“However, the gift of grace is not like the grievance.

Because

when through the mortification of one
the many died,
how much more does the grace of God and the gift flow in graces
(which is of the one man Jesus Christ)
into the many [Versöhnten] over!

Nor is – as through the sinning of the one – the gift;

because the judgment led from the one into the condemnation
but the gift of grace from many grievances into the legal judgment.

Because

when, through the mortification of one, death now reigns through the other,
how much more will those who have the excess of grace
and receive the gift of justice,
reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ!”
Rom 5:15-17

The scope of God’s justice

Twice the apostle mentions the words “How much more”! Paul is concerned with the scope of God’s justice. This is far more than any transgression or slight. That’s what this is all about.

Justification alone would have “settled the legal side between God and man,” but the alienation between God and man would not have been resolved yet. Therefore, justification is the basis from which we may have peace with God (Rom 5:1). It goes on. Peace is the next step – peace with God. Then, too, we can see what God was actually up to: whereas when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more will we, now reconciled, be saved in His life! (Rom 5:10). Reconciliation and life are further consequences of God’s righteousness, which He Himself wrought in Christ.

Adam and Christ

The previous section now builds on this and introduces us to the contrasts between Adam and Christ. Paul quotes these with one purpose, to make clear “how much more” is God’s grace and His gift. The reality of Adam becomes completely different through Christ. A new reality emerged. This was spoken of in detail in Romans 3, to which the apostle also refers here in the fifth chapter.

While death reigns through one, we who receive “the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness” may reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. It is not about compensation, a zero-sum game, so to speak, but about “much more.” What God has accomplished through Jesus Christ is not the undoing of an old mistake, and the restoration from the paradisiacal state, but it is a completely new situation.

God’s grace is different

God does not think like man. He does not act human again. His actions are different. God’s grace is different. It is about a gift. We are invited to unwrap the gift of God’s grace. There’s a lot more to it than you’d expect.

So there are these two sides: Our experience comes from Adam. From him we have inherited death, and with death we have inherited the problem of sin. We lack life and God-likeness. We lack His glory (Rom 3:23). There’s a lot wrong with that, and the condemnation about it is appropriate. But then there is the other side. But … it is quite different with the gift of God’s grace. It leads from the many grievances into justification. A reversal is taking place – and more than that. Notice the order: it comes to justification, reconciliation and life.

Through the mortification of the one, the many died
By the grace of God, the many are reconciled.

Paul continues with another comparison:

The sentence leads from the one in the condemnation
The gift of grace led from the many grievances into the judgment of law.

And a third comparison:

For when death reigns through the mortification of the One
How much more will [die Begnadeten] prevail in life.

In three comparisons, Paul makes it clear that it has long since ceased to be about the man Adam, as if it were about a single human being. Humanity has grown into a vast multitude. This made the problem much bigger. God’s grace solves the problem of the many, not just the problem of the one. The grace is much greater than the causal transgression. In doing so, Paul anchors the message in the current world. God’s grace affects all those who stand in the lineage of Adam. It is comprehensive, redemptive, liberating, and leads to life.

Unwrap the gift

It’s all different than you might think on your own. God is the Giver. This is the characteristic of His grace. This is quite different from the mortification, for which it is necessary. Grace is capable of much more. Not only does it have a reliability and efficacy guaranteed by God in Christ, but it leads from many transgressions into justification.

Grace is a gift with which God approaches us (Eph 2:8-9). Mercy is not earned. Let us be reconciled.

Accept gift. Unpacking. Be grateful. Life.