https://youtu.be/XbWI6pAZMFM
In our verse by verse study of Roman last time we finished our Expanded Translation of Rom 7:12; "As a matter of fact, therefore, the law is holy, also the commandment (10th) is holy, and perfect righteousness, and absolute good."
This verse concludes that the law is not the culprit. The law is the marriage counselor of the first marriage. There is nothing wrong with the Mosaic Law as marriage counselor in pointing out a bad marriage.
In fact, the law does a perfect job of stating the problem and in pointing to Jesus Christ as the solution through the God's ritual plan of sacrifices and the Holy Days.
Because the law as a marriage counselor reveals the problem of spiritual death does not infer that the law caused spiritual death. It is not the Law who is condemning; it is God who is condemning.
The Law is simply what God uses to reveal the condemnation of every naturally born physical human being.
Because the law as a marriage counselor reveals that the first husband is sinful it does not mean that the law is sinful. The fact is that humanity is sinful because humanity possesses the sin nature from birth. Mankind is spiritually dead because God imputes Adam's sin to that sin nature at physical birth.
It is the first husband, the old sin nature, that is sinful, not the Mosaic Law functioning as the marriage counselor. Mankind is sinful because everyone possesses the old sin nature, not because the Law reveals the problem. Rom 3:20.
The law is not sinful because it exposes the old sin nature, or personal sin. The law fulfils its purpose perfectly by revealing both the problem and the solution for every naturally born biological human person.
Rom 7:13; describes the true ministry of the Law as a marriage counselor. "Therefore did that which is good become death for me?" The inferential conjunction "oun" (therefore) introduces the idea.
The nominative neuter singular of the adjective "agathos" (intrinsic good) takes up from the previous verse where we saw that the Mosaic Law is absolute or intrinsic good.
Then the dative singular indirect object from the personal pronoun "ego" (me), indicates the one in whose interest the Mosaic Law acts as a marriage counselor. This refers to Paul along with every other human being because we are all married to the old sin nature from physical birth.
"Therefore the good to me." The Mosaic Law is good to us because it shows us that we have a problem as an unbeliever before we are saved.
It is good for us that the Mosaic Law reveals to us that we are in the status of spiritual death and that we have been hooked up to the old sin nature from physical birth.
Next is the aorist active indicative of "ginomai" (become) that is a constantive aorist tense that as we have seen before gathers into one entirety the action of the verb. The active voice produces the action by posing a question related to the Mosaic Law.
The indicative mood is the interrogative indicative where the viewpoint of reality is implied by a question regarding a fact. Plus the predicate nominative singular "thanatos" (spiritual death) so we have "therefore the good to me, did it become death?"
"Agathos" (intrinsic good) refers to the function of the Mosaic Law as the marriage counselor in the first marriage that reveals the problem of spiritual death in the marriage to the old sin nature at physical birth. It also points to the solution for spiritual death in the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross through the rituals that reveal what Christ does.
The rhetorical question, "Therefore the good to me, did it become death?" is designed to reflect the thinking of those who distort the teaching of the apostle Paul. The rhetorical question is a debater's technique for anticipating and refuting the erroneous conclusions some had made from listening to his grace teaching.
The word "thanatos" (death) is used here to refer to spiritual death that is the status quo of every naturally born human being because everyone is hooked up to old sin nature at physical birth.
It is obvious from this that the intrinsic good of the Mosaic Law did not become source of death for mankind. Something that is intrinsically good cannot suddenly become something that is evil.
Good can be turned into evil but not intrinsic good because intrinsic good is pure through and through there is no veneer on intrinsic good. The function of the Mosaic Law is to reveal the problem and the solution.
"mh genoito" (may it never be!) The aorist tense is a gnomic aorist for the absolute certainty of refuting a false allegation. The active voice: the assumption is false so the action of the verb rejects the false assumption.
It is an optative mood that expresses a negative wish that literally means "may it not come to pass," that is a Greek idiom that means "Definitely Not" or "Emphatically Not."
The emphatic denial of the debater's question is a teaching device that handles misconceptions with an emphatic refutation with truth.
"But the sin, that it might shown sin" is the truth hat refutes the erroneous conception. The adversative conjunction "alla" (but) sets up a contrast between the two clauses. Plus the nominative singular subject referring to the old sin nature as the real culprit, "hamartia" in the singular (sin), plus the definite article "ho" (the) making it monadic and referencing a specific previous reference in the context is translated "but the sin nature."
Then the conjunction "hina" (that) for a final clause that has an aim, a goal, a purpose or objective. Plus the aorist passive subjunctive of "phaino" (might reveal that means to demonstrate, to show, or to reveal.
The aorist is a culminative aorist that views the exposure of the sin nature in its entirety but regards it from the viewpoint of existing results. The OSN is hidden so it has to be exposed, revealed and identified as the culprit.
The existing results: adjustment to God's justice first at salvation, then at rebound, and eventually maturity adjustment to God's justice from the PMA of accurate Bible Doctrine that is the purpose for God continuing to keep us in this physical life after salvation.
We remain here on the earth after we are saved to advance to spiritual maturity.
The passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb, the reveal for what it is, the sinfulness of the culprit. The subjunctive mood is a potential subjunctive that is used with the purpose or the objective conjunction to denote a future reference qualified by the element of contingency. "but the sin nature, in order that it might be revealed."
Then the same word "hamartia" (sin) again, this time without the definite article so this time it is describing sin that is committed as personal sin."
Next in the Greek is the phrase "dia ho agathou" (through the intrinsic good). The good with the definite article "ho" (the) refers to the function of the Mosaic Law that exposes the old sin nature as sinful. In other words, the good exposes the bad but the good is not bad because it exposes the bad as being bad.
"working death in me" the present middle participle of "katergazomai" (to achieve, accomplish, produce, bring about, or to prepare) someone for something. Here it means to work out, to be the cause of something, to make something that is already in existence known so our translation is "making spiritual death known to me."
The present tense of duration refers to the revelation from the Mosaic Law that began in the past and continues into present time. The Law keeps telling the entire human race throughout human history that it has a problem with the old sin nature and spiritual death.
The Law also presents the solution of the work of Jesus Christ through the rituals, sacrifices and Holy Days. The middle voice is translated like an active voice. The Mosaic Law produces the action of the verb in its function of the marriage counselor to analyze and reveal the problem and communicate the solution.
The participle is circumstantial and translated as a finite verb for clarification. "Therefore the good to me, did it become spiritual death?" Definitely not. But the sin nature, in order that it might be exposed through the good made spiritual death a reality to me." "To me" is the dative singular indirect object from the personal pronoun "moi" (me).
"hina " (that) and the nominative singular subject "hamartia" (sin) with the definite article "ho" (the) referring the old sin nature: "in order that the sin nature" with the aorist active subjunctive of "ginomai (might become).
This is a dramatic aorist that is used for stating a present reality with the certainty of a past event. In the Greek it is an emphatic idiom. It is commonly used for a situation that has just been identified in this case spiritual death is the result of the hook up to the old sin nature, the first husband.
The active voice: the old sin nature produces the action of the verb. The subjunctive mood is the potential subjunctive with "hina"(that) reveals the purpose with an element of contingency.
Plus the prepositional phrase "kata" (by or through)) plus the accusative of "hyperbole" (extreme). It is translated literally as "according to the extreme," meaning "totally" then once more a different word for the predicate nominative, an adjective "hamartos" (sinful) so we have "through the commandment might become utterly sinful."
The Mosaic Law exposes the complete, total, intractable and utter sinfulness of the old sin nature.
Then "dia" (through) plus the ablative of "entole" (commandment) with the definite article "ho" (the) a specific reference to the 10th commandment. This is the ablative of means that is used in this prepositional phrase because the root cause of the problem is identified.
Expanded Translation Rom 7:13; "Therefore the good (the Mosaic law) to me, did it become spiritual death? Definitely not! But the sin nature, in order that it might be shown sin through the good made spiritual death known to me; in order that the utter sinfulness of the sin nature might be identified through the commandment."