Romans 5:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Righteousness is higher than life, because it is the root of life. That more numerous blessings were given, and that not only original sin but all other sins were destroyed, the Apostle showed by the words: "But the gift from many trespasses was unto justification." From this it is necessarily proved that death has been torn out by the root.

Since the Apostle said that the second was greater than the first, that is, that more was given by grace than was damaged by sin, he had to prove this again. Therefore he first said that if the sin of one put all to death, much more can the grace of one save. After this he explained that by grace not only original sin was destroyed, but all other sins also.

Indeed, not only were sins destroyed, but righteousness was given. Christ not only corrected what Adam damaged, but accomplished something far greater and higher.

Then he indicates the difference itself: the judgment "from one trespass was unto condemnation," but the gift of grace was "unto justification from many trespasses." These words are very unclear, so an explanation must be given.

"Judgment" means punishment, recompense, death. "From one" means from one sin, because one sin, he says, introduced such evil. But the gift destroyed not only this one sin, but many others. Therefore he says: "The gift of grace was unto justification from many trespasses."

For this reason John the Baptist cried out: "Behold the Lamb of God," not "who takes away Adam's sin," but "who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). Do you see that "the gift of grace is not as the trespass"? On the contrary, this tree brought more blessings than the evils introduced at the beginning.

I have said this so that you may not consider yourself wronged by your forefathers. The devil drove Adam out of Paradise. Christ brought the thief in.

"But the gift from many trespasses was unto justification." That is, grace blotted out not only that one sin, but also the other sins that followed it. For it became justification for us, granting us remission of all the transgressions committed after the fall.

When we say that Christ was justified, we do not mean that He was ever unrighteous and attained righteousness by progress toward the better. Rather, He is the first and only Man on earth "who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth" (1 Pet 2:22).

"In punishment the Master God preserved the law of justice," remarks blessed Theodoret, "but the generosity of grace surpasses the ordinance of justice." And if the sin of one Adam was enough to subject all to death. "much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness" of Jesus Christ, through being grafted into Him by faith as into the good olive tree, as below in Rom 9:24 and following, "will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:17).

According to the law of ordinary justice, condemnation for a transgression usually concerns only one person, influencing others only incidentally and indirectly, according to the law of inheritance, as in original sin. But the gift of gracious justification, accomplished by Jesus Christ, extends to all men and justifies all sins and transgressions. That is, by grace not only original sin was destroyed, but all other sins also.

"Jesus Christ not only corrected all that was damaged by Adam, but all this was restored in a greater measure and to a higher degree," says St. John Chrysostom. Blessed Theodoret writes: "In punishment the Master God preserved the law of justice, and when Adam sinned and was delivered over to death, the whole race followed him. Therefore it is surely even more just that righteousness should be preserved in God's love for mankind, and that all men should become partakers of the resurrection of the Master Christ."

This abundance of justification flows from the concept of sin and grace, and likewise from the concept of the person who sinned and the Person who grants justification. The introducer of sin and death was a man. Their destroyer is the God-man, whose power extends to all ages and all the deeds of those ages.

Why such a conclusion must be drawn from the concepts of the persons acting here, the Apostle does not explain. One may suppose this: it is so because the one who introduced sin and death was a man, while the destroyer of them is God in human nature. The power of God, even in human nature, extends to all ages and to all the deeds of those ages. Such a supposition will not be forced. On the contrary, the following words of the holy Apostle seem to require it.

Our forefather sinned. This one sin was enough to subject us all to condemnation. Among us something similar happens when the founder of a family loses noble rank. All who descend from him thereafter are no longer nobles. But we who descend from the first sinner bear condemnation not only because he alone sinned as our forefather, but also because we ourselves began to sin and committed a multitude of sins.

Therefore, in order to remove condemnation from us, it was necessary not only to wipe away the sin of our one forefather, but also the sins of all of us, from Adam to the end of the ages. If grace, manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ, now accomplishes this latter work, is it not evident that the gift from the one Deliverer is not like the loss through the one who sinned?

But whence does such power come in Christ Jesus? We will add from ourselves: from the fact that He is not merely man, but the God-man. This thought is seen in the words: “For the judgment was from one trespass to condemnation, but the gift is from many trespasses to justification.” Chrysostom says after these words: “What does this mean? That one sin was able to bring death and condemnation, while grace wiped away not only this one sin, but also the other sins that followed it. In order that, by using the comparative particles ‘as’ and ‘so,’ he might not suggest that evil and good are measured by the same measure, and so that you, hearing of Adam, might not conclude that only the sin transmitted to men from Adam was wiped away, the Apostle says that many transgressions were wiped away. From what is this evident? From the fact that after countless sins following the sin committed in paradise, everything ended in justification.”

If the Lord Jesus Christ granted only the removal of condemnation for sins, even then it would follow that the gift is not like the one who sinned. Does not such a conclusion follow all the more when it is known that the gift from the Lord Jesus Christ is not limited to the mere removal of condemnation, but also communicates righteousness itself?

The gift from many transgressions is not only unto acquittal, but unto justification, or righteousness. Whence does such power come in Jesus Christ? Again we will add from ourselves: from the fact that He is not merely man, but God in human nature. In God is the source of all goods, sufficient for all people and for all ages.

Chrysostom says: “First, in the preceding fifteenth verse, the Apostle said that if the sin of one put all to death, much more can the grace of One save. Then, in this sixteenth verse, he revealed this thought: that by grace not only the ancestral sin was destroyed, but all other sins as well. Indeed, sins were not only destroyed, but righteousness was given to us. Christ not only corrected everything damaged by Adam, but restored all this in greater measure and to a higher degree.”