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Romans 8:3
ESV For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
NIV For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,
NASB For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
CSB What the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering,
NLT The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
KJV For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
NKJV For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

What does Romans 8:3 mean?

This verse continues to explain how it is possible that there is no condemnation from God for those who are in Christ Jesus by faith. This was stated in emphatic terms in verse 1, in a statement flowing directly from Paul's reference to Christ at the end of chapter 7.

Paul has built a clear case that the law of Moses cannot save those who live under it. Instead, the law simply shows that we cannot keep the law (Romans 7:7–12). We cannot escape our sinfulness and make ourselves acceptable to God. He had to step in to save us, and He did. He did what the law—truly, our inability to keep the law—could not do.

What did God do? He sent Jesus, His Son, to earth in a human body just like all the other human bodies. Except Jesus' body was not full of sin (Hebrews 4:15). He never sinned. God sent Jesus in a body so that He could condemn all sin through the punishment of that one sinless body.

As the following verse will show, God did this because it was necessary to fulfill the law's requirement of death for sin and life for righteousness.
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