Abundance For All
In showing the exceeding greatness of Christ's death as the basis of the certainty of our hope, Paul continues his comparison of Christ's death to Adam's one act of transgression. First he introduces the concept of Adam as a type of Christ. What does this mean? Having introduced such an idea, Paul seems almost to back away from it in the following verses. Why? What are the three ways in which Christ's death is different from Adam's sin? Why is Paul contrasting Christ's act of atonement with Adam's transgression? What was the extent of the consequences of Adam's sin? What is the key word revealing the contrast between Adam and Christ? Who are "the many?” How should we understand the second use of "the many" in this verse? Why? Why does the idea of the atonement being intended for all who sinned, even those who will not believe, not degrade the glory of Christ's death? How would the view that the intent of the atonement was limited only to those who would ultimately be saved eviscerate Paul's very argument? How can the truth of the abundance of grace in Christ's atonement bring comfort to us? (42 min)
