For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
For. This is scarcely to be taken as a mere particle of transition here, like 'But' or 'Now;' but neither is it intended to assign a reason for the statement of Romans 8:5. The mind of the apostle is running upon "the law of sin and death;" which occupied the closing portion of Romans 7:1-25, and of which mention is again made now in Romans 8:5; and intending to go a little deeper into it, he starts that subject afresh with this connecting particle.
To be carnally minded, х to (G3588) froneema (G5427) tees (G3588) sarkos (G4561)] - 'the mind,' or (as margin), 'the minding of the flesh;' that is, the pursuit of fleshly ends,
Is death - not only ends in death (as Alford) but even now "is" death; that is, it carries death in its bosom, so that all such are "dead while they live" (1 Timothy 5:6; Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:5) - as the best critics agree.
But to be spiritually minded - `the mind,' or (margin), 'the minding of the spirit;' that is, the pursuit of spiritual objects,
Is life and peace - not "life" only, in contrast with the "death" that is in the other pursuit, but "peace" also: it is the very element of the soul's deepest repose and true bliss.