T H E P O W E R O F T H E C R O S S  13 Adam sinned, because the cross was in the mind of God before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:17–21). The plan God had to create the world was in his mind from the beginning (Revelation 4:11), and the plan God had in his mind to redeem the creation from sin and death was part of that plan from the beginning. That is why not one person had to suffer for themselves the consequence of Adam’s sin (death): because Jesus paid for it all in full with his own blood (Acts 20:28). That is what established the righteousness of God when he declared condemnation against all men for the sin of one man. He never allowed that judgment unto death to fall upon the human family. It all fell upon one Man in the human family, and that Man was himself the Almighty Jehovah God who had become the Son of man. When we read Romans 5:12–21, we encounter six statements that contrast Adam’s trespass and its deadly effect with what Christ did that counteracted Adam’s sin and abolished the consequence of his transgression. In those verses of Scripture we should look for three phrases: the trespass, the free gift, and much more. The trespass was Adam’s original sin. The free gift is the power of the cross to annul Adam’s trespass and establish the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The “much more” is what separates the message of condemnation unto death that was caused by Adam’s trespass (as it is affirmed in the first part of each verse) from the message of how the free gift of Christ has the power to completely annul the consequence of Adam’s sin (as it is asserted in the last part of each verse). By viewing those verses of Scripture in that way, we can understand the devastating effect that Adam’s trespass had on God’s world and on the entire human family. We can also see how the free gift of Christ had the power to annul Adam’s sin by paying in full the price that was demanded to restore God’s cre- ation back to its original glory and beauty. The cross also imme-