The Two Adams

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Romans 5:19

What Paul wrote here (and in 1 Corinthians 15:22) is an incredibly powerful passage of scripture, the conclusion of which none of us can escape. The King James Version (cited above) captures the power of the message of the two Adams beautifully. The message is that one man’s disobedience made everyone sinners, but the obedience of one man shall make everyone righteous.

The KJV has “many,” but Vine said that the Greek polus is more often used as a noun with the article as in, “the many”.¹ Allow me to explain: Adam’s disobedience made “the many” sinners, but the obedience of Christ will make “the many” righteous. Who are Adam’s “many”? Everyone! Well then, who are Christ’s “many?” The very same people! There is no getting around this.

Please read the passage rendered in the Amplified Bible:

For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous and acceptable to God and brought into right standing with Him.

Romans 5:19 AMP

A few other translations read as such:

Clearly, through one person’s disobedience humanity became sinful, and through one person’s obedience humanity will receive God’s approval.

Romans 5:19 (God’s Word Translation)

And just as all people were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man.

Romans 5:19 (Good News Translation)

We see, then, that as one act of sin exposed the whole race of men to God’s judgment and condemnation, so one act of perfect righteousness presents all men freely acquitted in the sight of God. One man’s disobedience placed all men under the threat of condemnation, but one man’s obedience has the power to present all men righteous before God.

Romans 5:19 (PHILLIPS)

Clearly, through one person’s disobedience humanity became sinful, and through one person’s obedience humanity will receive God’s approval.

Romans 5:19 (Names of God Bible)

As through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners: so also through the obedience of the one, shall the many be constituted righteous.

Romans 5:19 (Young’s Literal Translation)

“Many” or “the many”, “humanity” or “the whole race of men” or “all people” – however it is rendered it doesn’t matter to the message. The same group of people condemned by Adam’s disobedience are imputed righteousness through the obedience of the cross of Christ.

It is the same people and there is just no way around it.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:22

“All” die in Adam – “all” will be made alive in Christ.

This is a link to a resource by a guy I saw on Reddit. It is a visual look at parallelisms as used by Paul to explain theological topics:

How Paul used parallelisms to teach the salvation of all

¹Vine, W.E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, ©1997, p. 712