In Direct Contrast To Adam Who Introduced Sin and Death Jesus Christ Has Brought Into The World The Gift Of Righteousness And Life In Abundant Measure (5:15-19).
Paul now provides us succinctly with a number of contrasts between Adam, the first man, and Jesus Christ, ‘the coming One'. Elsewhere he can describe Jesus as ‘the Second Man' (1 Corinthians 15:47) and ‘the Last Adam' (1 Corinthians 15:45). Adam brought to mankind gloom and death, Jesus Christ has brought to man joy and life. The reason for the introduction of Adam here has not only been in order to demonstrate that ‘all have sinned', but also in order to establish that God has provided a remedy. It is in order to bring out the contrast between sin and death, and the abundance of the grace of God revealed towards man in Jesus Christ in His providing the gift of righteousness. To look back to our origins is to look back to what brought sin and death. But our hope lies in looking forward on the basis of what God offers to do for us in Christ. It is now Jesus Christ Himself Who is being thrust into prominence as the greater than Adam.
The consequence of this is clear. All who do not respond to Christ, the ‘second man', are still ‘in Adam', whether they be Jew or Gentile. There is no salvation outside of Christ (Acts 4:12). Any who are not ‘in Christ' are still ‘in Adam'.
It will be noted that here in this second section there is a progression of thought concerning the consequences of sin as we advance through the statements:
· Through the trespass of one the many died (Romans 5:15).
· The judgment came of one trespass to condemnation (Romans 5:16).
· By the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one (Romans 5:17).
· Through the one trespass, condemnation came to all men (Romans 5:18).
· Through one man's disobedience, many were made sinners (Romans 5:19).
The progression reveals that through what Adam had done many died, that his sin resulted in condemnation, that this caused death to reign in the world, that as a result condemnation came on all men, because through one man's disobedience many were made sinners.
The second progression of thought is that:
· The grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded to many (Romans 5:15).
· The free gift came for the purposes of men being accounted as righteous in the face of many offences (Romans 5:16).
· Those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).
· From the one act of righteousness came the justification that results in life (Romans 5:18).
· Through the obedience of One many will be constituted righteous (Romans 5:19).
God's gift by grace abounded to many, it came for the purpose of men being accounted as righteous in the face of many offences, it results in men reigning in life through Christ, its consequence is the justification which results in life, and its final result is that many will be constituted righteous.
We note also how this passage continues the theme of wrath being revealed (Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20), and in contrast the righteousness of God being revealed (Romans 1:17; Romans 3:24 to Romans 5:11). Thus we have here in microcosm the teaching of Romans 1:18 to Romans 5:11, but now presented in such a way as to accentuate God's grace (His gracious unmerited activity) and God's gift of righteousness in Christ, and in order to stress that what Paul has described has its roots in things as they have been since creation. It should be underlined that God's grace and its success is the underlying theme of the latter part of this passage (Romans 5:15 twice, Romans 5:17; Romans 5:20; Romans 5:21), in parallel with His gracious giving of the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:15 twice, Romans 5:16 twice, Romans 5:17; Romans 5:18 by inference). It is these which lie at the root of man's salvation.