Matthew Henry Commentary Romans 5:12-14

"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:-- for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam`s transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come." — Romans 5:12-14 (ASV)

The design of what follows is plain. It is to exalt our views respecting the blessings Christ has procured for us, by comparing them with the evil that followed the fall of our first father, and by showing that these blessings not only extend to the removal of these evils, but far beyond. When Adam sinned, his nature became guilty and corrupted, and this corruption was passed on to his children.

Thus, in him all have sinned. And death comes through sin, for death is the wages of sin. Then all the misery that is the just punishment for sin entered: temporal, spiritual, and eternal death. If Adam had not sinned, he would not have died. But a sentence of death was passed, as on a criminal; it passed through all people like an infectious disease that no one escapes.

As proof of our union with Adam and our share in his first transgression, observe that sin prevailed in the world for many ages before the law was given by Moses. And death reigned during that long period, not only over adults who willfully sinned, but also over multitudes of infants. This shows that they had fallen in Adam under condemnation and that Adam's sin extended to all his posterity. He was a figure or type of Him who was to come as Surety of a new covenant, for all who are related to Him.