Romans 8:23
Romans 8:2323Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Watchtower commentary takes as describing the groaning of believers awaiting "release from our bodies by ransom" — read as the future resurrection in paradise. The "firstfruits, namely, the spirit" is taken as the down payment of God's spirit on the 144,000 anointed; the great crowd does not have this firstfruits. The earthly hope is the consummation of the present groaning.
Paul's "we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit" includes every believer Paul addresses in Romans 8 — those for whom there is "no condemnation" (8:1), who are "led by the Spirit of God" (8:14), who cry "Abba, Father" (8:15). Restricting "we ourselves" to the 144,000 must restrict every "we" in Romans 8 to the 144,000 — meaning the great crowd is not in v1's no-condemnation, v14's children of God, or v15's adopted family. The Watchtower cannot have the 144,000-only Spirit and the every-believer no-condemnation; v23's "we" forces a choice. The "redemption of our body" is the bodily resurrection — the consummation promises.
Two divergences in this verse. First, the NWT lowercases "spirit" — consensus capitalises (ESV/NASB/NIV). The Watchtower's active-force doctrine is again the driver. Second, the NWT renders apolytrōsin tou sōmatos hēmōn ("redemption of our body" — singular) as "the release from our bodies by ransom" — pluralising "body" and importing the JW-specific ransom vocabulary. The Greek singular sōmatos points to the bodily resurrection promised at Christ's return; the plural "bodies" diffuses the resurrection hope into a generic future deliverance, consistent with the Watchtower's denial of bodily resurrection.