But not as the trespass, thus also the gracious gift. For since by the trespass of the one [man], the many died, by how much more the grace from God and the gift by grace to the one man, Jesus Christ, unto the many abounded (Romans 5:15)
In Romans 5:12–21, Paul reveals some of the deeper things of God and the state in which humans exist. After addressing the physical death that came through Adam’s sin—death passed upon all humans because all sinned in Adam (Romans 5:12)—Paul now turns to the death caused by his trespass. Sin and trespass are not the same (Ephesians 2:1). A trespass occurs in the mind when a determination is made to violate God’s standard, whereas sin is the act of lawlessness. Adam’s actions brought physical death, while his determination brought spiritual separation from God. These two forms of death were passed down to all humans, for Adam is the head of the human race.
The gracious gift, which is the gift of eternal life, counters the trespass. Those who believe that Christ died for our sins and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures are born again in their spirit and placed into Christ—the new Man—where they now possess eternal life and are connected to God in their spirit (1 John 5:12; 1 Corinthians 6:17). This gift brings life to the many, in contrast to how Adam’s trespass brought death.