F
In Romans 7:4 Paul puts together a funeral and a wedding; on the one hand, we were buried; on the other hand, we were married; we were made dead according to our old status that we might marry another according to our new status; according to our new status, we marry Him who has been raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God.
G
Our old man, our old husband, has been crucified with Christ, so that we “might be joined to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God” (v. 4); this joining indicates that in our new status as a wife, we have an organic union in person, name, life, and existence with Christ in His resurrection.
H
As the regenerated new man and the wife to Christ, everything we are and do is now related to God, and God is brought forth by us as the fruit, the overflow, of our life; this is in contrast to the fruit born to death (v. 5), which was previously brought forth by us as the old man, the old husband.
I
We are now joined to the resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit; this is the joining of “the Spirit ...with our spirit” (8:16) as “one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17):
１
We should have our whole being turned to and set on this joined spirit—Rom. 8:6b.
２
We should also live and walk according to this joined spirit—v. 4.
３
When we thus live in this joined spirit, we can live out the Body of Christ to become the corporate expression of Christ for the glory of the Triune God—Eph. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Cor. 10:31; 1 Pet. 4:11; Rev. 21:10-11.
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 7:4 …You also have been made dead to the law through the body of Christ so that you might be joined to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God.6 But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter.
In Romans 7:4 Paul puts together a funeral and a wedding. On the one hand, we were buried; on the other hand, we were married. We have been made dead that we might marry another. In Romans 7:4 we are dead to marry; in Galatians 2:19 we are dead to live. If we did not have two statuses, how could this be possible? We were made dead according to our old status that we might marry another according to our new status. According to our new status, we marry Him who has been raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God. (Life-study of Romans, p. 145)
Today’s Reading
Now we are married to Christ, our new husband,…“to Him who has been raised from the dead” [Rom. 7:4]. In 2 Corinthians 11:2 Paul also says that he has espoused us to one husband, Christ. Christ is our new husband.As regenerated beings, both male and female believers are a part of the wife. Since Christ is our husband, we must depend on Him and take Him as our Head (Eph. 5:23). If we do this, we will bear fruit in resurrection to God (Rom. 7:4) and serve the Lord in newness of spirit (7:6). We will no longer be in the flesh, but in the newness of the spirit.
Christ is not only my head—He is also my person. The wives must take their husbands as their person, not only as their head. We must even take Christ as our life. Christ is our husband, our head, our person, and our life. We have been terminated and have become nobody. Christ lives in us and for us. I have been fully called out of everything else and called into Him. I believe in Him and put my whole trust in Him. Christ is everything to me. He is my husband, my head, my person, and my life. Therefore, I am fully under grace, no longer under law in any way. The law has nothing to do with me, and I have nothing to do with the law. “I through law have died to law” (Gal. 2:19). Now in grace I am alive to God. As a new man and the wife, married to a new husband, whatever we are and do is related to God. We bear fruit to God…. [This] means that God comes forth, that God is brought forth as fruit. Thus, all we are and do must be the living God. We must bring forth God as an overflow of God. In this way we have the living God as our fruit and we bear fruit to God.
As a wife we must also serve the Lord in newness of spirit, not in oldness of the letter. The word spirit in this verse denotes our regenerated human spirit in which the Lord as the Spirit dwells (2 Tim. 4:22). We may serve in newness of spirit because God has renewed our spirit. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 146-147, 149)
The Spirit now dwells in our regenerated spirit and is joined to our spirit as one spirit (Rom. 8:9-11a; 1 Cor. 6:17). He is not only in us but also joined with our spirit to become one spirit with us. We must therefore exercise to turn our whole being to this joined spirit and set our mind on it (Rom. 8:6b). Do not place your mind on frivolous matters; set it on the spirit by turning your entire being to this joined spirit. We should also live and walk according to this joined spirit (v. 4). We must speak, do things, treat others, and deal with matters according to this joined spirit. We should talk to our family members in our home life according to this spirit. When we live in this joined spirit, we will be able to live out the Body of Christ and become His corporate expression (Eph. 1:23). (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Thorough View of the Body of Christ,” p. 132)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Thorough View of the Body of Christ,” ch. 2