Romans 5.17a-Spiritual Death Reigned Over the Human Race as a Cruel Tyrant Through Adam's Transgression
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday May 14, 2008
Romans: Romans 5:17a-Spiritual Death Reigned Over the Human Race as a Cruel Tyrant Through Adam’s Transgression
Lesson # 168
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 5:12.
This evening we will begin to note Romans 5:17, which presents the contrast between the “consequences” of Adam’s disobedience and Christ’s obedience.
Spiritual death reigned as king over the entire human race as a result of Adam’s disobedience whereas eternal life will reign as king through Jesus Christ.
This evening we will study Romans 5:17a, which contains the protasis of a first class condition that teaches that by means of Adam’s transgression, spiritual death reigned over the entire human race as a cruel tyrant.
Romans 5:12-13, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”
Romans 5:14, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”
Romans 5:15, “But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression 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.”
Romans 5:16, “The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.”
Romans 5:17, “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
This statement further “explains” the contrast between the condemnation and the justification mentioned in Romans 5:16b by presenting the contrast between Adam’s act and Christ’s from the perspective of the “consequences.”
Romans 5:15b, “For if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that by means of this transgression committed by the one, the entire human race died. Of course, we know this is true.”
Also, Romans 5:17 reiterates the argument that appears in Romans 5:15b as indicated by the parallel structure in which both passages contained the protasis of a first class condition and the a fortiori argument.
Romans 5:17 completes a parenthesis, which began in Romans 5:13 and is a summary and climax of Paul’s statements that appear in Romans 5:13-16, which discusses the significance of Christ’s act and Adam’s.
“If” is the conditional particle ei (ei)) (i), which introduces a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
In Romans 5:17, the basic relation that the protasis has to the apodasis is “evidence-inference.”
The evidence: If and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that through Adam’s sin, spiritual death reigned over the entire human race. Of course, we know this is true!
The inference: Then, how much more will those sinners who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
The response to Paul’s protasis by his Christian readership would be obvious.
Of course they believe that through Adam’s transgression spiritual death reigned as a cruel tyrant over the entire human race!
They would agree emphatically with his protasis.
Thus, we call this a “responsive” condition.
He is not attempting to prove that his protasis is true rather he is saying with the first class condition that we agree that this is true that through Adam’s transgression spiritual death reigned as a cruel tyrant over the entire human race.
The first class condition would then persuade Paul’s readers to respond to the conclusion found in the apodasis.
This apodasis states that how much more then will those sinners who receive the grace of God in the form of the gift of righteousness through faith in Christ will reign as kings over spiritual death on account of possessing eternal life through Jesus Christ.
If through an ordinary man’s (Adam) sin, spiritual death reigned over the human race as a cruel tyrant, then “how much more” will those sinners who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness through faith in Christ reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
So the consequence of Adam’s transgression was that spiritual death reigned as a cruel tyrant over his posterity, the entire human race.
However, the consequence of Christ’s obedience was redeemed and reconciled humanity reigning over spiritual death as well as physical death.
Romans 5:17, “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
“By the transgression of the one” indicates that Adam’s transgression was the means by which spiritual death reigned over the entire human race.
“Death” is the noun thanatos (qavnato$) (than-at-os), which refers to real spiritual death.
“Real spiritual death” means that each and every member of the human race without exception is separated from a holy God in that the human race has absolutely no merit with Him and has absolutely no capacity whatsoever to establish and experience a relationship and fellowship with Him as well.
Although, in Romans 5:17, thanatos is used of spiritual death, we must be aware of the fact that spiritual death also resulted in three other categories of death: (1) Physical death is the separation of the human soul (and in the case of the believer, the human spirit also) from the body (Matt. 8:22; Rom. 8:38-39; 2 Cor. 5:1-8; Phil. 1:20-21; 2:27, 30). (2) Second death is the perpetuation of spiritual death into eternity or eternal separation from God and it is the final judgment of the unbelievers in the human race and fallen angels whereby they are cast in the Lake of Fire (Matt. 25:41; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 20:12-15). (3) Unique voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross (Matt. 27:45-46; Mark 15:34; Phlp. 2:8; Hb. 2:9, 14).
Christ’s spiritual death was needed to resolve the first three categories of death since physical death and the second death are the result of spiritual death.
There are five major consequences for “spiritual death”: (1) Slavery to the sin nature and the devil and his cosmic system. (2) Physical death (Genesis 5:5). (3) Imprisonment in Torments after physical death prior to the Great White Throne Judgment (Luke 16:19-31). (4) Eternal condemnation in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15). (5) Unique voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the cross (Matt. 27:45-46; Mark 15:34; Phlp. 2:8; Hb. 2:9, 14).
In the same way, a deadly contagious virus can spread completely throughout an entire population causing physical death so spiritual death spread throughout the entire human race resulting in physical death.
Spiritual death infected the entire human race because each person receives a sin nature that is received through imputation at the moment of physical birth and is passed down by the male in copulation (sex).
Spiritual death manifests itself through mental, verbal and overt acts of sin.
Spiritual death in the human race resulted in the Father sending His Son to die spiritually as a substitute for members of the human race in order to deliver them from spiritual death.
The problem of “real spiritual death” is resolved when God gives life to those members of the human race who exercise faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16-18).
As was the case in Romans 5:14, the noun thanatos, “spiritual death” resulting in physical death is being “personified.”
“Personification” is the ascribing of human characteristics or actions to inanimate objects or ideas or to animals.
In Romans 5:14 and now in verse 17, Paul ascribes the human action of a king reigning to spiritual death.
Romans 5:17, “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
“Reigned” is the verb basileuo (basileuvw) (bas-il-yoo-o), which means, “to rule as a king.”
In Romans 5:14 and now in verse 17, the verb basileuo means, “to rule as a king, reign” with the implication of ruling with complete authority in an absolute manner.
As we noted its subject is the noun thanatos, which refers to spiritual death.
Together, the two paint a picture of spiritual death reigning over the entire human race as a cruel tyrant as a result of Adam’s transgression in the Garden of Eden.
“Through the one” is emphasizing that spiritual death reigned as a cruel tyrant over the entire human race through the personal intermediate agency of Adam.