so then as [it was] by one offence towards all men to condemnation, so by one righteousness towards all men for justification of life.
The verse sets two men side by side: one act of Adam sent the whole human race toward condemnation, and one act of Christ answers it. Two questions follow: how far does "all men" reach in each half, and why is justification tied here to life, not only to forgiveness?
The ESV reads "one act of righteousness." One commentator argues from the Greek that the older rendering "the righteousness of one" cannot stand:
A Bible with cross-references shows in the margin that the words are "one righteousness." There is no doubt at all that this is the true rendering. When the Apostle wants to say "by the offence of one," he uses a different form of words. It is the correct one, and not the form he uses for "one offence." Theology may make it the righteousness of one, but not Greek.
An older English version read "upon all men." One writer says that word is the mistake, since it would make the verse teach that everyone is saved:
Taken as it stands, the last clause would imply the salvation of all men. That is clearly not the teaching of Scripture. The error in the rendering lies in the preposition "upon," given as the equivalent of the Greek word eis. There is no justification at all for such a rendering. The word means "into," "unto," "towards," and so on, depending on the connection... The "offence" of Adam reached towards all men for condemnation, since all men came under the consequences of his fall. The righteousness of One (Christ), on the other hand, extended towards all men. That is because the gospel proclaiming it was to be preached to every creature under heaven. Whether souls came under its benefit and blessing depended on something else: whether the glad tidings were received.
The next verse narrows "all" to "the many." One writer explains how the two verses work as a pair:
Suppose you had only the one act of Adam by itself; it would have plunged all men into condemnation. On the other hand, the work of Christ in itself would have brought complete deliverance to all men. But that is only the tendency towards all men, not the actual effect upon them. Here, in this chapter, we have in verse 18 the tendency, and in verse 19 the effect... "The many" who had to do with the one man who disobeyed were all men, because all were children of Adam. So by the obedience of Christ "the many" — those who belong to Him — shall be made righteous.
If the actual effect is on believers, the universal wording still has a purpose. It guards the sufficiency of the work:
The express purpose of what is said here is to show one thing. The effect of the work of recovery does not reach as far as the fall reached, but that is not because it lacks sufficiency for all. God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), so He could not leave anyone without provision made.
The commentators here work from an older rendering, "justification of life," where the ESV reads "justification and life." One writer explains what the phrase holds:
As to "justification of life" (Romans 5:18), it is the justification we have as being alive in Christ. It goes beyond mere forgiveness of the sins of the old man, which are put away. It is the clearing away of every charge against us, which we have as alive in Christ... not just the old sins cleared away, but a new place, given by a work of Christ which God had fully owned. He had finished the work His Father gave Him to do, and because of that He was in a new place as Man in life. Life (in us) and justification went together.
The believer's life now comes from a risen Head:
He is the last Adam, the life-giving Spirit, raised up from the dead. And the risen Christ imparts His own life to all those who have believed on Him. He has become the Head of a new race, and all who have been justified by His blood belong to that new race... The life they have, because they are joined to their glorious Head, is free from sin.
That life is meant to show. Another writer ties the gift to visible change:
Wherever there is justification, it is the gift of God, obtained by Christ's death at the cross, entirely apart from the sinner's merit or work in any way. But it is always accompanied by "justification of life" (Romans 5:18), which is the product of divine life — divine life in action, by the power of the Spirit of God, giving right desires, affections, will.
- One act. Adam's one offence is answered by Christ's one righteousness — the Greek reads "one righteousness," not "the righteousness of one."
- One direction. "Towards" all men, not "upon" all men: the gospel goes out to every creature, but only those who receive it come under the blessing.
- One reach. The wide word "all" proves there is no shortage in the remedy — the provision is not narrower than the fall.
- One effect. Verse 18 gives the bearing toward all; verse 19 gives the outcome in "the many" who belong to each head.
- One life. The result is "justification of life" — not only sins cleared, but the life of a risen Head, a life free from sin.
For as indeed by the disobedience of the one man the many have been constituted sinners, so also by the obedience of the one the many will be constituted righteous.
Paul closes his comparison of Adam and Christ. He sets out two men, two acts, and two groups of people who stand under them. Everything turns on the word "made" — and on the nature of "the obedience of the one."
The verse is not counting up anyone's deeds. It describes what a person is because of the head he belongs to.
By one man's disobedience, the many were constituted sinners. Not in act — though later acts proved it true — but in fact, in condition, in state. In the same way, by the obedience of one the many will be constituted righteous. Again, not in act, though later acts will prove it, but in fact, in condition, in state.
People do not become sinners by sinning. They are born that way. One writer traces this back to the point where Adam began to have children.
God had created him in His own likeness. But he had no children during his short time of innocence, when another man might also have been in God's likeness. He fell first. Only then did he have children, in his own likeness as a fallen creature… So Romans 5:19 says that "by the one man's disobedience the many were made [or, constituted] sinners." All his descendants came into the world sinners in their very constitution. That is what is meant by "original sin."
Does "the obedience of the one" mean that Christ kept the law for us? One writer answers no, and points to what Christ came to do.
He was obedient without limit… His obedience was different in nature, and went far beyond law-keeping. "I have come to do your will, O God" — whatever that will might be. And it was to die: to give up His life for those the Father had given Him, and to suffer everything, even to the cup of wrath, to glorify God. Was that law?
The wider comparison points the same way.
Paul is contrasting the two heads, Adam and Christ. He sets the sin of the one, with all the disaster that follows it, against the righteousness, the obedience of the other, with all the blessing that follows it. It is a question of the "one offence" and the "one righteousness" (v. 18, margin). Christ's ONE righteousness was obedience even to His DEATH.
Being made righteous covers more than the removal of sins.
Being brought into the state of righteous includes both the justification and the life. Notice here that "the obedience of One" brings in the burnt-offering side of Christ's work, the full sweet aroma. To stand in Christ is not only to have our sins put away… it is to be accepted in all the preciousness His obedience has for God.
Verse 18 said "all men." Verse 19 narrows to "the many," and the change is deliberate.
By "the many" we understand those, and only those, who are under the respective headships. In Adam's case "the many" does of course cover all men, for by nature we are all of his race. In the case of Christ, not all men are of His race, but only all believers. All men were constituted sinners by Adam's disobedience. All believers are constituted righteous by Christ's obedience, even to death.
Commentators differ on how neatly the first "the many" maps onto "all men," but they agree on the reason the second clause could not say "all."
The final result is what is in view here. Since this result must be limited to the household of faith, it would have been false to say "all" in the last clause.
A verse that rests everything on someone else's obedience raises a personal question.
Has your heart come to submit to this righteousness? You have none of your own. Oh, nothing is harder for the heart than to be broken down and made willing to have righteousness by the obedience of another!
- One head. Your own record settles nothing here. What settles it is which man you belong to — the disobedient one, or the Obedient One.
- One inheritance. Adam had children only after he fell. So his race arrives already constituted sinners — a state, not just a habit.
- One obedience. The obedience that makes many righteous is not law-keeping done for us. It is Christ's obedience going all the way into death.
- One standing. That obedience does more than remove sins. It sets believers before God in all the preciousness of Christ's obedience.
- One condition. Verse 18 reaches out toward all. Verse 19 gives the result, and it belongs to "the many" who are His. To receive it, you must give up any righteousness of your own.