What does it mean that we are dead to the law by the body of Christ?
By the body of Christ—His death on the cross—believers are made dead to the law and now stand under grace, not law. That death releases them from the law so they can be united to the risen Christ, like a wife married to a husband, as Paul's writings teach.
Les explains that verse 4 places the believer under grace rather than law because of the work of the cross. Through Christ's bodily death, the believer becomes dead to the law and is free to be married to another—the One raised from the dead. The concept is that as soon as a person becomes a child of God, they are literally unioned with Christ, just as a husband and wife are joined in marriage. Les says this theme runs through Paul's writings. He also points to Ephesians 5:22, where the marriage relationship is used as an analogy for the believer's spiritual relationship with Christ. Christ is the head of the Church, and for Him to become head of believers as members of His Body, He had to die and suffer for them; the resurrection overcame that death. In the same way, Les says, a husband should be ready to die for his wife.
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
More Questions
What does Paul mean when he says believers are dead to the law in Romans 7:4?
In Romans 7:4 Paul is telling believers that they have become dead to the law of Moses, meaning the Mosaic system, and this happened by the body of Christ, specifically His physical body of flesh that was crucified.