Romans 6:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"But the life He lives," he continues, "He lives to God." That is, He lives without interruption, so that death no longer has dominion over Him.

If Christ died the first death, not being liable to death, but for the sin of others, then all the more He will not die now, having destroyed sin.

Paul expressed the same thing in the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying: "Once, at the end of the ages, He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but for salvation to those who eagerly await Him" (Heb 9:26-28).

The Apostle shows both the power of life according to God and the might of sin. He shows the power of life according to God by saying that Christ will die no more. He shows the might of sin by saying that it moved the Sinless One to die. How, then, will it not destroy those who are truly guilty?

To allow this reign would mean returning again to the realm of corruption and death. Yet death no longer has dominion over Christ's members. Therefore it must not have dominion over the members of Christians.

Thus the Apostle brings everything to this point. Justifying faith in Jesus Christ must not dispose one to self-will and sinful carelessness. On the contrary, it must dispose one to a holy and Christ-loving life. For as Christ "lives to God," that is, to the glory of His Father, so Christians must "present themselves to God as being alive from the dead, and their members to God as instruments of righteousness" (Rom 6:13).

According to blessed Theophylact, "we shall be sharers of the Resurrection, since we have shown the resurrection that consists in good works."

Co-resurrection with Christ is, of course, only an encouragement to hope. Yet it is founded on this: Christ, having died and risen, will die no more. He will live eternally with the Father, sharing His glory and ordering the gracious Kingdom with full authority in heaven and on earth.

We also have died to sin, and therefore there is no second baptism for us. Consequently, only one thing remains: to hold fast to sinlessness and dedicate our life to God. Then we shall undoubtedly rise together with Christ.

For this actually to take place, we must first of all remember two things. First, we are dead to sin. Second, we must live only for God, since we have been grown together with Him, and in Him lies all the hope of our salvation through Jesus Christ.

Chrysostom says: "What does 'to sin' mean? It means that He was not Himself subject to death, but died for our sin.

For this reason He died: to destroy sin, cut its sinews, and take away all its power.

Do you see how greatly the apostle has frightened us? If Christ does not die a second time, then there is no second baptism.

And if there is no second baptism, fear slipping into sin."

"He lives to God," that is, He lives by divine power.

For He always lives in the power of God and the Father; see Theophylact.

Or, "He lives as God, ceaselessly, without interruption" (Oecumenius).

Or, "He lives eternally, since death no longer has dominion over Him"; see Chrysostom.

It may also be understood this way: He lives to God, that is, for His glory, ordering the Kingdom of grace.

The foundation of this Kingdom was laid in His death. After the Resurrection, He received authority in heaven and on earth to order it.

From this comes the conclusion: you too, having been made alive in baptism with a new life, must live to God.

Dedicate to Him all your thoughts, undertakings, and deeds. Do not allow yourself by so much as a hair's breadth to incline toward anything contrary to Him.

But the thought occurs: might it be more fitting to refer these words to us, who are baptized and in baptism die and rise?

We die to sin and rise to life for God and according to God.

The apostle's whole discourse concerns the obligation of the baptized to be dead to sin and to live in renewed life.

He speaks of the Lord's death and Resurrection only to show that through their power our moral and spiritual death is accomplished in baptism.

Through them, our moral and spiritual resurrection to new life is also accomplished.

For clarifying this, what has already been said is sufficient.

The letter of the text gives no direct indication to whom these words should be referred.

Our Slavonic translation preserves this lack of indication in the indefiniteness of the expression, as the Greek text also requires.

Both say: for what died, died to sin, once, once for all. And what lives, lives to God.

In this expression, these words can very well be referred to us, the baptized.

In baptism, one thing in us died, and another came to life. Sin died, or we died to sin.

A life for God and according to God came to life, or we came alive for such a life.

The force of the statement is not in the putting to death and making alive, but in "once."

It lies in this: both were accomplished once for all. Once for all we died to sin, so that afterward we might always live to God.

This points to the decisive hatred of sin and love of righteousness with which the baptized person enters the font.

There it is sealed in him by the grace of God.

The apostle's intention is precisely to prove to believers and the baptized the necessity of always preserving these resolutions in force and of ordering their life according to them.

In presenting this thought, however, we do not insist that it is more fitting than the earlier one. We present it only as possible.