Who is the figure of him that was to come— Adam is said to be the figure of him who was to come, that is, of Christ the Messiah; for this is one of the marks or names by which the Jews signified the expected Messiah. See Luke 24:21. John 6:14-15; John 11:27. Hebrews 10:37. In the Greek it is τυπος, the type of him that was to come. A type signifies such a mark or impression as is made by a stamp or a seal. It is used, John 20:25 to signify the mark which the nails made in our Saviour's hands when he was nailed to the tree, and it is rendered the print of the nails. See also Acts 7:44.Hebrews 8:5. A type therefore is arelative word, signifying a thing to which another is to answer or agree, as the figure upon the wax answers, is like to, and agrees with, the figure upon the seal; or as the thing which is made, answers to the pattern after which it is made. Hence St. Paul several times applies it to moral action, under the notion of an example, namely, when the behaviour of one man is made the seal or stamp to be impressed upon another man; or when one man's actions are made a pattern to be copied after by another man, as Philippians 3:17. 1 Thessalonians 1:7. 2 Thessalonians 3:9. 2 Timothy 2:7. Tit 2:7. In the place before us, when Adam is said to be a type of him that was to come, no doubt can be made that St. Paul intends thereby to denote, that there was something with reference to Christ which was to bear a correspondence or to answer to something with reference to Adam; or that he draws a comparison between something which Adam did, and the consequencesthereof,and something which Christ did, and the consequences thereof. This comparison he begins at Romans 5:12 and carries on to the end of the chapter; and itconsistsofthreeparts,—twoaffirmativepropositions,and the connection or relation between them, thus:—PROPOSITION I. "By Adam's disobedience death came upon all men." CONNECTION: Adam in this was a type or figure of Christ; or in respect to this, Christ is the counterpart to Adam. PROPOSITION II. "By Christ's obedience life is restored to all men." The attentive reader will observe how methodically the Apostle proceeds in clearing the first proposition and the connection, before he advances to the second proposition. It may be proper just to remark, that this and the preceding verse form an instance of the perspicuous brevity for which St. Paul was remarkable. One shall hardly find in any other author an argument so justly managed, so fully established, attended with such a variety of instructive sentiments, in the compass of thirty words:—for, setting aside the articles, there are no more in the Greek. It is by this unparallelled art that the Apostle has brought such a variety of arguments, instructions, and sentiments, all stated, proved, and sufficiently guarded, explained, and defended, within the limits of this Epistle, as have made it a magazine ofthe most real, extensive, useful, and pleasant knowledge.
Related Commentaries of Romans 5:14
Romans 5:14
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.