What does Paul teach about the law and marriage in Romans 7?
Paul teaches believers become dead to the Mosaic law through Christ's crucified body, so they may be married to another—the one raised from the dead—and bring forth fruit unto God. He illustrates this with marriage, where husband and wife are held together by law and must operate within legal structures.
Les explains that Paul is speaking to believers who have become dead to the law of Moses, the Mosaic system, by the body of Christ. This body is not the invisible body of believers baptized into Christ, but His body of flesh with which He was crucified. Being dead to the law allows them to be married to another, even the One raised from the dead, so they can bring forth fruit unto God. Paul compares this to marriage: a husband and wife are held together by law and cannot function without the law of the land being part and parcel, as illustrated by income tax, where couples file jointly or separately.
More Questions
How does Paul use the marriage illustration to explain being held to the law?
Paul's illustration of husband and wife in Romans 7 is that, just as a husband and wife are held together by the law of the land and cannot operate or function without that law being part and parcel, so the law binds a person until death.