The Text: Romans 5: Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ διʼ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν, ἐφʼ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον· 13 ἄχρι γὰρ νόμου ἁμαρτία ἦν ἐν κόσμῳ, ἁμαρτία δὲ οὐκ ἐλλογεῖται μὴ ὄντος νόμου, 14 ἀλλὰ ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωϋσέως καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντας ἐπὶ τῷ ὁμοιώματι τῆς παραβάσεως Ἀδὰμ ὅς ἐστιν τύπος τοῦ μέλλοντος. 15 Ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς τὸ παράπτωμα, οὕτως καὶ τὸ χάρισμα· εἰ γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι οἱ πολλοὶ ἀπέθανον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ δωρεὰ ἐν χάριτι τῇ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐπερίσσευσεν. 16 καὶ οὐχ ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς ἁμαρτήσαντος τὸ δώρημα· τὸ μὲν γὰρ κρίμα ἐξ ἑνὸς εἰς κατάκριμα, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα ἐκ πολλῶν παραπτωμάτων εἰς δικαίωμα. 17 εἰ γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι ὁ θάνατος ἐβασίλευσεν διὰ τοῦ ἑνός, πολλῷ μᾶλλον οἱ τὴν περισσείαν τῆς χάριτος καὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς δικαιοσύνης λαμβάνοντες ἐν ζωῇ βασιλεύσουσιν διὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. 18 Ἄρα οὖν ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς παραπτώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς κατάκριμα, οὕτως καὶ διʼ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς· 19 ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί, οὕτως καὶ διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοί. 20 νόμος δὲ παρεισῆλθεν, ἵνα πλεονάσῃ τὸ παράπτωμα· οὗ δὲ ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις, 21 ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐβασίλευσεν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ, οὕτως καὶ ἡ χάρις βασιλεύσῃ διὰ δικαιοσύνης εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν. Aland, Barbara ; Aland, Kurt ; Black, Matthew ; Martini, Carlo M. ; Metzger, Bruce M. ; Wikgren, Allen: The Greek New Testament. 4th ed. Federal Republic of Germany : United Bible Societies, 1993, c1979, S. 417

Verse 12: Notice The Protasis * ὥσπερ with no Apodosis * οὕτως καὶ 12 Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ διʼ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν, ἐφʼ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον· 1. Notice that there is no apodosis “οὕτως καὶ” in verse This means that Paul allows some peripheral issues to be dealt with before completing his thought in verse (the οὖν in verse 18 tells us he is about to complete his thought in 12). 3. Verse 18, “ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς παραπτώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς κατάκριμα” is the restatement of the essence of the protasis in verse Verse 18, “οὕτως καὶ διʼ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς·” is the completed thought (in essence the missing apodosis) of verse Verse 19 restates the essence of verse 18 with an equal parallel. 6. This all teaches us that verse 12 MUST be read in light of vv (not in light of vv ) as the Greek diagram of the text also bears out. Indeed, your interpretation of the text should be able to be confirmed by verses 12,18-19 read in isolation and with equal force of meaning across the three verses. *Grammatical term “protasis” means “dependent” clause of a conditional sentence *Grammatical term “apodosis” means “consequent” clause of a conditional sentence Example: (Protasis) JUST AS through one’s man disobedience many were constituted sinners (apodosis) SO ALSO through one man’s obedience many were constituted righteous.

The Parallels of Verse Parallels: Vs. 18 Ἄρα οὖν ὡς 1. Παραπτώματος εἰς κατάκριμα οὕτως καὶ δικαιώματος εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς 1A: διʼ ἑνὸς (οὕτως καὶ) διʼ ἑνὸς 1B: εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους (οὕτως καὶ) εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους Note: This teaches us that JUST AS through one act of trespass all humanity are declared guilty (κατάκριμα) SO ALSO through one act of righteousness all humanity are declared righteous (δικαίωσιν). Therefore, if you downplay our guiltiness (condemnation) in any way, then you must likewise downplay our righteousness (justification) in that same way. Note: This likewise tells us how to take verse 12. The death passed onto us is the result of our guiltiness (condemnation) from the one trespass where “we all sinned.” Note: Paul’s teaching in verse 12 that through Adam’s one sin (διʼ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία… καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος) and the judgment of death came to us as a result of Adam’s one sin--“because all sinned”– is the exact declaration that caused Paul to explain himself against Jewish objections (vv ) to that teaching. The objections only make sense if Paul teaches what he declares in verse 18, namely, we have the declaration of guilt upon us from Adam’s one act of trespass IN THE SAME WAY that we have the declaration of righteous upon us from Adam’s one act of righteousness

The Parallels of Verse Parallels: Vs. 19 ὥσπερ γὰρ 2. ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οὕτως καὶ δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται 2A: διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς (οὕτως καὶ ) διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς 2B: τοῦ ἑνὸς (οὕτως καὶ) τοῦ ἑνὸς 2C: οἱ πολλοί (οὕτως καὶ) οἱ πολλοί Note: This teaches us that JUST AS we are constituted SINNERS (ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν) through the one act of the disobedience (παρακοῆς) of Adam (τοῦ ἑνὸς ) SO ALSO we are constituted RIGHTEOUS (δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται )through the one act of the obedience (ὑπακοῆς) of Christ (τοῦ ἑνὸς ). Therefore, if you downplay HOW Adam’s ONE ACT constituted you a SINNER, then you MUST also downplay HOW Christ’s ONE ACT constituted you RIGHTEOUS. The text demands this. Note: This reinforces/restates verse 18 and likewise the interpretation of verse 12 as teaching how the one trespass of Adam declares us the guilty Sinners IN THE SAME WAY that the one righteous act of Christ declares us the acquitted Righteous.

The Parallels in Paul’s Contrasts of Verses Contrasts: Verse 15 The contrast stated broadly: Ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς τὸ παράπτωμα, οὕτως καὶ τὸ χάρισμα εἰ γὰρ 1. Stated Specifically: τῷ παραπτώματι (singular in contrast, πολλῷ μᾶλλον, to super-abundance) πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ χάρις…ἡ δωρεὰ ἐπερίσσευσεν 1A: ἀπέθανον ( οὐχ οὕτως καὶ ) ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ δωρεὰ ἐν χάριτι (superabundance emphatic with stating it twice in two different ways) Parallels within Contrast: 1B: τοῦ ἑνὸς (οὕτως καὶ) τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ 1C: οἱ πολλοὶ (οὕτως καὶ) εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς Note: The ultimate parallel is found within the contrast. Said similar to Paul: The trespass of Adam GIVES MUCH LESS IN CONTRAST to the gift of Jesus Christ which GIVES the SUPERABUNDANCE of God’s grace. The parallel within the contrast is the “giving.” JUST AS one trespass gives death SO ALSO the gift of God gives grace. Therefore, JUST AS we are given the gift of God’s grace through the obedience of Christ by justification unto life SO ALSO we must be given death through the one trespass of disobedience of Adam by condemnation. This is tantamount to saying we are condemned guilty in Adam by his sin and we are acquitted righteous in Christ by His righteousness. This is the doctrine of original sin. This is Paul’s doctrine.

The Parallels in Paul’s Contrasts of Verses Contrasts: Verse 16 The contrast stated broadly: καὶ οὐχ ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς ἁμαρτήσαντος τὸ δώρημα· “And (the kai brings with it the assumption of verse 15, ‘that which is given’) THROUGH the sinning of one (Adam) is not like (that which is given) through the gift (of the One)” τὸ μὲν γὰρ 2.Stated Differently: κρίμα εἰς κατάκριμα (contrastive δὲ) χάρισμα εἰς δικαίωμα Note: see the equality of terms: that which is given through the sinning of Adam=JUDGMENT unto Condemnation Note: see the equality of terms: that which is given through the gift of one=CHARISMA unto Justification And Specifically 2A: ἐξ ἑνὸς [even if this means the person Adam it still represents his ONE trespass] (contrastive δὲ) ἐκ πολλῶν παραπτωμάτων Parallels within Contrast: 2B: The declaring or act of εἰς κατάκριμα and εἰς δικαίωμα 2C: The dia of Adam and the dia of Christ: thing s “ are given through” them in the same way Note: The ultimate meaning of the contrast is seen in 2A. Basically how much GREATER is the ABUNDANCE of the gift of God’s grace that overcomes (ek, meaning “against”) MANY sins IN CONTRAST to the one judgment that overcame from (or against) only ONE sin. The contrast is meant to be seen between the magnitude of victory between the one sin and the grace of God. Downplay the victory of the sin of Adam (original sin), then you MUST downplay the victory of the grace of God (the gospel of Christ). Note: Again here as in verse 18, if you downplay the declaration of guiltiness (κατάκριμα), then you downplay IN THE SAME WAY the declaration of righteousness (δικαίωμα). If you mess with your guilt in Adam, then you MUST equally mess with your righteousness in Christ. This is the importance of the doctrine of original sin and significance of Christ as THE true “Second” Adam. Like wise from the parallel implicit in the contrast stated broadly in verse 16—If you choose to molest with what is given to us through Adam, then you MUST molest with what is given to us through Christ.

The Parallels in Paul’s Contrasts of Verses Contrasts: Verse 17 εἰ γὰρ 3. ὁ θάνατος ἐβασίλευσεν (In contrast, πολλῷ μᾶλλον) οἱ λαμβάνοντες ἐν ζωῇ βασιλεύσουσιν 3A: τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι (ONE trespass) in contrast to SUPERABUNDANCE (the MUCH MORE) of grace and gift of righteousness (he emphasizes this contrast by stating the grace gift twice in different ways, τὴν περισσείαν τῆς χάριτος καὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς δικαιοσύνης, same as he did in verse 15 with the same exact contrast; ALSO this can be connected back to the διʼ ἑνὸς ἁμαρτήσαντος τὸ δώρημα contrast stated generally in verse 16). Parallels within Contrast: 3B: ἐβασίλευσεν διὰ τοῦ ἑνός AND βασιλεύσουσιν διὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (the parallel is the fact of “reigning”) 3C: τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι AND τὴν περισσείαν τῆς χάριτος καὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς δικαιοσύνης (the parallel is the “by”—IN THE SAME WAY that death is BY the one trespass SO ALSO is life BY the grace and gift of righteousness; this is the same parallel within the contrast as the ultimate parallel within the contrast in verse 15). Note: Paul’s equality of terms in vv.15-17: gift of righteousness=gift in grace=gift unto justification Note: Where Paul repeats here in verse 17 the same connections he makes in verse 15-16, we could repeat the same arguments for original sin. Note: But the “new” parallel and likewise argument for original sin given to us here is seen in 3B—the Federal reigning. If you downplay THE WAY by which death by one sin (see 3C) reigned through Adam (see 3B), then you MUST downplay THE WAY by which We reign in life BY GRACE (see 3C) THROUGH Christ (see 3B), our Righteousness. IN THE SAME WAY that death reigned THROUGH ADAM, SO ALSO we live THROUGH CHRIST. That is to say (as Paul does in verse 16 and 18) that condemnation and justification are strict parallels. In the same way that we are declared guilty IN ADAM, SO ALSO we are declared righteous IN CHRIST.