Dead in Adam, Alive in Christ

Intro

Josie was born two weeks ago

She is the cutest baby I have ever seen in my life. She has these beautiful soft features, a head full of hair, these beautiful blue eyes. She has been so sweet and peaceful. My favorite part of having a baby around is getting, what we call, “nap trapped.” Basically using the fact that you have a baby sleeping on you as an excuse to avoid your responsibilities. It’s the best to have a baby asleep in your arms and just look at their sweet little peaceful faces while they sleep. I look at her, and I’m smitten. In my eyes, she can do no wrong. She’s two weeks old! All she does is eat and sleep! I know how I see her, and I know how much the loves children, and this little girl is MY little girl, so the Lord must see her that way too, right? Well most certainly he does! But when we say that we are born sinful, what could my Josie have possibly done to break God’s Law?

This one of the many implications of the words Paul writes in ch. 5:12-21. What is Original Sin? How does Adam’s sin thousands of years ago impact us today? What does Paul mean in 1 cor when he calls Jesus the last Adam?

1 Corinthians 15:45–47 “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.”

Theological Disclaimer

Paul in Romans is plunging us straight to the depths of biblical and theological meditation. When we start trying to answer these questions, we have to draw inferences from the whole of scripture. We will find all sorts of different interpretations across different denominations and systematic theologies. The way I’m going to try and bring clarity to this passage is by explaining it the way I understand it.

We’ll start with the passage

Romans 5:12-21

Paul’s first word of v12 is “Therefore.” He is linking this next collection of thoughts with the last, though, the connection here is not a clear as most of His, “Therefore”s. Paul spend the first half of this chapter laying out al of the beautiful things that are added to us alongside our justification of Christ’s behalf. Now he makes a hard shift that we should all take note of. Paul is now laying out a collection of history and fact, with no relation to us at all. I believe Paul is showing the unity we had in sin under Adam, and now the unity we have in Christ. While our individual relationship that we have with God is something that scripture repeatedly affirms and encourages us to pursue, Paul here is helping us to see the unity that we have in Christ, because while we are all individuals, one man, as our representative, has redeemed us all, His Church, and His Bride.

Paul begins with a retelling of the Garden of Eden in Genesis. One quick thing to note here. Paul is not comparing the real, living, breathing, physical life of Jesus with an allegorical character called Adam. Paul here refers to Adam as a real, living, breathing, physical Adam, who lived in a real Garden in the land of Eden.

Adam, as the first man, was created for a purpose. To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. God’s original intent with mankind was for us to partner with Him by building, creating, procreating, and reigning alongside Him in the Garden, then for mankind to flow out of the Garden and to the ends of the Earth, carrying with them God’s own image. As the first man, Adam represented every human who would come after Him. One name for this idea would be to call Adam the Federal Head of humanity. We would all live or die, dependent on His obedience. When Adam sinned, his sin was then imputed to all mankind. We can use the word imputed or inherited here, but we come to the same conclusion as Paul. Sin came into the world through one man. This is what we mean when we say Original Sin.

Now, back to Josie. While Josie may not have the awareness or mental faculties to disobey God’s Law, she is born with this imputed Original Sin. She cannot enter into Heaven on her own merit. There is only one way to the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ alone. As members of the New Covenant, we entrust the conception, birth, life, and redemption into the hands of our loving Father. He has shown Himself more than trustworthy.

In v.14, Paul refers to Adam and Jesus as being of the same type. Now, this is where I really like the language of “Federal Head.” When we call Jesus, “the second Adam,” or when 1 cor 15:45 refers to Jesus as “the Last Adam,” I read that as Jesus is the new Federal Head. Now, when we read Paul’s words in v.18, for me at least, all of the pieces fall into place. Adam as our Federal Head sinned, and through him, we were all condemned. Jesus as our Federal Head is not just righteous, but He is King, and He is seated on the throne, and in the same way that Adam’s sin was imputed to all, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to all who believe in him.

Paul says in v. 20 that the law increased the sin, in that it revealed our sin. Even after the law revealed our sin, Paul confidently proclaims that God’s grace through Jesus abounds. Much more than the sin that comes from Adam is the grace that comes through Jesus. We didn’t just get a new Federal Head, but a Righteous King, seated on His throne in heaven. Through Adam, death reigned. Now Grace reigns through Jesus.

Old man vs, new creation

Conclusion

To anyone here who hears these words, and can agree that this is the truth intellectually, but you are yet to submit yourself to Jesus’ Lordship, I want to invite you to follow up service with one of the leaders here today.

And to those of you who can confidently call Jesus both Savior and Lord, behold your King, who gave His own life, so that you, along with His whole Church, could be Justified, receive access to God’s presence, so that you could have peace with God, and so that you could have hope, projecting your faith in an unchanging God, into the future. Find yourselves in awe today of the truly awesome God that you serve. He is worthy of your praise.