Romans 7:3-4

Romans 7:3-If A Jewish Woman’s Husband Dies, She Is Not An Adulteress If She Remarries

Romans 7:3 is divided into two sections with each section containing two parts. The first section is an emphatic inferential statement: “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.” This statement is divided into two parts: (1) Protasis of a third class condition: “if while her husband is living she is joined to another man ” (2) Apodasis: “ She shall be called an adulteress .” The second section contained in Romans 7:3 is an adversative clause: “But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” This too is divided into two parts: (1) Protasis of a fifth class condition: “ if her husband dies ” (2) Apodasis of a fifth class condition: “ She is free from the law so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man .” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “So then ” is composed of the “inferential” particle ara ( a&ra ) (ar-ah), “ so ” and the “transitional” or “resumptive” use of the post-positive conjunction oun ( ou@n ) (oon), “then .” In classical writings, the particle ara never begins a clause. However, Paul employs often at the beginning of sentences. The expression ara oun is peculiar to Paul’s writings (27 times out of 49 in the Greek New Testament), eleven in Romans alone. It appears at the beginning of a sentence several times in the book of Romans (Romans 5:18; 7:3, 25; 8:12; 9:16; 14:12, 19). The inferential particle ara appears by itself in Romans 7:21, 8:1 and 10:17. In Romans 7:3, the particle ara is inferential suggesting that the statement to follow is a conclusion or inference from Paul’s preceding statements in Romans 7:1-2. In Romans 7:1, Paul poses a rhetorical question to the Jewish Christians in Rome and asks if they are ignorant of the fact that the Mosaic Law has jurisdiction over a person as along as he lives. Romans 7:1, “Or, are some of you in a state of ignorance concerning this fact spiritual brothers (specifically, I am now addressing those who are very familiar with the Law through instruction), namely, that the Law does, as an

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1 eternal spiritual truth, have jurisdiction over a person during the entire extent of time they do live?” Romans 7:2 is a parenthetical remark, which presents an example from Jewish marriage customs that a Jewish is always bound to her husband by contract as long as he lives but if he dies, she is discharged from this marriage contract. Romans 7:2, “For example, the married woman is always bound by contract to the husband while he does live. However, if the husband dies, then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth, discharged from the contract with respect to her husband.” The conjunction oun resumes Paul’s previous train of thought in Romans 7:1 after his parenthetical remark in Romans 7:2. Therefore, it means, “as previously stated” (in verse 1) that the Mosaic Law has jurisdiction over a person as along as he lives. Oun is introducing a summarization of this remark that is the result of an inference. The particle ara closes the parenthetical remark in verse 2. Together, ara oun emphasize the logical connection between Paul’s statements in Romans 7:1-2 with his statement to follow in Romans 7:3. Therefore, we will translate the inferential use of the particle ara , “ therefore .” We will translate the “transitional” or “resumptive” use of the conjunction oun , “ based upon what has been previously stated .” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “If ” is the conditional particle ean ( e)avn ) (eh-an), which introduces the protasis of a third class conditional statement since the apodasis contains the future indicative form of the verb chrematizo , “ she shall be called .” The third class condition often presents the condition as uncertain of fulfillment but still likely. However, there are many exceptions to this. The third class condition encompasses a broad semantic range. First of all, there can be a logical connection (if A, then B) in the present time (sometimes called a present general condition) indicating nothing as to the fulfillment of the protasis. Secondly, there can be a mere hypothetical situation or that probably will not be fulfilled. Third, there is a more probable future occurrence. The third class condition can depict what is likely to occur in the future, what could possibly occur or even what is only hypothetical and will not occur. It is neutral meaning “If A, then B.” In Romans 7:3, Paul employs the third class condition in order to present a hypothetical situation of a Jewish married woman entering into marriage with

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2 another man while her husband is still living. There is no indication of fulfillment since he is simply presenting a hypothetical situation. In the protasis, we have the aorist subjunctive form of the verb ginomai , “ she is joined ” whereas in the apodasis we have the future indicative form of the verb chrematizo , “ she shall be called .” In Romans 7:3, the relationship between the protasis and the apodasis is “cause and effect” where the cause is a Jewish woman entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still living and the effect is that she will be known publicly as an adulteress by the Law and subject to the death penalty as a result. The subjunctive of ginomai is used because the subject is undefined, not because the time is future. It is undefined because Paul is communicating a hypothetical situation of a Jewish married woman entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still living, thus rendering her by the Law as an adulteress who is guilty of the death penalty according to Mosaic Law. We will translate ean , “ if .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “While her husband is living ” is composed of the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun aner ( a)nhvr ) (an-ayr), “ her husband ” and the genitive masculine singular present active participle form of the verb zao ( zavw ) (dzah-o), “while…is living .” The noun aner refers to a male as opposed to a female and in context, denotes a husband. The articular construction of the word is “anaphoric” indicating that the word was used in verse 2 and that its meaning in verse is being retained here in verse 3. The context also clearly indicates that the article also functions as a “possessive pronoun” and should be translated “ her .” We will translate the articular form of aner , “ her husband .” The verb zao means, “to live” and is used of the soul’s existence on planet earth in the human body. The word functions as a “temporal” participle since it answers the question as to “when” in relation to the controlling verb chrematizo , “ she shall be called .” The action of present participle form of zao is “contemporaneous” with the action of the controlling verb chrematizo , “ she shall be called .” It is saying that according to Jewish law, a Jewish woman would be considered an adulteress if she entered into marriage with another man “while” her husband is still living.

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The present tense is a “gnomic present,” which is used here to describe something that “does” happen. Therefore, it indicates that according to Jewish law, a Jewish woman would be considered an adulteress if she entered into marriage with another man while her husband “does” live. The active voice is “stative” indicating that the subject “exists in the state” indicated by the verb. Therefore, it indicates that the Jewish husband as the subject “exists in the state” of being alive. The participle form of zao functions as a “genitive absolute.” Structurally, a “genitive absolute” will consist of a noun or pronoun in the genitive case and will usually come at the front of the sentence. In Romans 7:3, the articular genitive form of the noun aner , “ her husband ” is employed with the genitive anarthrous participle form of the verb zao , “ while he does live ” and together they appear at the beginning of the sentence. Semantically, the “genitive absolute” construction is unconnected with the rest of the sentence. This is the case in Romans 7:3 where articular genitive form of the noun aner , “ her husband ” is different from the subject of the main clause, which is a hypothetical married Jewish woman. In the “genitive absolute” construction, the participle is always adverbial and is normally temporal. In Romans 7:3, the participle form of the verb zao is adverbial and temporal meaning that in relation to the controlling verb it answers the question as to “when” the action of the controlling verb took place, which in our context, is the verb is chrematizo , “ she shall be called .” Therefore, as a temporal participle, eimi denotes “when” a Jewish married woman would be known publicly as an adulteress. The present participle form of the verb zao is contemporaneous in time with the action of the main verb chrematizo , “ she shall be called .” This means that according to Jewish law, a married Jewish woman would be considered an adulteress if she enters into marriage with another man while “at the same time” her husband is still living. We will translate zao , “ while…does live .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “She is joined ” is the third person singular aorist (deponent) middle subjunctive form of the verb ginomai ( givnomai ) (ghin-om-i), which is an idiom for getting married.

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The third person singular form means “she” and refers in a hypothetical sense to a married Jewish woman. The middle voice is “deponent” meaning that it has an active voice meaning even though it has a middle voice form. Therefore, the “deponent” middle voice indicates that in a hypothetical sense a Jewish married woman as the subject producing the action of entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still alive. The aorist tense of the verb is an “ingressive” aorist, which emphasizes in a hypothetical sense a married Jewish woman “entering into the state” of marriage with another man while her husband is still alive. The subjunctive mood of the verb is employed with the conditional particle ean , “if ” in order to form the protasis of a third class conditional statement, which presents a hypothetical situation of a Jewish married woman entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still alive. There is no indication of fulfillment since Paul is simply presenting a hypothetical situation. The subjunctive of ginomai is used because the subject is undefined, not because the time is future. It is undefined because Paul is communicating a hypothetical situation of a Jewish married entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still alive, thus rendering her by the Law as an adulteress who is guilty of the death penalty according to Mosaic Law. We will translate the verb ginomai , “ she enters into marriage .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man , she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “To another man ” is composed of the dative masculine singular form of the noun aner ( a)nhvr ) (an-ayr), “ to man ” and the dative masculine singular form of the adjective heteros ( e^tero$ ) (het-er-os), “ another .” The noun aner refers to a male as opposed to a female. It functions as a “dative of association” indicating that of a hypothetical Jewish married woman “associating” or participating in marriage “relations” with another man while her husband is still alive. We will translate aner , “ with…man .” The adjective heteros is modifying the noun aner and denotes “another” of a dissimilar nature. In a hypothetical sense, it describes this man that this married Jewish woman is entering into marriage with as someone “other than” her husband. We will translate heteros , “ another .”

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Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man…” As we noted earlier, the conditional particle ean , “ if ” is employed with the subjunctive mood of the verb ginomai , “ she enters into marriage .” Together, they explicitly convey a protasis of a third class condition, which presents a hypothetical situation of a Jewish married woman entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still alive. However, the apodasis is introduced implicitly meaning without a structural marker. Again, the relationship between the protasis and the apodasis is “cause and effect” where the cause is a Jewish married woman entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still living and the effect is that she will be known publicly as an adulteress. Therefore, we will insert the word “ then ” into our translation before the apodasis statement in order to account for this. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “She shall be called ” is the third person singular future active indicative form of the verb chrematizo ( xrhmativzw ) (khray-mat-id-zo), which means, “to be publicly known as.” The third person singular form means “she” and refers in a hypothetical sense to a married Jewish woman. The future tense of the verb is “gnomic,” which is used to indicate the likelihood that a generic event will take place. The “gnomic future” denotes that an act is true any time but from the standpoint of the future. Therefore, it signifies that this hypothetical married Jewish woman will, “as a certainty” be known publicly as an adulteress if she enters into marriage with another man while her husband is still living. The active voice is a “causative” active voice meaning that the subject is not directly involved in the action but it may be said to be the ultimate source or cause of it. Causative verbs with the –izo suffix often have a “causative” active voice. Therefore, the “causative active” voice of chrematizo indicates that this hypothetical Jewish married woman as the subject will “cause” herself to be known publicly as an adulteress if she enters into marriage with another man while her husband is still living.

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The indicative mood of the verb is “declarative” presenting this assertion as an unqualified statement that is substantiated by the Mosaic Law. We will translate chrematizo , “ she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress ; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “An adulteress ” is the nominative feminine singular form of the adjective moichalis ( moixaliv$ ) (moy-khal-is), which refers to a woman who has committed adultery. Adultery refers to “sexual intercourse with a person who is not your spouse.” The word functions as a “predicate nominative” indicating it is making an assertion about the subject. The subject is a married Jewish woman. Therefore, the assertion is that a married Jewish woman will cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress if she enters into marriage with another man while her husband is still living. The adjective moichalis functions as a substantive. Marriage was established by God in the Garden of Eden when He brought the Woman to Adam to be his helpmate (See Genesis 2:18-25). Genesis 2:18-25, “Next, the Lord God said, ‘it is not good for the man to be alone, I will form (out of existing material) for his benefit a helper as his counterpart. Consequently, the Lord God constructed from the ground each and every creature of the field as well as each and every bird of the air. Then, He brought them to the man in order to see what name he would designate to them. Consequently, whatever name the man designated to these living creatures that was its name. Thus, the man designated names to each and every domestic animal and to the birds of the air and to each and every wild animal of the field but for man there was not found a helper as his counterpart. Then, the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, thus he slept and He surgically removed a portion of his side and then He closed up the place with flesh. Then, the Lord God built this portion of his side, which He had surgically removed from the man up into a woman. Then, He brought her to the man. Then, the man said, ‘this now is bone of my bones and flesh from my flesh. For my benefit, this will be designated the name, woman because from man she was surgically removed. Therefore, a man

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7 leaves his father and his mother and he is united with his wife and they become one flesh. And they, the two of them, the man and the woman were naked but they were not ashamed.” Therefore, committing adultery would be sin against God because it would violate the divine institution of marriage. The Word of God prohibits adultery. Exodus 20:14, “You shall not commit adultery.” Adultery begins in the heart. Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” The act of adultery takes place when the thought of adultery is acted upon. James 1:13-15, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” Committing adultery is a manifestation of not loving your neighbor as yourself. Romans 13:8-10, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Under the Mosaic Law, both the adulterer and the adulteress received the death penalty. Leviticus 20:10, “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” The Lord Jesus Christ taught if you look lustfully at another man’s wife, you have already committed adultery with her in your heart. Matthew 5:27-28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” James teaches those Jewish Christians who succumbed to the Judaizers and sought to live under the Mosaic economy taught that if you do not commit adultery but commit murder, you have transgressed the Law since whoever stumbles in one point has become guilty of transgressing all that is taught in the Law.

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James 2:10-11, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, ‘DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,’ also said, ‘DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” Both the Old and New Testament Scriptures condemn adultery. Proverbs 1:10, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.” Proverbs 6:20-35, “My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life to keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids. For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished. Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry; But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; He must give all the substance of his house. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out. For jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom, nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.” Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” God has ordained sex within the boundaries of marriage in order to perpetuate and protect the human race from disease and emotional trauma, which is brought on by adultery. Adultery was a problem throughout Israel’s history.

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Jeremiah 7:9-11, “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ -- that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:1-6, “Oh that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the desert a wayfarers' lodging place; That I might leave my people and go from them! For all of them are adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. They bend their tongue like their bow; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me, declares the LORD. Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, and do not trust any brother; Because every brother deals craftily, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor and does not speak the truth, they have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves committing iniquity. Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me," declares the LORD.” Ezekiel 22:1-16, “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations. You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement! You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil. Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you. You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed acts of lewdness. In you they have uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was unclean in her menstrual impurity. One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. And another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter. In you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10 oppression, and you have forgotten Me," declares the Lord GOD. Behold, then, I smite My hand at your dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you. Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken and will act. I will scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will consume your uncleanness from you. You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the LORD.’” In the first century, the Jews were divorcing their women without legitimate Biblical reasons and were thus committing adultery. There are three legitimate grounds for divorce: (1) Failure to be faithful to the marriage partner (Deuteronomy 24:1-5) (2) Failure to provide emotional support in the form of sex (Exodus 21:10-11) (3) Failure to provided material support (Exodus 21:10-11). Therefore, adultery was grounds for divorce since it was the failure to be faithful to the marriage contract. The refusal to have sex with your marriage partner is grounds for divorce since it is a failure to provide sex for your marriage partner under the marriage contract. Physical abuse is grounds for divorce since it is the failure to provide emotional support under the marriage contract. Physical neglect is grounds for divorce since it is the failure to provide material support under the terms of the marriage contract. It is interesting that Moses’ divorced his first wife Zipporah because she was negative to the doctrine of circumcision. The Lord permitted a believer to divorce his wife and remarry is Moses who according to Exodus 18:2 divorced his first wife Zipporah because she refused to obey the Lord’s commandment to circumcise his boys (Ex. 4:25; Lev. 12:2-3) and according to Numbers 12:1, Moses got remarried to a Cushite woman. Many Jewish men tried to circumvent the Mosaic Law command against adultery by divorcing their wives and marrying another woman to whom they were attracted. This practice of divorcing their wives for simply any reason came about because of misinterpreting the meaning of the phrase “ indecency ” in Deuteronomy 24:1-5. Deuteronomy 24:1-5, “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD,

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11 and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance. When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken.” In first century Israel, there were two schools of interpretation concerning Deuteronomy 24:1. There was the “Shammai” school, which was conservative in that they took the word “indecency” literally referring to some form of sexual immorality such as adultery. The second was the “Hillel” school, which was liberal in that they took the word “indecency” and added to it, saying that the word meant “any indecency at all,” thus teaching that a Jewish man could divorce his wife for anything that he didn’t like about her such as she burned the bacon at breakfast. The Lord Jesus Christ condemned this practice of divorcing without a legitimate reason. Matthew 19:1-12, “When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?’ And He answered and said, ‘Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE’ and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY? He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.’ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. The disciples said to Him, ‘If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.’ But He said to them, ‘Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.’ For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.” The “ certificate of divorce ” enabled the divorcees to remarry. The directive will of God is that marriage was originally designed to be a life long commitment (Gen. 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6), but the permissive will of God has permitted divorce because of the fallen nature of man and negative volition to the Word of God on the part of one or both partners (Matt. 19:7-8).

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The victim of adultery has two legitimate choices, forgiveness or divorce. Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Recovering from the sin of adultery demands the confession of the sin to the Father and then bringing one’s thoughts in obedience to Christ, which constitutes obeying the commands of Ephesians 5:18 to be influenced by means of the Spirit and Colossians 3:16 to let the Word of Christ richly dwell in your soul. 1 John 1:9, “If any of us does at any time confess our sins, then, He (God the Father) is faithful and just with the result that He forgives us our sins and purifies us from each and every wrongdoing.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Ephesians 5:18: “And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit.” Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” The believer’s love for the Lord is to motivate him to obey God’s will, which prohibits adultery. His love and gratitude to the Lord for all that He had done for him is the secret to withstanding the temptation to commit sin and not just adultery since his love for the Lord and gratitude towards Him will motivate him to obey the laws of God pertaining to adultery. Obedience to the will of God, motivated by his love for God, enables the believer to withstand temptation from the old Adamic sin nature and the cosmic system of Satan. Obedience to the will of God demonstrates our love for God. John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Obedience to the Word of God is motivated by the believer’s love for the Lord and the believer’s love for the Lord is simply the response of the believer to the love God has demonstrated towards the believer through His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross and raising him up and seated him with Christ (See Ephesians 2:1-10). This is why the apostle Paul prayed that the Philippians love for the Lord would continue to grow since love for the Lord serves as a protection from sin and motivation to resist the temptation to sin.

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Philippians 1:9, “Now, this I make it a habit to pray that your divine-love might continue to flourish yet more and more by means of a total discerning experiential knowledge (of the love of God manifested in Christ by the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture).” Therefore, the believer receives the capacity to withstand committing the sin of adultery and all sin by means of his love for the Lord and if the believer loves the Lord it is only because the Lord loved him first. 1 John 4:19, “We love, because He first loved us.” The believer’s love for the Lord is demonstrated by his obedience to the Lord’s commands and his obedience to the Lord’s commands is the response in his soul to the love, which the Lord exercised towards him. Also, the believer’s awareness that God had a plan for his life and his personal sense of destiny will further motivate him to withstand the lusts of the old Adamic sin nature. The Bible not only prohibits adultery but also “spiritual” adultery. Church age believers have been entered into a marriage relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation. Ephesians 5:28-32, “So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church .” Many believers are committing spiritual adultery with the Lord today forsaking their relationship with the Lord and have committed spiritual adultery by putting idols in their souls such as money, houses, wives, husbands, children, jobs and self. Jeremiah 3:8-10, “And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception," declares the LORD .” James 4:4-10, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."

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Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you .” Of all the relationships that you have in life, your relationship with God is the most important, but it must be cultivated and matured. At the moment of salvation when you expressed faith alone in Christ alone you were entered into an eternal relationship with God and at the same time given the opportunity to become intimate with God. Galatians 3:26-28, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus .” This relationship with God can never be broken. Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord .” The Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to not put any human relationships ahead of their relationship with Him since to do so was tantamount to committing spiritual adultery. Matthew 10:37-39, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it .” The nation of Israel was guilty of committing spiritual adultery throughout her history. Jeremiah 5:7, “Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me and sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the harlot's house.” Jeremiah 3:6-10, “Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, ‘Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15 adultery with stones and trees. Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,’ declares the LORD.” Hosea 1:1-2, “The Word of the LORD which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, ‘Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.’” Hosea 3:1-5, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes. So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. Then I said to her, ‘You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.’ For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.” We will translate the adjective moichalis , “ an adulteress .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “But ” is the “adversative” use of the conjunction de ( deV) (deh), which introduces a statement that presents a contrast with Paul’s statement that appears in the protasis. In the protasis, Paul presented a hypothetical situation in which a Jewish married woman is known publicly as an adulteress if she marries another man while her husband is still living. His statement in the apodasis presents the idea that if her husband dies, she would not be considered an adulteress if she married another man. We will translate the word, “ however .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However…”

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Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “If ” is once again the conditional particle ean ( e)avn ) (eh-an), which introduces the protasis of a fifth class conditional statement since the apodasis contains the present indicative form of the verb eimi , “ she is .” Technically, the subjunctive is used in the third class condition as well as the fifth class condition. Structurally, these two are virtually identical. The fifth class condition requires a present indicative in the apodosis, while the third class can take virtually any mood-tense combination, including the present indicative. Semantically, their meaning is a bit different. The third class condition encompasses a broad range of potentialities in Koine Greek. It depicts what is likely to occur in the future, what could possibly occur, or even what is only hypothetical and will not occur. In classical Greek the third class condition was usually restricted to the first usage (known as more probable future), but with the subjunctive’s encroaching on the domain of the optative in the Hellenistic era, this structural category has expanded accordingly. The context will always be of the greatest help in determining an author’s use of the third class condition. The fifth class offers a condition the fulfillment of which is realized in the present time. This condition is known as the present general condition. For the most part this condition is a simple condition; that is, the speaker gives no indication about the likelihood of its fulfillment. His presentation is neutral: ‘If A, then B.’ The present general condition addresses a generic situation in the present time. In the adversative clause that appears in Romans 7:3, we have a third class condition, which offers a condition the fulfillment of which is realized in the present time. Paul employs a third class conditional statement, which semantically presents a logical connection in the present time that is sometimes called a present general condition, and indicates nothing as to the fulfillment of the protasis. In the protasis, we have the present subjunctive form of the verb apothnesko , “dies ” whereas in the apodasis we have the present indicative form of the verb eimi , “ she is .” Thus this particular type of construction is known as a “present general condition” and is called a fifth class condition. In the adversative clause that appears in Romans 7:3 we have an example of the present general condition since there is no hint of uncertainty about this event occurring, nor is it something presented as an eventuality. Paul is simply presenting a hypothetical situation in order to teach spiritual principle taught in the Mosaic Law with the fifth class condition.

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In the adversative clause that appears in Romans 7:3, Paul is offering no indication about the likelihood of fulfillment. The fifth class condition expresses the spiritual principle that if a Jewish woman’s husband dies, she is not an adulteress if she marries another man. The subjunctive of apothnesko is used because the subject is undefined, not because the time is future. It is undefined because Paul is communicating a principle taught in the Mosaic Law by presenting a hypothetical situation. The relationship between the protasis and the apodasis is “cause and effect” where the cause is a Jewish woman’s husband dies and the effect is that she is not an adulteress if she remarries. We will translate ean , “ if .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “Her husband ” is the articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun aner ( a)nhvr ) (an-ayr), which refers to a male as opposed to a female and in context refers to a husband. The article serves to indicate that the noun aner is functioning as the subject in the protasis of this fifth class conditional statement that appears in the adversative clause. It also could be used as a “possessive pronoun.” We will translate aner , “the husband .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies , she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “Dies ” is the third person singular aorist active subjunctive form of the verb apothnesko ( a)poqnhv|skw ) (ap-oth-nace-ko), which refers to physical death. The aorist tense of the verb is a “culminative” or “consummative” aorist tense, which is used to emphasize the cessation of an act or state. This type of aorist views an event in its entirety but regarding it from the viewpoint of its existing results. Therefore, the “culminative” aorist views the Jewish husband physically

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18 dying but regards his death from the standpoint of its existing results, which his wife is not an adulteress if she remarries. The active voice denotes the Jewish husband as producing the action of dying. The subjunctive mood of apothnesko is employed with the conditional particle ean , “ if ” in order to form the protasis of a fifth class condition. We will translate apothnesko , “ dies .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies…” As we noted earlier, the conditional particle ean , “ if ” is employed with the subjunctive mood of the verb apothnesko , “ dies .” Together, they explicitly convey a protasis of a fifth class condition, which teaches the spiritual principle that if a Jewish woman’s husband dies, she is not an adulteress if she marries another man. However, the apodasis is introduced implicitly meaning without a structural marker. Again, the relationship between the protasis and the apodasis is “cause and effect” where the cause is a Jewish husband dying and the effect is that his wife will not be an adulteress if she remarries. Therefore, we will insert the word “ then ” into our translation before the apodasis statement in order to account for this. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “She is free ” is composed of the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi ( ei)miv) (i-mee), “ she is ” and the nominative feminine singular form of the adjective eleutheros ( e)leuvqero$ ) (el-yoo-ther-os), “ free .” The third person singular form means “she” and refers in a hypothetical sense to a married Jewish woman. The verb eimi means, “to exist in a particular state or condition.” Therefore, it denotes that if a Jewish woman’s husband dies, then she “exists in the state of being” free the marriage contract established with her deceased husband. The present tense is “gnomic” used for a general timeless fact or spiritual axiom or eternal spiritual truth” taught in the Mosaic Law. Therefore, it indicates that if a

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Jewish woman’s husband dies, she is “an eternal spiritual truth” free from her marital obligations stipulated in the marriage contract with her deceased husband. The active voice is “stative” meaning that the subject exists in the state indicating by the verb. This indicates that a Jewish woman, as the subject “exists in a state of” being free from her obligations to her deceased husband stipulated in the marriage contract. The indicative mood is “declarative” presenting this assertion as a non- contingent or unqualified statement of Bible doctrine. We will translate eimi , “ she is, as an eternal spiritual truth .” The adjective eleutheros describes this woman as being legally free from her marriage contract with her deceased husband or in other words, she is free from her marital obligations to her deceased husband. The adjective eleutheros functions as a substantive and as a “predicate nominative” indicating it is making an assertion about the subject. The subject is a married Jewish woman. Therefore, the assertion is that a Jewish woman is free from her marriage contract with her husband when he dies. We will translate eleutheros , “ free .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth free…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law , so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “From the Law ” is composed of the preposition apo ( a)pov), “ from ” and the articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun nomos ( novmo$ ) (nom-os), “the Law .” Once again, the noun nomos does not refer to the Mosaic Law itself but rather the context is dealing with Jewish marriage and is thus referring to the division of the Mosaic Law dealing with marriage “contracts.” It refers to a Jewish marriage “contract,” which is an agreement between a Jewish man and woman to enter into marriage with each other and which agreement was enforceable by the Mosaic Law in the sense that breaking this agreement through adultery was punishable by death. The preposition apo is a marker of separation and dissociation and the noun nomos functions as a “genitive of separation” or as some grammarians call an “ablative of separation” in which the genitive substantive is that from which the verb or sometimes the head noun is separated indicating point of departure. Thus, the noun nomos functions as a “genitive” or “ablative of separation” indicating that

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 20 upon a Jewish woman is “totally and completely separated from” the marriage contract with her husband once he dies. She discharged “totally and completely from” the law or contract with respect to her husband. The article preceding nomos is “anaphoric” meaning it indicates that it was used in a previous context and that the word’s meaning in the previous context is being retained here in the apodasis of the fifth class condition. We will translate the prepositional phrase apo tou nomou , “ from the contract .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth free from the contract…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “So that…is not ” is composed of the genitive neuter singular form of the definite article ho ( o() (ho), which is modifying the present active infinitive form of the verb eimi ( ei)miv) (i-mee), “ so that…is ” whose meaning is negated by the negative particle me ( mhv) (may), “ not .” In this particular context, the verb eimi means, “to belong to a particular class of individuals.” The negative particle me negates the meaning of the verb eimi . The negative particle me is subjective, involving will and thought, not fact and statement as ou does. It is the weaker, milder negative denying subjectively and with hesitancy, an unsteady particle, a hesitating negative, an indirect or subjunctive denial, an effort to prevent or prohibit what has not yet happened. It is a negative of will, wish, doubt. The negative ou denies the fact whereas me denies the idea. It leaves the question open for further remarks or entreaty whereas ou would close the door abruptly. Ou denies the thing in itself but me denies the thought of the thing, or the thing according to the judgment, opinion, will, purpose, preference, of some one (hence, as we say technically, indirectly, hypothetically, subjectively). Therefore, the negative particle me is used in a hypothetical sense to negate the idea of the verb eimi . It denies the idea that a Jewish woman would be considered as an adulteress if she remarries after her husband dies. Together, the verb eimi and the negative particle me denote that a Jewish woman who remarries after her husband dies will “not” be known publicly as “belonging to a particular category of woman” identified by the Mosaic Law as an “adulteress.” The present tense of the verb eimi is “gnomic” used for a general timeless fact or spiritual axiom or eternal spiritual truth” taught in the Mosaic Law. Therefore, it

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 21 indicates that if a Jewish woman’s husband dies, she is “an eternal spiritual truth” not an adulteress if she remarries. The active voice is “stative” meaning that the subject exists in the state indicating by the verb. This indicates that a Jewish woman, as the subject “exists in a state of” not being an adulteress if she remarries after her husband dies. The infinitive form of the verb eimi is employed with the genitive form of the article ho in order to function as an infinitive of result, which indicates the outcome produced by the controlling verb, which in our context is the first eimi that appears in the apodasis, “ she is, as an eternal spiritual truth .” As an “infinitive of result,” eimi places emphasis upon the “effect” of the Jewish woman being freed from her marital obligations upon the decease of her husband. The result infinitive may be used to indicate either “actual” or “natural” result. The former is indicated in the context as having occurred whereas the latter is what is assumed to take place at a time subsequent to that indicated in the context. Therefore, the verb as an “infinitive of result” denotes the assumption that a Jewish woman is not an adulteress if she remarries subsequent to the time that her husband dies. We will translate the negative particle me , “ not ” and the verb eimi , “ with the result that…is, as an eternal spiritual truth .” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “She ” is the accusative third person feminine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos ( au)tov$ ), which refers to a hypothetical Jewish woman who was once married but her husband has died. The word autos emphasizes the identity of this hypothetical Jewish woman whose husband has died and has remarried. The word functions as the “accusative subject of the infinitive” whereas the substantive use of the adjective moichalis , “ an adulteress ” is functioning as a “predicate accusative” since the accusative that is the pronoun functions as the subject. We will translate autos , “ she .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth free from the contract with the result that she is, as an eternal spiritual truth not…”

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Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “An adulteress ” is the accusative feminine singular form of the adjective moichalis ( moixaliv$ ) (moy-khal-is), which refers once again to a woman who has committed adultery. The word functions as a “predicate accusative” meaning that the word stands in predicate relation to another accusative substantive making an assertion about it. Therefore, it functions in predicate relation to the substantive use of the accusative form of the intensive personal pronoun autos , which functions as the subject of the infinitive form of the verb eimi and refers to a hypothetical Jewish woman whose husband has died and has remarried. It makes an assertion that she is not an adulteress if she remarries after her husband has died. We will translate moichalis , “an adulteress .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth free from the contract with the result that she is, as an eternal spiritual truth not an adulteress…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.” “Though she is joined ” is the accusative feminine singular aorist (deponent) middle participle form of the verb ginomai ( givnomai ) (ghin-om-i), which is an idiom for getting married. The verb ginomai functions as a “conditional participle,” which implies a condition on which the fulfillment of the idea indicated by the main verb depends. It indicates that a Jewish is not considered an adulteress under the Mosaic Law “if” she remarries after her husband dies. The middle voice is “deponent” meaning that it has an active voice meaning even though it has a middle voice form. Therefore, the “deponent” middle voice indicates that in a hypothetical sense a Jewish married woman as the subject producing the action of entering into marriage with another man after her husband dies. The aorist tense of the verb is an “ingressive” aorist, which emphasizes in a hypothetical sense a married Jewish woman “entering into the state” of marriage with another man after her husband dies.

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The participle form of ginomai functions as an “accusative of simple apposition” meaning that it stands in apposition to the accusative form of the substantive use of the adjective moichalis , “ an adulteress .” It clarifies when a Jewish woman is not considered an adulteress after her husband dies, namely, when she remarries. We will translate the verb ginomai, “ if she enters into marriage .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth free from the contract with the result that she is, as an eternal spiritual truth not an adulteress if she enters into marriage…” Romans 7:3, “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man .” “To another man ” is composed of the dative masculine singular form of the noun aner ( a)nhvr ) (an-ayr), “ to man ” and the dative masculine singular form of the adjective heteros ( e^tero$ ) (het-er-os), “ another .” The noun aner refers to a male as opposed to a female. It functions as a “dative of association” indicating that of a hypothetical Jewish married woman “associating” or entering into marriage “relations” with another man after her husband dies. We will translate aner , “ with…man .” The adjective heteros is modifying the noun aner and denotes “another” of a dissimilar nature. In a hypothetical sense, it describes this man that this married Jewish woman is entering into marriage with as someone “other than” her husband who has died. We will translate heteros , “ another .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 7:3: “Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth free from the contract with the result that she is, as an eternal spiritual truth not an adulteress if she enters into marriage with another man.” In Romans 7:4, Paul teaches that in the same way that a wife is discharged from her husband’s authority when he dies and free to marry another so the Christian has been discharged from the authority of the Law and was married to Christ when they were identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

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Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”

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Romans 7:4-The Christian Is Dead With Respect To The Law Through The Body Of Christ And Is Now Married To Him In Order To Bear Fruit For God

In Romans 7:4, Paul teaches that in the same way that a wife is discharged from the marriage contract with her deceased husband and free to marry another so the Christian has been discharged from the Law and was married to Christ when they were entered into union with Him through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Romans 7:1-4, “Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “Therefore ” is the “inferential” use of the conjunction hoste ( w%ste) (hoce-teh), which is introducing a paratactic or independent clause that draws an inference from Paul’s teaching in Romans 7:1-3. This conjunction is merely hos and te meaning “and so.” Conjunctions are employed in the Greek when joining clauses whether they be paratactic (coordinating) or hypotactic (subordinating). There is a great wealth of conjunctions in the Greek language which join not only words, phrases, clauses, and even sentences, but link also paragraphs to paragraphs. The conjunction serves to make clear the relation between the two elements united. There are two general classes of conjunctions: (1) Paratactic (coordinate): Those that unite elements of equal prominence in the sentence. (2) Hypotactic (subordinate): Those that unite elements of unequal rank. Paratactic conjunctions unite elements of equal rank, but the relationship between the elements may be different. The function of an independent clause is usually determined by the “logical” function of the coordinating conjunction introducing the clause. This function may be: (1) connective, most often involving kaiv or dev (2) contrastive, most often involving ajllav, dev, or plhvn (3) correlative, usually involving mevn …dev or kaiv … kaiv (4) disjunctive, involving h& (5) explanatory,

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 26 usually involving gavr (6) inferential, most often involving a)ra , diov, ou\n, or w{ste (7) transitional, usually involving dev or ou\n. Hoste can be employed in the Greek to introduce: (1) Independent (paratactic) clauses followed by the indicative. (2) Independent (paratactic) clauses followed by the imperative. (3) Dependent (hypotactic) clauses of the actual result followed by the indicative. (4) Dependent (hypotactic) clauses followed by the accusative with the infinitive. (5) Dependent (hypotactic) clauses of the intended result. There are five classes of paratactic conjunctions: (1) Copulative: Couple elements together without stating the relationship between them. (2) Adversative: State contrast. (3) Disjunctive: Unite two objects by separating them. (4) Illative or inferential: Used to draw a conclusion from a truth previously stated. (5) Causal: States the reason for a previously made statement. Liddell and Scott list the following meanings for hoste (Greek-English Lexicon, New Edition, pages 2040-2041): (1) As an adverb (2) As conjunction to express the actual or intended result of the action in the principal clause (3) Mostly c. infin. (4) So as or for to do a thing (5) After comparatives with he when the possibility of the consequence is denied (6) Hoste …an is used with inf. Of contingencies more or less improbable (7) Sts. Implying on condition that (8) C. indicative to express the actual or possible result with emphasis (9) At the beginning of a sentence, to mark a strong conclusion, and so, therefore (10) C. optative with an (11) With subjective, in order that (12) With part. Instead of infin., after a part. In the principal clause (13) Extremely (14) In later Greek, followed by prepositions (15) C. dat., for. Louw and Nida list the following (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, volume 2): (1) Markers of result, often in contexts implying an intended or indirect purpose- ‘therefore, (so) accordingly, as a result, so that, so then, and so’ (page 784). (2) Markers of purpose, with the implication that what has preceded serves as a means – ‘then, in order to, so that’ (page 785). The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised lists the following (page 444): (1) So that, so as that, so as to (2) As an illative particle, therefore, consequently (3) As a particle of design, in order that, in order to. Bauer, Gingrich and Danker lists the following usages for the conjunction (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, page 899-900): (1) Introducing independent clauses for this reason; Followed by the indicative; Followed by the imperative (2) Introducing dependent clauses; Of the actual result so that; Followed by the indicative; Followed by the accusative with infinitive; Of the intended result, scarcely to be distinguished in meaning from hina .

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Thayer’s New Greek-English Lexicon lists the following (page 683): (1) So that, insomuch that; with an infinitive; (2) So that, with the indicative (4) So then, therefore, wherefore with the indicative. In Romans 7:4, the conjunction hoste is introducing an independent or paratactic clause, which is followed by the indicative mood of the verb thanatoo , “were made to die .” It is also “inferential” meaning that it is introducing a conclusion based upon Paul’s teaching in Romans 7:1-3. Romans 7:1-3, “Or, are some of you in a state of ignorance concerning this fact spiritual brothers (specifically, I am now addressing those who are very familiar with the Law through instruction), namely, that the Law does, as an eternal spiritual truth, have jurisdiction over a person during the entire extent of time they do live? For example, the married woman is always bound by contract to the husband while he does live. However, if the husband dies, then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth, discharged from the contract with respect to her husband. Therefore, based upon what has been previously stated, if while her husband does live she enters into marriage with another man, then she will, as a certainty, cause herself to be known publicly as an adulteress. However, if her husband dies then she is, as an eternal spiritual truth free from the contract with the result that she is, as an eternal spiritual truth not an adulteress if she enters into marriage with another man.” In Romans 7:1, Paul posed a rhetorical question to the Jewish Christians in Rome and asks if they are ignorant of the fact that the Mosaic Law has jurisdiction over a person as along as he lives. Then, in Romans 7:2, Paul presents the principle found in the Mosaic Law that a woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives but if he dies, she is discharged from her marriage contract with her husband. In Romans 7:3, he teaches the Roman Christians that if a Jewish woman’s husband dies, then she is not an adulteress if she remarries. In Romans 7:2-3, he employs the marriage analogy by teaching that according to the Mosaic Law, a woman is not bound legally to her husband if he dies. Then, in Romans 7:4-6, he makes an application for his readers by stating that in the same way the Christian is freed from the Law and is thus no longer under its authority since He died with Christ and has been placed in union with Him. Therefore, in Romans 7:4, the inferential use of the conjunction hoste gives a deduction, conclusion, or summary to the preceding discussion in verses 1-3. It indicates that Paul is presenting for his readers the application of his illustration or analogy in verses 1-3. The word is drawing an inference from the preceding spiritual principle that appears in Romans 7:1 that the Mosaic Law has jurisdiction over the Jew until he dies. It also draws an inference from the marriage analogy

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 28 that appears in Romans 7:2-3 that illustrates the spiritual principle presented in Romans 7:1. Hoste introduces the actual relation with respect to Christians who are in a position that corresponds to the position of the Jewish wife in relation to her husband. Like the Jewish wife who was bound to her husband while he was still alive, so prior to their conversion to Christianity, the Jewish Christian was bound to the Law while in his unregenerate state. Like the Jewish wife is no longer bound to her husband once he dies, so the Jewish Christian is no longer bound to the Mosaic Law when he was identified with Christ in His physical death. In other words, the Christian died with Christ the moment he was declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ and identified with Him in His physical death. Now, we must understand that the analogy is not exact and verse 2 and 3 are not an allegory. Unlike the Jewish husband who died in the illustration or analogy, the Mosaic Law did not die. In Romans 7:4, the Christian represented by the wife in the illustration died and was separated from their first spouse, the Mosaic Law by their own death with Christ. If the Christian is represented in the illustration by the wife and the Law by the husband, then the application does not follow the illustration. Now, if the wife died in the illustration, the only way that she could marry again would be to come back from the dead. This is the way Paul is using the illustration. The Christian died with Christ and was married to Him through the baptism of the Spirit the moment they were declared justified through faith in Christ. Paul’s point is therefore that the marriage relationship has been broken by the death of one of its participants. Like the Jewish woman is freed from her husband by his death so in the same way, the Jewish Christian has been freed from the Mosaic Law when he died with Christ. Paul’s teaching in Romans 7:4 recalls his teaching in Romans 6:14 and is connected to it. Romans 6:14, “For the sin nature, will, as a certainty, never again, have dominion over all of you for all of you, as an eternal spiritual truth, are by no means under the authority and dominion of the Law but rather under the authority and dominion of grace.” The reason why Romans 6:14 and 7:4 are connected is that Paul teaches in Romans 5:20 that the introduction of the Law increased the transgression of Adam in the sense that the Law exposed man’s sinful nature to disobey the revealed will of God and in fact stimulated man’s sinful nature to disobey the revealed will of God.

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Romans 5:20, “Now, the Law was an addendum in order that the transgression might increase but where personal sin increased, grace infinitely abounded.” If the Christian is no longer under the authority and dominion of the sin nature according to Romans 6:14, then he is equally not under the dominion of the Law since it was an addendum to the sin nature in the sense that it made the sinner aware that he was a sinner by nature and that God was holy. The fact that the Christian died with Christ is called “retroactive positional truth,” which is one of two different aspects related to “positional sanctification” the other being “current” positional truth. The former means that when Christ died on the Cross, God views the justified sinner as having died with Christ as well. The latter means that when Christ was raised from the dead, God views the justified sinners as having been raised from the dead with Christ. Both are accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit. “Retroactive positional truth” was taught by Paul in Romans 6:3-7. In Romans 6:3, the believer is said to be identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which resolves the problem of spiritual death and personal sins which perpetuate the status of spiritual death in the human race. Romans 6:3, “Or, are some of you in a state of ignorance concerning the fact that all of us who have been identified with Christ, who is Jesus, have been identified with His spiritual death?” Remember, Adam died spiritually first and then physically. This pattern holds true as we noted in Romans 5:12-21 for his posterity, the human race. Jesus Christ’s obedience to the Father’s will in dying a spiritual death negated Adam’s spiritual death and its effects, namely, physical death and eternal condemnation. Therefore, the sinner who trusts in Jesus Christ is delivered from all three. Romans 5:12-21, “Therefore, based on this (principle), just as, through one man the sin nature entered into the human race so that spiritual death entered through this sin nature. Thus, in this manner, spiritual death spread to each and every member of the human race without exception because each and every member of the human race sinned (the moment Adam sinned). For you see, prior to the giving of the Law, personal sin was habitually taking place among the individual members of the human race however personal sin is never, as an eternal spiritual truth, charged to one’s account while the Law does not exist. Yet, in spite of this, spiritual death reigned as king from the fall of Adam to the giving of the Law to Moses, specifically, over those who had not sinned according to the same exact transgression committed by Adam, who is, as an eternal spiritual truth, an illustration of the One destined to come. However, on the other hand, absolutely not like this transgression is, as

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 30 an eternal spiritual truth, also, in the same way, the gracious act. For if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that by means of this transgression committed by the one, the entire human race died. Of course, we know this is true. How much more then has the grace originating from God and the gracious gift on the basis of grace, which is specifically, on the basis of the obedience of the one Man, who is Jesus, who is the Christ been generously and graciously offered to the entire human race. In fact, the condemnation through the one who sinned is absolutely not, as an eternal spiritual truth, like the gift itself. On the one hand the verdict arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation while on the other hand, the gracious act arose from innumerable transgressions resulting in justification. For if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that by means of the transgression committed by the one, spiritual death reigned as king through this one. Of course, we know this is true. Then, how much more those who do receive His transcendent grace, specifically, the gracious gift, which is His righteousness, will, as a certainty, reign as kings by means of life through the One, who is Jesus, who is the Christ. Therefore, as previously stated, just as through the one who committed the transgression resulted in condemnation affecting each and every member of the human race without exception in the same way also through the One who committed the righteous act resulted in the basis for the offer of justification, which produces (eternal) life, affecting each and every member of the human race without exception. For you see, just as through the one man’s disobedience, the entire human race has been rendered sinners in the same way also through the One’s obedience, many will, as a certainty, be rendered righteous. Now, the Law was an addendum in order that the transgression might increase but where personal sin increased, grace infinitely abounded in order that just as, the sin nature reigned as king in the realm of spiritual death in the same way, also grace would reign as king through righteousness resulting in eternal life through Jesus, who is the Christ, who is our Lord.” Romans 5:12-21 taught us that the sin nature came into the world through Adam’s transgression and spiritual death through the sin nature. God imputed Adam’s transgression to every member of his posterity, i.e. the human race. Therefore, every member of the human is born into this world, physically alive yet spiritually dead and in need of justification. The sin nature resides in the physical body (Romans 6:6). Personal sin is the result of obeying the desires of the sin nature. Spiritual death is the result of possessing a sin nature and committing personal sin perpetuates this status. Therefore, the human race had three major problems that are interconnected, the sin nature, spiritual death and personal sins.

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Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths dealt with all three. Spiritual death is the product of the sin nature and personal sin perpetuates this status of spiritual death. The human race is under the status of real spiritual death because of the sin nature, which was passed down from Adam. Spiritual death is the consequence of not only possessing but also obeying the desires of the sin nature and committing personal sin. Instead, of the human race suffering the consequences of possessing a sin nature and obeying its desires and committing personal sin, Jesus Christ died spiritually in their place as their Substitute. Therefore, our Lord had to die spiritually to solve the problem of spiritual death in the human race. His spiritual death dealt with the consequences of the human race possessing a sin nature and obeying its desires. Adam acquired a sin nature when he disobeyed the Lord’s command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This sin nature was passed down to his posterity, i.e. the human race through sex and resides in the genetic structure of every body of every human being. Therefore, the status of spiritual death was passed down to Adam’s posterity since spiritual death entered the human race through the sin nature. Spiritual death is the status of possessing a sin nature due to the imputation of Adam’s original sin in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, our Lord had to die physically to solve the problem of the sin nature, which resides in the body of every human being. Our Lord’s resurrection body replaces the sinful body of Adam. The believer will receive a resurrection body like Christ in order to replace their physical bodies that possess the sin nature, the Adamic body. Therefore, God the Father viewed His Son’s spiritual death as negating spiritual death in the human race and viewed His physical death as negating the sin nature. Personal sin perpetuated the status of real spiritual death and through the function of human volition is the product of the sin nature. Consequently, the sinner who is declared justified through faith in Christ is identified with Christ in His spiritual death in order to solve the sinner’s problem of real spiritual death whereas the sinner is identified with Christ in His physical death in order to solve the sinner’s problem with the old sin nature. Therefore, Christ’s spiritual and physical death resolved the human race’s problem with the sin nature, spiritual death and personal sins. The first Adam sinned. Then, he died spiritually while simultaneously acquiring sin nature and then he died physically (Genesis 5:5). The last Adam obeyed the Father, died spiritually as a Substitute for Adam and his posterity, and then died physically to break the power of the sin nature. Then, the last Adam was raised from physical death and received a resurrection body, which would be passed down to His spiritual posterity, those who trust in Him as Savior.

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In Romans 6, Paul follows this pattern. In Romans 6:3, he speaks of the justified sinner being identified with Christ in His spiritual death so as to solve the believer’s problem of being spiritually dead. Then, in Romans 6:4, he speaks of the justified sinner being identified with Christ in His physical death so as to solve the problem of possessing a sin nature. In Romans 6:5, the apostle teaches that the justified sinner is identified with Christ in His resurrection in order that the believer might receive a resurrection body like the last Adam, Christ so as to replace his sinful body. Therefore, in Romans 6:3, the noun thanatos , “ death ” is a reference to the spiritual death of Christ, which dealt with the consequences of obeying the desires of the sin nature and committing personal sin, namely, spiritual death. However, in Romans 6:4, Paul teaches that the believer is identified with Jesus Christ in His physical death since thanatos , “ death ” is used in relation to our Lord’s burial, which certified that a person was physically dead. Romans 6:4, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism with respect to His physical death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead ones through the glory of the Father, in the same way, we, ourselves will also walk in the realm of an extraordinary life.” In Romans 6:4, Paul teaches that the believer has been identified with Christ in His physical death, which was certified by His burial in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so also the believer will walk in realm of this extraordinary life, eternal life. In Romans 6:5, Paul presents another objective fact, namely, since the believer has been conformed to Christ’s physical death, in the same way, also, he will be conformed to Christ’s resurrection and receive a resurrection body. Romans 6:5, “Therefore, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that we are entered into union with Him, conformed to His physical death. Of course, we believed this is true. Then, certainly, we will also be united with Him, conformed to His resurrection.” Romans 6:6 presents the objective fact that the believer’s old Adamic sin nature was crucified with Christ in order that his sinful body would be deprived of its power over the believer with the result that he would no longer be its slave. Romans 6:6, “This we are very familiar with through instruction, namely, that our old man was crucified with Him in order that the sinful body would be deprived of its power with the result that we are no longer in a perpetual state of being slaves to the sin nature.” Then, in Romans 6:7, the apostle presents the objective fact that the believer is freed from the power of the sin nature since he has died with Christ through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

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Romans 6:7, “For you see the one who has died is freed from the power of the sin nature.” The apostle Paul speaks of “retroactive positional truth” in relation to himself in Galatians 2:19-20. Galatians 2:19-20, “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Therefore, in Romans 7:4, we will translate hoste , “ Therefore .” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “My brethren ” is composed of the first person singular genitive (of possession) form of the personal pronoun ego ( e)gwv), “ my ” and the vocative masculine plural form of the noun adelphos ( a)delfov$ ), “ brethren .” The noun adelphos is employed in Romans 7:1 and 4 in the figurative sense of a spiritual brother (Mt. 12:50; 23:8; 25:40; Lk. 8:21; Jn. 21:23; Rom 8:17; 8:29; 16:23; Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 2:19; 3:15; Hb 2:11; 2:17; Rev. 12:10; 19:10). In Romans 7:1 and 4, it refers specifically to Jewish Christians since Paul clarifies who he is addressing as those who were familiar with the Mosaic Law. Although he is singling out the Jewish Christians, adelphos is used throughout the New Testament for both Jewish and Gentile Christians. This word emphasizes the fact that the Romans and all believers in the church age are sons of God (cf. Jn. 1:12-13; Gal. 3:26-28). Therefore, if church age believers are all sons of God, then they must all be spiritual brothers and members of the royal family of God. The anarthrous construction (no definite article) of the noun adelphos is “qualitative” emphasizing the qualitative aspect of the word. Thus, it emphasizes Paul’s Jewish countrymen in Rome, but in the “spiritual” sense who are of all genders and social classes. This is a vocative of direct simple address indicating Paul is directly addressing in writing his Jewish spiritual brothers who were located in the city of Rome. By employing the possessive personal pronoun ego , “ my ” Paul is expressing the eternal spiritual relationship that he has with the Jewish Christians in Rome that is based upon the fact that they are sons of God, members of the body of Christ through regeneration and the baptism of the Spirit. Paul’s use of this expression adelphoi mou , “ my spiritual brothers ” in Romans 7:4 emphasizes the sensitivity of not only the apostle Paul towards his Jewish countrymen but also the sensitivity of the subject of the Law as well. The implication is that Paul considers that the Jewish Christian’s relationship to the

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Mosaic Law is a sensitive subject that he is dealing with in Romans chapter seven since the Jews were strongly influenced by the legalistic teaching of the Judaizers. The “Judaizers” taught that one must live under the Law in order to please God. They originated with the Pharisees and were composed of both believing and unbelieving Jews who taught strict adherence to the 613 mandates found in the Mosaic Law as well as the oral traditions of the Rabbis, which are now, documented in the Mishna and the Talmud. They derived their name from the fact that they believed and taught that in order to be saved one must become a Jew through circumcision and strict adherence to the Mosaic Law and the oral traditions of the Rabbis. Many of the Judaizers were believers since Acts 6:7, 15:5 and 21:20 state that many of the priests and Pharisees who were teachers of the Mosaic Law believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. However, after salvation they still adhered to the Mosaic Law rather than the mystery doctrine for the church age that Paul was teaching. The Judaizers taught that one had to observe and practice the Mosaic Law in order to get saved whereas Paul taught that salvation by grace through faith in Christ and not through the works of the Mosaic Law (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 2:16). In Philippians 3:2 Paul issues a warning to the Philippians to beware of the Judaizers who taught that in order to be saved a man must be circumcised. Philippians 3:2, “Beware of those dogs, beware of those evil workers, beware of the mutilation.” The Judaizers claimed that circumcision was necessary for salvation but the first church council in Jerusalem disagreed since the Holy Spirit revealed to the council that it was through faith in Christ that was one received the promise of eternal life regardless if you were a Jew or Gentile racially (Acts 15). The Judaizers were very religious and legalistic people. Theologically, religion is the antithesis to Biblical Christianity in that it is the ignorant, presumptuous, vain and arrogant attempt by man to gain the approbation of God by depending upon a legalistic, meritorious system of human works rather than the impeccable Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the noun legalism, “strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit.” The Judaizers like the Pharisees taught strict adherence to the letter of the Law, especially to the letter rather than the spirit of the Law (Mk. 2-3)! The legalism of the Pharisees from whom the Judaizers originated is illustrated by their critical attitude of our Lord Jesus when he healed on the Sabbath. Under the Mosaic Law, the Sabbath was designed to benefit Israel by prohibiting Israel from working on

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 35 this day and yet the Pharisees criticized the Lord for healing on the Sabbath, thus they strictly adhered to letter of the Law rather than the spirit of the Law. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “You ” is the nominative second person plural personal pronoun humeis ( u(mei~$ ) (hoo-mice), which literally means, “all of you” and refers specifically to the Jewish Christians in Rome. That Paul is speaking to the Jewish Christians is clearly indicated by his qualifying statement in Romans 7:1, “ I am speaking to those who know the Law .” Humeis is the plural form of the second person singular pronoun su . In Romans 7:4, the nominative form of the personal pronoun humeis is employed here to emphasize a comparative contrast between the Jewish Christian’s relationship with the Mosaic Law, which has been severed and his new relationship to Jesus Christ. The word emphasizes that the spiritual principle in Romans 7:1 and the illustration that follows it in Romans 7:2-3 has a personal application for the Jewish Christians in Rome. The personal pronoun humeis functions as a “nominative subject” meaning that the Jewish Christians in Rome as the subject received the action of the passive verb thanatoo , “ were made to die ” and died to the Mosaic Law through identification with Christ in His physical. We will translate humeis , “ all of you, without exception .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “Also ” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai ( kaiV), which introduces an “additional” group of individuals who like the Jewish woman in the illustration in Romans 7:2-3 are dead to something, namely, the Jewish Christians in Rome are dead to the Mosaic Law. It connects the concept of the Jewish woman being freed from her husband’s authority once he dies with the concept of the Jewish Christian being set free from the authority of the Mosaic Law once they were identified with Christ in His physical death the moment they were declared justified through faith in Christ. Not

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 36 only does the conjunction kai connect these two concepts but also demonstrates the direct correlation between the two. It also indicates that the former is an illustration of the latter. We will translate kai , “ also .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception also …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “Were made to die ” is the second person plural aorist passive indicative form of the verb thanatoo ( qanatovw ) (than-at-o-o), which means, “to kill, to cause to be put to death, to deliver over to death.” In classical Greek, thanatoo means, “to kill, to deliver up to death, to condemn to death.” It conveys the idea of an action, which leads to the death of another living being. The word is used in a figurative sense in classical literature for intellectual and spiritual destruction. It is used in a similar fashion in the Septuagint. The act of putting to death is identified with both God and man in the Old Testament. The verb thanatoo only appears eleven times in the Greek New Testament. In Matthew 10:21, Mark 13:12 and Luke 21:16, the word is relation to the physical death of a family member that is caused by another family member. The word is used with respect to the physical death of Jesus Christ in Matthew 26:59, 27:1, Mark 14:55 and 1 Peter 3:18. It is used in relation to the Christian experiencing his identification with Christ in His physical death in Romans 7:4, 8:13, 36 and 2 Corinthians 6:9. In Romans 7:4, the verb thanatoo is used in a figurative sense and means, “to be put to death” or “to cause someone to be put to death.” It is used of the Jewish Christians in Rome as having been put to death with respect to the Mosaic Law by being identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:4). Romans 6:4, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism with respect to His physical death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead ones through the glory of the Father, in the same way, we, ourselves will also walk in the realm of an extraordinary life.” Paul does not say in Romans 7:4 that the Mosaic Law died since it is a part of God’s Word, which is eternal. Rather, he teaches that the Jewish Christian who was condemned by the Mosaic Law prior to their conversion to Christianity, is now dead with respect to the Law in the sense that the Law no longer has dominion and authority over him like a Jewish husband no longer has dominion and authority over his wife when he dies. They died to the Mosaic Law because they were

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 37 identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Spirit the moment they were declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ. This refers to “retroactive positional truth,” which means that when Christ died physically on the Cross two thousand years ago at Calvary, God the Father considers the Christian to have died with Christ as well. As we noted in Romans 6:14, the justified sinner, and in particular the Jewish Christian is no longer under the Mosaic Law in the sense that it has no authority or sovereign power over him since he is now under God’s grace policy. Romans 6:14, “For the sin nature, will, as a certainty, never again, have dominion over all of you for all of you, as an eternal spiritual truth, are by no means under the authority and dominion of the Law but rather under the authority and dominion of grace.” Therefore, since they have been justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and are no longer under the dominion of the sin nature, then likewise, they are no longer under the authority of the Mosaic Law. They are also no longer condemned by it since the Mosaic Law was an addendum to the sin nature so as to point out the sinner’s need for a Savior. The Jewish sinner is condemned by the Mosaic Law because it demands perfect obedience, which they had no capacity to do. Christ’s perfect obedience accomplished what the Law demanded. Romans 8:1-4, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Notice in Romans 8:1-4 that the Christian does not live without a rule or a law to govern his conduct in life since his conduct is now governed by “ the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus .” The Christian is under “ the law of Christ ,” which is to love one another as He has loved the church (John 13:34). 1 Corinthians 9:20-21, “To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.” Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

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Therefore, the Christian is dead to the Mosaic Law in the sense that it can no longer condemn him because the presence of the sin nature gives him no capacity to render perfect obedience to the Law, which the Law requires. Thus far in our studies of the book of Romans, Paul has taught us that the law in the form of the entire Old Testament canon was given, not as the way of deliverance, but actually condemned the human race (3:19). Romans 3:19, “Now, we know for certain that whatever the Law says, it speaks for the benefit of those under the jurisdiction of the Law in order that each and every mouth may be silenced and in addition all the unsaved inhabitants of the cosmic system may be demonstrated as guilty in the judgment of God.” The law makes the sinner aware of sin in his life (3:20). Romans 3:20, “Because each and every member of sinful humanity will never be justified in His judgment by means of actions produced by obedience to the Law for through the Law there does come about an awareness of the sin nature.” The introduction of the Law increased the transgression of Adam in the sense that the Law exposed man’s sinful nature to disobey the revealed will of God and in fact stimulated man’s sinful nature to disobey the revealed will of God. Romans 5:20, “Now, the Law was an addendum in order that the transgression might increase but where personal sin increased, grace infinitely abounded.” The apostle Paul teaches in Romans 4:15 that the purpose of the Law was to bring about wrath but where there is no law, there is no violation. Romans 4:15, “For, the Law, as an eternal spiritual truth, produces righteous indignation but where there is, at any time, the total absence of the Law, neither, is there, as an eternal spiritual truth, violation. ” No one will ever be justified by obedience to the law because of the presence of the sin nature (3:20). Romans 3:20, “Because each and every member of sinful humanity will never be justified in His judgment by means of actions produced by obedience to the Law for through the Law there does come about an awareness of the sin nature.” In Romans 7:8, Paul teaches that sin brought about all kinds of lust through the commandment and that it is dead apart from law (7:8). He taught in Romans 7:11 that it was ‘through the commandment’ that the sin nature deceived him and killed him. In Romans 7:5, Paul taught that sinful passions of the human race work through the law. Romans 7:1-13, “Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 39 lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COVET.’ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.” Paul taught that the law is weak through the human flesh since it contains the sin nature (8:3). He teaches outside of the book of Romans that the law never justifies people (Gal. 2:16; 3:11). Galatians 2:16, “Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; For by the works of the Law no person will be justified.” He teaches that the law is sin’s strength (1 Cor. 15:56). 1 Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” Ultimately, the purpose of the Law was to lead people to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Galatians 3:1-29, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the

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Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain -- if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.’ Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’ However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, ‘HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE’ in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 41 clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.” Those under the law were in need of redemption and Christ came to be under the law in order to redeem those under the law (Gal. 4:5). Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Now, we must remember that although Paul is speaking directly to the Jewish Christians here in Romans 7:1-4, he would be protecting the Gentile Christians in Rome from the legalistic teaching of the Judaizers. The Galatian Gentile Christians fell victim to the teaching of the Judaizers according to Galatians chapter five. In Romans 7:4, the second person plural form of the verb thanatoo refers to a particular group of Christians, namely, those Jewish Christians that might contend that the Law was necessary to restrain sin and that grace gives one a license to sin. Again, that Paul is speaking to the Jewish Christians is clearly indicated by his qualifying statement, “ I am speaking to those who know the Law .” The aorist tense of the verb thanatoo is a “constative” aorist describing in summary fashion the moment that the Jewish Christians in Rome were identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This identification took place when they were declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. The passive voice means that the sinner who trusts in Jesus Christ as their Savior as the subject received the action of being identified with Christ in His physical death by the unexpressed agency of God the Holy Spirit. Although the Holy Spirit is not explicitly mentioned as the agency as identifying the believer with Christ in His physical death, a comparison of Romans 6:4, and 1 Corinthians 12:13 make clear that He was the member of the Trinity that performed this act. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” Romans 6:4, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism with respect to His physical death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead ones through the glory of the Father, in the same way, we, ourselves will also walk in the realm of an extraordinary life.” The indicative mood of the verb is “declarative” presenting this assertion as an unqualified statement of Bible doctrine. We will translate thanatoo , “ have been put to death .”

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Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception also have been put to death …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “To the Law ” is the articular dative masculine singular form of the noun nomos (novmo$ ) (nom-os), which refers once again to the Mosaic Law. The context clearly indicates that the noun nomos refers to the Mosaic Law. The context indicates quite clearly that Paul has had the Mosaic Law in mind since Romans 5:20 and that it has never left his thought process. Paul’s slavery analogy in Romans 6:15-23 was in response to any false inference that might be concluded from his teaching in Romans 6:14 that the Christian is no longer under the Law but under grace. He employs this analogy to illustrate that even though the Christian is no longer under the Law but under grace this does not give him a license to sin but rather frees him and obligates him to obey God instead. Furthermore, the conjunction e, “ or ” in Romans 7:1 clearly indicates that Paul’s statements in Romans 7:1-6 are related to his slavery analogy in Roman chapter 6. His statements in Romans 6:1-14a were motivated by any possible false inference from his statements in Romans 5:20 that where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. His statements in Romans 6:15-23 were motivated by any possible false inference from his statement in Romans 6:14b that the Christian is no longer under the Law but under grace. Therefore, it is clear from the context that the Mosaic Law has never left Paul’s mind. In Romans 7:4, the noun nomos , “ the Law ” functions as a “dative of reference” which occurs when the dative substantive is that in reference to which something is presented as true. Therefore, the noun nomos , “ the Law ,” which refers to the Mosaic Law, is that in reference to which the Jewish Christians in Rome as having died to is presented as true. The article preceding nomos is “anaphoric” meaning it indicates that it was used in a previous context, namely, Romans 7:1. It also indicates that the word’s meaning in Romans 7:1 is being retained here in Romans 7:4. Romans 7:1, “Or, are some of you in a state of ignorance concerning this fact spiritual brothers (specifically, I am now addressing those who are very familiar with the Law through instruction), namely, that the Law does, as an eternal spiritual truth, have jurisdiction over a person during the entire extent of time they do live?” In Romans 7:2 and 3, the noun nomos does not refer to the Mosaic Law itself but rather the context is dealing with Jewish marriage and is thus referring to the division of the Mosaic Law dealing with marriage “contracts.”

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It referred to a Jewish marriage “contract,” which is an agreement between a Jewish man and woman to enter into marriage with each other and which agreement was enforceable by the Mosaic Law in the sense that breaking this agreement through adultery was punishable by death. Also, the articular construction of nomos in Romans 7:4 signifies that this particular law would be “well-known” to Paul’s Jewish readership since their parents taught them the Law in their homes and were taught the Law by their rabbi in the synagogue. We will translate nomos , “ with respect to the Law .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception also have been put to death …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “Through the body of Christ ” is composed of the preposition dia ( diaV) (dee- ah), “ through ” and the articular genitive neuter singular form of the noun soma (sw~ma ) (so-mah), “ the body ,” which is followed by the articular genitive masculine singular form of the proper noun Christos ( xristov$ ) (khris-tos), “ of Christ .” We studied in detail the classical, Septuagint and Greek New Testament usage of the noun soma in Romans chapter six. Therefore, we will only note its usage here in Romans 7:4 where it used with the physical body of Jesus Christ, which died on the Cross of Calvary two thousand years ago. The physical death of our Lord is recorded in the Gospels. Matthew 27:47-50, “And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, ‘Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.” Mark 15:22-40, “Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. It was the third hour when they crucified Him. The inscription of the charge against Him read, ‘THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors.’] Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, ‘Ha!

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You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!’ Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him. When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?’ which is translated, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, ‘Behold, He is calling for Elijah.’ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, ‘Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.’ And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’ There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.” Luke 23:33-49, “When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.’ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, ‘If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!’ Now there was also an inscription above Him, ‘THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, ‘Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other answered, and rebuking him said, ‘Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’ It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.’ Having

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 45 said this, He breathed His last. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’ And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.” John 19:16-30, “So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, ‘JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, ‘Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be’; this was to fulfill the Scripture: ‘THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.’ Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ From that hour the disciple took her into his own household. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” The Lord Jesus Christ did “not” die from suffocation or exhaustion, nor did He bleed to death, or die of a broken heart but rather He died unlike any person in history, namely by His own volition. Remember what our Lord said in John 10:18. John 10:18, “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

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If He had bleed to death, He would have fainted. The Lord Jesus Christ was in total control of His faculties and was totally and completely alert throughout all His suffering on the cross. Our Lord’s voluntary physical death was another indication to those observing Him at the Cross that He was indeed the Son of God. He died like no other man in history, namely, of His own choosing. This is why the centurion stated that our Lord was the Son of God. Matthew 27:50, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.” “Yielded up” is the aorist active indicative form of the verb aphiemi , “to dismiss, to release, to let go.” The aorist tense of the verb is a culminative aorist, which views an event from its existing results, the Lord Jesus Christ's physical death. The active voice expresses the fact that the Lord Jesus died of His own volition since the active voice indicates that the subject produces the action of the verb. The Lord is the only human being in history to dismiss His own spirit from His body. Every human being that dies physically as a result of a sovereign decision of God but here the Lord chooses to die physically. He died physically so that He could be raised for our justification. Romans 4:25, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” Our Lord’s voluntary physical death was another indication to those observing Him at the Cross that He was indeed the Son of God. He died like no other man in history, namely, of His own choosing. Our Lord’s burial is recorded in John 19:38-42. John 19:38-42, “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” The perfect sinless humanity of Christ was born trichotomous: (1) Body (2) Soul (3) Spirit. Therefore, our Lord’s physical death was unique because it was a trichotomous separation: (1) His physical body went to the grave (Luke 23:50-53). (2) His human spirit went to heaven (Luke 23:46; John 19:30). (3) His human soul went into Paradise a compartment of Hades (Luke 23:43; Acts 2:27; 2:31; Eph. 4:9).

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The Lord was brought back from the dead by three categories of divine omnipotence: (1) Omnipotence of God the Father sent back our Lord’s human spirit to the body in the grave (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21). (2) Omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit sent back our Lord’s human soul to the body in the grave (Rom. 1:4; 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18). (3) Omnipotence of God the Son raised His physical body from the grave (John 2:20- 23; 6:39-40, 54 10:17-18). In Romans 6:4, Paul teaches that that the believer has been identified with Christ in His physical death and burial through the baptism of the Spirit in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by means of the omnipotence of the Father so also in the same way, the believer will walk in the sphere of eternal life. Romans 6:4, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism with respect to His physical death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead ones through the glory of the Father, in the same way, we, ourselves will also walk in the realm of an extraordinary life.” The Lord Jesus Christ died physically in order to deal with the problem of the sin nature in the human race, which is located in the physical body of a person as a result of God imputing Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden to every person at the moment of physical birth. Therefore, the Christian’s problem with his indwelling Adamic sin nature is resolved when he is identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Holy Spirit the moment they were declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. As we have noted earlier, Adam died spiritually first and then physically. This pattern holds true as we noted in Romans 5:12-21 for his posterity, the human race. Jesus Christ’s obedience to the Father’s will in dying a spiritual death negated Adam’s spiritual death and its effects, namely, physical death and eternal condemnation. Therefore, the sinner who trusts in Jesus Christ is delivered from all three. Romans 5:12-21 taught us that the sin nature came into the world through Adam’s transgression and spiritual death through the sin nature. God imputed Adam’s transgression to every member of his posterity, i.e. the human race. Therefore, every member of the human is born into this world, physically alive yet spiritually dead and in need of justification. The sin nature resides in the physical body (Romans 6:6). Personal sin is the result of obeying the desires of the sin nature. Spiritual death is the result of possessing a sin nature and committing personal sin perpetuates this status. Therefore, the human race had three major problems that are interconnected, the sin nature, spiritual death and personal sins. Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths dealt with all three.

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Spiritual death is the product of the sin nature and personal sin perpetuates this status of spiritual death. The human race is under the status of real spiritual death because of the sin nature, which was passed down from Adam. Spiritual death is the consequence of not only possessing a sin nature but also obeying its desires and committing personal sin. Instead, of the human race suffering the consequences of possessing a sin nature and obeying its desires and committing personal sin, Jesus Christ died spiritually in their place as their Substitute. Thus, His spiritual death negates one of the effects of Adam’s sin, which is spiritual death that is the result of possessing a sin nature and committing sin. Therefore, our Lord had to die spiritually to solve the problem of spiritual death in the human race. His spiritual death dealt with the consequences of the human race possessing a sin nature and obeying its desires, namely, spiritual death. Adam acquired a sin nature when he disobeyed the Lord’s command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This sin nature was passed down to his posterity, i.e. the human race through sex and resides in the genetic structure of every body of every human being. Therefore, the status of spiritual death was passed down to Adam’s posterity since spiritual death entered the human race through the sin nature. Spiritual death is the status of possessing a sin nature due to the imputation of Adam’s original sin in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, our Lord had to die physically to solve the problem of the sin nature, which resides in the body of every human being. Our Lord’s resurrection body replaces the sinful body of Adam. The believer will receive a resurrection body like Christ in order to replace their physical bodies that possess the sin nature, the Adamic body. Therefore, God the Father viewed His Son’s spiritual death as negating spiritual death in the human race and viewed His physical death as negating the sin nature. Personal sin perpetuated the status of real spiritual death and through the function of human volition is the product of the sin nature. Consequently, the sinner who is declared justified through faith in Christ is identified with Christ in His spiritual death in order to solve the sinner’s problem of real spiritual death whereas the sinner is identified with Christ in His physical death in order to solve the sinner’s problem with the old sin nature. Therefore, Christ’s spiritual and physical death resolved the human race’s problem with the sin nature, spiritual death and personal sins. Thus, there is a clear pattern. The first Adam sinned. Then, he died spiritually while simultaneously acquiring a sin nature and then he died physically (Genesis 5:5). The last Adam obeyed the Father, died spiritually as a Substitute for Adam and his posterity, and then died physically to break the power of the sin nature.

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Then, the last Adam was raised from physical death and received a resurrection body, which would be passed down to His spiritual posterity, namely, those who trust in Him as Savior. In Romans 6, Paul follows this pattern. Thus, in Romans 6:3, he speaks of the justified sinner being identified with Christ in His spiritual death so as to solve his problem of being spiritually dead. Then, in Romans 6:4, he speaks of the justified sinner being identified with Christ in His physical death so as to break the power of the sin nature. In Romans 6:5, the apostle teaches that the justified sinner is identified with Christ in His resurrection in order to solve the problem of possessing a sin nature. This identification with Christ’s resurrection solves the problem of the sin nature in that it guarantees that the believer will receive a resurrection body like the last Adam, Christ so as to replace his sinful body. In Romans 7:4, the preposition dia functions as a marker of means and the noun soma , “ body ” as a “genitive of means” indicating that the physical body of Jesus Christ was the means by which the Jewish Christians in Rome have died with respect to the Mosaic Law. The noun soma , “ body ” is the object of the preposition dia and functions as a “genitive of means.” A “genitive of means” is where a genitive substantive indicates the means or instrumentality by which the verbal action implicit in the head noun or adjective or explicit in the verb is accomplished and answers the question, “How?” This indicates that the death of Lord Jesus Christ’s physical body on the Cross of Calvary was the “means” by which the Jewish Christians in Rome have died with respect to the Mosaic Law. The apostle Paul uses soma in the genitive case rather than in the dative case to denote means since the former is closer to a causal idea than the latter. He wishes to emphasize that the death of the physical body of Jesus Christ on the Cross was not only the means by which the Jewish Christians in Rome had died with respect to the Mosaic Law and were freed from its dominion and authority and condemnation but also its cause. Therefore, we will translate the preposition dia , “ by means of ” and the noun soma , “ body .” The fact that the believer’s old Adamic sin nature was crucified with Christ through the baptism of the Spirit sets up the potential to experience this deliverance from the power of the sin nature in time. It also provides the believer with the guarantee of experiencing permanently deliverance from the power of the sin nature when they receive a resurrection body at the rapture of the church. The believer’s sin nature will not be permanently eradicated until he physically dies or when the rapture of the church takes place when the believer will receive a

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 50 resurrection body to replace the body he now has, which contains the old sin nature (See 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Philippians 3:20-21). The believer can experience this victory and deliverance by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ (Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17). Prior to salvation, the believer was enslaved to the lust patterns of the old Adamic sin nature (See Ephesians 2:1-3). At the moment of salvation, through the baptism of the Spirit, the omnipotence of the Spirit identified the believer with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session (See Romans 6:4- 7; Ephesians 2:4-6). Also, at the moment of salvation, God gave the believer a new divine nature that gives him the capacity to experience deliverance from the lust patterns of the old Adamic sin nature (See 2 Peter 1:4). Therefore, since the believer has been crucified, died and buried with Christ and has been raised and seated with Christ and given a new divine nature, he is commanded to abstain from the various lust patterns of the old sin nature, which wage war against the believer’s soul and is to flee them. 1 Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” 2 Timothy 2:22, “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” The unbeliever does not have this alternative of not sinning but only the believer does. The fact that the believer’s old Adamic sin nature has been crucified with Christ at the Cross through the baptism of the Spirit means that the believer no longer is a slave to the sin nature and no longer has to give in to it. Since the believer has been crucified with Christ, he is commanded to consider himself dead to the sin nature. Romans 6:11, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The believer who appropriates by faith the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died and buried with Christ will experience deliverance from the lust patterns of the old sin nature. Galatians 5:24, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The believer is to consider the members of his body to be dead to these lust patterns of the old sin nature since they were crucified at the cross and he has died with Christ.

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Colossians 3:5, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” The will of God is that the believer obeys the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ, which constitutes experiencing sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God.” The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified so that the believer might not live for the lusts of the old sin nature but for the will of God (See 1 Peter 4:1-3). 1 Peter 4:1-3, “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.” The believer who experiences sanctification is obeying the command to be holy like God. 1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’” The believer sins because he chooses to disobey the teaching of the Word of God that his sin nature was crucified with Christ at the Cross and thus allows the sin nature to control and influence his soul so that he produces mental, verbal and overt acts of sin (See James 1:13-15). Therefore, the believer has a battle raging within him and he must choose between obeying the Spirit or the old Adamic sin nature. Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” The believer is commanded to walk by the Spirit, which means that the believer is to conduct his life in obedience to the Spirit, who speaks to the believer through the Word of God. Galatians 5:16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

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When the believer sins, he must confess the sin to the Father in order to be restored to fellowship with God. 1 John 1:9, “If any of us does at any time confess our sins, then, He (God the Father) is faithful and just with the result that He forgives us our sins and purifies us from each and every wrongdoing.” He maintains that fellowship with God by obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the Word of God. 1 John 2:5, “But, whoever, at any time does observe conscientiously His Word, indeed, in this one, the love for the one and only God is accomplished. By means of this we can confirm that we are at this particular moment in fellowship with Him.” This obedience constitutes obeying the commands to be filled with the Spirit and letting the Word of Christ richly dwell in your soul. Ephesians 5:18: “And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit.” Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” This obedience enables the Spirit to reproduce the character of Christ in the believer. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” So this battle rages between the flesh, our old sin nature and the Spirit. Paul relates this battle in his own life as a believer. Romans 7:14-25, “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I {would} like to {do} but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want {to do} I agree with the Law, {confessing} that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin, which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good {is} not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 53 me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” In Romans 7:4, the articular construction of the noun soma , “ body ” is “monadic” meaning that this body is “unique” or “one of a kind” to somebody. The genitive adjunct tou Christou , “ Christ ” that comes after the articular form of soma , “ body ” identifies this somebody as Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ. It indicates that Jesus of Nazareth’s physical body was “unique” in that it did not contain a sin nature and was therefore, sinless. The term “impeccability” refers to the fact that Christ could not sin or in other words, there was never any possibility or potential of our Lord ever sinning. The term “peccability” denotes that our Lord could have sinned meaning that there was a potential for Him sinning. In regards to our Lord’s deity, both views contend that Jesus Christ is infinite and eternal God (John 1:1-2; John 8:58; 10:30a; Col. 2:9a; Rev. 1:8). They agree that He has the same divine essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. They agree that our Lord possesses all the attributes of deity: (1) Sovereignty (Matt. 28:18a; Col. 2:10b). (2) Perfect righteousness (John 8:46a; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 2:21b). (3) Justice (John 8:16a; 2 Tim. 4:8; Psa. 9:8; Deut. 32:4; Rev. 15:3b). (4) Love (John 13:34; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 3:19; 1 John 4:9-10). (5) Eternal life (1 Tim. 1:17; 1 John 5:11). (6) Omniscience (Luke 11:17; John 2:24- 25; John 6:64). (7) Omnipresence (Matt. 18:20; Prov. 15:3) (8) Omnipotence (1 Cor. 1:23-24; Rev. 1:8). (9) Immutability (Heb. 13:8). (10) Veracity (John 1:14; 14:6a). Both views are in agreement that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (Col. 1:16-17), that He has authority to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6). They agree that the Lord Jesus Christ has the power to raise the dead (John 5:21; 6:40) and that all judgment belongs to Him (John 5:22), and that receives worship from both men and angels (Psa. 99:5; Phil. 2:10; Rev. 5:13-14). The peccability view and the impeccable view both agree that in His Deity, Jesus Christ always occupied a place of equality and fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. They both agree that as God, He is equal with the Father (John 10:30, 37-38; 14:9; 17:5, 24-25). In regards to our Lord’s humanity, both the peccable and impeccable view are in agreement that our Lord was totally free from sin, which means He was perfect or flawless. They both agree that Christ remained free from all three categories of sin in the human race: (1) Old sin nature (2) Adam’s original sin (3) Personal sins. The peccability view and impeccable view both agree that the Lord Jesus Christ has a human body like ours but without a sin nature (John 1:14; Heb. 10:5; 1 John

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1:1; 1 John 4:2-3), that He has a human soul (Matt. 26:38a; Isa. 53:11a) and a human spirit (Luke 23:46; John 13:21; 19:30). These two views are in agreement that because of the virgin birth our Lord did not have an old sin nature like every human being born in Adam. They agree that He did not have an old sin nature because He did not have a human father (Luke 1:35). The peccable view and the impeccable view both agree that the Lord Jesus Christ was found to be without sin in His humanity (John 8:46a; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5). They agree that in His humanity that our Lord was tempted in all things as sinful humanity (Heb. 4:15). They agree that in His humanity, He was tempted to act and live independently from God the Father’s plan for His life (Luke 4:1-4; Matt. 16:21-23) and that He was tempted not to go to the cross (Luke 22:39-44). Therefore, both views are in agreement that our Lord did not sin, but the peccability view contends that He could have sinned. They say that there was a potential of Him sinning. While on the other hand, the impeccability view contends that our Lord could never have sinned meaning there was absolutely no potential of Him ever sinning once because He had a divine nature. John 8:46a, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He (Christ) who never knew sin experientially (Christ was impeccable), on behalf of us (as our Substitute), was made (the representative of) sin in order that we might become the very righteousness of God in Him.” Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin .” Hebrew 7:26, “For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” 1 Peter 1:19, “But with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless , the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 2:22, “Who committed no sin , nor was any deceit found in His mouth.” 1 John 3:5, “And you know that He appeared in order to take sins; and in Him there is no sin .” Most orthodox theologians agree that Jesus Christ never committed an act of sin. Walvoord writes, “This seems to be a natural corollary to His deity and an absolute prerequisite to His work of substitution on the cross. Any affirmation of moral failure on the part of Christ requires a doctrine of His person which would

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 55 deny in some sense His absolute deity” (The Person and Work of Christ Part VII, The Impeccability of Christ). There has been debate regarding whether the sinlessness of Christ was the same as that of Adam before the fall or whether it possessed a unique character because of His divine nature. Could the Son of God be tempted as Adam was tempted and could He have sinned as Adam sinned? Was there any potential of Him sinning once? Most theologians who are orthodox agree that Christ could be tempted because of the presence of a human nature, but there is great division as to whether being tempted He could have sinned or was there the potential of Him ever sinning. The term used to describe the teaching that there was a potential that Christ could sin is called “peccability.” The term used to designate that there was no potential of Christ sinning is called the “impeccability” of Christ. Those who adhere to “peccability” and “impeccability” are in agreement that Christ did not sin. However, those who are proponents of “peccability” contend that He could have sinned meaning that there was a potential that He could sin. On the other hand, those who declare the “impeccability” contend that He could not sin meaning that there was no potential whatsoever that He could sin because of His divine nature. The impeccability position has been challenged. Can an impeccable person be tempted in any proper sense? Since Christ had a human nature that was subject to temptation, does this mean that He could have sinned? The point of view of those who believe that Christ could have sinned is expressed by Charles Hodge, he writes, “This sinlessness of our Lord, however, does not amount to absolute impeccability. It was not a non potest peccare . If He was a true man, He must have been capable of sinning. That He did not sin under the greatest provocations; that when He was reviled He blessed; when He suffered He threatened not; that He was dumb as a sheep before its shearers, is held up to us as an example. Temptation implies the possibility of sin. If from the constitution of his person it was impossible for Christ to sin, then his temptation was unreal and without effect and He cannot sympathize with his people.” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, II, 457) John Walvoord makes the following comment in response to Hodge, he writes, “The problem that Hodge raises is very real, and, judging by our own experience, temptation is always associated with peccability. Hodge, however, assumes certain points in his argument which are subject to question. In order to solve the problem as to whether Christ is peccable, it is necessary, first of all, to examine the character of temptation itself to ascertain whether peccability is inevitably involved in any real temptation and, second, to determine the unique factor in Christ, i.e., that He had two natures, one a divine nature and the other a sinless human nature.

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It is generally agreed by those who hold that Christ did not commit sin that He had no sin nature. Whatever temptation could come to Him, then, would be from without and not from within. Whatever may have been the natural impulses of a sinless nature which might have led to sin if not held in control, there was no sin nature to suggest sin from within and form a favorable basis for temptation. It must be admitted by Hodge, who denies impeccability, that in any case the temptation of Christ is different than that of sinful men. Not only is there agreement on the fact that Christ had no sin nature, but it is also agreed on the other hand, that as to His person He was tempted. This is plainly stated in Hebrews: “For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (4:15 ). It is also clear that this temptation came to Christ in virtue of the fact that He possessed a human nature, as James states: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man” (1:13 ). On the one hand, Christ was tempted in all points except through that of a sin nature, and on the other hand His divine nature could not be tempted because God cannot be tempted. While His human nature is temptable, His divine nature is not temptable. On these points all can agree. The question is, then, can such a person as Christ is, possessing both human and divine natures, be tempted if He is impeccable? The answer must be in the affirmative. The question is simply, is it possible to attempt the impossible? To this all would agree. It is possible for a rowboat to attack a battleship, even though it is conceivably impossible for the rowboat to conquer the battleship. The idea that temptability implies susceptibility is unsound. While the temptation may be real, there may be infinite power to resist that temptation and if this power is infinite, the person is impeccable. It will be observed that the same temptation which would be easily resisted by one of sound character may be embraced by one of weak character. The temptation of a drunken debauch would have little chance of causing one to fall who had developed an abhorrence of drink, while a habitual drunkard would be easily led astray. The temptation might be the same in both cases, but the ones tempted would have contrasting powers of resistance. It is thus demonstrated that there is no essential relation between temptability and peccability. Hodge’s viewpoint that temptation must be unreal if the person tempted is impeccable is, therefore, not accurate. Temptability depends upon a constitutional susceptibility to sin, whereas impeccability depends upon omnipotent will not to sin.” (The Person and Work of Jesus Christ Part VII: The Impeccability of Christ) Shedd writes: “It is objected to the doctrine of Christ’s impeccability that it is inconsistent with his temptability. A person who cannot sin, it is said, cannot be tempted to sin. This is not correct; any more than it would be correct to say that because an army cannot be conquered, it cannot be attacked. Temptability depends

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 57 upon the constitutional susceptibility, while impeccability depends upon the will. So far as his natural susceptibility, both physical and mental, was concerned, Jesus Christ was open to all forms of human temptation excepting those that spring out of lust, or corruption of nature. But his peccability, or the possibility of being overcome by those temptations, would depend upon the amount of voluntary resistance which he was able to bring to bear against them. Those temptations were very strong, but if the self-determination of his holy will was stronger than they, then they could not induce him to sin, and he would be impeccable. And yet plainly he would be temptable.” (William G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, II, 396) Therefore, the doctrine of the impeccability of Christ acknowledges the reality of the temptations of Christ due to the fact that our Lord had a human nature which was temptable. Our Lord might have sinned if His human nature had not been sustained by His divine nature. Adam sinned because he was not sustained by divine power, nor did he have a divine nature to sustain him of course. However, there is absolutely no possibility or potential that Christ could have sinned since He was infinite and eternal God, having a divine nature. Walvoord makes another insightful comment that helps understand the relationship between our Lord’s divine and human nature, he writes, “The ultimate solution of the problem of the impeccability of Christ rests in the relationship of the divine and human natures. It is generally agreed that each of the natures, the divine and the human, had its own will in the sense of desire. The ultimate decision of the person, however, in the sense of sovereign will was always in harmony with the decision of the divine nature. The relation of this to the problem of impeccability is obvious. The human nature, because it is temptable, might desire to do that which is contrary to the will of God. In the person of Christ, however, the human will was always subservient to the divine will and could never act independently. Inasmuch as all agree that the divine will of God could not sin, this quality then becomes the quality of the person and Christ becomes impeccable.” (The Person and Work of Christ Part VII: The Impeccability of Christ) The concept of peccability in the person of Christ is refuted by the attributes of immutability and omnipotence. For example, the immutability of Christ (Hebrews 13:8) supports the impeccability of Christ in the sense that since Christ was infinite and eternal God in eternity past, it is absolutely essential that this divine attribute as well His others be preserved unchanged eternally. Therefore, our Lord must be impeccable since He is immutable. It is ridiculous to think that God could sin in eternity past, thus, it was impossible for God to sin in the person of Christ incarnate. The nature of His

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 58 person forbids susceptibility to sin. To say that He could have sinned, you would have to separate the deity of Christ from His humanity. Also, the omnipotence of Christ makes it impossible for Him to sin. We must remember that peccability always implies weakness on the part of the one tempted in the sense that He is weak to the extent that He can sin. However, with our Lord, this was impossible. It is true that if the human nature of Christ was left to itself, He would have been both peccable and temptable, but since His human nature was permanently united to an omnipotent divine nature, this made our Lord impeccable. The infinite quality of our Lord’s omnipotence makes it clear that Christ is impeccable. One final comment from Walvoord, “It is rationally inconceivable that Christ could sin. It is clear that Christ is not peccable in heaven now even though He possesses a true humanity. If Christ is impeccable in heaven because of who He is, then it is also true that Christ was impeccable on earth because of who He was. While it was possible for Christ in the flesh to suffer limitations of an unmoral sort—such as weakness, suffering, fatigue, sorrow, hunger, anger, and even death—none of these created any complication which affected His immutable holiness. God could have experienced through the human nature of Christ these things common to the race, but God could not sin even when joined to a human nature. If sin were possible in the life of Christ, the whole plan of the universe hinged on the outcome of His temptations. The doctrine of the sovereignty of God would forbid any such haphazard condition. It is therefore not sufficient to hold that Christ did not sin, but rather to attribute to His person all due adoration in that He could not sin. While the person of Christ could therefore be tempted, there was no possibility of sin entering the life of Him appointed from eternity to be the spotless Lamb of God.” (The Person and Work of Christ Part VII: The Impeccability of Christ) In his great work, “Systematic Theology, volume 5, chapter 5, Lewis Sperry Chafer makes the following comment, which though long is well worth reading, he writes, “At least twenty-seven incidents or references are recorded in which it is said that God has been or might be tested; but these are always to be considered in the light of the assurance that God cannot be tempted in the way of evil, nor does He so tempt any man (James 1: 13-15). The divine testings extend to each Person of the blessed Trinity. Of the Father it is said with respect to the imposition of the Mosaic Law upon perfected believers, ‘Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?’ (Acts 15: 10). To those who, perhaps in ignorance, teach that the Mosaic system is a rule of life for the believer already perfected in Christ, the warning which this Scripture advances should be effective. There are no elements of piety in the act of imposing the Mosaic system upon the Church; rather it is a dangerous

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 59 and awful provoking of God. It is significant that, of all the wickedness in which Christians may indulge, only this one high crime against God is mentioned as the cause of His testing from believers. Thus, also, the Spirit may be tested. In this there is a similarity with the preceding, since but one incident of the Spirit’s testing is recorded. This experience was brought to pass by a falsehood uttered by two early Christians, which falsehood was declared to be against the Holy Spirit. It is written: ‘And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband’ (Acts 5:8-10). Of the temptation of Christ the Son more Scripture is written--cf. Luke 4:1-13; Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15. The discussion of these important declarations will be considered in the following section.” Chafer goes on to say, “When declaring, as above, that the testings which came to Christ were in the sphere of His humanity and not addressed directly to His Deity, not only is the truth asserted that He, being God, could not be solicited respecting things evil, but the whole problem, which may be extended into infinity, concerned with the relations of His two natures to one another is introduced again. There is general agreement that, had Christ sinned, the lapse would have arisen wholly from His human nature; but in all the discussion respecting His impeccability the truth is too often ignored that Christ was wholly free from a sin nature and all that the sin nature generates. Some theologians, much as heathen philosophers might do, have based their speculations on the acknowledged limitations of fallen men. It is argued that no man is free from sin and, since He was a man, Christ was solicited to evil even as other men. In his discourse on the problem of Christ’s personal relation to sin, Bishop Martensen writes (Christian Dogmatics, pp. 284-85): The fact that the Second Adam experienced all temptations--enticements to sin, threats and tortures of body and mind--is to be explained upon the ground, not of His moral freedom only, nor of the progressiveness of His nature, but of both these combined. The propositions, potuit non Peccare , ‘it was possible for Him not to sin,’ and non potuit peccare , ‘it was impossible for Him to sin,’ so far from being distinct or contrasted, may be said to include and to presuppose each other. The first, which means that sinlessness was only a possibility for Christ, implies that He experienced temptation as an actual power; for while it came upon Him from without, it must, if it were not a mere pretence, have excited some corresponding feeling within Him; through which alone He could have been really tempted. And as the contrast between the cosmical and the sacred--the natural and the spiritual--was necessary in the Second Adam in

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 60 order to a twofold influence upon the will;--as the Second Adam cannot be viewed as Monotheletic, which would be in fact to consider Him Monophysite, but Duotheletici---the same principle must have been active in Him which made the fall of the first Adam possible. The possibility of evil existed in the Second Adam; but this possibility never became active, was never realized; it served only as the dark and obscure background to show forth His perfect holiness. This was guaranteed, not by the force of virtue or innocence, which the very idea of temptation makes uncertain and doubtful, pending the trial, nor again by the force of the Divine nature as distinct from the human, or the human as distinct from the Divine, but in virtue of the indissoluble union of the divine and human natures in Him; that bond which might indeed be strained and shaken to the greatest apparent tension and contrast of the two natures, but which never could be broken. This is expressed in the second proposition non potuit peccare , ‘it was impossible for Him to sin.’ Though the temptation itself and the conflict against it were not apparent merely but real and sternly earnest, the result could never have been doubtful; for the bond between the Divine and the human natures, which may be severed in the creature, was indissoluble in Him who is the Mediator between the Father and all His creatures. This bond may be broken only when the connection of the divine with the human is merely relative and representative; never when it is essential and archetypal, as in Him, in whom the counsels of the Father were comprehended before the foundation of the world. Dr. Martensen here, along with many theological leaders, sustains a very high regard for the theanthropic: Person, but his implications are that Christ suffered those temptations which belong to a fallen nature; still, Christ could not have possessed a sin nature without having par- taken of the fall, since that nature does not belong to unfallen humanity. Naturally, the only examples of this form of human existence are restricted to Adam before he fell and to Christ. If Christ had been Himself a fallen Being, He could not have been the uninvolved Kinsman-Redeemer that was demanded. Perhaps some fail at this point to realize that the saving work of Christ extends as much to the sin nature of those He saves as to their individual transgressions. Had Christ been Himself a fallen man, He would have needed to be saved and could not have saved Himself or another. If, on the other hand, He was unfallen and theanthropic in His Being, He had no solicitations to evil such as arise out of a sin nature. It is intrinsic divine holiness which is predicated of Him (Luke 1:35). It has been declared on previous pages and is reasserted here that Christ was impeccable in the non potuit peccare sense; that is, it was impossible for Him to sin. That which creates doubt in many devout minds is the obvious fact that, as illustrated by Adam, an unfallen human being is capable of sinning. Tragic indeed, in this instance, is the failure to recognize that the first Adam was unsupported in the hour of his testing, but that the Last Adam though equally possessed of an unfallen human nature was--as Dr.

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Martensen so well affirms--because of “the indissoluble union of the divine and human natures” unable to do what He might otherwise have done if His human nature had been left to itself, which disunion of the two natures could never occur. Even then the case, as with Adam, differs from that of any fallen man. While the fallen man is utterly prone to sin, both the unfallen Adam and the humanity of Christ had no such impetus to sin, and the unfallen Adam might have easily avoided the thing that he did. Since this bond of union which unites Christ’s two natures--for He is one Person--is so complete, the humanity of Christ could not sin. Should His humanity sin, God would sin. When the absolute Deity of Christ is recognized, there is no logic which is more inexorable than this. Though unsupported unfallen humanity might sin, a theanthropic Person even if He incorporates an unfallen human nature is incapable of sinning. The contention that Christ could, but would not, sin is far removed from the contention that Christ could not sin. The former either denies His Deity or else dishonors God with the calumnious averment that God is Himself capable of sinning. Again, it must be declared that Christ’s human traits which did not involve moral issues could be exhibited freely. The idea might be admitted with certain reservations that He was both omnipotent and impotent, omniscient and ignorant, infinite and finite, unlimited and limited; but it could never be allowed that He was both impeccable and peccable. There are no God-dishonoring elements in human weakness, human pain, human hunger, human thirst, or human limitations with respect to various capacities--even human death may be admitted as a death undergone for others, but not for Himself.” Therefore, the debate surrounding peccability and impeccability is easily resolved by an accurate understanding from the Scriptures of the Person of Christ and the nature of His testings. First of all, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is infinite and eternal God (John 1:1-2; John 8:58; 10:30a; Col. 2:9a; Rev. 1:8). The titles assigned to His deity are as follows: (1) " The Son of God " (Luke 1:35) (2) " The Son of the Most High " (Luke 1:32) (3) " Mighty God " (Isaiah 9:6) (4) " Eternal Father " (Isaiah 9:6) (5) " His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity " (Micah 5:2). (6) “ Lord ” (Rom. 15:30; Eph. 1:22; Phil. 2:11). (7) “ God ” (Titus 2:13). He has the same divine essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He possesses all the attributes of deity: (1) Sovereignty (Matt. 28:18a; Col. 2:10b). (2) Perfect righteousness (John 8:46a; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 2:21b). (30 Justice (John 8:16a; 2 Tim. 4:8; Psa. 9:8; Deut. 32:4; Rev. 15:3b). (4) Love (John 13:34; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 3:19; 1 John 4:9-10). (5) Eternal life (1 Tim. 1:17; 1 John 5:11). (6) Omniscience (Luke 11:17; John 2:24-25; 6:64; 21:17). (7) Omnipresence (Matt. 18:20; Prov. 15:3) (8) Omnipotence (John 1:3, 10; 5:21; 1

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Cor. 1:23-24; Phil. 3:21; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 1:8). (9) Immutability (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 1:10-12; 13:8). (10) Veracity (John 1:14; 14:6a; 1 John 3:16). He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (John 1:3, 10; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3, 10). The Lord Jesus Christ has authority to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6; Luke 5:24; Col. 3:13). The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to raise the dead (John 5:21; 6:40; 11:25). All judgment belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:22; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-14), and receives worship from both men and angels (Psa. 99:5; Phil. 2:10; Rev. 5:13-14). In His Deity always occupied a place of equality and fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ as God was equal with the Father (John 10:30, 37-38; 14:9; 17:5, 24-25). Therefore, since Jesus Christ is God, then there as to His divine nature, there is no inherent propensity for Him to sin. In other words, there is nothing in the divine nature of Christ that could incite Him to sin. James 1:13a, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil.” Also, the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is a human being. This is indicated in that our Lord: (1) "Wept" (John 11:35; Heb. 5:7). (2) “Slept" (Mark 4:38). (3) Became "hungry" (Luke 4:2). (4) Was "thirsty" (John 19:28). (5) “Prayed" (Luke 21:41-42; Heb. 5:7). (6) “Ate" and "drank" (Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30). (7) Was "weary" (John 4:6). (8) Was in "agony" (Luke 22:44). (9) Had to "grow" physically and mentally (Luke 2:40). (10) Had to "learn" Bible Doctrine (Luke 2:52). (11) Had to learn “obedience” (Heb. 5:7). (12) Was "tempted" (Luke 4:2; Heb. 2:18; 4:15). (13) Was a Man of "sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3). (14) Was "despised" and "forsaken" of men (Isaiah 53:3). (15) “Rejoiced" (Luke 10:21). (16) “Died" physically (John 19:33). (17) “Died" spiritually (Matt. 27:45-46). The Word of God teaches that Jesus Christ had a human body. 1 John 1:1-4, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. he life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.’” The difference between Jesus Christ and the human race is that He did not have a sin nature (John 1:14; Heb. 10:5; 1 John 1:1; 1 John 4:2-3). Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin .”

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Hebrew 7:26, “For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” 1 John 3:5, “And you know that He appeared in order to take sins; and in Him there is no sin .” Unlike the human race, Christ did not have a sin nature and thus did not have an inherent propensity to sin like we do! Therefore, since Jesus Christ is fully human, yet without a sin nature, then like His divine nature, as to His human nature, there was no inherent propensity to sin. In other words, there was nothing in His human nature that would incite Him to sin because He did not have a sin nature. Thus, if there was nothing in both His divine and human natures that could incite Him to sin or tempt Him to sin, then, there could have been no possibility whatsoever, that Christ could have sinned. The temptations that the Lord’s human nature had undergone were from without. However, those temptations unlike the first Adam did not incite in Him anything that could cause Him to sin since there was nothing in both His divine and human natures that would be enticed to sin. There are some who argue that God would be unfair to Satan in his appeal trial if there was no possibility for Christ to sin. However, this view is based upon a misunderstanding of God’s holiness, His justice and righteousness. Matthew 25:41 teaches that God sentenced Satan to the Lake of Fire for his rebellion. God would have been fair if He executed that sentence. However, in His grace, He did not as evidenced by the fact that Satan is the god of the world according to 2 Corinthians 4:4 and that he deceives the entire world according to 1 John 5:19 and Revelation 12:10. To say that God would have been unfair to Satan if there was no possibility for Christ to sin fails to recognize that God would have been fair to execute Satan’s sentence immediately, and the fact that God did not execute the sentence immediately indicates that God was operating in grace towards Satan. To say that in order to be fair to Satan that there had to be a possibility that Christ could sin is to call into question God’s justice and righteousness, His integrity since God did not have prove His fairness to His creatures since He would have been fair in the first place to execute Satan’s sentence immediately. What God was doing for Satan and the angels was demonstrating His grace and love towards them by not executing their sentence immediately. Therefore, the argument that it would have been unfair to Satan if there was no possibility of Christ sinning is a faulty argument that in fact attacks God’s integrity and character. Also, the fact that Christ did die on the Cross for sinners in obedience to the Father’s will demonstrated the righteousness of God itself and that God is integrity

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(Romans 3:21-26; 5:6-8) and not the fact that there was a possibility of Christ sinning! To say that God demonstrated His integrity through the potential of Christ sinning is without Scriptural basis. However, the fact that Christ dying on the Cross for sinners demonstrated God’s justice and righteousness does have wealth of Scripture to support it. In Romans 7:4, the proper noun Christos , “ Christ ” is a technical word designating the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ as the promised Savior for all mankind who is unique as the incarnate Son of God and totally and completely guided and empowered by the Spirit as the Servant of the Father. The proper name Christos is a technical word designating the humanity of our Lord as the promised Savior for all mankind who is unique as the incarnate Son of God and totally and completely guided and empowered by the Spirit as the Servant of the Father. The word denotes the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth, thus He is the Deliverer of the human race in three areas through His death, resurrection, ascension and session: (1) Satan (2) Cosmic System (3) Old Sin Nature. The word also signifies the uniqueness of Jesus of Nazareth who is the God- Man and signifies His 3-fold office: (1) Prophet (2) Priest (3) King. The Lord’s Messiahship has a four-fold significance: (1) Separation unto God. (2) Authorization from God. (3) Divine enablement. (4) The coming Deliverer. Christos signifies that Jesus of Nazareth served God the Father exclusively and this was manifested by His execution of the Father’s salvation plan which was accomplished by His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross. The word signifies that Jesus of Nazareth has been given authority by God the Father to forgive sins, give eternal life, and authority over all creation and every creature as a result of His execution of the Father’s salvation plan. It signifies that Jesus of Nazareth was perpetually guided and empowered by God the Holy Spirit during His 1st Advent. Lastly, Christos signifies that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised deliverer of the human race from the bondage of Satan, his cosmic system and the old Adamic sin nature. The proper noun Christos , “ Christ ” functions as a “genitive of possession” meaning that this body “belongs to” Jesus Christ. The articular construction of the proper noun Christos, “Christ” indicates that Jesus of Nazareth who is worthy to be called the Christ since in Paul’s day there were many who claimed to be so. We will translate Christos , “ Christ’s .”

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Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception also have been put to death by means of Christ’s body …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “So that you might be joined ” is composed of the following: (1) Preposition eis ( ei)$ ) (ice), “ so that ” (2) The accusative second person plural form of the personal pronoun humeis ( u(mei~$ ) (hoo-mice), “ you ” (3) The accusative neuter singular form of the definite article definite article ho ( o() (ho) (4) The aorist (deponent) middle infinitive form of the verb ginomai ( givnomai ) (ghin-om-i), “might be joined .” The personal pronoun humeis literally means, “all of you” and refers to the Jewish Christians in Rome. The word functions as the “accusative subject of the infinitive” meaning that it functions semantically as the subject of the infinitive ginomai , “ might be joined .” We will translate humeis , “ all of you .” The verb ginomai is an idiom for getting married. The middle voice is “deponent” meaning that it has an active voice meaning even though it has a middle voice form. Therefore, the “deponent” middle voice indicates that the Jewish Christians in Rome as the subject receive the action of being entered into marriage with Jesus Christ who rose from the dead. The aorist tense of the verb is an “ingressive” aorist, which emphasizes that these Jewish Christians in Rome were “entered into the state” of marriage with Jesus Christ as a result of being identified with Him in His physical death on the Cross. The infinitive form of ginomai is an “infinitive of result” and not an ‘infinitive of purpose.” The former indicates the outcome produced by the controlling verb whereas the latter is used to indicate the purpose or the goal of its controlling verb. The infinitive of result places emphasis on “effect” which may or may not have been intended whereas the infinitive of purpose emphasizes “intention” which may or may not culminate in the desired result. This is not an “infinitive of purpose” since Paul is emphasizing that the result of the Jewish Roman Christians having died with respect to the Mosaic Law, which the “infinitive of result” would indicate. The fact that this is an “infinitive of result” rather than “purpose” is indicated in that Paul is speaking from the perspective of what God has already accomplished for his Jewish Christian readers through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The fact that they were identified with Christ’s physical death through the baptism of the Spirit has freed them from the authority of the Mosaic Law.

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Therefore, Paul’s emphasis is not upon God’s “intention” in identifying these Jewish Roman Christians with Christ’s physical death but the “effect” of their being identified with Christ in His physical death. He wants them to be aware of the fact, if they are not already that they have been freed from the authority of the Mosaic Law and have died with respect to it through the baptism of the Spirit just like a Jewish woman is freed from her husband’s authority when he dies. Therefore, the articular infinitive form of the verb ginomai is governed by the preposition eis and functions as an “infinitive of result.” It indicates the “outcome” produced by the controlling verb thanatoo , “have been put to death .” The infinitive of result emphasizes that that “the result of” Paul’s Jewish Christian readers having died with respect to the Mosaic Law by means of the physical death of Jesus Christ on the Cross is that they are now married to Christ or in other words, they have been entered into union with Him. It emphasizes the “effect” of these Jewish Roman Christians having been identified with Christ in His physical death, which made them dead to the Law. We will translate the prepositional phrase eis to genesthai , “ with the result that…have been entered into marriage .” In the Greek New Testament, there are at least eight different analogies that express the justified sinner’s union with Christ: (1) The last Adam and the New Creation (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 5:17a). (2) The Head and the Body (Col. 1:18a). (3) The Great Shepherd and the Sheep (Heb. 13:20). (4) The True Vine and the Branches (John 15:5a). (5) The Chief Cornerstone and the Stones in the building (Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:5-6). (6) The Great High Priest and members of the Royal Priesthood (Heb. 4:14a; 1 Pet. 2:9a). (7) The Groom and the Bride. (Our wedding occurs at the Second Advent) (Rev. 19:7). (8) The King of Kings and the Royal Family of God (Rev. 19:14-16). The prepositional phrases “ in Christ, in Christ Jesus, in the Lord, in Him, in Whom ” are in some way or another reference to the Christian’s union with the Christ. “In Christ ”: Rom. 8:1; 12:5; 16:3, 7-10; 1 Cor. 3:1; 4:10, 15, 17; 15:18-19; 2 Cor. 2:14, 17; 3:14; 5:17, 19; 12:2, 19; Gal. 1:22, Eph. 1:3, 10, 12, 20; Eph. 2:10, 13; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 4:16; Philemon 8; 1 Pet. 3:16; 5:14. “In Christ Jesus ”: 1 Cor. 1:2, 30; 15:31; 16:24; Gal. 2:4; Gal. 3:26, 28; Phil. 1:1, 13; 2:1, 5; 3:3, 14; 4:21; Eph. 1:1; 2:6; Eph. 2:10, 13; 3:6, 11; Col. 1:4, 28; 1 Thess. 2:14; 5:18; 1 Tim. 1:14; 3:13; 2 Tim. 1:1, 9, 13; 2:1, 10; 3:12, 15; Philemon 23. “In Him ”: 1 Cor. 5:21; 2 Cor. 13:4; Eph. 1:4; Phil. 3:9; Col. 2:7, 10.

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“In the Lord ”: Rom. 16:11-13, 22; 1 Cor. 1:31; 4:17; 7:39; 9:1-2; 11:11; 15:58; 16:19; 2 Cor. 10:17; Eph. 2:21; 4:17; 5:8; 6:1, 10, 21; Phil. 1:14; 3:1; 4:1-2, 4, 10; Col. 4:7, 17; 1 Thess. 3:8; 5:12; 2 Thess. 3:4, 12; Philemon 16, 20. “In Whom ”: Eph. 1:11; Col. 2:3, 11. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception also have been put to death by means of Christ’s body with the result that all of you have been entered into marriage …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “To another ” is the dative masculine singular form of the adjective heteros (e^tero$ ) (het-er-os), which refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as indicated by the following phrase to ek nekron egerthenti , “ who was raised from the dead .” The adjective heteros denotes “another” of a dissimilar nature. In context it refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who is dissimilar in nature to the Mosaic Law which the Jewish Christians in Rome were married to prior to their conversion to Christianity since He came to deliver the Jewish Christians in Rome from the condemnation of the Law. Heteros functions as a “dative of association” indicating that these Jewish Christians in Rome were “associated with” or entered into a marriage “relation” with Jesus Christ who rose from the dead. We will translate heteros , “ with another .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception have also been put to death by means of Christ’s body with the result that all of you have been entered into marriage with another …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “To Him who was raised ” is the articular dative masculine singular aorist passive participle form of the verb egeiro ( e)geivrw ) (eg-i-ro), which is used of Jesus Christ and means, “to raise from physical death.” In Romans 7:4, the aorist tense of the verb is a “constative” aorist tense describing in summary fashion the moment that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. The passive voice means that the subject, the human nature of Jesus Christ received the action of being raised from the dead by the unexpressed agencies of

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God the Father (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21) and God the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18). The definite article preceding the participle form of the verb egeiro functions as a substantiver meaning that it converts the participle into a substantive. Therefore, it indicates that the participle has a substantival function, which is reflected by translating the article with the relative pronoun, “ the one who .” The substantive participle form of the verb functions as a “dative of simple apposition.” This means that it is appositive to the dative substantive form of the adjective heteros , “ with another ” referring to the same person, namely, Jesus Christ and having the same syntactical relation to the rest of the clause. It also indicates that it is “clarifying” for the reader who these Jewish Roman Christians have been entered into a marriage relationship with. We will translate the articular substantive participle form of the verb egeiro , “the One who was raised .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception have also been put to death by means of Christ’s body with the result that all of you have been entered into marriage with another, the one who was raised …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “From the dead ” is composed of the preposition ek ( e)k ), “ from ” and the genitive masculine plural form of the adjective nekros ( nekrov$ ), “ the dead .” The plural form of the adjective nekros , “dead ones” refers to members of the human race who have died physically. The preposition ek denotes separation and the adjective nekros functions as a “genitive of separation” or as some grammarians call an “ablative of separation” in which the genitive substantive is that from which the verb or sometimes the head noun is separated indicating point of departure. Thus, the adjective nekros functions as a “genitive” or “ablative of separation” indicating that the human nature of Jesus Christ was raised “out from” those who are physically dead. We will translate the prepositional phrase ek nekron , “ from the dead ones .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception have also been put to death by means of Christ’s body with the result that all of you have been entered into marriage with another, the one who was raised from the dead ones …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to

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Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “In order that ” is the conjunction hina ( i%na ) (hin-ah), which is employed with the subjunctive mood of the verb karpophoreo , “ might bear fruit ” in order to form a purpose clause. A purpose clause emphasizes the “intention” of the action of the main verb, which is ginomai , “ have been entered into marriage .” This purpose clause emphasizes that God’s “intention” or “objective” in placing the Christian in union with Christ was so that the Christian might bear fruit for the benefit of the Father. We will translate hina , “ in order that .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception have also been put to death by means of Christ’s body with the result that all of you have been entered into marriage with another, the one who was raised from the dead ones in order that …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “We might bear fruit ” is the first person plural aorist active subjunctive form of the verb karpophoreo ( karpoforevw ) (kar-pof-or-eh-o), which is a compound word composed of the noun karpos , “fruit” and the verb phero , “to carry,” thus the word literally means, “to bring forth fruit, to be productive.” The word appears only eight times in the Greek New Testament (Matthew 13:23; Mark 4:20, 28; Luke 8:15; Romans 7:4, 5; Colossians 1:6, 10). In Romans 7:4, the verb is used in a figurative sense for fruit bearing or in other words, producing or bearing the character of Christ in one’s life. Christ-like character is synonymous with divine good. Character is composed of three elements: (1) Thought (2) Word (3) Action. The production of divine good or Christ-like character in the believer is the result of the believer being obedient to the Word of God which in turn enables the Holy Spirit to reproduce the character of Christ in the believer which will be rewarded at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the Church (John 15:1-8; Rom. 1:13; 6:22; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9; Phil. 1:11; 4:17; Heb. 12:11; James 3:17-18). Fruit bearing is simply the production of Christ-like character in the believer that is the result of the believer having a lifestyle of living in the new Christ nature. It is the result of experiencing fellowship with God as a lifestyle. It is the result of experiencing the holiness of God since the believer cannot experience the holiness of God unless he is living in the new Christ nature, in which produces Christ-like character and where the righteousness and holiness of God resides.

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Fruit bearing, i.e. Christ-like character is the result of experiencing the holiness of God since the believer cannot experience fellowship with a holy God unless he himself is holy. It is the result of experiencing sanctification in time after salvation. It is the result of obeying the voice of the Spirit, which is accomplished by the believer who is obedient to the Word of God since the Spirit inspires the Word of God and the Spirit speaks through the Word of God. The apostle Paul states in Colossians 1:6 that the Gospel produces fruit in those who trust in Christ as Savior. Colossians 1:1-12, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love, which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing , even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond- servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” The Spirit’s job after salvation is to reproduce the life and character of Christ in the believer’s life and this is called fruit bearing. Remember what Paul said in Galatians 4:19: Galatians 4:19, “My children, with whom I am again in labor until the character of Christ is formed in all of you .” The fruit of the Spirit is the production of Christ-like character. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Fruit bearing talks about building Christ-like character. Ephesians 5:9, “(for the fruit of the Light {consists} in all goodness and righteousness and truth ).”

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Hebrews 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” The Holy Spirit employs the Word of God in order to perform this post- salvation function on behalf of the believer. He performs this post-salvation only on behalf of those believers who are obedient to the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples about fruit bearing in His metaphor of the vine and the branches. Our Lord used the illustration of the vine and the branches to show what it meant to abide in Him. This parable or illustration teaches us the perfection of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ as believers. So close is the union between the vine and the branch, that each is nothing without the other, that each is entirely and only for the other. Without the vine the branch can do nothing. To the vine the branch owes its right of place in the vineyard, its life and fruitfulness. Just as the branch fulfills its purpose for being in union with the vine, so the believer can only fulfill his responsibility in his eternal union with Christ by remaining in consistent fellowship with the Lord. Just as sap from the vine flows through its branches so the Holy Spirit flows through the soul of the believer who remains in fellowship with Christ. The branches (church) are totally dependent upon the vine (Christ) and the sap (Spirit) that is produced by the vine that flows to the branches. Without the branch the vine can do nothing for a vine without branches can bear no fruit. No less indispensable than the vine to the branch, is the branch to the vine. Such is the beautiful condescension of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that just as His people are dependent upon Him, He has made Himself dependent on His people. Without His disciples, our Lord cannot dispense His blessing of eternal life to the world. John 15:1, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” There are three Vines in Scripture: (1) Past (Israel: Ps. 80:8-19; Isa. 5:1-7; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 19:10-14; Hos. 10:1). (2) Present (Church: Jn. 15:1-17). (3) Future (Gentile world system that will be judged during the Tribulation: Rev. 14:14-20). “True ” is the adjective alethinos ( a)lhqinov$ ) indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ is the original vine. The Lord Jesus is the original vine from which branches grow. He is the origin and source of the believer’s spiritual life. The Lord Jesus appeared as a dry root out of the parched ground meaning a sinless man among human beings who were physically alive but spiritually dead. Isaiah 53:2, “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.”

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The major essential in horticulture is to plant the right kind of vine or tree in order to assure the proper quality of fruit. No fruit can be better than the vine that produces it. Our Lord states in John 15:1 that He is the “ true vine .” Unless the believer remains in fellowship with the Lord the quality of his fruitfulness will be unacceptable. There may be many branches on a vine, but if they are to bear the right kind of fruit, they must be connected to the vine. There are many spiritual branches (believers) connected to the spiritual Vine (Christ) and if they are to bear the right kind of fruit, they must remain consistently in fellowship with God. The responsibility of the vinedresser was to tend vines so that the vines could produce fruit. Just as the vinedresser is vitally interested and cares for his vineyard so the Father owns the land and tends the vineyard and is vitally interested and cares for believers who are in union with His Son Jesus Christ. John 15:2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” “Branch ” refers to a shoot, which comes forth form, the central vine; therefore, its life and growth depend on the trunk of the grapevine. “Every branch in Me ” refers to the believer’s eternal union with the source of the believer’s spiritual life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. “Fruit ” refers to the production of Christ-like character, which is accomplished by the Holy Spirit in the believer who is obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love and serve his fellow believer self-sacrificially as the Lord loved and served the believer self-sacrificially at the Cross. “Takes away” is the verb airo ( ai&rw ), which actually means, “to lift up.” To conserve moisture in a dry land vines were allowed to run on the ground until the blossoms began to appear. It was then necessary for the gardener to life the vines off the ground so that the blossoms could germinate. Vines were lifted up either on sticks or on stones and thus were put in a place where they could produce fruit. Thus, Christ was saying that the Father had the responsibility of putting each branch in a place where it could bear fruit. Since every vine will produce some sterile branches, the gardener must trim away unproductive branches lest the vitality of the vine be used to produce leaves and be diverted from its function of bearing fruit. Since fruit is produced only on new growth, the gardener had to cut away all the old growth so that fruit could grow. Christ asserted that the Father would do His work of pruning the vine so that it would be more fruitful.

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The Means of Pruning: (1) Word of God (Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). (2) Divine Discipline (Heb. 12:1-11). (3) Undeserved suffering (Jn. 15:2). John 15:3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” The cleansing of the vine required not only the removal of sterile branches, or old growth, but also the removal of insects that would consume the vine. This had to be done tediously by hand. In the dry climate in which the vine would grow, the leaves would accumulate a thick layer of dust. This dust would weaken the vine. It was necessary for a gardener to sponge the leaves to remove the accumulated dust so that the vine could remain healthy. When Christ spoke of the Father cleansing the vine so that it would be fruitful, He had in mind the Father’s work of removing from the branch anything that would interfere with the production of fruit. The disciples were all clean meaning all saved except Judas Iscariot. The truth that our Lord communicated to them was a cleansing agent that would make it possible for them to be fruitful. Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” “Abide ” is 2 nd person plural aorist active imperative form of the verb meno (mevnw ), which is meinate ( meivnate ), “to remain” on the vine. The verb meno in John 15:4 is used metaphorically and expresses the analogy that just as a branch must “remain” on a vine in order for it to produce fruit so the believer must “remain” in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ in order that the Holy Spirit might reproduce the character of Christ in the believer’s life. “Abide in Me” implies that the believer is already eternally united with Christ and refers to experiencing fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ by being obedient to His command to love and serve one another self-sacrificially as Christ has loved and served others self-sacrificially. Abiding in Christ demands walking through life by means of faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” Colossians 2:6-7, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

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Faith for the Christian is trusting in the authority of the Scriptures in order to govern one’s life. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” True Biblical faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences whereas unbelief doubts God’s Word. Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Abiding in Christ demands that the believer live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God for the Words of God strengthens the soul of the believer to do abide in Christ. Matthew 4:4, “But He answered and said, "It is written, "MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'” Abiding in Christ demands that the believer worship the Lord (Jn. 4:23-24; Rm. 12:1; Phlp. 3:3). Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Abiding in Christ demands that we pray habitually (Eph. 6:18; Phlp. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:17). Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” Abiding in Christ demands that we meditate upon God’s Word (Josh. 1:8; Phlp. 4:8-9). Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” Abiding in Christ demands sacrifice (Phlp. 4:18; Heb. 13:15). Hebrews 13:15, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” Abiding in Christ demands that we serve one another (Gal. 5:13).

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Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Abiding in Christ demands that we love one another (Jn. 13:34; 15:12). John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” Fellowship with the Lord or abiding in Him demands that the believer confess any known sin to the Father when necessary in order to be restored to fellowship after committing sin. Maintaining and sustaining that fellowship is accomplished by obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Word of God. 1 John 1:5-9, “Now, this is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the proclamation, which we have heard issue forth from Him and we are imparting at this particular time for the benefit of all of you, namely that God (the Father) is, as an eternal spiritual truth, light. In fact, there is, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely no darkness inherent in Him, none. If, any of us enters into making the claim that we have been experiencing fellowship with Him and yet we have been living in the darkness (of the cosmic system of Satan), then we, as an eternal spiritual truth, lie to ourselves and furthermore, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, unequivocally do not obey the truth. On the other hand, if any of us does live in the light just as He Himself is, as an eternal spiritual truth, in essence that light, then, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, do experience fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son as an eternal spiritual truth purifies us from every (personal) sin (that we commit). If any of us enters into making the claim that we possess emphatically no sin (nature), then, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, deceive ourselves and furthermore, the truth is, as an eternal spiritual truth, emphatically not in us. If any of us does acknowledge our (personal) sins, He is, as an eternal spiritual truth, faithful and righteous to forgive us our (personal) sins with the result that He purifies us from all unrighteousness.” Abiding in Christ demands that the Christian appropriate by faith his union with Christ and consider himself dead to the sin nature but alive to God. It demands that we have knowledge of our union with Christ and obedience to the prohibitions and commands that appear in Romans chapter six. Romans 6, “Therefore, what is the conclusion that we are forced to? Should we persist in living under the dominion of the sin nature in order that grace might increase? Absolutely not! We, who are indeed of such character

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 76 and of a particular class of individuals, have died with reference to the sin nature, how shall we still live under its dominion? Or, are some of you in a state of ignorance concerning the fact that all of us who have been identified with Christ, who is Jesus, have been identified with His spiritual death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism with respect to His physical death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead ones through the glory of the Father, in the same way, we, ourselves will also walk in the realm of an extraordinary life. Therefore, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that we are entered into union with Him, conformed to His physical death. Of course, we believed this is true. Then, certainly, we will also be united with Him, conformed to His resurrection. This we are very familiar with through instruction, namely, that our old man was crucified with Him in order that the sinful body would be deprived of its power with the result that we are no longer in a perpetual state of being slaves to the sin nature. For you see the one who has died is freed from the power of the sin nature. Now, as previously stated, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that we have died with Him. Of course, we have already established that this is true. Then, we do have this absolute confidence that we, as a certainty, will in the future also live with Him because we know for certain, namely that because Christ was raised from the dead ones, He can never again, as an eternal spiritual truth, die. Death can never again, as an eternal spiritual truth, have dominion over Him. For you see, the physical death that He died, He died for the destruction of the sin nature once and for all but the life that He now lives, He lives forever for the benefit of God the Father. In the same way, also, on the one hand, all of you without exception make it your habit to regard yourselves as dead ones with respect to the sin nature while on the other hand those who are, as an eternal spiritual truth, alive with respect to God the Father in union with Christ, who is Jesus. Therefore, do not make it a habit to let the sin nature reign as king in your mortal body with the result that you habitually obey its lusts. Nor, all of you place the members of your body at the disposal and benefit of the sin nature as instruments, which produce unrighteousness but rather I solemnly charge all of you to place yourselves at the disposal and benefit of God the Father as those who are, as an eternal spiritual truth, alive from the dead ones and in addition your members as instruments, which produce righteousness for the benefit of God the Father and do it now! For the sin nature, will, as a certainty, never again, have dominion over all of you for all of you, as an eternal spiritual truth, are by no means under the authority and dominion of the Law but rather under the authority and dominion of grace. What shall we conclude then? Should we commit an act of sin because we, as an eternal

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 77 spiritual truth, are by no means under the authority and dominion of the Law but rather under the authority and dominion of grace? Absolutely not! Are you totally unaware concerning this fact, namely that the one whom you desire to place yourselves at the disposal of as slaves for obedience, you will be slaves for the benefit of this one whom you desire to obey, either the sin nature resulting in temporal spiritual death or obedience to the Father’s will resulting in righteousness? But now, thank God! Because all of you were once in a perpetual state of being slaves to the sin nature but then all of you obeyed from the heart that particular doctrinal standard with respect to which all of you were taught through instruction and also, because having been set free from the tyranny of the sin nature, all of you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking according to your human frame of reference because of the weakness, which is your flesh. Therefore, just as all of you placed your members as slaves at the disposal of and with respect to that which is impurity and in addition with respect to that which is lawlessness resulting in further lawlessness, in the same way, now, I solemnly charge all of you to place your members as slaves at the disposal of and with respect to righteousness resulting in sanctification and do it now! For you see, when all of you were once in a perpetual state of being slaves to the sin nature, all of you were in a perpetual state of being free with respect to righteousness. Therefore, what benefit were all of you at that time in a perpetual state of possessing because of those things, which all of you are now at the present time ashamed of? In fact, the result produced by these things is, as an eternal spiritual truth spiritual death. But now, at the present time, because all of you have been set free from the tyranny of the sin nature and because all of you have become slaves to God the Father all of you at the present time possess your benefit (of being a servant of God) resulting in sanctification and the result, eternal life. For you see the sin nature pays out spiritual death however God the Father graciously gives eternal life in the Person of Christ, who is Jesus, our Lord. Evidences of Abiding in Christ: (1) Prayers answered (Jn. 15:7). (2) Experiences a greater love for Christ and other believers (Jn. 15:9, 12-13). (3) Experiences joy (Jn. 15:11). Just as a branch in the natural realm bears fruit that is a benefit to others so the believer becomes a blessing to others when he acquires more of the character of Christ in his life and the more the believer manifests the character of Christ in his life through his words and actions, the more of a blessing he is to others. John 15:5-6, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

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John 15:6 refers to dying discipline and not loss of salvation. 1 John 5:16, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.” John 15:7-11, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full .” “May be made full ” is the 3 rd person singular aorist passive subjunctive form of the verb pleroo ( plhrovw ), which is plerothe ( plhrwqh~|) and should be translated “might become a reality.” This is an ingressive aorist denoting “entrance into the state” of experiencing the joy of the Lord. The passive voice is used without an expressed agency but it is implied that if the disciples put into practice our Lord’s teaching to abide in His love, our Lord’s joy will become a reality in the lives of His disciples. The subjunctive mood is employed with the conjunction hina to express the purpose for the Lord teaching His disciples the importance of abiding in Him and obeying His commandment to self-sacrificially love one another as He self- sacrificially loved them. In John 15:1-11, the Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that there are four categories of believers mentioned in John 15: (1) “Does not bear fruit ” refers to believer’s who are disobedient to the Lord’s teaching to love and serve one another self-sacrificially and who die the sin unto death (1 Jn. 5:16; 1 Co. 11:30). (2) “Bears fruit ” refers to the minimum production of Christ-like character in the believer by the Holy Spirit. (3) “ More fruit ” refers to moderate production of Christ-like character in the believer by the Holy Spirit. (4) “ Much fruit ” refers to the maximum production of Christ-like character in the believer by the Holy Spirit. The greater the obedience by the believer to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love and serve his fellow believer self-sacrificially, the greater the production of Christ-like character in the believer by the Holy Spirit. The production of Christ- like character in the believer by the Holy Spirit is in direct proportion to the degree that the believer is obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love and serve his fellow believer self-sacrificially.

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The believer who is obedient to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit to the believer through the communication of the Word of God, will experience fellowship whereas the disobedient believer will not. Failure to remain in fellowship after salvation does not hinder God from completed this “ good work ” since the resurrection does not involve the believer’s volition but it does hinder the Spirit’s work in time after salvation prior to the resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not make it a habit of hindering the Spirit.” Ephesians 4:30, “Do not make it a habit to grieve the Holy Spirit by means of whom all of you have been sealed for the day of redemption.” The failure to remain in fellowship after salvation will result in loss of rewards at the Bema Seat (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 1 John 2:28). 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work, which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” Sharing the joy of the Lord is contingent upon the believer obeying the Lord’s command to love and serve our fellow believer self-sacrificially just as our Lord was obedient to the Father’s commands and loved and served the believer self- sacrificially. John 15:13-14, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.” The term “ friends ” is employed by our Lord to express the intimacy between the Lord and the believer who is obedient to His command to love and serve his fellow believer self-sacrificially as the Lord has loved and served Him self- sacrificially at the Cross. Intimacy is a close, familiar and usually affectionate or loving, personal relationship with another person or group and in relation to people, intimacy is a close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a person. If we are obedient to the Lord’s command to self-sacrificially love and serve each other as He did for us, then we will be rewarded with a more intimate, detail knowledge and understanding of the Lord, which will produce greater joy in the believer, which at times cannot be expressed with words.

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Friends don’t hold things back from one another and they share secrets and joy with one another and are intimate with one another. Friendship with the Lord is no different since He shares His secrets and joy and is intimate with the believer who obeys His command to love and serve his fellow believer self-sacrificially as the Lord loved and served him self-sacrificially at the Cross. Abraham and Moses were called “ friends of God ” because they were on intimate terms with the Lord (Ex. 33:11; 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; Jam. 2:3). Abraham was a friend of the Lord because he obeyed the Lord (Gen. 18:19), and he was also a servant of the Lord (Gen. 26:24). The fact that Abraham was a friend of the Lord is illustrated when the Lord revealed His planned to Abraham to destroy the cities of the plain (Gen. 18). John 15:15-17, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.” When we obey this command to love another self-sacrificially then we will achieve not only experience the joy of the Lord in our lives but also achieve greater intimacy with Him and the greater our intimacy with the Lord, the greater will the joy of the Lord be in our lives. There are two types of relationships: (1) Friendships (2) Acquaintances. Of all the relationships that you have in life, your relationship with God is the most important, but it must be cultivated and matured. We as believers must recognize the awesome privilege that we have been given; namely, we have been called into fellowship with the Triune God. 1 Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Believers treat the Lord as an acquaintance because they do not love Him and are disobeying the 1 st great commandment. Mark 12:29-31, “Jesus answered, ‘The foremost is, HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” If you love the Lord you will obey His Word. John 14:24, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.”

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There is a curse upon you if you don’t love Him. 1 Corinthians 16:22, “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.” Too often, we as believers value our human relationships more than our relationship with the Lord. This is reflected in our priorities in life, our perspective of life and our performance in our relationship with the Lord. Too often the Lord is last on our list of priorities and that is being ungrateful towards Him. The Lord Jesus Christ constantly challenged His disciples to put their relationship with Him above every relationship that they had in life. The greatest joy the believer can experience in life is by being intimate with the Lord and being intimate with the Lord means being His disciple. The greatest joy that the believer can experience in life is by experiencing intimate fellowship with the Lord, which is experienced by the believer who imitates the Lord Jesus Christ’s example of denying self in order to serve others and execute the Father’s will. True joy in life is experienced by doing the Father’s will and the believer who is willing to experience identification with Christ in His death accomplishes this. Identification with Christ in His death is accomplished when the believer loves and serves others self-sacrificially and by doing so the believer executes the Father’s will for his life. There are believers who are not disciples and there are believers who are disciples. There is a difference between being a believer and a disciple. A disciple is willing to love and serve others self-sacrificially to further God’s kingdom in the devils’ world, whereas a believer who is not a disciple is one who is “not” willing to make sacrifices for the Lord’s sake and His kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ constantly challenged His disciples to put their relationship with Him above every relationship that they had in life. He demanded total and complete loyalty and submission from His disciples. Luke 9:23, “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” We can only find true joy and happiness by denying self and serving others just as Christ came not to please Himself but to serve others. Romans 15:1-3, “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.’” Andrew Murray, “Self-denial is the law of the Christian’s life. Nor does the believer find self-denial hard once he has truly surrendered himself to it. To one who, with a divided heart, seeks to force himself to a life of self-denial, it is indeed hard. But to one who has yielded himself to it unreservedly-because he has with his whole heart accepted the cross to destroy the power of sin and self-the blessing it

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 82 brings more than compensates for apparent sacrifice or loss. He hardly thinks any longer about self-denial, because there is such blessedness in becoming conformed to the image of Jesus. Self-denial is not valuable with God, as some think, because of the measure of pain it causes. No, for this pain is very much caused by the remaining reluctance to practice it. But it has its highest worth in that meek or even joyful acquiescence that counts nothing a sacrifice for Jesus’ sake and feels surprised when others speak of self-denial.” (Full Life in Christ, page 54). Luke 9:24, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” John 12:24-26, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” Fruit bearing does not result from one’s efforts to save his life, but from one’s willing sacrifice of his life. Luke 9:25-26, “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” The cross is the chief mark of the Christian. One of the essential elements of a Christians is that he has been crucified with Christ and whoever wishes to be like Christ must understand the secret of fellowship with His cross. At first, this is frightening to the Christian but it is the secret to true joy and happiness in life. At first the believer is repulsed by the suffering that accompanies the cross but as he grows spiritually, he realizes that the cross is the source of his joy and happiness since being identified with Christ and His cross makes the believer a partner in a death and victory that has already been accomplished by Christ. It also delivers him from self, sin, the devil and his cosmic system of lies. As we noted in our study of the vine and the branches metaphor, experiencing the joy of the Lord is directly related to remaining in fellowship with the Lord and this is accomplished by the believer who is obedient to the Lord’s command to love and serve others self-sacrificially just as the Lord loved and served others self- sacrificially. John 15:10-12, “If you observe conscientiously My commandments, you will abide in My self-sacrificial love; just as I have observed conscientiously My Father's commandments and abide in His self-sacrificial love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 83 might become a reality . This is My commandment, that you self-sacrificially love one another, just as I have self-sacrificially loved you.” If we obey the Lord’s command to self-sacrificially love our fellow believer as He did for us, then the Lord promises us that we become His friends and if friends, then we will become intimate with Him since friends are intimate with each other. John 15:13-17, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you self-sacrificially love one another.” A friend is someone you are intimate with and an acquaintance is someone you are not on intimate terms with. Friends share things with one another and don’t hold secrets back from one another. We noted that Abraham was an individual who was a friend of the Lord. James 2:22-23, “You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God.” He experienced intimacy with the Lord. Genesis 18:16-19, “Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.’” Psalm 25:14, “The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.” Proverbs 3:32, “For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright.” In order to obey our Lord’s command to self-sacrificially love others as our Lord did, we must deny self as He did. Self-denial is the root from which self- sacrifice springs. In self-denial, self-sacrifice is tested. Self-denial means that we must surrender our will for the will of God. We are to let God’s will do with us as it pleases.

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Luke 22:41-42, “And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’” It is only when we deny self and self-sacrificially love others that we become the Lord’s disciples and are intimate with Him and enter into His joy. We must give up our lives in order to win others to God. It is a death in which all thought of saving self is lost in that of saving others. It is only when we die to self meaning we surrender our will in order to do the will of God, that we produce fruit in our lives for God. John 12:24-26, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul prayed to the Father that the Philippian believers would grow in love towards God and each other in order that the Holy Spirit could reproduce the character of Christ in their lives. Philippians 1:9-11, “Now, this I make it a habit to pray that your divine- love might continue to flourish yet more and more by means of a total discerning experiential knowledge so that all of you might continue to choose the essentials in order that all of you might be sincere and without offense for the day of Christ by all of you being filled with the fruit produced by righteousness, which is by means of the nature of Jesus who is the Christ for the ultimate purpose of glorifying and praising God.” In Romans 7:4, Paul switches from the second person plural form to the first person plural form, which is an “inclusive we.” This means that it is referring to Paul and his audience, who like himself, who have been identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a result of being declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. He switches to the first person plural form since he wants to emphasize with his readers that the purpose of entering the Jewish Christians into a marriage relationship with Jesus Christ is true of not only them but also all believers whether Jew or Gentile. He also is switching to the first person plural form since he wants to identify with his Jewish Christian readers. The aorist tense of the verb is “ingressive” indicating the Christian’s “entrance into the state of” bearing fruit for the Father as a result of being entered into a marriage union with Jesus Christ. The active voice of the verb karpophoreo is “stative” meaning that the subject exists in the state indicating by the verb. This indicates that Paul and the Roman Christians as the subject were married to Christ through the baptism of the Spirit

2008 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 85 for the express purpose of “entering into the state of” producing Christ-like character through the fruit-bearing ministry of the Holy Spirit. The subjunctive mood of the verb is employed with the conjunction hina in order to form a purpose clause that emphasizes that God’s “intention” or “objective” in placing the Christian in union with Christ was so that the Christian might bear fruit for the benefit of the Father. We will translate karpophoreo , “ we might produce fruit .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception have also been put to death by means of Christ’s body with the result that all of you have been entered into marriage with another, the one who was raised from the dead ones in order that we might produce fruit …” Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” “For God ” is the articular dative masculine singular form of the noun theos (qeov$ ), which refers to the first member of the Trinity, God the Father. The articular construction of the noun theos also signifies theos refers to God the Father since it is used in contrast to the Son, Jesus Christ. Also, the articular construction is commonly used to indicate that theos is a reference to the Father. Therefore, in Romans 7:4, the noun theos refers in context to God the Father. The noun functions as “dative of advantage” meaning that producing fruit or the character of Christ in the Christian’s life “benefits” the Father. We will translate the articular dative form of theos , “ for the benefit of God the Father .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 7:4: “ Therefore, my spiritual brothers, all of you without exception have also been put to death by means of Christ’s body with the result that all of you have been entered into marriage with another, the one who was raised from the dead ones in order that we might produce fruit for the benefit of God the Father. ”

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