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January
31, 2004
THE
LAST ADAM
"It
is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being.' The
last Adam became a life-giving spirit... . The first man was
of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from
heaven"
(1 Corinthians 15:45, 47, NKJV).
The title,
"the last Adam," appears only once in the Bible;
it is unique to the apostle Paul, who describes Christ as
"the last Adam... the Lord from heaven." In his
analogy between the natural body and the spiritual body, Paul
links creation and redemption. He states that the original
Adam was created in God's image, holy and innocent. But, because
of his transgression, all his descendants were born sinful
(see Psalm 51:5). The fallen Adam became the head of the whole
sinful race. Because of the offense of the first Adam, "sin
entered the world... because all sinned" (Romans 5:12,
NKJV).
In God's
redemptive master plan, He made adequate provision to redeem
and restore the human race. Hence, "when the time had
fully come, God sent his Son... to redeem those under [the]
law" (Galatians 4:4, 5, NIV). Paul identifies God's Son
as the "last Adam." The last Adam was born holy,
lived an unimpeachable life, died vicariously for the sin
of the world, rose triumphantly from the grave, and ascended
into glory.
When
the first Adam fell, the human race lost its Edenic home,
holiness of character, direct communication with God, and
eternal life. Through the last Adam, all these blessings and
privileges will be fully restored forever. By overcoming the
enemy, the second Adam became the head of all humanity. The
assurance of Scripture is that "as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ [the last Adam] all shall be made alive"
(1 Corinthians 15:22, NKJV). All that was lost through the
first Adam will be fully restored through the last Adam (see
Ephesians 1:14). "Christ, by his sacrifice paying the
penalty of sin, would not only redeem man, but recover the
dominion which man had forfeited. All that was lost by the
first Adam will be restored by the second [Adam]."--Review
and Herald, October 22, 1908.
My
Prayer Today: Lord, Thank You for giving me Jesus,
the last Adam, through whom the final restoration is guaranteed.
Amen.
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