The law in my members brings me into captivity to the law of sin ; that is, to itself. The form of expression is rather unusual, although the sense appears sufficiently plain from the context. There does not seem to be any adequate reason for making a distinction between " the law in the members" and " the law of sin ;" the latter designation is rather explanatory of the former. Indwelling sin wars against the renewed prin- ciple, and brings the soul into captivity to itself. This, therefore, is but another form of expressing the idea that he was sold under sin, was its unwilling and unhappy captive, constantly resisting its power and long- ing for deliverance from its tyranny. Hence the exclamation,
(24) 0 wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death. The expression body of this death has been very variously explained. It may be equivalent to this body of death, by a very common Hebraism, according to which the pronoun, which properly belongs to the governing word, is attached to the word governed ; as idols of his silver, mountain of his holiness, for his idols of silver, &c. " This body of death" may then mean, this body which is destined or obnoxious to death, i. e. this mortal body. But it is clearly foreign from the spirit of this passage to consider the apostle as here wishing for deliverance from the body. He had been speaking of the burden of sin, and it is from this burden that he longs to be delivered. Body of death is, there- fore, better understood as ' body which causes death ;' and body may then be taken for Jlesh, i. e. corrupt nature, which, however, is contrary to usage ; or it may be taken metaphorically for sin considered as a body. This is the more natural, as Paul had just spoken of " members" and of sin as something "outward," in contrast to the "inward man." The meaning then is, ' Who will deliver me from this body, i. e. mass of death, this weight which tends to death.' This strong expression of the hate- fulness of sin, and of earnest desire to be delivered from it, seems to be clearly descriptive of the exercises of a renewed mind.
(25) The burden of sin being the great evil under which the apostle and all other believers labour, from which no efficacy of the law, and no efforts of their own can deliver them, their case would be entirely hope- less but for help from on high. " Sin shall not have dominion oyer you," is the language of the grace of God in the gospel. The conflict which the believer sustains is not to result in the victory of sin, but in the triumph of grace. In view of this certain and glorious result, Paul ex- claims, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is evidently the expression of a strong and sudden emotion of gratitude. As, however, his object is to illustrate the operation of the law, it would be foreign to his purpose to expatiate on a deliverance effected by a different power ; he, therefore, does not follow up the idea suggested by this exclamation, but immediately returns to the point in hand.
So then, with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the Jlesh, the law of sin. Mind and flesh are here opposed. As the latter, according to the constant usage of the apostle, signifies that which is cor-