The Many

A favorite passage of mine is Romans 5:12-19. I believe this passage shows what God had in mind regarding the reconciliation of all humanity. Now, I must proceed by comparing one bible translation which many hold to be the only God inspired writing, the King James Version to a few others. This comparison is extremely important as we will see there is a particular word missing from the KJV that has a significant bearing on the outcome of God's saving work through Christ Jesus. 

I believe the desire of God for all of humanity to be saved will be realized (1 Timothy 2:3-4). If this desire fails then God would most certainly be very sad for the rest of time. How could God be happy if so many will be lost? I know many have various answers to this question. I will just say that if God is truly happy that so many will be lost either to burning for eternity or to permanent death, then God is not who the scriptures claim Him to be, LOVE. I believe LOVE is the single attribute of God, all of the other "attributes" or traits we give God spring from LOVE. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us exactly who God is. 

Romans 5:15 KJV
(15)  But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

According to Romans 5:15 as the KJV tells us, only many will be dead due to Adam. We can clarify that death does come upon all men in Romans 5:12 where Paul states clearly that death has passed to all men, or all of humanity. All will die. Therefore, when we read in verse 15 that many will die, this many must mean all, otherwise we have a contradiction. 

The second portion of verse 15 states that by one man, Jesus Christ, grace has abounded to many. Now, we know that all will die. How many will will receive grace? Some would say those who are predestined, others that it is those who ask Christ for salvation. The answer is somewhat different.

I have read that the KJV is missing up to 60,000 words, yes, 60,000! Lets not limit this to the King James though; most bible are missing many words. The reason is for simple readability. In the original texts there are many words such as 'the' throughout the text. In some cases these various words are very important as they quantify a subject such as in verse 15. There are numerous versions or translation that include 'the' two more times in verse 15 and these 'the's really do change the impact of the verse. Two such translations include the NRSV which I will point out not only because I use it, but because it is a very common translation used by millions of bible readers. The second is the Concordant Literal Version (CLV). The CLV was translated by A.E. Knoch who had the idea that we should have a readable translation which uses consistency in the use of English words for the Greek counterparts. Essentially one Greek word should always be translated the same throughout in English. The CLV is still a little challenging for straight through reading but it is a very valuable study help. It is filled with dots and symbols throughout the text which represent words or phrases from the originals and this was done for easy reading and space. In the front and back of the CLV there are keys to tell what the symbols represent. There are others that include these two important 'the's as well.

So, we have established that all will die, and some will receive grace, speaking in the traditional understanding of verse 15. What happens when we insert 'the' twice into the text exactly where they occur in the originals? 

Romans 5:15 NRSV
(15)  But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.

Romans 5:15 CLV
(15)  But not as the offense, thus also the grace. For if, by the offense of the one, the many died, much rather the grace of God and the gratuity in grace, which is of the One Man, Jesus Christ, to the many superabounds."

We see in both the NRSV and the CLV that "the many died" and grace abounds for "the many". According to verse 12 we already noted that all will die so in verse 15 the first "the many" are ALL of humanity. What about the second "the many"? Is it the same group, ALL of humanity? Yes! It is the same "the many". If it were not the same "the many" then Paul could have said the verse as follows:

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.

Thankfully Paul did not write "the many" will die but only "many" will receive grace. Why did Paul say All will die and ALL will receive grace? Because that is what the Spirit inspired Paul to write. Why do so many translations or version leave this important word out? Possibly for easier reading, or as some suggest that it did not fit the theology of the day. I certainly do not want to assume the later is the case. 

Jonathan Mitchell, a Greek scholar, has a wonderful expanded New Testament translation which is a great study tool, I highly recommend it to anyone who is a serious student of the Word. The idea of expanding the Greek text is to allow the English reader to immerse themselves into a deeper understanding of what the Greek language is actually saying. 

Romans 5:15 Jonathan Mitchell NT
(15)  Yet to the contrary, [it is] not in the same way [with] the effect of grace (result of favor; the thing graciously given) as [it was with] the effect of the fall to the side (or: = the result of the stumbling aside and the offence is not simply balanced out by the result of the joyful gift of grace  the gratuitous favor). For you see, since (or: if) by (or: in) the effect of the fall to the side (the result of the stumbling aside and the offense) of the one THE MANY (= the mass of humanity) died, MUCH MORE (= infinitely greater) [is] the Grace of God (Gods Grace; favor which is God), and the gift (or: gratuitous benefit) within Grace  a joy-producing act of Favor  by that of the One Man, Jesus Christ, surrounded (or: encircles) into encompassing superabundance (extraordinary surplus and excess) into THE MANY (= the mass of humanity).

Is this wonderful news? Yes it is! How many will receive this grace? All will. When will they receive it? That is another study which we will look at in the future but I will say not all at once. God has a plan for the Ages, not eternity, regarding salvation and it does not stop at death.