https://youtu.be/kpHWd-sDjfo
In our verse-by-verse study of Romans last time we completed our expanded translation of Romans chapter 6. This brings us to chapter 7.
The chapter can be grouped into four paragraphs; verses 1-6 describe two marriages, verses 7-14 describe the law as a marriage counselor, verses 7-14 describe the attacks of the first husband, and verses 22-25 describe the inner conflict caused by the attacks.
Rom 7:1; starts by describing the Mosaic Law as a tough marriage counselor who starts by telling you that you have a bad marriage. The law represents God's authority and says so. "Or you don't know?" or "you really don't understand?"
Verse one starts by describing a situation of ignorance. It begins with the disjunctive particle "e" (or) that is used to introduce a rhetorical question. The particle refers back to Rom 6:14; where Paul expresses skepticism about Romans believers understanding of the situation.
Then the present active indicative of "agnoeo" (not know) that means to not understand. The purpose of Romans 7 is to take the believer's ignorance about the inner conflict, remove all of the philosophical and psychological terms, the syndromes, the relationship to environment, and the human viewpoint, and discover the actual source of the inner conflict.
As long as you retain any psychological human viewpoint with regard to the inner conflict after salvation you retain irrational arrogant ideas about your own self-importance.
All of these things must be rejected. "Or don't you know?" The descriptive present tense indicates what is presently happening. Ignorance is now occurring. The active voice: believers who in this case are Jewish and influenced by the law, who are living in Rome, are fulfilling the action of the verb and the Gentile believers are going along with them because they think they know more.
The indicative mood: the interrogative indicative assumes that there is an actual fact that may be stated in answer to the question. The vocative plural describes a condition that exists among believers "adelfoi" (brethren or fellow believers).
Using the idea presented in Rom 6:14; takes us to the Mosaic Law as a marriage counselor. Remember that this verse starts with the disjunctive particle "e" that describes the old sin nature as the first husband under the teaching of the marriage counselor. "Or are you ignorant, brethren."
Chapter 7 relates to the information explained in chapter 6 with a different emphasis. In chapter 6 the situation was explained on the basis of positional truth.
In chapter 7 the situation is described as a conflict in a woman who has two husbands as an analogy that as believers we all have an old sin nature that is described as an ex- husband and a we also have a new husband, the Lord Jesus Christ so we are no longer under the authority of the ex- husband.
The key illustration of Romans 7:2-4; describes a woman who represents the believer who has died to her first husband through divorce. The death is described as divorce because the husband is still alive.
At salvation the believer through the baptism of the Spirit is no longer under the authority of the old sin nature so retroactive positional truth can be described as a divorce.
Identification with Christ in His spiritual death is rejection of the sin nature that is represented by the first husband and identification with Jesus Christ in His physical death and burial is separation and divorce from the old sin nature that is represented as the first husband.
This means that the first husband, who is used to represent the old sin nature, is no longer in the marriage. The wife of the first marriage is an unbeliever and the wife of the second marriage is who now a believer is married to her second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 7:1; "for I communicate to those who know the law" is from the phrase "ginosko yap nomos" Paul is addressing the Jewish Roman believers who think that they know the Mosaic Law but they really do not understand the Mosaic Law very well.
"that the law rules over that man for as much time as he lives" from the Greek "ho nomos kyrieuo ho anthropos epi hosos chronos zao"
Expanded Translation Rom 7; 1; "For are you ignorant, brethren, (for I communicate to those who know the law,) that the (Mosaic) Law rules over mankind for as long a time as he lives."
Rom 7:2;"For the married woman" The explanatory conjunctive particle "gar" (for or because), introduces an analogy that is the key to the interpretation of Romans chapters 7 and 8.
With the predicate nominative singular from the noun "hypandros" subject to a man, under the authority of a man because she is married) with the definite article "ho" (the) "ho hypandros" that makes it monadic.
Plus the nominative singular subject, "gyne" (woman) referring to a specific class of woman, the married woman or wife who is under the authority of her husband.
Marriage is a system of authority. It is the second law of divine establishment. In marriage the man is the ruler over the woman. If a woman is not willing to submit to the authority of the man she should not marry him.
No woman who is married can achieve femininity or attractiveness if she has rejected the authority of her husband. A woman who rejects the authority in marriage becomes ugly, but a woman under authority in marriage is the most attractive of all of God's creatures.
A woman has a greater influence when under authority in marriage than when she is the authority. Therefore the difference between beauty and ugliness in a woman is found in the word, "authority," and how she responds to it.
As responders women were never designed to be independent of authority. No woman's beauty is complete until she has responded to and accepted the authority of the man that she loves in the marriage state.
"is bound by the law to her husband" the perfect passive indicative of the verb "deo" (to bind or to tie) is used here for binding by law and duty. The dramatic perfect tense refers to a vivid reality indicating that the action has been completed with the existing result that emphasizes the marriage state.
The passive voice: the wife as the subject receives the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of absolute reality.
The instrumental of means from "nomos" (law) is used for the Mosaic Law. The dative singular indirect object from "anar" (man) refers to the husband so we have "has been bound to her husband by law."
"the living" the present active participle of "zao" (live). The definite article "ho" is used as a personal pronoun so it is translated "he." The present tense is static present describing a doctrinal reality that is taken for granted as an absolute fact from God's Word of truth that establishes the authority of the man in the divine institution of marriage.
The active voice: the husband produces the action of the verb in the marital state. The participle is temporal; therefore it is translated "while he lives."
In the analogy living refers to physical life as opposed to physical death or marriage as opposed to divorce. Death refers to divorce or physical death.
The wife of the first marriage is an unbeliever, while the wife of the second marriage is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout this passage the same principle applies the first husband is the old sin nature; second husband is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Marriage counselor of the first marriage is the Mosaic Law; the marriage counselor of the second marriage is God the Holy Spirit. In this analogy the wife corresponds to the unbeliever who is married to the old sin nature from physical birth.
The rulership of the old sin nature begins at birth with the imputation of Adam's original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature.
The Mosaic Law is the marriage counselor who advises the unbeliever of his status of spiritual death from physical birth. The establishment code of the Mosaic Law describes the problem and the ritual code of the Mosaic Law presents the solution to the problem with the animal sacrifices.
At salvation the believer is divorced from the old sin nature that is represented by the first husband, and married to a second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and retroactive positional truth establish the spiritual mechanics for the divorce analogy.
Three identifications are involved in the divorce analogy: identification with Christ in spiritual death is rejection of good and evil, the function of the old sin nature as the ruler of life.
In the analogy, a woman, before she divorces a man rejects him in her soul represented by identification with Christ in physical death is separation from good and evil, the function of the old sin nature as the ruler of human life.
In the divorce analogy, after a woman rejects a man the next stage is separation that correlates to separation from the first husband represented by identification with Christ in His burial.
This is divorce from the old sin nature. In the analogy divorce is comparable to death. The authority of the old sin nature, the first husband, has been abrogated, rescinded and rendered null and void by the divorce.
The believer wife has divorced the old sin nature, so the old sin nature is dead to the wife who is a believer in Jesus Christ.
"but if the husband be dead" - the postpositive conjunctive particle "de" (but) connects two antithetical clauses. A contrast exists between the first and the second marriage. The conditional particle "ean" (but if) introduces the 3rd class condition "if and its not true."
Plus the nominative singular subject " ho aner" (the man) includes the generic use of the definite article makes it monadic so it describes the man in a special class as the husband of the wife, and it is a reference to the old sin nature who after salvation is the ex-husband. Then the aorist active subjunctive of "apoqnhsko" (die) is used in our analogy for divorce not for physical death.
The aorist tense is a constantive aorist that contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety, and the action of the verb is the divorce from the first husband who represents the old sin nature.
This divorce includes identification with Christ in His spiritual death or rejection of the husband, identification with Christ in His physical death or separation from the first husband, identification with Christ in His burial that is the actual divorce from the first husband who represents the old sin nature.
The active voice: the first husband produces the action by being divorced by the baptism of the Spirit and resultant retroactive positional truth. The subjunctive mood is potential, and the potential concept is based upon whether an individual believes in the Lord Jesus Christ or not.
"she is released from the law of her husband" the perfect passive indicative of the verb "katargeo (released), meaning to render null and void, to cancel, to abrogate, to abolish, to rescind, to wipe out, or to set aside.
Here it means to be released from a former association-"she has been released." The perfect tense describes completed action in the past with results continuing into the present that results in being in union with Jesus Christ as the new husband.
The passive voice: the wife receives the action of the verb, the first marriage is null and void by divorce and therefore she is released by the law from her first husband who represents the old sin nature.
The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of divorce and release from the first husband. Then the prepositional phrase "apo" (by) plus ablative of means "nomos" (law), and the ablative of source from the noun "anar" (man)" with the article "ho" (the) referring specifically to her husband so she has been released by the law from her first husband.
Expanded Translation Rom 7:2; "For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is released by the law from her first husband"