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Jumpstarter 8 of 10

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Romans Commentary Chapters 1-8  /  Romans 8:1-5 Those in Christ No Longer Walk After the Flesh  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 8
The lesson emphasizes Christ’s incarnation as fully human “in the likeness of sinful flesh” yet “free from sin,” even “born in the kind of body that Adam had before sin”; how does that portrayal of Jesus’ humanity affect what you believe God expects from human obedience empowered by the Spirit?
Another way to ask: If Jesus was fully human like us but without sin, how does that shape what you think God expects from human obedience through the Spirit? Does it raise or change your view of what’s possible?

Direct Answer Based on this lesson, Jesus’ full humanity—yet sinlessness—supports the idea that true human obedience is possible when empowered by God, not merely an unreachable ideal. It strengthens the expectation that Christians can genuinely “walk after the Spirit” rather than excuse ongoing fleshly living as unavoidable.

Support from Transcript:

  • The incarnation is called “foundational”: Jesus emphasized being “fully human” by calling Himself “the Son of Man.”
  • Jesus’ body was “in every way like ours,” yet “free from any mortality or contamination from Adam’s sin.”
  • Ambrosiaster: Christ “was born in the kind of body that Adam had before sin.”
  • Tertullian: His body “bore a resemblance to sinful flesh, although it was itself free from sin.”
  • Ambrose: “He had our flesh, but he did not have the failings of this flesh,” having a “stainless body.”
  • The lesson ties Christ’s work to our living: through His death and new birth, Christ gives power so “the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Discussion Follow-ups Does Jesus’ real humanity make obedience feel more possible—or more challenging—because excuses shrink? How does this connect to the lesson’s insistence that post-baptism sins come from “spiritual laxity” rather than lack of power?

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