The apostle Paul, in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Romans, is insistent on there being ‘much more’ in the provision of the gospel than was surrendered by the fall. He uses the phrase πολλῷ μᾶλλον four times in the chapter and ὑπερεπερίσσευω once, which alerts us to his perspective on the abundant provision in Christ. This paper will look at this theme in the verses 12 through 21, specifically drawing from the church fathers and their perspectives on this text and on what was lost for the human race by Adam, and what was gained in Christ. Due to the brevity of the paper, it will present only a very distilled sampling of the perspectives of the church fathers.
First of all, let us look at what the church fathers suggest was lost in Adam’s disobedience based on their commentary of Romans 5:12-14. It was interesting to note that, contrary to much current emphasis among conservative preaching and teaching, that death and not sin was perceived by the fathers to be the real enemy of humanity. Sin was the gateway or access point for death to enter, and both needed to be reversed, but death was the true foe. Ambrosiaster says,
“Death is the separation of body and soul. There is another death as well, called the second death, which takes place in Gehenna. We do not suffer this death as a result of Adam’s sin, but his fall makes it possible for us to get it by our own sins…The sentence passed on Adam was that the human body would decompose on earth, but the soul would be bound by the chains of hell (Hades) until it was released.”[1]
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[1] Gerald L. Bray, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Romans, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), p. 136
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