Romans 5:17

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.  Romans 5:17 ESV

Paul continues in verse 17 to contrast the affects of Adams trespass and Christ's sacrifice.

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man

Paul has said many times in this passage that death came through Adam. I wanted to take a minute and look a little at the word through. In the Greek, the word through, or by, means the channel of an act. Adam was the channel, or the path, through which sin entered the world. As a result of this path, sin was passed down through Adam to anyone who was born from him - which Paul has been explaining. In this verse, we see that death (a result of sinfulness) has reigned through Adam as well.

The word reigned is Paul's emphasis in verse 17. In the Greek, reigned means to rule, as a king over his kingdom. So often we like to think that, while we are sinful, we have the power to choose right or wrong, to choose good or bad - this allow us to feel better about our situation. However, Paul says that death reigns over us - death is our ruler.

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed  Romans 6:17

 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  Romans 6:20

The word slaves is also translated servants, and means:  a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily; frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency): - bond (-man), servant.

In our lost state, death is our master, and we are subject to it, we have no power over it. Death reigns over us, and no matter how 'good' we try to be, we ultimately experience both physical and spiritual death leading to the eternal death - complete separation from God, torture for the soul.

It's also important to note that this is all the result of one man's trespass...not many trespasses by that one man, and not many trespasses by many men...one man's single trespass. 

Was it a terrible trespass that was committed? Was someone murdered, did someone commit adultery? Spiritually yes, but from a human perspective, the terrible trespass was disobedience to God - an unacceptable sin in light of God's perfect character, with deadly results.



As Paul has been doing throughout this passage, he moves from the condemnation to the hope:

much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man

He begins this contrast with a phrase he has used previously: much more  much meaning a lot, or in abundance, and more meaning better, to a greater degree. So we can be confident in what Paul says here. While death has the power to reign over us, to be our ruler, in our condemned state - there is something that contains power - in more abundance and to a greater degree - over death and sin.

How do we experience the power over this death that rules over us? By receiving the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness. Any who receive the abundance (meaning surplus, or superabundance in the Greek) of God's never ending grace, and are clothed in His perfect righteousness, will have been released from the chains of bondage that have enslaved us from birth.

If we are released from the power of sin and death that has condemned us from birth, what are we released to? We are released from bondage to freedom, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, from eternal death to eternal life!

Death is the absence of life, and through Adam, sin and death entered the world - meaning that we were separated from true, eternal life. Now, Paul is telling us that, by receiving God's never ending, free gift of grace and righteousness, we can be re-united with eternal life - that being a personal relationship with an all loving, all powerful, eternal God!

We must also notice that, while once death reigned over us, those who receive the free gift will reign in life! God's children are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. We are no longer ruled by death, but we are co-heirs with Christ, who has conquered death and rules over it.

having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.  Romans 6:18

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.  Romans 8:16,17

Being adopted into God's family, we now reign in life - no longer condemned by anything but sustained by the power of God's grace and counted as righteous by His free gift!

Paul told us that through Adam (he was the path or channel through which) death and sinfulness entered the world. Now, this amazing truth: through the one man we are able to now reign in life - the one man being Jesus Christ. This is a comparison Paul makes between Adam and Christ. While the results of their actions were very different, it was through one man that death entered, and through another man that life is now offered.

We can never move away from the fact that it is through Jesus Christ, God's Son, that eternal life through reconciliation with God is made possible. Jesus Christ is our Savior because He is the path, or channel, through which we can experience the free gift - He is the only way. As Paul said, through one man, has the abundance of God's grace, the free gift of righteousness, and the possibility of reigning with Christ in life, been made possible!



Being ruled over and subject to eternal death, or reigning with Christ in eternal life - Paul has laid out the two options - there is no middle ground. Where do you stand? Have you accepted Christ and been adopted as His co-heir, or do you remain a slave to evil one?

Romans 5:16

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.  Romans 5:16 ESV

Keep in mind Paul told us in verse 14 that Adam was a type of the one to come - Jesus Christ - and is working his way toward explaining that comparison. In verse 15, Paul alluded to the fact that both Adam and Christ affected many people - however the bulk of Paul's point so far has been that though Adam was a 'type' or 'imitation' of Jesus Christ who was to come, the results of their acts on those affected were polar opposites.

In verse 15: But the free gift is not like the trespass. Paul goes on to say that the result of one trespass is death, and the result of the free gift is eternal life, by God's grace.

Paul starts verse 16 in a similar way:
And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin - 
It seems that Paul is almost repeating himself here, but I think that he is shifting his point slightly. In verse 15, Paul was talking about the power of the trespass to condemn all of those affected - which is all of humanity - (if we go back to verse 12), and the greater power of the free gift, given by the grace of God, to destroy the condemnation of the trespass.

Now, Paul focuses a little more on the different affects of the two acts (trespass and free gift) in the context of judgement, viewed in terms of legality.  


For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation

There are two very important points Paul makes here. 
1. condemnation is the result of God's judgement, which we know is always perfectly just
2. this condemnation was the result of 1 initial trespass, which we know gave birth to many trespasses

condemnation: (Greek) -  an adverse sentence (the verdict) - comes from the Greek word that means to judge against, to condemn or damn
     - I think we could take from this that Paul is saying anyone under the condemnation of even one trespass against our perfect and holy God will be ruled against, given an adverse sentence - or to put it bluntly will be damned - when they stand before Him. I would argue that this condemnation is experienced to a certain degree even in this physical life by all who are not walking in a relationship with Him here and now.



but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

In contrast to the one trespass that brought condemnation, the free gift follows many trespasses.

Paul explains the opposite affect that the free gift has on all of those who receive it: justification.

justification: (Greek) - an equitable deed; by implication a statute or decision: - judgment, justification, ordinance, righteousness - comes from the Greek word that means just, innocent, or free.
      -  I think it's interesting that this word has to do with judgement as well, but from a different perspective, one that gives way to rejoicing and praise to the One who has made this justification possible!


We see the legal terms judged, condemnation, and justification here. We know that God is perfectly righteous, which means He cannot rule against what is right. God cannot justify one who is guilty, nor can He condemn one who is innocent.

I would add that the reason God cannot justify the guilty or condemn the innocent is not because He is held to some legal order, or law, that is above Him. God rules justly based on His own character which is the essence of perfect righteousness. In sovereignty, God always acts in accordance with who He is.

It's so important that we understand the perfect righteousness of God's judgement - it is always right in every way. In this verse, Paul is saying that, because of the sin of Adam passed down to all men, the judgement will be condemnation. The sinfulness that we are all guilty of cannot be overlooked...no sin can be overlooked. We are condemned before a perfect God, according to His righteous judgement.

However, there is hope, because Paul also speaks of justification...some people will, according to God's righteous judgement, be determined to be justified, set free. In order for God to maintain His perfect standards, this has to mean that He has not overlooked their sin, but that every single sin of these people has been 100% paid for. How does this happen? The free gift - Christ's sacrifice that is utterly sufficient to pay for every sin we have, and ever will commit!

Thank You Father, for providing the free gift, that we might have hope of knowing what it means to be justified, to be found innocent in spite of all that we have done. Thank You Jesus for being willing to take on our sin, that we might be completely forgiven...please reveal the darkness of our sin to us, that we might appreciate more every day what we have been saved out of and and saved into. 

Romans 5:15

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.
Romans 5:15 ESV

I want to keep in mind this line from the previous verse:
who was a type of the one who was to come.
Paul is now going to explain how Adam was a type of the one who was to come, that being Jesus Christ.


But the free gift is not like the trespass

He starts by immediately showing that, while Adam was a type of the one to come, the result of what the two (Adam and Jesus) did was different. So, what two things is Paul comparing in order to reveal contrast here?

a free gift: we know Paul is talking about eternal life when he speaks of the free gift available through Jesus Christ.

the trespass: here, Paul is specifically talking about the initial sin in the garden. We can, however, apply this to our lives and realize that any affects that stem from this initial trespass are also the result of our many trespasses. What sin took place in the garden that resulted in the fall of man? Was eating fruit a sin, or was it the fact that God's command was ignored? Eating fruit wasn't the issue, disobeying God was the terrible trespass - so we can be sure that any and all disobedience to God on our part, on any level, has the same result as Adam's initial trespass - separation from God.

We hear these commands and, on the surface, they seem easy enough to obey:
"You shall not murder" Exodus 20:13
"You shall not commit adultery" Exodus 20:14
"You shall not steal" Exodus 20:15

But what about commands like these:
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  Philippians 4:6
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds  James 1:2

These commands are much, much more difficult, if not seemingly impossible, to obey perfectly - yet our disobedience to these commands are the trespasses that hinder our relationship with God.



For if many died through one man's trespass

Paul now explains how, though Adam was a type of the one to come, the trespass and the free gift are very different. Through this explanation, we get more information about the ugliness of the trespass and the beauty of the free gift.

Paul reinforces what he stated in verse 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 -
This trespass of Adam spread to all men, and affected the relationship of all men with God. We are all accountable because we have all sinned, and so overwhelming is the curse of this sin that we are powerless against it. We are are born into it (spiritual death) and it always finds us (physical death).



much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

Paul is saying here - if the trespass was powerful enough to separate all men from God, how much more powerful is the free gift to break those chains of condemnation and separation. Paul explains some of the characteristics of this free gift, eternal life, that reveal it's absolute beauty:

It is free (we cannot earn it or pay for it - nor are we expected to try), it is by grace (God's unmerited favor and not of us), and it is through our Lord Jesus Christ (it has nothing to do with our limited abilities but everything to do with His limitlessness and perfection)! 

How can we not respond in awe of this amazing Truth!

Let's look at the power of this free gift of eternal life - this eternal life that can release us from the condemnation of the spiritual death -
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Col. 1:13,14

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 1 John 3:14

Eternal life does not eliminate physical death, but has the power to remove its sting -
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.  Philippians 1:21-23

This free gift of eternal life, with all of its power, is not something we are waiting for - something that will be presented to us on the last day. It is available now, empowering the saints as we press forward, as God reveals Himself continuously through us. Eternal life begins the moment the soul is transferred from death to life, the moment our relationship with God begins. On the last day, those who have eternal life will rejoice as they are raised up!

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  John 3:36

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  John 4:14

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40

 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, 

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3

Romans 5:13,14

for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 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.   Romans 5:13,14 ESV


for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given

Paul continues to drive home the fact that we are all sinners - not because of any written rules or laws - but because we have inherited a sin nature from Adam. For the Jews, Paul's statement here is a problem. They were convinced that keeping the religious laws handed down to them from their fathers was the way to salvation. Paul destroys the teaching that adherence to any laws has anything to do with a persons salvation by explaining the law itself cannot save anyone, because no one is condemned solely on their failure to keep any particular written law or rule - it runs deeper than that.

If salvation depended on written laws or rules, how did so many that lived before the time of Moses discern good and evil? Why were the people of Noah's time wiped off the face of the earth for their evil deeds - yet Noah was found righteous in God's eyes? (Genesis 6:9-13). Why were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed, yet Abraham was able to discern good and evil?

Our sinfulness is not based on our inability to keep God's written laws and commands. Our sinfulness  it is embedded in our nature. We are condemned and separated from God because we have inherited a sinfulness from Adam that has spread like a cancer to every human that ever lived. Therefore:

The answer to our condemned state is not mustering up some 'ability' to keep laws that were given long after the fall of man; instead the answer to our situation lies in our reconciliation to God - which is only possible through the forgiveness of not just our sins, but our sinfulness itself, which is the root cause of our separation from God.

but sin is not counted where there is no law

It seems that Paul is contradicting himself here, but instead he is actually clearing things up for the Jews. Before the law,  men were condemned based on their inherited sin nature (original sin).  They were not condemned for specific sinful acts, but for their sinfulness in general. God was visible to them through His eternal power and divine attributes, and specifically through creation, yet man in his sinfulness refused to recognize God for who He is. (Romans 1:20)

The fact that those who lived before any written laws from God were given stood condemned puts an even greater responsibility on the shoulders of all of us who have access to God's Word - for we are condemned by the same original sin - yet we have been given access to all that God has revealed in Scripture - which should serve as a floodlight, revealing our sinfulness, our specific sinful acts, and our desperate need for redemption. If those before Adam were without excuse (Romans 1:20), how much worse off are we if we do not see the Truth in light of all the information we have been given?

We are completely condemned based on our overall sinfulness that we inherited from birth - and - we are specifically condemned on the basis of any and all transgressions of God's perfect commands and laws that have been laid out before us. Our sins are counted.

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses

Paul restates that death (physical and spiritual - brought on by sin) was in full effect the entire time man was on the earth before Moses, and before any written laws were given. The Gentiles that Paul talks about in Romans 2:14,15 are an example of people having knowledge of God's law without access to any written laws - 

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

The law God gave to Moses was not the solution, but rather shed more light on the problem!

even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam

I take this as also being a reference to those who lived before the law, whose specific sins were not counted against them but instead were condemned because of their inherited sinfulness that made itself visible through their willing suppression of God's truth (Romans 1:18) This was different than Adam's sin. Adam and Eve were not condemned because of an inherited sin nature, rather they were condemned because of a specific evil act: disobedience to God. Through this specific act, every single one of their ancestors was born with the knowledge of good and evil, and a nature that opposes God.

who was a type of the one who was to come

Speaking of Adam here, Paul says that he was a type of someone who was coming after him. 

type: Greek - a die (as struck), that is, (by implication) a stamp or scar; by analogy a shape, that is, a statue, (figuratively) style or resemblance; specifically a sampler (“type”), that is, a model (for imitation) or instance (for warning): - en- (ex-) ample, fashion, figure, form, manner, pattern, print.

In the King James Version, type is translated the figure of him that was to come. 

So we can see that Paul is saying that Adam was a form, a figure, or a resemblance of someone who was coming after him. We will revisit this part of verse 14 as we dig into verse 15, where Paul reveals to us that the someone referred to here is Jesus Christ. These are some fascinating verses, as Adam and Christ stand in stark contrast to each other, yet they have similarities. Paul will explain this for us going forward. 

Romans 5:12

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  Romans 5:12 ESV

This statement reveals who we are as humans - sinful, mortal creatures. This in turn reveals our need for something bigger than us, a Savior that can rescue us from our condemned state.

I think the first thing we need to notice about this verse is that it begins with "therefore" - meaning we need to look back to what Paul has written previously that would lead into this verse. When looking back, we see that Paul just finished explaining, in detail, our reconciliation through faith in Christ - which addresses our need for rescuing by a Savior. Before that, he explained in detail our lost and condemned state before Christ.

A verse that jumps out that ties into verse 12 here is 3:9 - "...for we have charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin."
Paul then goes on to quote Old Testament scripture that explains how sinful and evil we as lost people really are in our condemned state.

In Romans 3:9 and Romans 5:12, Paul is explaining clearly to the Jews in his audience that, without faith in Christ, they are just as condemned as the Greeks. This was so crucial for the Jews to understand, because they were convinced that their heritage and their adherence to physical laws set them apart and gave them an advantage at Salvation over the Greeks.

Paul's message is that we have all equally inherited sin, we are all equally condemned, and we are all in equal, desperate need of a Savior.

sin came into the world through one man

So, how did sin come into the world through one man? The account of Adam and Eve in the garden is well known, but I want to reference it here briefly so we know exactly what Paul is talking about.

God's Commandment:

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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.  

Genesis 2:16,17

Satan's Temptation and the fall:

But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.  Genesis 3:4-7

Interrogation and sinful excuses:

But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:9-13

The punishment:

To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

Genesis 3:16-18

Ultimately, mortality:

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Genesis 3:19

We can see, from Genesis, that Adam and Eve sinned before God, and received their just condemnation. When their eyes were opened, Adam and Eve were separated from God - their relationship was fractured and now in need of restoration. This separation would be passed on from generation to generation, as we all are now born with a sinful nature that separates us from God. We are all in need of Jesus Christ to restore this relationship with God for us. 

David writes about this sinful nature inherited from the womb:

Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 

Now, in Romans 5:12, God confirms through Paul that we truly are sinful and lost, having inherited this sinful nature passed down from one man - Adam - who was a perfect representation for all men, and acted as any other man would have acted. 

and death through sin

We already looked at Genesis 3:19, where God told Adam and Eve that they would return to the dust that they were made of. Not only did sin lead to death, but it requires death as a payment, or in order for reconciliation to occur.

Paul writes later on in Romans: For the wages of sin is death... (6:23). 

In Hebrews we read this: ...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (9:22)
In Genesis 3:21: the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
    - here God used animals as a temporary sacrifice, using their skins as a temporary covering of the sin and shame that Adam and Eve now carried.

Sin, meaning anything unrighteous in God's eyes (1 John 5:17), or anything that does not meet His perfect standards, which in turn glorifies Him, is completely offensive to Him, and He cannot tolerate this in His presence (Habakkuk 1:13).

Therefore, in order to have a restored relationship with Him, we need to know the reconciliation through His Son that Paul talks about in Romans 5:11!



and so death spread to all men because all sinned

Adam was a perfect representation of all men, we are all guilty and justly condemned before God. Since this sin nature has been passed on to all men, so has death - both in the physical and spiritual sense. We all remain mortal, but there is hope because Jesus not only provides hope for spiritual life, but He conquered even physical death by rising from it! He is the only answer to our sinful, lost state - as Paul will go on to explain. 

Romans 5:11

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  Romans 5:11 ESV

I would like to look at some other things that Paul has said in this section (vs 1 - 11) as we look at this verse. 

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.    verse 2

Here, we are called to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. If we look at what Paul says leading up to this verse, we can understand what he means. In verse 1 Paul says we have been justified, counted righteous, by faith.

justified by faith: trust that the blood of Christ is sufficient and capable of saving, justifying, and reconciling us apart from works. 

With this faith (trust), which itself is a gift of God, we enter into grace (God's unmerited favor, salvation), and we rejoice.

Rejoicing in the hope (expectation) of the glory of God - since we have now entered into His unmerited favor (grace), we will continue to see God glorified as He is revealed in us, through us, and around us - more and more now, and for eternity in Heaven.

How is God glorified/revealed in us, through us, and around us?
God is glorified when He is revealed, and He is most clearly revealed through the gospel message in action - which includes our salvation! So we can rejoice in the expectation (hope) that the life change we have experienced through the gospel message will work in us, through us, and affect those around us - revealing God and glorifying Him!


Then Paul says in verse 3:  More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings...  

So, more than rejoicing in the expectation that God will be revealed and glorified through our lives because of the gospel message in action (justified by faith in Christ Jesus), more than that - we are called to rejoice in our sufferings as well. 

Paul goes on to explain what this means, which we have covered previously. When we read the following verses, we can begin to see the peace that passes all understanding that Paul talks about. When we are called to rejoice in our sufferings, and then we see that even in this God is glorified through the spiritual growth of His children as He is found faithful, we begin to see this is something the world cannot understand.

Paul transitions from sufferings into Gods love, and explains what kind of love He has for us. The kind of selfless love that includes offering His innocent Son as a sacrifice, to reconcile us to Him even while we hated Him!

In light of these two reasons Paul gives us to rejoice as children of God, we can look at how verse 11 starts off:  More than that, we also rejoice in God

More than rejoicing as God is revealed in our lives, more than being called to rejoice in our sufferings, more than that, we can now rejoice in God.

To rejoice in God is to have that ultimate peace that He is our rock, our stronghold, our refuge, our source of everything and anything we will ever need. There are things in this life that are good, and can be used to glorify God - but nothing else is needed. We rejoice simply in God.

I think Paul placed this purposely as the third reason to rejoice because is sums up, and drives the other two. Because we can rejoice in Him - that He is who He says He is, we know He will reveal Himself in us, through us, and around us - so that we can rejoice in the expectation of His glory. Because we can rejoice in Him - that He is who He says He is, we can know that any suffering He allows His children to go through will ultimately reveal Him even more - and His love - so that we can rejoice even in our sufferings.

On the flip side, if we are struggling to rejoice in God, we will have hard time rejoicing in the hope that He will be revealed in our lives, and we will really have a hard time rejoicing in our suffering. It all starts with rejoicing in Him.

The path to becoming a more godly person, to rising above the temptations and struggle of this world, to glorying Him by allowing Him to be revealed begins with rejoicing in Him and who HE IS - THE GREAT I AM!

through our Lord Jesus Christ

We are able to rejoice in God through what our Savior Jesus Christ has done - there is no other way.

If God were to strip away all of the "good" things you have done, with all of the "good" decisions you made to steer clear of the sinfulness of the world, how would He see you?
If God were to strip away all the Sundays that you were in church, all the time you spent serving, all the money you gave in His name, how would He see you?
If God reminded you of all the sins you committed, from the slightest thought to the worst action, one by one from beginning to end, how would He see you?

He should see you rejoicing in Him through His Son, who has wrapped us completely in the robe of His perfect righteousness - without it we are utterly condemned, but with it we are saved to the uttermost! (Hebrews 7:25)



through whom we have now received reconciliation

It is through Jesus Christ that we have received reconciliation - He alone is the channel of this great act of love and sacrifice!

to be reconciled was covered in the last post, but I have included it here:

What does it mean to be reconciled?

In the Greek, the word reconcile means to change or exchange, to return to favor with, to receive one into favor. In English, the word reconcile mean to win over to friendliness, to compose or settle a quarrel, to bring into agreement or harmony, to make compatible or consistent.

We are reconciled, we have a restored relationship with God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. This reconciliation is not based on or maintained through things that we do or don't do - it is only based on and maintained through Him. Everything we do should flow out of appreciation not obligation. We serve our God as His children, thankful and appreciative of what He has done!

(though we will never understand or grasp the totality of His love and sacrifice, even a taste should be enough to drive us to serve Him forever!)

Lord, I pray that You would reveal to us more everyday Your love for Your children...that this love would drive us to serve you out of love, awe, wonder, and appreciation of  who You are! Forgive us when we take our eyes off of You, and guide us to seek you - that we might first rejoice IN YOU, so that we could rejoice in the hope of your glory, and so that we will rejoice in the midst of our suffering here on earth - to You be the glory forever and ever!

Romans 5:10

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10 ESV

In verse 9 we saw that we have been justified by the blood of Christ. We looked at what Paul had said previously - Christ died for the ungodly, Christ died for us. Now Paul goes a step further to describe the sad, condemned state we where in when God saved us.



For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God

What does it mean to be an enemy of God?

enemy (Greek): hateful (passively odious, or actively hostile); usually as a noun, an adversary (especially Satan): - enemy, foe.  used of men at enmity with God by their sin, opposing God in the mind

enemy (English):  a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent.  persons, nations, etc., that are hostile to one another

These definitions paint a clear picture of who we are in our relationship to God, how He sees us in our sinful, unforgiven state. We are enemies of God - we oppose Him, we hate Him, we are His adversaries. 

Some verses that describe this further:  

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. John 3:19

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  John 3:20

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Mathew 6:24

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

These verses explain the truth that while we are in darkness we hate the light, we can only serve one master, and we are either children of God or children of Satan - there is no in between. From these verses and what Paul has written in Romans we should come away understanding that before we are forgiven we are evil creatures, children of Satan serving only Satan, lost lovers of darkness wanting nothing to do with God who is perfect light. 

One might wonder about those who are not Christians yet seem to be "good" people. People who give money to the poor, who donate millions to charity, people who are moral and upright even if they don't love God or have a relationship with Him. There are people who are "good" from our perspective, but we must look at things from God's perspective. God is the foundation and standard of good, and anything that is truly good will come from Him and glorify Him. 

Anyone who seems to do "good" things without a relationship with God is merely imitating, in a very fractured and incomplete way, what God has revealed about Himself to the world - things that are moral, ethical, and right. 

At the end of the day, God has told us that we either serve Him or the Devil, we either love Him or we hate Him, we are either His children or His enemy. 

So, what does Scripture say about those of us that are now children of God? We were saved while we were enemies of Him! The bible doesn't say that we were people who no longer wanted to be enemies of God and He saved us. The bible doesn't say that we began to hate the darkness and as we looked for the light God saved us. The bible doesn't say that we realized our condemned state and began to clean ourselves up in search of God. No - the bible says that while we were enemies - while we actively opposed God, while we actively hated God, while we were actively serving Satan, while we actively despised the Light, God saved us from our condemnation. 

Salvation is not a reward for moving away from our sinful, lost, condemned state - Salvation is God removing us from our sinful, lost, condemned state. 

It's very important for us to try to understand this, because it is laid out as truth in Scripture and the more we can grasp the truth of Scripture the more God is glorified in our lives. When we realize that God saved us in the midst of our sinfulness, while we were His enemies, we remove ourselves from the equation of salvation. This is very important because salvation is by grace through faith, having nothing to do with us, or our ability. When we can remove ourselves from the equation, salvation becomes only about God saving us from condemnation, by an act of pure grace on His part - and as Paul said - apart from any of our works. 

we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son

Paul has said previously that we were justified by faith in Christ, we were justified by His blood, and now we are reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Jesus had everything to do with our relationship with God being restored - there is no other way we can come to know God other than through His Son that paid the ultimate price.

What does it mean to be reconciled?

In the Greek, the word reconcile means to change or exchange, to return to favor with, to receive one into favor. In English, the word reconcile mean to win over to friendliness, to compose or settle a quarrel, to bring into agreement or harmony, to make compatible or consistent. 

God has promised us that, while we were His enemies (hating Him, opposing Him, adversaries of His serving the Devil), He has reconciled us to Himself (changed us, returned us to favor with Him, settled the hatred, brought us into harmony with Him, made us compatible with Him) through the death of His Son!  What an awesome, loving, holy God!

much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life

Mathew Henry, in his commentary, made a point I don't want to miss on the last part of this verse, and how verse 9 and 10 tie together as one truth. Here the the two verses in order, with the parts I want to emphasize highlighted: 

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  (verse 9)

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (verse 10)

We can see that we were justified and reconciled, and much more than that, we are saved from the wrath of God by the life of our risen Christ. I have included part of Henry's commentary as he explains this with such beautiful clarity:

Hence results salvation from wrath: Saved from wrath, saved by his life. When that which hinders our salvation is taken away, the salvation must needs follow. Nay, the argument holds very strongly; if God justified and reconciled us when we were enemies, and put himself to so much charge to do it, much more will he save us when we are justified and reconciled. He that has done the greater, which is of enemies to make us friends, will certainly the less, which is when we are friends to use us friendly and to be kind to us. And therefore the apostle, once and again, speaks of it with a much more. He that hath digged so deep to lay the foundation will no doubt build upon that foundation. - We shall be saved from wrath, from hell and damnation. It is the wrath of God that is the fire of hell; the wrath to come. The final justification and absolution of believers at the great day, together with the fitting and preparing of them for it, are the salvation from wrath here spoken of; it is the perfecting of the work of grace. - Reconciled by his death, saved by his life. His life here spoken of is not to be understood of his life in the flesh, but his life in heaven, that life which ensued after his death.

 I highlighted to two major points that stuck out to me. Will not God, who saved us from condemnation through the brutal death of His Son, not follow through and bring us now to an eternal life with Him, through His risen Son? Hallelujah!