Romans 7:1
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
Truth to Learn
Christians are in a marriage relationship with Jesus Christ.
Behind the Words
The word translated “brethren” is adelphos, which is made up of a, denoting unity and delphus, meaning “a womb.” Literally it means those who have come from the same womb. In the New Testament it is used metaphorically of all Christians.
Meaning Explained
In the previous chapter, Paul told us that sin should not have dominion over us because we are not under the Law but under Grace (Romans 6:14). When we got saved, we died to sin and now we live to God as our new ruler. In this chapter he will tell us why we are still affected by the Law even though we are not under obligation to it.
The metaphor that he used in the previous chapter was that of the master-slave relationship. In actuality, it is more than a metaphor because God is the Master of all creation and all things are in subjection to Him. In this chapter he uses a different metaphor, the marriage relationship. And once again, it is more than a metaphor, because those of us who are saved are declared to be the Bride of Christ.
Paul now shows how this new relationship is related (or not, as the case may be) to the Law. He starts out this section of his letter with another rhetorical question. He uses the question as an attention grabber. He says that he is speaking to those who know the Law. This certainly would apply to any Roman Christian who had been converted from the Jewish religion. All Jews know the Law. So when he asks, “Are you ignorant, brothers, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?” the answer is clearly, “No!” He will talk more about the marriage relationship in the next few verses.
We moved from a master-slave relationship with God to a marriage relationship when we were saved. Marriage is a picture of the intimate relationship that God wants to have with each one of us. One of my favorite proofs of this comes from the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs 3:5,6 we are told:
trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
The word translated “acknowledge” is the Hebrew word yawdah, which means ‘to know someone relationally and intimately.” It is the same word translated as “knew” in Genesis 4:1:
And Adam knew Eve his wife. And she conceived and bore Cain”
Therefore, we could translate Proverbs 3:6 as, “In all your ways become intimately familiar with God, and He shall direct your paths.” That’s what God wants from each and every one of us who is a born again Christian; He wants an intimate relationship with us!
Application
Do you want God to direct your paths? If so, then you need to have an intimate personal relationship with Him? That requires a lot of effort on your part.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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