https://youtu.be/FYxoRwl983A
In our verse-by-verse study of Romans last time we finished
Expanded Translation Rom 5:16; "In fact the gift (Jesus Christ) is not like what occurred through one who sinned: for on the one hand the judicial verdict came by one transgression resulting in condemnation (spiritual death), but on the other hand that gracious gift (the incarnation and the work of Jesus Christ on the cross) was given because of many transgressions, resulting in judicial justification."
We noted that after the original sin all of God's functions must operate in accord with His justice. This includes the condemnation of one man, the condemnation of all of mankind, the salvation provision for all of mankind through the gracious gift (Jesus Christ), by God's justice judging all human personal sins in Jesus' humanity while He was bearing them on the cross as the substitute for the sinners who actually committed the sins.
All of the blessing functions of God's justice came out from the condemnation functions of God's justice because God's justice turned the cursing into a blessing using a judicial imputation.
God's love found a way to redeem and justify mankind by using His justice and righteousness.
Through the failure of the first Adam and the work of the last Adam on our behalf God's justice was able to provide divine blessing as our point of contact or point of reference that makes all of God's gifts irrevocable.
That is one of the reasons why believers cannot lose their salvation once they have received it. Once saved always saved because salvation righteousness is predicated on God's justice not on good works and that is another reason that the natural man does not understand how God does things.
At the time of man's fall in the Garden God's justice placed judgment and condemnation on Adam that resulted in the condemnation of the entire the human race that is comprised of Adam's progeny.
From the source of one man's sin condemnation from God's justice came upon the entire human race. We are not condemned because of the sins we commit because they were judged in Jesus Christ on the cross, we are condemned to spiritual death because of the single original sin that Adam committed in the Garden.
The mechanics of this condemnation involves direct condemnation through the imputation of Adam's sin and indirect condemnation through the perpetuation of the old sin nature in the genetic cell structure of the physical body.
Also, from man's old sin nature comes man's personal sins that are also condemned by God's justice. God's justice must execute what God's righteousness demands, and God's righteousness demands the judgment and condemnation of all personal sins committed by the human race. This is where Jesus comes in as our substitute.
The only remedy for this is Jesus Christ, God's "gracious gift." John 3:16; Rom 5:8;
Since man is born spiritually dead because of imputed and inherent sin the accumulation of personal sins in the human race were not judged between Adam and Moses when there was no Law, nor at other any other time in human history except in Jesus when He was on the cross.
All personal sins were judged in Jesus while He was on the cross. On the cross all sins, past, present and future, including those that will be committed in the Millennium, were poured out on Jesus Christ and judged by God's justice to the satisfaction of God's righteousness.
From the source of one sin (Adam's sin) God's justice condemns the entire human race and from the judgment of many sins (all personal sins) comes one act of justification from the imputation of God's righteousness to sinners who believe in Jesus Christ. Rom 8:1-4;
Justification and condemnation that establish the basis for an a fortiti are both from God's justice. The entire human race is condemned on the basis of one sin but salvation for the entire human race is provided by one judgment for all sins past, present and future.
If one man's sin brings condemnation to the entire human race-and it does how much more can one man being judged on the cross for every sin committed by everyone in the entire human race bring justification to the entire human race and it does.
The one transgression condemned mankind in the garden. The many transgressions were condemned in Jesus Christ on the cross. The key to the garden is the one transgression; the key to the cross is the many transgressions.
God's justice judged one transgression in the garden bringing condemnation to the entire human race. God's justice judged many transgressions on the cross bringing justification and salvation to the entire human race.
Therefore justification is much more or much much greater than condemnation because justification deals with all the sins of the world, while condemnation dealt with only the one sin, Adam's original sin.
This explains the "much more' a fortiori logic that Paul uses in the parenthetical. Justification is the greater work of God. The justice of God judged one sin at the fall of man, but all sins at the cross on behalf of mankind.
We see from this that being saved is the result of possessing God's perfect righteousness not from being a person who refrains from sin and does good works. It also means that a person who is a chronic sinner can also be saved.
Anyone good or bad who believes in Jesus is saved because God imputes His righteousness to every believer for salvation.
Since God provided the greater in justification, it follows a fortiori that God can provide the lesser of capacity for blessing and actual blessing from His justice. Verse 16 explains the a fortiori of verses 15 & 17 where Paul presents the " much more" concept.
In verse 15, if God's justice provided the greater in justification it follows a fortiori that God's justice can provide the lesser of capacity for blessing.
In verse 17, if God's justice provided the greater in justification it follows a fortiori that God's justice can provides the lesser of the actual reality of blessings.
The "Much more" construct sets up "a fortiori" logic. The "much more" context refers to the fact that the greater is justification, while the lesser is both capacity and the reality of blessing.
The work of providing capacity for blessing and the reality of blessing from God's justice is easy compared to God providing His righteousness to fallen sinful mankind for salvation.
If one man's sin led to condemnation of mankind and mankind since that one sin multiplies sins into billions and trillions of sins then it follows that justification is the greater blessing and prosperity in time is the lesser blessing.
The a fortiori emphasizes that since God gave the greater He will certainly not withhold the lesser.
Rom 5:17; starts with the presentation of an "a fortiori" of blessing from God's justice for believers in eternity.
For believers in Jesus Christ blessing doesn't stop in time because the blessings extend into the eternal future are beyond our wildest imagination.
This is true for all believers but is especially true for believers who advance to spiritual maturity from metabolized doctrine in their thinking.
"If for by the one trespass the death reigned by the one" The verse begins with the conditional particle "ei" (if) that combined with the indicative mood verb introduces the protasis of a first class condition. If and it is true.
The explanatory use of the conjunctive particle "gar" (for) that introduces "a fortiori" logic relating to the believer's future eternal blessing. Plus the definite article with the instrumental of "paraptoma" (transgression) referring to Adam's sin.
Along with the possessive genitive of the definite article "ho" (the) with the possessive genitive of the number "eis" (one). In the Greek adjectives are often used as nouns and the meaning changes slightly. "Ho eis" (the one) referring to Adam.
These are all monadic so they are referencing specific things.
Then comes the subject, "thanatos" (death) that is used when one death is going to be differentiated from another. Here we have "ho thanatos" referring specifically to spiritual death.
It is in the nominative singular so it is translated "the death" again it is monadic referring to a specific kind of death (spiritual death) and that concept is not brought over into the English translations.
" If for by the transgression of the one the death (the condition into which we were born is spiritual death." Death "ruled" the aorist active indicative of "basileuo" (to rule or to reign).
The verb is in the culminative aorist tense so it views spiritual death from God's justice in its entirety from the viewpoint of existing results. Because everyone is born spiritually dead spiritual death rules the entire human race.
The active voice: spiritual death produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the first class condition. Plus the prepositional phrase, "dia" (through or because of) with the definite article "ho" (the) and the genitive of the numeral adjective "eis" (one) that is used as a substantive.
Dia plus the genitive means "through"; dia plus the accusative means "because of." So it is properly translated " the death ruled through the one (the first Adam)," and it did.
We see from this that one man's transgression in the garden resulted in God's justice condemning the entire human race to spiritual death. Remember that man's point of reference in the garden before the fall was God's love not God's justice because God's love makes no provision for sin and that conflicts with the function of God's justice.
In addition God's justice cannot make provision for sin for salvation until after God's justice has first condemned sin. This means that God's justice had no relationship with man in the garden until after the man (Adam) sinned.
When man entered into a relationship with God's justice it was a relationship of condemnation in spiritual death. The principle is that justice must condemn before justice can bless.
This means that for salvation to be sourced from God's justice condemnation must precede justification. God turns the curse into a blessing.
Spiritual death rules in the human race because of the fall of Adam. Satan is the ruler of this world but the ruler of mankind is spiritual death. This was the function of God's justice and what Jesus Christ did to overcome this is described as "the most."
If God has done the most for us in justification it follows a fortiori that in eternity He can do the lesser "much more" the dative singular from the adjective "polus" (much) is used as an idiom because we have a comparative adverb "mallon" (more).
This is telling us that the greater has already been accomplished. This is the beginning of "a fortiori" logic because it expresses the concept of with stronger reason or to a greater degree.