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Romans 5:12-14
The First Man, Adam
The assemblies in Rome have been learning from Paul what results from being justified by God, through
faith in Christ. It results in men entering into a state of peace with God; theyre no longer at enmity with
Him. And presently, they have a standing of grace with God as a son of God and an absolutely certain
hope of a secured future with God in a body of glory.
Paul showed the believers in Rome just how secure their future is. The Holy Spirit, which has been given
to each believer, affirms inwardly, in the heart, the love of the Father for the believer, personally love
which is so generous that it is shed abroad in the heart.
And God demonstrated His love outwardly through the sacrifice of Christ, on the cross the place where
each man begins to take in the outpouring of the love of God, by receiving His act of love, through faith.
Paul then introduced two statements of reason (5:9-10). These two statements show that if God had begun
a work in those who believe, to justify and reconcile them, which God did through the death of Christ; then
how much more certain is it that God will complete that work, in believers work that will be
accomplished, in the future, through the resurrected life of Christ.
The specific work that Paul mentioned is that believers shall be saved (future tense) from wrath, speaking
of the final judgment in verse 9, how shall the believer be saved from wrath? Through Him through
Christ.
And in verse 10, Paul wrote that believers shall be saved (future tense), referring not to salvation from sin,
but deliverance from death this will be the redemption of the body, when it is loosed from death, as a
body of glory. And how does Paul say believers shall be saved, from death? In His life the life that
Christ brought forth from the grave, in His resurrection Life everlasting, in a glorified body.
And because Christ is already risen from the dead, these future prospects are a certain hope, in the present.
We have already been justified and reconciled; and we will assuredly be saved from final wrath and
glorified all through Christ.
So Paul has laid out all that has been, is, and will be accomplished by the work of Christ, which the
believer receives for himself, through his faith. But perhaps Pauls listeners are wondering, just how does
God do this? Well, we might say, God does this through Christ, or in Christ but how exactly does
that work?
How can the death and the resurrection of one man, even the incarnate Son of God, have ramifications on
other men on the whole world of men, in fact? More specifically, how can the actions of one man affect
the position of other men with God to justify and reconcile them as well as their eternal destiny to
glorify them?
In order to show how God can extend the redemption that is in Christ Jesus to all mankind, Paul will take
his listeners to the heavenlies, to see it from Gods perspective; from the eternal viewpoint of Gods plan,
for mankind.
Well read through the end of chapter 5, but well only be looking at verses 12-14 today.

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[Read Romans 5:12-21]

So Paul is making a comparison in this passage between Adam and Christ. He begins to lay out the first
side of his comparison with Adam, but digresses to explain sin and death coming into the world through
Adam (vv. 12-14).
Then Paul presents a series of contrasts between what Adam and Christ brought into the world (vv. 15-17)
before finally comparing them more directly (vv. 18-19).
Paul shows where the Law fits into the picture, which a Jew would consider pertinent to a discussion of
righteousness (v 20). Finally, Paul concludes by showing the ultimate ramifications of each mans act upon
other men.
Now, we can view this passage as if Paul is painting a picture: the picture of the redemption of mankind,
from Gods perspective; His plan, for mankind, and how He accomplishes it. Pauls canvas, upon which he
is painting his picture, is the entire world of men. In the center of the canvas are two figures; two men,
whom Paul paints side by side.
Paul does not fill in every detail in his portraits of the two men, but instead, certain key details, presenting
them as a contrast, one to the other; the first figure is shadowy, the second, clear and bright. Pauls painting
is then completed in broad strokes, emanating from these two figures, onto the rest of the canvas, through
which Paul is displaying the impact of these two men on the rest of mankind.
Now, who are the two men, in the painting? Paul tells us they are the first man, Adam, and Jesus Christ
whom Paul calls the second Man in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15:47). Only two men are ever
mentioned; for in a sense, God has always, only had two men.
In what sense? In the sense of His plan. God has always, only had two men, through whom God
accomplished His objectives for mankind.
Paul gives us the key as to how God accomplished His plan through these two men at the end of verse 14,
where Paul names Adam as a type of Him who was to come. The word type, tupos in the Greek, comes
from the verb tupto which means to strike or smite with repeated strokes, which leads to its general
meaning, an impression like that made by a stamp.
Paul uses this word here in a figurative sense, to refer to a person who bears the form and figure of another;
as having a certain resemblance in relations and circumstances.
A type is not the same as a symbol, though sometimes we used them interchangeably. A symbol is an
equivalent, like a visible sign of what is invisible; or an emblem of a spiritual reality. For example, leaven
is a symbol of evil, or sin.
A type is not an equivalent, but a likeness; a model of some reality which has yet to appear. So a type also
has a prophetic element to it; the model will, in time, have a fulfillment.
Paul indicates here that Adam is a type of Him who was to come. Literally, this is the Coming One; the
Christ. A type is a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Col 2:17).

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We know that there are many men who are types of Christ in the OT record. Joseph; Moses; Aaron; David,
to name some. Each of these men resembles Christ in some aspect of His person and work. But are they
exact equivalents? Was every aspect of their being, every circumstance of their life the same as that of
Christ? Of course not. Each OT type, then, must be viewed with the eyes of our understanding to see how
they prefigured Christ in what aspect of their person, and their work.
Likewise, we must understand this, in terms of Adam. Paul is indicating that Adam is a type of Christ;
Adam, in some respect, foreshadowed Christ. But in what respect?
As we reflect on all that Paul is laying out here, we understand that he is not speaking of Adam in terms of
his individual personage, nor of Adams work. The way in which Adam is a type of Christ is in terms of
him being the head of a creation. Our visual aide provides a great illustration.
Adam is the progenitor of the entire human race; of men in natural bodies (1 Cor 15:44); flesh men. All
men begin as the seed of Adam; they are born of him, sons of Adam an earthly birth.
In this respect, Adam foreshadows Christ, who is the head of the new creation, in Him. Christ is the
progenitor of the children of God; of men in glorified bodies. Believers are the seed of Christ; they are
born of Him, sons of God; a heavenly birth.
Paul presents Adam as a type of Christ here in one other respect. Through a single act, both Adam and
Christ affected the entire creation which was born of them; that is to say, all of their seed bear the
consequences of what Adam and Christ have done.
In this sense, both Adam and Christ were not just progenitors of men, but representative before God of all
those who are born in them; they stood in the stead of men, they acted in the stead of men, and the results
of their actions are accounted by God to the men whom they represent; the men who are in them, through
birth; their sons.
In this way, Paul is showing how the work of one man can affect the position of other men before God, and
their eternal destiny because in Gods plan, there were always, only two men Adam and Christ and
every man is either the son of one or the other.
Just as a side note, you can see how this might impact Pauls immediate audience the assemblies in
Rome, composed of both Jews and Gentiles. Paul has been laying out his gospel to them to show their
equality before God: in terms of their sin, in terms of the judgment they will receive for their sin, and in
terms of the redemption which they can receive through faith in Christ Jesus, apart from any work of their
own.
This section of Pauls letter continues to reinforce that God does not view the Jew and the Gentile any
differently, in terms of redemption. In Gods plan of redemption, there are not two people groups, Jews and
Gentiles; there are only two men Adam and Christ and again every man is either the son of one or the
other.
I want to point out one more important characteristic of this passage. It is the phrase, much more. We
find this phrase in verses 15, 17, and 20, and it is always in reference to the result for mankind of the work
of Christ, as compared to Adam; what resulted from the work of Christ is much more than that which
came from Adam.

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This must not be overlooked. What it means is that Paul is not saying that Christ simply undid what Adam
did, as if Christ just repaired some damage. Christ did much more.
But even if the phrase much more is not actually overlooked, it is often limited to the nebulous thought
that what Christ did was greater than what Adam did. Thats not untrue, but Paul is saying more than that
much more. How much more? Well, youll find that out as we explore the passage together!
But meanwhile, heres a hint: we encountered the same phrase just immediately preceding this passage, in
verses 9 and 10 of this chapter, in reference to the certainty of our future glory. And as you might expect
with Paul repeating the phrase so soon, again and again, there is a connection. You can look for it this
week.
Now lets go back and consider Pauls thought process in a little more detail.
v. 12-14 We can get no further than the first word of this passage, before we must stop to consider what
Paul means. We read, in the NKJV, Therefore.
Now, this is not Pauls usual therefore, in the Greek, like we see at the beginning of chapter 5. Paul uses
that word most often to indicate a conclusion. But this word actually two words in the Greek, and
translated Wherefore in the KJV this word in verse 12 can be used as a conclusion, but more often to
indicate purpose for this cause.
Clearly here, this is not a conclusion. The plan of God, as Paul is now laying out here, is not the
conclusion to being justified, reconciled, and glorified. Instead, the plan of God, to redeem mankind, is the
cause of a man being justified, reconciled and glorified; for the sake of accomplishing that, God purposed
His two men.
So instead of Therefore, this would certainly be better translated, For this cause, or For the sake of
this for the sake of salvation God had two men, each of whom was the head of a creation.
Now we get to the second and third words, and we must stop again: just as. This is ordinarily the
beginning of a comparison; in the Greek, one often finds, as or just as, and then the subject of
comparison is introduced with so also.
But do you see a so also, in the immediate vicinity? No. So what we see is that Paul begins to paint the
picture of Adam, and then proceeds to add more detail to his portrait, in the form of explanation, before he
moves on to comparing Adam to Christ.
Thats why the text is a little awkward because Paul departs from the grammatical form of his
comparison. But we understand that Paul is making a comparison, and after he makes his explanation, he
resumes it.
Paul says, Through one man sin entered the world. What man was that? Adam, of course; hes the one
man.
But wait a minute what about Eve? After all, she sinned first. Didnt sin enter the world, then, through
Eve? Or through both Adam and Eve, with the idea that they are one flesh (Gen 2:24)? But what Paul says
is through one man, Adam.

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This is why its so important to understand what Paul is comparing, in this passage; Adam to Christ, each
being the head of a creation. This is the plan of God, presented by Paul outside of time, with its ends fully
accomplished, even though those ends have not yet been realized, in time.
In this case, time is not a factor in Pauls argument; the perspective here is not temporal, but eternal. Eve
sinning first is not significant; thats a temporal reality. In fact, Eve is not significant here, at all. From the
eternal perspective, it is only Adam and Christ who are in view remember, God only has two men. And
this one man whom Paul mentions first is Adam.
Through Adam, sin came into the world; and death came in, through sin. Here Paul uses the definite article
before sin and death the Sin came into the world, and the Death, through the Sin. By using the definite
article, Paul is personifying Sin and Death that is, giving them the characteristics of persons.
Its as if Adam was the one who opened the door of the world, allowing the Sin to come in; and then the
Sin brought in his usual companion, the Death. So Adam having opened the door, now the Sin and the
Death have entered, and theyre in in the world. We will be looking at how Adam did that shortly.
The world that Adam let the Sin and the Death into is the world of men, that came from him; his seed; all
of Adams descendants thats every man, born into the world.
And Paul says, and thus in this way death spread to all men. In the KJV, it says more clearly, death
passed upon all men. The Greek word here means literally, to pass through. In what way did the Death
pass through upon all men? Death did so through birth. In Scripture, death alludes to physical death. The
word for dead in the Greek comes from the word for corpse. It is a body that dies.
All men are born of the seed of Adam. When Adam incurred the death penalty for his sin, the Death
entered his body; the Death entered his seed, corrupting it. All men, born of the seed of Adam, are born of
corruptible seed; that is, death is inherited, passed through upon the seed of Adam.
Now it says that death spread to all men; it passed through upon them. But does it say that sin passed
through upon them? No. But sin caused death to pass through upon all men; that is, death was a
consequence of sin. As Paul says, death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Now, what does Paul mean exactly by that because all sinned? Paul could mean that all men, in
themselves, have sinned personally, and because of that, death spread to all men.
All men have certainly sinned; Paul has said exactly that earlier in this very letter: All have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God (Rm 3:23). And later in this letter, Paul will say, The wages of sin is
death (Rm 6:23). This makes it clear that personal sin does indeed result in death.
But the question is, is that what Paul is saying here? First of all, remember that Paul has just said that death
passed through upon all men through being born in Adam. If youre born that way, how could your own
personal sin be the cause? That would be out of order.
In addition, we need to remember the context. Paul is laying out the two men, Adam and Christ, each as
the head of a creation. This passage does not pertain to the individual, but to the collective in Adam or in
Christ they are the progenitors of their seed. So here, Paul is not saying that all people have sinned
personally, resulting in death. He is saying that all sinned, collectively, in Adam.

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Okay, so how is it that all sinned in Adam? Is it a matter of when we were still seed in Adams body
before we were ever born and Adam sinned, we sinned, while in his body, so to speak because we were
part of him, at the time? As strange as this idea may sound, there is precedent for it, in Scripture. The
author to the Hebrews writes of Levi paying tithes to Melchizedek, while still in the loins of Abraham; that
is, while still Abrahams seed (Heb 7:4-10).
But we can rule out this idea because of the context of our passage specifically, the parallelism to Christ.
Is it because believers acted righteously, in Christ, that we were justified? No; it is because of Christs
righteous act on our behalf, that we are justified. It is not the act of the seed, but the act of the head of the
creation, that Paul has in mind here. So we can see that Paul cannot be saying we sinned in Adam, as seed
in him at the time he sinned.
Or could the idea of sinning in Adam be that we inherit a sin nature from Adam that we are hereditary
sinners, and therefore, death spread to all men? We are sinners, but we dont inherit a sin nature.
Remember Paul said it was death that passed through upon all men; not sin.
Instead, the idea that we all sinned in Adam is that, as the head of the creation of mankind, Adam
represented all mankind; he acted in our stead. This is in exact parallelism to Christ, in this passage; as
progenitor of a creation, and representative before God of those in it.
God only had to test one man a prototype the first man, Adam to demonstrate what all men born of
him would do. Why? Because the heart of man is the same. Its not heredity; its heart. Given the
freedom to choose, man will choose to do his own will, over the will of God that is, man will choose to
sin. Its in every mans heart to do so.
Sin means to miss the mark. What is the mark, that men miss? The righteousness of God. Men miss the
mark, because they are unrighteous, in their hearts. So when their obedience is tested, they fail; they miss
the mark; they sin.
Adam, as the representative of all humanity, demonstrated this, in transgressing the command of God; so
through Adam, God proved that the entire creation of mankind were sinners. Death passed through upon
all men, because all sinned, in their representative man, Adam.
Paul recognizes that it is critical for his listeners to understand Gods perspective here, that all the creation
of mankind have sinned in their representative man, Adam, and incur the consequences of his sin. Why is
their understanding here so important? Because that will enable them to comprehend how it is that God
can then accept Christs act on their behalf, and how it is that believers reap the benefit of it.
So before Paul goes on to speak about Christ, he presents a point of reason that bears out his statement that
all have sinned in their representative man, Adam.
v. 13-14 So here is Pauls proof, that all have sinned in Adam. Paul is speaking of the Law of Moses here.
That Law was given to the children of Israel after their exodus out of Egypt more than two millennia after
the time Adam was created.
Paul brings out that from the time of Adam until the Law of Moses was given, there were no specific
commandments given by God to men. Notice that Paul does not say that men didnt sin during that time
in fact, he specifically points out that sin was in the world (v. 13).

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But from a judicial standpoint, the sins that men were committing could not be imputed charged against
them, at that time because there was no revealed law, at that time, to show their sins to be a violation of
Gods will.
Without any charge, they could not be declared guilty. Without being declared guilty, they could not be
sentenced. Without being sentenced, they could not be condemned. And without being condemned, they
could not die for their sins, which they had committed.
And yet, Paul says, death reigned during this time from Adam, to Moses even over those who had not
sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam that is, death reigned over those who had
not violated an expressed command of God, like Adam did for there were no expressed commands.
Here death is again personified by Paul the Death reigned ruling over men like a tyrant absolute and
inescapable, the universal realm of all mankind Death reigned, despite the lack of charges against men,
for their sin. But if men could not be charged for their sins, how is it they still incurred the death penalty?
This is Pauls point exactly. They didnt incur the death penalty for their own personal sin; they incurred it
as part of the creation in Adam; they incurred it for Adams sin. Pauls evidence for this is overwhelming:
they all died.
I dont want to leave you thinking that men in Adam who lived before the Law of Moses, or who never
knew that Law, will not be judged for their own personal sin. There is still the matter of the righteous
requirements of Gods law, written in the hearts of men (Rom 2:14).
Unregenerate men will be judged on at least that basis at the Great White Throne Judgment and the
judgment for their sin will be retributive, carried out in the Lake of Fire the Second Death. Paul is simply
saying that their natural deaths, on earth, were not a consequence of their own sin; it was the penalty they
incurred for the sin of their representative man, Adam.
So Paul has made it clear that death passed though upon all mankind, not due to mens own personal sins,
but because they are part of the creation in Adam, who sinned.
Now, there may be some who think thats unfair of God. They may question whether God is just, to test
one man, in the place of all the others, that will come from him. Perhaps there could be an exception to the
rule!
But God is proven to be perfectly just in what He has done. Every man proves Him to be just, through their
own lives. The death penalty was incurred by all on the basis of Adams sin; but all prove it to be a just
penalty, through their own personal sin. Sinners themselves provide the vindication of Gods justice, here.
We are going to fill in Pauls portrait of Adam now as the head of the creation of mankind, with a little
excursion into Genesis. Turn first to Genesis chapter 1. On the sixth day, God created man. We are
intentionally focusing on Adam here.
[Genesis 1:26-27] This was the initiation of God having mankind in His image, beginning with the
creation of the first man. Adam was formed personally by the LORD God from the dust of the ground; an
earthen body, Adams outer man, to contain his inner man, his soul and spirit, which the LORD God breathed
into him. So Adam was a created spirit being of humanity, housed in a clay vessel, which fit him for his
temporal life on earth.

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The LORD God gave Adam everything he needed for that life. He was given a garden home, productive
work, plentiful food, and a helper suitable for him the woman and Adam shared fellowship with the
LORD God Himself, walking in the light as He is in the light (1 Jn 1:7).
The LORD God would not have mankind left in the dark, concerning His purposes. So through their
fellowship, the LORD most certainly would have shared with Adam His plan to have mankind in His image,
through the redemption in the Coming One, as revealed in the gospel story told by the star names. Through
Adam, God would have men in dust bodies. Through the Coming One, God would have righteous sons
clothed in bodies of glory men, in His image.
It would not have been apparent to Adam that he himself was not righteous, for he had never sinned. Nor
would he have thought of himself as naked, in that he lacked a forever-living body, to clothe his inner man.
The LORD God would cause Adam to see both of these things through the test of his obedience.
The LORD God gave a single command to the first man.
[Genesis 2:16-17] So the breaking of the command carried the death penalty, which would be incurred in
the day the command was broken.
The LORD God made every provision and preparation. Adam had all that he needed to live by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. When all was complete, the LORD God was ready to issue the
test of obedience to the first man the test that would show the first man his need. At that time, the serpent
was permitted to enter the garden, and present his enticement.
Unlike the woman, Adam was not deceived by the serpent (1 Tim 2:14). He knew that eating of the
forbidden tree would indeed incur the death penalty.
But Adam hearkened to the voice of his wife, instead of to the word of the LORD (Gen 3:17), and he ate.
And in the day that Adam ate, he died.
The test was an eye-opener for him. Adam now understood what the LORD had been teaching him. By
experiencing sin, Adam understood his need for righteousness; and through death, he recognized that he
was naked (Gen 3:7), and understood his need of a forever-living body, to clothe his inner man. But
thankfully, the LORD God had already made plain to Adam that He had sin and death covered; the Lamb was
slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8).
The result of Adams sin upon the race of men that would come from him is prophesied by the LORD to
Adam.
[Genesis 3:17-19] Because you have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall
not eat of it; because Adam transgressed the LORDs command, the judicial sentence for the transgression
passed upon him death. Through one man, Adam, sin entered the whole world of men, and death through
sin.
In Scripture, thorns and thistles became symbols of sin the ram, caught in the thicket (Gen 22:13); the
crown of thorns on the head of Jesus (Mt 27:29). They would come forth from the cursed ground for all
the bodies that had been formed from the ground were now under the curse of death all created bodies,
now subject to Death. It would not be only Adams body that would return to the dust, but the bodies of the
whole creation of mankind that would come from him; death would reign.

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Turn to Genesis chapter 5. Moses records here the genealogy of Adam, specifically the righteous line;
those who believed into the Coming One to be made righteous, in Him.
[Genesis 5:1-3] So Adam was made in the likeness of God Theres Gods beginning, to have sons in His
image. Adam was a creation of God.
But what do we read of Adams son, Seth? Seth was begotten which speaks in general of men becoming
the father of children; to be begotten is to be of the seed of the father.
Seth was the seed of the creation, in Adam, begotten in the likeness and image of his progenitor, Adam a
spirit being of humanity, housed in a earthen vessel that is dust, and will return to the dust. A perishable,
mortal body. A body of death, born of the corruptible seed of Adam.
The record in chapter 5 continues: and he died, and he died, and he died. In Adam, all die (1 Cor 15:22).
Because of the one sin of Adam that single act of transgression death passed through upon the entire
human race.
While it is clear that sin came into the world through Adam, and death through sin, it is imperative for us to
recognize that this was not in any way some unexpected accident, some unfortunate mishap. In fact, it was
no less than the plan of God.
In Gods plan of redemption, God always, only had two men and both were vital to His plan. Through
Adam, God would reproduce beings in flesh bodies. Through the sin of Adam, God would be enabled to
bring in righteousness; and through death, God would bring forth everlasting Life.
God would bring righteousness and everlasting Life forth through His Second Man the Lord from heaven
for the new creation in Him glorified sons of God which we will consider next week.
Read Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15.