Castlebar Christian Fellowship

Death in Adam, Life in Christ.

Reading: Romans 5:12-21.

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-
13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction:
Some scholars view this passage as one of the most difficult in the book of Romans if not the New Testament. That all being said, this passage gives us knowledge and insight into the human predicament and that will build us up in our knowledge of the accomplishments of Christ to bring us salvation. In verse 1-11 we saw Paul's emphasis on our restored relationship with God. He has made us his friends when we were enemies. We have peace with God. We are reconciled to God because of all that has been achieved at the cross. The ESV Study Bible reminds us regarding today's reading. "The main theme of this section continues to be the future hope of those who have trusted in Christ. Adam brought sin and death into the world, but those who have believed in Christ are full of hope, for Christ has reversed the consequences of Adam's sin and has given his own life and righteousness to secure their eternal glory."
In this section, "Paul enters a detailed (and difficult) comparison of Adam and Christ. (cf. 1 Cor.15:22, 45-49)." (Leon Morris) The human condition is the result of Adam's deliberate disobedience. All mankind is affected by what Adam did.
"Adam and Christ are seen as the heads of two families: Adam the source of sin and death for all his descendants, Christ the source of righteousness and life for all who are in him." (E. Ladd)
As you'll notice from your bible text verse 12 is followed by a dash. (It is in many versions anyhow!) In the King James Version it's followed by brackets down to the end of verse 17. Those verses are viewed as a parenthesis.
Verse 12 is understood to be an unfinished sentence. Why you may ask? Just try and picture the scene. As Paul dictates the letter, his secretary (A writing slave named Tertius. Romans 16:22) who is also a believer, is busily putting pen to papyrus and recording the Apostle's words. (The technical name for such a writer is an amanuensis.) As this activity of dictation and writing proceeds, Paul does what we all frequently do in conversation he breaks off his line of thought and makes digressions. However in Paul's case he makes important and inspired digressions and doesn't lose his original train of thought but comes back to it in verse 18.
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V12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-
When you see "just as" you know he's writing a proposition and that usually followed by a subsequent clause to complete the meaning. E.g you'll see it in verses 18-19, where "just as" is followed by "so also". Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Here in V12 we see the introduction of the bad news. (We only really appreciate the good news as we gain a real knowledge of how bad the bad news is!) Paul focuses on one man whom he soon identifies as Adam (V14) and the rest of the passage is taken up with the effects of this one mans action on all the human race ever since. Thankfully Paul's main emphasis is not on Adam and his misdeed but he concentrates on the greater action of another one man; Jesus Christ who provides the only effective solution for mankind's dilemma.
The bad news concerning Adam is that through his wilful disobedience to God, sin entered the world,…. and death through sin.
People debate what death means in this verse. From the immediate context in v14 we see that it's physical death but from other verses in Paul's letters we can see that he also believed in spiritual death and eternal death. (Ephesians 2:1, Romans 6:23, 2Thessalonians 1:7-9) Death is not the natural way of things. It is described elsewhere by Paul as an enemy. (The last enemy that shall be destroyed. 1 Corinthians 15:26)
When you look at Gods command to Adam in Genesis you see that death was the penalty for breaking it. Genesis 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.
Another issue that is raised regarding this whole passage is the concept of 'corporate solidarity'.
'Corporate solidarity'
The Bible writers had a very different world view than ours. We live in a world where "Rugged individualism" is often promoted as a virtue that we ought to aspire to. One writer tells us of the values he had drilled into him from birth. And I quote: "My choices, I had been taught both explicitly and implicitly, determine who I will be, what I will do, and how successful I will be." -end quote (Douglas Moo) The bible does teach personal responsibility. "But it also has a much stronger sense of how people are related to one another in ways that mean the decision of one can affect many others." This is referred to as corporate solidarity. "The classic example in the Old Testament is the sin of Achan (Joshua7). Contrary to God's command, Achan kept for himself some of the spoils from the battle of Jericho. When the Israelites then tried to take the city of Ai, they were defeated. Why? Because Achan had sinned (7:20)! Note Joshua 7:11. Not only did all Israel suffer because of his sin, but the Lord even said, "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant" (Ibid.)
John Donne. English clergyman & poet (1572 - 1631) is often remembered for these famous words.
"No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." (Meditation XVII)

We stand in solidarity with the entire human race.
As I thought about this the question came to mind, is there a concept of corporate solidarity in our world today? The answer has got to be yes. I've heard it said not many years ago, "America sneezes and we catch the cold!" We often talk of the global village. There is often a knock on effect from events in society.
In recent times we have been hearing nothing else except the news of recession and each government, including our own, strangely raises the claims of solidarity (without mentioning that word) and reminds its citizens that this is not a problem of our own making but that it's a worldwide phenomenon.
Over this last week when an epidemic broke out in Cancun, Mexico the claims and fears of solidarity are raised. It's now being highlighted as pandemic. (The BBC reported on Thursday last, "The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert to five, the second-highest level, but says it has no immediate plans for another rise."
(Bible Health Warning: Psalm 112:7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.) Today I want to stress good news in the midst of all the bad news. But we will have to look a bit more at the bad news before we can appreciate what Christ has done for us.

Many scholars understand that last phrase in V12 "because all sinned" not necessarily as just referring to our own individual sins but that we all sinned in Adam. The whole human race is in corporate solidarity with him. Just as Paul says elsewhere, For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.1Corinthians 15:22.
On the surface of verse twelve this is not evident but surely the mass destruction achieved by one man (Adam) is emphasized from vv 15-19. Just listen to what's attributed to one man and how it affects the rest of us.
15 the many died by the trespass of the one man.
16 the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation.
17 by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man.
18 the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men.
19 through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.
Adam's sin brought death to all. It brought in the reign of death. "Death gained its sovereignty" Death "began to rule." (GNB)It bought judgment and condemnation and constituted all people sinners.
Look at V19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. As I was thinking about this verse the thought came to me about our ordinary way of thinking about things as opposed to the Bible's view of things. In the ordinary understanding of things we would say that we are sinners because we sin and we become righteous because we do righteous things. Yet the bible way of seeing things is we sin because we're sinners and even more fundamental than that, were sinners because of Adams sin (his disobedience); and were also told that we are made righteous because of the perfect obedience of Christ.

"O Adam, what have you done?"

We are all implicated in Adam's sin. This idea can be found away back in the ancient literature of Israel. Just listen to this statement from around 100 A.D. "O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, the fall was not yours alone, but ours also who are your descendants." 2Esdras 7:118.
George Eldon Ladd reminds us,
"The source of sin is traced to Adam. It is quite clear that Paul believed in 'original sin' in the sense that Adam's sin constituted all men sinners. When Paul says 'in Adam all die' (1 Cor. 15:22), he is expressing a common Old Testament idea of human solidarity, which is very different from our modern individualistic thinking. The entire race is one with Adam, and his sin and death is the sin and death of the entire race."
As we look through this passage we can see that Sin is a many shaded thing: Paul uses lots of different words for sin.

Sin (x2) In V12 he uses a word that means to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize)

In V14 he refers to breaking a command (transgression)
From a word meaning; violation: - breaking.
To go contrary to, a command: - (by) transgression. "A deliberate breach of law or morality." (E. Ladd)

In VV15-18, 20 we see the frequent use of a word translated, Trespass from a word meaning,
A side slip (deviation), that is, (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression: - fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass. "Indicating individual lapses." (E.L.)

In V19 we have a word translated, Disobedience, which has a reference to careless hearing. Literally, 'Hearing beside'
It stresses the idea of inattention, "heedlessness and carelessness" (Amp.). One writer sees an inevitable sequence from the literal meaning, ('Hearing beside') " 'Hearing beside', then hearing amiss, unwillingness to hear, disobedience. (NT x3, Paul x2). Remember in the book of Jeremiah, refusal to hear God is sin (cf. Jeremiah 11:10; Acts 7:57)." (Morris)

There are many different words for sin and yet as somebody pointed out.
"It is clear that, while each word carries its own shade of meaning, they are often basically interchangeable." (G. E. Ladd)
Now if I just stopped here with all the trouble Adam caused and all the terrible predicament were in because of sin, I would have left you with a very bleak and hopeless picture. As somebody put it, "Without GOD, our week would be:
Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday,
Thirstday, Fightday & Shatterday."
If I just give you the bad news today, I'm simply standing on the shore and describing the water to a drowning man.

O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
a second Adam to the fight
and to the rescue came. John Henry Newman (1801-1890)


A second Adam to the fight and to the rescue came.


It's important to remind ourselves that Paul's teaching about Adam here is set in the bigger picture of the gospel message. We're told that "Paul's word for gospel, yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on , should be translated 'good news' to bring out its full sense. ('good news' i.e., something good has happened)" (Alan F. Johnson)
"The word has connections to the Old Testament, where it means either to announce good news, especially of victory or to announce the inbreaking of God's reign, the advent of His salvation, vengeance, or vindication. There are connections also to the pagan world, where the word was used with reference to the emperor to announce such events as the birth of an heir, his coming of age and his accession."

The central theme of Paul's letter to the Romans is the meaning of the gospel. How God can take us out of our separation from Him and bring us into right standing with him or as the New Living Translation puts it in Romans 1:17, "This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight." Paul's teaching about Adam also reminds us that the good news is for all the descendants of Adam. It's for all mankind, not just the Jewish people.

In V14 Paul tells us that Adam was a pattern (a type, Adam foreshadowed, he prefigured.) of the one to come. (That's Jesus.) He draws parallels between Adam and Christ.
John Murray reminds us that,
"With Adam is bound up the entrance of sin into the world and the reign of sin, condemnation, and death. With Christ is bound up the entrance of righteousness and the reign of grace, righteousness, justification, life. These two heads of humanity and the two parallel yet opposing complexes bound up with them are the pivots on which the history of humanity turns." -end quote.
Paul proceeds to draw many parallels between Adam and Christ. Most of them are in the nature of contrast. However if you've got a mental picture of a chart with two columns one headed Adam and the other headed Christ and the parallels listed below, that picture is not overly helpful. I'll tell you why. It's because that gives the impression that you're dealing with something symmetrical; that for example you can put minus 10 on the Adam column and put a plus 10 on the Christ column.
The main point of the text is that what Christ has done for all who are in him is far greater than what Adam did for all who were in him. John Piper
Paul is letting us know that what Christ did is completely off the scale in comparison.
The picture here is of the great reversal that Jesus accomplished on our behalf. In fact there is no comparison. (NJB) Paul has to use lavish language when he describes what Jesus has done for us. He describes it in terms of overflow, much more, God's abundant provision of grace, life for all, and grace increased all the more.
Just look at V17 God's abundant provision of grace.
From words that mean;
To superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, excel: - have more, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, over and above.
Leon Morris describes it as,
"An unusual word that, emphasises the generosity of God's provision."

Just listen to how Eugene Peterson renders some of these verses, (VV15-10)
15-17Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?
18-19Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.
You may ask yourself why does Paul keep referring to the Law of Moses (The Torah)? V20 etc. V20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

The typical Jewish view in Paul's day was that God gave the law to counteract the sinful human impulse. In Judaism there was the proverb, "The more Torah the more life" (Mishnah, Aboth 2.7).
Paul points out that this is not in fact so.

V20 The law had a purpose. "It was not concerned with preventing sin (it was too late for that). Nor was it concerned with salvation from sin (it was too weak for that.) The law can only condemn (Romans 4:15). It was concerned with showing sin for what it is, … It is what sin essentially is that the law magnified" (Leon Morris)
It could also be said the Law is like a mirror. It shows us our spots; it doesn't cause them.
The x-ray machine doesn't cause the fracture it shows us where it is.

V20 But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
Grace 'superabounded'. "There was plenty of sin, but much, much more grace."
Paul hasn't minimized the seriousness of sin but he hasn't lost the opportunity to emphasize the victory of grace. Grace is so much more effective than evil. (Leon Morris)

V21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. "This is, of course, in antithesis to death but it is life that death cannot invade and life that cannot be forfeited; it is life eternal." John Murray.
Conclusion:

When Paul says "those who receive the abundance of grace" in verse 17b, he implies, I think, that there are those who do not receive it. In other words, Paul shows us here that "the many" in verse 15 who die because of Adam's sin and the many who experience God's grace are not the same group, for all humans are in Adam, but not all are in Christ. Some receive the grace and some do not. John Piper
Paul makes frequent reference to this gift from God. V15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
V16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
In the normal course of things when you're offered a gift you reach out your hands and say thank you very much. (And maybe mutter things like "You shouldn't have etc)
God has offered us the greatest gift ever when he sent his Son. God sent his Son as the solution to our deepest problem. Adam did much damage but Christ has accomplished a much greater salvation and restoration for mankind.
He didn't have to of course, but He wanted to because He loves us so much.
There is a choice however.
Today can be the first day in the new life he has for you.
(Prayer)

Foot Notes:
(SEE Melchizedek in book of Hebrews 7:9-10 for an unusual example of the corporate solidarity idea!)
V13(SEE Phm. 1:18)
vv13,14. paraphrases it like this. "Sin, you see, was in the world long before the Law, though I suppose, technically speaking, it was not 'sin' where there was no law to define it. Nevertheless death, the complement of sin, held sway over mankind from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sin was quite unlike Adam's."
V15 But. Is a strong adversative [adj.
(of words etc.) expressing opposition or antithesis.]
V16 condemnation:
kat-ak'-ree-mah
an adverse sentence (the verdict): - condemnation.
Law VV20,21.(V20) The typical Jewish view in Paul's day was that God gave the law to counteract the sinful human impulse. In Judaism there was the proverb, "The more Torah the more life" (Mishnah, Aboth 2.7). But Paul points out that the law came in to increase the trespass, probably in the sense that once people had written laws from God, they committed not just "sins" against God's law in their conscience, but, even more seriously, willful "trespasses" (Gk. parapt?ma), like Adam's first "trespass" against a clear spoken command directly from God. (Note from ESV Study Bible)

V20 The law had a purpose. "It was not concerned with preventing sin (it was too late for that). Nor was it concerned with salvation from sin (it was too weak for that.) The law can only condemn (Romans 4:15). It was concerned with showing sin for what it is, and it certainly showed magnificently that there was much sin… It is what sin essentially is that the law magnified" (Leon Morris)
The law has a diagnostic effect on us. The law has many different purposes attributed to it. One of its purposes is not to make sin abound the more but to show us the abounding sinfulness of our hearts. (See Henry-Scott Commentary)

The "last Adam" or the "second man" (as Paul calls him in 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47.