The First and Second Adam: Federal Headship

Romans 5:12-21 introduces us to the concept of Federal Headship. It is a concept by which one man acts for all men. A negotiator between two arguing parties acts on behalf of all involved. A presidential candidate is the head of his or her party. A head coach acts or makes decisions for his or team, but the concept of Federal Headship goes much deeper.

To understand it, a simple comparison of Jesus and Adam is necessary.

Adam

Adam had no earthly father.

Genesis 1:26–27 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

The Bible says the God created Adam in His own image meaning that Adam, like God, was body, soul, and spirit. Adam was not God, but he was created in the image of God. Adam did not have the nature to sin because he was created in the image of God.

Jesus

Jesus had no earthly Father.

Luke 1:30–35 “Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

John 1:33–34 “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.””

Jesus, like Adam, did not have the nature to sin, but unlike Adam, Jesus was God. Jesus was not created in the image of God because He was, is, and forever will be God.

Adam

God gave Adam a free will.

Genesis 2:16–17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””

God did not want Adam to be a robot, so He created Adam with the ability to choose whether or not to be obedient to God’s commands, and with the ability to love or not love God.

What does free will say about God’s love for Adam and us?

Jesus

Jesus did not have free will because He was God, and He operated completely within the Father’s will while on earth.

Luke 22:42 “saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.””

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Jesus was completely committed to doing the Father’s will on earth, and He was completely led by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

Read Hebrews 4:14-16 and 1 Corinthians 10:13 to answer the following question.

Why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus to be tempted?

Hebrews 4:14–16 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

Now, let’s see how this dynamic plays out between Adam and Jesus.

1. The Headship of Adam.

Adam and Jesus are representative of humanity. Adam, as the natural head of the human race through disobedience in his free will, plunged all of mankind into sin.

When I say, “Adam is the natural head of the human race” to what am I referring?

Now this is important, and hopefully, I can make the point.

Every single human being was made a sinner be Adam’s free will disobedience.

What does that mean?

Before you and I willfully sinned, we were sinners in Adam. It is more than us having the nature to sin, and it is more than being guilty of our sin. The fact is that we are sinners because of Adam.

Do you think that is fair?

Let’s look at this passage.

1 Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

1 Corinthians 15:47 “The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.”

Adam, the first Adam, represents all mankind. He is at the headship of man. Jesus Christ, the last Adam, redeemed what the first man lost.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

When Adam sinned, he acted for all of humanity. The proof is found in the following passage.

1 Corinthians 15:21–22 “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

How hopeless does it make you feel that before you were ever born, you were sin?

Why do infants/babies sometimes die?

Why do you and I die?

Representing all of humanity as the head of the human race, Adam sinned. Because of that first sin, Adam introduced death into the whole species.

Romans 5:14 “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

At the same time, sin and death entered the world. If Adam had not have sinned, there would be no death, but because Adam sinned, all will die. Because of Adam, all of humanity is appointed a date with death.

1 Corinthians 15:36 “Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.”

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”

John 12:24–25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Adam’s sin has left an indelible mark on humanity. Along with death, we age.

Ecclesiastes 12:1–4 “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”: While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain; In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim; When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low.”

Ecclesiastes 12:5–7 “Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

Adam was created in the image of God. He could have lived forever and ever, but he chose to be disobedient. As a result, sin reigned from Adam to Moses is what Romans 5:14 says. Paul gives us a specific time frame so we could compare sin.

From Adam to Moses, people did not commit the same sin as Adam. They could not commit the same sin as Adam as Adam’s was the first sin. Now, I know what you are thinking. Eve ate the fruit first, but the Bible places mankind’s curse on Adam.

Why? (There is a passage in the New Testament that tells us) (1 Timothy 2:14)

From Adam to Moses, people died because Adam sinned. Even babies died in the Flood. More on that in a minute.

Death in the Bible is not just physical death. Death in the Bible has three phases.

First, there is physical death which refers to the body. This death comes to man because of Adam’s sin.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”

Second, there is spiritual death. Spiritual death is separation from God. Spiritual death was introduced into this world.

Genesis 3:8–10 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.””

Yes, Adam was going to die physically because he chose to sin. That was going to happen in the future as Adam lived to be 930 years of age, but Adam, immediately, was separated from God spiritually. As a result, you and I are spiritually dead because of the nature we inherit from Adam.

Third, there is eternal death. Because of Adam’s sin, mankind is eternally separated from God until that person believes in Jesus Christ which is why it is so necessary not to put off salvation.

Revelation 20:12–15 “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Because of Adam, man is dead physically, spiritually, and eternally. Man is dead body, soul, and spirit because of Adam. Only one who had no earthly father and who had no sin could take care of what man needed, and that One was the Lord Jesus Christ.

Death is totally man’s responsibility. God did not create Adam to die. It was a penalty imposed because of Adam’s choice. His sin is our sin. His death is our death, but praise God for the last Adam, Jesus Christ.

Now, let me ask you a question.

****If Adam’s sin is our sin, does our sin affect others, including those in the church?*****

2. The Headship of Christ.

Romans 5:15–17 “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)”

There is an interesting contrast made in these verses. The contrast is between the one and many in Adam, and the one and many in Jesus Christ.

This is so important. We are going to get much more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam. It is the eternal nature of the work of Christ.

Romans 8:18–19 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

Have you ever thought of what you gain through Christ?

You gain forgiveness of sins, adoption as children of God, eternal life, redemption, holiness and blamelessness, access to God through prayer, the indwelling Holy Spirit, peace with God, peace within, comfort in affliction, hope, assurance, joy, God’s provision, and an eternal inheritance as sons and daughters of God. Those far outweigh what we lost in Adam.

Adam made many sinners, but to those sinners is offered the gift of righteousness, a gift that comes from Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:3–4 “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Philippians 3:9 “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

In Jesus Christ, we are made perfect before God. We are made righteous.

Why is it necessary for us to be made perfect before God?

To be righteous, to be made perfect before God, there is only one way.

Acts 16:31 “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.””

It is belief in the Lord Jesus that removes Adam’s curse.

Can you explain why only Jesus can remove Adam’s curse? If so, explain.

Look at Romans 5:17 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)”

In this verse, Paul presents two exclusive kingdoms. The two kingdoms cannot coexist. If you are in Adam’s kingdom, you are not in Christ’s Kingdom. Christ’s Kingdom is superior to Adam’s kingdom of death. In Christ’s Kingdom, there is no death, there is only life.

It is life offered through the abundance of God’s grace.

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

That is what we must understand.

We are in sin before we ever sin willfully. There is nothing at all that we can do about it. We are Adam, but God did something about it. Before the foundation of the world, God had your salvation on His mind. God the Son, Jesus Christ, purchased your salvation, and the Holy Spirit sealed your salvation.

Do you remember how we said that we die physically, spiritually, and eternally? The three members of the Godhead each take care of one aspect of death. It is really incredible, and what is even more incredible, there are no strings attached.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Romans 10:9–11 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.””

Romans 10:12–13 “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.””

The Kingdom of Life is available to anyone guilty in Adam, but there is only one entrance into that Kingdom.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

In your opinion, what is eternal life, and when does it begin? Look at the passage below for help.

Romans 8:29–30 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Let’s take Kelvontae as an example. At this very minute, God sees Kelvontae and all who are saved as if they are already glorified.

Why?

As I speak, any sinner can be justified and enter into the victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil through Jesus Christ.

3. Righteousness vs. Sin.

Romans 5:18–21 “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Adam’s one disobedience act made all of us guilty of sin. Pay attention to this passage.

Romans 3:10–12 “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.””

When Paul says that no one is good, it is based upon his knowledge of our guilt through Adam. There are no excuses. You are born guilty. If you are born guilty as the Bible says, how could you be good?

Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

What is this verse telling us?

The moment the spark of life enters into the union of an egg and sperm that life is guilty because of Adam.

What was at the heart of Adam’s sin, and I say it is at the heart of every sin?

Adam became careless concerning God’s Word. His carelessness led to disobedience. Now, I must say this because you guys are so smart and still relatively young. You can protect yourself from sin if you engage in Bible study, but if you do not, you are careless, and just like Adam, that carelessness will lead to disobedience. Carelessness and disobedience go hand-in-hand.

Personally, I believe, and I cannot prove this, that Adam’s first sin was doubting God’s Word instead of disobedience.

How do his actions show us that Adam doubted God’s Word?

Whatever the fruit was, Adam liked what it did to Eve, and at that point, he totally disregarded God’s Word. Let me ask you this.

When we sin, are we not doubting God’s Word?

Why does a person get mad at the preacher when the preacher preaches on some kind of sin?

I believe that all willful sin springs forth from doubt concerning God’s Word. When we sin, it is because we have chosen to disregard or doubt what the Bible says, but the Bible contains an incredible truth.

Galatians 6:7–8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

Now, through Adam, we are guilty. Adam chose his will over God’s will; however, Jesus totally sumberged Himself in obedience to the Father. He lived a life of holy obedience.

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Could a Christian conceivably live a life without willful sin?

Jesus was obedient even to death on the Cross which made it possible for God to declare righteous the sinner who believes in Jesus.

John 5:24 ““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

Philippians 2:5–8 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Now, let’s do a case study.

How many of you have read an Old testament story where someone like Moses or Joshua or David were ordered to kill everyone, including the children? Did that bother you?

Let’s read this passage.

Joshua 6:20–23 “So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel.”

Joshua 6:24–25 “But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”

Why were the children of Jericho killed, and why was Rahab and her family spared? Was God justified in doing so?

Now, we discussed a couple of weeks ago on Wednesday night whether or not aborted babies or infants who die before willfully sinning go to heaven or not. I understand all the arguments, and I know that all, regardless of age, are guilty because of Adam. There is no mistaking that, but I am absolutely convinced those babies/infants, in my most humble theological opinion, go to heaven. They do not go to heaven because they are not guilty. They go to heaven because of Jesus Christ because even as babies, they are Adam. Like any person, those babies/infants go to heaven because of Jesus Christ. We are either in Adam, or we are in Jesus Christ. Let’s read this verse.

1 John 2:2 “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

Those babies/infants are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ until they willfully sin. At that point, they must decide whether they want to belong to the kingdom of death or to the kingdom of life. Death is through Adam. Life is through Jesus. Age plays absolutely no part because all are guilty. Those babies are covered by the blood of Jesus until they willfully sin which could happen at who knows what age.

Can I tell you at what age a child willfully sins? NO, because each child is different. One child may willfully sin at 4 years-old while another may not have a concept of sin even at 12 years-old. Regardless of age, we are guilty because of Adam, but Jesus made it possible for us to be in Him. Now, let me show you how this ties together in Scripture.

2 Corinthians 6:2 “For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Why is there not an age attached to this Scripture?

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Do you decide when you are getting saved?

Genesis 6:3 “And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.””

What does the Bible mean when it says, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever”?

James 4:14–15 “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.””

Can you possibly know when you are going to die?

If you cannot know when you are going to die and you know you are guilty, why would you delay in getting saved?

The Bible never contradicts itself. You are guilty. The Spirit of God will not always draw you. Today is the day of salvation because you may not see tomorrow. No matter what your age is, if you die with a knowledge of willful sin, you will have no excuse to offer. You will die in Adam.