Romans 5:21 - The Final Comparison (Conciliation Series, Part XII)

 Part IV: God’s Conciliation, Confirmed

Yet where sin increases, grace superexceeds, that, even as Sin reigns in death, thus Grace also should be reigning through righteousness, for life eonian, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

As we slide into this last verse, I want to take a brief moment and reflect on how far we’ve come, in considering each verse of this chapter. We have, collectively:

1)   Been introduced to the peace God has with the world, through His glorious justification of our wretched selves

2)    Been introduced to the expectation of the glory of God

3)    Shown how our affliction contributes to an expectation

4)    Told that the love of God has been poured in our hearts

5)    Shown that Christ died for the irreverent (that is, you and me)

6)    Shown that, through justification, we are saved from indignation, through Him

7)    Shown that, through conciliation, we are saved into life, through Him

8)    Been shown the process in which sin has infected us

9)    Been shown sin’s consequence in death

10)                  Been shown the process in which grace shall infect us

11)                  Been shown grace’s consequence in life

12)                  Put the law in its place

13)                  Shown how all mankind are affected by sin and grace

14)                  Shown grace’s strength in comparison to sin

Quite the list! And this is a brief summary. Looking back, I’m surprised at how much I’ve written on these few verses. I hope that it made sense, and pray that you all learn as much (and especially, more) than I have!

Let’s press on. I want to consider something here that will surely come back around for us later: where in this chapter have we read about “reigning” before?

“For if, by the offense of the one, death reigns through the one, much rather, those obtaining the superabundance of grace and the gratuity of righteousness shall be reigning in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

Hey, that’s right! Romans 5:17. Here we were first introduced to the “offense” leading “death to reign.” So also, we read in 5:20 how “law crept in, that the offense should be increasing.” As we know, death reigns in us, on which we all sin (5:12.) See how the entire argument is encompassed in this verse, then? All of these variables that we’ve learned lead us to the inevitable, grand conclusion of this chapter! “Sin” and “grace” are now personified, the two considered to have their own “rule,” kicking ass in a classic game of Risk: Spiritual Edition.

This is the final comparison in the chapter, completing the wonderful argument that began in verse 12, and propelling us into an even greater understanding of the following chapter(s.) Sin reigns in death! Thank you, Captain Obvious. Notice that this is not limited to an individual sin, but embodies the entirety of “sin” itself. So, “sin” is, finally, personified as the true enemy of God (Rom. 1:18.) It plays “living organism,” here. It reigns. This is a greater issue than “an offense.” An offense is an individual action. A “sin,” by definition, can also be an individual act, but as the word “reigns” here is not plural, it’s safe to say that this is the collective state of Sin, not any individual action that we’ve discussed so far.

That said, we are still dealing with the effects of the previous actions, such as: disobedience of the one = Sin reigns in death. Death is transferred, on which all sin, which means Sin reigns in death. There are, of course, many versions that say that sin reigns unto death, and while this is technically true, it can leave room for the mind to run loosey-goosey in reasoning. Here, let’s stick to what the text says: sin reigns in death, that is: death is the channel through which sin reigns. Spoiler alert: later in the text, in 1 Cor. 15:56, we will be told that the power of sin is the law. Obviously, this is not to say that the law itself is sinful (Rom. 7:7, 12,) but that the law causes the offense to increase, thus giving sin power through a precept (Rom. 5:20, 7:8-11.)

Why do I mention this? Well, it creates a wonderful parallel that can be fully understood by checking out the second half of the verse. Once again, we have the signature “even as” and “thus also” to complete the parallel for us. There is an exact correlation between the two. Just as certainly as the first half of the parallel is evident, so also the second half is just as certain.

If sin reigns in death, thus also Grace should be reigning. Like sin, grace is now personified. I like to call these two personifications examples of spiritual elements, or spiritual forces. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a brief and formal introduction into the spiritual side of the world, which we are later asked by Paul to be observing (Gal. 5:25.) We have discussed grace, sin, death, God, Christ, and resurrection – but, in many respects, they have been discussed practically so far. They have not yet been personified to the degree that they are here, but stand as a crucial introduction to the spiritual if we are to apprehend the next few chapters.

(I’d like to note, quickly, that I do not have an all-encompassing knowledge of these spiritual elements, but I do hope to provide and reflect any knowledge I do have from Scripture, and not my own reasoning on Scripture. God said what He said, and I’m only here to appreciate it. You won’t hear me throw some random opinion in here about how “I think Jesus was a white guy!” or some such nonsense, because it’s not relevant or beneficial to you. If I have an opinion, I will make it clear that, though I believe it to be true, that it is just opinion, that, when you verify what I’m saying for yourself, you don’t have to presume I’m just giving you a false teaching and treating it as fact.)

This is a war, yes. This is what makes the obedience of Christ so beautiful! It is a willing submission, which takes sin to its lowest, and still lives. Death is not the end, and God, through Christ, has displayed this. The Grace is His. The jurisdiction that sin has on the earth is a very real kingdom – thus also, the grace of Christ’s kingdom is evident (Col. 1:13.) The turning point of the war has already been fought, and sin has already been defeated (1 Cor. 15:55.)

In sin’s defeat, we have the second effect of the previous action, such as: obedience of the One = Grace reigns in life! This is a far grander statement than my silly writing can convey, but I’ll do my best anyway. Sin increases, yes – reigns in death, which, with the continual increase in our population, is simply evident. Sin clearly reigns in our hearts, and this only changes on God’s terms (Rom. 1:21, 24, 2:5, 15, 5:5, 2 Cor. 4:4.) Yet grace superexceeds, not merely in that grace, in Love, is poured in our hearts, but in its reign over all. This reign is not stuck in our hearts, but slowly weaving its way into our hearts, from an even higher position, descending (hence the term, “grace.”)

Notice that this is grace reigning through righteousness. If grace were not the focus, the sinner would not be able to enjoy any of this! If Christ did not become Man, His body would be an irrelevant topic, because there would be no way to teach us! If it were merely righteousness being enthroned, we wouldn’t have a true way to comprehend that righteousness, and the sinner would remain lost in death. In this sense, it is not “righteousness” that is the opposite of “sin,” here, because 5:20-21 haven’t given us that parallel. “Justness” being enthroned would destroy us (per “God’s indignation.”) It is grace contrasted with sin that gives us the different forms of rulership and their effects, because grace, through righteousness, does not merely judge the sinner, but abolishes death, thus constituting the sinner righteous by faith.

Now, it should be clear that we do know that, through the obedience of Christ, the many shall be constituted just. How so? Well, once again, we can use this exact “thus also” statement to be clued in on the bigger picture. It is going to happen, not “possibly,” but “certainly.” It will occur, just as certainly as sin reigns in death. If the many are being constituted just, and a ‘death’ blow has been dealt against death, then it follows that death as we know it is not a permanent state of being!

We know all mankind was impacted by sin, thus all mankind shall be impacted by a superexceeding grace. Just as certainly as all are subject to Sin, then (Rom. 3:9-10, 23,) so also shall all be subject to Grace (Rom. 5:19-21, 1 Cor. 15:55.)

It is through Christ’s faith that a righteousness of God is manifest. The same idea is applicable, here. Grace is manifested through righteousness. Grace is the reigning source, and righteousness is the channel through which Grace operates. The through is important; we saw God’s righteousness in Christ, and that righteousness can be applied in our understanding, here. We can realize that grace, in operating through righteousness, is a moral, just judgment to ultimately inflict on all humanity. Why? We did not choose Sin’s reign; so also, we do not get to choose Grace’s reign. God inflicts the first, not to cause us all to “eternally” suffer, but to humble us (Ecc. 1:13,) and ultimately inflict the grace, that we may appreciate the latter all the more. You cannot appreciate relief unless you are first twisted up! Why is life so hard? Because grace reigning is so sweet. Paul even later states that these afflictions of ours are momentary and light (2 Cor. 4:17.) It does not feel this way, but it is all evident and crucial for the transcendent riches of grace which are about to come upon us!

What is this reign of grace for, exactly? Eonian life is the answer. Most of the world is enthralled with the idea of “eternity,” and thus find the idea of “eonian” life to be lesser. This is, in essence, humanity biting off more than they can chew. I can’t recall if I’ve defined “eonian life” thus far, so let me do it here: eonian life is “life for the eons.”

I know. I think I just blew my own mind.

This begs the following questions: when? How? And, if the word “eonian” is plural, then how many eons?

When the final seven years of Revelation come to pass, and God’s indignation (the indignation discussed in Rom. 1:18) is consummated, then the next eon will begin (indicated by Unv. 20,) where Israel receives their 1,000-year kingdom. When they receive this kingdom, so we also are established to rule with Christ (Rom. 5:17, 21.) We are ruling celestially, while the patriarchs of Israel (such as David and Abraham) will be ruling terrestrially (hence the separation of ‘heavens and earth,’ as early as Gen. 1:1.) Two different spheres of power.

When the kingdom is consummated (I won’t spoil how this kingdom is consummated, but you can read about it for yourself in Rev. 20,) then Revelation 21 begins with a “new heaven and a new earth.” I won’t divulge much concerning them now, but they begin the final eon. Thus, we have a simple explanation as to “how many eons” are we reigning! We will be reigning for two eons. The first will last 1,000 years, and the other will last “x” amount of time (it doesn’t say, but one could assume, if grace “superexceeds,” that it will be much longer than this eon and the previous eons.)

With that, we have, throughout the course of Romans 5, discovered a general picture of the “eonian calendar.” There are 5 eons. We are in the third. The final two will fully expose God’s glory (Rom. 1:25,) and will involve our ruling and reigning, and fulfilling the promises of Israel. Before we begin chapter 6, I’m going to spend some time breaking down, in greater detail, the “eonian times” for you. Hopefully this will clarify the use of the term “eon” as we’ve read it so far, as well as every future use of “eon” that we come across.

There’s one final question, and it’s, how? How exactly will this happen? Well, as we’ve discovered, it’s no secret that death is an impermanent process, and will be abolished (1 Cor. 15:26.) So, the simple answer is: through resurrection. And Paul will elaborate on this resurrection process in greater detail for us later (1 Cor. 15:51-53, 1 Thess. 4:13-18.)

This takes us back to the goal of Grace’s reign: for life eonian. It is God’s choice to impart who obtains said life eonian (Rom. 5:17.) If you’re wondering if you’re one of those people, my simple response is: you’ve heard this. It’s true, whether you like it or not. You know it, so rest in it, and in this, enjoy that it’s for you as well. I say this, not to talk down to you, but to talk up to you. You are going to be a part of something grand, here. It’s a sweet relief to know that, instead of eternal perpetuity in this shitty eon, we have a higher calling in which most of humanity will be alive and dwelling on the new earth! This earth is going to fall away, because sin has entered it (Rom. 5:12.) The new earth requires its own deep study, but it will come to pass, fulfilling Grace’s reign, as well as its purpose, being me and you (2 Cor. 4:15.)

Yet, not only me and you, for what would we be apart from Christ?? Again, that word through wraps up Paul’s thought here, as well as the chapter. “Through Jesus Christ,” is the ultimate conclusion. This whole ‘grace reigning through righteousness for life eonian’ is through Him, because apart from His sacrifice on the cross, Grace could not have been made apparent. There would have been no example of obedience to Sin in the name of Love. There would be no stake to exemplify the sacrifice. There would be no need for faith. There would be no need for you or me to even exist, learning what we’ve learned.

God’s glory is Christ! Christ is now over every authority (Heb. 1:2-4, Phil. 2:9.) Grace, personified, reigns through Him. Apart from Him, nothing is certain; yet, with Him in mind, everything in Scripture clicks into place.

- GerudoKing