¹⁷ For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. ¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Extended to all, received by some. That sums up God’s grace. Death came to all, grace is offered to all, but only those who receive this grace will “reign in life.” While we may not have had a choice in suffering condemnation because of Adam’s sin, we certainly have a choice to rectify the situation for ourselves. It does no good to argue whether some are predestined to believe and others not. Paul speaks of “those who receive the abundance of grace.” This contrasts with Adam’s sin—if he was in fact responsible for his sin (and clearly he was), then we are responsible for receiving God’s grace.

Receiving is something that some, but clearly not all, people do. God’s grace is extended to all (vs. 15-16), but only those who receive it will “reign.” This refers back to Adam’s task, which was to rule over God’s creation. God’s grace is what gets things back on track for those who “receive” His grace. At the point of justification, when a person believes and receives the gift of God’s grace, the Lord Jesus Christ, the cosmic anomaly of Adam’s sin is not only reversed, but superseded.

The believer now can “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” That is why Paul can later teach, for example, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Why? Because through Him I reign in life. Writing more expansively, he says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:36). The final word, the great “Amen,” is that Jesus Christ is all in all. It is all about Him, not about us, as exemplified in the sin of Adam, who desired to be like God.

One final note: where does that leave obedience? If Adam’s sin was one of disobedience, does God not require a corresponding act of obedience to offset Adam’s sin? Yes, indeed! Verse 19 is clear that “through the obedience of the One, the many will be made righteous.” Jesus is the perfect Adam, so to speak, and He fulfilled the requirements of obedience as the perfect member of Adam’s family. Because of Adam’s disobedience, we have all become sinners; through Jesus’ obedience we have all been offered God’s gift of grace.

Lord, thank You for freeing me from the condemnation of my sin!