Romans 7:4
[4] Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. (ESV)
My brothers. The Apostle Paul is addressing every blood-washed believer in Jesus Christ. He is about to speak to you if you belong to Jesus. His instruction in this verse is not just for a select few. Paul is not talking to the spiritual elites in the kingdom of God. He is talking to all of us. We need to heed what he is saying.
We who belong to Jesus Christ have died to the law through the body of Christ. This verse follows the last two verses which gave us the illustration of a marriage relationship. Paul said that the wife is no longer bound to her husband after the husband has died. Because of Christ's death, we are no longer bound, or married to the Law. We are now married to Christ.
As Paul puts it, "we belong to another." Have you considered what it means to be the bride of Christ? If you are a man reading this, please work with me here. You know what it means to love a woman and be devoted to her. The same is true of your relationship to Christ. You are the bride and you belong to the perfect man.
Notice the last words of this verse. God wants us to bear fruit. Is he talking about apples and oranges? No. He is talking about other people to become "spiritual children." Christ is your husband and he wants children. The children he wants are currently in rebellion to him. He wants you and me, the bride of Christ, to call children to our husband. He wants to adopt. He wants a very big family.
Our relationship with Christ is like a husband and wife. Are you being a faithful bride? Are you bearing fruit? How many have been adopted into the family of God through your faithful witness?
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