QUESTION VIII. 815 upon all those who are the seed of Christ, to justification of life*. And it may be yet farther remarked, IV. That in the original Greek it is not said, " by the offence of one, but by one offence," that is, by the single offence, of Adam, when he stood as the head or surety of all his offspring, and brought sin and death upon them by his disobe- dience, as verse 19. " by one man's disobedience many were made," or constituted sinners, aa1,raOnrar, that is, became sub- ject to guilt and death by a righteous constitution : And the l6. verse seems to have the same meaning, where one single offence is represented as condemning us through Adam, and stands in a way of antithesis or opposition to the many offences which are pardoned throughJesus Christ, V. There is yet a farther reason implied in this chapter, to prove that Adam conveyed sin and death to his posterity, not merely as the natural springor parent of their race bypropaga- tion, but as a federal head and representative of all his offspring and involved them in his own guilt, or liableness to misery and death by his own act of disobedience. Take it thus : As Adam , and Christ are here represented by the apostle as the two springs of sin and righteousness, of death and life to mankind,, which is agreed by all in their expositions of the last half of Rom. v. and 1 Cor. xv. so the one is represented as a type and figure of the other. Adam was a figure or type of Christ in this very respect; verse 14. And Christ is called " the second man and the last Adam," for this very reason ; 1 Cor. xiv. 45, ' . 47, 49. As one was the spring of life, so the other was the spring of death to all their particular seed or offspring; ,1 Cor. xv. 22, 23. Now Christ is not only a springof life, as he con- veys a new nature and a principle of holiness to his seed, but he is represented as the spring of justifying righteousness, or of justification, and of eternal life and happiness; as procuring it for them by his own personal actions, by his own obedience and sufferings : So Adam is not only a spring of sin and death to all mankind who are his seed, as heconveys a sinful nature to them, but as he brings sin and guilt, condemnation and death upon them by his own personal disobedience. And indeed this iswhat the apostle, Rom. v. from the fifteenth verse to the end, chiefly insists upon, viz. it is by one man's righteousness the freegift, or rather righteousness came upon all men, that is, all his seed, unto justification of life; and it is by tite offence of one man, all men who are the seed of Adam, are laid under condem- nation ; verse 18. As it is by the obedience of one man many were made righteous, or justified, so by one man's disobedience # Or if the word 0 all" in this place should be construed to mean all man - leind, it is still the righteousness of Christ, which has provided this way of justi- fication for all men, or this offer ofjustification to all men, thoughall do not actualy accept of it.
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