Wretched Man That I Am!

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” -Romans 7:24

Paul concludes his argument with this vehement exclamation: ταλαίπωρος ἄνθρωπος ἐγώ! 

ταλαίπωρος (Talaiporos) is a strong word and the only other time it’s used in the New Testament is in Revelation 3:17. The word means to be miserable, wretched, or distressed; it is the antonym of μακάριος (Makarios) the word Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount in the Beatitudes (Cf. Matthew 5:3). It means to be happy or fortunate. The state of mankind who still in his flesh and has been confronted and judged by the law of God is one of utter misery, wretchedness and distress.

Paul’s question—Who will deliver me…?—is rhetorical in nature as we shall see in the following verses; but, here he shows us the state of one who is repentant before God and teaches us to bemoan and deplore our own unhappy condition.

To be delivered (ῥύομαι / rhyomai) is to be rescued, saved, or preserved from danger. And the danger here is the body of death. Again, we must be careful not to project on Paul’s argument the same dualistic meaning held by the gnostics (spirit = good / body = evil). Instead, we should recall that Paul is making a metaphorical contrast between his outer being (members, body) as representing flesh (sin nature) and his “inner being” his true self which delights in the law of God.