“Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. — Paul makes the radical claim: the "true I" (my rational, deliberative self) is not the actor; sin dwelling ἐν ἐμοί (en emoi, "in me") is the agent. This is not moral abdication but diagnosis: the self is inhabited by an alien force. Sin is not merely personal choice but a power indwelling the flesh, exceeding the individual will.
Church Fathers on Romans 7:17
“If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the Law, that it is good.” You see here, that the understanding is not yet perverted, but keeps up its own noble character even during the action. For even if it does pursue vice, still it hates it the while, which would be great commendation, whether of the natural or the written Law. For that the Law is good, is (he says) plain, from the fact of my accusing myself, when I disobey the Law, and hate what has been done. And…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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