Bible Discussion Thread

For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, (even) Jesus Christ. Adam's sin has allowed death to "reign" over the human race. We face physical and spiritual death because of sin. We may say that at the present time death is king of the hill ( Hebrews 2:15) for all who are not Christians. Death ceases to be king for those who become Christians because the saved "reign in life through Jesus Christ." Those who are in Christ are able to overcome the spiritual consequences of sin, and they overcome physical death in the sense that they will be raised to inherit eternal life. Death is no longer an unbeatable enemy. It may win a battle when it claims our life, but it will not defeat the Christian in the war for the soul. For information on the word "trespasses" (paraptoma), see the commentary on verse16. Concerning the word reign (basileuo), this same term is used of an earthly ruler in Matthew 2:22, sin ( Romans 6:12), and Jesus Himself ( 1 Corinthians 15:25). It is also found in verse21. Here, it is used twice, and its dual use shows that the reign of death can be defeated if we accept the reign offered by Christ. Describing God's grace as "abundant" (perisseia) caused Paul to use a term found only here, 2 Corinthians 8:2; 2 Corinthians 10:15; James 1:21. In each of these places it refers "to something above or beyond the normal. It suggests 'the element of excess and fullness that overflows the set bounds. In this process of overflowing, the existing standards and rules are transcended and what was comparable becomes incomparable'" (CBL, GED, 5:160). We have access to God's grace right now because "receiving" is a present tense verb. Notice too that our ability to overcome the consequences of sin is only possible "through" (ASV) or "by" (KJV) Christ. This is absolutely consistent with other verses like John 14:6.