Romans 7:4
Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
Truth to Learn
We have been set free so that we can bear fruit for God.
Behind the Words
Just as in the previous verse the word for “married” does not appear in the Greek text. A literal translation of that portion of the verse would be “for you to become another’s.” More than implying the marriage relationship, it implies ownership. We belong to Him who was raised from the dead.
“Bear fruit” is translated from karpophoreō, which is made up of karpos, meaning “fruit” and a form of pherō, meaning “to bring” or “to bear.”
Meaning Explained
There are some who believe Paul is saying that the husband in this imagery is really the Law which is now dead. Because the Law is dead, we as Christians are free to marry another, which is Christ. Whereas that would parallel the previous verse and would demonstrate that we are no longer under obligation to the Law since it is now dead, that is not what Paul is saying.
In the current verse we see that Paul says we have become dead to the Law, not that the Law has become dead. His reason for using this imagery is to show that death causes a cessation of the bonds of law. If you re-read the first 11 verses of the previous chapter, you will see that it is our death to sin that Paul is talking about.
Romans 6:1-11 What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Let it not be! We who died to sin, how shall we still live in it? Or are you ignorant that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, so also we should walk in newness of life. For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, so also shall we be in the resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be nullified, so that we no longer serve sin. For the one that died has been justified from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that also we shall live with Him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death no longer lords it over Him. For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. So also you count yourselves to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we were saved we were made dead to sin, being released from bondage to it. That bondage came from the Law to which all belonged (i.e. married to it). Now that we have been made dead to sin, we are no longer bound to try to obtain righteousness through the Law. Instead, as Paul has already said, we have received the gift of righteousness, not because we earned it but because it has been given to us by God.
Application
We are no longer under the Law. We do not have to obey all the rules to be acceptable to God. We are acceptable to God because of the blood of Christ. Therefore our works (fruit) are not the source of our righteousness, but are to be the result of our having been declared righteous.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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