“For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”
For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. — Life ἐν τῇ σαρκί (en tē sarki, "in the flesh"—pre-Christian existence) was marked by sinful desires (παθήματα, pathēmata, "passions") actually aroused by the νόμος (nomos, "law"); the law, though holy, functioned to activate sin. The result was κάρπος (karpos, "fruit") unto θάνατος (thanatos, "death")—the inverse of 7:4. The law's prohibition becomes sin's provocation.
Church Fathers on Romans 7:5
“For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.” You see then the gain to be got from the former husband! And he does not say when we were in the Law, so in every passage shrinking from giving a handle to heretics; but “when we were in the flesh,” that is, in evil deeds, in a carnal life. What he says then is, not that they were in the flesh before, but now they went about without any…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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