SEV Biblia, Chapter 7:23
mas veo otra ley en mis miembros, que se rebela contra la ley de mi mente, y que me lleva cautivo a la ley del pecado que est en mis miembros.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Romans 7:23
Verse 23. But I see another law in my members] Though the person in question is less or more under the continual influence of reason and conscience, which offer constant testimony against sin, yet as long as help is sought only from the law, and the grace of Christ in the Gospel is not received, the remonstrances of reason and conscience are rendered of no effect by the prevalence of sinful passions; which, from repeated gratifications, have acquired all the force of habit, and now give law to the whole carnal man. Warring against the law of my mind] There is an allusion here to the case of a city besieged, at last taken by storm, and the inhabitants carried away into captivity; antistrateuomenon, carrying on a system of warfare; laying continual siege to the soul; repeating incessantly its attacks; harassing, battering, and storming the spirit; and, by all these assaults, reducing the man to extreme misery. Never was a picture more impressively drawn and more effectually finished; for the next sentence shows that this spiritual city was at last taken by storm, and the inhabitants who survived the sackage led into the most shameful, painful, and oppressive captivity.
Bringing me into captivity to the law of sin] He does not here speak of an occasional advantage gained by sin, it was a complete and final victory gained by corruption; which, having stormed and reduced the city, carried away the inhabitants with irresistible force, into captivity. This is the consequence of being overcome; he was now in the hands of the foe as the victor's lawful captive; and this is the import of the original word, aicmalwtizonta, and is the very term used by our Lord when speaking of the final ruin, dispersion, and captivity of the Jews. He says, aicmalwtisqhsontai, they shall be led away captives into all the nations, Luke xxi. 24. When all this is considered, who, in his right mind, can apply it to the holy soul of the apostle of the Gentiles? Is there any thing in it that can belong to his gracious state? Surely nothing. The basest slave of sin, who has any remaining checks of conscience, cannot be brought into a worse state than that described here by the apostle. Sin and corruption have a final triumph; and conscience and reason are taken prisoners, laid in fetters, and sold for slaves. Can this ever be said of a man in whom the Spirit of God dwells, and whom the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made free from the law of sin and death? See chap. viii. 2.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 23. But I see another law in my members , etc..] That is, he saw, he perceived it by experience; he felt the force and power of inbred corruption working in him, and as a law demanding obedience to it; and which he might well call another law, it being not only distinct from, but opposite to the law of God he delighted in; the one is good, the other evil; this other law is a transgression of the law of God, and which he observed to be in [his] members, i.e. in the members of his body; not that it had its seat only, or chiefly in his body, and the parts of it, but because it exerted itself by them, it made use of them to fulfil its lusts: the same phrase is used in the Targum on ( Psalm 38:3); which renders the words there thus, there is no peace, yrbab , in my members because of my sin: now this law was, says he, warring against the law of my mind ; by the law of [his] mind is meant, either the law of God written on his mind in conversion, and which he delighted in, and served with his mind, as renewed by the Spirit of God; or the new nature in him, the principle of grace wrought in his mind, called the law of it, because it was the governing principle there; which reigns, and will reign in every regenerate person through righteousness, unto eternal life, though the law of sin opposes all its force and power against it; that is not only contrary to it, lusts against it, but wars, and commits acts of hostility against it: the state of regenerate persons is a warfare, they have many enemies to combat with, as Satan and the world; but those of their own household, within themselves, in their own hearts, are the worst of all; there is a civil war in them, as it were a company of two armies, flesh and spirit, sin and grace, combating together; and so it will be as long as this life lasts; so true is that saying of the Jews f131 , in which they agree with the apostle, as long as the righteous live, rxy [ ymjln , they are at war with the corruption of their nature; when they die they are at rest: hence we read of [rh xy tmjlm , the war of the evil imagination f132 : but what is worst of all, this is sometimes bringing [them] into captivity to the law of sin, which is in [their] members ; that is, to itself; for the law in the members, and the law of sin in the members, must be the same: and it may be said to bring into captivity to itself, when it only endeavours to do it, though it does not effect it; for sometimes words which express an effect only design the endeavour to effect, but not that itself; (see Ezekiel 24:13 Genesis 37:21, Exodus 8:18). But admitting that this phrase intends the real and actual effecting of it, it is to be understood of a captivity to sin, different from that an unregenerate man is in; who is a voluntary captive to sin and Satan, gives up himself to such slavery and bondage, and rather goes, than is brought or carried into it; whereas a regenerate man is, through the force of sin, and power of temptation, violently drawn and carried into captivity; in which he is held against his will, and to his great uneasiness: besides, this expression does not denote absolute dominion, which sin has not over a regenerate man; nor is it utterly inconsistent with his character as such; for as a subject of one nation may be taken a prisoner, and be carried captive into another nation, and yet remain a subject where he was, and does not become one of that country of which he is carried captive; so a regenerate man, being carried captive by sin, does not come under the absolute dominion of sin, or cease to be a subject of the kingdom of grace, or in other words, a regenerate person: moreover, the very phrase of bringing into captivity supposes that the person before was not a captive; whereas every unregenerate man one, was always so, and never otherwise: add to all this, that this captivity was very distressing and uneasy to the person, and makes him cry out, O wretched man, etc.. whereas the captivity of an unregenerate person is very agreeable to him; he likes his prison, he loves his chains, and do not choose to be in any other state and condition; though, as the Jews say, there is no captivity hmnh twlgk , like the captivity of the soul; and nothing so grieving and afflictive to a good man as that is. The apostle uses much such language as his countrymen do, who frequently represent man as having two principles in him, the one good, the other bad; the one they call [rh rxy , the evil imagination, or corruption of nature; the other they call bwjh rxy , the good imagination, or principle of grace and goodness; which they say f134 , are at continual war with each other, and the one is sometimes hbn , carried captive by the other. The good imagination, they say f135 , is like to one that yrwsaj tybb wbj , is bound in a prison; as it is said, out of prison he cometh to reign; to which agrees what they say f136 , how shall I serve my Creator whilst I am yrxy rysa , a captive to my corruption, and a servant to my lust?
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 23-25 - This passage does not represent the apostle as one that walked afte the flesh, but as one that had it greatly at heart, not to walk so. An if there are those who abuse this passage, as they also do the othe Scriptures, to their own destruction, yet serious Christians find caus to bless God for having thus provided for their support and comfort. We are not, because of the abuse of such as are blinded by their ow lusts, to find fault with the scripture, or any just and well warrante interpretation of it. And no man who is not engaged in this conflict can clearly understand the meaning of these words, or rightly judg concerning this painful conflict, which led the apostle to bemoa himself as a wretched man, constrained to what he abhorred. He coul not deliver himself; and this made him the more fervently thank God for the way of salvation revealed through Jesus Christ, which promised him in the end, deliverance from this enemy. So then, says he, I myself with my mind, my prevailing judgement, affections, and purposes, as regenerate man, by Divine grace, serve and obey the law of God; but with the flesh, the carnal nature, the remains of depravity, I serv the law of sin, which wars against the law of my mind. Not serving i so as to live in it, or to allow it, but as unable to free himself from it, even in his very best state, and needing to look for help an deliverance out of himself. It is evident that he thanks God for Christ, as our deliverer, as our atonement and righteousness i himself, and not because of any holiness wrought in us. He knew of n such salvation, and disowned any such title to it. He was willing to act in all points agreeable to the law, in his mind and conscience, but was hindered by indwelling sin, and never attained the perfection the law requires. What can be deliverance for a man always sinful, but the free grace of God, as offered in Christ Jesus? The power of Divin grace, and of the Holy Spirit, could root out sin from our hearts eve in this life, if Divine wisdom had not otherwise thought fit. But it is suffered, that Christians might constantly feel, and understan thoroughly, the wretched state from which Divine grace saves them might be kept from trusting in themselves; and might ever hold all their consolation and hope, from the rich and free grace of God in Christ __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
βλεπω 991 5719 V-PAI-1S δε 1161 CONJ ετερον 2087 A-ASM νομον 3551 N-ASM εν 1722 PREP τοις 3588 T-DPN μελεσιν 3196 N-DPN μου 3450 P-1GS αντιστρατευομενον 497 5740 V-PNP-ASM τω 3588 T-DSM νομω 3551 N-DSM του 3588 T-GSM νοος 3563 N-GSM μου 3450 P-1GS και 2532 CONJ αιχμαλωτιζοντα 163 5723 V-PAP-ASM με 3165 P-1AS τω 3588 T-DSM νομω 3551 N-DSM της 3588 T-GSF αμαρτιας 266 N-GSF τω 3588 T-DSM οντι 5607 5752 V-PXP-DSM εν 1722 PREP τοις 3588 T-DPN μελεσιν 3196 N-DPN μου 3450 P-1GS
Vincent's NT Word Studies
23. I see (blepw). See on John i. 29. Paul is a spectator of his own personality.Another (eteron). See on Matt. vi. 24.
Warring against (antistrateuomenon). Only here in the New Testament. Taking the field against.
The law of my mind (tw nomw tou noov mou). Nouv mind, is a term distinctively characteristic of Paul, though not confined to him. See Luke xxiv. 45; Apoc. xiii. 18; xvii. 9.
Paul's usage of this term is not based, like that of spirit and flesh, on the Septuagint, though the word occurs six times as the rendering of lebh heart, and once of ruach spirit.
He uses it to throw into sharper relief the function of reflective intelligence and moral judgment which is expressed generally by kardia heart. The key to its Pauline usage is furnished by the contrast in 1 Corinthians xiv. 14-19, between speaking with a tongue and with the understanding (tw noi), and between the spirit and the understanding (ver. 14). There it is the faculty of reflective intelligence which receives and is wrought upon by the Spirit. It is associated with gnwmh opinion, resulting from its exercise, in 1 Corinthians i. 10; and with krinei judgeth in Rom. xiv. 5.
Paul uses it mainly with an ethical reference - moral judgment as related to action. See Rom. xii. 2, where the renewing of the nouv mind is urged as a necessary preliminary to a right moral judgment ("that ye may prove," etc.,). The nouv which does not exercise this judgment is ajdokimov not approved, reprobate. See note on reprobate, i. 28, and compare on 2 Tim. iii. 8; Tit. i. 15, where the nouv is associated with the conscience. See also on Eph. iv. 23.
It stands related to pneuma spirit, as the faculty to the efficient power. It is "the faculty of moral judgment which perceives and approves what is good, but has not the power of practically controlling the life in conformity with its theoretical requirements." In the portrayal of the struggle in this chapter there is no reference to the pneuma spirit, which, on the other hand, distinctively characterizes the christian state in ch. 8. In this chapter Paul employs only terms pertaining to the natural faculties of the human mind, and of these nouv mind is in the foreground.
Bringing into captivity (aicmalwtizonta). Only here, 2 Corinthians x. 5, and Luke xxi. 24. See on captives, Luke iv. 18. The warlike figure is maintained. Lit., making me prisoner of war.
Law of sin. The regime of the sin-principle. sin is represented in the New Testament as an organized economy. See Ephesians 6.
The conflict between the worse and the better principle in human nature appears in numerous passages in the classics. Godet remarks that this is the passage in all Paul's epistles which presents the most points of contact with profane literature. Thus Ovid: "Desire counsels me in one direction, reason in another." "I see and approve the better, but I follow the worse." Epictetus: "He who sins does not what he would, and does what he would not." Seneca: "What, then, is it that, when we would go in one direction, drags us in the other?" See also the passage in Plato ("Phaedrus," 246), in which the human soul is represented as a chariot drawn by two horses, one drawing up and the other down.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
7:23 {A different law} (heteron nomon). For the distinction between heteros and allos, see #Ga 1:6f. {Warring against} (antistrateuomenon). Rare verb (_Xenophon_) to carry on a campaign against. Only here in N.T. {The law of my mind} (twi nomwi tou noos). The reflective intelligence Paul means by noos, "the inward man" of verse #22. It is this higher self that agrees that the law of God is good (#12,16,22). {Bringing me into captivity} (aichmal"tizonta). See on this late and vivid verb for capture and slavery #Lu 21:24; 2Co 10:5. Surely it is a tragic picture drawn by Paul with this outcome, "sold under Sin" (#14), "captivity to the law of Sin" (#23). The ancient writers (Plato, Ovid, Seneca, Epictetus) describe the same dual struggle in man between his conscience and his deeds.
