Christ’s Triumph Over Adam’s Sin - Part 1

PRAY & INTRO: The all-encompassing pervasiveness of sin explains a lot. The fall and its consequence explains a lot about the world in which we live and the way we experience this life. And this sin is not simply something outside of us, but an enemy at work within us.

In the world at large, and sometimes in our own hearts, sin may seem to be winning the day. The reality of sin’s pervasiveness is sobering and can be disheartening. But all is not hopeless. Even while issuing curses after Adam’s fall, God hinted at a plan for rescue through the woman’s offspring (what we call the proto-evangelium of Gen 3:15). And God continually expanded upon the promise of his salvation through successive covenants. This saving promise has been applied throughout generations of humanity, for any person who puts their faith in God’s power to do as he has said, and we can do the same in the present.

By that exercise of faith in God, He places us in right relationship with him, unshackling us from the consequences of Adam’s sin upon us. In fact, the Apostles Paul and Peter argue that God’s people of faith have a sure hope because God still rules over all and has now achieved his plan of redemption for the entire world through Jesus the Messiah, who is Lord of all.

So it is this theological truth of God reversing the consequences of Adam’s sin upon us, for those who are in Christ, which Paul expounds in Rom 5:12-21, and which we have come to in our sequential exposition of Romans. Paul carefully explains that the Messiah’s work has overcome and reversed the effects of Adam’s sin. And in context we should understand that Christ’s triumphant reversal applies to anyone who by faith receives Christ as Lord, making Jesus our representative head in place of our first ancestor, Adam.

Listen with attentive care to Paul’s explanation of this theological reality.

Romans 5:12–21 ESV

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 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 abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s 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. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What we have in these verses is Paul making a theological point through rhetorical comparison and contrast, and it is a point of theological truth with universal implications and of eternal consequence.

In context, I would describe it as…

A Theological Comparison & Contrast: Christian Hope in the Triumph of Christ’s Obedience Over the Effects of Adam’s Disobedience (Romans 5:12-21)

We say in Bible study that context is king, and that is a significant principle to apply in this portion of our feasting on God’s truth for the next few weeks. - Here Paul makes a theological point, but still on the subject of the assurance of our hope in Christ, flowing out of vv. 1-11, as the phrase “through this” indicates at the beginning of v. 12, meaning “therefore” or “because of this.” The section also proves significant to Paul’s subsequent developments in chapters 6,7, & 8. So this point of theology is still tied to the certainty that we can have if we have placed our faith in Christ’s work to be right with God, and it sets up further discussion on how this new life in Christ plays out in our present lives to confirm our hope.

The next thing I will say is perhaps even more crucial to our understanding of this text: The parts of vv. 12-21 are so tightly interwoven that we must be sure we keep our eyes on the bigger tapestry, which can only be seen from understanding the whole. So as we explore the jewels in this section, we must take care that we haven’t removed them from their setting in the crown itself, which is the overall theological comparison between the effects of Adam’s disobedience on us with God’s grace through Christ’s work triumphing abundantly over the consequences of Adam’s sin. This reversal applies to all who by faith receive God’s grace in Christ Jesus, and the new verdict is righteous (justified) and the new sentence is the reward of eternal life.

I particularly like the commentary on these verses from the editors of the…

NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible: Follow God’s Redemptive Plan as it Unfolds throughout Scripture Chapter 5

“Each is a key figure in redemptive history, whose acts have ultimate significance for all whom they represent. Adam’s sin, which brought death and condemnation to all humans, is more than made up for by Christ’s obedience, which brings righteousness and life to all who receive God’s gracious gift.”

Keeping our eyes on this bigger picture is especially important to the opening verses, because Paul begins a comparison and contrast which he immediately interrupts with additional explanation before continuing the comparison. Then progressively the point becomes clear: Paul aims to present the overall contrast between the effect of Adam’s sin, for all humanity to come under the power of sin and death, with the reversal of those consequences for those who are in Christ, who now have the Lord Jesus as our representative head. Later in chapter 8 Paul will also make the point the even creation will one day experience a restoration because of Christ’s triumph over sin and death (Rom 8:18-25).

But in order to lay out this dramatic contrast, Paul takes us on a journey that begins with the first man’s disobedience, which placed all subsequent descendants in a condition of sin and death which his transgression set in motion.

Understanding the consequences of our first ancestor’s disobedience explains why humans have all lived with sin and death in our spiritual DNA.

The first part of v. 12 is relatively straightforward for our understanding. “just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin…” In Genesis 3, when Adam disobeyed God’s direct command concerning the one tree from which he and Eve should not eat, that was the first incursion of sin into the good world God had made, and it resulted in the consequence of which God had warned: “you shall surely die.” The fact that Adam and Eve did not immediately die physically helps us to realize that it is spiritual death—separation from the life-giving presence of God—that leads to physical death. Until Adam sinned, God was sustaining their lives. But when the spiritual estrangement occurred, the process of decay began that would lead to their physical deaths.

So when Paul says that death entered the world through sin, and that “death spread to all men,” and “death reigned” (2x), it is highly improbable that he has only physical death in mind. It is almost certain that he has in mind first a spiritual death which is a loss of right standing with God, a separation from the presence of God’s holiness, as a consequence of sin. “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Again, Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden (never to return) and the curses on humanity and creation were emblematic of this spiritual death—this separation from right standing in fellowship with God—that resulted from Adam’s sin. This spiritual death and entrance of sin would also mean that they were now tainted with sin and would have a propensity to sin still more. Adam had done something from which he could not return, and lost something that those after him could not restore.

The profound proof of humanity’s propensity to sin came all too quickly. Adam’s son, Cain, evidently did something displeasing to God in his offering to God (probably an offering to honor God with gratitude for his ongoing provision). But when Cain’s offering displeased God, Cain didn’t repent but was angry and pouting instead, because God had accepted Abel’s offering as right. So God warned him that sin was “crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Again, instead of repenting and seeking to please God, Cain let his jealousy of Abel grow, and he became the first murderer.

Paul continues from this first incursion of sin and death into the world, with “and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” It seems clear that two things are happening here: sin entered the world and became the new normal for humanity, and that the now sinning ones are responsible for their wage for sin, which is death. It would seem clear (especially with the force of the rest of the passage) that Paul is arguing for the concept of humanity inheriting the consequences of Adam’s first sin—we are sinners by nature, which separates us from God. This is the doctrine of original sin. Original sin in Christian theology is less about the first sin and more about the result of Adam’s sin as humanity’s representative. Original sin is the doctrine that, as a result of Adam’s fall, all mankind are sinners by nature, having a propensity to sin that underlies every actual sin. [repeat slowly]

I do think this text teaches original sin, but I also think it is clearly indicating human responsibility for the death sentence of our own sin, which is the most consistent with the grammar here and rightly translated, “because all sinned.”

This also fits with OT examples that follow shortly on the heels of these earliest days. The great flood was a consequence of the sins of the specific generation of Noah’s day, and not as a punishment for Adam’s sin or for being his progeny. The same was true of the Lord’s judgment on the people in the scenario of the tower of Babel.

Through Adam sin entered the world and became a part of humanity’s spiritual DNA, as did spiritual and physical death. But the wage that we now bear is for our own sin.

And that makes sense of Paul’s explanation in vv. 13-14 before continuing to build his contrast. Paul inserts a rhetorical parenthesis to head off an objection.

Heading off an objection: Even though sin is not technically charged as transgression where there is no specific law (such as the intervening time from Adam to Moses), the responsibility for sin remains, as is evidenced by the ongoing reign of death.

Paul had already mentioned in 4:15 that transgression is technically limited to there being a law to specify the sin, but in Romans 2:12 he had been clear: “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.”

Just as Paul expressed at length in ch. 1, sin is a failure to give God glory and thank him in your life. Sin is to ignore God and do your own thing. The Greek and Hebrew words “Missing the mark” or “missing the right point” are nearly always expressed in the Bible in terms of how this relates to God, indicating that sin means to miss the right point with God. Sin is ungrateful rebellion; sin is ignoring God and doing your own thing.

Now transgression is an even more pointed form of sin, to be sure. Where God has given an explicit command, and you disobey that command, that is transgression. So transgression becomes all the more egregious form of sin and the obvious way to measure sin against someone’s account because the rule is clearly stated.

-Illust: You might think of it this way. One’s children should rightly respect and appreciate their parents. To not do so is to significantly miss the mark, and it is wrong. But it is the type of wrongdoing that is significantly related to mind and heart and attitude, that shapes behavior and speech and is hard to nail down in specifics. However, when a rule has been delineated that says that you must obey your parent by doing what they ask when they ask, their is a clearer way to measure whether or not parental authority is being respected.

So it is with God. To not respect and appreciate the God who created us is to egregiously miss the mark. It is disastrously wrong. But Adam had a clear rule that would display whether or not he would trust God, appreciate everything from his hand, and respect his sovereign authority as Creator. So too God gave Israel more specific instruction through Moses, to be more specifically clear what it would mean to honor God and thank him with word and deed. “Do not have any other gods before me.” In other words, the peoples around you worship false gods. It must be clear that you only worship me, the One True God who chose you and rescued you from Egypt.

And even more clearly and specifically, do not make earthly images to worship. Because only I, God, am worthy of worship, I will punish wrongdoers with consequences for generations to come.

Another way for you to show me gratitude and respect is to not “take my name in vain.” In other words, don’t be swearing allegiance to me for show while your heart is deceitful. Don’t throw my name around without revering that name in a way that honors me.

And so that you will slow down and not make your lives too busy to remember who created all this and that your life is supposed to be about honoring me, I want you to take a Sabbath day every week and keep is set apart for remembering what I have done.

You see where I’m going with these examples from the first table of God’s law through Moses, which we call the ten commandments? God set out some explicit commands, making it more clear how they could give him glory and gratitude. Here’s the thing, Paul teaches, it also makes man’s sin really pronounced and measurable when he transgresses such laws.

If we were to continue this line of thinking further, we should see the similarity in God’s expectation for how we should treat our fellow human beings, whom he created in his image.

But for now, our goal is to understand with Paul that sin is still sin without an explicit command. Sin is still to miss the right point that God deserves that we should thank him and praise him, even though such sin becomes more pronounced when there is a command that we transgress.

Paul’s aim seems to be reinforcing our own accountability for sin, even though original sin has come upon us through Adam, and even before the law was given. Death (separation from God leading to physical death) reigned over their lives because of Adam but as a consequence of their own sinful lifestyle.

Paul concludes with this being the case even though they didn’t have an explicit command to transgress like Adam.

In the same breath Paul transitions back to his main argument, by stating that…

Returning to the primary topic: Adam was a pattern of the coming One, Jesus—both representative figureheads, but with sharp contrast in their work and result.

A type (could also be translated as an impression, stamp, form, outline, pattern, or model)… a type is an element found in the OT that prefigures one found in the NT. The initial one is called the “type” and the fulfillment is designated the “antetype.” I like best Paul’s terminology in Col. 2:17, where the former is a shadow, and the latter is the substance, or reality. Types and antetypes (the greater fulfillment), can be people, things, or events. These are most frequently associated with Christ and the salvation to be found in him.

In this case specifically, we see from the overall argument that Adam is a pre-figuring pattern of Christ set in contrast, with both being figureheads of all whom they represent.

Again, each is a representative head, who sets results in motion for all whom they represent, but the contrast is sharp and significant: Adam disobeyed, but Christ obeyed. Adam deserved condemnation, while the sinless Christ suffered the sin penalty innocently and willingly. Following Adam, we all deserve the consequence of our own sin, but in Christ, God’s abundant grace freely gives us Christ’s righteousness in place of our deserved condemnation.

So in referring to Adam as a type of the One to come, Paul has set up the contrasting result of being in Adam versus the result of being in Christ. That circles us back to being reminded of the overall thrust of the section.

A Theological Comparison & Contrast: Christian Hope in the Triumph of Christ’s Obedience Over the Effects of Adam’s Disobedience (Romans 5:12-21)

But how ought we to apply what God has revealed through the Apostle Paul concerning the effects of Adam’s sin and our sin?

Application:

You are either in Adam, or in Christ. (1 Cor 15:22)

If you remain in Adam without a new representative who can give you his righteousness, the result of your sin is that you remain separated from God and that the just verdict of condemnation will lead to God’s wrath against your sin, forever. But if by faith in God’s promise (a free gift) Christ becomes your representative, grace reigns through [Christ’s] righteousness leading to eternal life.

This universal condition of all men should teach us humility and compassion.

— a humility of repentance and a humility of submission;

— a compassion that goes beyond understanding sympathy to mercifully move toward people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. - We should rightly hate sin and the effects of sin and prayerfully battle to hold back the tide of evil in all ways that we can, while trusting in the One who controls all outcomes and transforms lives. Ex: We pray for and fight for unborn children who are being murdered while government sanctions it. At the same time, we should reach out with hearts of genuine compassion to individuals embattled in abortion decisions or regret for actions already taken.

When grappling with theological realities like original sin, know that God is good.

There are limits to our comprehension of God’s plans and purposes, even as we are yet limited in ability to worship Him in the truly exalted sense that he deserves. But despite our limited comprehension, God has certainly revealed himself sufficiently to know that we can trust in his goodness. God is righteous in character and righteous in activity. God is so good that, without being the author of sin or ever perpetrating evil, he is providentially orchestrating all things to achieve what he knows is ultimately good.

Theologically, the difference between sovereignty and tyranny is that God is good and does good. He can do no other, so we are most aligned with him when we trust him, even and especially at the edges of our understanding.

PRAY

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