Ambrosiaster — Commentary on Scripture

Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Paul commends the law in this way so that no doubts about it might remain.

Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Although even before the law came, the devil obtained death for man because of the first sin of Adam, nevertheless, after the law came he found still greater punishments for him in hell, where death followed him. For to have sinned before the coming of the law was a lesser crime than to have sinned after it.The wording here suggests that a limit was imposed on transgressors when they were forbidden to sin.… What the apostle means is that sinning after the law came was much more serious than sinning before it. He means that after the law came the attacks and tricks of Satan grew worse.

Romans 7:14

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

Paul is speaking here to those who were under the law. For they would not have submitted to it if they did not know that it was spiritual.… Paul calls man carnal, because he sins.To be sold under sin means to trace one’s origin to Adam, who was the first to sin, and to subject oneself to sin by one’s own transgression.… For Adam sold himself first, and because of this all his descendants are subjected to sin.
The law is firm and just and without fault, but man is weak and bound either by his own or by his inherited fault, so that he cannot obey the law in his own strength.

Romans 7:18

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Paul does not say that the flesh is evil, as some think, but that what dwells in the flesh is not good, i.e., sin. How does sin dwell in the flesh when it is not a substance but the perversion of what is good? Since the body of the first man was corrupted by sin and became dissolvable, this same corruption of sin remains in the body because of the state of transgression, retaining the strength of the divine judgment given in Adam, which is the sign of the devil, at whose prompting Adam sinned. Because of this sin is said to dwell in the flesh, to which the devil comes as if to his own kingdom. For the flesh is sinful and sin remains in it in order to deceive man by evil temptations, so that man will not do what the law commands.Man can agree that what the law commands is good; he can say that it naturally pleases him and that he wants to do it. But in spite of all that, the power and the strength to carry out his wishes is lacking because he is so oppressed by the power of sin that he cannot go where he wants nor can he make contrary decisions, because another power is in control of…

Paul does not say that the flesh is evil, as some think, but that what dwells in the flesh is not good, i.e., sin. How does sin dwell in the flesh when it is not a substance but the perversion of what is good? Since the body of the first man was corrupted by sin and became dissolvable, this same corruption of sin remains in the body because of the state of transgression, retaining the strength of the divine judgment given in Adam, which is the sign of the devil, at whose prompting Adam sinned. Because of this sin is said to dwell in the flesh, to which the devil comes as if to his own kingdom. For the flesh is sinful and sin remains in it in order to deceive man by evil temptations, so that man will not do what the law commands.Man can agree that what the law commands is good; he can say that it naturally pleases him and that he wants to do it. But in spite of all that, the power and the strength to carry out his wishes is lacking because he is so oppressed by the power of sin that he cannot go where he wants nor can he make contrary decisions, because another power is in control of him. For man is burdened by his habit of sinning and succumbs to sin more readily than to the law, which he knows teaches what is good. For if he wants to do what is good, habit backed by the enemy prevents him.

Romans 7:19

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Paul repeats this often in order to make it clear.

Romans 7:20

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Is the sinner compelled to sin by a power outside himself? Not at all. For it was by his own fault that these evil things began, for whoever binds himself to sin voluntarily is ruled by its law. Sin persuades him first, and when it has conquered him it takes control.

Romans 7:21

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Paul says that the law of Moses agrees with his will against sin, which dwells in his flesh and forces him to do something other than what he and the law want to do.

Romans 7:22

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

Paul says that the mind delights in the things which are taught by the law. This is “our inmost self,” because sin does not dwell in the mind but in the flesh.… It is prevented from dwelling in the mind by free will. Therefore sin dwells in the flesh, at the door of the soul as it were, so as to prevent the soul from doing what it wants to do. If it dwelt in the mind it would derange it, so that man would not know himself. As it is, he does know himself and takes delight in the law of God.

Romans 7:23

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Paul mentions two laws here. One of these he sees in his members, i.e., in the outer self, which is the flesh or the body. This law is hostile to us. It wars with his mind, leading him captive in a state of sin and preventing him from getting out of it and finding help. The other law is the law of the mind, which is either the law of Moses or the law of nature which is innate in the mind. This law is attacked by the violence of sin and by its own negligence, for in that it loves evil it subjects itself to sin and is held captive by the habit of sinning. For man is a creature of habit.For Paul, there are here four kinds of law. The first is spiritual. This is the law of nature, which was reworked by Moses and made authoritative; it is God’s law. Then there is the law of the mind, which agrees with God’s law. Third, there is the law of sin, which is said to dwell in man’s members because of the transgression of the first man. The fourth appears in our members and tempts us to sin, before retreating. But these four laws can be reduced to two—the law of good and the law of evil. For the…

Paul mentions two laws here. One of these he sees in his members, i.e., in the outer self, which is the flesh or the body. This law is hostile to us. It wars with his mind, leading him captive in a state of sin and preventing him from getting out of it and finding help. The other law is the law of the mind, which is either the law of Moses or the law of nature which is innate in the mind. This law is attacked by the violence of sin and by its own negligence, for in that it loves evil it subjects itself to sin and is held captive by the habit of sinning. For man is a creature of habit.For Paul, there are here four kinds of law. The first is spiritual. This is the law of nature, which was reworked by Moses and made authoritative; it is God’s law. Then there is the law of the mind, which agrees with God’s law. Third, there is the law of sin, which is said to dwell in man’s members because of the transgression of the first man. The fourth appears in our members and tempts us to sin, before retreating. But these four laws can be reduced to two—the law of good and the law of evil. For the law of the mind is the same as the spiritual law or the law of Moses, which is called the law of God. But the law of sin is the same as the law which appears in our members, which contradicts the law of our mind.

Romans 7:24

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Paul says that a man born in sin is wretched. For indeed how could man not be wretched when he has succeeded to this inheritance of sin, having this enemy sin with him, through which Satan has access to him? For Adam invented steps by which the despoiler came up to his descendants. Yet the most merciful God, moved by pity, gave us his grace through Christ so that it might be revealed that the human race, once it accepted the forgiveness of sins, might repent and put sin to death. For a man who is pardoned for his sins and cleansed can resist the power of the enemy which is aimed against him, provided that God continues to help him.

Romans 7:25

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

“The law of God” means both the law of Moses and the law of Christ.… A free mind which has been called back to good habits by the help of the Holy Spirit can repulse evil temptations. For it has recovered its power to resist the enemy. If it is no longer subject then Satan cannot appear uninvited. Flesh, though, has no judgment, nor is it able to discern anything, because it is brute nature. It cannot close the door to the enemy, nor can it come in and persuade the mind to do the opposite to what the mind intends.Because man consists of both soul and flesh, the part which knows serves God and the part which is mute serves the law of sin. But if man perseveres in the form in which he was created, the enemy would have no power to reach the flesh and persuade it to act against the will of the soul. But because the whole man was not restored to his pristine state by the grace of Christ the sentence pronounced on Adam remains in force, for it would be unjust to abolish a sentence which was rightly pronounced. So although the sentence remains in force, a cure has been found by the providen…

“The law of God” means both the law of Moses and the law of Christ.… A free mind which has been called back to good habits by the help of the Holy Spirit can repulse evil temptations. For it has recovered its power to resist the enemy. If it is no longer subject then Satan cannot appear uninvited. Flesh, though, has no judgment, nor is it able to discern anything, because it is brute nature. It cannot close the door to the enemy, nor can it come in and persuade the mind to do the opposite to what the mind intends.Because man consists of both soul and flesh, the part which knows serves God and the part which is mute serves the law of sin. But if man perseveres in the form in which he was created, the enemy would have no power to reach the flesh and persuade it to act against the will of the soul. But because the whole man was not restored to his pristine state by the grace of Christ the sentence pronounced on Adam remains in force, for it would be unjust to abolish a sentence which was rightly pronounced. So although the sentence remains in force, a cure has been found by the providence of God, so that the salvation which man had lost by his own fault might be given back to him.

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

It is true that there will be no damnation for those who are Christians serving the law of God with a devout mind.

Romans 8:2

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Paul holds out security for us by the grace of God, so that we should not be tempted by the suggestions of the devil as long as we reject them.… We shall instead be rewarded if we repel the counsels of that sin which remains in us, for it demands great skill to avoid the tricks of the enemy within. “The law of the Spirit of life is the law of faith.” For even the law of Moses is spiritual in that it forbids us to sin, but it is not the law of life. It has no power to pardon those who are guilty of the sins which merit death and thus to bring them back to life.… Therefore it is the law in Christ Jesus, that is to say, through faith in Christ, which frees the believer from the law of sin and death. The law of sin, which Paul says dwells in our members, tries to persuade us to sin, but the law of Moses is a law of death, because it puts sinners to death.

Romans 8:3

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

For whom was this impossible? For us of course, because we could not fulfill the commandment of the law, since we were subject to sin. For this reason God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. It is the likeness of our flesh because, although it is the same as ours is, it was sanctified in the womb and born without sin, neither did he sin in it. Therefore the womb of a virgin was chosen for the divine birth so that the divine flesh might differ from ours in its holiness. It is like ours in origin but not in sinfulness. For this reason Paul says that it is similar to our flesh, since it is of the same substance, but it did not have the same birth, because the body of the Lord was not subject to sin. The Lord’s flesh was sanctified by the Holy Spirit in order that he might be born in the same kind of body as Adam had before he sinned. By sending Christ God used sin to condemn sin.… For Christ was crucified by sin, which is Satan; hence sin sinned in the flesh of the Savior’s body. In this way, God condemned sin in the flesh, in the very place where it sinned.

Romans 8:4

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Paul says that sin has been condemned in order that the righteousness of the law given by Moses might be fulfilled in us. For once removed from the power of the law we become the law’s friends. Those who have been justified are friends of the law. For how is this righteousness fulfilled in us unless the forgiveness of sins is given to us, so that once we have been justified by the removal of our sins we might serve the law of God with our minds? This is what it means to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. The devotion of the mind, which is the spirit, will not succumb to the desire of sin, which sows lusts in the soul by means of the flesh because sin dwells in it. But if sin has been condemned, how can it be indwelling?Sin has been condemned by the Savior in three different ways. In the first place, he condemned sin in that a person should turn away from it and not sin. Next, sin is said to have been condemned on the cross, because it enacted sin itself. The power by which it held people in hell because of Adam’s sin was then taken away. After that it would…

Paul says that sin has been condemned in order that the righteousness of the law given by Moses might be fulfilled in us. For once removed from the power of the law we become the law’s friends. Those who have been justified are friends of the law. For how is this righteousness fulfilled in us unless the forgiveness of sins is given to us, so that once we have been justified by the removal of our sins we might serve the law of God with our minds? This is what it means to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. The devotion of the mind, which is the spirit, will not succumb to the desire of sin, which sows lusts in the soul by means of the flesh because sin dwells in it. But if sin has been condemned, how can it be indwelling?Sin has been condemned by the Savior in three different ways. In the first place, he condemned sin in that a person should turn away from it and not sin. Next, sin is said to have been condemned on the cross, because it enacted sin itself. The power by which it held people in hell because of Adam’s sin was then taken away. After that it would no longer dare to hang onto anyone who had been signed with the sign of the cross. In the third place, God condemned sin by canceling it out in the case of those who had received forgiveness for their sins. For although a sinner ought to be condemned for his sin, God forgave him and condemned the sin in him instead. So if we follow our Savior’s example and do not sin, we are condemning sin.

Romans 8:5

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Paul says this because whoever obeys the temptation which comes through the flesh knows what the things of the flesh are.… Those who live according to the Spirit are those who have stomped on the lusts of the flesh by attacking sin. They have put the world behind them and although they still walk in the flesh they do not struggle according to the flesh. Their glory is not from men but from God. Dwelling in these spiritual works, they know what the things of the Spirit of God are and walk in his commandments.

Romans 8:6

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The wisdom of the flesh is death because sin is serious and it is through sin that this death comes. It is called wisdom, even though it is a foolish thing, because to worldly people sins against the law of God which are conceived, whether in thought or in deed, on the basis of what is visible appear as wisdom, especially because those who sin are full of energy and cleverness. The fact that they take so much trouble over it makes them appear wise, even though there is nothing more foolish than sinning. Moreover, there is yet another wisdom of the flesh which, puffed up as it is by earthly reasoning, denies the possibility of miracles. Therefore it laughs at the virgin birth and at the resurrection of the flesh. The wisdom of the Spirit, on the other hand, is true wisdom which leads to life and peace.… Paul did not say that the flesh is hostile but rather that “the wisdom of the flesh” is. “The wisdom of the flesh” means, in the first place, any argument about the unknown which men have come up with and, in the second place, a preference for what can be seen. Both these things are ho…

The wisdom of the flesh is death because sin is serious and it is through sin that this death comes. It is called wisdom, even though it is a foolish thing, because to worldly people sins against the law of God which are conceived, whether in thought or in deed, on the basis of what is visible appear as wisdom, especially because those who sin are full of energy and cleverness. The fact that they take so much trouble over it makes them appear wise, even though there is nothing more foolish than sinning. Moreover, there is yet another wisdom of the flesh which, puffed up as it is by earthly reasoning, denies the possibility of miracles. Therefore it laughs at the virgin birth and at the resurrection of the flesh. The wisdom of the Spirit, on the other hand, is true wisdom which leads to life and peace.… Paul did not say that the flesh is hostile but rather that “the wisdom of the flesh” is. “The wisdom of the flesh” means, in the first place, any argument about the unknown which men have come up with and, in the second place, a preference for what can be seen. Both these things are hostile to God because they make the Lord of the elements and the Creator of the world equal to what he has made and assert that nothing can happen unless there is a rational cause for it. For this reason they deny that God made a virgin give birth or that he raises the bodies of the dead. They say that it is absurd that God should do anything beyond what man can understand, and therefore he did not do it.… These people are so blinded that they do not see how greatly they are insulting God, for the work which he was pleased to do in order that his praise should be proclaimed they condemn and claim is unbelievable and absurd.

Romans 8:8

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

The wise of this world are in the flesh because they cling to their wisdom, by which they reject God’s law. For whatever goes against the law of God is of the flesh, because it is of the world. For the whole world is flesh and every visible thing is assigned to the flesh.

Romans 8:9

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Those who are said to be in the Spirit are not in the flesh if they agree with the apostle John and do not love the world. … Paul speaks somewhat ambiguously because those who have been inducted into the law do not yet have a perfect faith, although Paul saw a hope of perfection in them. For this reason he sometimes speaks to them as if they are perfect and sometimes as if they are yet to become perfect. This is why sometimes he praises them and sometimes he warns them, so that if they maintain the law of nature according to what has been said above they will be said to be in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God cannot dwell in anyone who follows carnal things.Here Paul says that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, for everything which belongs to the Father belongs to the Son as well. Therefore he says that whoever is subject to the abovementioned sins does not belong to Christ. Such a person does not have the Spirit of God, even if he has accepted that Christ is God’s Son. For the Holy Spirit abandons people for one of two reasons, either because they think carnally or becau…

Those who are said to be in the Spirit are not in the flesh if they agree with the apostle John and do not love the world. … Paul speaks somewhat ambiguously because those who have been inducted into the law do not yet have a perfect faith, although Paul saw a hope of perfection in them. For this reason he sometimes speaks to them as if they are perfect and sometimes as if they are yet to become perfect. This is why sometimes he praises them and sometimes he warns them, so that if they maintain the law of nature according to what has been said above they will be said to be in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God cannot dwell in anyone who follows carnal things.Here Paul says that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, for everything which belongs to the Father belongs to the Son as well. Therefore he says that whoever is subject to the abovementioned sins does not belong to Christ. Such a person does not have the Spirit of God, even if he has accepted that Christ is God’s Son. For the Holy Spirit abandons people for one of two reasons, either because they think carnally or because they act carnally. Therefore he exhorts them to good behavior by the things which he commands.

Romans 8:10

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Paul asserts that the bodies of those whom the Holy Spirit has abandoned because of sin are dead, nor does the feeling of their murder touch him, i.e., the Spirit. For the Spirit of God cannot sin. He is given for righteousness in order to make people righteous by his assistance.If a believer returns to the life of the flesh, the Holy Spirit will leave him and he will die in his unrighteousness. In saying “the body” Paul means that the whole person will die because of sin.