Pronoun in Romans 5:17

[Sam Cripps]

My friend recently told me this:

"oι is a type, a class, a group - never a 'universal all'. in order to mean a universal all - it must say 'παντες oι'."

Is this accurate??

Thanks in advance,

Sam

[calvinist]

I think there is some misunderstanding. "Οι" is not functioning as an independent pronoun in this verse. "Οι" is modifying the participle "λαμβανοντες" which may be hard to notice at first glance because the phrase "την περισσειαν της χαριτος και τησ δωρεας της δικαιοσυνης" is wedged between the two. It is really "οι λαμβανοντες" which means "the ones receiving..." or "the ones who receive..." As far as the universal/group distinction goes, I'm not sure what the exact question is. The verse is saying that "all" that receive "the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness" will indeed "reign in life", but the verse does not say that "all" will receive "the abundance of grace..." I hope that helps.