Ⅳ
The picture of Boaz (typifying Christ as our new Husband) and Ruth (typifying the church with her old man as her crucified husband) is spoken of by Paul in Romans 7:1-6:
A
In God’s creation man’s original position was that of a wife; Isaiah 54:5 says that God our Maker is our Husband; as a wife to God, we must depend upon Him and take Him as our Head.
B
When man fell, he took another position, the self-assuming position of the old man (our very being which was created by God but became fallen through sin); the man created by God was a wife, but the fallen man became independent of God and made himself the head as the husband.
C
Since our old man, who was the old husband, has been crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6), we are freed from his law (7:2-4) and are joined to the new Husband, Christ, as the ever-living One.
D
As believers, we have two statuses:
１
We have our old status as the fallen old man, who left the original position of a wife, dependent on God, and took the self-assuming position of a husband and head, independent of God.
２
We have our new status as the regenerated new man, restored to our original and proper position as the genuine wife to God (Isa. 54:5; 2 Cor. 11:2-3), dependent on Him and taking Him as our Head.
E
We no longer have the old status of the husband, for we have been crucified (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6); we now have only the new status of the proper wife, in which we take Christ as our Husband, and should no longer live according to the old man (no longer taking the old man as our husband).
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 6:6-8 Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves; for he who has died is justified from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.[The picture of Boaz (typifying Christ as our new Husband) and Ruth (typifying the church with her old man as her crucified husband) is spoken of by Paul in Romans 7:1-6.]
In God’s creation man’s original position was that of a wife [cf. Isa. 54:5]…. As a wife to God, we must depend upon Him and take Him as our head. When man fell, he took another position, the self-assuming position of the old man….The man created by God was a wife; the fallen man became a husband. Assuming the position of the husband, the fallen man became independent of God and made himself the head as the husband. Before you were saved, you never considered yourself as a wife…. Among fallen people both males and females think of themselves as husbands…. Hence, fallen man became a strong, ugly husband. The position of the regenerated new man is a genuine wife’s position. Regeneration restores us to our original position.
The first husband of Romans 7:2-3 is…the old man of Romans 6:6, which has been crucified with Christ. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 140-143)
Today’s Reading
We, the believers, after being saved, have two statuses—the old and the new. Due to the fall we have the old status; due to regeneration we have a new one. Because of the fall we are the old man, and because of regeneration we are the new man. As the old man we were the husband; as the new man we are the wife. Hence, we have two statuses.[Consider] Romans 7:1-6 in relation to Romans 6:6 and Galatians 2:19-20. Romans 7:1 says, “The law lords it over the man as long as he lives.” This verse presents no difficulty. In 7:2 we are told that the “married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he is living; but if the husband dies, she is discharged from the law regarding the husband.” Please notice that it does not say “she is living,” but “he is living.” If the husband dies, the wife is discharged from the law of the husband. Romans 7:3 tells us that if, while the husband lives, the wife marries another husband she will be called an adulteress. However, if the husband dies, she is freed from the law and may be married to another.
[Romans 7:4 says], “So then, my brothers, you also have been made dead to the law through the body of Christ.” We were not put to death as a result of suicide, but through the body of Christ, meaning that we died on the cross of Christ. The phrase “through the body of Christ” modifies death, indicating what sort of death it was…. It was a co-crucifixion with Christ. When Christ was crucified, we died with Him. We need to compare this with Romans 6:6, which says, “Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him.”…This verse…corresponds with Romans 7:4 which says that we were made dead through the body of Christ.
Romans 6:6 continues with the phrase “that we should no longer serve sin as slaves.” The old man has been crucified, yet we still live. We should no longer serve sin as slaves….Galatians 2:19…says, “For I through law have died to law that I might live to God.” Are we dead or living? Are we two persons or one? By this verse we can see that we have two statuses, that there are two I’s—an old “I” and a new “I.” The old “I” is dead that the new “I” may live. Verse 20 follows by declaring, “I am crucified with Christ,” a phrase which undoubtedly corresponds to Romans 6:6 and 7:4. These three verses correspond to one another….Then, Galatians 2:20 says, “And the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God.” This verse reveals that a believer has two statuses—the status of an old man and the status of the regenerated new man. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 143-145)
Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 12