The roots of our spiritual ancestry are in one of two representative men. These are two men in world history whose actions have affected the whole of mankind. Each set a course that millions followed. Each stood alone before God as the representative of the human race. In Romans 5:12-21, the Apostle Paul describes the effects these two men have had on mankind:
"Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race, because everyone has sinned...just as all people were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man (another man)" verses 12 and 19 (GNB).
The affect of representative men is pictured very well for us in Scripture in the account of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Israel was at war with the Philistines. David, a lad of about 17, was too young to be a warrior, but one day was asked by his father to take some food to his older brothers who were fighting in the war and to see how they were doing. When David arrived he found all the Israelites were in great fear because of the challenge of a Philistine named Goliath.
"Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, 'Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.' Then the Philistine said, 'This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other'." 1 Samuel 17:8-10.
What Goliath was suggesting was quite common in warfare in those days. A champion from each side would represent the two armies. Young David took up his challenge and with his shepherd's sling and stone defeated him. Goliath's defeat was Philistia's defeat. David's victory was Israel's victory. They were representative men.
In the same way, God has dealt with the human race through two representative men.
And they reproduced after their own kind! All humanity has experienced the consequences of Adam's action. None has escaped its devastating effect. All the succeeding generations have inherited a rebellious and diseased nature and have been alienated from God. Fear, hate, guilt and loneliness are some of the evidences of its reality. All of us are born into this world with our roots firmly planted in our ancestor, Adam:
"...'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.' 'Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.' 'The poison of vipers is on their lips.' 'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' 'Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.' 'There is no fear of God before their eyes'...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." Romans 3:10-12,23.
It was no good just patching up the fallen creation. Like a diseased plant, mankind would still continue to receive its life-source from the roots of Adam. Man needed to be uprooted and grafted into new roots to receive a new life-source. So, at exactly the right time in history, God sent another representative man into the world. This man, too, was to affect the whole of the human race:
"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" 1 Corinthians 15:22.
"...'The first man, Adam, was created a living being'; but the last Adam is the life-giving Spirit" 1 Corinthians 15:45 (GNB).When Jesus Christ was dying on the Cross of Calvary, a marvellous act of God was in process. An eternal transaction was taking place between heaven and earth. Jesus was representing mankind. The Bible calls him "the Last Adam". In other words, in God's eyes he was dying as the last of Adam's descendants. He was the last of the fallen Adamic race. In this second representative Man, God was laying an axe to the roots we had in Adam:
"The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" Matthew 3:10.In the act of Christ's death, God was putting us to death, and all connection with fallen Adam was being severed. God stopped the line of the first Adam's inheritance in Jesus.
"The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven" 1 Corinthians 15:47.
The Bible gives two terms to Jesus. He is not only called "the Last Adam", He is also called "the Second Man". This is because God accomplished two feats in sending Jesus to represent us. The first was His death, as we have just seen. The second was when God brought him back to life again:
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits, then, when he comes, those who belong to him" 1 Corinthians 15:2-23.The race coming from Adam was full of sin, so God finished it through Jesus dying on the Cross. Then he started all over again. In the resurrection, Jesus became the beginning of a whole new race of people. Adam, the first man, passed on to his descendants all his faults. Jesus came alive again to be the Second Man, to pass on to all those who believe in Him all His goodness.
"As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven" 1 Corinthians 15:48-49.
Through Christ representing us on the Cross, in His resurrection and His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 2:4-7), God brought into being a new humanity - created in the image of His Son. Every person in the world is either in Adam or in Christ.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come...God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 2 Corinthians 5:17,21 (see also 1 Peter 2:9).
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Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures quoted in these studies are from the New International Version of the Bible, © New York International Bible Society, used by permission. Other versions referred to are: KJV (King James Version), NKJB (New King James Bible), TLB (The Living Bible), Amp (The Amplified Bible) and The Message. All versions used by permission.
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