Reigning in Life
Romans 5:12–21
Much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life. Romans 5:17
Adam fell, because he was not able by his own strength to confirm himself in righteousness. Similarly, were we to attempt to stand in our own righteousness, assuming that we could attain to it in the first place, we would fall also. But we do not fall. We stand instead, and the reason we stand is that we do not stand in our own righteousness. So we sing:
Jesus thy Blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
‘Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
Moreover, it is not only that we will stand in that final day of divine judgment. We stand now, which is what the phrase “reign in life” refers to. It means that by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion and empowering of the Holy Spirit, we are victorious now. In this way, the gift of God in Christ far surpasses the effects of Adam’s and all other transgressions.
We were in Adam once, and we fell in him. What then? Good news! We can escape the effects of Adam’s fall. More than that, we can rise above the position in which Adam first stood. We can stand in a divine righteousness, which is perfect and which can never be taken away from us. It enables us to reign in life, triumphing over sin, as Adam, in his own human (though once perfect) righteousness, could not. Therefore we can sing:
On Christ the solid rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
Are you “in Jesus”? Adam was not “in Jesus,” and he fell, even from his high pinnacle of human perfection. If he who was once humanly perfect fell, what chance do you have to stand, you who are corrupted by many sins and wholly disposed to unrighteousness? Your only hope is to believe on Jesus and be joined to him. It is to stand in him, as you originally stood (but also fell) in Adam.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.