Paul uses an antithetical parallel to bring this section of the letter to a close with the universal perspective with which the discussion began (1:16-32). “Paul encapsulates all human history under the two archetypal figures (note the double ‘all’ of 5.18) – Adam and Christ – as embodying, in effect, the only two alternatives which the gospel opens to humankind.”1 For a comparable analogy, see 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 45-49.
Sin Entered the World
“Therefore” [διὰ τοῦτο], “on account of this,” continuing and expounding upon the fact that “we have now received reconciliation” (v. 11), that which occasioned this great need is recounted. Sin and death entering the world through Adam, with consequent estrangement from God, necessitated Christ’s death that atones for sin and provides the way for life and reconciliation. Three descriptive terms are used interchangeably: (a) “sin” [ἁμαρτία] (vv. 12-21), that which is contrary to the holiness of God; (b) “transgression” [παράβασις] (v. 14), disobedience to a revealed command; and (c) the comparable “trespass” [παράπτωμα] (vv. 15-20), generally a sinful act.
Paul begins the thought with, “just as [ὥσπερ] sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin …” But he does not continue the thought until v. 18, with the connecting particles “so then” [ἄρα οὖν] (ASV, CSB, NASB). In between is an extended parenthetical digression starting with, “and so” [καὶ οὕτως] (vv. 12b-17).
Death Through Sin
Human “sin [ἁμαρτία] came into the world” when Adam violated an explicit commandment of God: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17); enjoined even before Eve was created (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:1-6).2 Since Adam did not literally die the very day he violated this command (Gen. 3:6–5:5), the phrase “in the day” applies to eating the forbidden fruit and thus breaking God’s law. The promise “you shall surely die” simply states a fact about the future without specifying the time.3 Nevertheless, the text introduces “death” as a figure of speech with spiritual ramifications that becomes clearer as divine revelation unfolds.
Biblically defined, physical death, which naturally occurs when separated from the tree (source) of life (Gen. 3:22-24), is effected when the human spirit is detached from the physical body.4 Spiritual death—the consequence of sin (Rom. 6:23)—is severance from God (the supreme source of life).5 While Adam did not physically expire the moment he ate the forbidden fruit (although the countdown had begun), he did consequently break his intimate relationship with God, thus fulfilling the words of Gen. 2:17.
The concept of dying, in the context of Romans 5, is not merely physical death (to which even the innocent are subject) but spiritual death (alienated from God in need of reconciliation) as the ultimate effect of sin (cf. 1:32; 5:12; 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5; 8:6).6 There is a fundamental difference between physical death, to which all mortals are amenable,7 and spiritual death, which is the consequence of personal sin (2:6-9; 3:23). This distinction between physical death and spiritual death is crucial to understanding the otherwise perplexing words of Paul in this passage (and of Jesus in John 11:25-26). We all die physically because of Adam’s sin, but each accountable person is responsible for the sins he or she commits (Rom. 2:6; 14:12)—leading to spiritual death—and is therefore in need of the spiritual life (reconciliation) only Jesus can provide (5:9-11).
Comparable to “perish” [ἀπόλλυμι] (2:12), the “death” which “spread to all men because all sinned”8 has already been identified as God’s wrath and judgment against sinners in need of redemption (3:5-23),9 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). Note the parallel between “death” [θάνατος] (5:12) and “condemnation” [κατάκριμα] (v. 18a), contrasted with “justification” [δικαίωσις] of “life” [ζωή] (v. 18b). The spiritual nature of this so-called “death” is implied by its spiritual consequence and the remedying response of Jesus’s death, allowing “no condemnation” (8:1). In fact, reconciliation resulting from sin’s forgiveness implies a prior separation because of sin.
Sin Prior to the Law
The aorist tense of “sinned” [ἥμαρτον] indicates a time prior to Christ’s redemptive work (the groundwork laid in the first three chapters of Romans), while “sin indeed was in the world before the law was given .… death reigned from Adam to Moses …” (cf. 1:18-32). There was an extended period, including the time of Abraham (4:1-22), without a specially revealed and recorded law-code from God comparable to the Law of Moses. But even “apart from the law” (3:21, 28), sin has been present in the world since the days of Adam. There has never been a time without law toward God (cf. 1 Cor. 9:21).10 Three dispensations of biblical history are noted here: (a) from Adam to Moses—a period fraught by ignorance apart from direct revelation; (b) from Moses to Christ—a period of instruction fraught by defiance and rebellion; and (c) from Christ to the present—a period of redemption.
It is “sin” [ἁμαρτία] that is not “counted” [ἐλλογέω] or “imputed” (ASV, N/KJV) “where there is no law” (cf. 2:12; 3:19-20; 4:15). Instead, the conscious and deliberate breach of a known law is more specifically understood as “transgression” [παράβασις] (v. 14; cf. 2:23; 4:15),11 of which Adam was guilty (long before the Mosaic system) through willful disobedience. “In other words, ‘transgression’ is ‘sin counted’…. deliberate breach of divine command.”12 In this sense, therefore, sin is counted or imputed according to the divine law to which a person is amenable, whether the pre-Mosaic “work of the law … written on their hearts” (2:14-15) and supplemented by direct revelation (4:3-22; 5:12-19), or the pre-Christian Law of Moses (2:12-13, 18; 3:19), or presently the gospel of Christ (1:16-17; 2:16). This counters, incidentally, any false rumors or accusations about Paul allegedly promoting sin by dismissing the legalistic works of the Jewish Law (3:1-8; 6:1; cf. Gal. 5:1-23).
The Reign of Death
Due to rampant iniquity, spiritual “death reigned” until the time of Moses, when the Law was issued “because of transgressions” as a temporary measure until the coming of Christ (Gal. 3:16, 19). The Lord Jesus is “the one who was to come,” the spiritual antitype of Adam. All along the descendants of Adam have been guilty of sin, even though their “sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.” Humanity has not broken the particular law Adam was amenable to, nor is mankind punished for transgressing an explicit command of the Mosaic Law. Nonetheless, all are without excuse for respectively breaching the applicable revelation of the divine will (1:20; 2:1, 12; 3:9-23).
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 J. D. G. Dunn, Theology of Paul the Apostle 94.
2 It was beyond the scope of Paul’s argument and illustration to explain the Genesis 3 story in detail, and Eve was certainly not without culpability (cf. 1 Tim. 2:14). But Adam was the designated leader of his family and, as such, was held accountable (Gen. 2:18, 23-24; 3:6, 16; Eph. 5:22-33; 1 Tim. 2:13).
3 Note that “death was not part of the original divine intention in creation. ‘Death,’ which initially had no place within the world, ‘entered the world.’ …. death is not simply the natural consequence of the created state. It is the consequence of sin…. Paul asserts a continuum of life ending in death which stretches from Adam to the present” (J. D. G. Dunn, Theology of Paul the Apostle 95).
4 James 2:26; cf. Eccl. 12:7; John 19:30; Acts 7:59.
5 Ex. 32:33; Isa. 59:1-2; Ezek. 14:7; Hab. 1:12-13; Eph. 2:1, 5; 4:18; 1 John 1:5-6.
6 See also Rom. 5:17, 21; 7:10, 13; 8:2; 2 Cor. 2:16; Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 2:13; Jas. 1:15; 5:20; 1 John 3:14; Rev. 20:14; 21:8. It is “evident that Paul was operating with a double conception of death. In this case it is the distinction between the death of humanity as an outcome of Adam’s first transgression and death as a consequence or even penalty for one’s own individual transgressions. Presumably … distinction between natural death and spiritual death” (J. D. G. Dunn, Theology of Paul the Apostle 96).
7 1 Cor. 15:21-22; Heb. 9:27; Jas. 2:26.
8 On the Calvinistic doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity (“original” or “inherited” sin), see K. L. Moore, “Are Humans Totally Depraved from Birth?” Moore Perspective (1 July 2015), <Link>.
9 This is the “second death” of Rev. 20:14; 21:8; cf. 2 Tim. 1:10.
10 “Sin” is defined as “lawlessness” [ἀνομία] (4:7; 6:19; cf. 1 John 3:4), not the complete absence of any kind of law but living without compliance to law’s standard.
11 Note also “trespass” [παράπτωμα] (vv. 15-20).
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