
Text -- Romans 7:1-4 (NET)




Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics



collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Robertson: Rom 7:1 - -- To men that know the law ( ginōskousin nomon ).
Dative plural of present active participle of ginōskō . The Romans, whether Jews or Gentiles, k...
To men that know the law (
Dative plural of present active participle of

Robertson: Rom 7:1 - -- A man ( tou anthrōpou ).
"The person,"generic term anthrōpos , not anēr .
A man (
"The person,"generic term

Robertson: Rom 7:2 - -- The wife that hath a husband ( hē hupandros gunē ).
Late word, under (in subjection to) a husband. Here only in N.T.
The wife that hath a husband (
Late word, under (in subjection to) a husband. Here only in N.T.

Is bound (
Perfect passive indicative, stands bound.

Robertson: Rom 7:2 - -- To the husband while he liveth ( tōi zōnti andri ).
"To the living husband,"literally.
To the husband while he liveth (
"To the living husband,"literally.

Robertson: Rom 7:2 - -- But if the husband die ( ean de apothanēi ho anēr ).
Third class condition, a supposable case (ean and the second aorist active subjunctive).
But if the husband die (
Third class condition, a supposable case (

Robertson: Rom 7:2 - -- She is discharged ( katērgētai ).
Perfect passive indicative of katargeō , to make void. She stands free from the law of the husband. Cf. Rom 6...
She is discharged (
Perfect passive indicative of

Robertson: Rom 7:3 - -- While the husband liveth ( zōntos tou andros ).
Genitive absolute of present active participle of zaō .
While the husband liveth (
Genitive absolute of present active participle of

Robertson: Rom 7:3 - -- She shall be called ( chrēmatisei ).
Future active indicative of chrēmatizō , old verb, to receive a name as in Act 11:26, from chrēma , busi...
She shall be called (
Future active indicative of

Robertson: Rom 7:3 - -- An adulteress ( moichalis ).
Late word, in Plutarch, lxx. See note on Mat 12:39.
An adulteress (
Late word, in Plutarch, lxx. See note on Mat 12:39.

If she be joined (
Third class condition, "if she come to."

Robertson: Rom 7:3 - -- So that she is no adulteress ( tou mē einai autēn moichalida ).
It is a fact that tou and the infinitive is used for result as we saw in Rom 1:...
So that she is no adulteress (
It is a fact that

Robertson: Rom 7:4 - -- Ye also were made dead to the law ( kai humeis ethanatōthēte ).
First aorist indicative passive of thanatoō , old verb, to put to death (Mat 10...
Ye also were made dead to the law (
First aorist indicative passive of

Robertson: Rom 7:4 - -- That we should be joined to another ( eis to genesthai heterōi ).
Purpose clause with eis to and the infinitive. First mention of the saints as w...
That we should be joined to another (
Purpose clause with

Robertson: Rom 7:4 - -- That we might bring forth fruit unto God ( hina karpophorēsōmen tōi theōi ).
He changes the metaphor to that of the tree used in Rom 6:22.
That we might bring forth fruit unto God (
He changes the metaphor to that of the tree used in Rom 6:22.
Vincent: Rom 7:1 - -- Brethren
All Christians, not only Jews but Gentiles who are assumed to be acquainted with the Old Testament.
Brethren
All Christians, not only Jews but Gentiles who are assumed to be acquainted with the Old Testament.

Vincent: Rom 7:2 - -- That hath a husband ( ὕπανδρος )
Lit., under or subject to a husband. The illustration is selected to bring forward the union w...
That hath a husband (
Lit., under or subject to a husband. The illustration is selected to bring forward the union with Christ after the release from the law, as analogous to a new marriage (Rom 7:4).

Vincent: Rom 7:2 - -- Is loosed ( κατήργηται )
Rev., discharged . See on Rom 3:3, Lit., she has been brought to nought as respects the ...
Is loosed (
Rev., discharged . See on Rom 3:3, Lit., she has been brought to nought as respects the law of the husband .

Vincent: Rom 7:2 - -- The law of the husband
Her legal connection with him She dies to that law with the husband's death. There is an apparent awkwardness in carrying ...
The law of the husband
Her legal connection with him She dies to that law with the husband's death. There is an apparent awkwardness in carrying out the figure. The law, in Rom 7:1, Rom 7:2, is represented by the husband who rules ( hath dominion ). On the death of the husband the woman is released. In Rom 7:4, the wife (figuratively) dies. " Ye are become dead to the law that ye should be married to another." But as the law is previously represented by the husband , and the woman is released by the husband's death, so, to make the figure consistent, the law should be represented as dying in order to effect the believer's release. The awkwardness is relieved by taking as the middle term of comparison the idea of dead in a marriage relation . When the husband dies the wife dies ( is brought to nought ) so far as the marriage relation is concerned. The husband is represented as the party who dies because the figure of a second marriage is introduced with its application to believers (Rom 7:4). Believers are made dead to the law as the wife is maritally dead - killed in respect of the marriage relation by her husband's death.

Vincent: Rom 7:4 - -- Are become dead ( ἐθανατώθητε )
Rev., more accurately, ye were made dead , put to death ; because this ethical death i...
Are become dead (
Rev., more accurately, ye were made dead , put to death ; because this ethical death is fellowship with Christ's death, which was by violence .

Vincent: Rom 7:4 - -- Who was raised
An important addition, because it refers to the newness of life which issues from the rising with Christ. See Rom 6:3, Rom...

Vincent: Rom 7:4 - -- Bring forth fruit
The figure of marriage is continued, but the reference is not to be pressed. The real point of analogy is the termination of re...
Bring forth fruit
The figure of marriage is continued, but the reference is not to be pressed. The real point of analogy is the termination of relations to the old state.
Wesley: Rom 7:1 - -- The apostle continues the comparison between the former and the present state of a believer, and at the same time endeavours to wean the Jewish believ...
The apostle continues the comparison between the former and the present state of a believer, and at the same time endeavours to wean the Jewish believers from their fondness for the Mosaic law.

Wesley: Rom 7:1 - -- The law is here spoken of, by a common figure, as a person, to which, as to an husband, life and death are ascribed. But he speaks indifferently of th...
The law is here spoken of, by a common figure, as a person, to which, as to an husband, life and death are ascribed. But he speaks indifferently of the law being dead to us, or we to it, the sense being the same.

From that law which gave him a peculiar property in her.

Are now as free from the Mosaic law as an husband is, when his wife is dead.

Offered up; that is, by the merits of his death, that law expiring with him.
JFB: Rom 7:1 - -- Of Moses to whom, though not themselves Jews (see on Rom 1:13), the Old Testament was familiar.
Of Moses to whom, though not themselves Jews (see on Rom 1:13), the Old Testament was familiar.

JFB: Rom 7:4 - -- Through His slain body. The apostle here departs from his usual word "died," using the more expressive phrase "were slain," to make it clear that he m...

JFB: Rom 7:4 - -- It has been thought that the apostle should here have said that "the law died to us," not "we to the law," but that purposely inverted the figure, to ...
It has been thought that the apostle should here have said that "the law died to us," not "we to the law," but that purposely inverted the figure, to avoid the harshness to Jewish ears of the death of the law [CHRYSOSTOM, CALVIN, HODGE, PHILIPPI, &c.]. But this is to mistake the apostle's design in employing this figure, which was merely to illustrate the general principle that "death dissolves legal obligation." It was essential to his argument that we, not the law, should be the dying party, since it is we that are "crucified with Christ," and not the law. This death dissolves our marriage obligation to the law, leaving us at liberty to contract a new relation--to be joined to the Risen One, in order to spiritual fruitfulness, to the glory of God [BEZA, OLSHAUSEN, MEYER, ALFORD, &c.]. The confusion, then, is in the expositors, not the text; and it has arisen from not observing that, like Jesus Himself, believers are here viewed as having a double life--the old sin-condemned life, which they lay down with Christ, and the new life of acceptance and holiness to which they rise with their Surety and Head; and all the issues of this new life, in Christian obedience, are regarded as the "fruit" of this blessed union to the Risen One. How such holy fruitfulness was impossible before our union to Christ, is next declared.
Clarke: Rom 7:1 - -- For I speak to them that know the law - This is a proof that the apostle directs this part of his discourse to the Jews
For I speak to them that know the law - This is a proof that the apostle directs this part of his discourse to the Jews

Clarke: Rom 7:1 - -- As long as he liveth? - Or, as long as It liveth; law does not extend its influence to the dead, nor do abrogated laws bind. It is all the same whet...
As long as he liveth? - Or, as long as It liveth; law does not extend its influence to the dead, nor do abrogated laws bind. It is all the same whether we understand these words as speaking of a law abrogated, so that it cannot command; or of its objects being dead, so that it has none to bind. In either case the law has no force.

Clarke: Rom 7:2 - -- For the woman which hath a husband - The apostle illustrates his meaning by a familiar instance. A married woman is bound to her husband while he li...
For the woman which hath a husband - The apostle illustrates his meaning by a familiar instance. A married woman is bound to her husband while he lives; but when her husband is dead she is discharged from the law by which she was bound to him alone.

Clarke: Rom 7:3 - -- So then, if, while her husband liveth - The object of the apostle’ s similitude is to show that each party is equally bound to the other; but t...
So then, if, while her husband liveth - The object of the apostle’ s similitude is to show that each party is equally bound to the other; but that the death of either dissolves the engagement

Clarke: Rom 7:3 - -- So - she is no adulteress, though she be married to another - And do not imagine that this change would argue any disloyalty in you to your Maker; f...
So - she is no adulteress, though she be married to another - And do not imagine that this change would argue any disloyalty in you to your Maker; for, as he has determined that this law of ordinances shall cease, you are no more bound to it than a woman is to a deceased husband, and are as free to receive the Gospel of Christ as a woman in such circumstances would be to remarry.

Clarke: Rom 7:4 - -- Wherefore, my brethren - This is a parallel case. You were once under the law of Moses, and were bound by its injunctions; but now ye are become dea...
Wherefore, my brethren - This is a parallel case. You were once under the law of Moses, and were bound by its injunctions; but now ye are become dead to that law - a modest, inoffensive mode of speech, for, The law, which was once your husband, is dead; God has determined that it shall be no longer in force; so that now, as a woman whose husband is dead is freed from the law of that husband, or from her conjugal vow, and may legally be married to another, so God, who gave the law under which ye have hitherto lived, designed that it should be in force only till the advent of the Messiah; that advent has taken place, the law has consequently ceased, and now ye are called to take on you the yoke of the Gospel, and lay down the yoke of the law; and it is the design of God that you should do so

Clarke: Rom 7:4 - -- That ye should be married to another - who is raised from the dead - As Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth, ...
That ye should be married to another - who is raised from the dead - As Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth, the object of God in giving the law was to unite you to Christ; and, as he has died, he has not only abolished that law which condemns every transgressor to death, without any hope of a revival, but he has also made that atonement for sin, by his own death, which is represented in the sacrifices prescribed by the law. And as Jesus Christ is risen again from the dead, he has thereby given the fullest proof that by his death he has procured the resurrection of mankind, and made that atonement required by the law. That we should bring forth fruit unto God - we, Jews, who believe in Christ, have, in consequence of our union with him, received the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit; so that we bring forth that fruit of holiness unto God which, without this union, it would be impossible for us to produce. Here is a delicate allusion to the case of a promising and numerous progeny from a legitimate and happy marriage.
Calvin: Rom 7:1 - -- Though he had, in a brief manner, sufficiently explained the question respecting the abrogation of the law; yet as it was a difficult one, and might ...
Though he had, in a brief manner, sufficiently explained the question respecting the abrogation of the law; yet as it was a difficult one, and might have given rise to many other questions, he now shows more at large how the law, with regard to us, is become abrogated; and then he sets forth what good is thereby done to us: for while it holds us separated from Christ and bound to itself, it can do nothing but condemn us. And lest any one should on this account blame the law itself, he takes up and confutes the objections of the flesh, and handles, in a striking manner, the great question respecting the use of the law. 201
1.Know ye not, === etc. Let the general proposition be that the law was given to men for no other end but to regulate the present life, and that it belongs not to those who are dead: to this he afterwards subjoins this truth — that we are dead to it through the body of Christ. Some understand, that the dominion of the law continues so long to bind us as it remains in force. But as this view is rather obscure, and does not harmonize so well with the proposition which immediately follows, I prefer to follow those who regard what is said as referring to the life of man, and not to the law. The question has indeed a peculiar force, as it affirms the certainty of what is spoken; for it shows that it was not a thing new or unknown to any of them, but acknowledged equally by them all.
===(For to those who know the law I speak.) This parenthesis is to be taken in the same sense with the question, as though he had said — that he knew that they were not so unskilful in the law as to entertain any doubt on the subject. And though both sentences might be understood of all laws, it is yet better to take them as referring to the law of God, which is the subject that is discussed. There are some who think that he ascribes knowledge of the law to the Romans, because the largest part of the world was under their power and government; but this is puerile: for he addressed in part the Jews or other strangers, and in part common and obscure individuals; nay, he mainly regarded the Jews, with whom he had to do respecting the abrogation of the law: and lest they should think that he was dealing captiously with them, he declares that he took up a common principle, known to them all, of which they could by no means be ignorant, who had from their childhood been brought up in the teaching of the law.

Calvin: Rom 7:2 - -- 2.For a woman subject to a man, === etc. He brings a similitude, by which he proves, that we are so loosed from the law, that it does not any longer...
2.For a woman subject to a man, === etc. He brings a similitude, by which he proves, that we are so loosed from the law, that it does not any longer, properly and by its own right, retain over us any authority: and though he could have proved this by other reasons, yet as the example of marriage was very suitable to illustrate the subject, he introduced this comparison instead of evidence to prove his point. But that no one may be puzzled, because the different parts of the comparison do not altogether correspond, we are to be reminded, that the Apostle designedly intended, by a little change, to avoid the invidiousness of a stronger expression. He might have said, in order to make the comparison complete, “A woman after the death of her husband is loosed from the bond of marriage: the law, which is in the place of a husband to us, is to us dead; then we are freed from its power.” But that he might not offend the Jews by the asperity of his expressions, had he said that the law was dead, he adopted a digression, and said, that we are dead to the law 202 To some indeed he appears to reason from the less to the greater: however, as I fear that this is too strained, I approve more of the first meaning, which is simpler. The whole argument then is formed in this manner “The woman is bound to her living husband by the law, so that she cannot be the wife of another; but after the death of her husband she is loosed from the bond of his law so, that she is free to marry whom she pleases.”
===Then follows the application, —
The law was, as it were our husband,
under whose yoke we were kept until it became dead to us:
After the death of the law Christ received us, that is, he joined us,
when loosed from the law, to himself:
Then being united to Christ risen from the dead,
we ought to cleave to him alone:
And as the life of Christ after the resurrection is eternal,
so hereafter there shall be no divorce.
But further, the word law is not mentioned here in every part in the same sense: for in one place it means the bond of marriage; in another, the authority of a husband over his wife; and in another, the law of Moses: but we must remember, that Paul refers here only to that office of the law which was peculiar to the dispensation of Moses; for as far as God has in the ten commandments taught what is just and right, and given directions for guiding our life, no abrogation of the law is to be dreamt of; for the will of God must stand the same forever. We ought carefully to remember that this is not a release from the righteousness which is taught in the law, but from its rigid requirements, and from the curse which thence follows. The law, then, as a rule of life, is not abrogated; but what belongs to it as opposed to the liberty obtained through Christ, that is, as it requires absolute perfection: for as we render not this perfection, it binds us under the sentence of eternal death. But as it was not his purpose to decide here the character of the bond of marriage, he was not anxious to mention the causes which releases a woman from her husband. It is therefore unreasonable that anything decisive on this point should be sought here.

Calvin: Rom 7:4 - -- 4.Through the body of Christ Christ, by the glorious victory of the cross, first triumphed over sin; and that he might do this, it was necessary that...
4.Through the body of Christ Christ, by the glorious victory of the cross, first triumphed over sin; and that he might do this, it was necessary that the handwriting, by which we were held bound, should be cancelled. This handwriting was the law, which, while it continued in force, rendered us bound to serve 203 sin; and hence it is called the power of sin. It was then by cancelling this handwriting that we were delivered through the body of Christ — through his body as fixed to the cross. 204 But the Apostle goes farther, and says, that the bond of the law was destroyed; not that we may live according to our own will, like a widow, who lives as she pleases while single; but that we may be now bound to another husband; nay, that we may pass from hand to hand, as they say, that is, from the law to Christ. He at the same time softens the asperity of the expression, by saying that Christ, in order to join us to his own body, made us free from the yoke of the law. For though Christ subjected himself for a time of his own accord to the law, it is not yet right to say that the law ruled over him. Moreover, he conveys to his own members the liberty which he himself possesses. It is then no wonder that he exempts those from the yoke of the law, whom he unites by a sacred bond to himself, that they may be one body in him.
Even his who has been raised, etc. We have already said, that Christ is substituted for the law, lest any freedom should be pretended without him, or lest any, being not yet dead to the law, should dare to divorce himself from it. But he adopts here a periphrastic sentence to denote the eternity of that life which Christ attained by his resurrection, that Christians might know that this connection is to be perpetual. But of the spiritual marriage between Christ and his Church he speaks more fully in Eph 6:0
That we may bring forth fruit to God He ever annexes the final cause, lest any should indulge the liberty of their flesh and their own lusts, under the pretense that Christ has delivered them from the bondage of the law; for he has offered us, together with himself, as a sacrifice to the Father, and he regenerates us for this end — that by newness of life we may bring forth fruit unto God: and we know that the fruits which our heavenly Father requires from us are those of holiness and righteousness. It is indeed no abatement to our liberty that we serve God; nay, if we desire to enjoy so great a benefit as there is in Christ, it will not henceforth be right in us to entertain any other thought but that of promoting the glory of God; for which purpose Christ has connected us with himself. We shall otherwise remain the bond-slaves, not only of the law, but also of sin and of death.
Defender -> Rom 7:4
Defender: Rom 7:4 - -- Note that the law has not died; rather, we have died to the law. As a woman could marry a new husband only after her first husband had died, so we hav...
Note that the law has not died; rather, we have died to the law. As a woman could marry a new husband only after her first husband had died, so we have been married, as it were, to our great Bridegroom after the law died or we died to the law."
TSK: Rom 7:1 - -- Know : Rom 6:3
brethren : Rom 9:3, Rom 10:1
them that : Rom 2:17, Rom 2:18; Ezr 7:25; Pro 6:23; 1Co 9:8; Gal 4:21
the law : Rom 7:6, Rom 6:14
a man : ...

TSK: Rom 7:2 - -- the woman : Rather, a woman. The apostle here illustrates the position laid down in the preceding verse by a familiar instance. Gen 2:23, Gen 2:24; N...

TSK: Rom 7:3 - -- So then : Exo 20:14; Lev 20:10; Num. 5:13-31; Deu 22:22-24; Mat 5:32; Mar 10:6-12; Joh 8:3-5
though : Rth 2:13; 1Sa 25:39-42; 1Ti 5:11-14
So then : Exo 20:14; Lev 20:10; Num. 5:13-31; Deu 22:22-24; Mat 5:32; Mar 10:6-12; Joh 8:3-5
though : Rth 2:13; 1Sa 25:39-42; 1Ti 5:11-14

TSK: Rom 7:4 - -- ye also : Rom 7:6, Rom 6:14, Rom 8:2; Gal 2:19, Gal 2:20, Gal 3:13, Gal 5:18; Eph 2:15; Col 2:14, Col 2:20
the body : Mat 26:26; Joh 6:51; 1Co 10:16; ...
ye also : Rom 7:6, Rom 6:14, Rom 8:2; Gal 2:19, Gal 2:20, Gal 3:13, Gal 5:18; Eph 2:15; Col 2:14, Col 2:20
the body : Mat 26:26; Joh 6:51; 1Co 10:16; Heb 10:10; 1Pe 2:24
that ye : Psa 45:10-15; Isa 54:5, Isa 62:5; Hos 2:19, Hos 2:20; Joh 3:29; 2Co 11:2; Eph 5:23-27; Rev 19:7, Rev 21:9
that we : Rom 6:22; Psa 45:16; Joh 15:8; Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23; Phi 1:11, Phi 4:17; Col 1:6, Col 1:10

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes: Rom 7:1 - -- Know ye not - This is an appeal to their own observation respecting the relation between husband and wife. The illustration Rom 7:2-3 is design...
Know ye not - This is an appeal to their own observation respecting the relation between husband and wife. The illustration Rom 7:2-3 is designed simply to show that as when a man dies, and the connection between him and his wife is dissolved, his Law ceases to be binding on her, so also a separation has taken place between Christians and the Law, in which they have become dead to it, and they are not now to attempt to draw their life and peace from it, but from that new source with which they are connected by the gospel, Rom 7:4.
For I speak to them ... - Probably the apostle refers here more particularly to the Jewish members of the Roman church, who were qualified particularly to understand the nature of the Law, and to appreciate the argument. That there were many Jews in the church at Rome has been shown (see Introduction); but the illustration has no exclusive reference to them. The Law to which he appeals is sufficiently general to make the illustration intelligible to all people.
That the law - The immediate reference here is probably to the Mosaic Law. But what is here affirmed is equally true of all laws.
Hath dominion - Greek, Rules; exercises lordship. The Law is here personified, and represented as setting up a lordship over a man, and exacting obedience.
Over a man - Over the man who is under it.
As long as he liveth - The Greek here may mean either "as he liveth,"or"as it liveth,"that is, the law. But our translation has evidently expressed the sense. The sense is, that death releases a man from the laws by which he was bound in life. It is a general principle, relating to the laws of the land, the law of a parent, the law of a contract, etc. This general principle the apostle proceeds to apply in regard to the Law of God.

Barnes: Rom 7:2 - -- For the woman - This verse is a specific illustration of the general principle in Rom 7:1, that death dissolves those connections and relations...
For the woman - This verse is a specific illustration of the general principle in Rom 7:1, that death dissolves those connections and relations which make law binding in life. It is a simple illustration; and if this had been kept in mind, it would have saved much of the perplexity which has been felt by many commentators, and much of their wild vagaries in endeavoring to show that "men are the wife, the law of the former husband, and Christ the new one;"or that "the old man is the wife, sinful desires the husband, sins the children."Beza. (See Stuart.) Such expositions are sufficient to humble us, and to make us mourn over the puerile and fanciful interpretations which even wise and good people often give to the Bible.
Is bound by the law ... - See the same sentiment in 1Co 7:39.
To her husband - She is united to him; and is under his authority as the head of the household. To him is particularly committed the headship of the family, and the wife is subject to his law, in the Lord, Eph 5:23, Eph 5:33.
She is loosed ... - The husband has no more authority. The connection from which obligation resulted is dissolved.

Barnes: Rom 7:3 - -- So then if ... - compare Mat 5:32. She shall be called - She will be. The word used here χρηματίσει chrēmatisei is of...
So then if ... - compare Mat 5:32.
She shall be called - She will be. The word used here

Barnes: Rom 7:4 - -- Wherefore - This verse contains an application of the illustration in the two preceding. The idea there is, that death dissolves a connection f...
Wherefore - This verse contains an application of the illustration in the two preceding. The idea there is, that death dissolves a connection from which obligation resulted. This is the single point of the illustration, and consequently there is no need of inquiring whether by the wife the apostle meant to denote the old man, or the Christian, etc. The meaning is, as death dissolves the connection between a wife and her husband, and of course the obligation of the law resulting from that connection, so the death of the Christian to the Law dissolves that connection, so far as the scope of the argument here is concerned, and prepares the way for another union, a union with Christ, from which a new and more efficient obligation results. The design is to show that the new connection would accomplish more important effects than the old.
Ye also are become dead to the law - Notes, Rom 6:3-4, Rom 6:8. The connection between us and the Law is dissolved, so far as the scope of the apostle’ s argument is concerned. He does not say that we are dead to it, or released from it as a rule of duty, or as a matter of obligation to obey it; for there neither is, nor can be, any such release, but we are dead to it as a way of justification and sanctification. In the great matter of acceptance with God, we have ceased to rely on the Law, having become dead to it, and having embraced another plan.
By the body of Christ - That is, by his body crucified; or in other words, by his death; compare Eph 2:15, "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity,"etc. that is, by his death. Col 1:22, "in the body of his flesh through death,"etc. Col 2:14; 1Pe 2:24, "who bare our sins in his own body on the tree."The sense, is, therefore, that by the death of Christ as an atoning sacrifice; by his suffering for us what would be sufficient to meet the demands of the Law; by his taking our place, he has released us from the Law as a way of justification; freed us from its penalty; and saved us from its curse. Thus released, we are at liberty to be united to the law of him who has thus bought us with his blood.
That ye should be married to another - That you might be united to another, and come under his law. This is the completion of the illustration in Rom 7:2-3. As the woman that is freed from the law of her husband by his death, when married again comes under the authority of another, so we who are made free from the Law and its curse by the death of Christ, are brought under the new law of fidelity and obedience to him with whom we are thus united. The union of Christ and his people is not unfrequently illustrated by the most tender of all earthly connections, that of a husband and wife, Eph 5:23-30; Rev 21:9. "I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’ s wife,"Rev 19:7.
Even to him who is raised ... - See the force of this explained, Rom 6:8.
That we should bring forth fruit unto God - That we should live a holy life. This is the point and scope of all this illustration. The new connection is such as will make us holy. It is also implied that the tendency of the Law was only to bring forth fruit unto death Rom 7:5, and that the tendency of the gospel is to make man holy and pure; compare Gal 5:22-23.
Poole: Rom 7:1 - -- Rom 7:1-3 No law having power over a person longer than he lives,
Rom 7:4 we therefore, being become dead to the law by the body
of Christ, ar...
Rom 7:1-3 No law having power over a person longer than he lives,
Rom 7:4 we therefore, being become dead to the law by the body
of Christ, are left free to place ourselves under a
happier dispensation.
Rom 7:5-13 For the law, through the prevalency of corrupt passions,
could only serve as an instrument of sin unto death;
although it be in itself holy, and just, and good.
Rom 7:14-23 As is manifest by our reason approving the precepts of
it, whilst our depraved nature is unable to put them
in practice.
Rom 7:24,25 The wretchedness of man in such a situation, and God’ s
mercy in his deliverance from it through Christ.
The apostle, having showed in a former chapter how believers are freed from the dominion of sin, proceeds in this chapter to declare, that they are free also from the yoke of the Mosaical law, because that was dead to them, and they to it. This he illustrates, and proceeds by the familiar allegory of a husband and his wife: Look, as a wife is free from her husband when he is dead, and may then marry another, and be no adulteress; so believers are dead to the law, and are free to be married to another, even to Christ, that is raised from the dead, that upon their marriage they may bring forth fruit unto God.
By the law here he means the law of wedlock, or the law of Moses about that matter, as appears by the instance given in the next verse.
The word man here is common to both sexes, and may be applied to either, for both are subject to the aforementioned law.

Poole: Rom 7:2 - -- He here exemplifies and illustrates the foregoing assertion.
The woman is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth: see a parallel pla...
He here exemplifies and illustrates the foregoing assertion.
The woman is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth: see a parallel place, 1Co 7:39 . This is the general rule, yet there is an exception in the case of fornication or desertion: see Mat 5:32 1Co 7:15 .
From the law of her husband from the obligation of the law of marriage.

Poole: Rom 7:3-4 - -- Ver. 3,4. Ye also are become dead to the law i.e. ye are taken off from all hopes of justification by it, and from your confidence in obedience to i...
Ver. 3,4. Ye also are become dead to the law i.e. ye are taken off from all hopes of justification by it, and from your confidence in obedience to it, Gal 2:19 . The opposition seems to require that he should have said, the law is dead to us; but these two phrases are much the same.
Question. What law does he mean?
Answer. Not only the ceremonial, but the moral law, for in that he instances, Rom 7:7 . The moral law is in force still; Christ came to confirm, and not to destroy it; but believers are freed from the malediction, from the rigid exaction, and from the irritation thereof. Of this last he speaks, Rom 7:8,9 , and from it we are freed but in part.
By the body of Christ i.e. by the sacrifice of Christ’ s body upon the cross; thereby he delivered us from the law, in the sense before mentioned.
Fruit unto God i.e. fruits of holiness and good works, to the glory and praise of God.
Haydock -> Rom 7:1
Haydock: Rom 7:1 - -- As long as it liveth; or, as long as he liveth. (Challoner) ---
This seems the literal construction, rather than as long as he, the man, liveth. ...
As long as it liveth; or, as long as he liveth. (Challoner) ---
This seems the literal construction, rather than as long as he, the man, liveth. For St. Paul here compares the law (which in the Greek is in the masculine gender) to the husband, whom a wife cannot quit, nor be married to another, as long as the husband liveth, without being an adulteress: but if the husband be dead, (as the law of Moses is now dead, and no longer obligatory after the publishing of the new law of Christ) the people that were Jews, and under the Jewish law, are now free from that former husband, to wit, the written law of Moses. Nay, this people also are become dead to the law, (ver. 4.) because the law itself is dead by the body of Christ, or, as in the Greek, by reason of the body of Christ offered and sacrificed for you, and for all on the cross: so that now you must look upon yourselves as spiritually married to him: which agrees with what follows, that you may belong to another, (in the Greek, to another husband ) to Christ, who is risen from the dead, and is now the spouse of your souls. (Witham)
Gill: Rom 7:1 - -- Know ye not, brethren,.... The apostle having asserted, Rom 6:14, that the believing Romans were "not under the law"; which he knew would be displeasi...
Know ye not, brethren,.... The apostle having asserted, Rom 6:14, that the believing Romans were "not under the law"; which he knew would be displeasing to many, and excepted to by them, especially the Jews that were among them, who though they believed in Christ, yet were zealous of the law, takes it up again, and explains and defends it. That they were the Jewish converts at Rome he here particularly addresses, appears partly from his calling them "brethren", for they were so according to the flesh, as well as in a spiritual relation, and this he rather mentions to soften their resentments, and conciliate their minds to him; and partly from the words included in a parenthesis,
for I speak to them that know the law; not the law of nature, but the law of Moses, as the Jews did, being trained up in the knowledge of it; to these he appeals, saying, "know ye not", for the truth of a principle or maxim he afterwards improves, which they could not be ignorant of,
how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he, or "it",
liveth; for the word "liveth" may refer either to man or to the law. The law may be said to live, when it is in full force, and to be dead, when it is abrogated and disannulled; now whilst it lives, or is in force, it has dominion over a man; it can require and command obedience of him, and in case of disobedience can condemn him, and inflict punishment on him: and this power it has also as long as the man lives who is under it, but when he is dead it has no more dominion over him; then "the servant is free from his master", Job 3:19; that is, from the law of his master; and children are free from the law of their parents, the wife from the law of her husband, and subjects from the law of their prince. This is so clear a point that none can doubt of it. The Jews have a saying d, that
"when a man is dead, he becomes

Gill: Rom 7:2 - -- For the woman which hath an husband,.... The former general rule is here illustrated by a particular instance and example in the law of marriage; a wo...
For the woman which hath an husband,.... The former general rule is here illustrated by a particular instance and example in the law of marriage; a woman that is married to a man,
is bound by the law to her husband; to live with him, in subjection and obedience to him,
so long as he liveth; except in the cases of adultery, Mat 19:9, and desertion, 1Co 7:15, by which the bond of marriage is loosed, and for which a divorce or separation may be made, which are equal to death:
but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband; the bond of marriage is dissolved, the law of it is abolished, and she is at entire liberty to marry whom she will, 1Co 7:39.

Gill: Rom 7:3 - -- So then if while her husband liveth,.... True indeed it is, that whilst her husband is alive, if
she be married to another man, she shall be called...
So then if while her husband liveth,.... True indeed it is, that whilst her husband is alive, if
she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; she will be noted and accounted of as such everybody, except in the above mentioned cases:
but if her husband be dead; then there can be no exception to her marriage:
she is free from the law; of marriage, by which she was before bound:
so that she is no adulteress; nor will any reckon her such; she is clear from any such imputation:
though she be married to another man; hence it appears that second marriages are lawful.

Gill: Rom 7:4 - -- Wherefore, my brethren, ye also,.... Here the apostle accommodates the foregoing instance and example to the case in hand, showing, that the saints we...
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also,.... Here the apostle accommodates the foregoing instance and example to the case in hand, showing, that the saints were not under the law, the power and dominion of it; since that, as when a man is dead, the woman is loosed from that law by which she was bound whilst he lived, that she may lawfully marry another man, and bear children to him without the imputation of adultery; so believers being dead to the law, and the law dead to them, which is all one, they are loosed from it, and may be, and are lawfully married to Christ, that they may bring forth the genuine fruits of good works, not in order to obtain righteousness and life by them, but for the honour and glory of God; in which account may be observed, an assertion that the saints and children of God
are become dead to the law, and that to them, as in Rom 7:6, and can have no more power over them than a law can have over dead persons, or a dead abrogated law can have over living ones. They are represented as "dead to sin", and "dead with Christ", Rom 6:2; and here, "dead to the law", as in Gal 2:19, and consequently cannot be under it; are out of the reach of its power and government, since that only has dominion over a man as long as be lives the law is dead to them; it has no power over them, to threaten and terrify them into obedience to it; nor even rigorously to exact it, or command it in a compulsory way; nor is there any need of all this, since believers delight in it after the inward man, and serve it with their minds freely and willingly; the love of Christ, and not the terrors of the law, constrains them to yield a cheerful obedience to it; it has no power to charge and accuse them, curse or condemn them, or minister death unto them, no, not a corporeal one, as a penal evil, and much less an eternal one. And the way and means by which they become dead to the law, and that to them is,
by the body of Christ; not by Christ, as the body or substance of the ceremonial law; see Col 2:17; since that is not singly designed, but the whole law of Moses; but by "the body of Christ", is either meant Christ himself, Heb 10:10, or rather the human nature of Christ, Heb 10:5, in which the law meets with every thing it can require and demand, as holiness of nature, which is the saints' sanctification in Christ; obedience of life, which is their righteousness; and sufferings of death, which is the penalty the law enjoins, whereby full expiation of sin is made, complete pardon is procured, and eternal redemption obtained; so that the law has nothing more to demand; its mouth is stopped, it is not in its power to curse and damn believers, they are dead to that, and that to them: the reason why the law is become so to them, and they to that, is,
that ye should be married to another; or "that ye should be to another", or "be another's"; that is, that ye should appear to be so in a just and legal way; for they were another's, they were Christ's before by the Father's gift, and were secretly married to him in the everlasting covenant, before he assumed their nature, and in the body of his flesh bore their sins, satisfied law and justice, paid their debts, and so freed them from the power of the law, its curse and condemnation, or any obligation to punishment; all which was done in consequence of his interest in them, and their marriage relation to him; but here respect is had to their open marriage to him in time, the day of their espousals in conversion; to make way for which, the law, their former husband, must be dead, and they dead to that, that so their marriage to Christ might appear lawful and justifiable; who is very fitly described by him,
who is raised from the dead; and is a living husband, and will ever continue so, will never die more; and therefore as the saints can never be loosed from the marriage bond of union between Christ and them, so they can never be loosed from the law of this husband; wherefore though they are dead to the law as a covenant of works, and as ministered by Moses, and are free from any obligation to it, as so considered, yet they are "under the law to Christ", 1Co 9:21; under obligation, by the ties of love, to obedience to it, and shall never be loosed from it. The end of being dead to the law, and of being married to Christ, is,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God. The allusion is to children being called "the fruit of the womb", Psa 127:3, and here designs good works, the fruits of righteousness, which are brought forth by persons espoused to Christ, under the influence of the Spirit and grace of God; and they are "unto God", that is, for the honour and glory of God; meaning either Christ the husband of believers, who is God over all blessed for ever; or God the Father, to whose praise and glory they are by Christ; and which is a reason and argument which strongly excites and encourages the saints to the performance of them: and let it be observed, that as children begotten and born in lawful marriage are only true and legitimate, and all before marriage are spurious and illegitimate; so such works only are the true and genuine fruits of righteousness, which are in consequence of a marriage relation to Christ; are done in faith, spring from love, and are directed to the glory of God; and all others, which are done before marriage to Christ, and without faith in him, are like spurious and illegitimate children.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rom 7:2 Paul’s example of the married woman and the law of the marriage illustrates that death frees a person from obligation to the law. Thus, in spiri...


Geneva Bible: Rom 7:1 Know ( 1 ) ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
( 1 ) By expoun...

Geneva Bible: Rom 7:3 So then if, while [her] husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be ( a ) called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is fre...

Geneva Bible: Rom 7:4 ( 2 ) Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the ( b ) body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, [even] to him who ...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Rom 7:1-25
TSK Synopsis: Rom 7:1-25 - --1 No law hath power over a man longer than he lives.4 But we are dead to the law.7 Yet is not the law sin;12 but holy, just and good;16 as I acknowled...
MHCC -> Rom 7:1-6
MHCC: Rom 7:1-6 - --So long as a man continues under the law as a covenant, and seeks justification by his own obedience, he continues the slave of sin in some form. Noth...
Matthew Henry -> Rom 7:1-6
Matthew Henry: Rom 7:1-6 - -- Among other arguments used in the foregoing chapter to persuade us against sin, and to holiness, this was one (Rom 7:14), that we are not under the...
Barclay -> Rom 7:1-6
Barclay: Rom 7:1-6 - --Seldom did Paul write so difficult and so complicated a passage as this. C. H. Dodd has said that when we are studying it we should try to forget w...
Constable: Rom 6:1--8:39 - --IV. THE IMPARTATION OF GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS chs. 6--8
The apostle moved on from questions about why people need s...

Constable: Rom 7:1-25 - --B. The believer's relationship to the law ch. 7
Paul followed a similar pattern as he unpacked his revel...

Constable: Rom 7:1-6 - --1. The law's authority 7:1-6
7:1 "Those who know law"--the article "the" before "law" is absent in the Greek text--were Paul's Roman readers. They liv...
College -> Rom 7:1-25
College: Rom 7:1-25 - --2. We Obey God from Our Hearts (7:1-6)
Are we free from the law? Yes, we are under grace instead (6:14). Does this mean sin is irrelevant, that we ca...
McGarvey: Rom 7:1 - --[In Rom 6:14 Paul laid down the principle that sin does not have dominion over Christians, because they are not under law, but under grace. The sectio...

McGarvey: Rom 7:2 - --For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth; but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husban...

McGarvey: Rom 7:3 - --So then if, while the husband liveth, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if the husband die, she is free from the la...
