Series on Romans
VII The Gospel and Imputation
Text: 5:12-21
Introduction
In I Corinthians 15 Paul writes about the bodily resurrection of believers at the end of the age. Jesus Christ is the first-fruits, that is, He is the pattern for all those who belong to him. As he rose so shall we who believe in Him. In this context Paul makes a brief and very important statement in verse 22, For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. These words sum up God’s whole revelation in Scripture, from Paradise lost to Paradise regained and from death to life. In that same chapter I Corinthians 15:45-49 we read, So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. In this passage Jesus is compared to Adam and is called both the second Adam and the last Adam. He is so-called because the human race is born of the first Adam, but some have been reborn with the last Adam as their Head. When the first Adam is your head or father, your inheritance is death. When the last Adam is your head or father your inheritance is life eternal. Your connection to the first Adam is biological. Your connection to the last Adam is spiritual through faith. Paul extensively expounds this contrast in Romans 5. Here he shows how these two figures, the first and last man reveal the source of death, the source of life, and the source of righteousness and justification.
I The Source of Death
The explanation of the phenomenon of death is found in verses 12-14, 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—for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 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. Death is the penalty for sin. it entered the world through Adam’s disobedience to God’s specific command that he should not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In this sin Adam’s disposition was changed and he was corrupted and became a fallen creature. Consequently Adam and all his posterity became sinners. Although all of us actually sin, this is not the point of Paul’s argument for he goes on to say that the penalty of death came upon those who had not sinned in the same fashion as Adam. In other words, all died, but all did not break a specific verbal command from God. The written law had not even been given for millennia after Adam’s sin. Thus the only ground of death would have to be that the guilt and penalty of Adam’s sin came upon all. This teaching may come as a surprise to some modern Christians, but the truth is patent in Scripture and, believe it or not, it used to be taught to children in school who memorized the words of the New England Primer, “In Adam’s fall sinned we all.” Paul tells us that 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. This might include all of those who were outside the pale of special revelation, but it most certainly includes little infants who could not consciously disobey, yet died. Thus we identify the source of death for all as Adam’s disobedience which we will see is imputed to his progeny.
II The Source of Life
Verses 15-17 are a continuation of the argument begun in verse 12 since verses 13 and 14 are actually a parenthesis. Therefore we might read these verses prefaced by verse 12 as follows: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death came to all men, because all sinned – 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! 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. 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. Here the Apostle begins talking about the “gift” which is equivalent to grace. The sin is our action, but the gift is God’s action. What is made abundantly clear in this section of our text is that just as sin and death are traceable to one man, so righteousness and life have only one source. That source is Jesus Christ the second or last Adam. There can be no doubt that the sinful condition of mankind and the death of each man is cause by one and only one sin. That is the first sin of Adam. Likewise the salvation of the many is brought about by the obedience of one and only one life, that of Jesus Christ. Some of you may say – or feel like saying – no way! We can’t sin in Adam. We can’t be identified with him in his guilt and condemnation. Somebody else can’t obey for me to make me right with God. We can’t have the righteousness of another imputed to us. But this is the gospel. This is exactly what Scripture teaches, and what Paul says here, The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. We note that our way of thinking may be troubled by these truths because we are not thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Adam was made and placed in the Garden of Eden on probation. The point of this probation was for the man to be Lord over a realm that was already under the control of Satan. When the man subjected himself to Satan and sinned, he disqualified himself from ever winning the battle over Satan, sin, and darkness. He was ruined. However, God brought an other man, another Adam, the last Adam to do what the first Adam had failed to do, and thus the apostle John says in I John 3:8, The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of Satan. The word translated destroy means loose, dissolve, sever, break, and demolish. Jesus did all of these by His righteous life and atoning death.
III The Source of Righteousness
Now in verses 18-21 Paul gives the conclusion of the matter summarizing in brief sentences the difference between the way of condemnation and the way of salvation. He writes, 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. 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.The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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. Before I summarize this conclusion, I want to briefly digress. You notice that two different words are used to describe both those in Adam and those in Christ. The words are “all” and “many.” We must look to the book of Isaiah to understand this. In Isaiah 53 we have a description of the sufferings of the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord. His righteousness, His innocence and the injustice of his suffering is made clear in verses 8 and 9, For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. But the passage also identifies the “people” with the word “many,” in verses 11 and 12, By his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The word “many” becomes a watchword, a byword, a catchphrase, a maxim, a shibboleth for the people of God, and for the elect, in the thinking of Israel. Thus when Paul uses that word here he is defining the recipients of the mercies of God and it is not everybody. When he uses the word all in the second part of verse 18 he is talking about the free offer of the gospel to whosoever will, 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. However he is limiting the actual application of redemption to the many in verse 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. In conclusion, the principles set forth here may be summarized as follows: 1) The obedience of Christ is parallel, but vastly superior, to the disobedience of Adam. 2) The righteousness imputed to those who are in Christ is parallel, but vastly superior, to the sin imputed to those who are in Adam because of his disobedience. 3) The life that comes to us who are in Christ through that imputed righteousness is parallel, but vastly superior, to the death that comes to those who are in Adam through that imputed sin. John Piper of Minneapolis writes, “Someone might say, ‘But what if you come to a people group that has no categories or thought forms for understanding this sort of thing – a corporate connection between humanity and its ancestors, or the possibility of our sinning in the sin of another, or our being counted righteous with the righteousness of another? You know what? We are that people group. We don’t have any categories for that in modern America. Many third world peoples would have far less difficulty with this text than we do.’”
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