New Living Translation
Romans 8:15
15So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
- New International Version (NIV)The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Context of Romans 8:15
13For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Read all of Romans 8Romans 8:15 word by word
οὐ γὰρ ἐλάβετε πνεῦμα δουλείας πάλιν εἰς φόβον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐλάβετε πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας ἐν ᾧ κράζομεν· αββα ὁ πατήρ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- ye haveλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
- notοὐou · noG3756
- the spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- of bondageδουλείαdouleia · slaveryG1397
- againπάλινpalin · againG3825
- toεἰςeis · towardG1519
- fearφόβοςphobos · fearG5401
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- of adoptionυἱοθεσίαuihothesia · adoption (as son)G5206
- ·ἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- wherebyὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- we cryκράζωkrazō · to cryG2896
- AbbaἀββάAbba · AbbaG5
- Fatherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
Cross-references for Romans 8:15
- Exodus 20:19And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”
- Numbers 17:12Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined!
- Luke 8:28As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!”
- John 16:8And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
- Acts 2:37Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
- Acts 16:29The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
- 1 Corinthians 2:12And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
- 2 Timothy 1:7For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
- Hebrews 2:15Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
- Hebrews 12:18You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.
- James 2:19You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
- 1 John 4:18Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
- Romans 8:16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
- Isaiah 56:5I will give them—within the walls of my house— a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!
- Jeremiah 3:19“I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land— the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me.
- Galatians 4:5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
Commentaries on Romans 8:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Ye have not received the spirit of bondage - All that were under the law were under bondage to its rites and ceremonies; and as, through the prevalence of that corrupt nature with which every human being is polluted, and to remove which the law gave no assistance, they were often transgressing, consequently they had forfeited their lives, and were continually, through fear of death, subject to bondage, Hebrews 2:15. The believers in Christ Jesus were…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The spirit of bondage - The spirit that binds you; or the spirit of a slave, that produces only fear. The slave is under constant fear and alarm. But the spirit of religion is that of freedom and of confidence; the spirit of children, and not of slaves; compare the note at John 8:32-36. Again to fear - That you should again be afraid, or be subjected to servile fear - This implies that in their former state under the Law, they were in a state of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-17Verses 10-17 If the Spirit be in us, Christ is in us. He dwells in the heart by faith. Grace in the soul is its new nature; the soul is alive to God, and has begun its holy happiness which shall endure for ever. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If any habitually live according to corrupt lustings, they will…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship: According to Greco-Roman customs of adoption, a man could adopt a son and give that child the same legal rights as a natural son. This practice included the highest levels of society, even the imperial family. For example, the Roman ruler Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his heir. Octavian later ruled the Roman Empire under the name Augustus. Paul’s understanding of adoption is also rooted in the Old…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. For, &c.--"For ye received not (at the time of your conversion) the spirit of bondage," that is, "The spirit ye received was not a spirit of bondage." again--gendering. to fear--as under the law which "worketh wrath," that is, "Such was your condition before ye believed, living in legal bondage, haunted with incessant forebodings under a sense of unpardoned sin. But it was not to perpetuate that wretched state that ye received the Spirit." but ye have…Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 8:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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