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Romans Chapter
Five
Romans 5
Thus, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
Remark here also the difference of Abraham's faith and ours. He believed God
could perform what He promised. We are called to believe He has performed.
Faith in God's word, believing God, and this faith laying hold on His power in
resurrection, [1] of the whole effect of our sins. It reposes
in God's power as having wrought this deliverance for us, and justified us
therein. Christ has been delivered for our offences and raised again for our
justification. [2] The apostle had established the great
principles. He comes now to the source and application of all (that is to say,
their application to the condition of the soul in its own feelings). He sets
before us the effect of these truths when received by faith through the power
of the Holy Ghost. The work is done; the believer has part in it, and is
justified. Having been justified, we have peace with God, we stand in divine
favour, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We believe in a God who has
intervened in power to raise Him from the dead who had borne our offences, and
who, being raised, is the eternal witness that our sins are put away, and that
the only true God is He who has done it in love. I have then peace with Him;
all my sins are blotted out-annulled-by the work of Christ; my unburdened heart
knows the Saviour God. I stand as a present thing in that grace or favour,
God's blessed present favour resting on me, which is better than life. Through
Christ, entered into His presence, I am even now in the enjoyment of His
favour, in present grace. All the fruits of the old man are cancelled before
God by the death of Christ. There cannot be a question as to my sins between me
and God. He has nothing to impute to me-that has been all settled in Christ's
death and resurrection. As to the present time, I am brought into His presence
in the enjoyment of His favour. Grace characterises my present relationship
with God. Further, all my sins having been put away according to the
requirements of God's glory, and Christ being risen from the dead, having met
all that glory, I rejoice in the hope of the glory of God It is a full
well-grounded hope of being in it, not a coming short of it. All is connected
with God Himself, with, and according to, His perfections, the favour of God,
and His glory for our hope. All is connected with His power in
resurrection-peace with God already settled, the present favour of God, and the
hope of glory.
Remark here that justification is distinct from peace. "Having
been justified, we have peace." Justification is my true state before God,
by virtue of the work of Christ, of His death, and of resurrection. Faith, thus
knowing God, is at peace with God; but this is a result, like the present
enjoyment of the grace wherein we stand. Faith believes in the God who has done
this, and who-exercising His power in love and in righteousness-has raised from
the dead the One who bore my sins, having entirely abolished them, and having
perfectly glorified God in so doing. On this ground, too, "by Him" we
have found access into the full favour of God in which we stand. And what is
the result? It is glory; we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. It is God
who is the root and the accomplisher of all. It is the gospel of God, the power
of God in salvation, the righteousness of God, and it is into the glory of God
that we are introduced in hope. Such is the efficacy of this grace with regard
to us; it is peace, grace or favour, glory. One would say, This is all we can
have: the past, present, and future are provided for.
Nevertheless there is more. First, practical experience.
We pass in fact through tribulations; but we rejoice in this, because it
exercises the heart, detaches us from the world, subdues the will, the natural
working of the heart, purifies it from those things which dim our hope by filling
it with present things, in order that we may refer more to God in all things,
which, after all, are entirely directed by Him whose faithful grace ministered
all this to us. We learn better that the scene in which we move passes away and
changes, and is but a place of exercise, and not the proper sphere of life.
Thus hope, founded on the work of Christ, becomes more clear, more disentangled
from the mixture of that which is of man here below; we discern more clearly
that which is unseen and eternal, and the links of the soul are more complete
and entire with that which is on before us. Experience, which might have
discouraged nature, works hope, because, come what may, we have the key to all,
because the love of God who has given us this hope, made clearer by these
exercises, is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us,
who is the God of love dwelling in us.
Nevertheless, while giving this inward foundation of joy,
the Spirit is careful to refer it to God, and to what He has done outside us,
as regards the proof we have of it, in order that the soul may be built upon
that which is in Him, and not on that which is in ourselves. This love is
indeed in us; it sweetly explains all; but the love which is there through the
presence of the Holy Ghost is the love of God, proved, namely, in that when we
were destitute of all strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. The
due time was when man had been demonstrated to be ungodly, and without strength
to come out of this condition, although God, under the law, shewed him the way.
Man can devote himself when he has an adequate motive; God has [3] to Himself, in that, when there was no
motive for Him in us, when we were nothing but sinners, Christ died for us! The
source was in Himself, or rather was Himself. What a joy to know that it is in
Him and of Him that we have all these things!
God, then, having reconciled us to Himself according to
the prompting of His own heart, when we were enemies, will much more, now that
we are justified, go on to the end; and we shall be saved from wrath through
Christ. Accordingly he adds, speaking of the means, "If we were reconciled
to God by the death of his Son," by that which was, so to speak, His
weakness, "much more shall we be saved by his life," the mighty
energy in which He lives eternally. Thus the love of God makes peace with
regard to that which we were, and gives us security with regard to our future,
making us happy withal in the present. And it is that which God is that secures
to us all these blessings. He is love-full of consideration for us, full of
wisdom.
But there is a second "not only," after our state-peace,
grace, and glory-what seemed complete and is complete salvation, had been
established. "Not only" do we joy in tribulation, but we joy in God.
We glory in Himself. This is the second part of the Christian's blessed
experience of the joy which results from our knowledge of God's love in Christ,
and our reconciliation by Him. The first was that he gloried in tribulation
because of its effect, divine love being known The second is the love of God
Himself in man. This known, we glory, not only in our salvation, and even in
tribulation, but knowing such a Saviour God (a God who has raised up Jesus from
the dead, and has saved us in His love), we glory in Him. Higher joy than this
we cannot have.
This closes this section of the epistle, in which,
through the propitiation made by Christ, the putting away of our sins, and the
love of God Himself, has been fully made good and revealed: peace, grace
possessed, and glory in hope; and that by the pure love of God Himself known in
Christ's dying for sinners. It is purely of God and thus divinely perfect. It
was no matter of experience, whatever joy flowed from it, but God's own acting
from Himself, and so revealing Himself in what He is. Up to this, sins and
personal guilt are treated of; now, sin and the state of the race. The pure
favour of God towards us, beginning with us as sinners, is wonderfully brought
out, going on to our rejoicing in Himself who has been, and is, such to us.
Having given the foundation and the source of salvation,
and the confidence and enjoyment that flow from it, having based all on God, who
had to do with those who were nothing but sinners devoid of all strength, and
that by the death of Christ, the question of our sins was settled-that for
which each man would have had to be judged according to what each had
respectively done. Lawless, or under law, all were guilty; a propitiatory, or
mercy-seat, was set forth in the precious blood of Christ, peace made for the
guilty, and God revealed in love. But this has carried us up higher. We have to
do with God, and man as he is as a present thing. It is a question of sinful
man; the Jew had no privilege here, he had nothing to boast of. He could not
say, sin came in by us and by the law. It is man, sin, and grace that are in
question. The apostle takes up this fundamental and essential question-not sins
and guilt to be judged of hereafter if not repented of, but the present state
of man.
Man had nothing to boast of either. The God of grace is
before our eyes, acting with regard to sin, when there was nothing else, save
that law had aggravated the case by transgressions. Now sin came in by one man,
and by sin death. This brings us to the condition of the race, not merely the
acts of the individuals. That condition was exclusion from God, and an evil
nature. All were alike in it, though surely each had added his own personal
sins and guilt. Sin had come in by one, and death by sin. And thus death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned. For sin was in the world before the
law. Nor did the law add much to the advantage of man's condition; [4] his sin to him by giving him knowledge of it
and forbidding it. Nevertheless, although there had been no imputation
according to the government of God in virtue of an imposed and known rule, yet
death reigned-a constant proof of sin (moreover, the history of Genesis made
all this incontestable, even to the Jew)-over those who had not broken a
covenant founded on a known commandment, [5] had done; and the Jews also, after the law
was given. Men, between Adam and Moses, when there was no question of a law, as
there was both before and after that interval, died just the same-sin reigned.
We must observe here that from the end of verse 12 to
that of 17 is a parenthesis: only the idea is developed, as in similar cases.
In the parenthesis the apostle, after having presented Adam as the figure of
Him who was to come-of Christ, argues that the character of the gift cannot be
inferior to that of the evil. If the sin of the one first man was not confined
in its effects to him who committed it, but extended to all those who as a race
were connected with him, with much greater reason shall the grace which is by one,
Christ Jesus, not end in Him, but embrace the many under Him also. And with
regard to the thing, as well as to the person-and here the law is in view-one
single offence brought in death, but grace remits a multitude of offences. Thus
it could suffice for that which the law had made necessary. And, as to the
effect, death has reigned; but by grace, not only shall life reign, but we
shall reign in life by One according to the abundance of grace-by Jesus Christ.
In verse 18 the general argument is resumed in a very
abstract way. "By one offence," he says, "towards all for
condemnation, even so by one accomplished righteousness (or act of
righteousness) towards all men, for justification of life." One offence
bore-in its bearing, so to speak, referred to all, and so it was with the one
act of righteousness. This is the scope of the action in itself. Now for the
application: for as by the disobedience of one man (only) many are constituted
sinners, so by the obedience of one (only) many are constituted righteous It is
still the thought that the act of the individual is not confined, as to its
effects, within the limits of his own person. It affects many others, bringing
them under the consequences of that act. It is said "all," when the
scope of the [6] is spoken of; "the many," when it
is the definitive effect with regard to men; that is, the "many" who
were in connection with him who accomplished the act.
This then was outside the law, though the law might
aggravate the evil. It was a question of the effect of the acts of Adam and of
Christ, and not of the conduct of individuals, to which evidently the law
related. It is by one man's disobedience the many (all men) were made sinners,
not by their own sins. Of sins each has his own: here it is a state of sin
common to all Of what use then was the law? It came in, as it were,
exceptionally, and accessory to the chief fact, [7] might abound." But not only where the
offence, but where sin abounded-for under the law and without the law it has
abounded-grace has superabounded; in order that, as sin has reigned in death,
grace should reign through righteousness in eternal life by Jesus Christ our
Lord. If where sin reigns righteousness had reigned, it would have been to
condemn the whole world. It is grace that reigns-the sovereign love of God.
Righteousness is on a level with the evil, when it deals with evil, by the fact
that it is righteousness; but God is above it, and acts, and can act-has a
right to act-according to His own nature; and He is love. Is it that He
sanctions unrighteousness and sin? No, in His love He brings about the
accomplishment of divine righteousness by Jesus Christ. He has accomplished in
Him that divine righteousness in raising Him to His right hand. But this is in
virtue of a work wrought for us, in which He has glorified God. Thus He is our
righteousness, we the righteousness of God in Him. It is the righteousness of
faith, for we have it by believing in Him. It is love which-taking the
character of grace when sin is in question-reigns, and gives eternal life above
and beyond death-life that comes from above and ascends thither again; and that
in divine righteousness, and in connection with that righteousness, magnifying
it and manifesting it through the work of Jesus Christ, in whom we have this
life, when He had wrought what brought out divine righteousness, in order that
we might possess eternal life and glory according to it. If grace reigns, it is
God who reigns. That righteousness should be maintained is that which His
nature required. But it is more than maintained according to the measure of the
claim God had on man as such. Christ was perfect surely as man; but He has
glorified what God is Himself, and, He being raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, God has glorified His righteousness by setting Him at His right
hand, as He did His love in giving Him. It is now righteousness in salvation
given by grace to those who possessed none-given in Jesus, who by His work laid
the full ground for it in glorifying God with regard even to sin, in the place
where in this respect all that God is has been displayed.
The fulfilment of the law would have been man's
righteousness: man might have gloried in it. Christ has glorified God-a most
weighty point in connection with righteousness, connecting it withal with
glory. And grace imparts this to the sinner by imputation, accounting him
righteous according to it, introducing him in the glory which Christ merited by
His work-the glory in which He was as Son before the world began.
But alas! in this glorious redemption accomplished by
grace, which substitutes the righteousness of God and the person of the second
Adam for the sinand the person of the first, the perversity of the flesh can
find occasion for the sin which it loves, or at least to charge the doctrine
with it. If it is by the obedience of One that I am constituted righteous, and
because grace superabounds, let us sin that it may abound: that does not touch
this righteousness, and only glorifies this superabundance of grace. Is this
the apostle's doctrine? or a legitimate consequence of his doctrine? In no
wise. The doctrine is, that we are brought into God's presence through death,
in virtue of the work which Christ therein accomplished, and by having a part
in that death. Can we live in the sin to which we are dead? It is to contradict
oneself in one's own words. But, being baptised unto Christ (in His name, to
have part with Him, according to the truth contained in the revelation we have
of Him), I am baptised to have part in His death for through this it is that I
have this righteousness in which He appears before God, and I in Him. But it is
to sin that He has died. He has done with it for ever. When He died, He who
knew no sin came out of that condition of life in flesh and blood, to which in
us sin attached, in which we were sinners; and in which He the sinless One, in
the likeness of sinful flesh and as a sacrifice for sin, was made sin for us. [8] We
have then been buried with Him by baptism for death (v. 4), having part in it,
entering into it by baptism which represents it, in order that, as Christ was
raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father, we also should walk
in newness of life. In a word I am brought into the participation of this
divine and perfect righteousness by having part in death unto sin; it is
impossible therefore that it should be to live in it. Here it is not duty that
is spoken of, but the nature of the thing. I cannot die to a thing in order to
live in it. The doctrine itself refutes as absolute nonsense the argument of
the flesh, which under the pretence of righteousness will not recognise our
need of grace. [9]
[1] Not
that the body of course is yet renewed.
[2] I
reject entirely the interpretation "because we have been justified."
It is not the force of the Greek, and by excluding faith from our being
justified contradicts the beginning of chapter 5.
[3] The
word is emphatic in the original, ('eautou') His own love, v. 8.
[4] The
word "imputed" in this passage (chap. 5:13) is not the same as
righteousness imputed, or faith imputed for righteousness. It means an act (or
sum) put to the account of another, not esteeming the person to be such or
such.
[5] This
is a quotation from Hosea 6:7 according to its true sense, which accuses Israel
of having done the same thing as Adam. "But they, like Adam, have
transgressed the covenant."
[6] The
same distinction, with the same difference in the preposition, is found in
connection with the righteousness of God, when the apostle speaks of the
efficacy of the blood: only he points out who the many are, because the object
of faith is presented rather than the efficacy of the work, although this is
supposed, chapter 3:22 ('oikaiosune de Theou dia pisteoos Iesou Christou eis
pantas, kai epi pantas tous pisteuontas' LIT: "righteousness of God by
faith of Jesus Christ towards all and upon all those who believe"); unto
all, and upon all believers. So here it was by one offence ('eis pantas' LIT: "towards
all,") and then the many connected with Christ are constituted righteous
by His obedience.
[7] Not
sin. Sin was already there; the law made each of its motions a positive
offence.
[8] This
does not refer simply to bearing our sins: that is the subject of the first
part of the epistle. The condition in which we were, as a whole race, was that
of fallen sinful Adam. Christ the sinless One came and stood for us and God's
glory substitutively; that is, as a sacrifice in that place, He was made sin,
underwent the forsaking of God, and, glorifying God, died in and to the place,
to the whole condition of being, in which we were, and in which, as made sin,
He stood for us before God. This work, though done as and for man, I doubt not,
goes farther than our salvation. He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. He takes away, as God's Lamb, the sin of the world. His sacrifice
is the basis of the condition of that new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness.
[9]
Note, we are not here viewed as risen with Christ; the believer being always
viewed here, as I have said, as being on the earth, though alive in Christ and
justified, it is used as a ground for practice and walk here.
── John Darby《Synopsis of Romans》
Romans 5
Chapter Contents
The happy effects of justification through faith in the
righteousness of Christ. (1-5) That we are reconciled by his blood. (6-11) The
fall of Adam brought all mankind into sin and death. (12-14) The grace of God,
through the righteousness of Christ, has more power to bring salvation, than
Adam's sin had to bring misery, (15-19) as grace did superabound. (20,21)
Commentary on Romans 5:1-5
(Read Romans 5:1-5)
A blessed change takes place in the sinner's state, when
he becomes a true believer, whatever he has been. Being justified by faith he
has peace with God. The holy, righteous God, cannot be at peace with a sinner,
while under the guilt of sin. Justification takes away the guilt, and so makes
way for peace. This is through our Lord Jesus Christ; through him as the great
Peace-maker, the Mediator between God and man. The saints' happy state is a
state of grace. Into this grace we are brought, which teaches that we were not
born in this state. We could not have got into it of ourselves, but we are led
into it, as pardoned offenders. Therein we stand, a posture that denotes
perseverance; we stand firm and safe, upheld by the power of the enemy. And
those who have hope for the glory of God hereafter, have enough to rejoice in
now. Tribulation worketh patience, not in and of itself, but the powerful grace
of God working in and with the tribulation. Patient sufferers have most of the
Divine consolations, which abound as afflictions abound. It works needful
experience of ourselves. This hope will not disappoint, because it is sealed
with the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of love. It is the gracious work of the
blessed Spirit to shed abroad the love of God in the hearts of all the saints.
A right sense of God's love to us, will make us not ashamed, either of our
hope, or of our sufferings for him.
Commentary on Romans 5:6-11
(Read Romans 5:6-11)
Christ died for sinners; not only such as were useless,
but such as were guilty and hateful; such that their everlasting destruction
would be to the glory of God's justice. Christ died to save us, not in our
sins, but from our sins; and we were yet sinners when he died for us. Nay, the
carnal mind is not only an enemy to God, but enmity itself, Romans 8:7; Colossians 1:21. But God designed to deliver
from sin, and to work a great change. While the sinful state continues, God
loathes the sinner, and the sinner loathes God, Zechariah 11:8. And that for such as these
Christ should die, is a mystery; no other such an instance of love is known, so
that it may well be the employment of eternity to adore and wonder at it.
Again; what idea had the apostle when he supposed the case of some one dying
for a righteous man? And yet he only put it as a thing that might be. Was it
not the undergoing this suffering, that the person intended to be benefitted
might be released therefrom? But from what are believers in Christ released by
his death? Not from bodily death; for that they all do and must endure. The
evil, from which the deliverance could be effected only in this astonishing
manner, must be more dreadful than natural death. There is no evil, to which
the argument can be applied, except that which the apostle actually affirms,
sin, and wrath, the punishment of sin, determined by the unerring justice of
God. And if, by Divine grace, they were thus brought to repent, and to believe
in Christ, and thus were justified by the price of his bloodshedding, and by
faith in that atonement, much more through Him who died for them and rose
again, would they be kept from falling under the power of sin and Satan, or
departing finally from him. The living Lord of all, will complete the purpose
of his dying love, by saving all true believers to the uttermost. Having such a
pledge of salvation in the love of God through Christ, the apostle declared
that believers not only rejoiced in the hope of heaven, and even in their
tribulations for Christ's sake, but they gloried in God also, as their
unchangeable Friend and all-sufficient Portion, through Christ only.
Commentary on Romans 5:12-14
(Read Romans 5:12-14)
The design of what follows is plain. It is to exalt our
views respecting the blessings Christ has procured for us, by comparing them
with the evil which followed upon the fall of our first father; and by showing
that these blessings not only extend to the removal of these evils, but far
beyond. Adam sinning, his nature became guilty and corrupted, and so came to
his children. Thus in him all have sinned. And death is by sin; for death is
the wages of sin. Then entered all that misery which is the due desert of sin;
temporal, spiritual, eternal death. If Adam had not sinned, he had not died; but
a sentence of death was passed, as upon a criminal; it passed through all men,
as an infectious disease that none escape. In proof of our union with Adam, and
our part in his first transgression, observe, that sin prevailed in the world,
for many ages before the giving of the law by Moses. And death reigned in that
long time, not only over adults who wilfully sinned, but also over multitudes
of infants, which shows that they had fallen in Adam under condemnation, and
that the sin of Adam extended to all his posterity. He was a figure or type of
Him that was to come as Surety of a new covenant, for all who are related to
Him.
Commentary on Romans 5:15-19
(Read Romans 5:15-19)
Through one man's offence, all mankind are exposed to
eternal condemnation. But the grace and mercy of God, and the free gift of
righteousness and salvation, are through Jesus Christ, as man: yet the Lord
from heaven has brought the multitude of believers into a more safe and exalted
state than that from which they fell in Adam. This free gift did not place them
anew in a state of trial, but fixed them in a state of justification, as Adam
would have been placed, had he stood. Notwithstanding the differences, there is
a striking similarity. As by the offence of one, sin and death prevailed to the
condemnation of all men, so by the righteousness of one, grace prevailed to the
justification of all related to Christ by faith. Through the grace of God, the
gift by grace has abounded to many through Christ; yet multitudes choose to
remain under the dominion of sin and death, rather than to apply for the
blessings of the reign of grace. But Christ will in nowise cast out any who are
willing to come to him.
Commentary on Romans 5:20,21
(Read Romans 5:20,21)
By Christ and his righteousness, we have more and greater
privileges than we lost by the offence of Adam. The moral law showed that many
thoughts, tempers, words, and actions, were sinful, thus transgressions were
multiplied. Not making sin to abound the more, but discovering the sinfulness
of it, even as the letting in a clearer light into a room, discovers the dust
and filth which were there before, but were not seen. The sin of Adam, and the
effect of corruption in us, are the abounding of that offence which appeared on
the entrance of the law. And the terrors of the law make gospel comforts the
more sweet. Thus God the Holy Spirit has, by the blessed apostle, delivered to
us a most important truth, full of consolation, suited to our need as sinners.
Whatever one may have above another, every man is a sinner against God, stands
condemned by the law, and needs pardon. A righteousness that is to justify
cannot be made up of a mixture of sin and holiness. There can be no title to an
eternal reward without a pure and spotless righteousness: let us look for it,
even to the righteousness of Christ.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Romans》
Romans 5
Verse 1
[1]
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:
Being justified by faith — This is the sum of the preceding chapters.
We have peace with God — Being enemies to God no longer, Romans 5:10; neither fearing his wrath, Romans 5:9. We have peace, hope, love, and power
over sin, the sum of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters. These are
the fruits of justifying faith: where these are not, that faith is not.
Verse 2
[2] By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Into this grace —
This state of favour.
Verse 3
[3] And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation
worketh patience;
We glory in tribulations also — Which we are so far from esteeming a mark of God's displeasure, that we
receive them as tokens of his fatherly love, whereby we are prepared for a more
exalted happiness. The Jews objected to the persecuted state of the Christians
as inconsistent with the people of the Messiah. It is therefore with great propriety
that the apostle so often mentions the blessings arising from this very thing.
Verse 4
[4] And
patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And patience works more experience of the
sincerity of our grace, and of God's power and faithfulness.
Verse 5
[5] And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Hope shameth us not —
That is, gives us the highest glorying. We glory in this our hope, because the
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts - The divine conviction of God's love
to us, and that love to God which is both the earnest and the beginning of
heaven.
By the Holy Ghost —
The efficient cause of all these present blessings, and the earnest of those to
come.
Verse 6
[6] For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
How can we now doubt of God's love? For when
we were without strength - Either to think, will, or do anything good.
In due time —
Neither too soon nor too late; but in that very point of time which the wisdom
of God knew to be more proper than any other.
Christ died for the ungodly — Not only to set them a pattern, or to procure them power to follow it.
It does not appear that this expression, of dying for any one, has any other signification
than that of rescuing the life of another by laying down our own.
Verse 7
[7] For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some
would even dare to die.
A just man —
One who gives to all what is strictly their due The good man - One who is
eminently holy; full of love, of compassion, kindness, mildness, of every
heavenly and amiable temper.
Perhaps-one-would-even-dare to die — Every word increases the strangeness of the thing, and declares even
this to be something great and unusual.
Verse 8
[8] But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.
But God recommendeth — A most elegant expression. Those are wont to be recommended to us, who
were before either unknown to, or alienated from, us.
While we were sinners — So far from being good, that we were not even just.
Verse 9
[9] Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him.
By his blood — By
his bloodshedding.
We shall be saved from wrath through him — That is, from all the effects of the wrath of God. But is there then
wrath in God? Is not wrath a human passion? And how can this human passion be
in God? We may answer this by another question: Is not love a human passion?
And how can this human passion be in God? But to answer directly: wrath in man,
and so love in man, is a human passion. But wrath in God is not a human
passion; nor is love, as it is in God. Therefore the inspired writers ascribe
both the one and the other to God only in an analogical sense.
Verse 10
[10] For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
If — As sure as; so the
word frequently signifies; particularly in this and the eighth chapter.
We shalt be saved —
Sanctified and glorified.
Through his life —
Who "ever liveth to make intercession for us."
Verse 11
[11] And
not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we
have now received the atonement.
And not only so, but we also glory — The whole sentence, from the third to the eleventh verse, may be taken
together thus: We not only "rejoice in hope of the glory of God," but
also in the midst of tribulations we glory in God himself through our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Verse 12
[12]
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Therefore —
This refers to all the preceding discourse; from which the apostle infers what
follows. He does not therefore properly make a digression, but returns to speak
again of sin and of righteousness.
As by one man —
Adam; who is mentioned, and not Eve, as being the representative of mankind.
Sin entered into the world — Actual sin, and its consequence, a sinful nature.
And death —
With all its attendants. It entered into the world when it entered into being;
for till then it did not exist.
By sin —
Therefore it could not enter before sin.
Even so —
Namely, by one man.
In that — So
the word is used also, 2 Corinthians 5:4.
All sinned — In
Adam. These words assign the reason why death came upon all men; infants
themselves not excepted, in that all sinned.
Verse 13
[13] (For
until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no
law.
For until the law sin was in the world-All, I
say, had sinned, for sin was in the world long before the written law; but, I
grant, sin is not so much imputed, nor so severely punished by God, where there
is no express law to convince men of it. Yet that all had sinned, even then,
appears in that all died.
Verse 14
[14]
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not
sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him
that was to come.
Death reigned —
And how vast is his kingdom! Scarce can we find any king who has as many
subjects, as are the kings whom he hath conquered.
Even over them that had not sinned after the
likeness of Adam's transgression — Even over infants who
had never sinned, as Adam did, in their own persons; and over others who had
not, like him, sinned against an express law.
Who is the figure of him that was to come — Each of them being a public person, and a federal head of mankind. The
one, the fountain of sin and death to mankind by his offence; the other, of
righteousness and life by his free gift. Thus far the apostle shows the
agreement between the first and second Adam: afterward he shows the differences
between them. The agreement may be summed up thus: As by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin; so by one man righteousness entered into the
world, and life by righteousness. As death passed upon all men, in that all had
sinned; so life passed upon all men, (who are in the second Adam by faith,) in
that all are justified. And as death through the sin of the first Adam reigned
even over them who had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression;
so through the righteousness of Christ, even those who have not obeyed, after
the likeness of his obedience, shall reign in life. We may add, As the sin of
Adam, without the sins which we afterwards committed, brought us death ; so the
righteousness of Christ, without the good works which we afterwards perform,
brings us life: although still every good, as well as evil, work, will receive
its due reward.
Verse 15
[15] But
not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one
many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by
one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Yet not —
St. Paul now describes the difference between Adam and Christ; and that much
more directly and expressly than the agreement between them. Now the fall and
the free gift differ, 1. In amplitude, Romans 5:15. 2. He from whom sin came, and He
from whom the free gift came, termed also "the gift of righteousness,"
differ in power, Romans 5:16. 3. The reason of both is subjoined,
Romans 5:17. 4. This premised, the offence and
the free gift are compared, with regard to their effect, Romans 5:18, and with regard to their cause, Romans 5:19.
Verse 16
[16] And
not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one
to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
The sentence was by one offence to Adam's
condemnation — Occasioning the sentence of death to pass
upon him, which, by consequence, overwhelmed his posterity.
But the free gift is of many offences unto
justification — Unto the purchasing it for all men,
notwithstanding many offences.
Verse 17
[17] For
if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.)
There is a difference between grace and the
gift. Grace is opposed to the offence; the gift, to death, being the gift of
life.
Verse 18
[18]
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life.
Justification of life — Is that sentence of God, by which a sinner under sentence of death is
adjudged to life.
Verse 19
[19] For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous.
As by the disobedience of one man many (that
is, all men) were constituted sinners - Being then in the loins of their first
parent, the common head and representative of them all.
So by the obedience of one — By his obedience unto death; by his dying for us.
Many —
All that believe.
Shall be constituted righteous — Justified, pardoned.
Verse 20
[20]
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound:
The law came in between — The offence and the free gift.
That the offence might abound — That is, the consequence (not the design) of the law's coming in was,
not the taking away of sin, but the increase of it.
Yet where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound — Not only in the remission of that sin
which Adam brought on us, but of all our own; not only in remission of sins, but
infusion of holiness; not only in deliverance from death, but admission to
everlasting life, a far more noble and excellent life than that which we lost
by Adam's fall.
Verse 21
[21] That
as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
That as sin had reigned-so grace also might
reign — Which could not reign before the fall;
before man had sinned.
Through righteousness to eternal life by
Jesus Christ our Lord — Here is pointed out the source of all our
blessings, the rich and free grace of God. The meritorious cause; not any works
of righteousness of man, but the alone merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
effect or end of all; not only pardon, but life; divine life, leading to glory.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Romans》
Chapter 5. Two Kings
Death Through
Adam
Life Through Christ
I. Blessings of
Justification
II. Through the
One Man, Adam
III. Through
the One Man, Christ
── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》
Chapter Five General Review
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER
1) To appreciate the blessings that accompany justification 2) To comprehend more fully the grace offered through Jesus Christ SUMMARY
Having substantiated his thesis of "justification by faith" withevidence from the Old Testament, Paul now discusses the blessings ofsuch justification. First, there is peace with God (1). Second, wehave access to grace in which we stand (2a ). Third, there is cause forrejoicing in hope, so that we can glory even in tribulations (2b-4).Fourth, there is God's love which He first demonstrated with the giftof His Son (5-8). Finally, there is salvation from God's wrath (9).All of this is made possible when we are reconciled to God through thedeath of His Son and should be the basis for endless rejoicing (10-11). To explain further the way in which salvation is made possible, Paul compares Christ to Adam. Through one man, Adam, sin and death entered the world, and the consequences have led to the death of many. In a similar way, through one man, Christ, many may now become righteous.Through Jesus' death on the cross, justification is made possible for many (12-19). Upon comparing Christ with Adam, Paul briefly mentions that with the entering in of law sin abounded. But the increase of sin has been adequately answered by the grace offered in Jesus Christ (20-21). OUTLINE
I. THE BLESSINGS OF JUSTIFICATION (1-11)
A. PEACE WITH GOD (1) B. ACCESS TO GRACE IN WHICH WE STAND (2a ) C. REJOICING IN HOPE, EVEN IN TRIBULATIONS (2b-4) 1. Joy in anticipating God's glory (2b) 2. Joy in tribulation, knowing even it results in more hope (3-4) a. For tribulation produces perseverance (3b) b. And perseverance develops character (4a ) c. Such character gives one hope (4b) D. GOD'S LOVE IN OUR HEARTS (5-8) 1. The assurance our hope will not be disappointed (5a ) 2. Poured out by the Holy Spirit (5b) 3. Demonstrated by Christ's death while we were yet sinners (6-8) E. SALVATION FROM GOD'S WRATH (9-11) 1. Through Jesus, just as we have been justified by His blood (9) 2. Saved by His life, just as we were reconciled by His death (10) 3. The basis for us to rejoice (11) II. COMPARING CHRIST WITH ADAM (12-21)
A. ADAM AND THE CONSEQUENCE OF HIS ACTIONS (12-14) 1. Through Adam, sin entered the world, and death as a consequence (12a ) 2. Thus death spread, for all sinned (12b) 3. From the time of Adam to Moses, death reigned, even over those who had not sinned like Adam did (13-14) B. ADAM AND CHRIST COMPARED (15-19) 1. Adam's offense brought many deaths, Christ's grace abounds even more (15) 2. One offense produced the judgment of condemnation, but many offenses produced the free gift of justification (16) 3. By Adam's offense death reigns, but those who receive the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Christ (17) 4. Summary (18-19) a. Through Adam's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation (18a ) b. Through Christ's act grace came to all, resulting in justification of life (18b) c. By Adam's disobedience many were made sinners (19a ) d. By Christ's obedience many will be made righteous (19b) C. THE RELATIONSHIP OF LAW, SIN AND GRACE (20-21) 1. Law entered that sin might abound, but grace abounds much more (20) 2. Just as sin reigned in death, so grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Christ (21) WORDS TO PONDER
reconciliation - the act of bringing peace between two parties (e.g.,
between man and God) transgression - violation of law; sin
death - physically: separation of body and spirit;
spiritually: separation between man and God eternal life - the alternative to spiritual death, a result of
justification REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER
1) List the main points of this chapter
- The Blessings Of Justification (1-11) - Comparing Christ With Adam (12-21) 2) Name some benefits we enjoy as the result of justification (1-2)
- Peace with God, access to grace, rejoicing in hope 3) Why can Christians rejoice even in the middle of trials? (3-5)
- Knowing trials can produce perseverance, character and hope 4) How did God demonstrate His love for us? (6-8)
- By having Christ die for us when we were still sinners 5) What in addition to Jesus' death is involved in our ultimatesalvation? (10)
- His present life, which saves us from the wrath to come 6) What was the consequence of Adam's sin upon all men? (12)
- Death (I understand Paul to mean physical death; to see why, I highly recommend Moses Lard's commentary on this passage. Commentaries by J. W. McGarvey and David Lipscomb take a similar view. For the view that spiritual death is under consideration, see Robert L. Whiteside's commentary.) 7) What comparison is made between Adam and Christ? (12-19)
- Just as Adam through his sin brought physical death to all, so Christ through His obedience will give life to all (through the resurrection - cf. 1 Co 15:21-22) - But Christ does even more; to those who will receive it, he offers "an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness" so they can reign in life through Jesus (cf. v. 17) 8) Which has abounded more: sin, or grace? (20)
- Grace
－－《Executable
Outlines》
Two Kings
Death Through Adam
Life Through Christ
I.
Blessings
of Justification
1.
Peace
with God
2.
Pour
Out God’s Love into Our Hearts
3.
Rejoice
in God
II.Through the One Man, Adam
1.
Sin
Entered the World
2.
Death
Reigned
3.
Through
the Disobedience of the One Man
III.
Through
the One Man, Christ
1.
God’s
Grace and the Gift
2.
Life
Reigns
3.
Through
the Obedience of the One Man
－－ Chih-Hsin
Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》