The clearest and most detailed
account of the Divine logic concerning the universal consequences of Christ's
Sacrifice is in Romans 5 - the chapter of abundant Grace. In this chapter, the
apostle Paul clearly reveals his Spirit-inspired thinking as to what has
actually been achieved in Christ's death and resurrection. The line of thought
is very reasonable and logical - but it is not in accord with man's thinking
and ideas! Most Christians are still unaware of the glorious news of the
message of God's Grace - that it will reach ALL MANKIND eventually. In fact,
for those who don't understand it, they can only accuse those who teach it of
encouraging the following:
"It doesn't matter how we live then. We
might as well carry on sinning so that grace may increase. We might as well
sin because we're not under law any longer, but under grace, and Christ has
set everyone free." (Romans 6:1-2, 15)
"This means that God is unjust in
judging us all, for if our sin and error glorifies God's truth and
sovereignty, why are we still condemned as sinners? Why does God still blame
us if this was all part of His plan in the first place, and no one resists His
intention to bring good out of all evil? We might as well do evil so that good
may come of it!" (Romans 3:5-8; 9:19)
Yet Paul anticipates all these
questions, false assumptions and accusations because he knew what his message
would sound like to those who don't understand the foundational truths of
God's Sovereignty and His Grace, and some were already accusing him of such
teaching. He also reveals that judgment and wrath is
still an essential part of God's plan - but even this has a remedial effect in
the New Creation! (See footnote below).
So in this article we shall go through
this fundamental text in Romans one step at a time to attempt to show as
clearly as possible what God's Word really teaches on this subject. Let us
begin at Romans 5:10. (I will use the more familiar NIV text, and in
brackets in italics I will add a more accurate literal rendering of the Greek from
the CV where applicable).
The Conciliation
"For if, when we were God's
enemies, we were reconciled (conciliated) to Him through the death of
His Son, how much more, having been reconciled (conciliated), shall we
be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received
reconciliation (the conciliation)."
(Romans 5:10-11 NIV)
Paul begins to introduce the message of
the Conciliation of the World here. Most translations, like the New
International Version quoted above, read reconciliation instead of conciliation.
Conciliation is
one-sided, and reconciliation is both sides at peace. Only
Paul uses the words 'conciliation'
and 'reconciliation.' Humanity as a
whole is not reconciled to God as yet, as most versions of the Bible would
suggest, but God is conciliated
to humanity at present, refusing to reckon their offences against them and
continually holding out His hand of friendship and peace to all who will
believe.
The
difference between these two words can be established from any reliable
concordance. But sadly, most versions of the Scriptures do not translate these
words consistently or accurately. The only version that I presently know of
that faithfully translates these two words accurately and concordantly is the
Concordant Literal Version of the New Testament. The Greek word for conciliate
is 'katallasso' ('katallage'
is conciliation). It means a one-sided peace, which
automatically includes the fact that estrangement and enmity has previously
occurred. (For further information, see The
Conciliation of the World).
Paul
is not saying that only believers are conciliated to God, but that Christ died
for His enemies, that is, all mankind. Yet only believers are
now actually conciliated to God, resulting in reconciliation, so that we are
no longer His enemies, but His friends, which means that we will be saved from
the indignation of God which is coming on the sons of stubbornness, and we
will receive resurrection life in the coming ages. And not only is this so,
but we now have the glorious privilege of proclaiming this message of the
Conciliation to the world, which we have received from God.
"For the love of Christ is constraining us, judging this, that, if One died for the sake of all,
consequently all died. And He died for the sake of all that those who are living should by no means still be living to themselves, but to the One dying and being roused for their sakes...Yet
all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of
the conciliation, how that God was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offences to them, and
placing in us the word of the
conciliation.'
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 18-19 CV)
This message of the Conciliation is a
foretaste of what God will achieve in the New Creation when He will dwell with
all mankind, even though the majority will be under His rod of chastening.
Nevertheless, He will bring about the desired results of Christ's Sacrifice for
all mankind through His Body/Bride - the result being Universal Reconciliation.
Adam, the Pattern
"Therefore, just as sin entered the
world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came (passed
through) to all men, because all sinned (on which all sinned) -
for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken
into account when there is no law. 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 (type) of the one to
come."
(Romans 5:12-14 NIV)
Now
Paul begins to focus on the First Man, Adam, who was, and is, the head of all
mankind. We have all come from Adam, and it was through this one man that sin
and death passed through into the world and into every human being. This
mortality (dying condition) in turn causes us to sin which leads to further
sin and death. It's a cycle of corruption and decay that takes us down into
death. This is our universal experience.
Yet
before God's Law was given through Moses, sin and death still ruled over
mankind, even over those who had not broken any specific command of God like
Adam had originally done. Death rules over 'good people' as well, and also,
Sin is not taken into account when there is no law to tell us how to behave.
You can't transgress (fall aside) from something that you haven't been told
about. Yet Death still reigns over everyone, regardless of what they have
done. And all of this came from Adam.
Yet
Paul also tells us that the First Adam is a type or pattern of Christ who was
to come at a later time. Paul says elsewhere,
"The
first man, Adam, "became a living soul;" the last Adam a
vivifying Spirit...the second Man is the Lord out of heaven."
(1
Corinthians 15:45-47 CV)
Paul
is here introducing us to the foundational principle of the Firstborn and the
Firstfruits. Now the Hebrew word for Adam can also be translated as man, mankind
or humanity, and this thought has been transferred to the New Testament here. So Paul is telling us that God has laid before us Two Men or
Adams. One is Head of the soulish, fleshly humanity, that is, the Old Humanity;
and the other is Head of the spiritual, heavenly humanity, that is, the New
Humanity. The original Adam is the First Adam, and Christ Jesus is the
Second and Last Adam.
As
Adam was a son of God, created by His hand, so is Christ The Son of God (Luke
3:22 & 38). Christ is the correspondent Ransom for all mankind, for
He has paid the exact price for Adam's sin and its consequences, for
the sake of all, and this is the testimony that is, and will be, proclaimed in
its own eras (1 Timothy 2:5-6). All mankind were originally in Adam,
and eventually all mankind will be reborn in Christ, for He has fully
paid the price for this to occur.
"
For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be
vivified (made alive)."
(1
Corinthians 15:22 CV)
Throughout
Paul's writings especially, these things are described in the following terms,
which can be balanced like this:
In
Adam, the First Man
(the flesh, the old humanity, soulish, under the jurisdiction of Satan, sin,
death, darkness and deception)
And
In
Christ, the Second Man
(the Spirit, the new humanity, spiritual, under the jurisdiction of
Christ, righteousness, life, light and truth)
Only believers
can experience the spiritual rebirthing and cleansing within the heart that
leads to life, therefore, they are the only ones who are in Christ at present.
But they are only the Firstfruits and the Firstborn ones, so eventually the
remainder of humanity will follow. Paul himself stated that, as the foremost
of sinners, who was shown mercy by God and was overwhelmed with grace, faith
and love in Christ, he was a pattern for all those who are about to be
believing on Christ for age-abiding life. This is why he welcomed the faithful
saying that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1
Timothy 1:12-16), for "God wills that all mankind be saved and come
into a realisation of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
The principle of consecrating or
hallowing to God (that is, making something sacred or holy) the best or first
of something is throughout Scripture, and was an integral part of the Law.
This was especially the case with firstborn sons and with the firstfruits of
the harvest.
Paul now uses this principle of
contrasting the One with the many, the First with the rest in Romans 5. Christ
is the Firstborn One and the Firstfruit.
"...Firstborn of every
creature...Firstborn from among the dead" (Colossians 1:15, 18)
"...Christ, the Firstfruit..."
(1 Corinthians 15:23)
The spiritual Body of Christ Ecclesia or
Church, the Wife of the Lamb, is also the Firstborn and the Firstfruits, who
have the firstfruits of the Spirit of the New Humanity.
"...the ecclesia of the firstborn,
registered in the heavens,..." (Hebrews 12:23)
"...we ourselves also, who have the firstfruit
of the Spirit..." (Romans 8:23)
"...for us to be some firstfruit
of His own creatures." (James 1:18)
"They were purchased from among men
and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb." (Revelation
14:4 NIV)
If the firstfruits are holy, then so is
the rest (Romans 11:16). So let us see how Paul follows out this thought.
"But the gift (grace) is not
like the trespass (offence). For if the many died by the trespass (offence)
of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift (gratuity)
that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow (superabounds)
to the many! Again, the gift (gratuity) of God is not like the result
of the one man's sin (one act of sinning): The judgment followed one
sin and brought condemnation, but the gift (grace) followed many
trespasses (offences) and brought justification (into a just award)."
(Romans 5:15-16 NIV)
Paul is now saying that even though
there are many similarities between Adam and Jesus, the results of their
respective acts are completely different! The result of Christ's death and
resurrection has to outweigh and outdo the result of Adam's initial
offence!
I'll say that again: The result of Christ's death and
resurrection has to outweigh and outdo the result of Adam's initial
offence!!
In the case of the First Adam, one act of sinning and one offence
caused judgment and condemnation, which resulted in death for all Adam's
posterity (that is, all mankind, the many).
On the other hand, in the case of the
Second Adam, the grace and gift of God given in His Son came after numerous
offences had been committed by humanity. Yet this has resulted in a just award
being granted through Christ which will overflow or superabound to the
many, that is, all mankind! The Second Adam will certainly overrun the
First Adam. And how will this be done? Through the Melchizedec ministry of the
Firstfruits.
"For if, by the trespass (offence)
of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those
who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift (gratuity)
of righteousness reign (shall be reigning) in life through the one
man, Jesus Christ."
(Romans 5:17 NIV)
At this point, Paul is referring to the
future role of the Body of Christ as being a royal priesthood that will reign
over the rest of humanity in the New Creation. They will be reigning for the ages of the ages
(Revelation 22:5). He is saying that if Death reigns in this Old Creation
because of what Adam did, then how much more will Life and
Righteousness reign through believers who receive the abundance of God's grace
because of what Christ has done! The effects of the New Humanity will
completely reverse the effects of the Old Humanity. Now that's victory! Paul
goes on to confirm this.
The One and the Many
"Consequently, just as the result of
one trespass (offence) was condemnation for all men, so also the
result of one act of righteousness (one just award) was justification
that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the
one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one
man the many will be made righteous (just)."
(Romans 5:18-19 NIV)
Paul now makes it very clear as to what
he has been saying so far. You can't get much clearer than this! It's amazing
that so many Christians refuse to see this and instead they try to change the
intended meaning. It is a simple equation that a child could understand.
One man, Adam, brought condemnation
to all mankind as the result of his one offence.
One man, Adam, disobeyed and as
a result the rest of mankind, the many, were made sinners.
Now on the other side we have this.
One Man, Jesus, will bring life and
justification to all mankind as the result of His one act of
righteousness (or one just award).
One Man, Jesus, obeyed and as a
result the rest of mankind, the very same many as are affected by
the First Adam, will be made righteous.
THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS! THIS IS THE HAPPY
EVANGEL OF GOD'S GRACE! THIS IS THE GOSPEL OF GOD AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! This
is what Christ's suffering and Sacrifice has achieved!
Super-abundant, Super-exceeding Grace
Now if you've missed the point, Paul goes on to
reveal the following.
"The law was added so that the
trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all
the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might
reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord."
(Romans 5:20-21 NIV)
"Yet law came in by the way, that the
offense should be increasing. Yet where sin increases, grace
superexceeds, that, even as Sin reigns in death, thus Grace also
should be reigning through righteousness, for life eonian (or age-abiding),
through Jesus Christ, our Lord."
(Romans 5:20-21 CV)
The law of Moses was given to cause the
sin and offence of mankind to increase so that all mankind may
become subject to the just verdict of God that all are sinners, and that no
one can be justified or made righteous by works of law or religion - for
through law is the recognition of sin! (Romans 3:19-23).
Now take note of the principle here
revealed: Yet where sin increases, grace super-exceeds or completely outruns
and outdoes Sin in every sense! Whereas Sin reigns in death in the Old
Creation, thus also Grace shall be reigning through righteousness that will
lead to age-abiding life for all, through the love and power and grace of
Jesus Christ and His Body/Bride.
This outcome is the only way that the
Second Adam can surpass the consequences of the offence of the First Adam.
Anything less is not really Good News! Now where does the doctrine of Eternal
Torment in Hell fit into this scenario of truth? It doesn't, because it isn't
in the original word of God. The Good News is that ultimately there will be
Universal Salvation, Reconciliation, Justification, and age-abiding Life.
Footnote:
It is worth noting here, that
throughout the New Testament, punishment during the ages to come (that is,
age-abiding or 'everlasting' punishment) is never mentioned. In the
Greek, the word timoria is describing punishment, that which is
penal suffering to satisfy justice. But the Greek word kolasis (also kolazo)
is describing chastening or discipline with a view to correction.
Hence it is remedial and has a restorative end in view. In regard to the
judging of the Second Death in the New Creation, only the word for chastening
is used. A number of the early Church Fathers recognised the distinction
between these two Greek words, and this was also the way the Greek
philosophers Aristotle and Plato distinguished them. The Spirit of God has
used these words in the same way in Scripture.
Once it is understood that the Second
Death of Revelation, metaphorically called the Lake of Fire and Gehenna, is a
faded metaphor for age-abiding chastening in mortal bodies, then passages like
Hebrews 9:27-28 are without difficulty and contradiction. This text states
that 'it is reserved for the men to be dying once, then after this the
judging.' This is used to show that Christ died only once to pay the price
of sin, and He will appear a second time to save and to judge.
Although the context in Hebrews appears
to be referring to the Levitical priests (and it doesn't actually say 'to be
dying once only'), nevertheless, it is a fact that we all enter
life to eventually die only once. This does not include resuscitation or
temporary resurrection, but the complete entering into the death state. Once
we're truly gone from this earth, only judgment awaits us all. The mentioning
of the Second Death in Revelation is not a contradiction of this text, for men
will no longer die in the sense we know it today, for there will no longer be
any doom or destruction. The vast majority of texts that talk about
destruction and perishing are related to the Old Creation. Nevertheless, those in this 'Lake' will be experiencing
age-abiding Death as opposed to age-abiding Life. It is a figure of contrasts.
Eventually, death in all its forms will be abolished altogether by giving
everyone Life (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).
Copyright © G Watts 2004; 2007
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