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Commentary on Romans 5 verses 6–21
The apostle here describes the fountain and foundation of justification, laid in the death of the Lord Jesus. The streams are very sweet, but, if you run them up to the spring-head, you will find it to be Christ's dying for us; it is in the precious stream of Christ's blood that all these privileges come flowing to us: and therefore he enlarges upon this instance of the love of God which is shed abroad. Three things he takes notice of for the explication and illustration of this doctrine: - 1. The persons he died for, Rom 5:6-8. 2. The precious fruits of his death, Rom 5:9-11. 3. The parallel he runs between the communication of sin and death by the first Adam and of righteousness and life by the second Adam, Rom 5:12, to the end.
I. The character we were under when Christ died for us.
1.We were without strength (Rom 5:6), in a sad condition; and, which is worse, altogether unable to help ourselves out of that condition - lost, and no visible way open for our recovery - our condition deplorable, and in a manner desperate; and, therefore our salvation is here said to come in due time. God's time to help and save is when those that are to be saved are without strength, that his own power and grace may be the more magnified, Deu 32:36. It is the manner of God to help at a dead lift,
2.He died for the ungodly; not only helpless creatures, and therefore likely to perish, but guilty sinful creatures, and therefore deserving to perish; not only mean and worthless, but vile and obnoxious, unworthy of such favour with the holy God. Being ungodly, they had need of one to die for them, to satisfy for guilt, and to bring in a righteousness. This he illustrates (Rom 5:7, Rom 5:8) as an unparalleled instance of love; herein God's thoughts and ways were above ours. Compare Joh 15:13, Joh 15:14, Greater love has no man. (1.) One would hardly die for a righteous man, that is, an innocent man, one that is unjustly condemned; every body will pity such a one, but few will put such a value upon his life as either to hazard, or much less to deposit, their own in his stead. (2.) It may be, one might perhaps be persuaded to die for a good man, that is, a useful man, who is more than barely a righteous man. Many that are good themselves yet do but little good to others; but those that are useful commonly get themselves well beloved, and meet with some that in a case of necessity would venture to be their antipsuchoi - would engage life for life, would be their bail, body for body. Paul was, in this sense, a very good man, one that was very useful, and he met with some that for his life laid down their own necks, Rom 16:4. And yet observe how he qualifies this: it is but some that would do so, and it is a daring act if they do it, it must be some bold venturing soul; and, after all, it is but a peradventure. (3.) But Christ died for sinners (Rom 5:8), neither righteous nor good; not only such as were useless, but such as were guilty and obnoxious; not only such as there would be no loss of should they perish, but such whose destruction would greatly redound to the glory of God's justice, being malefactors and criminals that ought to die. Some think he alludes to a common distinction the Jews had of their people into tsaddim - righteous, chesedim - merciful (compare Isa 57:1), and rashim - wicked. Now herein God commended his love, not only proved or evidenced his love (he might have done that at a cheaper rate), but magnified it and made it illustrious. This circumstance did greatly magnify and advance his love, not only put it past dispute, but rendered it the object of the greatest wonder and admiration: "Now my creatures shall see that I love them, I will give them such an instance of it as shall be without parallel." Commendeth his love, as merchants commend their goods when they would put them off. This commending of his love was in order to the shedding abroad of his love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. He evinces his love in the most winning, affecting, endearing way imaginable. While we were yet sinners, implying that we were not to be always sinners, there should be a change wrought; for he died to save us, not in our sins, but from our sins; but we were yet sinners when he died for us. (4.) Nay, which is more, we were enemies (Rom 5:10), not only malefactors, but traitors and rebels, in arms against the government; the worst kind of malefactors and of all malefactors the most obnoxious. The carnal mind is not only an enemy to God, but enmity itself, Rom 8:7; Col 1:21. This enmity is a mutual enmity, God loathing the sinner, and the sinner loathing God, Zac 11:8. And that for such as these Christ should die is such a mystery, such a paradox, such an unprecedented instance of love, that it may well be our business to eternity to adore and wonder at it. This is a commendation of love indeed. Justly might he who had thus loved us make it one of the laws of his kingdom that we should love our enemies.
II. The precious fruits of his death.
1.Justification and reconciliation are the first and primary fruit of the death of Christ: We are justified by his blood (Rom 5:9), reconciled by his death, Rom 5:10. Sin is pardoned, the sinner accepted as righteous, the quarrel taken up, the enmity slain, an end made of iniquity, and an everlasting righteousness brought in. This is done, that is, Christ has done all that was requisite on his part to be done in order hereunto, and, immediately upon our believing, we are actually put into a state of justification and reconciliation. Justified by his blood. Our justification is ascribed to the blood of Christ because without blood there is no remission Heb 9:22. The blood is the life, and that must go to make atonement. In all the propitiatory sacrifices, the sprinkling of the blood was of the essence of the sacrifice. It was the blood that made an atonement for the soul, Lev 17:11.
2.Hence results salvation from wrath: Saved from wrath (Rom 5:9), saved by his life, Rom 5:10 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, so it is called, Th1 1:10. 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. Compare Rom 14:9. He was dead, and is alive, Rev 1:18. We are reconciled by Christ humbled, we are saved by Christ exalted. The dying Jesus laid the foundation, in satisfying for sin, and slaying the enmity, and so making us salvable; thus is the partition-wall broken down, atonement made, and the attainder reversed; but it is the living Jesus that perfects the work: he lives to make intercession, Heb 7:25. It is Christ, in his exaltation, that by his word and Spirit effectually calls, and changes, and reconciles us to God, is our Advocate with the Father, and so completes and consummates our salvation. Compare Rom 4:25 and Rom 8:34. Christ dying was the testator, who bequeathed us the legacy; but Christ living is the executor, who pays it. Now the arguing is very strong. He that puts himself to the charge of purchasing our salvation will not decline the trouble of applying it.
3.All this produces, as a further privilege, our joy in God, Rom 5:11. God is now so far from being a terror to us that he is our joy, and our hope in the day of evil, Jer 17:17. We are reconciled and saved from wrath. Iniquity, blessed be God, shall not be our ruin. And not only so, there is more in it yet, a constant stream of favours; we not only go to heaven, but go to heaven triumphantly; not only get into the harbour, but come in with full sail: We joy in God, not only saved from his wrath, but solacing ourselves in his love, and this through Jesus Christ, who is the Alpha and the Omega, the foundation-stone and the top-stone of all our comforts and hopes - not only our salvation, but our strength and our song; and all this (which he repeats as a string he loved to be harping upon) by virtue of the atonement, for by him we Christians, we believers, have now, now in gospel times, or now in this life, received the atonement, which was typified by the sacrifices under thee law, and is an earnest of our happiness in heaven. True believers do by Jesus Christ receive the atonement. Receiving the atonement is our actual reconciliation to God in justification, grounded upon Christ's satisfaction. To receive the atonement is, (1.) To give our consent to the atonement, approving of, and agreeing to, those methods which Infinite Wisdom has taken of saving a guilty world by the blood of a crucified Jesus, being willing and glad to be saved in a gospel way and upon gospel terms. (2.) To take the comfort of the atonement, which is the fountain and the foundation of our joy in God. Now we joy in God, now we do indeed receive the atonement, Kauchōmenoi - glorying in it. God hath received the atonement (Mat 3:17; Mat 17:5; Mat 28:2): if we but receive it, the work is done.
III. The parallel that the apostle runs between the communication of sin and death by the first Adam and of righteousness and life by the second Adam (Rom 5:12, to the end), which not only illustrates the truth he is discoursing of, but tends very much to the commending of the love of God and the comforting of the hearts of true believers, in showing a correspondence between our fall and our recovery, and not only a like, but a much greater power in the second Adam to make us happy, than there was in the first to make us miserable. Now, for the opening of this, observe,
1.A general truth laid down as the foundation of his discourse - that Adam was a type of Christ (Rom 5:14): Who is the figure of him that was to come. Christ is therefore called the last Adam, Co1 15:45. Compare Co1 15:22. In this Adam was a type of Christ, that in the covenant-transactions that were between God and him, and in the consequent events of those transactions, Adam was a public person. God dealt with Adam and Adam acted as such a one, as a common father and factor, root and representative, of and for all his posterity; so that what he did in that station, as agent for us, we may be said to have done in him, and what was done to him may be said to have been done to us in him. Thus Jesus Christ, the Mediator, acted as a public person, the head of all the elect, dealt with God for them, as their father, factor, root, and representative - died for them, rose for them, entered within the veil for them, did all for them. When Adam failed, we failed with him; when Christ performed, he performed for us. Thus was Adam tupos tou mellontos - the figure of him that was to come, to come to repair that breach which Adam had made.
2.A more particular explication of the parallel, in which observe,
(1.)How Adam, as a public person, communicated sin and death to all his posterity (Rom 5:12): By one man sin entered. We see the world under a deluge of sin and death, full of iniquities and full of calamities. Now, it is worth while to enquire what is the spring that feeds it, and you will find it to be the general corruption of nature; and at what gap it entered, and you will find it to have been Adam's first sin. It was by one man, and he the first man (for if any had been before him they would have been free), that one man from whom, as from the root, we all spring. [1.] By him sin entered. When God pronounced all very good (Gen 1:31) there was no sin in the world; it was when Adam ate forbidden fruit that sin made its entry. Sin had before entered into the world of angels, when many of them revolted from their allegiance and left their first estate; but it never entered into the world of mankind till Adam sinned. Then it entered as an enemy, to kill and destroy, as a thief, to rob and despoil; and a dismal entry it was. Then entered the guilt of Adam's sin imputed to posterity, and a general corruption and depravedness of nature. Eph' hō - for that (so we read it), rather in whom, all have sinned. Sin entered into the world by Adam, for in him we all sinned. As, Co1 15:22, in Adam all die; so here, in him all have sinned; for it is agreeable to the law of all nations that the acts of a public person be accounted theirs whom they represent; and what a whole body does every member of the same body may be said to do. Now Adam acted thus as a public person, by the sovereign ordination and appointment of God, and yet that founded upon a natural necessity; for God, as the author of nature, had made this the law of nature, that man should beget in his own likeness, and so the other creatures. In Adam therefore, as in a common receptacle, the whole nature of man was reposited, from him to flow down in a channel to his posterity; for all mankind are made of one blood (Act 17:26), so that according as this nature proves through his standing or falling, before he puts it out of his hands, accordingly it is propagated from him. Adam therefore sinning and falling, the nature became guilty and corrupt, and is so derived. Thus in him all have sinned. [2.] Death by sin, for death is the wages of sin. Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. When sin came, of course death came with it. Death is here put for all that misery which is the due desert of sin, temporal, spiritual, eternal death. If Adam had not sinned, he had not died; the threatening was, In the day thou eatest thou shall surely die, Gen 2:17. [3.] So death passed, that is, a sentence of death was passed, as upon a criminal, diēlthen - passed through all men, as an infectious disease passes through a town, so that none escape it. It is the universal fate, without exception: death passes upon all. There are common calamities incident to human life which do abundantly prove this. Death reigned, Rom 5:14. He speaks of death as a mighty prince, and his monarchy the most absolute, universal, and lasting monarchy. None are exempted from its sceptre; it is a monarchy that will survive all other earthly rule, authority, and power, for it is the last enemy, Co1 15:26. Those sons of Belial that will be subject to no other rule cannot avoid being subject to this. Now all this we may thank Adam for; from him sin and death descend. Well may we say, as that good man, observing the change that a fit of sickness had made in his countenance, O Adam! what hast thou done?
Further, to clear this, he shows that sin did not commence with the law of Moses, but was in the world until, or before, that law; therefore that law of Moses is not the only rule of life, for there was a rule, and that rule was transgressed, before the law was given. It likewise intimates that we cannot be justified by our obedience to the law of Moses, any more than we were condemned by and for our disobedience to it. Sin was in the world before the law; witness Cain's murder, the apostasy of the old world, the wickedness of Sodom. His inference hence is, Therefore there was a law; for sin is not imputed where there is no law. Original sin is a want of conformity to, and actual sin is a transgression of, the law of God: therefore all were under some law. His proof of it is, Death reigned from Adam to Moses, Rom 5:14. It is certain that death could not have reigned if sin had not set up the throne for him. This proves that sin was in the world before the law, and original sin, for death reigned over those that had not sinned any actual sin, that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, never sinned in their own persons as Adam did - which is to be understood of infants, that were never guilty of actual sin, and yet died, because Adam's sin was imputed to them. This reign of death seems especially to refer to those violent and extraordinary judgments which were long before Moses, as the deluge and the destruction of Sodom, which involved infants. It is a great proof of original sin that little children, who were never guilty of any actual transgression, are yet liable to very terrible diseases, casualties, and deaths, which could by no means be reconciled with the justice and righteousness of God if they were not chargeable with guilt.
(2.)How, in correspondence to this, Christ, as a public person, communicates righteousness and life to all true believers, who are his spiritual seed. And in this he shows not only wherein the resemblance holds, but, ex abundanti, wherein the communication of grace and love by Christ goes beyond the communication of guilt and wrath by Adam. Observe,
[1.]Wherein the resemblance holds. This is laid down most fully, Rom 5:18, Rom 5:19.
First, By the offence and disobedience of one many were made sinners, and judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Here observe, 1. That Adam's sin was disobedience, disobedience to a plain and express command: and it was a command of trial. The thing he did was therefore evil because it was forbidden, and not otherwise; but this opened the door to other sins, though itself seemingly small. 2. That the malignity and poison of sin are very strong and spreading, else the guilt of Adam's sin would not have reached so far, nor have been so deep and long a stream. Who would think there should be so much evil in sin? 3. That by Adam's sin many are made sinners: many, that is, all his posterity; said to be many, in opposition to the one that offended, Made sinners, katestathēsan. It denotes the making of us such by a judicial act: we were cast as sinners by due course of law. 4. That judgment is come to condemnation upon all those that by Adam's disobedience were made sinners. Being convicted, we are condemned. All the race of mankind lie under a sentence, like an attainder upon a family. There is judgment given and recorded against us in the court of heaven; and, if the judgment be not reversed, we are likely to sink under it to eternity.
Secondly, In like manner, by the righteousness and obedience of one (and that one is Jesus Christ, the second Adam), are many made righteous, and so the free gift comes upon all. It is observable how the apostle inculcates this truth, and repeats it again and again, as a truth of very great consequence. Here observe, 1. The nature of Christ's righteousness, how it is brought in; it is by his obedience. The disobedience of the first Adam ruined us, the obedience of the second Adam saves us, - his obedience to the law of mediation, which was that he should fulfil all righteousness, and then make his soul an offering for sin. By his obedience to this law he wrought out a righteousness for us, satisfied God's justice, and so made way for us into his favour. 2. The fruit of it. (1.) There is a free gift come upon all men, that is, it is made and offered promiscuously to all. The salvation wrought is a common salvation; the proposals are general, the tender free; whoever will may come, and take of these waters of life. This free gift is to all believers, upon their believing, unto justification of life. It is not only a justification that frees from death, but that entitles to life. (2.) Many shall be made righteous - many compared with one, or as many as belong to the election of grace, which, though but a few as they are scattered up and down in the world, yet will be a great many when they come all together. Katastathēsontai - they shall be constituted righteous, as by letters patent. Now the antithesis between these two, our ruin by Adam and our recovery by Christ, is obvious enough.
[2.]Wherein the communication of grace and love by Christ goes beyond the communication of guilt and wrath by Adam; and this he shows, Rom 5:15-17. It is designed for the magnifying of the riches of Christ's love, and for the comfort and encouragement of believers, who, considering what a wound Adam's sin has made, might begin to despair of a proportionable remedy. His expressions are a little intricate, but this he seems to intend: - First, If guilt and wrath be communicated, much more shall grace and love; for it is agreeable to the idea we have of the divine goodness to suppose that he should be more ready to save upon an imputed righteousness than to condemn upon an imputed guilt: Much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace. God's goodness is, of all his attributes, in a special manner his glory, and it is that grace that is the root (his favour to us in Christ), and the gift is by grace. We know that God is rather inclined to show mercy; punishing is his strange work. Secondly, If there was so much power and efficacy, as it seems there was, in the sin of a man, who was of the earth, earthy, to condemn us, much more are there power and efficacy in the righteousness and grace of Christ, who is the Lord from heaven, to justify and save us. The one man that saves us is Jesus Christ. Surely Adam could not propagate so strong a poison but Jesus Christ could propagate as strong an antidote, and much stronger. 3. It is but the guilt of one single offence of Adam's that is laid to our charge: The judgment was ex henos eis katakrima, by one, that is, by one offence, Rom 5:16, Rom 5:17. Margin. But from Jesus Christ we receive and derive an abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness. The stream of grace and righteousness is deeper and broader than the stream of guilt; for this righteousness does not only take away the guilt of that one offence, but of many other offences, even of all. God in Christ forgives all trespasses, Col 2:13. 4. By Adam's sin death reigned; but by Christ's righteousness there is not only a period put to the reign of death, but believers are preferred to reign of life, Rom 5:17. In and by the righteousness of Christ we have not only a charter of pardon, but a patent of honour, are not only freed from our chains, but, like Joseph, advanced to the second chariot, and made unto our God kings and priests - not only pardoned, but preferred. See this observed, Rev 1:5, Rev 1:6; Rev 5:9, Rev 5:10. We are by Christ and his righteousness entitled to, and instated in, more and greater privileges than we lost by the offence of Adam. The plaster is wider than the wound, and more healing than the wound is killing.
IV. In the last two verses the apostle seems to anticipate an objection which is expressed, Gal 3:19, Wherefore then serveth the law? Answer, 1. The law entered that the offence might abound. Not to make sin to abound the more in itself, otherwise than as sin takes occasion by the commandment, but to discover the abounding sinfulness of it. The glass discovers the spots, but does not cause them. When the commandment came into the world sin revived, as the letting of a clearer light into a room discovers the dust and filth which were there before, but were not seen. It was like the searching of a wound, which is necessary to to the cure. The offence, paraptōma - that offence, the sin of Adam, the extending of the guilt of it to us, and the effect of the corruption in us, are the abounding of that offence which appeared upon the entry of the law. 2. That grace might much more abound - that the terrors of the law might make gospel-comforts so much the sweeter. Sin abounded among the Jews; and, to those of them that were converted to the faith of Christ, did not grace much more abound in the remitting of so much guilt and the subduing of so much corruption? The greater the strength of the enemy, the greater the honour of the conqueror. This abounding of grace he illustrates, Rom 5:21. As the reign of a tyrant and oppressor is a foil to set off the succeeding reign of a just and gentle prince and to make it the more illustrious, so doth the reign of sin set off the reign of grace. Sin reigned unto death; it was a cruel bloody reign. But grace reigns to life, eternal life, and this through righteousness, righteousness imputed to us for justification, implanted in us for sanctification; and both by Jesus Christ our Lord, through the power and efficacy of Christ, the great prophet, priest, and king, of his church.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."
In order to show more fully what power the love which is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit has, Paul expounds the way we ought to understand it by teaching us that Christ died not for the godly but for the ungodly. For we were ungodly before we turned to God, and Christ died for us before we believed. Undoubtedly he would not have done this unless either he himself or God the Father, who gave up his only begotten Son for the redemption of the ungodly, had superabundant love toward us.
If Christ gave himself up to death at the right time for those who were unbelievers and enemies of God … how much more will he protect us with his help if we believe in him! He died for us in order to obtain life and glory for us. So if he died for his enemies, just think what he will do for his friends!
Now what he says is somewhat of this kind. For if for a virtuous man, no one would hastily choose to die, consider thy Master's love, when it is not for virtuous men, but for sinners and enemies that He is seen to have been crucified-which he says too after this, "In that, if when we were sinners Christ died for us."
Why did Christ die for us when he had no obligation to do so, if it was not to manifest his love at a time when we were still weighed down with the burden of sin and vice? It was the right time, either because righteousness had virtually disappeared and we were weak, or because it was the end of time, or because Christ was dead for the prophesied three-day period. Paul wants to point out that Christ died for the ungodly in order to commend the grace of Christ by considering his benefits and to show how much we, who have been undeservedly loved, ought to love him, and so that we might see whether anything should be valued more highly than one who is so generous and holy. He neither valued his life above us ungodly people nor withheld the death that was indispensable for us.
After disclosing that hope is firm, because it is a gift of the Holy Spirit [n. 391], the Apostle now traces its firmness to the death of Christ. First, he asks a question; secondly, a difficulty arises in answering it, there [v. 7; n. 396] at Why, one will hardly; 202 thirdly, he answers the question, there [v. 8; n. 398] at But God shows his love. 395. First, therefore, he says: It has been stated that hope does not disappoint. This is obvious to anyone who wonders why, while we were yet weak, Christ died for the ungodly; weak, that is, languishing in sin: "Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing" (Ps 6:2). For just as the due harmony of the humors is destroyed by bodily sickness, so by sin the correct order of our affections is removed. Therefore, when we were yet helpless, Christ died for the ungodly: "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous" (1 Pt 3:18). And this according to the time, i.e., he was to remain dead for a definite time and then rise on the third day: "For as Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Mt 12:40). Therefore, this is marvelous, if we consider who died; also if we consider for whom he died. But it could not have been so marvelous, if no fruit were to be obtained: "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit?" (Ps 30:8). None, if the salvation of the human race does not follow. 396. Then (v. 7) he shows a difficulty on the part of those for whom Christ died, i.e., the ungodly, saying, One will hardly die for the release of a just man rather, "the righteous man perishes and no one lays it to heart" (Is 57:1). That is why I say that one will hardly die though perhaps for a good man one will even dare to die, on account of his zeal for virtue. It is rare, because it is so great; for "no man has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13). Yet what Christ did is never done, namely, 203 to die for the just and the unjust. That is why there is reason to wonder why Christ did this. 397. This passage can be interpreted in another way, so that a just man will be one trained in virtue, and a good man one who is innocent. And although according to this the just man would be more excellent than the good man, yet scarcely anyone dies for the just man. The reason is that an innocent person, who is understood as good, seems more worthy of pity on account of his lack of years or of some such thing. But the just person, because he is perfect, lacks any defect that would elicit pity. Therefore, should anyone die for an innocent person, it could be through pity; but to die for a just man requires zeal for virtue, which is found in fewer persons than the emotion of pity. 398. Then when he says But God shows (v. 8), he responds to the foregoing question. First, he sets out his response; Second, he argues from this to what he intends, there [v. 9b; n. 400] at Much more; Third, he shows how this follows of necessity, there [v. 10; n. 401] at For if while we were enemies. 399. He says therefore first. It was asked why Christ died for the ungodly, and the response to this is that, through this, God shows his love for us, i.e., through this he shows that he loves us to the greatest degree, because if while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and this according to the time, as was explained abound. The very death of Christ shows God’s love for us, because he gave his own son that he should die in making satisfaction for us: "For God so loved the world that he 204 gave his only son" (John 3:16). And so as the love of God the Father for us is shown by the fact that he gives his own Spirit to us, as was said above, so also it is shown by the fact that he gave his son, as is said here. But by the fact that he says shows he indicates a certain immensity of the divine love, which is shown both by his own deed, because he gave his son, and by our condition, because he was not moved to do this by our merits, since we were still sinners: "God who is rich in mercy, on account of the exceedingly great love wherewith he has loved us, while we were still dead in sins, has raised us to life with Christ" (Eph 2:4). 400. Then when he says Much more, therefore (v. 9) he concludes what he had intended from the foregoing, saying: If Christ died for us while we were still sinners, much more, therefore, being now justified by his blood, as was said above in chapter 3(:25), "whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith," through his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath, i.e., from the vengeance of eternal condemnation, which men incur by their sins: "Brood of vipers, who showed you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Mt 3:7). 401. Then when he says For if while were enemies, he shows the necessity of his conclusion, which proceeds by arguing from the lesser to the greater. And one should observe here two comparisons of lesser to greater, one on our part and one on the part of Christ. On our part he compares enemies to those who are reconciled. For it seems a lesser thing that someone should treat enemies well who are already reconciled. On the part of Christ he compares death to life. For his life is more powerful than his death because, as is said the last chapter of 2Cor (13:4), "He died 205 through weakness," namely the weakness of our flesh, "but lives through the power of God." And this is why he says: with reason I concluded that much more, being enlivened, shall we be saved through him. For if while we were still enemies we were reconciled to God, and this by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved, and this by his life. 402. Now one should note that a man is said to be an enemy of God in two ways. In one way, because he practices hostility towards God when he resists his commands: "He has run against him with his neck raised up" (Job 15:26). In another way, a man is said to be an enemy of God by the fact that God hates men, not indeed insofar as he made them, because in this regard it says in Wis 11(:25), "You have loved all things, and you have hated nothing of the things you have made"; but insofar as the enemy of man, i.e., the devil, has worked in man—i.e., as regards sin: "Similarly God hates the ungodly" (Wis 14:9), and "The most high hates sinners" (Sir 12:7). 403. Once the cause of enmity, namely, sin, has been removed by Christ, reconciliation through him follows: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19); for our sin was removed through the death of His Son. In this regard it should be noted that Christ’s death can be considered in three ways. First, precisely as a death; and so it is stated in Wisdom (1:13): "God did not make death" in human nature, but it was brought on by sin. Accordingly, Christ’s death, 206 precisely as death, was not so acceptable to God as to be reconciled through it, because "God does not delight in the death of the living" (Wis 1:13). In another way Christ’s death can be considered with emphasis on the action of the killers, which greatly displeased God. Hence St. Peter says against them: "You denied the Holy and Righteous One…and killed the Author of life" (Ac 3:14). From this aspect Christ’s death could not be the cause of reconciliation but rather of indignation. It can be considered in a third way as depending on Christ’s will, which chose to endure death in obedience to the Father: "He became obedient" to the Father "even unto death" (Phil 2:8) and out of love for men: "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (Eph 5:2). From this aspect Christ’s death was meritorious and satisfied for our sins; it was accepted by God as sufficient for reconciling all men, even those who killed Christ, some of whom were saved at his prayer: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34). 404. Then when he says Not only so (v. 11) he shows what benefits we obtain even now through grace, saying, not only so, i.e., not only in the hope of the glory we expect in the future, but we also rejoice in God, i.e., in being even now united to God by faith and charity: "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord" (2 Cor 10:17). And this through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have even now during this life received our reconciliation, so that we have been changed from enemies to friends: "Through him he reconciled to himself all things" (Col 1:20). 405. The verse, Not only so, can be connected with the preceding one, so that the sense would be: We shall be saved by his life from sin and punishment; and not only 207 shall we be saved from evils, but shall rejoice in God, i.e., in the fact that we shall be the same in the future with him: "That they may be one in us, even as we are one" (Jn 17:22).
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SUMMARY
Romans 5:6 masterfully encapsulates the core of the gospel, revealing God's profound initiative in salvation. It asserts that at humanity's most vulnerable and morally bankrupt state, precisely at the divinely appointed moment in history, Christ willingly offered His life as a sacrificial death for those who were utterly incapable of saving themselves and actively estranged from God. This verse powerfully underscores the depth of divine love, grace, and the absolute sufficiency of Christ's atoning work, establishing the foundation for the believer's peace, hope, and assurance in God.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Romans 5:6 employs several powerful literary devices. Contrast is foundational, juxtaposing humanity's utter weakness and ungodliness with Christ's decisive, powerful act of dying. This highlights the magnitude of God's grace, as His intervention occurs not when humanity is strong or deserving, but precisely when it is at its worst. The phrase "in due time" employs Emphasis on divine timing, underscoring that Christ's death was not an accident but the culmination of God's sovereign plan, a perfectly orchestrated event in salvation history. The entire verse functions as a concise Proclamation, declaring a fundamental truth of the gospel with directness and authority, leaving no room for ambiguity about the source and object of salvation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Romans 5:6 stands as a profound theological statement on the nature of divine love, grace, and atonement. It reveals that salvation is entirely a work of God's initiative, born out of His boundless love, rather than any human merit or effort. The verse dismantles any notion of human ability to earn salvation, emphasizing our complete spiritual bankruptcy and moral estrangement from God. It highlights the substitutionary nature of Christ's death – He died in the place of the ungodly, bearing the penalty for their sin. This act, executed at God's perfect timing, demonstrates the depth of God's commitment to reconciling humanity to Himself, even when we were His enemies. It assures believers that God's love is not conditional on their performance but was powerfully demonstrated when they were at their weakest and most undeserving, providing an unshakeable foundation for hope and security.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Romans 5:6 is a deeply humbling and profoundly comforting verse. It forces us to confront the stark reality of our utter helplessness and unworthiness before a holy God, stripping away any illusion of self-sufficiency or merit. Yet, in the very same breath, it floods our hearts with the overwhelming assurance of God's unconditional love and grace. To know that Christ died for us "when we were yet without strength" and "ungodly" means that our salvation is entirely His doing, a gift freely given, not earned. This truth should ignite an unceasing gratitude within us, compelling us to live lives that honor such an immense sacrifice. It also provides immense security, for if God loved us at our worst, how much more will He sustain us now that we are His children? This verse calls us to rest in the finished work of Christ, to abandon self-reliance, and to embrace the radical grace that transforms the ungodly into the beloved.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does it mean that "we were yet without strength" when Christ died?
Answer: The phrase "without strength" (Greek: asthenḗs) describes humanity's spiritual and moral inability to save itself or contribute anything towards its own salvation. It signifies a state of complete helplessness and impotence in the face of sin and God's righteous judgment. This isn't just about physical weakness, but a profound spiritual incapacity to choose good, overcome sin, or earn God's favor. It underscores that salvation is entirely God's work, initiated when humanity was at its most desperate and incapable, unable to bridge the chasm created by sin (see Romans 3:23).
Why is the timing "in due time" significant for Christ's death?
Answer: The phrase "in due time" (Greek: kairos) is highly significant because it emphasizes that Christ's death was not a random event but occurred at God's perfectly appointed, sovereignly chosen moment in history. This "due time" was the culmination of God's redemptive plan, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies and aligning with divine wisdom. It signifies that God is in complete control of history and that Christ's sacrifice was the most opportune and effective moment for the redemption of humanity, demonstrating God's meticulous planning and unwavering faithfulness (compare with Galatians 4:4).
Who are "the ungodly" for whom Christ died?
Answer: "The ungodly" (Greek: asebḗs) refers to those who are irreverent, impious, or wicked. It describes individuals who lack proper reverence for God, live in opposition to His will, or are simply indifferent to Him. This term encompasses all humanity, as "there is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). The profound truth is that Christ did not die for the righteous or the deserving, but for those who were His enemies, demonstrating the radical, unconditional nature of God's love and grace, which extends to all who are alienated from Him.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Romans 5:6 finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in Jesus as the perfect embodiment of God's redemptive love and the sole means of salvation. He is the "Christ," the Anointed One, whose very person and mission were divinely ordained to address humanity's "without strength" condition. Unlike Adam, who brought sin and death to all, Jesus, as the second Adam, perfectly fulfilled God's will, dying for the "ungodly" to bring righteousness and life (Romans 5:12-19). His death was not a mere historical event but the culmination of God's eternal plan, the "due time" when the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In Jesus, the seemingly impossible reconciliation of a holy God with ungodly humanity is achieved, demonstrating the unparalleled depth of love that "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). He is the perfect sacrifice, the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2), and the one through whom we receive peace and eternal life, transforming our helplessness into hope and our ungodliness into righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).