This is rendered, if possible, still more obvious by the constant contrast or comparison, through the whole passage, of Adam and Christ ; hy one man came sin ; hy one man came righteousness ; hy the offence of one came death ; 6y the righteousness of the other came life ; &c.&c. That Adam was the cause of sin and death is, therefore, as clearly expressed as that Christ is the cause of righteousness and life. The words sin en- tered into the world have been variously explained. 1. Many of the older and also of the more modern commentators understand sin here to mean corruption. This clause would then mean, ' By one man all men became corrupt.' 2. Others take the word sin in its ordinary sense, and understanding the passage as teaching either that Adam was the cause or occasion of all men committing sin, or that sin commenced with him ; he was the first sinner. 3. Others again understand the declaration that through Adam sin entered into the world (i. e. that through him all men became sinners), to mean that on his account they were regarded and treated as sinners.
It will hardly be denied that this expression must be understood in the same way with the obviously parallel phrase, " by one man's dis- obedience many were made sinners," in v. 19, and the corresponding ones in the other portions of the passage. It must also have the same meaning as the words "for all have sinned," at the close of this verse; and "sin was in the world," i. e. men were sinners, in v. 13. Which of the three interpretations, just stated, is to be preferred will, therefore, be most properly considered when we come to the last clause of the verse. It is probable that Paul meant to express, in the first instance, the general idea that all men fell in Adam ; which includes the idea both of the loss of holiness, and of subjection to the penal consequences of sin. It will appear, however, in the sequel, that the latter is altogether the more prominent idea ; and, consequently, that the third interpreta- tion expresses most accurately the true meaning of the passage.
And death hy sin, i. e. sin was the cause of death. The death here spoken of is not mere natural death, but the penalty of the law, or the evils threatened as the punishment of sin. This is evident, 1. From the consideration that it is said to be the consequence of sin. It must, therefore, mean that death which the Scriptures, elsewhere, speak of as the consequence and punishment of transgression. 2. Because this is the common and favourite term with the sacred writers, from first to last, for the penal consequences of sin. Gen. 2 : 17, " In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," i. e. thou shalt become subject to the pu- nishment due to sin ; Ezek. 18 : 4, " The soul that sinneth it shall die ;". Rom. 6 : 23, " The wages of sin is death ;" ch. 8 : 13, " If ye live after the flesh ye shall die." Such passages are altogether too numerous to be quoted, or even referred to; see, as further examples, Rom. 1 : 32. 7: 5. James 1 : 15. Rev. 20: 14, &c. &c. 3. From the constant oppo- sition between the terms life and death throughout the Scriptures ; the former standing for the rewards of the righteous, the latter for tho