‘As through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men’ (Romans 5:12-21)

 ‘As through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men’

 

 

 

[Romans 5:12-21]

 

 

 

 

                Romans 5:12-19 speaks of the same and different aspects of Adam and Jesus Christ: Verses 12-14 are the same aspects of Adam and Jesus Christ, verses 15-17 are the different aspects of Adam and Jesus Christ, and verses 18-19 are the same and the different aspects of Adam and Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:18-19: “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.  For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”  Here, the conjunction “So then” (v. 18) concludes Romans 5:12-17 comprehensively.

 

                Let us first consider the different aspects of Adam and Jesus Christ.

 

(1)   Actions are different.

 

             Look at Adam's action. Romans 5:18 speaks of “one transgression”, which refers to Adam's disobedience (v. 19).  Although there are many Adam's transgressions that is, Adam's disobediences, Adam's “one transgression” in Romans 5:18 refers to Adam's disobedience (Gen. 3:6) to God's command in Genesis 2:17.  What was God's command?  Look at Genesis 2:17 – “but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”  Adam disobeyed this command of God.  Look at Genesis 3:6 – “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”  Look at Jesus’ action.  Romans 5:18 speaks of “one act of righteousness”, which refers to the obedience of Jesus Christ (v. 19).  The righteous action of Jesus Christ, that is, the obedience of Jesus Christ, means that the life of Jesus Christ was a life of obedience, but the one act of righteousness of Jesus Christ described in Romans 5:18 was obedience to God's command even to death on the cross.  Look at Philippians 2:8 – “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  This one righteous action of Jesus Christ, the obedience of Jesus Christ, is obedience only once, even unto death on the cross.  Look at Hebrews 9:28a – “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, ….”  Because Jesus Christ's one righteous action, one obedience, that is, the death on the cross, was only once, Jesus said, "It is finished" before he died on the cross (Jn. 19:30).

 

In this way, the action of Adam and the action of Jesus Christ are different (opposite thing).

               

(2)   The consequences of actions are different.

 

Let us first consider the consequences of Adam's one transgression (one disobedience).  Romans 5:18 says that many have come to condemnation.  Many were sinners (v. 19).  “Many” here is “all” in the original Greek.  In other words, “many” refers to “everyone,” that is, all mankind [For reference, in verse 15, “For if by the transgression of the one the many died”, “many” refers to all people, that is, all mankind].  It is because Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and death spread to all men, because all men sinned.”  In other words, the result of Adam's one transgression (one disobedience) was that because all sinned, death spread to all (v. 12), and many came to condemnation (v. 18), and many were sinners (v. 19) means 'all have come to condemnation' and 'all have become sinners'.

 

 

What, then, is the result of one act of righteousness (one obedience) of Jesus Christ?  Many have been justified to life (v. 18) that is many were made righteous (v. 19).  Here again, “many” refers to “all.”  However, “all” here does not refer to all mankind.  The term “all” here refers only to those who have been saved and have eternal life through justification by believing in Jesus.  In other words, it refers to ‘all who believes in Jesus’.  How can we know this?  In verses 18 and 19, even though “many” translated into Korean is “all” in the original language, all mankind did not come to (eternal) life by being justified and became righteous as a result of Jesus Christ’s one act of righteousness (one obedience).  In other words, not all people of all mankind were justified by believing in Jesus through His one righteous act of obedience to the point of dying on the cross, but only those who believed in Jesus Christ were justified and made righteous.  It does not refer to 'all' (including believers and non-believers), but only all believers in Jesus.

 

                Are you one of all who belong to Adam or are you one of all who belong to Jesus Christ?  If you are an unbeliever of Adam, you will be sinning by disobeying God's command (vv. 18, 19).  As a result, you will be condemned (declared a sinner) (v. 18) and death reigning (death will reign over you) (v. 17).  We should not live a life of disobedience like Adam.  We must not obey the devil and live sinning against God.  If we are a true believer who belongs to Jesus Christ, we will live like Jesus, obeying God's commands and doing righteousness like a righteous person (vv. 18, 19).  As a result, we will be justified (v. 18) and will reign in life (v. 17).  We must live a life of obedience like Jesus.  We must obey the Lord and lead a righteous life.

 

                Look at Romans 5:18-19: “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.  For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”  As Adam did to “many” (all), so Jesus Christ did to “many” (all believers whom God loved and chosen before the foundation of the world).  The meaning of this word is imputation.  The Bible speaks of three imputations: (1) Adam's transgression was imputed to all mankind.  So we were born into this world as sinners.  And we sin because we are sinners.  In the case of a newborn baby, there is no sin he committed, but because Adam's sin has been imputed, the child is also a sinner.  (2) The sinners’ sins were imputed to Jesus.  Look at Isaiah 53:6 – “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”  Also, look at Romans 8:3 – “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.”  Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  (3) The righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed to us.  Look at Romans 5:19 – “For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”  The righteousness of God (2 Cor.5:21) was imputed to us because the one man Jesus Christ took on all our sins (our sins were imputed to Him) and obeyed God the Father until he died on the cross so that we became righteous (Rom.5:19).  Look at 1 Peter 2:24 – “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

 

                The difference between Adam and Jesus Christ is their action and their consequence.  The difference in action is that Adam disobeyed God, whereas Jesus Christ obeyed Heavenly Father.  The result of action is that death came to all because of Adam's one transgression, but through one act of righteousness of Jesus Christ, many gained eternal life.  The similar thing between Adam and Jesus Christ is representation and imputation.  Just as Adam was the representative of all mankind, so Jesus Christ is the representative of those who have received grace.  Just as Adam's sin was imputed to everyone (the result was death), so the righteousness of Jesus Christ was imputed to us (the result was eternal life).  May we all open our hearts wide and believe in Jesus Christ to be justified and receive everlasting life.