Romans 7:5 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

For when we were in the flesh, &c.— The design of this chapter is, to convince the Jews how unfavourable the law, in its rigour, is to the recovery and sanctification of a sinner; as it affords neither hope of pardon, nor power to conquer sin. And in this verse St. Paul gives a general description of the state of a Jew in servitude to sin, while under the law, which state he comments upon from Romans 7:7 to the end of the chapter. The words rendered motions of sins, are literally passions of sins;— Παθηματα των αμαρτιων, that is, sinful passions or lusts; for in the Scripture Greek, the genitive case of the substantive is often put for the adjective. To bring forth fruit unto death, is opposed to bringing forth fruit unto God, the only author of life, Romans 7:4. And therefore, the fruit which the Gospel produces is living fruit; but the fruit of sin under the law, is, as we may say, still-born,—is fruit unto death. Members, in this clause, does not barely signify the fleshy parts of the body, in a restrained sense, but the animal faculties and powers; all in us that is employed as an instrument in those works of the flesh which are reckoned up, Galatians 5:19-21 some of which do not require the members of our body, taken in a strict sense for the outward gross parts, but only the faculties of our minds, for their performance. See Locke, Pyle, and Vigerus.