THE lively and energetic style of the apostle in these chapters is very striking. He treats sin as a person-as a king. He shows that he entered this world through the door of man's disobedience, and as soon as he entered, he took the seat of government, and death became the power of his kingdom, as well as its character. For man's departure from God let sin, the very opposite of God, who is the holy God, in, and sin brought death with it, being also the opposite of God, who is the living God. And this is the character of this present evil world. It is the place, or scene, of the reign of sin and death; and nothing in it is left untouched by the influence of it-it prevades all.
But there is another scene, of which the grace of God is the source, as the disobedience of man has been the source of this; and this grace has prepared the way for Christ-as disobedience prepared the way for sin-and Christ brings with Him righteousness and life, as Adam, through disobedience, opened the door to sin and death. Thus, Adam is the figure of Christ, of "Him who was to come" after. But righteousness enters the scene with a " much more," because grace is the source of it-and it was due to God's glory to bear this witness to that which had its source in Him. And having entered, it accordingly does "more" than merely measure the power of sin; for sin came in upon one offense or disobedience of Adam, but righteousness comes in and sweeps away from the scene thousands of offenses which followed the train of that one. And righteousness, accordingly, has now its kingdom here, as well as sin-life has its scene as well as death. But it is not visible as yet, like the other. The reign of sin is felt; the power of death is seen, all abroad; the reign of righteousness, which brings life with it, is only known to faith now.
And how has the law entered, and what has it done in this scene of these contending kingdoms? It has only magnified the offense of the disobedience of man, which let sin and death in. For it was holy, just, and good, and served to expose the entire departure of man from God, the author of the law. But still grace was triumphant. It had brought in a gift-a righteousness which could, through Jesus, assert itself, and be supreme over all this aggravated power of sin and death. But how was this? How could grace take it away? How could love enter to operate in a scene where sin was reigning unto death, and had title thus to reign?
By PROVIDING A VICTIM. Sin reigned unto death. Sin had title to exercise its power even to death-for death was the wages it paid the result of any man of the mere tribe of Adam entering its territory. And Jesus, the Son of the living God, entered its territory and received its wages; but having life in Himself-life untouched by Adam's disobedience-He survived the stroke; and thus really destroyed him that had the power of death and asserted a kingdom of righteousness and life, in which not only He reigns, but all those reign with Him who believe in Him-who rejoice with Him in His victory, and have no confidence in anything else.
Thus sin, as a tyrant, is overthrown. The Son of the living God has asserted His supremacy in the very region of the power of sin. Sin has paid its wages; sin reigned, it is true, unto death, even the death of Jesus on the cross; but sin was entitled to do no more. " He died unto sin." All that sin could demand-that is, death-it got; it exacted death; it rewarded its servants, its subjects, with death, and Jesus " died, unto sin." His death owned the title of sin; but then He carried a life with Him that remained untouched by all this; and in that life, and the righteousness of God, in which it has its source, He and His saints forever reign together.
But if the Son of God thus " died unto sin"-that is, owned the demands or rights of sin by his death-it was God that He owned in His resurrection. For if He "died unto sin," it is equally true that " He liveth unto God;" so that His saints cannot continue in sin, for they have union with Him. If in death, so in resurrection; and as this union with him in the one has delivered them from the tyranny and supremacy of sin, so their union with Him in the other has made them alive unto God. And however sin may still have to do with them, as it still dwells in their flesh, yet they should assert their place in the risen Son of God, and know that they have nothing to do with sin; they should count themselves dead to it; the connection between them and it is gone by the death and resurrection of Jesus, who has taken them rather into connection with Himself. Grace is the source of that kingdom in which they now move-it is not the other kingdom where law has aggravated, as we saw, they power of sin (6:14).
We have to see sin as an unclean creature now, that has sunk in its own element, the flesh, there to perish, while we ourselves are risen with Christ. It was once a king, but is now bound in the dungeon of the flesh. The judgment unto condemnation came upon one offense, but the justification unto life came upon, or after, many offenses. Death entered on the eating of the fruit of the tree; life is secured after sin, trespass, transgression, and offenses have been multiplied, by the application of the law, again and again.
Sin has reigned unto death-that is, death is the final stroke of the power of sing the last exercise of his dominion over us (the judgment that follows being God's, not sin's or Satan's action), so grace has reigned until eternal life, i. e., eternal life will be the ever fresh, unfading witness of grace, the budding rods of its kingly power. Sin has exercised the final stroke of his power by putting Jesus to death, so that if, by faith, we plead the death of Jesus, or are united in Him in His death, we are freed from sin, or discharged from His service or bondage, and consequently from his wages. For "he that is dead is freed from sin." This is glorious triumph for the sinner. God said to Adam, " If thou doest sin, thou shalt die." Adam did sin, but CHRIST HAS DIED. J. G. B.
" Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," was the suggestion of the " wicked one." In innocence man knew good, but not evil-that he could not know; now, as fallen, he knows both, but without the power or will to do good; he can only do the evil. Thus in the fall he acquired a conscience.