返回Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Rom. 5:1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Rom. 5:2. Through Whom by faith we have also obtained access to that grace in which we stand, and boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Here the Apostle reasons about the life of faith, so that after he has said so much in praise of faith and disparaged works, we would not become negligent. Since faith has justified us, let us sin no more, but "let us have peace with God" through a life pleasing to Him. How will this be? "Through our Lord Jesus Christ." He who justified us when we were sinners will also help us to be preserved in His righteousness; for through Him "we have obtained access to this grace." If He brought near those who were far off, how much more will He keep close those who are already near. And He brought us "to this grace." In what way? "By faith," that is, when we brought faith. And what is this grace? The receiving of all the good things that are bestowed upon us through baptism. "In which we stand," having firmness and steadfastness. For divine blessings always stand and never fall away. And not only do we firmly hold what we have received, but we hope to receive the rest as well. "We boast," he says, "in the hope" of the blessings that will be given to us in the future: since they pertain to the glory of God, they will assuredly be given, if not for our sake, then for the glorification of God Himself.
Rom. 5:3. And not only this, but we also boast in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience,
Rom. 5:4. from patience, experience; from experience, hope;
Rom. 5:5. Hope does not put to shame,
Not only, he says, do we boast in the good things to come, but, what is even more, even in our present afflictions. Do not be troubled, he says, by the fact that we are in afflictions: this is itself a matter of boasting for a Christian. In what way? Affliction produces patience, and patience makes the one being tested proven, and a proven person, comforting himself in his good conscience with the thought that he is subjected to afflictions for God's sake, hopes for recompense for these afflictions. And such hope is not fruitless; it "does not put to shame" the one who hopes. Human hopes, when unfulfilled, put to shame those who hoped, but divine hopes are not of this kind. For the One who bestows good things is immortal and good, and we, even though we die, shall live again, and then nothing will any longer prevent our hopes from being fulfilled.
Rom. 5:5. Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
He assures us of the future by the love that God has already shown to us. He speaks as if to say: do not lose faith; the hope for divine blessings is not in vain, for He Who so loved us that He made us children of God, without any labor on our part, through the Holy Spirit — how will He not give crowns after labors? "The love of God has been poured out," he says, "into our hearts," that is, it appears abundant and rich in us, who have in our hearts the Spirit Himself, Whom God has given to us.
Rom. 5:6. Christ, when we were yet weak, in due time died for the ungodly.
Rom. 5:7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
Rom. 5:8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom. 5:9. Much more then, now being justified by His Blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Having said that the love of God is poured out in us through the Spirit, Whom we have in ourselves as a gift from God, he further shows the greatness of this love from the fact that Christ died for us while we were weak, that is, sinners, and what is even worse, for the ungodly, although hardly anyone would die even for a righteous person. So then, this is a superabundance of love—to die for sinners and the ungodly. The phrase "in due time" means at the fitting and foreordained time, for the Lord died when the fitting time had come. And if He died out of love and by His death justified us, how much more will He now save us from wrath, us whom He has already justified. He granted us the greater thing—justification: how will He not save us from wrath? And to those saved from wrath He will also grant blessings—according to His great love.
Rom. 5:10. If, being enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.
Although, it would seem, he says here the same thing, the inferences through comparison are different. Above he speaks of our sinfulness and then, adding that we have been justified, concludes through comparison: He who justified us sinners by His death will all the more save those who have been justified. But now, mentioning the death and life of Christ, he again reasons comparatively: when we were reconciled by the Blood and death of the Lord, how shall we not now be saved in His life? For He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him over to death for our reconciliation, will He not all the more now save us by His life?
Rom. 5:11. And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.
Not only, he says, are we saved, but we also boast in God, because we were saved when we were ungodly, and saved by the blood of the Only-Begotten. And we boast in the Lord Jesus Christ; for He, the source of our reconciliation, is also the source of our boasting.
Rom. 5:12. Through one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, so death passed upon all men, because in him all sinned.
Having said that the Lord Jesus justified us, he turns to the root of evil, to sin and death, and shows that both the one and the other, that is, sin and death, entered the world through one man, Adam, and again by one and the same Man, Christ, were removed. What then does "in him all sinned" mean? That all sinned in Adam. As soon as he fell, through him even those who had not eaten from the forbidden tree became mortal, as though they themselves had also fallen, because he fell.
Rom. 5:13. For until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Rom. 5:14. Death, however, reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a type of Him who was to come.
The Apostle wants to prove that even those who did not eat from the forbidden tree and did not sin like Adam were, on account of his sin, also counted as having sinned and died. He proves this as follows: sin reigned before the giving of the law, that is, even before the law. But what sin was this? Was it sin from transgression of the law? But how could there be such sin when there was no law? Sin is imputed when there is a law, and people who transgress the law are necessarily called sinners. "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses," that is, until the giving of the law. Therefore, there was a sin through which death reigned: if there had been no sin that sustained death, it would not have reigned. Since it has been demonstrated that sin from transgression of the law did not yet exist, it remains that it was the sin of Adam through which death reigned even over those who did not sin directly (for those who did not receive the law and did not transgress it are not called sinners), but sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression and became partakers of the fall of their forefather, who is a type of Christ. For just as the ancient Adam made all guilty of his fall, even though they did not fall, so also Christ justified all, even though they did nothing for which they should be justified. This is why he is "a type of the one to come," that is, of Christ.
Rom. 5:15. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Rom. 5:16. And the gift is not as the judgment for one who sinned; for the judgment for one transgression was unto condemnation, but the gift of grace was unto justification from many transgressions.
Christ, he says, brought benefit not merely to the same degree that Adam caused harm. If sin was so powerful that through the fall of one all his descendants were condemned, even though they themselves did not fall, then how much greater and more abundant will be the effect of the grace of God the Father upon many, and not only His, but also of His Son. And the gift of God cannot be equal to the condemnation through the one who sinned. For the "transgression," that is, the sin subject to condemnation, proceeding from Adam, led "to condemnation," that is, to death, and a multitude of sins always existed among his descendants, so that people were in the power of many sins and death. "But the gift of grace is unto justification from many transgressions," that is, grace not only blotted out that one sin, but also the other sins that followed after it; for it became our justification, granting us forgiveness of all transgressions committed after the fall.
Rom. 5:17. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Rom. 5:18. So then, as through the transgression of one man condemnation came upon all men, so also through the righteousness of One justification of life came upon all men.
If because one man ate from the forbidden tree, death came to reign, then how much more shall we, who have received the abundance and surplus of grace and have been justified, live and reign "through the one Jesus Christ," whose brethren we are, with whom we have been joined into one body, with whom we have been united as a body with its head. For we received not a simple or uniform good, so that there would still remain for us the possibility of doubting regarding the future: our blessings are the fruit of abundant grace. Imagine that someone has incurred a great debt and is cast into prison together with his wife and children, and then is not only freed from the prison and the debt, but also receives ten thousand talents, is brought into the royal palace, is deemed worthy of high honor, and becomes a son of the king. Exactly so it has happened with us. Therefore, says the apostle, concluding his thought, just as through the transgression of one man (what he called sin above, he now calls transgression, meaning Adam's sin) all people were subjected to a curse, so also through the justification of the one Christ, grace was poured out upon all people, giving them both justification instead of sin, and life instead of death.
Rom. 5:19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Here, it would seem, there is a repetition; but in reality there is none. Above he said (Rom. 5:18): "as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification," and now he explains what the transgression of the one consisted of, and says that it was disobedience, through which many were made sinners, that is, subject to punishment and condemned to death; he also explains what the righteousness of the One, that is, of Christ, consists of, and says that it is obedience even unto death, and the death of the cross, through which obedience death was destroyed and we were freed from condemnation to it.
Rom. 5:20. Law came in besides, and so the transgression was multiplied. But where sin multiplied, grace abounded all the more.
After having proved that in Adam all were condemned, and in Christ saved, someone could probably have doubted and objected: what then was the law doing for so many years, if Christ justified us? "The law," he answers, "came in," that is, it was given for a time; it was not the chief and most essential need. And when it "came in," transgression was multiplied. For it gave many commandments; but all these commandments people transgressed, which is why transgression was multiplied. The particle "moreover" indicates the consequence.
The law was given for the diminishment and destruction of sin, but the opposite resulted, not because of the nature of the law, but because of the negligence of people. But whereas through the law sin multiplied, through Christ the grace of God appeared superabundantly, not only freeing us from sins, but also justifying and making us heavenly and adopting us to God. Therefore he did not say "abound," but "superabound," showing by this its great abundance.
Rom. 5:21. That as sin reigned unto death, even so grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Having said that grace appeared superabundantly, the apostle, lest we be faithless, shows that such a manifestation of it corresponds to its purpose, and says: sin was the king, and death was the soldier armed by it. If sin reigned over us, having death as a kind of soldier, then all the more will grace reign in us, which imparts righteousness that destroys sin, and together with the destruction of sin also destroys death, and after the latter, justification. Thus, justification put to death the king, sin, and together with it death, and finally, eternal life was introduced.
Rom. 5:1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Rom. 5:2. Through Whom by faith we have also obtained access to that grace in which we stand, and boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Here the Apostle reasons about the life of faith, so that after he has said so much in praise of faith and disparaged works, we would not become negligent. Since faith has justified us, let us sin no more, but "let us have peace with God" through a life pleasing to Him. How will this be? "Through our Lord Jesus Christ." He who justified us when we were sinners will also help us to be preserved in His righteousness; for through Him "we have obtained access to this grace." If He brought near those who were far off, how much more will He keep close those who are already near. And He brought us "to this grace." In what way? "By faith," that is, when we brought faith. And what is this grace? The receiving of all the good things that are bestowed upon us through baptism. "In which we stand," having firmness and steadfastness. For divine blessings always stand and never fall away. And not only do we firmly hold what we have received, but we hope to receive the rest as well. "We boast," he says, "in the hope" of the blessings that will be given to us in the future: since they pertain to the glory of God, they will assuredly be given, if not for our sake, then for the glorification of God Himself.
Rom. 5:3. And not only this, but we also boast in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience,
Rom. 5:4. from patience, experience; from experience, hope;
Rom. 5:5. Hope does not put to shame,
Not only, he says, do we boast in the good things to come, but, what is even more, even in our present afflictions. Do not be troubled, he says, by the fact that we are in afflictions: this is itself a matter of boasting for a Christian. In what way? Affliction produces patience, and patience makes the one being tested proven, and a proven person, comforting himself in his good conscience with the thought that he is subjected to afflictions for God's sake, hopes for recompense for these afflictions. And such hope is not fruitless; it "does not put to shame" the one who hopes. Human hopes, when unfulfilled, put to shame those who hoped, but divine hopes are not of this kind. For the One who bestows good things is immortal and good, and we, even though we die, shall live again, and then nothing will any longer prevent our hopes from being fulfilled.
Rom. 5:5. Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
He assures us of the future by the love that God has already shown to us. He speaks as if to say: do not lose faith; the hope for divine blessings is not in vain, for He Who so loved us that He made us children of God, without any labor on our part, through the Holy Spirit — how will He not give crowns after labors? "The love of God has been poured out," he says, "into our hearts," that is, it appears abundant and rich in us, who have in our hearts the Spirit Himself, Whom God has given to us.
Rom. 5:6. Christ, when we were yet weak, in due time died for the ungodly.
Rom. 5:7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
Rom. 5:8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom. 5:9. Much more then, now being justified by His Blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Having said that the love of God is poured out in us through the Spirit, Whom we have in ourselves as a gift from God, he further shows the greatness of this love from the fact that Christ died for us while we were weak, that is, sinners, and what is even worse, for the ungodly, although hardly anyone would die even for a righteous person. So then, this is a superabundance of love—to die for sinners and the ungodly. The phrase "in due time" means at the fitting and foreordained time, for the Lord died when the fitting time had come. And if He died out of love and by His death justified us, how much more will He now save us from wrath, us whom He has already justified. He granted us the greater thing—justification: how will He not save us from wrath? And to those saved from wrath He will also grant blessings—according to His great love.
Rom. 5:10. If, being enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.
Although, it would seem, he says here the same thing, the inferences through comparison are different. Above he speaks of our sinfulness and then, adding that we have been justified, concludes through comparison: He who justified us sinners by His death will all the more save those who have been justified. But now, mentioning the death and life of Christ, he again reasons comparatively: when we were reconciled by the Blood and death of the Lord, how shall we not now be saved in His life? For He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him over to death for our reconciliation, will He not all the more now save us by His life?
Rom. 5:11. And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.
Not only, he says, are we saved, but we also boast in God, because we were saved when we were ungodly, and saved by the blood of the Only-Begotten. And we boast in the Lord Jesus Christ; for He, the source of our reconciliation, is also the source of our boasting.
Rom. 5:12. Through one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, so death passed upon all men, because in him all sinned.
Having said that the Lord Jesus justified us, he turns to the root of evil, to sin and death, and shows that both the one and the other, that is, sin and death, entered the world through one man, Adam, and again by one and the same Man, Christ, were removed. What then does "in him all sinned" mean? That all sinned in Adam. As soon as he fell, through him even those who had not eaten from the forbidden tree became mortal, as though they themselves had also fallen, because he fell.
Rom. 5:13. For until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Rom. 5:14. Death, however, reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a type of Him who was to come.
The Apostle wants to prove that even those who did not eat from the forbidden tree and did not sin like Adam were, on account of his sin, also counted as having sinned and died. He proves this as follows: sin reigned before the giving of the law, that is, even before the law. But what sin was this? Was it sin from transgression of the law? But how could there be such sin when there was no law? Sin is imputed when there is a law, and people who transgress the law are necessarily called sinners. "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses," that is, until the giving of the law. Therefore, there was a sin through which death reigned: if there had been no sin that sustained death, it would not have reigned. Since it has been demonstrated that sin from transgression of the law did not yet exist, it remains that it was the sin of Adam through which death reigned even over those who did not sin directly (for those who did not receive the law and did not transgress it are not called sinners), but sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression and became partakers of the fall of their forefather, who is a type of Christ. For just as the ancient Adam made all guilty of his fall, even though they did not fall, so also Christ justified all, even though they did nothing for which they should be justified. This is why he is "a type of the one to come," that is, of Christ.
Rom. 5:15. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Rom. 5:16. And the gift is not as the judgment for one who sinned; for the judgment for one transgression was unto condemnation, but the gift of grace was unto justification from many transgressions.
Christ, he says, brought benefit not merely to the same degree that Adam caused harm. If sin was so powerful that through the fall of one all his descendants were condemned, even though they themselves did not fall, then how much greater and more abundant will be the effect of the grace of God the Father upon many, and not only His, but also of His Son. And the gift of God cannot be equal to the condemnation through the one who sinned. For the "transgression," that is, the sin subject to condemnation, proceeding from Adam, led "to condemnation," that is, to death, and a multitude of sins always existed among his descendants, so that people were in the power of many sins and death. "But the gift of grace is unto justification from many transgressions," that is, grace not only blotted out that one sin, but also the other sins that followed after it; for it became our justification, granting us forgiveness of all transgressions committed after the fall.
Rom. 5:17. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Rom. 5:18. So then, as through the transgression of one man condemnation came upon all men, so also through the righteousness of One justification of life came upon all men.
If because one man ate from the forbidden tree, death came to reign, then how much more shall we, who have received the abundance and surplus of grace and have been justified, live and reign "through the one Jesus Christ," whose brethren we are, with whom we have been joined into one body, with whom we have been united as a body with its head. For we received not a simple or uniform good, so that there would still remain for us the possibility of doubting regarding the future: our blessings are the fruit of abundant grace. Imagine that someone has incurred a great debt and is cast into prison together with his wife and children, and then is not only freed from the prison and the debt, but also receives ten thousand talents, is brought into the royal palace, is deemed worthy of high honor, and becomes a son of the king. Exactly so it has happened with us. Therefore, says the apostle, concluding his thought, just as through the transgression of one man (what he called sin above, he now calls transgression, meaning Adam's sin) all people were subjected to a curse, so also through the justification of the one Christ, grace was poured out upon all people, giving them both justification instead of sin, and life instead of death.
Rom. 5:19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Here, it would seem, there is a repetition; but in reality there is none. Above he said (Rom. 5:18): "as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification," and now he explains what the transgression of the one consisted of, and says that it was disobedience, through which many were made sinners, that is, subject to punishment and condemned to death; he also explains what the righteousness of the One, that is, of Christ, consists of, and says that it is obedience even unto death, and the death of the cross, through which obedience death was destroyed and we were freed from condemnation to it.
Rom. 5:20. Law came in besides, and so the transgression was multiplied. But where sin multiplied, grace abounded all the more.
After having proved that in Adam all were condemned, and in Christ saved, someone could probably have doubted and objected: what then was the law doing for so many years, if Christ justified us? "The law," he answers, "came in," that is, it was given for a time; it was not the chief and most essential need. And when it "came in," transgression was multiplied. For it gave many commandments; but all these commandments people transgressed, which is why transgression was multiplied. The particle "moreover" indicates the consequence.
The law was given for the diminishment and destruction of sin, but the opposite resulted, not because of the nature of the law, but because of the negligence of people. But whereas through the law sin multiplied, through Christ the grace of God appeared superabundantly, not only freeing us from sins, but also justifying and making us heavenly and adopting us to God. Therefore he did not say "abound," but "superabound," showing by this its great abundance.
Rom. 5:21. That as sin reigned unto death, even so grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Having said that grace appeared superabundantly, the apostle, lest we be faithless, shows that such a manifestation of it corresponds to its purpose, and says: sin was the king, and death was the soldier armed by it. If sin reigned over us, having death as a kind of soldier, then all the more will grace reign in us, which imparts righteousness that destroys sin, and together with the destruction of sin also destroys death, and after the latter, justification. Thus, justification put to death the king, sin, and together with it death, and finally, eternal life was introduced.