While it is common to
understand the verse as indicating a type of imputed sinfulness extended from
Adam (the one man) to all other members of the human race, this is not
the most likely reading. Given the concept of realm and dominion, Adam’s
disobedience most likely represents a route or pathway or entrance
into the realm of sin and death. Adam’s disobedience establishes the route
through which the many were made sinners (5:19a) . . . By the same
token, mutatis mutandis, so also through the one man’s obedience the many
will be made righteous (5:19b). This one man is the new Adam,
Christ, who like Adam has established a route by which the many gain access to
the realm he represents. While Adam leads all humanity into the domain of sin
and death, Christ leads humanity into the domain of grace and righteousness. Again,
it is often asserted that this text affirms the imputation of Christ’s
obedience to others, but this is not the most likely reading of the text. The
realm structure that contrasts the domain of sin and death with the domain of
grace and righteousness suggests that Christ, like Adam, stands as the way into
realm he represents. Those who exist under this realm are characterized by
righteousness because they belong to the realm of righteousness, made open to
them by Christ, not by being imputed with Christ’s righteousness per se.
This text
demonstrates the essential nature of the realm structure for Paul’s soteriology
and eschatology. It is through membership in the realm of Christ that believers
are ruled by grace and righteousness, resulting in eternal life. Their
salvation depends on their membership in the realm of Christ, as does their
eschatological destination. (Constantine R. Campbell, Paul and the Hope of
Glory: An Exegetical and Theological Study [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan
Academic, 2020], 67-68)
Response to a Recent Attempt to Defend Imputed Righteousness