Unlimited: The Overflowing Gift
Sep 20, 2022 833
For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! (Romans 5:15b)
We were all condemned by one man and we were all saved by one man. The second Adam saved us from the curse that the first Adam brought upon us.
Paul’s argument here is universal. All of humanity was lost (in actuality) when Adam (and Eve) fell. All of humanity was saved (in potentiality) at the Cross. In line with Paul’s argument we can say that we were all lost through our first parents in the Garden of Eden, and that we were all saved by Christ at the Cross.
Grace doesn’t just trickle down on an “as-needed basis”! It overflows!
So, while our condemnation and our salvation happened outside of us, we affirm both our condemnation and our salvation in our own lives. As far as our condemnation is concerned, while it is unquestionable that the original fall has corrupted our very human nature with sin, Paul said earlier that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is in the context of our wrong choices. Likewise our justification is through faith. We need to choose to believe.
What Paul is pointing out here is that the curse of the fall is overwhelmingly undone by the grace of God as a result of what Jesus achieved on the Cross. Grace doesn’t just trickle down on an “as-needed basis”! It overflows!
Spiritual Application
Do this to affirm your faith. Take a glass or cup to your kitchen sink or tap. Put the glass under the tap and turn the tap on. Watch what happens. The water fills the cup and overflows, doesn’t it? That’s the grace that God has poured out into your life.
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