{16} For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall {u} reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

(16) The third difference is that the righteousness of Christ, being imputed to us by grace, is of greater power to bring life, than the offence of Adam is to condemn his posterity to death.

(u) Be partakers of true and everlasting life.

People's New Testament

5:17 For if by one man's offence. The superabounding grace of Christ is still further shown.

Death reigned by one. As a result of Adam's one offense, death reigned over men.

They which receive abundance of grace. So, on the other hand, those who accept Christ's grace, and enjoy his righteousness, shall, through him,

reign in life. The life spoken of is the resurrection from the grave, and the privilege, not the guarantee, of eternal life that is offered through the gospel.

Wesley's Notes

5:17 There is a difference between grace and the gift. Grace is opposed to the offence; the gift, to death, being the gift of life.

King James Translators' Notes

by one man's...: or, by one offence

Scofield Reference Notes

Margin offence

Sin. See Scofield Note: "Rom 3:23".

Margin righteousness

See Rom 5:17,18,21. See Scofield Note: "Rom 3:21".

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

17. For if by-"the"

one man's offence death reigned by one-"through the one."

much more shall they which receive-"the"

abundance of grace and of the gift of-justifying

righteousness . reign in life by one Jesus Christ-"through the one." We have here the two ideas of Ro 5:15 and Ro 5:16 sublimely combined into one, as if the subject had grown upon the apostle as he advanced in his comparison of the two cases. Here, for the first time in this section, he speaks of that LIFE which springs out of justification, in contrast with the death which springs from sin and follows condemnation. The proper idea of it therefore is, "Right to live"-"Righteous life"-life possessed and enjoyed with the good will, and in conformity with the eternal law, of "Him that sitteth on the Throne"; life therefore in its widest sense-life in the whole man and throughout the whole duration of human existence, the life of blissful and loving relationship to God in soul and body, for ever and ever. It is worthy of note, too, that while he says death "reigned over" us through Adam, he does not say Life "reigns over us" through Christ; lest he should seem to invest this new life with the very attribute of death-that of fell and malignant tyranny, of which we were the hapless victims. Nor does he say Life reigns in us, which would have been a scriptural enough idea; but, which is much more pregnant, "We shall reign in life." While freedom and might are implied in the figure of "reigning," "life" is represented as the glorious territory or atmosphere of that reign. And by recurring to the idea of Ro 5:16, as to the "many offenses" whose complete pardon shows "the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness," the whole statement is to this effect: "If one man's one offense let loose against us the tyrant power of Death, to hold us as its victims in helpless bondage, 'much more,' when we stand forth enriched with God's 'abounding grace' and in the beauty of a complete absolution from countless offenses, shall we expatiate in a life divinely owned and legally secured, 'reigning' in exultant freedom and unchallenged might, through that other matchless 'One,' Jesus Christ!" (On the import of the future tense in this last clause, see on [2198]Ro 5:19, and [2199]Ro 6:5).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:15-19 Through one man's offence, all mankind are exposed to eternal condemnation. But the grace and mercy of God, and the free gift of righteousness and salvation, are through Jesus Christ, as man: yet the Lord from heaven has brought the multitude of believers into a more safe and exalted state than that from which they fell in Adam. This free gift did not place them anew in a state of trial, but fixed them in a state of justification, as Adam would have been placed, had he stood. Notwithstanding the differences, there is a striking similarity. As by the offence of one, sin and death prevailed to the condemnation of all men, so by the righteousness of one, grace prevailed to the justification of all related to Christ by faith. Through the grace of God, the gift by grace has abounded to many through Christ; yet multitudes choose to remain under the dominion of sin and death, rather than to apply for the blessings of the reign of grace. But Christ will in nowise cast out any who are willing to come to him.