gods Glory
The
Object of
Service
Deadliness
of Sin
Design
of Grace
Demonstration of Salvation
Power Given Promises Fulfilled Paths Pursued
Righteousness
Needed
Righteousness
Credited
Righteousness
Demonstrated
Righteousness
Restored to Israel
Righteousness
Applied
God's Righteousness
IN LAW
God's Righteousness
IMPUTED
God's Righteousness
OBEYED
God's Righteousness
IN ELECTION
God's Righteousness
DISPLAYED
Slaves to Sin Slaves to God Slaves Serving God
Doctrine Duty
Life by Faith Service by Faith

Modified from Irving L. Jensen's excellent work "Jensen's Survey of the NT"

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)

 

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.

 

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

 

14:8 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.
Greek: ean te gar zomen (1PPAI) to kuriozomen (1PPAI) ean te apothneskomen (1PPAS) , to kurio apothneskomen (1PPAI). ean te oun zomen (1PPAI) ean te apothneskomen (1PPAS), tou kuriou esmen (1PPAI)
Amplified
: If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.
NLT: 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.
Phillips: 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.
Wuest: 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;

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.

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 14:7-9 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; 1 Thessalonians 5:10) (1 Corinthians 3:22,23; 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 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.

 
14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Greek: eis touto gar Christos apethanen (3SAAI) kai ezesen (3SAAI) hina kai nekron kai zonton (PAPMPG) kurieuse
Amplified:  For Christ died and lived again for this very purpose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
NLT: Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he might be Lord of those who are alive and of those who have died.
Phillips: Christ lived and died that he might be the Lord in both life and death.
Wuest: for to this end Christ both died and lived, in order that He might exercise lordship over both dead ones and living ones.

FOR TO THIS END CHRIST DIED AND LIVED AGAIN: eis touto gar Christos apethanen (3SAAI) kai ezesen (3SAAI): (Isaiah 53:10-12; Luke 24:26; 2 Corinthians 5:14; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 1:21; Revelation 1:18)

 

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

 

THAT HE MIGHT BE LORD BOTH OF THE DEAD AND OF THE LIVING: hina kai nekron kai zonton (PAPMPG) kurieuse:  (Matthew 28:18; John 5:22,23,27-29; Acts 10:36,42; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5)

 

He might be Lord...

 

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 1:19-23)

 

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, 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

 

We are not our own but Christ’s (1Co 6:19). 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 verses 7, 8 and 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. (see Ro 14:10) (Romans 14)
 

 

 

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Last updated: 07/20/08.

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