Big Healing Book - Romans 8:11 Refers to the Resurrection, Not This Life

Objection: Romans 8:11 Refers to the Resurrection, Not This Life

No, it doesn’t. Read the verse in context. Paul is talking about this current life, not about the future resurrection of the saints.

Romans 8:10-13:
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Here Paul tells us that the Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies and empower us to mortify the deeds of the body. Notice that all of these verses deal with this present life, not heaven. There will be no need to mortify the deeds of the body in heaven because your new spiritually alive body will never lead you astray!

Think of the power that raised Jesus’ dead body and completely healed Him. Paul is telling us that the same Spirit who did that will also work in your living, but mortal, body today. The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is at work in you!

Paul could not have been talking about the resurrection, because you will not have a mortal (subject to death) body then – you will have an immortal (not subject to death) body. The Greek word used for mortal is only translated mortal or mortality, never dead. The word means subject to death, not already dead. The only time when you will have a body that is subject to death is in this life! Therefore, Paul must be talking about this life.

The same Greek word is used in the following verses: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal should have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” – 1 Corinthians 15:53-54. Substituting dead in this verse does not work. Paul was talking about the living being changed in the twinkling of an eye as well as the dead being raised in the two verses before this passage (51 and 52): “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The emphasis is on us – “this mortal” – being changed, not dead saints being raised.

In case you’re not convinced yet, here are the other three places in the New Testament where the same Greek word for mortal found in Romans 8:11 is found:

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” – Romans 6:12.

“For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” – 2 Corinthians 4:11.

“For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality [in Greek, literally, "the mortal"] might be swallowed up of life.” – 2 Corinthians 5:4.

Paul could not have told you to keep sin from reigning in your dead body. He was not saying that the life of Jesus was manifest in his dead flesh. If Paul were dead at the time, his dead flesh could not be groaning to be swallowed up of life. Of course, if Paul were dead, he could not have written any of these verses! The word clearly means mortal, not dead. Therefore, it means mortal, not dead, in Romans 8:11. Of course, you can figure that out if you just read it in English. It says mortal, not dead.

Thus, Romans 8:11 is not a resurrection promise, but a glorious promise for this present age. The Spirit who gave life to Christ’s dead body will also give life to your mortal body in this life. Since the same Spirit will change your entire body in the twinkling of an eye, surely he can change the sick part of your body just as easily right now!

In closing, some of the confusion about this verse arises because some preachers (not including this writer) like to quote this verse at funerals to try to point people to the resurrection of the saints. However, this is a completely non-funeralistic verse in its original context of having the Spirit’s life working in your mortal, but not yet dead, body.

For an even more complete discussion of Romans 8:11, see What Romans 8:11 Really Means.