Romans 7:5

For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
For	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
when	ὅτε hote	G3753	at which (thing) too · conjunction
were	ἦμεν ēmen	G1510	I exist (used only when emphatic) · verb — imperfect active indicative, 1st person plural
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
flesh	σαρκί, sarki	G4561	flesh (as stripped of the skin) · noun — dative singular feminine
motions	παθήματα pathēmata	G3804	something undergone · noun — nominative plural neuter
sins	ἁμαρτιῶν hamartiōn	G266	a sin (properly abstract) · noun — genitive plural feminine
were	τῇ tēa	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — dative singular feminine
by	διὰ dia	G1223	through (in very wide applications · preposition
law	νόμου nomou	G3551	law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — genitive singular masculine
work	ἐνηργεῖτο enērgeito	G1754	to be active · verb — imperfect middle indicative, 3rd person singular
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
our	ἡμῶν hēmōn	G2257	of (or from) us
members	μέλεσιν melesin	G3196	a limb or part of the body · noun — dative plural neuter
to	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
fruit	καρποφορῆσαι karpophorēsai	G2592	to be fertile (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active infinitive
death	θανάτῳ· thanatō	G2288	(properly · noun — dative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; an…
Galatians 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things whi…
Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the de…
Romans 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Romans 7:7-13 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had s…
1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 7:1-6

Among other arguments used in the foregoing chapter to persuade us against sin, and to holiness, this was one (Rom 7:14), that we are not under the law; and this argument is here further insisted upon and explained (Rom 7:6): We are delivered from the law. What is meant by this? And how is it an argument why sin should not reign over us, and why we should walk in newness of life? 1. We are delivered from the power of the law which curses and condemns us for the sin committed by us. The sentence of the law against us is vacated and reversed, by the death of Christ, to all true believers. The law saith, The soul that sins shall die; but we are delivered from the law. The Lord has taken away th…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 7:5

For when we were in the flesh--in our unregenerate state, as we came into the world. See on Joh 3:6 and Rom 8:5-9. the motions--"passions" (Margin), "affections" (as in Gal 5:24), or "stirrings." of sins--that is, "prompting to the commission of sins." which were by the law--by occasion of the law, which fretted, irritated our inward corruption by its prohibitions. See on Rom 7:7-9. did work in our members--the members of the body, as the instruments by which these inward stirrings find vent in action, and become facts of the life. See on Rom 6:6. to bring forth fruit unto death--death in the sense of Rom 6:21. Thus hopeless is all holy fruit before union to Christ.

Adam Clarke on Romans 7:5

For, when we were in the flesh - When we were without the Gospel, in our carnal and unregenerated state, though believing in the law of Moses, and performing the rites and offices of our religion. The motions of sins, which were by the law - Τα παθηματα των ἁμαρτιων, the passions of sins, the evil propensities to sins; to every particular sin there is a propensity: one propensity does not excite to all kinds of sinful acts; hence the apostle uses the plural number, the Passions or propensities of Sins; sins being not more various than their propensities in the unregenerate heart, which excite to them. These παθηματα, propensities, constitute the fallen nature; they are the disease of the he…

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The Church Fathers

When we were still living carnally the passion of lust worked in our eyes, and the other passions worked in the rest of our bodies. It was the law which showed us that these passions were sinful, and the severity of the law killed us.
— Pelagius, PELAGIUS'S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

Holy Scripture sometimes calls our human nature "flesh," and sometimes it goes beyond this and includes the concept of mortality as well.… In any case, the flesh is never said to inherit or to be capable of inheriting eternal life in the age to come.
— Theodore of Mopsuestia, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

"In the flesh" means "under the law." Paul calls those laws regarding food, drink, leprosy and so on "flesh." … Paul teaches us that before grace came, while we were still under the law, we suffered ever more serious attacks of sin because, although the law showed us what it was we should be doing, it did not give us any help in doing it.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Flesh — In the Old Testament denotes (1) a particular part of the body of man and animals (Gen. 2:21; 41:2; Ps. 102:5, marg.); (2) the whole body (Ps. 16:9); (3) all living things having flesh, and…
Fruit — A word as used in Scripture denoting produce in general, whether vegetable or animal. The Hebrews divided the fruits of the land into three classes:, (1.) The fruit of the field, “corn-fruit” (Heb.…
Sin — Is “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by…
Depravity Of Man · 7:17;12:34,35;15:19; — 7:17;12:34,35;15:19;
Fall Of Man, The · Man in consequence of: In bondage to sin — Man in consequence of: In bondage to sin
Justification · 23:6; — 23:6;
Law Of God, The · Man, by nature, not in subjection to — Man, by nature, not in subjection to
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
Sin · The Law: By its strictness stirs up — The Law: By its strictness stirs up
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Romans 7:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 7:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 7:5

Adam Clarke on Romans 7:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Romans 7:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 7:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 7:5

Adam Clarke on Romans 7:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Romans 7:5

John Calvin on Romans 7:5-6

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Romans 7:5