https://youtu.be/JvKnmxqWs8s
In our verse by verse study of Romans last time we completed our Expanded Translation of Rom 7:8; "But the sin nature, having seized the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every category of covetousness. For apart from the law the sin nature is unknown (dead).
In this verse we see that God the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul reveals that he acquired the old sin nature at birth just like every other naturally born human being. Like everyone else, Paul, was ignorant of the marriage or the presence of the old sin nature until the Mosaic Law revealed it.
When the Law removed Paul's ignorance he became aware of the residence of the old sin nature and the resultant problem of spiritual death. If you don't know about a problem you can't fix it because you cannot solve a problem until you are aware of that problem.
The two real imputations at physical birth are unknown to all of us when we are born and for a long time thereafter and maybe for some people never. Ignorance must be replaced with cognizance.
This cognizance can only occur in two ways: #1, the communication of the Mosaic Law to the unbeliever; #2, the communication of pertinent Bible doctrine to the believer under the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
This is why the Mosaic Law is the marriage counselor of the first marriage and the Holy Spirit is the marriage counselor of the second marriage. Both marriage counselors are perfect because one marriage counselor is from God the other is God.
The Law is limited to counseling the first marriage because its content deals exclusively with the old sin nature, its function of covetousness and its trends toward sin, human good and evil.
The Law also presents the solution to the problem of spiritual death that results from the first marriage to the old sin nature the solution is God's solution to the problem "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation."
Rom 7:9; "But I was once alive apart from the law." The conjunctive particle "de" (but) is used as a transitional particle with the nominative singular personal pronoun "ego" (I) that emphasizes Paul's personal situation plus the imperfect active indicative of the verb "zao" (living) "For I was living."
The imperfect is the imperfect of duration that describes something that has occurred in the past up to the time referenced in the context without addressing whether or not the process is completely finished.
In other words, Paul is saying that he understands others who are not yet understanding what he is talking about The active voice tells us that Paul who is the human writer is going to use himself as an example.
The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of absolute reality. Then an adverb used as the preposition, "choris" (apart from or without) plus the genitive, and the object of the prepositional phrase, "nomos" (law) so we have "apart from Law."
This is followed by "pote" (then), referring to a point of time in the past. It can be translated "formerly" or "once," or "at one time." Translation: "For at one time I lived apart from Law."
That means to live under the tyranny of the first husband, to live in spiritual death, to be ruled by the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life, and not have any awareness of the problem until the Mosaic Law revealed it.
This is a reference to the Mosaic Law in the role of the marriage counselor of the first marriage. As a Pharisee of the Pharisees Paul knew the Mosaic Law backwards and forwards.
The marriage that produced spiritual death occurred through the real imputation of Adam's original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature at his physical birth.
To discover the existence of the old sin nature at Paul's time was quite a problem because the New Testament canon of scripture had not yet been revealed to mankind and written down under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
While the Old Testament canon does teach the old sin nature as seen in David's writing of Psalms 51; as a believer. Under common grace the unbeliever can recognize that they have a problem and when they do they are presented with God's solution of faith in Jesus Christ.
It is impossible for the unbeliever to understand the existence of the old sin nature and spiritual death and the other things related to invisible spiritual things because unbelievers are dead to them. 1Cor 2:14;
So after Paul was a believer when the 10th commandment came into focus after with the command "You shall not covet" that is how Paul went from his personal sins to the covetousness behind them that was from the lust pattern of the old sin nature that was the power behind his proclivity to commit personal sins.
Unbelievers are spiritually dead so they are not aware of this reality and cannot discover this fact on their own. Paul was aware of his life from the real imputation of human life but he was ignorant of spiritual death from second imputation of Adam's original sin that occurred simultaneously at physical birth.
Rom 7:9; "Apart from Law" refers to the fact that awareness of the first husband, the old sin nature, did not exist until Paul who knew the scripture understood the spiritual implication of the 10th commandment as a believer.
This also explains the true meaning of the substantive adjective "nekros" (unknown) that is the last word of the previous verse. Apart from Law the old sin nature is unknown. If you are dead to something you don't know or understand it so to you it is unknown.
"but when the commandment came" the particle "de" (but) used to connect this clause with the previous one, in this case with an implied contrast.
Next we have the genitive singular of "entole" (commandment) that is the subject with the definite article "ho" that makes it monadic referencing a previous reference specifically to the 10th commandment plus the aorist active participle of "erchomai" (to come). The aorist tense is a dramatic aorist that states the present reality with the absolute certainty of a past event.
This is an idiom that is used for emphasis that is often used for a something that has just been understood or the result of something that has just been accomplished.
The active voice: the 10th commandment produces the action of the verb. The participle is temporal and therefore is translated "but when the tenth commandment came, (it came into my consciousness (as a believer) and it became "epignosis" or spirit taught doctrine).
" the sin became alive, and I died" - the nominative singular subject from "hamartia" (sin) for the sin nature or the principle of sin, plus the definite article "ho" (the) making is monadic that sets up the old sin nature as a unique category of sin (the sin nature).
Then the aorist active indicative of "anazao" (lived again) means to take on fresh life or fresh energy and it means to become reinvigorated "the sin nature became reinvigorated."
The aorist tense is a constantive aorist that contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety, including cognizance of the 10th commandment, awareness of the lust pattern, cognizance of the origin of lust, the old sin nature, and therefore awareness of the bad marriage and it became more of a problem than even before he understood it.
The active voice: the first husband, the old sin nature produces the action of the verb of being reinvigorated or reenergized. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. Once you become aware of the problem of the first husband the problem actually got worse.
This is why new believers or untaught believers have such a problem with personal sin. They understand that they have a problem but unless they have been taught the solution of the filling ministry of the spirit the problem is worse than it was before. New believers must immediately be taught how to keep on being filled with the spirit.
"and I died" the connective use of the postpositive conjunctive particle "de" (and) with nominative singular personal pronoun "ego" (I) referring to Paul, the human author, who states the experience of every person in the human race. Therefore as he writes he is acting as a representative of the human race. Plus the aorist active indicative of "apothnesko" (died).
The culminative aorist views the event in its entirety cognizance of the 10th commandment but regards it from the viewpoint of the results of awareness of spiritual death and condemnation from physical birth.
"I died" is Paul saying, "I realized I was dead." Actually he had been spiritually dead for the entire time but now he is aware of it. The active voice: Paul, the human writer, uses himself to represent the spiritually dead human race that is spiritually dead from physical birth.
The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. Paul became aware of the actual situation. The Mosaic Law had fulfilled its function as the marriage counselor making Paul aware of the state of his spiritual death under the old sin nature.
Expanded Translation Rom 8:9; "Now at one time I lived apart from the law: but when the tenth commandment came, the sin nature was reactivated and reinvigorated, and I really recognized I was spiritually dead."
All human beings pass through a state of innocence based on ignorance up to the point of God consciousness. This passage teaches that innocence is a state of ignorance, while guilt regarding spiritual death comes from a state of cognizance.
In the Garden of Eden man in was not ignorant and he was also perfect. He was not innocent because innocents implies ignorance and man in the Garden was not ignorant of God, of what God had provided, of the prohibition God had made and of the contract he had for one a day at a time spiritual life.
He was not innocent but he was perfect. Man outside the garden under the lordship of the old sin nature from birth may be innocent because he is not aware of the real imputation of Adam's original sin, but he is also not perfect because of genetically formed sin nature and the imputation of Adam's original sin at physical birth.
However, cognizance of the 10th commandment leads to awareness of the old sin nature as the source of lust. Awareness of the sin nature activates and invigorates the old sin nature in its projection of lust from the biological body into the volition of the soul.
This activation and invigoration causes mankind to recognize that he has a problem that is the existence of a bad marriage to the old sin nature under the status quo of spiritual death. Mankind's marriage to the old sin nature from physical birth sets up the status of spiritual death from physical birth.
Therefore the Mosaic Law acts as a marriage counselor that informs mankind of the bad marriage and the solution to it by salvation adjustment to God's justice by believing in Jesus Christ.
The covetousness, inordinate desire or lust that is prohibited by the 10th commandment, explains how the old sin nature is a major source of temptation and the volitional choice to act on the temptation of the OSN results in the commission of sin, human good, and evil.
By understanding lust one begins to understand the existence of the OSN and cognizance of mankind's status in spiritual death.