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dered himself unworthy of the name of man ; or the name of man is scarcely sufficiently worthy of Christ. Moreover, Christ is generally denominated from His human nature, when the question is about bringing men to God, Heb. ii. 6, etc. : from His Divine nature, when the subject under discussion is the coming of the Saviour to us, and the protection which He affords us, against our enemies, Tit. ii. 13. No mention is here made of the Mother of God ; and if her conception was neces- sarily immaculate, she must have had no father, but only a mother, like Him, to whom she gave birth. [Cohel. or Eccles. vii. 29.]
16. Ka/, and ) The meaning is to this effect : and not , as by one that sinned (is the judgment) (so by one, the author of righteousness is) the gift [Engl. Yers. is different] ; that is to say ; And [moreover] the proportion [the ratio] on both sides, is not the same. — xp/fia, the judgment) namely, is. — eg sv'og , from one) namely, offence , [Engl. Yers. differs] ; for the antithesis, of many offences , follows. The one offence was of the one man ; the many offences are of many men.1
17. Too hog — dta roD hog, of the one man , by the one) A very sig- nificant repetition ; lest the sins committed by individuals should seem rather [than the offence of the one man] to have produced death. — s/3a <r/Xgu<rs, reigned) The word in the preterite tense looks back from the economy of grace to the economy of sin ; as presently after the expression shall reign , in the future, looks forward from the economy of sin, to the economy of grace and eternal life ; so ver. 19. — rfrv mpuustiav) nXsovags/v, and ‘Trzp/gfcUtv differ, as much in the positive, and more in the comparative,
1 I frankly confess , that I do not clearly understand how this plural proves , that Paul is not treating here of original sin, as if it ever exists without the accompaniment of other sins, which is the assumption of some one of the more recent commentators. Doubtless the Apostle distinctly shows , that the gift in Christ is the cure both for original sin, and for the actual offences of individuals besides. There are , certainly , many actual sins, which are not to he considered as the necessary consequence of the first sin ( otherwise all the .morality of our actions would now cease ); hut there is no sin. whether it be called original or actual , the pardon and removal of which , ought not to be considered as the mere effect of the gift , yJotpiay.a.Tog. There- fore the power of the gift , rov ^ctpiapt-ecTog, is greater than that of the judg- ment, too xpifioirog. — E. B.
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