Chapter Seven is divided into three section showing three basic principles of chapters 3-6.
1. Rom. 3:20 / cf. 7:1-6 / by union with Christ good deeds will be produced by the believer
2. Rom. 5:20 / cf. 7:7-13 / The law is not sinful, but holy, just and good
3. Rom. 6:14 / cf. 7:14-25 / The believer will have victory over sin
THEME: The believer is no longer under the law of God because he has joined to Jesus Christ by His resurrection. To help the believer to cast himself into the depths of grace.
7:1-6 Serving in Newness of Spirit
7:1 "Know ye not..."/ agnoeite / not to understand, sin through ignorance. There is no reason for a believer to be spiritually ignorant. Paul says acknowledge what I say or be ignorant.
"For I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion"/ To those understand completely or recognize the law, the law has lordship (rule, force) over them.
7:2 "for the woman"/ church or Christian
"husband"/ Jesus /
"bound"/ obligated, tied
7:4 Ties the doctrinal teaching to the illustration. The children of Israel were married to the law of Moses until Jesus died and rose again. Then those who believed became a widow to the law, and the bride of Christ. This obligated them to be faithful to the Bridegroom, forsaking all others, so that spiritual adultery would not be committed.
Chapter 2 showed that the Mosaic law did not enable Israel to produce righteousness acceptable to God
Chapter 3 said the same about the Gentiles
Chapter 4 indicated that the law had no connection with the promises of Abraham
Chapter 5 - Two heads: Christ and Adam
Chapter 6 - Two masters: sin and Christ
Chapter 7 - Two husbands: Law and Jesus
7:5 "For when we were in the flesh, the motions sins"/ passive emotion, afflictions, desires
"Did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death"/ sin and passions are aroused by the law, bringing fruit unto death. The law demands holiness! The law of God had to be abolished in order for the grace to do the job that the law could not do.
7:6 "delivered"/ kathrghqhmen / released, set free (legal term). Cleared, never to face trial again. We have been discharged from death and the law by the death of Christ. No double jeopardy. "But now" our lives are carried on in "newness" of spirit, not in the oldness of the letter. We have a covenant of grace. cf. Rom. 6:22; 8:1-6
7:7 "knowledge of sin" shown to Paul. He begins to show the character and reach of the law, along with the spiritual effect of the law on him.
7:8 "sin taking occasion"/ or the point of which a military attack is launched. Sin is the base camp for the real attack, takes opportunity to win the battle for your spirituality. The sin that dwelt in Paul had no means of making itself known to him except by the law.
7:9 No justification by the law. He thought that he was alive, living without the law, apart from the law, but the law had not fully worked in his life. He finally saw the truth - the law took hold of him with power, conviction and under-standing. The law showed him his sin and made it obvious that he needed a personal relationship with God. His state of condemnation was revealed by the law.
7:10 cf. Gal. 3:21-27
7:12 The law is holy - it brought them to the point of salvation. It is the expression of God’s holy will.
7:13 Did that which was good become the cause of death for me? No, rather it was sin that was causing my death.
7:14-25 When we are born again new desires are implanted along with the divine nature. But within ourselves is still the old nature. This nature (the flesh) is contrary to the will of God. It impairs our efforts to please God. Paul was highly moral by man’s standards, but not God standards (Phil. 3:6). He is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and is more conscious of his inadequacies. So he wants the holiness and righteousness of God. But evil hinders, so he cries out in 7:24
7:14-15 The more control we yield to God, the more the spiritual dominates our lives