Man

Article 8: Man

8-1 God, by a special, instantaneous act, created man in His image1 — holy, righteous, and possessing true knowledge2 — by forming him out of the dust of the earth and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus man became a living soul. 8-2 Our first parents did not remain in the glorious and happy state of their original creation, but, through the subtlety and deception of the devil,3 they disobeyed and transgressed the command of God the creator, incurring on themselves and their posterity the sentence of spiritual and physical death. The guilt and consequences of Adam’s sin are imputed to the whole human race, so that all men are guilty,4 inherently corrupt, totally depraved,5 and subjects of the wrath of God.6

1 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gen.1:27). 2 And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph.4:24). And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator (Col.3:10). (See also Psa.8:4-6). 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Gen.3:1-6). 4 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned–for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men (Rom.5:12-18). 5 There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Rom.3:11-18). 6 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Eph.2:3). (See also Rom.1:18)

Our Union With Adam - Rom. 5:12.

Paul has been emphasizing that justification is a sure and certain work (vs 1-11).

Paul begins to unfold an argument that demonstrates believers are secure because they are in union with Christ.

Paul helps us understand what it means that people are in Christ by first showing us how we are in Adam.

Paul then goes on to show how these two unions are similar but also very different.

The reason for sin and death

Paul tells us that the reason people sin and people die is because of what Adam did.

Adam disobeyed God. His sin was the first sin, and as a result, through one man sin entered the world and death through sin.

Death was the penalty God had assigned for disobedience.

The tragedy

so death spread to all men because all sinned.

This introduces the concept of federal headship, that is to say the idea of Adam being a representative for all mankind.

What Paul is saying here is that Adam’s sin caused all his descendents to be born fallen, that is, in rebellion against God.

And his act of rebellion also brought guilt on all humanity.

Earlier in this epistle, Paul discussed how God imputes the righteousness of Christ to all believers, but what is made clear here is that all people have experienced another imputation which is the imputation of Adam’s sin.

And it is this imputation that made all people subject to the penalty of sin which is death.

So all people sin and all people die because of Adam’s sin, so we may think of humanity as being in Adam or in union with Adam.

Now, before Paul completes this thought we have been discussing in v. 12, he breaks off to expand on the imputation of sin in verses 13-14. Then he examines the parallels between Adam and Christ in verses 15-17.

Our First Federal Head - Rom. 5:13-14.

Federalism

has to do with representation

one person acting on behalf of another or others

God has appointed 2 representatives in history: Adam and Christ

In verse 12, Paul makes the claim that all people sin and suffer the consequence of sin, which is death, because all people are in Adam.

The case for the federal headship of Adam

There was death before the giving of thee law of God. This means that sin (rebellion against God) was in the world before the law.

It should be noted that earlier in this letter, Paul argued that the law was present in that it was written on all men’s hearts (Rom 2:15).

The fact that rebellion against God existed before the law was given makes clear that those who lived before the law was made manifest could not sin according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam (v. 14). In their sin, they did not violate an expressly revealed law of God.

Adam violated the one law he was given, but those who followed him were not given a specific law until God gave His commandments at Sinai. Yet, death was as pervasive then as it was after Sinai.

The reason death was as pervasive before the law was given as it was after the law was given is because Adam was the God-appointed representative for all humanity and therefore counted his sin as their sin and imposed on them the guilt and penalty he (Adam) incurred. This is the position of our article which is reflected in footnote #4.

At the end of verse 14, Pauls says that Adam was a type of the one who was to come. Of course, this one who was to come is Jesus. In some way, Adam’s life and work were similar to Jesus’ work of representation of behalf of His people (significant differences of course). The work of both had cataclysmic effects for humanity. The effects, however, are radically different.

Union With Christ - Rom. 5:15-17.

The flow of the argument

Paul began a comparison of the representative works of Adam and Jesus in v. 12.

The he explained how all sinned by being in union with Adam.

Now he will take the time to show that while there are similarities between Jesus and Adam, the work of Jesus is greater.

A contrast in unions

Verse 15 makes clear that life comes from Christ. This is a contrast with what came from Adam, namely, death.

The abounding life that comes from Christ is the result of the supernatural work of divine grace. This is the giving of the gift of justification.

So God’s intervention is in view here.

Verse 16 notes the difference in magnitude. Adam’s sin brought death upon all humanity. No doubt, this is huge. Christ brought the free gift, that is, justification. And this was provided after many trespasses. In other words, Christ through His death and resurrection, secured justification for all His people across all time.

Verse 17 speaks of the contrast in outcomes. Union with Adam brings a reign of death and total condemnation. Union with Christ brings abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness. This righteousness is imputed to believers at the time of their justification.

James Montgomery Boice: The work of Christ in dying for us did not merely restore us to the position in which Adam stood before the fall, but rather carries is beyond that.

Obedience - Rom. 5:18-19.

No comparison

Paul began his discourse by making clear that Adam’s disobedience brought sin and death into the world, and because he was humanity’s representative, all people incurred his guilt in v. 12. He now picks up that same thought in v. 18.

Jesus’s righteous act brought justification. Notice the contrast: What Adam did was an offense and contrary to God’s will. What Jesus did was a righteous act and was in accord with God’s will.

Adam brought condemnation upon all people. There was a legal declaration of guilt upon the entire human race (because all sinned end of v. 12). Jesus, through His obedience, brought justification for His people, which is also a legal declaration of being made righteous.

An important difference here is that condemnation recognizes the existence of sin within a person while justification recognizes a credited (not inherent) righteousness.

The same point is repeated in v. 19. Adam’s sin made all people sinners while Jesus obedience makes many righteous via imputation.

Jesus’ Obedience: active - He obeyed the law of God while He lived in earth. Passive - He submitted to the cross and took on the punishment for the sins of His people.

Bottom line: Adam’s disobedience brought a penalty, Jesus’ obedience brought reward for His people.