Angelic Conflict part 275: Defeater of death – Rom 5:12-21; 3:12; Isa 1:5-6; Heb 12:2; Col 2:14; 1Sa 2:8.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 275: Defeater of death – Rom 5:12-21; 3:12; Isa 1:5-6; Heb 12:2; Col 2:14; 1Sa 2:8.  

 

 

Romans: Expositions of Bible Doctrines © 1966 by Donald Barnhouse.

 

 

Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — 

 

Rom 5:13 for until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed [charged to their account] when there is no law.

 

Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

 

Rom 5:15 But the free gift is not like [has no comparison to] the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many [all humanity] died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

 

He wrote something similar:

Rom 8:18

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

 

Rom 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

 

Adam makes one willful sin that opens the flood gates of personal sins, a list which is extensive to say the least, and the beyond comparable gift of Christ is to cleanse us from every one of them. He never got off the cross, though He had the power to do so. He didn't know when it would end, but He remained.

 

Heb 12:2

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author [Prince Ruler] and perfecter [Completer] of faith, who for the joy set before Him [in place of His present joy] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Col 2:14

having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

 

So verse 16 becomes deeper in meaning for us:

 

Rom 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

 

Rom 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

 

Rom 5:17

 For if one man's offence meant that men should be slaves to death all their lives, it is a far greater thing that through another man, Jesus Christ, men by their acceptance of his more than sufficient grace and righteousness, should live all their lives like kings! PHILLIPS

 

God is a great transformer of lives. He turns slaves into kings. He deposes the dynasty of sin, chains it in the dungeon, and en-thrones the dynasty of righteousness.

 

He who takes the beggar from the dunghill and sets him among princes to make him inherit the throne of glory, takes the child of Adam and lifts him to reign with Christ.

 

Hannah prayed after the gift of a son was given to her (Samuel):

1Sa 2:8

"He raises the poor from the dust,

He lifts the needy from the ash heap

To make them sit with nobles,

And inherit a seat of honor;

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,

And He set the world on them.

 

In verse 17 we have the phrase "much more" for the fourth time in this discourse.

 

In verse nine there is the much more of salvation over wrath through justification by His blood.

 

Rom 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

 

In verse ten we have the much more of reconciliation over our former status as His enemies.

 

Rom 5:10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

 

And in verse 15 we have the much more of Christ standing in for all mankind over the one transgression of Adam who condemned the human race.

 

Rom 5:15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

 

And now in verse 17 we have the much more of kingship.

 

Rom 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

 

The lordship of righteousness and life is much more than the lordship of sin and death. One is tyranny and the other is love.

 

Two men each performed a certain deed. Adam's was an act of disobedience and sin; Christ's was an act of obedience and righteousness. From both deeds issued lordship: the lordship of sin and the lordship of grace. Let us consider several comparisons between the two sovereignties in order to bring out why the lord-ship of Christ was so much greater than the lordship of Adam.

 

Comparison of lordship of Adam vs. Christ.

 

The lordship of death was a despotic tyranny, while Christ reigns by means of the cords of love.

 

Despotic tyranny is the absolute rule of a single entity, whether it is one person or a group of people. It doesn't always indicate a negative rulership, but it has come to mean that as most autocratic rulers of the last two centuries have set out to remove the free will of their people and plunder them. Certainly Christ reigns sovereign, but we would not describe Him as a despot or tyrant.

 

reigned (aorist) /will reign (future) - basileu,w[basileuo] = to reign as king.

 

Ruling by the consent of the governed found its origins in ancient Greece and then again in ancient Rome. However, their governments had flaws that allowed a tyranny of the majority which caused them to vacillate between popular rule and dictatorships.

 

It is impossible to read the history of the petty republics of Greece and Italy without feeling sensations of horror and disgust at the distractions with which they were continually agitated, and at the rapid succession of revolutions by which they were kept in a state of perpetual vibration between the extremes of tyranny and anarchy. [Federalist 9; Alexander Hamilton]

 

Therefore, the heart of man, any thinking man, gravitates to a desire for a free representative government, a government for the people and by the people in which the majority cannot become a tyrant either. Such were the founders of the United States - well educated, thinking men who desired a representative government. Thomas Jefferson was commissioned to write the Declaration of Independence.

 

[begin quote]* When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them [no man can tyrannize another man], a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and happiness.*[end quote]

 

I mention this because it is beautiful and every sane person who is not completely filled with certain lusts, desires it. The Magna Carta [1215] was the first of this kind of document that had real application, meaning a constitution, but it was not as powerful or strong or binding as our two precious documents, DOI and Constitution, one defines what we are and our rights and the other is the means of protecting who we are and our rights.

 

Our rights as citizens, as protected by these documents, make us somewhat sovereign. We pursue happiness the way we desire, practice religion, freely assemble, and speak freely without fear of arrest or punishment, as long as we don't violate these same rights in others, all of which are protected by just laws. I only use this as an illustration or a type of Christ's system of rulership, which is of love and freedom. Obviously living in a free, representative democracy is not the end all of eternal life, but it is certainly the place of greatest gospel teaching.

 

Notice again in our passage, we are made kings of this life.

 

Rom 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

 

By means of the gift of righteousness, our Lord's righteousness, we will reign as kings in life. We are not working towards righteousness, but are righteous as a free gift of God's grace. Therefore, we are not looking to ourselves or others or the world for anything regarding righteousness and so we are free from these things and do not fear their loss or gain, and so we are sovereign over the world, over death, and so, over life.

 

There is a sovereignty in that which is completely dependent upon our Lord and, of course, not in violation of our "constitution and declaration" which is the word of God.

 

Gal 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

 

Gal 5:2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

 

Gal 5:3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.

 

Gal 5:4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

 

Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.

 

Gal 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

 

Gal 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

 

Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

 

Gal 5:25 If we live by the Spirit [and we do], let us also walk by the Spirit.

 

We have been set free from the first ruler, the tyranny of sin and death and made sovereigns in life. We are not made gods or little gods or are in any way as sovereign as Christ. Our sovereignty or freedom to live the life beyond dreams is completely and utterly dependent on Christ. He is in us as our hope of glory. Without Him we cannot reign. So we would say that we reign in life through Him as His wisdom and power flows through us. We are no longer under the domain of sin, death, sickness, poverty, hunger, thirst, or any other created thing.

 

Ever since Adam, the race has been subject to dissolution and decay.

 

Death and sin rule as despots. They do not ask their subjects to accept their rule. They are dictators of the most tyrannical stamp.

 

Every member of the human race is born a slave to sin and death, even though each believes himself free. An individual lives in the delusion that he is in control and can choose to live in sin at one moment and to live in goodness at another. But when we study the matter, we see that by committing sin a man proves that sin is his master, and he is sin's slave. It is the same, of course, with death. The world has the proverb, "Physician, heal thyself," an admission that even the doctor dies. And thus it has been with all the race since Adam; the entire history of mankind is the history of the slaves of sin and death.


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