The First Adam and Christ, the Last Adam

Transcript

GRM 541
10/05/1997
The First Adam and Christ, the Last Adam
Romans 5:12-21
Gil Rugh

I would direct our attention tonight to the book of Romans in the 5th Chapter. I really want to follow-up on what we were talking about this morning on the new man and the old man, which is a repeated theme. The central passage on the subject is Romans Chapter 5. We’ve studied Romans Chapter 5 on other occasions, but it is a passage we need to have fixed in our minds. As we go to other places in the scripture, like when we were considering Colossians Chapter 3 , there we touched on it without going into the detail. Romans Chapter 5 gives you the theological issues about the old man and the new man.

I have also shared with you before Albert J. McClain, who wrote “The Greatness of the Kingdom”, which, I believe, is still the finest work on the subject of the coming millennial kingdom of Christ, and also the little booklet “Law and Grace”, which you ought to read. It said you can tell a serious bible student by how worn his bible is at Romans Chapter 5, which was simply saying this is a very crucial and foundational passage for understanding the issue of sin that has infected and affected every person and the provision of righteousness, which is available to all in Christ.

Really, what you have, and we’re going to look at verses l2-2l in an overview fashion at the end of Romans Chapter 5, is a summary, if you will, or a pulling together in an appointed way of everything that’s gone on before in the book of Romans. From Chapter l, verse l8 to chapter 3, verse 21 the issue of sin was dealt with and all humanity under the condemnation of God for their sin. Then beginning in Romans chapter 3, verse 22 down through chapter 5 you had the issue of the provision of righteousness in Christ. A clarification now, as we conclude this second major division, Christ’s righteousness, of how sin came to every person, how Christ’s righteousness is provided to every person.

The comparison will be between Adam and Jesus Christ. In Verse l4 of Chapter 5 of Romans the last statement says that Adam is a type of Him who as to come. Christ is the one who was to come. Adam was a type of Christ. Their areas were Adam prefigured and anticipated the coming of Christ and Adam reflects what Christ would do. The key word in these verses, verses l2-l9, in particular, is the little word “one”. In those eight verses, verses 12-19, the word “one” is used a dozen times, 12 times. The point is to show how the actions of one man could affect all men, the action of one affecting all and what it will demonstrate is man are saved in the same way they were lost, by the action of one individual.

This same analogy is used by Paul in the book of Corinthians, and you might jot down. We’ll turn there probably later, 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 2l and 22 and verses 45-47. There he will talk about the first Adam and the last Adam, because both Adam in the garden of Eden and Jesus Christ, the second Adam or the last Adam, are representative heads of the human race, as we’ll see in the development here as we move along.


Look at Verse l2. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” And the expression, therefore, picks up what’s gone on before, but then He says, ?just as through one man?, and you begin a conditional sentence and you would expect it to be completed just as this, so this has happened, but he breaks off and he doesn’t complete the sentence.
Sometimes, makes following what Paul is saying a little more difficult. Now, if you will pick it up again, the thought in verse l8 and complete it. So, three verses in this section,
verses l2-2l, there are three key verses that say it all, the rest of it fill in the detail. Verse l2, verse l8, and verse l9. What he has to say is focused in those three verses, verse l2, verse l8, and verse l9. Verses l3-l7 are something of a parenthesis giving an elaboration. Then verses 20 and 2l will also give further information, particularly on why the law was given and what it accomplished.

So, verse l2, “just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”. So, the key verse in the New Testament on the issue of sin, “through one man sin entered the world.” The reference is to Adam. He is the one responsible for bringing sin into the world. This explains how sin got into the world, why the world is so ugly, why vile things are done, why all people die, why the tragedy of a little baby who has died before it’s life really had a chance to begin.

What is the answer? Why would God allow that? Why would that happen in a world if there is a sovereign God who is good and kind and loving and merciful? Well, the answer is sin and the sin of Adam in particular. This doesn’t tell you when sin began. Sin began before Adam sinned in the garden. Sin was brought into the creation, broadly speaking, by the sin of Satan, and his rebellion against God. We read about that in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. The concern here is how did sin get into the human race in this world.

Well, it entered through the rebellious act of one man. You see, he leads into this section by that emphasis, by one, by one man sin entered into the world. That’s how sin came to be present into the world, Adam rebelled against God, and death through sin. When sin entered the world, death entered the world, because “the wages of sin is death”, and when sin came into the world, death came into the world. You remember that God had warned Adam, “don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the day you eat of the tree, you shall surely die.” We aren’t going to go into a sideline here on the kinds of death, physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death. They are all encompassed in scripture. The key element in death is separation. Physical death is the separation of a person from their body. Spiritual death is the separation of a person from God. Eternal death is the separation of a person from God in hell for eternity. The process of death set in immediately for Adam and Eve. They died spiritually. Their relationship with God was broken so when God came to walk with them in the garden in the cool of the evening, they hid. Their relationship was broken. The process of physical death had begun. In Adam’s case, it would take over 900 years, but he would die physically, and apart from the intervention of God, he would spend eternity in hell.


You note here, Paul picks this up as fact. There are relentless attacks on the opening chapters of Genesis today. It has nothing to do with science or lack of science. It is the unbelieving mind refusing to believe what God has said. Besides, if you can undermine and destroy the first three chapters of Genesis, the rest of the bible makes no sense, and that becomes clear in this section in Romans. Now, one man sins and so sin entered the world. With that sin came the penalty for the sin, consequences of sin which is death, and so death spread to all men. This is really a self evident fact, everyone dies, what we just alluded to, that people experience the pain of death, the lack of explanation, because death is not natural. God did not create Adam and Eve to die. He created them in His image, but before sin, they would have enjoyed endless fellowship with Him for all eternity. But, sin entered and death spread to all men. Why? Because all sin. This raises a great theological question. What does it mean, all sin? Adam sinned, death came into the world, death spread to all men because all sin. There are three major views on what it means, all have sinned, and I’m just going to mention and then we will focus on the correct view.

First view says everyone personally commits acts of sin and thus dies. Now that is a biblical truth, but it’s not what is being talked about here. I mean there is a sense of likeness. I sin, my personal decision is to sin, the penalty for my sin is death. That is true of everyone. But that’s not what he is talking about here. The following verses argue against that, as we’ll see as we move through them. His point of comparison is how Adam’s action has affected all men, not the fact that all men sin in similar ways as Adam did, although he will allude to that later. So, I don’t think the point here is all of us sin just like Adam did, because he’s going to say in verses l3 and l4 that that’s not the case in the point he is making. Besides the emphasis is on the one transgression of the one man, and that emphasis on one through this.

Another view is called the seminal view which means we were all in Adam, comes out of Hebrews chapter 7, that Levi paid tithes because he was a descendant of Abraham, so when Abraham paid tithes, Levi paid tithes because he as in the loins of Abraham. So, we are the descendants of Adam, we were in Adam, when Adam sinned, I sinned with him.
But, that can’t be what’s in view here because the parallel then would mean when Christ died and committed an act of righteousness, I did the same thing, so I am righteous by my action, not by Christ’s action, so the analogy would break down. What he is talking about here when he says “all sinned’, he is saying in affect Adam was the representative head of the human race. This is called the federal headship view. He was the head of the race. He acted on our behalf as our representative.

I was watching a documentary from WWII, German’s involvement and the nations of Europe and so on. You’re minded, here the heads of state are meeting, signing agreements and so on, which obligate everybody in their country for that. Because what? They are the representative head of their country. That’s the picture here. Adam was the representative head of the human race, the legal head. He functioned as our legal representative so he acted on our behalf. Just like when the President of the United States performs an official function. He obligates all of us when he, with the leaders of this country, sign a declaration of war, we are at war. I don’t want to be at war. Well I am, because he’s my representative. He acts on my behalf, and the full consequences of that I will bear.


Now, this fits the parallel with Christ, as we’ll see. Adam represented the human race and his action became binding on us, if you will. It had imputed to us sin, and so it will be with Christ. Now, we say, I don’t like that, it’s not fair. Well, the fact is, that’s the way it is. That’s the point here. This is the way it all happened. I don’t like it. There are a lot of things I don’t like. I wanted to be tall, dark and handsome. My parents got together and put together genes that didn’t turn out that way. That’s not fair. They acted on my behalf. What can you say? So, in the same way, Adam acted on our behalf, his sin is imputed to us.

Keep your finger here and go over to I Corinthians. In I Corinthians l5, look at verse 45. “So also it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” You see, that reference, the first Adam and the last Adam, the reason Jesus Christ is called the last Adam is because he represents the human race in a similar way that Adam represented the human race in the garden, and He is acting on behalf of the human race in His provision of righteousness the way that Adam was acting on behalf of the human race when he rebelled and brought sin upon all humanity. In verse 22 of 1 Corinthians l5, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” So, again, the comparison of two individuals representing the race, Adam and Christ.

Now, come back to Romans, chapter 5. Now, in your bible, some may break off the sentence at the end of verse l2, because this doesn’t complete the sentence, it develops an explanation. It’s something of a parenthetical explanation that will cover verses l3-l7. Then in verse l8 you’ll pick up the thought of verse l2 again and repeat it and complete it. Let’s walk through this explanation of what he has said so far. “For until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law”. The Law means the law that was given through Moses, the Mosaic law, talked about earlier in the book of Romans. So, we’re talking about the period of time from Adam to Moses. Verse l4, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses. Moses lived about l500 years before Christ. Exodus was about l445 BC, so round that off and say he lived around l500 BC. Now, when did Adam live, we don’t know, I don’t know. You know, the old chronologists put it around 4,000 BC. It might have been 6,000, it might have been l0,000, I don’t know. It wasn’t two million or two billion, but within that framework there. We’re talking about this period of time from Adam to Moses.

Until the Law, sin was in the world. People were sinners and sin was committed before the law was given. But, sin is not imputed where there is no law. In other words, one of the definitions of sin, I John 3:4, sin is lawlessness, sin is rebelling against the law, sin is a failure to obey the law. So, apart from laws to be broken, God didn’t mete out the penalty. Back in Romans, chapter 4, verse l5, “for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation.” So, what we’re saying is, from the time Adam was on earth in the garden until the time God gave them law through Moses on Mt. Sinai there was no law per say, specific commandments given by God. “ Nevertheless”, verse l4, “death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam’s offense”. The point, everyone, except Enoch, who lived between the time of Adam and Moses died. That was true of them even though they did not sin, verse l4, in the likeness of Adam’s offense. What would have been the likeness of Adam’s offense? God gave a specific law, a specific commandment to Adam, “Thou shalt not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. There was a specific law. Adam violated the law. For that he was punished, death set in, and ultimately Adam died. Well, there were no specific laws violated, because the laws had not been given between Adam and Moses.

But, people still died. Death reigned, is the point.

Come back to Genesis, chapter 5. The fall occurred in Genesis, chapter 3. If you want to look at Genesis, chapter 3, verse l9, we’re talking about death. God says to Adam, Genesis 3:l9, “By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread till you return to the ground”. “The wages of sin is death,” he's going to die physically. He will return to the ground because from it you were taken, you are dust, to dust you shall return. The process of death set in. Adam was going to die physically, because of his sin.

Turn over to Genesis 5. You have the descendants of Adam. Now, look what happens. Verse 3, “When Adam had lived l30 years he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image”, and Adam had been made in the image of God, that’s been covered in the opening verses of the chapter. “And all the days”, verse 5, “that Adam lived were 930 years”, note this statement, “and he died”. I had these statements marked in my bible and however you mark your bible, highlight them, circle them, underline, just note these. The end of verse 5, “and he died”, Seth, the end of verse 8, “and he died”, Enosh, the end of verse 11, “and he died”, Kenan, the end of verse l4, “and he died”, Mahalalel, end of verse 17, “and he died”, Jared, the end of verse 20, “and he died”, Enoch, the exception, Enoch walked with God and Enoch was not for God took him. He was taken to the presence of God without death. Then you come to Methuselah, the end of verse 20, “and he died”, Lamech, end of verse 31, “and he died”. That’s what Paul is picking up on. Death reigned from Adam to Moses over everyone, even though they didn’t sin in the same way Adam did, by breaking a specific commandment or law that God had set down. And, the point that Paul is making, is that people died because of Adam’s sin, even though they did not sin in the same way Adam sinned. They died as a consequence of Adam’s sin. Now, again, you could follow a different line of argument and show that each person is guilty individually of sinning themselves. We’re not saying people weren’t sinners. He wants to make a point of distinction between the kind of sin he is talking about here to show the role that Adam played as head of the human race, the position God had given him. That’s why when Eve ate of the fruit the fall did not occur, but when Adam took the fruit and ate, the fall occurred. He was the head of the race, Eve was not. We’ll be talking more about that in coming days as we move further on in the book of Colossians.


Come back to Romans, chapter 5. Now, at the end of verse 14, Adam was a type of Him who was to come. So, in his actions, as head of the race, Adam prefigured the last Adam, the second Adam, Jesus Christ who would come and represent the race in His action, and would act on behalf of humanity, just like Adam did in the garden. But, in verses 15-17, Paul wants to make a clarification when he says that Adam is a type of Christ. There is a point of similarity, but there are many areas of differences. So, it is only at the point of similarity. You say, well, Adam is a type of Christ so everything about Adam prefigures Christ, no. In this one point, Adam prefigures Christ. He is the representative head of the human race and what he did, he did on behalf of the human race, and his one action impacts the human race. So it is with Christ. So, in verse 15, “But the free gift is not like the transgression”. The gift that we are going to get in Christ. The free gift here is a translation of the word charisma, charismatic gifts, the gift of God’s grace. The free gift is not like the transgression. “For if by the transgression of the one, the many die”. We are back to the reference of what Adam did in the garden. One act of transgression, the whole human race died in Adam. That’s true. I mean, there are babies who are stillborn, they don’t even come into the world, but they have died in the process. Newborn babies survive for hours or days and die, why? They didn’t do anything. We have a sense of this. You say, it’s not fair. Why would they die? The explanation is Romans 5, Adam sinned.
“By the transgression of the one, the many died”. “Many” and “all” are going to be used through this section, because there is a difference. Both Adam and Christ are representative heads of the human race. Adam’s action affects all, every single person.

Jesus Christ is representative head of the human race, His action affects the human race, but only those who become identified with Him through faith. So, there is difference as well as similarity. “The many died”. This explains what he was saying in verses 13 and 14. Death reigned even before the Mosaic Law. You can see when God gave down His specific commandments like He had given a commandment to Adam, why people died when they rebelled, but they died when there were no commandments like that. Why? “Death reigned by the transgression of the one”, verse l5, “the many died. Much more did the grace of God and the gift of the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.” “Much more”, the middle of verse 15, indicates what Christ did, far surpasses what Adam did. “Much more did the grace of God”, salvation is from God’s grace. We have this emphasis here, it’s a free gift, it’s the grace of God. This is something not earned, not deserved. It’s repeated, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, so the grace of God, the Father and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gift by the grace of the one man and the gift is the gift of righteousness, as will come out in verse 17. He’ll call it the gift of righteousness. So, here when he talks about the gift by the grace, he’s talking about the righteousness that Christ provided as a gift by His grace.

Grace is something unmerited or undeserved, unearned. So, both the Father and the Son

bestowed their grace upon us, did abound to the many, and the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. So, now we’re going to draw another distinction. You see he’s clarifying the point of similarity in one man operating on behalf of all men, but there are points of differences. What Christ did far surpasses the work of Adam. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned, for on the one hand, the judgment arose from one transgression, resulting in condemnation. Adam’s one act of sin brought condemnation. But, on the other hand, the free gift arose from many transgressions, resulting in justification. Jesus Christ not only had to take care of the transgression of Adam and the impact of Adam’s sin upon all of us, but His action in providing righteousness had to encompass all of our individual transgressions. So, the literally billions and billions and billions of sins committed by the descendants of Adam had to be encompassed by Christ in His provision of righteousness, as well as the sin of Adam, acting as our representative, which brought condemnation and death upon us. Not only did that one sin have to be dealt with, but now think of my life, how many sins have I personally committed, and you multiply that through all the people on the face of the earth today and all the people who have ever lived, all of that had to be encompassed in the one action of Christ, and you see what he did, far surpasses what Adam did. So, it’s a point of difference, what Christ does is much greater. The second Adam, the second representative of the human race has done a much greater thing and much more encompassing. So, you have from one transgression, condemnation, from many transgressions, justification. So, it includes the fact here we are sinners, by birth and by choice, we are a doubly condemned people. I am a sinner by virtue of my identification with Adam and his action on my behalf. I say that’s not fair, but it’s the way it is. Shortly after I was born my dad went to war, in WWII, some of you men who are older were part of. My dad didn’t sign the declaration. In fact, no one ever called him on the phone and asked him if he thought it was a good idea. But men, what, representing this nation made the decision, everybody was impacted, everybody was affected. So, accordingly, in Christ, in Adam. Now, an important verse there, verse l6, because he’s making note of a difference. One act brought condemnation, but Jesus Christ had to include in His provision not only the action of Adam, which impacted us all, but all of our own individual sins as well. That includes every sinful thought, as well as every action. So you see, the scope of what Christ has done.

Look at verse l7. “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one”,
Adam sinned and death reigned over the human race and everyone was subjected to death.
“much more”, again that emphasis what Christ does now far surpasses that, “much more those who receive the abundance of grace”, and note here, the focus on those whom Jesus action impacts, “those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” You must receive the grace of God in Christ. So, both Adam and Christ are representative heads of the human race.

Adam’s one act impacts all of his descendants of the human race. Jesus Christ’s act makes provision, but that provision is only appropriated or applied to those who receive the abundance of grace. That is received by faith and he has talked about that at the end of chapter 3, into 4 and 5. Chapter 5 begins “Therefore having been justified by faith”.
Justified means declared righteous. We’re talking about the righteousness of Christ, having been applied to us through faith. We receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. Will reign in life, the reference is to eternal life which we’re given in Christ and we reign in life because death has been conquered, we have eternal life. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God”, Romans 6:23, “is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” So, we’ll reign in life, life now reigns where death reigns. You say, well, I’m a Christian, I may still die physically, yes. Spiritual death has been overcome, second death or eternal death has been overcome, and ultimately even if you die physically, the impact of that will be overcome because your body is going to be raised in a glorified state and you will dwell in that glorified body for all eternity. So, the impact of the death of Christ is complete for those who receive the abundance of grace and the righteousness He has provided. This is all through the one, Jesus Christ.

All right, now we can pick up the flow of thought again, verse l8, so really you want to read the connection, read verse l2. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”. In verse l8, “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men”, and really pick up what he said in verse l2, now we’re going to complete it, “even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.”


The comparison in verse l8 is through one transgression, through one act of righteousness, that’s the point of comparison. You have two representative heads, Adam and Christ. The first Adam and the last Adam, the only two there will ever be. One transgression, one act of righteousness, those are the points of comparison and the impact of it. Condemnation, the sentence of death passed upon all men as a result of Adam’s sin. Righteousness is provided for all men and applied to those men who receive the gift of righteousness in Christ..

Verse l9, “For as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the One, the many will be made righteous.” So, one man’s disobedience, one man’s obedience, the obedience of Christ. Christ came to do the will of His Father. What? In dying on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. That one act of obedience and of righteousness provided righteousness for all. One man’s disobedience, many were made sinners, one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous. That’s the point of comparison that runs through this.

Verses 20 and 2l just answer a question that really came up in verse l3 with the Law and the issue of the Law. Why the Law then? What’s the purpose of the Law and that will tie it together. “The law came in that the transgression might increase.” Why was there a Law? Man lived for we don’t know how long, at least a couple thousand years just adding the genealogies together and allowing for caps in the genealogy, three, four, five thousand years from Adam to Moses, we just don’t know for sure without the Law. Why did the Law come in? What was the purpose of the Law? Well, the Law came in that the transgression might increase. We’re talking about the Mosaic Law. The Law came in, it means coming along side of something. The Law was added at a later date. The purpose was to magnify and manifest the transgression.

We have already used this word transgression of Adam’s sin, the transgression of Adam in the garden, in verse l5, “the free gift is not like the transgression.” Verse l7, “by the transgression of the one”, verse l8, “through one transgression”, referring to Adam. Now what he’s saying is it is established that Adam was the representative head, acting on our behalf, and his sin was imputed to us, but the Law was given to show that not only are we sinners in Adam, but we are sinners just like Adam. So, the point he was making at first now is expanded. The fact is he acted on our behalf and his action affected us all. We say that’s not fair, but you understand, you have sinned just like him. Not only did you have his sin passed on to you, you have rebelled against God yourself. You have been a lawless person. You have rejected the word of God and the command of God in your life so, the transgression multiplied. So, Adam’s act of rebellion against the commandment of God has been multiplied now billions of times. God has spoken. So, the Law was given and what happened? Well, Paul will deal with this more thoroughly in Romans Chapter 7.

All the Law did was, what? Make me want to sin the more. The transgression might increase but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. The result in giving of the Law was sin increased, people sinned all the more. The scripture says what? Paul will develop this in Romans, Chapter 7, don’t covet, and all of a sudden I wanted to covet, the Law says don’t do this, all of a sudden they want to do that. That’s still going on in the world, is it not? God says sex is honorable in marriage, people want to have sex, where? They want to get married and have sex, no, they want to have it outside marriage. Sex is between a man and a woman, no, I want it with the same sex. The bible says obey your parents, don’t want to obey my parents. If there was a commandment from God, disobey your parents, everybody would be struggling to obey their parents. Why? We want to do the opposite of what God says. We’re rebellious people. As soon as I know that I’ve been told no, I want to do it, I rebelled just like Adam did. All the trees in the garden, in a perfect environment, not marred by sin, all the beautiful provision that God had made unmarred. Don’t eat of that tree and Adam goes and does it. He’s an idiot and I’m his child. Why, when God has spoken? We have rebelled. That’s true of the Mosaic Law, it’s true of the commandments given down through the New Testament or what’s called the law of Christ now.

So, sin increased. The law stirs the sin nature that I had inherited from my father, Adam through action. You see that with your children. We were talking about that with our grandkids, you know, tell them no, and where do you find their hand going, testing you. They wouldn’t put their hand there if you didn’t tell them not to, but now they’ve got to try it. Grace abounded all the more, where sin increased grace abounded all the more. We had the sin of Adam. The death of the race. The giving of the Mosaic law with its 613 commandments and the mushrooming of sin as the rebellious character now of a fallen humanity, manifest itself so clearly against the specific commandments of God.

But, grace in Christ, abounded all the more. So it’s sufficient, not only to take care of the sin of Adam and the result of that sin in my life, but it is sufficient to take care of all my sins, plural, and all the sins of all people who have ever lived. That’s abounding grace,
that as sin reigned in death even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Emphasis here on much more, much more abound, abundance, transgression increased, sin increased, grace abounded. God’s intention is life
would reign. He’s overruling the action of Adam. So death reigned, verse 21, he intends that grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life. You note the connection, grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life. Only the unmerited provision of God’s righteousness can provide eternal life for those who live under the reign of death, and this happens through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now, that section is the backbone for where you move into chapter 6, verse 6, for example, “knowing this, that our old man”, we say translated it old man instead of old self,

because you are really going back to chapter 5. The old man was who? The first Adam, and all that I was in the first Adam, defiled, depraved, condemned, sinful, and then manifesting that character in my many transgressions, as verse 16 talked about. But, we are made new in Christ, We become a new man, or as we read in Romans at the end of chapter 13 this morning, we put on Christ. That’s the new man. That’s the picture. It comes out of the first Adam and the second Adam comparison in Romans chapter 5, the fullest elaboration of it. So, as I said, the old man, what’s the old man, that’s all I was in Adam. That’s talking about being a sinful, fallen being, under condemnation and manifesting then my likeness to him by my multiplied transgressions in rebellion against God. That’s why we speak of people doubly condemned. We are sinners by birth and by choice. By birth, which links us to Adam and his sin is imputed to us, and by choice, because very early we manifest that rebellious nature and we disobey God when He says to obey your parents, and the focus on Him, not self and on it goes. But, in Christ we are made new, we receive His righteousness. So the authority and rule and reign of the old man is broken, but just as physical death has not been in annihilated yet, the old man has not been totally annihilated. So, as we were talking about this morning, his power has been broken, but he continues his existence, but I am to ignore him. I am to resist him, I am to refuse to respond to him. That old relationship is not to continue. I have a new person, I’m a new man in Christ and Jesus Christ’s life is now my life. The indwelling spirit directs and controls me in the new life I have in Christ. So what, put off the old man, you have put him off, so all of his characteristics, all of the conduct, all of the behavior associated with what you were in Adam as a fallen being, be done with it. Now in Christ you have His righteousness. You have His life in you, live out that life. That’s the picture, the old man, the new man. The old man also called the flesh, as we said, also called the sin nature. Some people don’t like that expression, but when it’s used it’s been used of the same thing, the old man, the flesh, the sin nature. Now I am a new man with a new nature, the nature of God.

There is conflict, there is struggle, just like I’m not under the authority of the devil any longer, before I was a child of the devil. The devil hasn’t ceased to exist, but he is not to dominate my life. He is not to direct my life. He is not to influence my life. He saw the world was crucified, its power has been broken but it’s not to dominate and influence my life. I am a new person in Christ, I am to live accordingly. The only way to be free from the old man and become a new man is death. The death of Christ and our identification with Christ in His death. That’s why you can’t make an unregenerate person pleasing to God. In his very being he is corrupted. He has to die and be raised a new person. That’s the provision in Christ. That’s the glorious gospel we have to offer to a world that is so defiled and depraved. The world does not need to be reformed, the world needs to be regenerated, and that happens one by one as the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is shared and the power of God works through the gospel which is
His power, unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Let’s pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for the work you’ve done on our behalf in Christ. Lord, our identification with Adam was clear. His action and rebelling against you had immediate and dire consequences, not only for himself, for his wife, but for all of his descendants. We have experienced the impact of his sin in our lives. Thank you for Jesus Christ who has come to act as our representative in providing righteousness. Lord, He’s done so much more, because we not only have Adam’s sin, which hangs over us and corrupts us, but, Lord, we are a sinful and rebellious people, we have willfully and gladly fought against you, rejected you, disobeyed you, flaunted our sin. Lord, in Christ, all of it has been encompassed by your grace and His provision is so complete, so sufficient that not only is the sin of Adam paid for, but all of our personal, individual transgressions have been placed under the blood of Christ as well. Lord, we thank you for such a great salvation, such a complete salvation. Lord, may this salvation thrill our souls as those who have been redeemed. Lord, may it be such a rich and thrilling experience in our hearts and lives that we rejoice and are excited to share it with others, who are ignorant of their dire and lost condition. They’re ignorant of the consequences of sin that has corrupted and ruined them. Lord, may you use us to bring the message of life in the gospel which is your power for salvation. Then, Lord, may this new life that we have as new men in Christ be manifested in all our conduct and all our behavior. We desire it all for your honor and glory. In Christ’s name, amen.

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