Chapter 4

Equation of the Many

There are many proofs of the all of God, but the best place to start is with Paul, for he had the clearest understanding of the contrast between the first man, Adam, and the Second Man, the last Adam, Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47) and what was accomplished through both.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22 NASB)

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. (Romans 5:15 NASB)

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. (Romans 5:18 NASB)

All and many must be defined as the entire human race, for all mankind born of Adam's race are destined to die a physical death. The only exception is those who believe and are alive and remain when He comes in clouds, in air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Paul treats the first Adam and the last Adam as if both are separate from the many; so it is the one (the first and the last Adam) plus the many, which is the rest of mankind. It is like an equation. The first Adam and the many equal all mankind equals death; the last Adam and the many equal all mankind equals life. As an equation, it looks like this:

First Adam + the many = all mankind = death

Last Adam + the many = all mankind = life

Thus, the one transgression of the first Adam brought death to all mankind, without exception; and because of death, all mankind sin, for sin reigns in death.

As Paul reminds us, none are righteous (Romans 3:10); all have fallen short of the glory of God, or have missed the mark of God (Romans 3:23); the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

It could be said that this condemnation was forced upon all mankind, without exception. No one born of Adam's race is excluded from this death sentence; no one has ever been exempted. Everyone has a destiny with physical death, and this is why our hope is the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23). But the good news is that God has countered the condemnation of all resulting from the one transgression with a free gift, the gift by the grace of the One Man who died for the sin of the world and overcame sin and death for all mankind. Paul describes it as

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abounding to the many. The equation could be presented in a slightly different manner from above.

First Adam + one transgression = death for all mankind

Last Adam + one act of righteousness = justification of life for all mankind

Notice that the one act of righteousness resulted in justification of life to all men. Here Paul does not use the word many but instead inserts all men, which clearly defines the meaning of the many. All men are condemned by the one transgression and all men are justified by the one act of righteousness. Whereas the first Adam brought all men into condemnation, the last Adam brought all men into justification before God; that is, all are made just in the sight of God so that they will not remain under the sentence of death forever but instead will be brought into the sentence of life, not all at the same time, but all eventually.

"A sentence of life" is not a scriptural term per se, but it surely describes the salvation or redemption of all mankind through the death and resurrection of God's only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Think about it! In the first Adam, God sentenced all to death, but now in the last Adam, God has sentenced all to life. Life is the destiny of all mankind, which has had no choice in the matter, just as the many has had no choice in coming under a death sentence. This is God's plan through His Son to bring about His purpose of being all in all.

Does this not excite your heart? Does this not excite you to see the absolute success and greatness of the cross of Calvary? Does the love of God not fill your heart with love for all mankind?

It is amazing how many of God's people flat out reject such love; they reject that God, who is described as love (1 John 4:8, 16), is willing and, as the Sovereign of His creation, quite capable of winning the hearts of all mankind, not all at the same time, but all eventually.

Does love ever fail? Paul tells us that love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). God is love! How can this love fail? Did the Son's death on the cross fail? Is God so impotent that He cannot accomplish His plan for mankind? If He is, then He is not truly God of His entire creation.

Please, take this whole matter to the Lord and ask Him to speak to your heart, through His word and by His Spirit, and reveal if this is true.

To reiterate a most important fact; there is only one way to come into this glorious place of justification of life, and that is through believing on Jesus and the work He finished on the cross. Also, this does not mean that God will not judge all mankind. Most assuredly, the Word of God is clear that He will judge, but judgment is always based on corrective and restorative love.

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