Romans 5:15-17

Death in Adam, Life in Christ Continued

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ [the new Adam] abounded for many. [See 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45-49: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall be made alive. . . Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”  Jesus is much more powerful to save us than Adam was to ruin us. Consider: are more saved than ruined?] ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. [The gospel has introduced a completely new principle—the principle of God’s grace. However fast the operation of law stimulates sin and causes it to increase, faster still does the grace of God increase and remove the accumulation of sin.] For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. [When death reigns, human beings are its helpless victim. When Christ reigns, they share his risen life and divine glory. Jesus led a perfectly righteous life and offered it up in death on his people’s behalf. His death meets our needs only because it was a perfect life. Isaiah 53:11 explains God’s intention: “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”]