by George Sidney Hurd “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense (the) many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to (the) many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” (Rom 5:15-18) In the context of Romans 5, is the receiving active or passive? Does the clause “those who receive” refer to those who actively take or receive life and dominion restored now, or does it refer to all those who are the recipients of the life and dominion restored through Jesus Christ, the Last Adam? Many, seeing that the participle “receive” (λαμβάνων, lambanōn) is in the active form, automatically assume that it can only be understood in the active sense in which the individual does, rather than receives, the action. However, what many overlook is that, although active in form, out of the 258 times the Greek verb λαμβάνω (lambanō) and its cognates occur in the New Testament in the active form, roughly 40 to 60 times (about 15–25% of total occurrences) it leans toward the passive/receptive sense in which the subject is the recipient of that which is given, rather than the one actively receiving or taking it. The actual passive form of lambanō is rare, only appearing a couple of times and is never rendered “receive” but “to be received or taken”: (1Tim 4:4, “to be received”; Heb 5:1, “to be taken”). The verb lambanō prefers the active voice even in passive/receptive contexts. The context alone must determine whether the one who receives actively receives or whether he is the recipient of the action. In many instances it is clear that the subject actively does the receiving. Here are a couple of the many examples: “But as many as received Him (ἔλαβον, active), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12) “Jesus took (λαβὼν, active) bread, and after blessing it broke it..." (Luke 22:19) In these examples it is clear that the subject is doing the action. In the first example we see that the subject actively receives Christ, believing in His name, as illustrated above. Often the active sense is best rendered “take” rather than “receive,” as with Jesus taking the bread, emphasizing the subject’s active role. However, in about 15–25% of the occurrences we see that the subject is the passive recipient of that which is given: “From the Jews five times I received (ἔλαβον, active form) forty stripes minus one.” (2 Cor 11:24)
“having received authority (λαβών, active form) from the chief priests.” (Acts 26:10)
"everyone who asks receives (λαμβάνει, active form)” (Matt 7:8)
These are just a few of the many examples where the active form of lambanō is used in a passive/receptive sense. The subject is receiving that which is given, rather than actively doing the receiving or taking it. Many are seen to passively receive that which they would never want, such as Paul five times receiving forty lashes minus one, or when the unrepentant receive a just reward for their disobedience (Heb 2:2), or a greater judgment (Luke 20:47). In other instances, the recipient receives that which he was not even anticipating. For example, everyone in the house of Cornelius was surprised when the Gentiles suddenly received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:47). In these examples it is obvious that the recipient is passive. Therefore, considering the fact that the active form is often used in a passive/receptive sense, the context must be the final determining factor. Taken alone, “those who receive” in Romans 5:17 could possibly be understood as an active receiving in which the subject must actively receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness in order to reign in life through Christ. Certainly, it is true that one does not experientially receive justification, new life and dominion restored apart from appropriating it by faith (John 3:18; 5:24; Rev 22:3-5). However, the context must determine whether it is used in the active or the passive sense, taking into account the surrounding verses. The highly esteemed Greek scholar Marvin Vincent correctly applies the passive meaning to Romans 5:17. He says: “They which receive (hoi lambanōntes). Not ‘believingly accept,’ but simply ‘the recipients.” [3] Although he does not go into further detail, his rendering of lambanō in the passive sense is necessitated by the context. The contrast throughout from verse 12 to 19 is between that which all men receive in Adam as opposed to what all men receive in Christ - the Last Adam. As all men born to Adam passively receive death, condemnation and loss of dominion through the one man’s disobedience, even so all receive life, justification and dominion restored, through the One man, Jesus Christ. The Arminians, who deny total depravity, argue that the receiving in verse 17 involves only those who actively receive Christ, believing in His name, resulting in justification and new life in Him. Calvinists, on the other hand, often understand it in the passive/receptive sense, rightly pointing out that before we were saved we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and therefore unable to come to Christ without divine intervention, being effectually drawn to Christ. As Jesus said: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws (ἕλκω, helkō) him; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44). Being dead in our trespasses and sins, it is not merely a matter of indisposition to come to Christ without being effectually drawn, but of inability. I further demonstrate man’s inability to independently come to Christ in my blog, Total Depravity and Universal Reconciliation. However, what both Calvinists and Arminians fail to see is that, in time, Jesus will have effectually drawn all unto Himself. Jesus said: “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw (ἕλκω, helkō) everyone to myself.” (John 12:32 NHEB) What both Arminians and Calvinists fail to see is that Jesus will effectually draw (helkō/helkuō) [1] everyone unto Himself, resulting in all coming into subjection to Christ, being reunited in Him in the final dispensation of the fullness of the times when God will become all in all entering into eternity (Eph 1:10; 1Cor 15:28). Arminians understand Romans 5:17 as saying that only those who independently and actively receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness now will ever experience new life and dominion restored through Christ, the Last Adam. The Calvinists on the other hand recognize that being dead in our trespasses and sins, we must first passively receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness before we can choose to reign in life. They recognize that the unregenerate, being spiritually dead, must be granted faith through God’s grace alone, believing through grace (Acts 18:27). However, what both camps fail to see is that all who die in Adam will be made alive in Christ, the Last Adam (Rom 5:15,18; 1Cor 15:22); all who have sinned and been condemned in Adam will finally be justified in Christ (Rom 5:16,18; Rom 3:23-24); all who forfeited divinely delegated dominion in Adam will be restored, reigning in life through Christ (Gen 1:26-28 c.f. Gen 3; Psa 8:4-6; John 12:31; Rom 5:17-18; Rev 11:15, c.f. 22:5). Our restoration to dominion in Christ, the Last Adam, will be much greater than that which was originally given to Adam. Adam was given dominion over the earth and he forfeited it to Satan, the ruler of this world, but in Christ we will not only reign in life over planet earth, but over all of God’s creation (Heb 2:5-9). While the Arminians limit Christ’s reversal of Adam’s fall to those who actively receive Christ in this age, the Calvinists limit those who passively receive grace and the gift of righteousness with new life and dominion restored exclusively to the elect of this age. However, the context of Romans 5:12-19 does not allow for those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness with new life in Christ and dominion restored to be limited exclusively to those who believe in this life, or to the elect first-fruits of this age. In the very next verse Paul makes it abundantly clear that all mankind are the recipients of the free gift of grace, resulting in justification and life for all, not just a few. In verse 18 he sums up what he has been saying throughout the entire passage: Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” (Rom 5:18) Paul here sums up by saying that, even as Adam’s one act of disobedience resulted in judgment for all mankind, so also the one act of righteousness of one Man, Christ, resulted in justification and life for the same entirety of mankind. The “as” “even so” parallel requires that the “all men” in the first group be the same “all men” included in the second group, otherwise, the equivalent comparison breaks down. To quote Marvin Vincent: “The effect of the second Adam cannot fall behind that of the first.” [2] However, that being said, even as not every man experientially entered into Adam’s death, condemnation and bondage to sin at the moment Adam sinned, in like manner, not everyone experientially received life, justification or dominion restored at the moment when Christ - the Last Adam, died and rose from the dead. Even as man must be born into Adam in order to experience the death, condemnation and bondage to sin he brought upon us all, so also must every man be made alive or born again before experientially entering into that justification and dominion which every man became the recipient of when Christ the Last Adam died and rose again on our behalf. Of the Last Adam’s death and resurrection, it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1Cor 15:45). And again, “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” (1Cor 15:22). Therefore, as I understand Romans 5:17 in the greater context, Paul is using lambanō in the passive/recipient sense. In verse 18 the free gift of justification and life is rendered in the past tense as having already come to all mankind, since it points back to that which all passively received when Christ, the Last Adam obtained our justification and life restored, having died for our justification and risen so that in Him all mankind might come to have new life and dominion restored in Him. While it is true that everyone must actively receive Christ by faith and be born again in order to experience justification, new life an dominion restored, all of mankind became the passive recipients of all that Christ, the Last Adam, accomplished for us on the cross from the very moment He made propitiation for the sins of the world, rising victorious over death and Satan, the ruler of this world. [1] The Word “draw” is helkô which expresses something much stronger that a simple attraction. Strong’s Dictionary defines it: “drag (literally or figuratively).” It appears eight times in the New Testament, and in each case it expresses the idea of being effectually drawn by a force greater than the resistance of the one being drawn: “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.” (John 21:11) “… they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.” (Acts 16:19) “…. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?” (James 2:6) “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear.” (John 18:10) The other occurrence indicates that none of us would come to him if we weren’t irresistibly znc effectually drawn: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him….” (John 6:44) Man, separated from God, is so lost that he must be drawn/dragged to Christ. Otherwise, he would/could not come to Him. Our “free-will” is of no use if we can’t even see or comprehend the glorious gospel, and that is the situation in which God finds every individual. They are incapable of going to Him until He, in their day of visitation draws them to Himself, which He will do for every man in due time (1Peter 2:12; 1Tim 2:6 KJV). In His time, He will remove the veil from the eyes of every individual. Until then, they remain blinded and incapable of finding Him: [2] Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, Romans 5:17 
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