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PARALLEL BIBLE - Romans 7:5


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King James Bible - 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.

World English Bible

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were through the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruit to death.

Douay-Rheims - Romans 7:5

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

Webster's Bible Translation

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 to death:

Greek Textus Receptus


οτε 3753 ADV γαρ 1063 CONJ ημεν 1510 5713 V-IXI-1P εν 1722 PREP τη 3588 T-DSF σαρκι 4561 N-DSF τα 3588 T-NPN παθηματα 3804 N-NPN των 3588 T-GPF αμαρτιων 266 N-GPF τα 3588 T-NPN δια 1223 PREP του 3588 T-GSM νομου 3551 N-GSM ενηργειτο 1754 5710 V-IMI-3S εν 1722 PREP τοις 3588 T-DPN μελεσιν 3196 N-DPN ημων 2257 P-1GP εις 1519 PREP το 3588 T-ASN καρποφορησαι 2592 5658 V-AAN τω 3588 T-DSM θανατω 2288 N-DSM

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge

VERSE (5) - Ro 8:8,9 Joh 3:6 Ga 5:16,17,24 Eph 2:3,11 Tit 3:3

SEV Biblia, Chapter 7:5

Porque mientras ramos en la carne, los afectos de los pecados que eran por la ley, obraban en nuestros miembros fructificando a muerte.

Clarke's Bible Commentary - Romans 7:5

Verse 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] ta paqhmata twn amartiwn, 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 paqhmata, propensities, constitute the fallen nature; they are the disease of the heart, the pollution and corruption of the soul.

Did work in our members] The evil propensity acts en toiv melesin, in the whole nervous and muscular system, applying that stimulus to every part which is necessary to excite them to action.

To bring forth fruit unto death.] To produce those acts of transgression which subject the sinner to death, temporal and eternal. When the apostle says, the motion of sin which were by the law, he points out a most striking and invariable characteristic of sin, viz. its rebellious nature; it ever acts against law, and the most powerfully against known law. Because the law requires obedience, therefore it will transgress. The law is equally against evil passions and evil actions, and both these exert themselves against it. So, these motions which were by the law, became roused into the most powerful activity by the prohibitions of the law. They were comparatively dormant till the law said, thou shalt NOT do this, thou shalt DO that; then the rebellious principle in the evil propensity became roused, and acts of transgression and omissions of duty were the immediate consequences.

John Gill's Bible Commentary

Ver. 5. For when we were in the flesh , etc..] This respects not their being under the legal dispensation, the Mosaic economy; which lay greatly in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, such as regarded the flesh chiefly; so their meats and drinks concerned the body; their ablutions and washings sanctified to the purifying of the flesh; their circumcision was outward in the flesh; the several rituals of the law consisted in outward things, though typical of internal and spiritual ones; hence those that trusted in them trusted in the flesh: but to be in the flesh stands opposed, ( Romans 7:#9 8:9); to a being in the spirit; whereas there were many under that legal and carnal dispensation who were in the spirit, and had the Spirit of God, as David and others; besides, the apostle must be thought to use the phrase in such a sense, as to include all the persons he is speaking of and writing to, who were both Jews and Gentiles, for of such the church at Rome consisted; and the sense is this, for when we, Jews and Gentiles, who are now believers in Christ, were formerly, before our conversion to, and faith in Christ, in the flesh, that is, in a corrupt, carnal, and unregenerate state and condition; in which sense the word flesh is frequently used in the next chapter: now not all such who have flesh, sin, or corrupt nature in them, must be reckoned to be in the flesh, for there is a difference between flesh being in persons, from which none are free in this life, and their being in the flesh; nor all such who commit sin, or do carnal things at times, for there is not a just man that doth good and sinneth not; but such who are as they were born, without any alteration made in them by the Spirit and grace of God; who have nothing but flesh in them, no fear of God, nor love to and faith in Christ, nor any experience of the work of the Spirit of God upon their souls; no true sight and sense of sin, nor any spiritual knowledge of salvation by Christ; in whom flesh is the governing principle, whose minds and principles are carnal, and their conversation wholly so; yea, persons may be in the flesh, in an unregenerate state, who may abstain from the grosser immoralities of life, and even make a profession of religion: now such these had been the apostle is speaking of and to, and tells how it was with them when in this state; the motions of sins which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death : by the motions of sin are meant, the evil passions and affections of the mind, the lusts of the heart, sinful desires, evil thoughts, the imaginations of the thoughts of the heart, the first motions of the mind to sin: these were by the law; not as the efficient cause of them, that neither produces nor encourages them; it is holy, just, and good, requires truth in the inward parts, and not only forbids the outward acts of sin, but even covetous desires, and lustful thoughts: no, these inward motions of sin arise from a corrupt heart and nature; are encouraged and cherished by the old man that dwells there; and men are enticed by Satan to a compliance with them. Some think that the meaning of the phrase is, that these secret lusts of the heart are made known by the law, as in ( Romans 7:7), so they are, but not whilst a man is in the flesh, or in an unregenerate state, but when he comes to be wrought upon powerfully by the Spirit of God, who makes use of the law to such a purpose: but the true sense of it is, that these motions of sin are irritated, provoked, and increased, through the law's prohibition of them; which is not to be charged as a fault on the law, but to be imputed to the depravity and corruption of man; who is like to one in a burning fever, very desirous of drink, who the more it is forbid, the more eager is he of it; or like a mighty torrent of water, which rises, rages, flows, and overflows, the more any methods are taken to stop its current; or like a filthy dunghill, which when the sun strikes powerfully on it, it exhales and draws out its filthy stench; which nauseous smell is not to be imputed to the pure rays of the sun, but to the filthiness of the dunghill: these motions of sin are said to work in our members; in the members of our bodies, which these sinful affections of the soul make use of to put them into action, and so they bring forth fruit; very evil fruit indeed, for nothing else can be expected from such an evil tree as the corrupt nature of man is: and this fruit is unto death: deadly fruit, worthy of death, and would issue in eternal death, if grace did not prevent: the rise, beginning, motion, progress, and issue of sin, are most exactly and beautifully described, agreeably to this account here, by the Apostle James, ( James 1:13-15).

Matthew Henry Commentary

Verses 1-6 - So long as a man continues under the law as a covenant, and seek justification by his own obedience, he continues the slave of sin in some form. Nothing but the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, can make an sinner free from the law of sin and death. Believers are delivered from that power of the law, which condemns for the sins committed by them And they are delivered from that power of the law which stirs up an provokes the sin that dwells in them. Understand this not of the law a a rule, but as a covenant of works. In profession and privilege, we ar under a covenant of grace, and not under a covenant of works; under the gospel of Christ, not under the law of Moses. The difference is spoke of under the similitude or figure of being married to a new husband The second marriage is to Christ. By death we are freed from obligatio to the law as a covenant, as the wife is from her vows to her husband In our believing powerfully and effectually, we are dead to the law and have no more to do with it than the dead servant, who is freed from his master, has to do with his master's yoke. The day of our believing is the day of being united to the Lord Jesus. We enter upon a life of dependence on him, and duty to him. Good works are from union with Christ; as the fruitfulness of the vine is the product of its being united to its roots; there is no fruit to God, till we are united to Christ. The law, and the greatest efforts of one under the law, stil in the flesh, under the power of corrupt principles, cannot set the heart right with regard to the love of God, overcome worldly lusts, or give truth and sincerity in the inward parts, or any thing that come by the special sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. Nothing mor than a formal obedience to the outward letter of any precept, can be performed by us, without the renewing, new-creating grace of the ne covenant.

Greek Textus Receptus


οτε 3753 ADV γαρ 1063 CONJ ημεν 1510 5713 V-IXI-1P εν 1722 PREP τη 3588 T-DSF σαρκι 4561 N-DSF τα 3588 T-NPN παθηματα 3804 N-NPN των 3588 T-GPF αμαρτιων 266 N-GPF τα 3588 T-NPN δια 1223 PREP του 3588 T-GSM νομου 3551 N-GSM ενηργειτο 1754 5710 V-IMI-3S εν 1722 PREP τοις 3588 T-DPN μελεσιν 3196 N-DPN ημων 2257 P-1GP εις 1519 PREP το 3588 T-ASN καρποφορησαι 2592 5658 V-AAN τω 3588 T-DSM θανατω 2288 N-DSM

Vincent's NT Word Studies

5. In the flesh (en th sarki). Sarx flesh, occurs in the classics in the physical sense only. Homer commonly uses it in the plural as denoting all the flesh or muscles of the body. Later the singular occurs in the same sense. Paul's use of this and other psychological terms must be determined largely by the Old-Testament usage as it appears in the Septuagint. 38

1. In the physical sense. The literal flesh. In the Septuagint ta krea flesh (plural) is used where the reference is to the parts of animals slain, and aiJ sarkev, flesh (plural) where the reference is to flesh as the covering of the living body. Hence Paul uses krea in Rom. xiv. 21; 1 Cor. viii. 13, of the flesh of sacrificed animals. Compare also the adjective sarkimov fleshy 2 Corinthians iii. 3; and Ezek. xi. 19; xxxvi. 26, Sept.

2. Kindred. Denoting natural or physical relationship, Rom. i. 3; ix. 3-8; xi. 14; Gal. iv. 23, 29; 1 Cor. x. 18; Philemon 16. This usage forms a transition to the following sense: the whole human body. Flesh is the medium in and through which the natural relationship of man manifests itself. Kindred is conceived as based on community of bodily substance. Therefore:

3. The body itself. The whole being designated by the part, as being its main substance and characteristic, 1 Cor. vi. 16; vii. 28; 2 Corinthians iv. 11; vii. 5; x. 3; xii. 7. Rom. ii. 28; Gal. vi. 13, etc. Paul follows the Septuagint in sometimes using swma body, and sometimes sarx flesh, in this sense, so that the terms occasionally seem to be practically synonymous. Thus 1 Cor. vi. 16, 17, where the phrase one body is illustrated and confirmed by one flesh. See Gen. ii. 24; Eph. v. 28, 31, where the two are apparently interchanged. Compare 2 Cor. iv. 10, 11; 1 Corinthians v. 3, and Col. ii. 5. Sarx, however, differs from swma in that it can only signify the organism of an earthly, living being consisting of flesh and bones, and cannot denote "either an earthly organism that is not living, or a living organism that is not earthly" (Wendt, in Dickson). Swma not thus limited. Thus it may denote the organism of the plant (1 Cor. xv. 37, 38) or the celestial bodies (ver. 40). Hence the two conceptions are related as general and special: swma body, being the material organism apart from any definite matter (not from any sort of matter), sarx, flesh, the definite, earthly, animal organism. The two are synonymons when swma is used, from the context, of an earthly, animal body. Compare Philip. i. 22; 2 Cor. v. 1-8.

Swma body, and not sarx flesh, is used when the reference is to a metaphorical organism, as the church, Rom. xii. 4 sqq.; 1 Corinthians x. 16; xii. 12-27; Eph. i. 23; ii. 16; Colossians i. 18, etc.

The sarx is described as mortal (2 Cor. iv. 11); subject to infirmity (Gal. iv. 13; 2 Cor. xii. 7); locally limited (Col. ii. 15); an object of fostering care (Eph. v. 29).

4. Living beings generally, including their mental nature, and with a correlated notion of weakness and perishableness. Thus the phrase pasa sarx all flesh (Gen. vi. 12; Isa. xlix. 26; xlix. 23). This accessory notion of weakness stands in contrast with God. In Paul the phrase all flesh is cited from the Old Testament (Rom. iii. 20; Gal. ii. 16) and is used independently (1 Cor. i. 29). In all these instances before God is added. So in Gal. i. 16, flesh and blood implies a contrast of human with divine wisdom.

Compare 1 Cor. xv. 50; Eph. vi. 12. This leads up to

5. Man "either as a creature in his natural state apart from Christ, or the creaturely side or aspect of the man in Christ." Hence it is correlated with anqrwpov man, 1 Cor. iii. 3; Rom. vi. 19; 2 Corinthians v. 17. Compare Rom. vi. 6; Eph. iv. 22; Col. iii. 9; Gal. v. 24. Thus the flesh would seem to be interchangeable with the old man.

It has affections and lusts (Gal. v. 24); willings (Eph. ii. 3; Rom. viii. 6, 7); a mind (Col. ii. 18); a body (Col. ii. 11). It is in sharp contrast with pneuma spirit (Gal. iii. 3, 19; v. 16, 17, 19-24; vi. 8; Rom. viii. 4). The flesh and the spirit are thus antagonistic. Sarx flesh, before or in contrast with his reception of the divine element whereby he becomes a new creature in Christ: the whole being of man as it exists and acts apart from the influence of the Spirit. It properly characterizes, therefore, not merely the lower forms of sensual gratification, but all - the highest developments of the life estranged from God, whether physical, intellectual, or aesthetic.

It must be carefully noted:

1. That Paul does not identify flesh and sin. Compare, flesh of sin, Rom. viii. 3. Sec Rom. vii. 17, 18; 2 Cor. vii. 1; Galatians ii. 20.

2. That Paul does not identify sarx with the material body nor associate sin exclusively and predominantly with the body. The flesh is the flesh of the living man animated by the soul (yuch) as its principle of life, and is distinctly used as coordinate with anqrwpov man. As in the Old Testament, "it embraces in an emphatic manner the nature of man, mental and corporeal, with its internal distinctions." The spirit as well as the flesh is capable of defilement (2 Cor. vii. 1; compare 1 Cor. vii. 34). Christian life is to be transformed by the renewing of the mind (Rom. xii. 2; compare Eph. iv. 23).

3. That Paul does not identify the material side of man with evil. The flesh is not the native seat and source of sin. It is only its organ, and the seat of sin's manifestation. Matter is not essentially evil. The logical consequence of this would be that no service of God is possible while the material organism remains. See Rom. xii. 1. The flesh is not necessarily sinful in itself; but as it has existed from the time of the introduction of sin through Adam, it is recognized by Paul as tainted with sin. Jesus appeared in the flesh, and yet was sinless (2 Cor. v. 21).

The motions of sins (ta paqhmata twn amartiwn). Motions used in earlier English for emotions or impulses. Thus Bacon: "He that standeth at a stay where others rise, can hardly avoid motions of envy" ("Essay" 14.). The word is nearly synonymous with paqov passion (ch. i., 26, note). From paqein to suffer; a feeling which the mind undergoes, a passion, desire. Rev., sinful passions: which led to sins.

Did work (enhrgeito). Rev., wrought. See 2 Cor. i. 6; iv. 12; Eph. iii. 20; Gal. v. 6; Philip. ii. 13; Col. i. 29. Compare Mark vi. 14, and see on power, John i. 12.

Robertson's NT Word Studies

7:5 {In the flesh} (en tei sarki). Same sense as in #6:19 and #7:18,25. The "flesh" is not inherently sinful, but is subject to Sin. It is what Paul means by being "under the law." He uses sarx in a good many senses. {Sinful passions} (ta pathmata t"n hamartiwn). "Passions of sins" or marked by sins. {Wrought} (energeito). Imperfect middle of energew, "were active." {To bring forth fruit unto death} (eis to karpophorsai t"i qanatwi). Purpose clause again. Vivid picture of the seeds of Sin working for death.

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