Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

5:12 Sin came into the world through one man, namely, Adam (v. 14; cf. Gen. 3:17-19; 1 Cor. 15:21-22; also note on Gen. 5:3-5). And death through sin is contrary to secular thought that regards death as a "natural" part of human life. In the biblical sense, death is never natural but is "the last enemy" (1 Cor. 15:26; cf. 15:54) that will be conquered finally and forever at the return of Christ (Rev. 21:4). Death in these verses most likely denotes both physical death and spiritual death together (Paul often connects the two). Most evangelical interpreters think that and so means "and in this way," and the phrase all sinned means that all sinned in Adam's sin because he represented all who would descend from him (just as Christ's obedience would count for all his followers, whom he represented, Rom. 5:15-19). Another interpretation is that all sinned personally because they were born into the world spiritually dead. The word translated men is the Greek word anthrōpos, which in the plural can mean either "people" of both sexes or "men," depending on the context. It is translated "men" here (and in v. 18) to show the connection with "man" (anthrōpos, singular), referring to Christ.

5:13 Sin was in the world before the Mosaic law was instituted, but it was not technically reckoned as sin before the time of the law. Paul does not mean that people were guiltless without the law, for he has already said in 2:12 that those without the written law are still judged by God (e.g., those who perished in the flood [Genesis 6-9] and those who were judged at the tower of Babel [Gen. 11:1-9]). Since people still died, this shows that they were guilty--as a consequence of Adam's sin but possibly also as a consequence of having transgressed the universal moral law in their consciences before the written Mosaic law was given.

5:14 Those who did not live under the law were still judged for their sin, since death held sway over them. Still, their sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, since Adam violated a commandment specifically revealed to him by God. Adam is a type (model, pattern; Gk. typos) of Christ, for both Adam and Christ are covenantal heads of the human race, so that all people are either "in Adam" or "in Christ" (cf. 1 Cor. 15:22). All are in Adam by physical birth, while only those with the new birth are in Christ.

5:15 Paul contrasts the consequences of the work of Adam and of Christ five times in the next five verses, showing their decisive roles as covenantal heads of the people they represent. Paul clearly teaches "original sin," the fact that all people inherit a sinful nature because of Adam's sin. Paul probably is also teaching that all people are in fact guilty before God because of Adam's sin. Many (i.e., all human beings excluding Christ) died through Adam's one sin. Death begins with spiritual separation from God and culminates in physical death. By contrast Paul emphasizes the lavishness of Christ's grace bestowed on the many that belong to him.

5:16 Again the astonishing depth of God's grace in Christ is featured. The one trespass of Adam resulted in the condemnation of all, but Christ overcame the flood of sin that overwhelmed the world, so that all who belong to him enjoy justification.

5:17 Death ruled the human race by virtue of the one sin of Adam, whereas Christians now stand as rulers because of the work of Christ.

5:18 The one trespass of Adam, as the covenantal head of the human race, brought condemnation and guilt to all people. In a similar way, Christ's one act of righteousness (either his death as such or his whole life of perfect obedience, including his death) grants righteousness and life to all who belong to him. for all men. Some interpreters have advocated universalism (the view that all will be saved) based on these verses. But Paul makes it plain in this context that only those who "receive" (v. 17) God's gift belong to Christ (see also 1:16-5:11, which indicates that only those who have faith will be justified). The wording "as . . . so" shows that Paul's focus is not on the number in each group but on the method of either sin or righteousness being passed from the representative leader to the whole group: the first "all men" refers to all who are in Adam (every human being), while the second "all men" refers to all believers, to all who are "in Christ." On the translation "men," see note on 5:12.

5:19 Because of Adam's disobedience, all people were made (Gk. kathistēmi, "cause[d] to be") sinners. Thus, when Adam as mankind's representative sinned, God regarded the whole human race as guilty sinners, thereby imputing Adam's guilt to everyone. In other words, God regarded Adam's guilt as belonging to the whole human race, while also declaring that Adam's guilt does in fact belong to all. All are therefore sinners, and are born with a sinful nature that is set in the mold of Adam's transgression.

5:20 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. paraptōma), like Adam's first "trespass" against a clear spoken command directly from God (cf. note on Rom. 4:15). Hence, the surpassing excellence of Christ's salvation is shown in that grace abounded even more than these increasing sins.