Romans 5:15-17 - Exposition

But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died (not, be dead, as in the Authorized Version. Observe also the articles before "one" and "many"), much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded unto the many. And not as through one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was of one ( ἐξ ἑνὸς ) unto condemnation, but the free gift is of ( ἐκ ) many offences unto justification . For if by the offence of the one death reigned through the one, much more they which receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ . The purport of these verses is (while keeping up the view of condemnation and justification being both derived to all from one) to show how the effects of the latter for good far transcend those of the former for evil. It is not easy, however, to explain the apostle's exact intention in the contrasts which he draws. He seems to have written, after his manner, full of ideas which he did not linger to arrange in clear form. In Romans 5:15 the contrast between "trespass" ( παράπτωμα ) and "free gift" ( χάρισμα ) seems to be the leading idea. The suggesting thought seems to be—If (as has been shown) one man's trespass had such far-reaching effects, much more must the grace of God (displayed also in One) have no less far-reaching effects. God's grace must be more powerful than man's trespass. And it is here asserted that it was so. The much more ( πολλῷ μᾶλλον ) is best taken (as it must be in Romans 5:17 ) in a logical, not a quantitative sense; i.e. as enforcing the conclusion, not as intensifying the verb "abounded." So far the effects are not distinctly contrasted in respect to their extent; all that is implied in this verse is that both reach to the many ( οἱ πολλοὶ ), i.e. the whole human race collectively; unless, indeed, the verb ἐπερίσσευσε implies excess of effect. It is to be observed that the phrase οἱ πολλοὶ does not here mean, as is usual in classical Greek, the greater part, but the multitude , mankind being regarded collectively. It depends, however, on the writer's mental horizon whether the phrase, taken by itself, is to be understood as comprehending all . The consideration is of importance in the case before us. On the one hand, it may be contended that, in the first clause of the verse, "the many" must mean all, for that undoubtedly all died (cf. Romans 5:12 , εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν ) , and that consequently all must be intended also in the second clause. So also in Romans 5:19 , where it is said that δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοὶ . And it may be said, further, that the drift of the whole argument requires the view of the effects of the re- demption being at least coextensive with the effects of the fall. But, on the other hand, it is argued that St. Paul would not have used the phrase οἱ πολλοὶ in Romans 5:15 and Romans 5:19 instead of πάντες as in Romans 5:12 and Romans 5:18 , unless he had intended some difference of meaning, and that he varied his expression in order to avoid the necessary inference that all would be saved in fact. Certainly he teaches that the redemption is available and intended for all, as in Romans 5:18 where it is said to be εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους , εἰς δικαίωσιν ; and this, it may be said, is enough to satisfy the view of its effects (i .e. in purpose and potentially) being coextensive with the effects of the fall But it does not seem to follow that man's resistance to grace might not come in as a bar to the entire fulfilment of the Divine purpose; and hence these passages cannot be pressed as conclusive for the doctrine of universal final salvation. But in Romans 5:16 , Romans 5:17 (to be taken together, Romans 5:16 being introduced by καὶ , so as to suggest a new idea, and Romans 5:17 being connected with it by γὰρ ) the extent to which grace thus abounded, so as to transcend the effects of the original transgression, is distinctly set forth. The thought of these verses may, perhaps, be expressed otherwise, thus: The one trespass of the one original transgressor did indeed render all mankind liable to condemnation; but the free gift in Christ annulled the effect, not only of that one trespass, but also of all subsequent trespasses of mankind; an immense debt, accumulating through the ages of human history, in addition to the original debt, was by that one free grant obliterated. And further, while the original trespass introduced a temporary reign of death, the free gift of righteousness introduced life, in which the partakers of the gift themselves—triumphant over Death, who reigned before—shall reign; and, as in Romans 5:15 the idea was that God's grace must be more powerful than man's sin, so here it is implied that life in Christ must be more powerful than death in Adam. Life means here (as elsewhere when the life in Christ is spoken of) more than the present life in the flesh—more than the life breathed into. man when he first "became ( ἐγένετο εἰς ) a living soul" ( 1 Corinthians 15:45 ). It means the higher life imparted by "the last Adam," who "became a quickening Spirit" ( 1 Corinthians 15:45 ); eternal life with God, in the life of Christ risen, swallowing up mortality ( 2 Corinthians 5:4 ; cf. also John 11:25 ). Thus the "free gift" not only reverses the far-reaching effects of the original transgression, but even transcends what is intimated in Genesis as given to man in Paradise before his fall.

The next two verses (18, 19), introduced by ἄρα οὗν , are a summing up of what has been already said or implied.