Jesus, the New Adam

INTRODUCTION

Paul’s argument is that just as brought sin and death to the entire human race, brought justification and eternal life to all who believe. One man led all to ruin, the second man can lead all to righteousness. We’ll need to unpack Paul’s thinking, so we don’t come to erroneous conclusions, but that is the gist of his argument.

Verses 13-14 and 15-17 are an interruption in Paul’s argument and deal with two related issues.

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The second issue (verses 15-17) is the difference between what Adam did and what Jesus did.

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Paul returns to his main topic in verse 18 with a repeat of the word ‘therefore’.

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The Trouble One Man Caused, 12-14

A.  Adam brought and to all people, 12

Romans 5:12 (ESV)

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—

The sentence has been broken off, but the claim is clear:

• • • Sin entered the world through (Adam)
    • Death entered the world .
    • Death spread to all because .

In other words, one person brought trouble into the world that all of us have had to deal with.

B.  sinned, so all suffered death, 13-14

Question: how could all people die if they didn’t sin like Adam, especially since the Law wasn’t yet given?

Answer: sin was in the world all that time.

Examples: 

Paul says that sin is not counted when there is no law. Is he saying that people sinned but it didn’t count against them?

Counted – 2x in OT –

What Paul means is that when there is a law, violations of the law go on . When there is no law, there is no such record-keeping.

In verse 14, Paul says that Adam was a type of the one who was to come. What does that mean?

A type is someone who models in some significant way a feature or features of a later person.

Paul doesn’t specify how Adam is a type of Christ, but it seems to rest in the idea that can stand in for all others and produce affects all others experience.

Paul began with speaking about Adam. He’s told us Adam is a type of Jesus. Yet as Paul is about to say, there is a big difference between Adam and Jesus, not just who they were, but between what they each did and between the consequences of what they each did.

The Difference Between Adam and Jesus

Paul explains the differences between Adam and Jesu with the use of three contrasts.

Contrast #1: The of Jesus versus the of Adam, 15-17

1. The free gift is not like the one trespass, 15

How?

The one trespass brought (alone) to many

The free gift and grace have to the many

2. The free gift is not like the results of Adam’s one sin, 16

How?

Adam’s one sin brought .

The free gift after many sins brought .

3. The free gift reigns in life not in death, 17

Adam’s sin caused to reign

The free gift and grace through Jesus allow to reign.

The question arises, how can Adam’s sin affect all of us and how can we in some way suffer for what Adam did? Some have taught that the answer is that we are all born with of Adam’s sin. That is, we are born guilty of sin even before we are old enough to be able to sin. This concept is not taught here or anywhere in scripture. We are held accountable for our sins, not the sins of others (see Ezekiel 18:1-4, for example).

Some have held that even if we are not guilty of Adam’s sin, we are still as if we had committed it. They would argue that just as God blessed Abraham, everyone who was at that time potentially in Abraham (his descendants) would share this blessing, so when Adam sinned, all who were potentially in Adam at that time (his physical descendants, i.e., all of us) shared his condemnation. This is one example of the solidarity principle. This is the idea that we all stand together in some ways. Paul says that we all stand together with Adam in his sin, and we can therefore all stand together with Jesus in his righteousness. This means that what God did with Adam applies to all of us, and what Jesus accomplished can benefit all of us. We stand with Adam and can stand with Christ. There is some truth to this view but I favor a third choice.

The third approach, and the one I share, is that while the solidarity principle is in play here, it is solidarity of and not solidarity of descent that Paul is referring to. Death came because all sinned (verse 12) even as Adam had sinned. We are not punished because of Adam but because of our own actions. People sinned even in the absence of a law since sin is an attitude of the heart that comes out in actions regardless of a law being present or known (a fact Paul argued in 1:18-3:20). In other words, we are one with Adam in his sin-producing nature. His nature was that, given enough time and the right provocation, he would eventually rebel against God. As history has shown, not only did Adam do so, but we have all rebelled against God, too. Since we share his nature, it is as if Adam represents all of us before God. Whatever he would do, we all would eventually do, too, so that whatever God does with Adam, he can justly do with us since we would have acted in the same way Adam did. We all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, as Paul pointed out in chapter 3, so we prove our solidarity with Adam.

Contrast #2: The one of Adam vs the one act of of Jesus, 18-19

While Adam’s sin brought or death for all (verse 12), Jesus’ one act of righteousness (his death for us and resurrection) led to for all. One person in each case affected the lives and eternities of all others.

One trespass – condemnation

One act of righteousness –

One man’s disobedience – many made

One man’s obedience – many will be made

Contrast #3: The reign of through Adam vs the reign of through Jesus, 20-21

Paul concludes with two triumphant and powerful statements.

1. The law increased sin, but when sin increased, increased to keep up.

2. Sin and the death did not have . Grace now reigns and eternal life is possible.

CONCLUSION

Adam reveals how one person can change the futures of all other people. His sin brought sin and death into the world. In this way he is a type of Jesus.

Jesus came and through his single act of righteousness enabled all sinners to become recipients of God’s grace, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life.

One vs one.

One brought .

One brought .

Jesus is the . The first Adam destroyed our relationship with God through rebellion and sin. Jesus restored our relationship with God through his obedience and the sacrifice of himself and now offers forgiveness, new life, and eternal life to all who turn from their sin and receive him as their Savior and Lord.