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.
In Paul’s illustration from marriage, it was the husband who died and the wife who married again. If you and I are represented by the wife, and the Law is represented by the husband, then the application does not follow the illustration. If the wife died in the illustration, the only way she could marry again would be to come back from the dead. But that is exactly what Paul wants to teach! When we trusted Christ, we died to the Law; but in Christ, we arose from the dead and now are “married” (united) to Christ to live a new kind of life! 1
The Law is not given to the new man in Christ—old things have passed away and all things have become new (see 2 Cor. 5:17). The believer is not under law but under grace—this is the ipso facto statement of Scripture. Believer, believe it! It is so, for God says it! 2
Application
- When was the last time you joyfully considered yourself to be the Bride of Christ?
- How do you know for sure that you will be attending the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven?
Prayer
Lord, thank You for teaching me that only You can make me be a bearer of good fruit.
1. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
2. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (Romans 1-8) (electronic ed., Vol. 42). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
