Are there two adams

The idea that there are two Adams, separated by vast ages, may confound those who think literally. The Adam of chapters is prehistory whereas the Adam of chapter 4 onwards lives in a world of about ten thousand years ago. The Adam of chapter 4 is a different man. That is, ha-adam is the sinless pristine Adam, the man of Genesis ; but adam is the next Adam, the one of Genesis 4 onward, who is separated from the first Adam by tens of thousands of years of violence, death and suffering.

However, Genesis , the two verses where the transition between the two Adams supposedly took place, demolishes his argument.

Sin was present but it was not counted considered as transgression until the law came. Compare Gal. Adam's sin was considered a "transgression v. Death reigned as king v. Paul's main point in these two verses is that death passed to all men v.

It was Adam's sin that brought death upon humanity. The people between Adam and Moses did not sin as Adam had Adam's sin was a willful violation of a direct command from God. Yet death reigned even over them, not because of their actions, but because of Adam's act! Today we could use the illustration of infants who die. These babes know nothing of right or wrong, but they die. This should remind us of the universal effect of the sin of Adam. Because of his transgression, the sentence of death passed upon all men.

Notice the "much more" of this verse the expression "much more" is found 4 other times in Romans 5. Can you find them? In Adam's fall we sinned all, and in Adam's death we died all!

It was purchased at infinite cost 1 Cor. Adam's offense brought disaster and death upon the human race "death passed upon all men"-v. This is a reference to the overflowing, super-abounding grace of God cf. Compare verse "passed" or spread. Sin and death spread to all men. In this verse there is a contrast between "one offense to condemnation" and "many offences unto justification. The one offense of Adam brought judgment and condemnation to mankind.

Alva McClain gives this illustration: A man goes into a forest and takes a match and sets fire to a tree. This is a small action that anyone could do. Soon the whole forest would be blazing. Suppose somebody came along and put the whole thing out. Would not the second operation be vastly greater, "much more", then the first? By Adam's one offense the whole "forest" of humanity fell. The word " abundance " is related to the word "abounded" in v.

God's grace is super-abounding and overflowing! The free gift has been provided for all men but all men have a responsibility. Those that "receive" this abundance of grace have therewith the gift of righteousness. What a gift! Apart from works, apart from the Law, apart from ordinances, apart from worthiness, an out and out gift of righteousness from God!

Many times in teaching this passage to Bible classes I have asked them to repeat three times over each of these expressions: "The abundance of grace," "the gift of righteousness. Try it. William Newell, Romans. Because of Adam death has reigned and the numerous cemeteries bear witness of this. Because of Jesus Christ believers reign literally they "reign as kings!

The parenthesis has now ended and this verse should be connected with verse 12 and probably the word "death" should be supplied instead of "judgment".

The free gift came upon all men Christ's cross-work was done on behalf of the whole human race but sadly all men do not receive it v. Calvin said it this way, "He God makes this favor common to all, because it is propoundable to all, and not because it is in reality extended to all i.

All who are in Adam are sinners; all who are in Christ are righteous. By birth we are in Adam; by new birth we are in Christ. The creed makes clear that when the eternal Son, "begotten before all ages of the Father," joined Himself to human nature in the womb of the virgin, that same Son—our Lord Jesus Christ—was "truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body.

Jesus was not "God in human skin. But the creed also adds a crucial point: "in all things like unto us, without sin. We need a Savior who is like us human to be able to pay for sin, and we need a Savior who is unlike us sinless for this payment to be acceptable to God. This is where the dissimilarity between the work of Adam and the work of Christ flows from a proper understanding of the person of Christ.

It is common in modern theology to argue that in taking on a human nature, the Son of God took on fallen human nature.

The assertion is that because we have fallen natures, Jesus cannot be truly like us unless He also has a fallen human nature. But this short-circuits the magnificent beauty of Christ's obedience. Fallenness is not intrinsic to being human; if it were, Adam would not have truly been a man.

The Word became flesh to go right back to the very beginning, so to speak, and to do as a man what Adam failed to do. In the womb of His mother, He is both completely identified with us—being fully human—and distinct from us—being free of all Adamic guilt. The language of the Spirit "overshadowing" Mary in the miracle of the incarnation Luke hints at both new creation and new exodus themes.

It is best to say that Christ re-lives Adam's life not from the point of the fall onward but from the point of creation onward. He is the new Adam and the new Israel, facing their temptations and fighting their battles, except He triumphs at every point where they failed. And so we come full circle to another similarity between Adam and Christ in Romans Neither is a private individual.

They do not act alone. What each one does, he does for those who belong to him. Like a husband as head of his wife is fully responsible for her welfare, so Adam and Jesus as heads of their families bear complete responsibility for them. The actions of the one implicate those who are theirs, either in disobedience or in righteousness. Just as Adam made all who are in him sinners, so Christ makes all who are in Him righteous.

So then they that are in the flesh [first Adam nature] cannot please God. In the next diagram, I will list examples of those with the nature of each Adam. God gives examples in many different ways. He often uses natural, visible things to explain spiritual things. Even the natural heavens help to explain spiritual things.

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

God not only uses people but also things, places, and events in the Old Testament as examples of spiritual truths. These examples are shadows, types of spiritual realities. This is emphasized in 1 Corinthians , Colossians , and Hebrews among many other verses.

Understanding this concept is important to see beyond the literal, natural understanding of the carnal mind when reading the Bible, and in following these lessons. Without the mind of Christ, you would miss vital truths and misinterpret much of what you read.

Here are just some samples of contrasting people of the Bible who represent the two natures. They are all examples for us today. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil has some fruit that looks very good and some that look very bad, but every fruit has a serpent inside.

The only tree that bears truly good fruit is the Tree of Life, which represents Christ. Those in the first Adam cannot change their nature. They may be able to change their behavior somewhat, but not their nature. Only God can bring us out of darkness into the light.

There is hope, though. God takes notice of us out of love and draws us to Him. Each person is called to strip themselves of their former nature and to put on the new nature. This is not changing bad behavior to good behavior but leaving one nature and acquiring another.

Not only does this translation from one kingdom to another happens through a process, but as long as a person is in a mortal body that person is capable of shifting back and forth between the two natures. Our full salvation comes with the resurrection of our bodies. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. In the next lesson, we will start to look at the process of growing in the mind of Christ.