Audio commentary on this verse

Note 9 at Rom. 8:4: This verse is saying that through the sacrificial death of Jesus, we can now fulfill the righteousness of the law. There are two ways that we need to understand this.

First, the righteousness of the law is now fulfilled in our new born-again spirit (see note 11 at Rom. 4:8, p. 762). Jesus fulfilled the law (Mt. 5:17) and has given us His righteousness (see note 10 at Rom. 3:26, p. 760). Every believer's spirit is righteous and truly holy.

Second, through the Holy Spirit, we are now empowered to live the holy lives outwardly in our actions that the law demanded but we were unable to do in our own strength. That's what Paul is referring to when he says, "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." It needs to be pointed out that although a Spirit-filled believer will live a holy life, he will never keep every detail of the law. That could not be done before salvation and it cannot be done after salvation.

In Luke 1:6, the same Greek word that was translated "righteousness" in Romans 8:4 was translated "ordinances" in that verse. Luke was speaking of Zacharias and Elisabeth that "they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Notice that they were both righteous and blameless before the Lord, but not sinless (see note 2 at Lk. 1:6, p. 38). So, the righteousness of the law can be fulfilled without keeping every commandment.

The purpose of the law was to make us despair of saving ourselves and point us to a Savior (see note 4 at Rom. 3:19, p. 757). When a person comes to put faith in Jesus as their Savior, then they are fulfilling the purpose of the law. So, this verse is speaking of the believer being empowered to live a holy life, but fulfilling the righteousness of the law is not the same as keeping every detail of the law (see note 12 at Rom. 7:6, p. 786).

Therefore, every Christian has fulfilled the righteousness of the law in his spiritual man through Jesus. But only those Christians who are under the control of the Spirit of God are fulfilling the spirit of the law in their actions.

Note 10 at Rom. 8:4: The word "walk" in this phrase is translated from the Greek word "peripateo" meaning, "to tread all around, i.e. walk at large; figuratively to live, deport oneself, follow." The dictionary defines it as "to conduct oneself or behave in a particular manner; to live." Therefore, this phrase, "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" is speaking of those who do not conduct their lives according to the flesh but follow the leading of the Spirit.

The next verse goes on to further explain this and uses the terminology "mind the things of the flesh" to describe those who "walk after the flesh" and "mind the things of the Spirit" to describe those who "walk after the Spirit." So, "walking after the flesh" is simply having your mind focused on carnal things and "walking after the Spirit" is having your mind stayed on spiritual things (Jn. 6:63).