The Douay-Rheims with the Glossa Ordinaria

¹There is now therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh.

²For the law of the spirit of life, in Christ Jesus, hath delivered me from the law of sin and of death.

³For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and of sin, hath condemned sin in the flesh.

v.3

VERS. 3.-- *For what was impossible.* He shows how in Christ the deliverance was made. *Through the flesh.* Through carnality, which was rebelling, and on the hearing of the law was the more incited; thus the law of the letter was made weak through the flesh, and therefore it was impossible for it to deliver from the law of sin and of death. *Sending his own Son.* Not where he was not: who is everywhere, etc., *as far as* because he appeared visible to the world. *Into the likeness,* etc. Not into sinful flesh; because his mother conceived him not by concupiscence but by grace. It was not therefore sinful, because it was neither conceived in the concupiscence of lust, nor had in itself the cause of sin, nor did he sin in it. In punishment therefore it is like to ours, not in the quality of sin. *And of sin.* That is: By the victim of his own flesh which he offered on the altar of the cross, he condemned sin, and reduced it to nothing in his own flesh. *He condemned.* That is, he destroyed the devil, that is, for the sin which he works in the flesh of Christ. Or sin, that is, he condemned the tinder proceeding from the sin of Adam, that is, he weakened it.

⁴That the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.

⁵For they that are according to the flesh mind the things that are of the flesh: but they that are according to the spirit mind the things that are of the spirit.

⁶For the wisdom of the flesh is death: but the wisdom of the spirit is life and peace.

⁷Because the wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God. For it is not subject to the law of God: neither can it be.

⁸And they who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹But you are not in the flesh, but the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

¹⁰And if Christ be in you, the body indeed is dead, because of sin: but the spirit liveth, because of justification.

v.10

VERS. 10.-- *The body indeed.* By the name of the body he signifies the whole man, as Ezekiel conversely by the name of the soul, when he says: *The soul that hath sinned,* etc. And the sense is: If the spirit of Christ is in you, although the body be dead, that is, although the man be dead because of sins, that is, in sins, yet the spirit, that is, the soul which had been ungodly, lives: because it is joined to God, who is life, and this because of justification, that is, the remission of sins, which is from the Holy Spirit. *Dead,* he says, not mortal. For before sin the body was animal, that is, mortal, namely able to die. But which it was not necessary to die: now it is called dead because of sin, that is, because it is necessary to die. *Because of sin* to be shunned, this weakness is kept back, that thereby he may the more fear to sin.

¹¹And if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you; he that raised up Jesus Christ, from the dead shall quicken also your mortal bodies, because of his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

¹²Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh.

¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.

¹⁴For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

¹⁵For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear: but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father).

v.15

VERS. 15.-- *For you have not received,* etc. You ought to be sons, not servants, because you have not received the spirit of bondage: which makes men serve unwilling through fear of punishment. *But you have received the spirit of adoption.* It is the same spirit, but because of diverse works it is differently named: he is called the spirit of wrath to the Egyptians, to whom the water divided by the spirit did harm. The son of Israel is not called [a spirit] of wrath, to whom the divided water was of profit. He is the spirit of fear to those who, convicted by the law of their sins and of their own weakness, did not understand the grace of the spirit. He is the spirit of liberty by his working to those to whom regeneration unto life eternal, and faith which works through love, has been imparted. One spirit therefore, which makes two fears. Which also make two kinds of servants. For there is a servant who is also a son, who fears the Lord and honours the father, whence Malachi: *If I am Lord, where is my fear? If father, where is my honour?*. And there is a servant who fears punishment, but does not love justice. And because mention is made of fears, it is to be known that besides the natural fear, which is in all, there are four fears, namely: the worldly, which is evil and not from God; and the servile, which is good and from God, but is not sufficient; the initial, which is good and sufficient; and the chaste, which is good and perfecting, of which it is here treated: *For it begets us sons of God. In whom we cry.* This again is from the gift of the Spirit, which makes us so to cry *Abba,* in Hebrew, *father* in Latin. *Abba, father.* Because of the mystery, the Apostle set down both. And in his passion Christ said, *Abba, father,* because the Church is of both peoples, and suffering with her he showed in himself that her sons (the martyrs, namely) ought not to despair, if at the time of passion any sadness from human frailty should creep in.

¹⁶For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit that we are the sons of God.

¹⁷And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.

¹⁸For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us.

¹⁹For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons of God.

²⁰For the creature was made subject to vanity: not willingly, but by reason of him that made it subject, in hope.

²¹Because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.

²²For we know that every creature groaneth and travaileth in pain, even till now.

²³And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit: even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body.

²⁴For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he hope for?

²⁵But if we hope for that which we see not, we wait for it with patience.

²⁶Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity. For, we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings,

²⁷And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what the Spirit desireth: because he asketh for the saints according to God.

²⁸And we know that to them that love God all things work together unto good: to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.

v.28

VERS. 28.-- *But we know that to them that love,* etc. As if he should say: Not only does the Holy Spirit do this, but he also makes all things turn out unto good for them that love him, whether prosperous or adverse; for such a God comforts by prosperous things, exercises by adverse. Profitable therefore are the evils which the faithful piously endure, either for the amending or the taking away of sins, or for the exercising and proving of justice, or for the showing forth of the misery of this life. For although the death of the flesh came originally from the sin of the first man, yet the good use of it has made most glorious martyrs. And therefore not only it, but all the evils of the world also, had to remain when sins were remitted, that man might have wherewith to contend for the truth, and whence the virtue of the faithful might be exercised. *According to the purpose.* As if he should say: That they are called is from nothing else than from the predestination of God. And thence it is that *all things work together unto good:* not from merit.

²⁹For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son: that he might be the Firstborn amongst many brethren.

³⁰And whom he predestinated, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified.

v.30

VERS. 30.-- *He called.* The outward calling is made through preachers and is common to the good and to the bad. But the inward is of the elect only. Of the outward it is said: *Many are called, but few chosen.* By calling predestination is fulfilled. To call is to help the knowledge concerning faith, or to prick him whom he makes to hear, and this is of the elect only. *He magnified.* This of the foreknown, not of the others, who, although they believe for a time and seem good, yet because they do not abide, are not magnified. *He magnified,* or *he shall magnify:* but this is to come, and yet it is spoken as past: because God is said to have done the things which from eternity he disposed to do; whence Isaias: *Who hath made the things that are to come*. To such all things are unto good, even that they go astray, that thereby they may be the more wary, and not trusting in themselves. Four things are here mentioned: predestination, calling, justification, magnification. One is in God, and three in us. For our predestination is not in us, but hidden with him in his foreknowledge. But the three remaining are in us.

³¹What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us?

³²He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things?

v.32

VERS. 32.-- *He delivered up.* This is said because the Father delivered up the Son; but the author of this cup is also he himself who drinks it. Whence the Apostle: *Christ loved us, and delivered himself up for us*. If therefore the Father delivered up the Son, and the Son himself, what did Judas do? The Father in delivering up the Son did well; the Son in delivering up himself did well; Judas in delivering up his master for avarice did ill. For that which has been bestowed upon us out of the passion of Christ shall not be reckoned to the malice of Judas; he shall have the wage of malice, Christ the praise of grace. *All things.* It is less to give us all things than for our sake to deliver Christ up to death. And so all the higher things, namely God the Trinity, are ours for the seeing and the enjoying. Things equal, namely the angels, to whom we shall be made equal in the time to come, for the living together; but now we are inferior. Things lower also are ours for the ruling. And likewise certain higher things too, as the sublime angels and all the heavenly ministries of God, are ours, not by dominion, but by use; as the things of a lord are the servants', for sustenance, namely, or ornament, or aught else of this kind.

³³Who shall accuse against the elect of God? God is he that justifieth:

³⁴Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus that died: yea that is risen also again, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

³⁵Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword?

³⁶(As it is written: For thy sake, we are put to death all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.)

³⁷But in all these things we overcome, because of him that hath loved us.

³⁸For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might,

³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.