Romans Chapter 7 Vs. 14

 

The Law and Sin

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. Rom 7:14

For we know... I know now that the law is spiritual and demands of me what is holy.

law is spiritual... Greek: pneumatikos, non-carnal; religious; or spiritual.

Twelve Spiritual Things

1. Man who follows the things of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 2:15; 3:1; 14:37; Gal. 6:1; Hos. 9:7)

2. Gifts of the Spirit (Rom. 1:11; 1Cor. 1:7; 12:1; 14:1, 14:12)

3. Things (Rom. 15:27; 1Cor. 2:13; 9:11)

4. Body (resurrected, 1Cor. 15:44-46)

5. Blessings of the Spirit (Eph. 1:3)

6. Songs (religious, Eph. 5:19)

7. Wisdom and knowledge (Col. 1:9)

8. House (spiritual people, 1Pet. 2:5)

9. Sacrifices (1Pet. 2:5)

10. Law, because it typified the spiritual thing of the New Testament (Rom. 7:14)

11. Meat and drink, typifying Christ the Spiritual Rock of 1Cor. 10:3-4

12. Wickedness, because it is of evil spirit origin (Eph. 6:12; 2:2; John 8:44)

I am carnal... Greek: sarkinos, fleshly; natural; human (Rom. 7:14; 15:27; 1Cor. 3:1-4; 9:11; 2Cor. 10:4; Heb. 7:16). Here it means the full depravity of fallen man, sold as a slave and under the control of animal appetites and the forces of evil spirits.

Carnal means “of flesh. This means earthbound, mortal and still incarcerated in unredeemed humanness. Paul does not say he is still “in the flesh”, but the flesh is in him.

Sold under sin means that sin no longer controls the whole man as with an unbeliever, but it does hold captive the believer’s members, or his fleshly body. Sin contaminates him and frustrates his inner desire to obey the will of God.

The law is spiritual meaning it reflects God’s holy character.

The Believer And Sin

Understanding the conflict in personal sanctification involves seeing the relationship between a believer and his indwelling sin. In Rom. 7:14 Paul made a transition from the previous subject (Rom. 7:7-13) to the next one. The statement, The Law is spiritual (cf. Rom. 7:12), is not only the conclusion of Paul’s previous argument but also an accepted fact among people. The Law comes from God who is Spirit (John 4:24) and expresses God’s will for human living. Paul, using himself as the example, said the problem is that I am unspiritual (sarkinos, “fleshy, made of flesh”). In addition he was sold as a slave (perf. tense, “had been sold and remained in that state”) to sin (lit. “under the sin”; cf. “under sin” in Rom. 3:9).

In relating his personal experience in Rom. 7:14-25 Paul consistently used the present tense whereas he had used the imperfect and aorist tenses. Obviously he was describing his present conflict as a Christian with indwelling sin and its continuing efforts to control his daily life. The clause, “sold under sin” (KJV), describes an unregenerate person; but sin also resides in a believer, who is still subject to sin’s penalty of physical death. As a result, indwelling sin continues to seek to claim what it considers its property even after one has become a Christian.