Moreover, the law entered
By "the law" is meant, not the law of nature, much less the law
of sin; rather the ceremonial law, which came in over and above
the moral law; it entered but for a time; by which sin abounded,
and appeared very sinful; and through it the grace of God much
more abounded, in the sacrifice of Christ prefigured by it: but
the moral law, as it came by Moses, is here intended; which
entered with great pomp and solemnity on Mount Sinai; and
intervened, or came between Adam's sin and Christ's sacrifice;
and also came in besides, or over and above the promise of life
by Christ; and may moreover be said to enter into the conscience
of a sinner, with the power and energy of the Spirit of God: and
the end of its entrance is,
that the offence might abound;
meaning either the sin of Adam, he had been speaking of under
that name, that that itself, and the imputation of it to his
posterity, and also the pollution of human nature by it, together
with all the aggravating circumstances of it, might appear more
manifest; or sin in general, any and all actual transgressions,
which abound through the law's discovering the evil nature of
them, and so taking away all excuse, or pretext of ignorance: by
prohibiting them, whereby the corrupt nature of man becomes more
eager after them; and by accusing, threatening, terrifying, and
condemning, on account of them: one view of the apostle in this,
doubtless, is to show, that there can be no justification by the
law:
but where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound:
sin has abounded in human nature, in all the individuals of it;
and grace has superabounded in the same nature, being assumed by
the Son of God, and united to him, who has appeared in it "full
of grace and truth", ( John 1:14 ) : sin has
abounded in all the powers and faculties of the soul, in the
understanding, will, and affections, of an unregenerate man; but
in regeneration, the grace of God much more abounds in the same
powers and faculties, enlightening the understanding, subduing
the will, and influencing the affections with love to divine
things: sin abounded in the Gentile world, before the preaching
of the Gospel in it; but afterwards grace did superabound in the
conversion of multitudes in it from idols, to serve the living
God; and where sin has abounded in particular persons to a very
great height, grace has exceeded it, as in Manasseh, Mary
Magdalene, Saul, and others.