Charles Ellicott Commentary Romans 5:12

"Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:--" — Romans 5:12 (ASV)

Therefore—The train of thought that follows is suggested by the mention that had just been made of atonement and reconciliation. We see here another instance of the Apostle’s fondness for transcendental theology, and for developing the deeper mysteries of God’s dealings with man. The rapidity with which ideas of this kind crowd into his mind is such that it breaks the even flow and structure of his sentence.

As by one man—This clause, As by one man sin and death entered, should have been answered with, So by one Man grace and life entered. But a difficulty arises at the very beginning. How can it really be said that sin and death entered by Adam? For sin does not exist without law, and the law was not introduced until Moses. And yet we have proof that sin must have been there, for death, its consequence, prevailed all through this period in which law was still absent.

The fact was that the sin which then prevailed, and had such wide and disastrous effects, was Adam’s. Therefore, it is strictly legitimate to compare his fall with the act of redemption. It is strictly true to say that by one man sin and death entered into the world, just as life and grace entered by another. In either case, the consequence resulted from one man’s act.

For that all have sinned—Rather, for that, or because, all sinned—that is, not by their own individual act, but implicitly in Adam’s transgression. They were encompassed and included in him as the head and representative of the race.

On verses 12-21:

Contrast between the reign of death introduced by the sin of Adam, and the reign of life introduced by the atonement of Christ.

The sequence is, first sin, then death. Now, the death that passed over mankind originated from Adam’s sin. Strictly speaking, there could be no individual sin until there was a law to be broken. But in the interval between Adam and Moses, that is, before the institution of law, death prevailed over the world. This was proof that there was sin somewhere.

The solution is that the sin in question was not the individual guilt of individual transgressors, but the single transgression of Adam. Here, then, is the contrast.

The single sin of the one man, Adam, brought death upon all mankind; the single act of the one Redeemer cleared away many offenses—also for all men. Under the old covenant, law was introduced to intensify the evil; but, similarly, under the new covenant, grace has come to enhance and multiply the benefit. Thus, the remedial system and the condemnatory system are coextensive, the one set against the other, and the first entirely cancels the second.