5^th Chapter of Romans

Romans 5:1 (all verses are from the New International Version)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

SEVEN BLESSINGS OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH THROUGH JESUS

Blessing #1 - Peace with God

Peace with God can only be obtained by justification by faith (grace), counted as righteousness because of obedience. When a heart has been humbled before the Lord He will lift it up (Jam_4:10; 1Pe_5:6). No longer will the wrath of God be on the one who has freely accepted God's plan of redemption by dying with His Son and being raised with Him through baptism (Joh_3:36). The person who does this dies to self, therefore, crucifying his fleshly nature and accepting the terms of peace in the Gospel (Rom_6:6-7). The wrath of God no longer remains on such a person.

Obedience is key:

(Rom_1:5)

Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

(Rom_16:26)

...but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him...

The following example from Paul's writings shows how and when faith makes one a child of God:

(Gal_3:26-27)

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Thus, faith saves one by leading him to accept forgiveness of sins in God's appointed institution, the spiritual body of Christ; and salvation is accomplished when faith becomes obedient to the degree of causing him to be baptized into Christ, and to put on Christ. As Lipscomb expressed it: To be saved through faith in Christ Jesus, to be baptized unto the remission of sins, to be baptized into Christ, and to put on Christ, all mean exactly the same thing. -- Coffman

Through the Lord Jesus...

Only through Jesus Christ can both justification and peace be reached with God. It again points to the necessity of incorporation we will see in the next chapter. It shows the need to be "hooked up" with Jesus, committed to Him in some fashion. Of course, obedience is key. There is something we need to obey through Jesus... this is what Paul has been trying to tell us through all this. Just as Abraham was credited righteousness because he obeyed in faith, we too will be justified by similar obedient faith through Jesus. In chapter six Paul reminds the Romans of what they did to be united to Jesus in obedience and thus receive this justification and peace with God.

This is the conclusion of the first four chapters of Romans. Faith is essential to salvation, therefore salvation is conditional. Unconditional salvation is false doctrine. On the same token justification by faith only is also false - not found in the Bible

How People Seek Peace
Taken from the Coffman Commentary on Romans

Only Jesus promised true peace... peace with God:

Joh_14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

People seek peace in these ways:

1. People seek peace by moving to the suburbs, planting a garden, and building a hedge, only to discover that peace is not a commodity that any realtor can sell.

2. Some seek it by going to a psychiatrist, only to learn that no psychiatrist can convey to another the peace that he does not himself possess.

3. Some seek peace through the ardent advocacy of this or that social system, or by participation in campaigns for the alleviation of alleged human woes; but it would be just as reasonable to suppose that one could cure twenty cases of measles by putting them all in the same room, as it is to suppose that any scheme for better housing, for example, could cure the agony of human beings whose wretchedness is due to their sin and not to their circumstances. The savage tides which swell and flow in the hearts of millions of unregenerated people will never yield to the magic of some political solution, nor disappear through any readjustment of earth's material wealth.

4. Others seek peace by means of the bottle, the needle, and the pillbox; but the reliance upon such pitiful devices cannot evoke some miraculous genie, as in Moslem mythology, that can pour the oil of peace upon the turbulent waters of the raging storms that trouble the hearts of people. Alcohol, narcotics, and drugs produce death instead of life, hell instead of heaven, agony instead of peace.

5. Still others seek peace through the pursuit of the pleasures of life, only to find as sage, philosopher, and poet alike have found, that peace comes not from pleasures. Alexander Maclaren said: Sooner or later, the mad, whirling dervish of life will slow down, falter, and grind to an irresistible stop, where the facts of unrest and soul disquietude must inevitably be faced.

6. And some even think to find peace by means of human achievement; but efficacy for the impartation of peace to the human soul is not found in any such device. Alexander of Macedon found only dust and ashes at the end of that rainbow, and so will any other who follows that illusion to its wretched end.

7. Yet another device has commended itself, throughout history as being a source of peace for troubled people. It is a sacerdotal arrangement, in which a human contemporary is given a special kind of education, a special kind of garb, and a special kind of dignity in which such a one is elevated to a position of alleged sanctity, and then commissioned as an agent to procure peace and grant it to his fellow mortals. Thousands of years of the use of this elaborate device have demonstrated, alas, that sacerdotal man is no holier than ourselves and no more able to procure peace than others. It is time that people should be reminded again that:

There is one God and one mediator between God and men, himself also man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all (1Ti_2:5).

As for the old superstition that any man can absolve another of his sins and impart any peace worth having, it is hereby affirmed in the light of that Word that lives for ever and ever, that the scriptures teach no such thing. "Only God can forgive sins"! (Mar_2:5).

Romans 5:2

through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Blessing #2 - Access to God's grace

In contrast to God's wrath being revealed against all godlessness, those who've chosen to humble themselves before God have access to the grace that saves us from the wrath destined for all who have sinned. Only the grace of God can save us from this coming wrath (Rom_5:9)! Whereas in ages past the blessing of having access to the grace of God had to renewed every year through animal sacrifices and a strict adherence to God's Mosaic Law, now this grace is constantly and freely available for all mankind through faith in Jesus Christ.

Eph_2:6-8

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Access implies special privilege and entry into something exclusive. Usually, to have access to something, people need special permissions, exercises, testing or other mechanisms to warrant circumstance to obtain entry and privilege. In Christ, that is, incorporated, we have all received special permissions and issuance through the justification found in Christ that we may have access to the very throne of grace:

Heb_4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Eph_3:12

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

1Jo_5:14

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

This access comes by faith which is gained through God's Word (Rom_10:17) ... hearing it and putting it into practice! Following your own beliefs or convictions apart from God's Word will not bring you into the grace that enables you to stand.

Blessing #3 - Standing in the Grace of God

Paul calls the salvation we have "the grace in which we stand." (1Co_15:1-2) In the next chapter he explains how we have received it, taken our stand in it and saved by it. We don't take a stand in perfect law keeping but in grace. We could never take a stand in law keeping, which is why we are able to take a stand in God's grace! Taking a stand in this refers to something we are sure of; we cannot waver in our choosing of this grace! Since the Gospel is a show of the kindness and mercy of God, it is appropriate to call this salvation we have a gift (charis = grace) of God (Eph_2:8)!

Tit_3:4-5

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

Can we fall from this grace? Absolutely! It is possible to fall!

Gal_1:6-9

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by (into-ESV) the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Gal_5:4

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Getting into another Gospel or abandoning the way of the Gospel removes you from the grace found in Christ!

The First Level of Exultation

Blessing #4 - Exultation in the Hope of Glory

Because we stand saved by grace we have reason to rejoice (kauchaomai: to boast, glory, have joy, rejoice). This is the only permissible boasting we have since it is not in our own merit, but because of the Lord Jesus! Why boasting? Because we have true hope (expectation) to share in the glory of God (Rom_8:17; 2Th_2:14; 1Pe_5:1)! What is the Hope of Glory?

He most certainly meant to include eternal life, ultimate union with God, and the eternal felicity of the redeemed in Christ, as composing the ground of the "rejoicing" of the faithful in Christ. - Coffman

Nothing on this earth can give you hope like that (Rom_8:24). Being united to Jesus gives us everlasting vision that enables us to look past our present sufferings as we will see in the next verse.

The Christian has his boasting, but it is not based upon his own merits. It is a joyful and triumphant confidence in the future, not only felt, but expressed. - Coffman

Col_1:27

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1Pe_1:8-9

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

As we will see in the next few verses the Holy Spirit is the living hope we have - He is Christ in us!

Romans 5:3-4

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Blessing #5 - The fruit of suffering

The Second Level of Exultation

When Paul says "more than that..." - ESV (not only so-KJV, NIV) he adds a dimension to the exultation he is defining that goes beyond the intellectual reach of the understanding we may have in what awaits us in Heaven. To really grasp and cling to that Heavenly hope we need to be able to contrast it with something not so glorious - the trials of life - so that we can appreciate it even more. This matures our hope and our joy and refines our character that we may indeed be able to patiently await our blessed hope (Tit_2:13) with true joy.

How is the hope and our association with Jesus relevant to our current situation on this earth? Paul speaks of the effect this unification to Christ should have in the earthly life of the believer. He speaks of the fruit suffering produces when we have our minds right in Christ. Why do we rejoice (kauchaomai: boast, glory, joy) in our suffering (thlipsis: afflictions, anguish, burdens, persecutions, tribulations, trouble)? Because we know... we are convinced, determined -- this is true faith (Heb_11:1) -- that, first of all, our present suffering is temporary (1Pe_1:6; 1Pe_5:10); and that it actually helps our faith get better...

Suffering produces (katergazomai: accomplishes; by implication to finishes, fashions: - causes, performs, works out):

1. Endurance: (hupomone: endurance, constancy, patience, patient continuance (waiting)) the ability to remain beneath the load.

2. Character: (dokime: testing, by implication trustworthiness: - experience, proof, trial.) that which is tried and found acceptable: proven, trustworthy, reliable. Proven character allows you to be a contributor in a difficult situations rather than a destroyer. That is why this proven character brings hope. You will be a person that brings hope into situations that look hopeless, like our Lord and Master did.

3. Hope: (elpis: to anticipate, usually with pleasure); to have expectation or confidence: - faith.) the confidence that we will live beyond this life in the glory of God.

Ultimately, we glory in that our present sufferings in this body are not worth compared with the glory that will be revealed in us!

Rom_8:18

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

1Pe_4:12-13

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

If we are open to our appointed suffering, our relationships with others will be deeper and our intimacy with the Spirit of God will bring us peace and joy beyond understanding (Phi_4:4-7). Patience is key while we are suffering. It allows us to give the benefit of the doubt to others, especially God, who works all things to the benefit of those who love Him (Rom_8:28), that we may not have any regrets or hold any grudges while in the world.

This is a more mature form of rejoicing that is evidenced in the life of those who indeed suffer according to the flesh, but glory in the spirit knowing they are being prepared for the eternal glorious state in the presence of the Creator. This joy is evidenced in more that just a state of mind or a feeling - it is a state of faith that enables us to stand and endure through any trial on earth.

Romans 5:5

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Blessing #6 - The Love of God through the Holy Spirit - our cause for true Hope

Hope does not put us to shame... (kataischuno: shame down, that is, disgrace: - confound, dishonor, make ashamed.)

The hope this world offers: fleeting joy, temporary pleasures, fame, power... all eventually disappoint. All these hopes put you to shame because you were fooled in thinking there was real promise to these things and you were left hanging. Sometimes the shame is too much to bear since you invest heavily in these things only to find yourself completely confounded (confused) and disgraced, with nothing to show for that fake hope except huge debt, embarrassment or disgrace. Not so with the hope of God! His hope is more real than death - it saves us from it! That hope is as real as the love put into your heart through the Holy Spirit you've been given when you are incorporated in Jesus (more on that in chapter 6). It is a hope that can be counted on if you are obedient to the teaching of the Gospel (Joh_14:23-24). This is the promise of the one who proved His trustworthiness by being raised from the dead (Act_17:31).

God's love has been poured into our hearts...

This is a tough phrase. How can God's love be poured into our tiny, evil (Jer_17:9) hearts? This is a reassurance, not that we depend on our love for God, but that it is God's love which we can depend upon! His love has been poured (poured forth, spilled out, bestowed - Gk) into the hearts of the believers, which indicates something that happens completely upon incorporation. It is not being poured out, as the wrath of God is, against all ungodliness. We have His love, full strength, to protect us and reassure is in any situation. This is true hope! Through the Holy Spirit we have access to this love IF we disregard the desires of the flesh; if we see past the flesh (our concerns) and look at how our relationship with God can benefit those around us, even though we might be suffering.

Joh_7:38

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.

...through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Now that makes some heavenly sense! Only through the Spirit can God's love exist in our hearts! One of the benefits of being incorporated in Christ (sharing His body and identity, which is also what happens in a marriage, by the way) is having the Holy Spirit live in our bodies (Joh_14:17; Rom_8:9-11; 2Ti_1:14). Our body has become the abode of the Spirit, His temple (1Co_3:16; Eph_2:22), by virtue of the faithfulness of Jesus, not because we deserve it. Now picture this: As we are in the body of Jesus so is the Spirit within our bodies. That makes us holy, just and pure by virtue of Jesus’ blood shed for our atonement; and the recipients of God’s love by the Holy Spirit whom we receive when we obey God (Act_5:32)! The love that dwells in the child of God first of all gives him hope that will not make him ashamed!

Phi_1:20

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

2Ti_1:12

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

2Ti_2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

1Jo_2:28

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

Romans 5:6-7

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

SAVED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD - ETERNAL SECURITY IN CHRIST JESUS

While we were still weak (powerless)...

Weak (asthenes: strengthless: - feeble, impotent, sick, without strength, weak) with sin - spiritually weak. We were not able to save ourselves.

While we were strengthless, Jesus died for the godless... that's the sentence in the Greek, it actually rhymes! Without God is being without strength! Remember Rom_1:16? The Gospel is the power of God! God's dynamite to remove the sin from our lives that makes us feeble, weak and destitute.

At the right time...

kairos - at the set or proper time: - (opportune, convenient, due season). Jesus came to earth at a specified designated time by God. He is coming back exactly at a designated and right time:

Gal_4:4-5 NIV

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, (5) to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

God does things in His time. His time is the right time:

Act_1:6-7 NIV

So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (7) He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Mat_24:36-37 NIV

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (37) As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Christ died for the ungodly...

Very rarely will someone die even for a good man, Paul conjectures, but why die for your enemy? This is how God demonstrated His love for us! While we were enemies of God - refer to the list in Chapter Rom_3:10-18 - God was willing to put into effect a plan that would save us and bring us closer to Him.

How many of us would sacrifice so much for ungodly and wicked people? We barely sacrifice for those who are good!

It is imperative to remember that Christ died not to save people in their sins but from their sins (Mat_1:21). - Coffman

God knew not everyone would obey, but did it anyway for the few that would. God's economy is for the few, the truthful and the spiritual; in contrast to man's economy, which works for the majority, the cheapest and the quickest. Here's what Jesus says about that:

Joh_4:23-24 NIV

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (24) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Luk_13:23-24 NIV

Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"

He said to them, (24) "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

1Pe_3:20 NIV

...who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water...

Mat_7:13-14 NIV

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (14) But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Jesus, through suffering, died for us and restored our relationship with God. His suffering brought us into a relationship with God (Heb_2:9; Heb_13:12).

Heb_2:9 NIV

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Heb_13:12-16 NIV

And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. (13) Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. (14) For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. (15) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. (16) And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Suffering is needed for intimacy to take place. Jesus' suffering allowed us to be intimate with God. When we suffer we need to connect ourselves with our Lord and others. That is what will please the Lord.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The love God shows us in dying for us while we were yet His enemy is the same love that is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We are talking about the love of God here, not our love for God but God's love for us! Our kind of love would rarely die even for a good man!

Joh_15:13 NIV

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Joh_3:16-17 NIV

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 5:9

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

Justified by the blood of Jesus

The reason we are saved from God's wrath is the fact that we have been justified (credited with righteousness) by the blood of Jesus - by His work of Faith and obedience to the Father. It is an imputed righteousness, belonging to Jesus, acquired for us by our obedience to the Son:

Mat_17:5 NIV

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

Mat_3:16-17 NIV

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. (17) And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Heb_5:8-9 NIV

Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered (9) and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him

We simply are saved because the Son is pleasing to His Father. We are riding His coattails into Heaven! We are no longer destined to suffer the wrath of God that will be displayed against those who do not know God nor obey the Gospel of the Lord Jesus!

2Th_1:7-9 NIV

... This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (8) He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (9) They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power...

Romans 5:10

For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Blessings #7 - Reconciliation by the Death of Jesus

As if we haven't comprehended yet, the Spirit makes sure we are getting the message! Three times he has repeated this concept:

verse 6 - While we were still weak, Christ died for the ungodly

verse 8 - While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

verse 10 - While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son

The results of being saved, being reconciled (katallasso: to change mutually, that is, (figuratively) to compound a difference: - reconcile.), allowing Jesus' death to be exchanged for our sins:

verse 9 - we will be saved by Him from the wrath of God

verse 10 - we will be saved by His life

Paul uses a logical defense of the blessings in Christ called a fortiori: meaning, "all the more; for a still stronger reason." This phrase is used in logic to denote an argument to the effect that because one ascertained fact exists, therefore another which is included in it or analogous to it and is less improbable, unusual, or surprising must also exist. What is the fact being examined? Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. The unusual and surprising fact within this ascertained fact is that we are saved from the wrath of God, destined to live forever in bliss with God, without sin.

What becomes more surprising even, after an examination of what God has made possible for us wicked creatures, is the cost at which this became available for us. Reconciliation demands a mutual exchange. This is one of the principles of Love. In order for love to exists there has to be a giver and a recipient. Both the giver and the recipient must mutually exchange love freely. Both need to change themselves to accommodate to each other for the free exchange to be established and continue. One person by himself cannot love. Love necessitates an object.

What is the exchange?

On our part

1. Give up our burden of sin

2. Give up our worldly goals

3. Give up our own self (die to self)

4. Give up our life (our carnal aspirations and hopes)

5. Gain Eternal Association with the Creator God

6. Gain Divine Peace thorough Justification

On God's Part

1. Giving up of His One and Only Son

2. Eternal surrender of certain privileges

3. Eternal association with the incorporated souls

4. Divine reconciliation with man - His creation

The message bears repeating numerous times that we may appreciate the depth of what has been done for our sake.

We can extrapolate from these verses a few things:

1. Being weak (powerless) is being sinners, which is being enemies of God.

2. We are the ungodly who have been reconciled (restored) back to God through the death of Jesus!

3. We are saved by His life from the wrath of God that is being revealed against all godlessness and wickedness. Amen, for that wrath was for us, the ungodly!

To state it another way, we have been delivered from sin’s penalty; we are being delivered from sin’s power; and we will ultimately be delivered from sin’s presence. - Believer's Study Bible

Romans 5:11

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Exultation in Exchange

Reconciliation - The Third Level of Exultation

Once the Joy brought on by hope and peace continues to thrive in your Christian walk, the joy of the Lord continues to fuel your ministry which continues to give you joy as you grow in hope and in a deeper understanding of all the blessings you have in Christ (Philemon 6). This is the circle of joy. It is at the beginning, in the middle and towards the end of your growth and maturity.

All the true rejoicing happens when we are busy fulfilling our calling in Christ. We know the Lord rejoices when a lost soul is restored (Luke 15:7, 10).

And there is the key word: Reconciliation (Atonement) - (katallage: exchange (adjustment), that is, restoration to (the divine) favor: - atonement, reconciliation).

What is there to boast about in Christ concerning the atonement we have received?

Jesus Surrendered Eternally

Some say the Son of God's sacrifice was temporary, since now He is in Heaven sitting at the right hand of the father and not suffering anymore. Some say God divested Himself of His Divine Nature temporarily while incarnate, but when ascended into Heaven, regained all that nature back and everything went back to the way it has been since time immemorial. We know Jesus was fully God and fully man, so the assumption that He had limited powers or abilities is just that, an assumption. The Scriptures do not give us any idea He was limited in some way - only that He surrendered something when he was made into human likeness. What did our Creator surrender? What did He exchange - and was it permanent, or temporary?

1. We know Jesus, the Word, is of the same nature as the First Person of the Godhead, the Father (Joh_1:1; Phi_2:6).

2. When the word became flesh (Joh_1:14), He emptied Himself of the "independent exercise" of His divine attributes. In this subordinate capacity:

· Jesus was able to say: "The Father is Greater than I" - Joh_14:28

· Paul affirmed: The head of Christ is God - 1Co_11:3

· The incarnation involved a subordinate role and an identification with humanity

3. After the Lord ascended into Heaven we can determine from these verses that He exchanged something permanently to be identified with us forever!

· Paul still proclaimed Him as the Son of God - Act_9:20. Prior to the incarnation we do not know Him as the Son of God (see Isa_9:6; Luk_1:35)

· Thirty years or so after the Lord had returned to Heaven Paul still refers to Him as as the man Christ Jesus - 1Ti_2:5

· The Hebrew writer affirms in the present tense that Christ the incorporated are all of one nature, which is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers - Heb_2:11; Rom_8:29

· In the final order of things Jesus will deliver all things back to the Father and be subject to the Father - 1Co_15:24-28

We can conclude that there was indeed an exchange between us and divinity for our eternal benefit. Or God and Creator surrendered something to eternally be associated with those who have been justified by the blood of His Son. This shows how deep God's divine love is for us. It should stagger the mind to ponder on this and fill us with awe and wonder. If this realization does not motivate you and move you to desire His fellowship, nothing probably will.

2Co_5:14

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

Do you want peace? Rest? Tranquility? How about the hope of an eternally blissful life with your Heavenly Father? Only through incorporation (joining Jesus at His death, burial and resurrection through baptism) can you receive divine reconciliation (Romans 6:3ff). It does not suffice to just know about God, or even to be on friendly terms with God (i.e., going to church, praying or doing good deeds). Of course, our identification with Christ just begins at this point. After being incorporated in Him we carry on this new identity by being obedient and pleasing to our Father in Heaven (Galatians 2:20). His seal of approval, the Spirit, is our mark of the eternal bliss to come (2Co 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30).

A heart at rest needs to be at peace with itself and that can only happen when we’ve been reconciled with our Creator, the Father of our Spirits, by being obedient to the Gospel (2Thes 1:8; 1Pe 4:17). Life cut from its source cannot thrive, and in the same way, neither our heart nor spirit can have peace without us being joined to Him who is Life and Peace (John 14:6; Rom 5:1; Romans 8:6).

Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--

SIN, JUDGMENT AND DEATH CONQUERED IN JESUS CHRIST

Sin brings death to all

How fair is it for one man to have brought death to us all? Many times I have thought - "If only Adam had not sinned... how would we all be doing today?" Perhaps it is not fair but one can only wonder about such things. Probably we all would have ended up sinning since we all share that likeness.

Notice that although it was the woman Eve who sinned first, Adam is the one who is questioned first:

Gen_3:8-10 NIV

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (9) But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" (10) He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

Man, being the head of woman, is held responsible for sin. When sin (disobedience) was allowed to live through the man death followed soon after:

Gen_3:22 NIV

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

All men were affected after this - we were all banned from the tree of life. Not only do we die a physical death, but sin brings spiritual death, which is separation from God. The fact that we physically die proves that we are spiritually dead for nothing spiritually good dies! So we can understand the word "death" to mean spiritual death, since physical death is implicated.

How about those who are righteous in Jesus Christ, will they still physically die even though they have life in Jesus? Yes, you will still physically die since Jesus has not saved your flesh, but your soul! Since your flesh sinned your flesh needs to die. This is why we are baptized into His death since we crucify the flesh and its desires when we are baptized (Rom_6:3-6) then we come out of the baptismal waters we come out to a new spiritual life in Christ.

False Doctrines pertaining to sin and death through Adam

A few false doctrines have risen as a result is misapplying and misunderstanding this verse. Notice how it was death that spread to all men because they all sinned:

1. We do not inherit Adam's sin

2. We inherit the effect of sin, death, because we all sin

3. We do not inherit sin or death from one man without our own doing

If these points are clear to you from Scripture then we can say:

1. Total hereditary depravity, a tenet of Calvinism, is wrong: we do not inherit sin or death. Each individual dies because each individual sins: Eze_18:20 ESV - The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

2. Original Sin, a Catholic doctrine, is wrong: we do not inherit sin or death. The souls that sins in the souls that dies. Death comes when you sin. Therefore if a person not able to give account of his own life (1Jo_3:4); like an innocent soul, a baby, a child, or a mentally challenged individual; dies, he will be in the Paradise of God since they belong to the Kingdom of God: Mat_19:14 ESV - ...but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

3. Immaculate Conception, a Catholic doctrine, is wrong: the soul who sins is the soul that dies. Mary was a sinner and died; proving she was a sinner. She needed to be in Christ as much as the next person.

The only man that remained without sin until His physical death was our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is why He is the Last Adam, the man from Heaven:

Heb_4:15 ESV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Romans 5:13

for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

Sin was in the world long before there was any law given by direct revelation to point it out. That sin, however, was looked over by God in view of the future atonement meant to cover all human beings before and after Christ.

Act_17:30-31 NIV

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. (31) For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

That doesn't mean sin was unaccounted for, since we know humans still died because they shared in that penalty invoked by Adam. This shows that, although there was no direct revelation of a law, there was a law in effect inasmuch as the natural laws that govern our physical universe are in effect whether we know about them or not.

Romans 5:14

Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

Slaves to Sin

During the time where there was no law, death reigned over man since sin controlled man. This shows there was a law present, just not revealed as we discussed in the last verse. There was no way to break the bondage of sin. Even those who sinned differently, perhaps meaning more grievous or not so grievous sins; or those who are not accountable for their sins (children, the mentally challenged, etc) were in bondage to sin. Everyone was affected by it, whether righteous or wicked.

Adam was a type of one to come...

The Bible helps us to understand the things revealed in Christ through types (tupos: a die (as struck), a style or resemblance; specifically a sampler (“type”), that is, a model (for imitation) or instance (for warning): - example, fashion, figure, form, manner, pattern, print.) previously presented in the Old Testament. This is a biblical concept applicable to almost anything that was a shadow of the reality we understand in Jesus.

Col_2:17 NIV

These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Jesus is our Second Adam - the life giving spirit:

1Co_15:45-50 NIV

So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. (46) The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. (47) The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. (48) As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. (49) And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. (50) I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

This typification is one having to do more with contrast than similarity. See Rom_5:19 commentary.

Romans 5:15

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

The Free Gift surpasses the wages of sin

Here we see the justice and mercy of God working together! Even better, we can apply the a fortiori argument here also: if God's justice is perfect, how much more perfect and greater is the mercy of God!!

Rom_6:23 NIV

For the wages of