AISBT ReaderRom 5:1–21
Notes · 22 on Rom 5:1–21
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Notes · Rom 5:1–21

Peace with God, and Adam and Christ

22 approved team notes on Rom 5:1–21.
Read Rom 5:1–21

Rom 5:1

exegeticalRom 2:6–16; Rom 3:20–28; Rom 4:4–5; Rom 5:1; Rom 8:1; 2 Cor 5:10
Doctrinal note: judgment according to works and justification by faith (grounded in Romans 2:6, 16; 3:20–28; 4:4–5; 5:1; 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:10)
  • SaysPaul teaches both judgment according to deeds for all, believers included (2:6, 16; 2 Cor 5:10), and justification of the ungodly by faith apart from works (3:20, 28; 4:4–5; 5:1; 8:1).
  • ImpliesJudgment according to deeds is real and impartial and is not a second way of salvation alongside faith (2:6, 9–11, 16; 3:20–28; 4:4–5; 2 Cor 5:10).
  • ImpliesWorks never form part of the ground of the verdict of justification (3:20–28; 4:4–5; 5:1; 8:1); an account in which the whole life's works form part of the ground of the final verdict falls outside this boundary.
  • UncertainWhether 2:7, 10, 13 describe believers' deeds appearing at the judgment as evidence of a living faith; the two readings differ, and it is left open.
  • SaysPaul speaks of reward and loss for a believer's work at the Day, though the builder himself will be saved (1 Cor 3:12–15).
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exegeticalRom 5:1–21
Introduction to Romans 5:1–21: the justified at peace with God, and the one man Christ set against the one man Adam
  • SaysRomans 5 draws the consequence (οὖν) of 3:21–4:25: having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1).
  • Implies5:1–11 sets out what justification brings now and assures for the future, and 5:12–21 grounds it in the one man Christ set against the one man Adam.
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exegeticalRom 5:1–5
Peace with God, access into grace, and the hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:1–5)
  • UncertainWhether 5:1 reads ἔχομεν, 'we have peace' (lean, kept at low confidence; the perfects of 5:2 and the reconciliation of 5:10–11), or ἔχωμεν, 'let us have peace' (alternative; the stronger external evidence: ℵ* A B* C D, the early versions, most Fathers).
  • SaysThrough Christ believers have gained access by faith into grace in which they stand, and they rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (5:2).
  • UncertainWhether καυχώμεθα in 5:2–3 is indicative, 'we rejoice' (lean; the participle of 5:11), or subjunctive, 'let us rejoice' (alternative; matching ἔχωμεν).
  • SaysSuffering produces perseverance, character, and hope, and hope does not disappoint, because God has poured out his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (5:3–5).
  • UncertainWhether ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (5:5) is God's love for us (lean; 5:8; 8:39) or our love for God (alternative; 'in our hearts'; 8:28; Augustine).
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languageRom 5:1; Rom 5:2; Rom 5:3; Rom 5:4; Rom 5:5
εἰρήνην ἔχομεν … καυχώμεθα … ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκέχυται (5:1–5)
  • SaysJustified (aorist passive) ἐκ πίστεως; access and standing in grace are perfects (5:1–2).
  • UncertainWhether 5:1 reads ἔχομεν, 'we have peace' (lean; the perfects of 5:2 and the reconciliation received in 5:10–11), or ἔχωμεν, 'let us have peace' (alternative; the stronger manuscript support).
  • UncertainWhether καυχώμεθα in 5:2–3 is indicative, 'we rejoice' (lean; καυχώμενοι in 5:11), or subjunctive, 'let us rejoice' (alternative; matching ἔχωμεν).
  • SaysSuffering produces perseverance, approvedness, and hope, and hope does not disappoint (5:3–5).
  • UncertainWhether ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ is God's love for us (lean; 5:8 τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγάπην εἰς ἡμᾶς; 8:39) or our love for God (alternative; 'in our hearts'; 8:28; Augustine).
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Rom 5:6

exegeticalRom 5:6–11
Christ died for the ungodly: God's love proved, and enemies reconciled (Romans 5:6–11)
  • SaysWhile we were powerless and sinners, Christ died for the ungodly, and God proves his love for us in this (5:6, 8).
  • UncertainWhether the righteous man and the good man of 5:7 are two figures, the second a benefactor (lean; the article; the qualifying γάρ), or synonyms (alternative; the second clause restating the first).
  • ImpliesChrist's death for us is substitutionary and propitiatory (5:6–9; grounds in the Rom 3:21–26 and 3:25 notes).
  • SaysWhen we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son; much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved through his life, and through Christ we have received reconciliation (5:10–11).
  • ImpliesReconciliation is God's act through Christ's death, received by believers, not achieved by them (5:10–11).
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historicalRom 5:6–8
Dying for a friend or a good man (5:6–8)
  • SaysRom 5:7–8 says one will rarely die for a righteous man, though perhaps someone would dare to die for the good man, but God shows his love in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
  • ImpliesRom 5:6, 8, 10 implies that Christ's death surpasses the pattern of dying for a friend or worthy person, since he died for the ungodly, sinners, and enemies.
  • UncertainWhether τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ in Rom 5:7 is a benefactor distinct from δικαίου or a synonym in a correcting clause; lean (this note and note.language.Rom.5.6-Rom.5.11.hyper-katallasso): benefactor reading, on the article and the qualifying γάρ; alternative: the second clause restates the first.
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languageRom 5:6; Rom 5:7; Rom 5:8; Rom 5:9; Rom 5:10; Rom 5:11
ὑπὲρ ἀσεβῶν ἀπέθανεν … πολλῷ μᾶλλον … κατηλλάγημεν (5:6–11)
  • SaysWhile we were powerless and sinners, Christ died for the ungodly, and God proves his love by it (5:6–8).
  • UncertainWhether δίκαιος and ὁ ἀγαθός in 5:7 are different persons (lean; the article, μόλις against τάχα, the qualifying γάρ) or synonyms (alternative; the second clause restating the first).
  • SaysJustified by his blood and reconciled as enemies through his death, much more shall we be saved from wrath and through his life; God reconciles, and we receive the reconciliation (5:9–11).
  • ImpliesThose now justified will be saved from wrath, the argument running from God's harder act for enemies to the lesser for the reconciled (5:9–10).
  • UncertainWhether ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ is instrumental, 'through his (risen) life' (lean; the parallel διὰ τοῦ θανάτου; 4:25; 8:34), or 'in his life' (alternative; 6:4–11).
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Rom 5:9

Rom 5:10

historicalRom 5:10–11
Reconciliation language in 2 Maccabees and letters (5:10–11)
  • SaysRom 5:10–11 says that while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, that having been reconciled we shall be saved through his life, and that through Christ we have received reconciliation.
  • ImpliesRom 5:8–10 and 2 Cor 5:18–19 imply that in Paul God takes the initiative and reconciles his enemies to himself through Christ's death.
  • UncertainWhether ἐχθροί in Rom 5:10 is only active (hostile to God) or also passive (under God's hostility); lean of this note: both (Rom 5:9, wrath; 11:28, ἐχθροί opposite ἀγαπητοί); alternative: active only (Col 1:21).
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Rom 5:12

exegeticalRom 5:12–14
Sin and death through one man, and Adam a pattern of the One to come (Romans 5:12–14)
  • SaysSin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and death spread to all because all sinned (5:12).
  • UncertainWhether 5:12 breaks off after ὥσπερ and is completed in 5:18–19 (lean; no οὕτως καί) or καὶ οὕτως gives its second half (alternative).
  • UncertainWhether ἐφ᾽ ᾧ means 'because' (lean; BSB; 2 Cor 5:4) or 'with the result that', 'on the basis of which', or 'in whom' (alternatives; the last needs ἐν and a distant antecedent).
  • UncertainHow all sinned in relation to Adam: federal headship with immediate imputation (team lean; 5:15–19; WCF 6.3), realism (alternative; ἥμαρτον as one act in Adam), or mediate imputation (alternative; guilt following inherited corruption).
  • UncertainWhether 'not taken into account' (5:13) is relative, sin not charged as transgression of a stated command (lean; 4:15), or absolute (alternative).
  • SaysDeath reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin as Adam transgressed, and Adam is a type of the One to come (5:14).
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exegeticalRom 5:12–21
Doctrinal note: Adam and Christ, condemnation and justification through the one man (Romans 5:12–21)
  • ImpliesSin, death, and condemnation came to all humanity through Adam's one trespass, and righteousness and life come to those in Christ through his one act of obedience (5:12, 15–19).
  • SaysPaul states that through one man sin entered and death spread to all, that one trespass brought condemnation for all, that through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners and through one man's obedience the many will be made righteous, and that Adam is a pattern of the One to come (5:12–19).
  • UncertainHow Adam's trespass reaches all: federal headship with immediate imputation of Adam's guilt (team lean; 5:15–19 κατάκριμα; 5:13–14; the forensic parallel of 5:19b; WCF 6.3), realism (alternative; all sinned in Adam as present in him, ἥμαρτον as one act), or mediate imputation (alternative; guilt reckoned on the ground of inherited corruption).
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historicalRom 5:12–14
Adam, sin, and death in Second Temple writings (5:12–14)
  • SaysRom 5:12 says sin entered the world through one man and death through sin; Rom 5:14 says Adam is a pattern (type) of the One to come.
  • ImpliesRom 5:12, 15–19 implies that sin, death, and condemnation came to all humanity through Adam's one trespass, and righteousness and life come to those in Christ through his one act of obedience.
  • UncertainWhether Paul in Rom 5:12 echoes Wis 2:24 (θάνατος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον) in particular, or both draw independently on Gen 2–3.
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historicalRom 5:12; Rom 5:18–19
How 5:12 was read: in quo, Ambrosiaster, Augustine, Pelagius, WCF 6.3
  • SaysRom 5:12 says death was passed on to all men ἐφʼ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον, 'because all sinned' (BSB).
  • ImpliesRom 5:12, 15–19 implies that sin, death, and condemnation came to all humanity through Adam's one trespass, and righteousness and life come to those in Christ through his one act of obedience.
  • UncertainThe meaning of ἐφʼ ᾧ in Rom 5:12 ('because', 'with the result that', 'on the basis of which').
  • UncertainThe mechanism by which Adam's sin reaches all, including 'were made sinners' (Rom 5:19a); team lean: federal headship with immediate imputation (WCF 6.3), 5:19a forensic; grounds in note.language.Rom.5.12.eph-ho; realism and mediate imputation named; Pelagian imitation outside the core.
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languageRom 5:12; Rom 5:14; Rom 5:17
Rom 5:12–14: Adam and death in Gen 2–5 (MT and LXX)
  • SaysGen 2:16–17: the command to הָאָדָם ends מוֹת תָּמוּת (infinitive absolute + Qal yiqtol, BDB p. 559); LXX θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῖσθε.
  • SaysGen 3:6 וַיֹּאכַל (LXX μετ’ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔφαγον); Gen 3:19 כִּי־עָפָר אַתָּה וְאֶל־עָפָר תָּשׁוּב (LXX ὅτι γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ).
  • SaysGen 5 ends Adam's life and his line's with וַיָּמֹת eight times (5:5–31; Enoch excepted, 5:24); LXX καὶ ἀπέθανεν each time.
  • Saysאָדָם is "man, mankind" and the name Adam (BDB p. 9): with the article beside אֲדָמָה in 2:7, a name in 5:5; LXX ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως ἀνθρώπων beside τὸν Ἀδάμ at 5:1.
  • ImpliesDeath is the penalty threatened in Gen 2:17 and carried out in 3:19 and 5:5, as Paul reads it in Rom 5:12.
  • ImpliesSin, death, and condemnation came to all humanity through Adam's one trespass (Rom 5:12, 15–19); אָדָם names both Adam and humankind, and the threatened death passes to his line.
  • UncertainHow Adam's trespass reaches all: lean federal headship with immediate imputation of Adam's guilt (WCF 6.3, by reference); alternatives realism and mediate imputation; grounds in note.language.Rom.5.12.eph-ho; full treatment in note.exegetical.Rom.5.12-Rom.5.21.adam-and-christ.
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languageRom 5:12
ὥσπερ δι᾽ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου … ἐφ᾽ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον (5:12)
  • SaysSin entered through one man, death through sin, and death spread to all, because all sinned (aorist ἥμαρτον) (5:12).
  • UncertainWhether 5:12 breaks off after ὥσπερ and is completed in 5:18–19 (lean; no οὕτως καί; SBLGNT's dash) or καὶ οὕτως gives its second half (alternative).
  • UncertainWhether ἐφ᾽ ᾧ means 'because' (lean; Abbott-Smith; 2 Cor 5:4) or 'with the result that', 'on the basis of which (death)', or 'in whom' (alternatives; the last needs ἐν and a distant antecedent).
  • UncertainWhether all sinned in Adam by federal headship with immediate imputation (lean; 5:15–19 trace condemnation to the one trespass; the parallel with Christ; WCF 6.3), by realism (alternative; ἥμαρτον as one act in Adam), or by mediate imputation through inherited corruption (alternative; ἥμαρτον as personal sinning); the Pelagian imitation view falls outside what 5:15–19 affirm.
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Rom 5:13

languageRom 5:13; Rom 5:14
ἁμαρτία δὲ οὐκ ἐλλογεῖται … ὅς ἐστιν τύπος τοῦ μέλλοντος (5:13–14)
  • SaysSin is not charged (ἐλλογεῖται) where there is no law, yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin like Adam's transgression (5:13–14).
  • UncertainWhether 'not charged' is relative, sin not booked as transgression of a command (lean; 4:15; the contrast with Adam's παράβασις), or absolute, sin not charged at all (alternative).
  • UncertainWhether death reigned over them by federal headship with immediate imputation of Adam's trespass (lean; 5:12, 15, 17; WCF 6.3), by realism (alternative; they sinned in Adam as present in him), or by mediate imputation (alternative; inherited corruption and sins against conscience, 2:12–15).
  • SaysAdam is a type (τύπος) of the One to come (5:14).
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Rom 5:15

exegeticalRom 5:15–17
The gift is not like the trespass: much more grace (Romans 5:15–17)
  • SaysThe gift is not like the trespass: the many died by the one man's trespass, grace abounded much more; judgment led to condemnation, the gift to justification; death reigned through the one man, and those who receive the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ (5:15–17).
  • ImpliesGrace exceeds the trespass: the gift answers many trespasses, and those who receive it reign in life (5:15–17).
  • Implies5:17 limits the life that comes through Christ to those who receive the gift, and this governs the 'all' of 5:18.
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languageRom 5:15; Rom 5:16; Rom 5:17; Rom 5:18; Rom 5:19
τὸ χάρισμα … δι᾽ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος … δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται (5:15–19)
  • SaysThe free gift is not like the trespass: judgment led to condemnation, the gift to a sentence of acquittal, and those who receive the gift of righteousness will reign in life (5:15–17).
  • UncertainWhether δι᾽ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος in 5:18 is 'one act of righteousness' (lean; 5:19 τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνός) or 'one verdict' (alternative; the sense of 5:16).
  • UncertainWhether 'were made sinners' (5:19a) is forensic, Adam's disobedience counted to all by federal headship with immediate imputation (lean; καθίστημι 'appoint, constitute'; the parallel with κατάκριμα; WCF 6.3), or by realism (alternative; all sinning in Adam, aorist ἥμαρτον in 5:12), or by mediate imputation, guilt reckoned through inherited corruption (alternative; 5:12 as personal sinning).
  • Implies'Will be made righteous' (5:19b) is forensic: constituted righteous by Christ's obedience counted to them, not an infused quality (5:18; Rom 1:17; 4:3–8).
  • Implies'All' and 'the many' (5:18–19) do not teach universal salvation, since 5:17 limits life to those who receive the gift.
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Rom 5:18

exegeticalRom 1:17; Rom 4:3–8; Rom 5:18–19; Phil 3:9
Doctrinal note: the imputation of righteousness (grounded in Romans 4:3–8; 5:18–19; Philippians 3:9)
  • ImpliesThe righteousness God gives believers is credited (λογίζομαι) to them apart from works, not produced in them as the ground of acceptance (Rom 4:3–8; Gen 15:6; Ps 32:1–2).
  • ImpliesRom 5:18–19 grounds the many's righteous standing in the obedience of the one man, parallel to Adam.
  • ImpliesPhil 3:9 contrasts one's own righteousness with the righteousness from God through faith.
  • UncertainWhether the passages require imputation of Christ's active obedience is debated among Protestants; the team holds that 5:18–19 with Phil 3:9 supports it (WCF 11.1).
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exegeticalRom 5:18–21
One trespass and one act of righteousness; the law came in, and grace reigns (Romans 5:18–21)
  • SaysOne trespass brought condemnation for all, one act of righteousness justification and life for all; through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, through one man's obedience the many will be made righteous (5:18–19).
  • UncertainWhether δι᾽ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος (5:18) is 'one act of righteousness' (lean; 5:19 τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνός; Phil 2:8) or 'one verdict' (alternative; the sense of 5:16).
  • UncertainWhether 'were made sinners' (5:19a) is forensic, Adam's disobedience counted to the many by federal headship with immediate imputation (team lean; καθίστημι 'constitute'; the parallel with κατάκριμα; WCF 6.3), or by realism (alternative; all sinning in Adam), or by mediate imputation, guilt reckoned through inherited corruption (alternative).
  • Implies'Will be made righteous' (5:19b) is forensic: the many are constituted righteous by Christ's obedience counted to them, not by an infused quality (5:18; Rom 1:17 and 4:3–8 notes).
  • UncertainWhether 5:19 alludes to Isa 53:11 (lean: probable; 4:25 and Isa 53:12; 'the many') or οἱ πολλοί is Paul's own counterpart to 'the one' (alternative).
  • Implies'All' in 5:18 does not teach universal salvation, since 5:17 limits life to those who receive the gift.
  • UncertainWhether ἵνα in 5:20 is purpose, the law given so that the trespass would increase as transgression (lean; 5:21; Gal 3:19; 4:15), or result (alternative; ecbatic ἵνα, 11:11; sin the agent in 7:13).
  • SaysWhere sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ (5:20–21).
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Rom 5:19

languageRom 5:19
Rom 5:19: "the many … made righteous" and Isa 53:11
  • SaysIsa 53:11 MT בְּדַעְתּוֹ יַצְדִּיק צַדִּיק עַבְדִּי לָרַבִּים; וַעֲוֺנֹתָם הוּא יִסְבֹּל; יַצְדִּיק Hiphil imperfect (BDB p. 842).
  • SaysLXX Isa 53:11 δικαιῶσαι δίκαιον εὖ δουλεύοντα πολλοῖς: the Servant is justified, where in the MT he justifies the many.
  • SaysRom 5:19 δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοί shares "righteous" and "the many" with the MT, with the verb κατασταθήσονται.
  • UncertainWhether Rom 5:19 alludes to Isa 53:11: lean probable (4:25 probably echoes Isa 53:12; one person's work brings righteousness to "the many"); alternative οἱ πολλοί as Paul's own counterpart to "the one."
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Rom 5:20

languageRom 5:20; Rom 5:21
νόμος δὲ παρεισῆλθεν ἵνα πλεονάσῃ τὸ παράπτωμα (5:20–21)
  • SaysThe law came in alongside (παρεισῆλθεν), and where sin increased, grace increased all the more (5:20).
  • UncertainWhether ἵνα πλεονάσῃ is purpose, the law given so that the trespass would increase as transgression (lean; final ἵνα with the subjunctive; 5:21; Gal 3:19; 4:15), or result (alternative; ecbatic ἵνα in later Greek, Rom 11:11; sin the agent in 7:13).
  • SaysSin reigned in death; grace is to reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ (5:21).
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