²⁶ Then God said, ^(A)“Let us make man^[a] in our image, ^(B)after our likeness. And ^(C)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The Fall

3 Now ^(A)the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You^[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said, ^(B)‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ^4 (C)But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,^[b] she took of its fruit ^(D)and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, ^(E)and he ate.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

¹² Therefore, just as ^(A)sin came into the world through one man, and ^(B)death through sin, and ^(C)so death spread to all men^[a] because ^(D)all sinned— ¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but ^(E)sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ^(F)like the transgression of Adam, ^(G)who was a type of ^(H)the one who was to come.

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for ^(I)many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For ^(J)the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought ^(K)justification. ¹⁷ For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness ^(L)reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass^[b] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness^[c] leads to justification and life for ^(M)all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man's ^(N)disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's ^(O)obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Now ^(P)the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, ^(Q)grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, ^(R)as sin reigned in death, ^(S)grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

²¹ For as ^(A)by a man came death, ^(B)by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For ^(C)as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

⁴⁵ Thus it is written, ^(A)“The first man Adam became a living being”;^{[a] (B)}the last Adam became a ^(C)life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. ^47 (D)The first man was from the earth, ^(E)a man of dust; ^(F)the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, ^(G)so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ Just ^(H)as we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^(I)we shall^[b] also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers: ^(J)flesh and blood ^(K)cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

By Grace Through Faith

2 ^(A)And you were ^(B)dead in the trespasses and sins ^2 (C)in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following ^(D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in ^(E)the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in ^(F)the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[a] and the mind, and ^(G)were by nature ^(H)children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^[b]

^5 (A)The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every ^(B)intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.