How does Romans 5 to 8 work in a Human Being? (Part 4 - Who is the husband and who is the wife?)

How does Romans 5 to 8 work in a Human Being? (Part 4 - Who is the husband and who is the wife?)

Start at part 1 here: Part 1

In Romans 7:1-4, Paul uses an analogy of a wife that is bound to her husband because of the law of marriage. In the context of the passage, the analogy helps us to understand that we are not bound by ‘the law’, since we have died to it by the death of Christ, as explained in chapter 6. In the context of our current study, concerning the structure of a human being, and concerning the heart of man (the outer man), and the spiritual mind (the inner man), this analogy perfectly describes the two ‘soul’ parts within a person. Before we dive into this lesson, let’s first read the analogy again,

Rom 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 

The Four Cornerstones of Romans (Part 9: Widowed from the Law by Christ's Death)

Start this post series from the beginning, here.

The Four Cornerstones of Romans (Part 9: Widowed from the Law by the Christ's Death)

In Romans chapter 6, Paul has put much focus on the truth that we have died to the old Adamic administration, and therefore we have much to learn and know to renew our minds to this fact. It is our minds, and the pattern of our thinking, that must come up to the same level as the reality of our justification in heaven. Because of its foundational context, this knowledge is the first thing that we should learn, and know, after we get saved. Our minds must become so in tune with what Christ’s administration means, that our actions, reactions, thoughts, and language, should change to match the reality of the attributes in this new administration we have been transferred into.

But, where Romans 6 talks about our death to Adam’s administration, it is chapter 7 that introduces our separation from another stumbling block, —the law. Paul likens the believer to have been married to the law, but now, through Christ’s death, and our union with His death, we have been widowed from the law. As important it is to understand that we are dead to Adam’s administration, it is of equal importance that we understand our widowed status to the law.

The Journey: Part 10 - We are Married to Another

Start here at the Introduction: The Journey Begins

The Journey: Part 10 - We are Married to Another

In Romans 7, Paul provides us with a very easy to understand, practical analogy, of something that occurs in the spiritual realm when a believer comes to salvation and beyond. The analogy is paralleled to a woman being bound to her husband in marriage, but if that husband dies, she is legally entitled to remarry, without being found guilty of committing adultery. In other words, the law allows her the freedom to be joined to another man due to the death of her husband. This however is not the case if her husband is not dead. If she marries in such circumstance, then she violates law and becomes an adulteress.