Romans 5 – question 3
« Yahweh God commanded the man, saying : You may freely eat of every tree of the garden ; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. » (Genesis 2:16-17).
The Principle of Sin
12 Therefore as Sin entered into the world through one man,
and death through sin ;
so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
Paul says « The sin entered into the world through one man », Adam. Sin wasn’t invented or originated by that one man. There was sin prior to Adam. The devil was the first and original sinner (John 8:44). But sin entered the world, the system of creation, as we know it, through one man. The sin, not sins, at singular. This is not all the acts of sin but the principle of sin. For Adam was mankind. So the sin principle came to dwell in him, and became a human characteristics, which is passed on to all of his procreation. But « the wages of sin is death » (Genesis 2:17 ; Romans 6:23) and « so death passed to all men because all sinned ». Because Adam sinned, death came, and so death reigned over the world. And because we have the corrupt principle of evil within us, we do evil deeds. So because I was born a sinner, the death principle operates in me. I will die physically. I am cut off from God, and someday I may die eternally.
Condemnation for All
15 But the free gift isn’t like the trespass.
For if by the trespass of the one the many died,
much more did the Grace of God, and the gift by the Grace of the one man,
Jesus Christ,
abound to the many.
…
18 So then as through one trespass,
all men were condemned ;
even so through one act of righteousness,
all men were justified to life.
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners,
even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous
Exegetes and other scholars are rather divided in their analysis of this passage regarding the variation between many and all. Most avoid reflection and say that it is a simple literary figure of speech. However, this position is not acceptable, given the fact that we are reading the word of God. This word is not the work of simple writers but of spokesmen of God, chosen and commissioned to transmit God’s revelation to humanity. This mission was carried out through prophets and apostles inspired by the Holy Spirit of God (1 Peter 1:10-12). Therefore, we must consider that this variation between many and all makes sense. With a little hindsight, this explanation is nevertheless simple.
We have just seen that through sin, death has dominated the world. This death is both physical and spiritual. It was first spiritual for Adam and Eve through separation from God : wanting to be like God by knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5), they ate the forbidden fruit and « Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. » (Genesis 3:7). Physical death was therefore programmed : « For you are dust, and you shall return to dust. » (Genesis 3:19). Physical death is the earthly consequence of the condemnation that is on all the descendants of Adam and Eve, as Paul reminds us in verse 18 : « So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned. »
Salvation for many
Fortunately, God, in his great mercy and love for his creation (John 3:16), has designed a plan to redeem sinful man. This is the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is what Paul recalls in the same verse 18 : « even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. » All men now have access to life by this act of righteousness of Christ, His death on the cross and His resurrection. In fact, we see in verse 18 two acts of justice of God, the ultimate judge : the condemnation to sin and the opening to Salvation for all. This is a general potentiality.
At the individual level, the overall potentiality of the condemnation can change depending on the grace of God and the obedience of the believer as described in the verses surrounding verse 18. In these verses, Paul speaks of long-term spiritual death, that is, the final judgment that leads to eternal life with God or without Him in hell. In verse 15, it is said that many have died in their trespass and that many others have received grace. There will be a separation of humanity between the lost and the saved (Matthew 13:47-50). The second part of the explanation is found in verse 19 where it is said « through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners » and « through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous ». When we put the three verses together, we see that the condemnation that falls on all because of Adam’s sin can be transformed into definitive spiritual death for many or into redemptive grace for many through the implementation of this plan of Salvation described in the epistle to the Romans. This is the first level of understanding of the plan of Salvation. There is nevertheless a transitional period for the converted Christian described in Ephesians (notably in chapter 2:4-7) : a spiritual restoration even if physical death still persists before the return of the Lord. The explanation is given in chapter 7 of Romans.
In summary
By the disobedience of one, Adam, humanity is condemned to physical death : dust you are and to dust you shall return. And the separation from God, that is to say the spiritual death, was activated during earthly time. But God in his great mercy and in his love for his creation has designed a plan of Salvation through Jesus Christ for Man. The application of this plan can change the individual destiny (many) from the global condemnation (all).