Romans 5:21
so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Truth to Learn
Even though we were ruled over by sin in the past, God’s grace will reign over us because of the righteousness that He imputes to us when we submit to Him as our Lord.
Behind the Words
The words “reigned” and “might reign” are translated from basileuō, meaning “to reign” or “to be king” as we saw back in verse fourteen. The verb forms in this verse are very telling. “Reigned” is in the aorist, active, indicative indicating a past action occurring at a point in time. Hence, it could be translated as “began to reign” or “reigned” as we have it in this translation. However, “might reign” is an aorist, active, subjunctive, which implies something that is not necessarily occurring at the moment but that might occur in the future.
“Eternal” is translated from the Greek word aiōnios, which is from aiōn, meaning “an age” or “a long period of time.” Hence, aiōnios means “perpetual, everlasting, or eternal.
The word translated “Lord” is kurios, which comes from the noun kuros, meaning “might or power.” The word kurios means “one who is supreme in authority or power, a master, or an owner.” When we refer to Jesus Christ as our Lord we are saying that he is our owner, the one who has supreme authority over all that we do and that we have submitted our will to His.
Meaning Explained
Paul now ties-up the entire chapter in this one verse. Previously Paul taught us that the Law came in to make the presence of sin much more evident. It was the spotlight that made sin undeniable. And he said that where sin was more apparent, grace was even more so. That is, as the knowledge of sin became greater, the recognition of the immenseness of the grace became even greater. To use a military analogy, the greater and more powerful the enemy, the greater is the reputation of the army that conquers that enemy.
Paul now makes the final comparison. On the one hand, sin has reigned unbeatable in the past, producing death. From 2Thessalonians we know that this death is everlasting:
… and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)
But in the final showdown, grace will defeat the enemy. It will reign over death and through righteousness (imputed by that grace) it will produce in us eternal life. This grace which allows righteousness to be imputed to us is only made possible through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Application
Thank you, Heavenly Father for helping me see my sinfulness and for your gracious gift, the blood of your only begotten son that paid for my sins. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the promise of eternal life rather than the eternal punishment that I deserve. Truly, you are worthy of my worship and my praise! You are my Owner, my Master, and my Lord, and I willingly submit my will to yours. Amen.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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