Romans 5:15

‘But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many.'

Paul begins by emphasising that God's gift was not like the trespass. For while the original trespass was simply the one thoughtless act of the one which resulted in many dying, a grim prospect indeed, in the case of God's response God's gracious and unmerited activity of love, and the gift of true righteousness which came to men by the gracious and unmerited activity and love of Jesus Christ, ‘abounded' to many. It flowed over in abundant measure. It was carefully planned, and there was no stinting when it came to God's activity and the activity of Jesus Christ. The gift was basically of Himself, bringing His atonement (in respect of many trespasses), and His saving righteousness, to men, as a result of which they would have eternal life.

It should be noted that the exact parallels as we might see them do not come until Romans 5:18, where they are expressed in terms of one act of trespass (paraptoma - a slip, a lapse, a false step), as compared with one act of righteousness (Romans 5:18), and of Adam's disobedience as compared with Christ's obedience (Romans 5:19). In Romans 5:15 the emphasis is more on the fact that what God does is far greater than what Adam brought about, although then accompanied by comparisons in explanation. Thus here in Romans 5:15 the emphasis is on the fact that the free gift (which is the gift of Christ's righteousness - Romans 5:17) is far superior to the trespass that made it necessary, although this is then followed by the comparison of the ‘many' who died through the trespass of one, and the ‘many' who benefit by the grace of God and the gift by grace of One. What Paul is apparently attempting to do is to prevent us from seeing the things that are being compared as being on the same level. Here, for example, he is comparing ‘the trespass' (demonstrating man's truculence) with ‘the gift by grace' (demonstrating God's beneficence), to the great advantage of the latter. The continuing reference to ‘the many' almost certainly reflects Isaiah 53:11 where the Servant of the LORD ‘justifies the many' as a result of His previous humiliation, and where He bears the sin of ‘many'.

So having established the fact of the superiority of the free gift Paul now contrasts the trespass with the free gift. By the one trespass of ‘the one' the many died. This was a cold, sad fact of history. But in contrast to it is the grace of God and the gift arising from the grace of ‘the One' Man, Christ. This offers a gift of righteousness which ‘abounded' to many, something which was far better. One man had trespassed, and therefore through One Man God responded in gracious and unmerited love, and this as especially revealed in the gift of righteousness which has been brought to us by the grace of One Man, Jesus Christ. All Adam could gloomily bestow on us was his trespass. What Christ has bestowed on us ‘abundantly' is His gift of His righteousness. And in contrast with the trespass, that gift ‘abounds to many'. Its results are positive and good and widespread. There is nothing stinting about it. The whole emphasis is on God's abundance of grace.