Scripture Reading: Rom. 7:2-6
Ⅰ
Christ is the new Husband—Rom. 7:2-6:
A
As regenerated beings, both male and female believers have Christ as their Husband and are a part of His wife.
B
All genuine Christians have Christ as their Husband, yet it is pitiful that many do not know Him as their Husband.
Ⅱ
Our old man, the old husband, has been crucified:
A
Verses 2 through 4a show two husbands:
１
The first husband, the old husband, is the old man mentioned in 6:6, who has been crucified with Christ.
２
The second husband, the new husband, mentioned in 7:2-4, is Christ.
B
Since our old man, who was the old husband, has been crucified with Christ, we are freed from his law and are joined to the new Husband, Christ, the ever-living One.
C
As believers, we have two statuses:
１
The first is 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
The second is our new status as the regenerated new man, restored to our original and proper position as the genuine wife to God, depending on Him and taking Him as our Head—Isa. 54:5; 1 Cor. 11:3.
３
We no longer have the status of the old husband, for we have been crucified.
４
We now have only the new status of a proper wife, in which we take Christ as our Husband, and we should no longer live according to the old man, that is, no longer take the old man as our husband.
D
Since the law was intended for and given to the old husband, the old man, the death of the old man also made us dead to the law through the body of Christ.
Ⅲ
Our old man has been crucified to the law through the body of Christ so that we might marry another husband, Christ, who has been raised from the dead—Rom. 7:4a:
A
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; now we are married to Christ, our new Husband—2 Cor. 11:2.
B
Since Christ is our Husband, we must depend on Him and take Him as our Head—Eph. 5:23:
１
To take Christ as our Husband means to terminate all that we are, have, and do and to trust in Him for everything.
２
Taking Christ as our Husband also means that we believe into Christ.
３
No longer should we live by ourselves but by Christ; we must let Christ live for us.
４
We are no longer the husband; we, as the old man, have been crucified, and Christ is now our Husband.
C
Christ is not only our Head—He is also our person and our life—Col. 3:4.
D
When a person believes and is baptized into the Triune God, he becomes involved with another person; that is, he marries another person, Christ.
Ⅳ
As a wife, we bear fruit to God—Rom. 7:4b:
A
When we are in resurrection and live to God, we bear fruit to God.
B
As a regenerated person, as the wife, we bear fruit to God; this means that everything we do is now related to God.
C
Here we have a vivid contrast between death and God.
D
The phrase bear fruit to God means that God is brought forth as fruit:
１
Thus, all we are and do must be the living God.
２
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.
Ⅴ
We have died to the law in which we were held so that we might be discharged from it; we, as the wife and the new man, are no longer under law—v. 6:
A
The law portrays God and defines Him—Lev. 19:2.
B
Accordingly, it places many demands and requirements on fallen man, and in so doing, it identifies sins and leads man to the knowledge of sin—Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:20.
C
In this way man is both exposed and subdued by the law—3:19.
Ⅵ
As the wife, we should also serve the Lord in newness of spirit, not in oldness of letter—7:6:
A
In 6:4 we have the newness of life for our living, and in 7:6 we have the newness of spirit for our service:
１
Newness of life issues from our being identified with Christ's resurrection and is for our walk in our daily life.
２
Newness of spirit issues from our being discharged from the law and being joined to the resurrected Christ and is for our service to God.
３
Both newness of spirit and newness of life are results of the crucifixion of the old man.
B
Both newness of life and newness of spirit are related to the Spirit:
１
The newness of life is related to Christ Himself in His resurrection, who is the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b.
２
The spirit in the phrase newness of spirit refers to our regenerated human spirit, in which the Lord as the Spirit dwells—2 Tim. 4:22:
ａ
We may serve in newness of spirit because God has renewed our spirit.
ｂ
Everything that is related to our regenerated spirit is new.
ｃ
Our regenerated spirit is a source of newness because the Lord, the life of God, and the Holy Spirit are there.
ｄ
Everything in our regenerated spirit is new; in our regenerated spirit there is nothing but newness.
C
We need to realize that we, as the new man, are freed from the old man's law and have been married to our new Husband, the resurrected Christ, that we might bear fruit to God and serve the Lord in newness of spirit.